A device for wide-field and high resolution imaging of an object surface includes first and second imaging modalities, a lens associated with the second imaging modality. The first imaging modality is high resolution with a first observation line. The second imaging modality is arranged in an image plane at a first angle with respect to an object plane and has a second observation line and a wider imaging field than the first imaging modality. The lens associated with the second imaging modality is arranged in a lens plane at a second angle with respect to the object plane, where the second angle being equal to about one-half of the first angle. The first and second imaging modalities are mutually arranged such that the first and second optical axes intersect at a point on the object plane.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device and method for wide-field and high resolution imaging. Particularly, the present invention is directed to a system having wide-field and high resolution imaging capability.
The present invention is particularly suitable for imaging skin cancer, e.g., as a rapid bedside guide to tumor excision. The invention is useful for providing enhanced imaging of epithelial tumors, inflammatory disorders, or other pathological conditions, including nonmelanoma skin cancer. However, the subject device and method may be used for imaging and analyzing surface, structural, spectral, functional, fluorescence, Raman, bio-chemical, polarization and other similar characteristics of any object when the combination of wide field imaging and high resolution is required.
2. Description of Related Art
Advances in the development of optical imaging modalities have facilitated efforts to employ these techniques for noninvasive detection and treatment guidance of different pathological conditions. In general, the turbidity of tissue creates major challenges for optical in vivo spectroscopy and imaging. However, reflectance and fluorescence imaging techniques, like multi-spectral polarized light macro-imaging and confocal microscopy are well suited for skin cancer detection and demarcation. Confocal reflectance microscopy was introduced to the field of dermatology in the 1990s. Since then, it has been used to study different skin disorders.
Confocal microscopy is a technique where the specimen is pointwise illuminated by a focused beam of light. An image is recorded by scanning the beam focus through a plane in the specimen, and the reflected light from the specimen is focused onto a small detector aperture. The light source, the illuminated spot and the detector aperture are placed in optically conjugated focal planes. "Optical sectioning" occurs as out-of-focal-plane back-scattered light is rejected by a pinhole placed in front of a detector. Optical sectioning makes it possible to record images of thin layers within tissue. Confocal microscopy allows imaging within turbid media with high resolution (lateral resolution of about 1 μm, and axial resolution (section thickness) of about 3-5 μm), which is comparable to histology. The major disadvantage of confocal microscopy as a detection and guidance tool for cancer surgery is its small field of view, which is typically, up to about 0.3 mm. To examine an entire suspected cancerous area using confocal microscopy (CM), a sequence of images must be captured and stitched together. This process takes time and motion artifacts may distort the resulting image.
Multi-spectral polarized light imaging (MSPLI) is a simple and inexpensive technique for skin tumor imaging. The technique provides the means to differentiate effectively between endogenous (blood, melanin, etc.) and exogenous (dye) chromophores absorbing in different spectral domains, and is capable of obtaining superficial images (at a resolution of about 3-50 μm-lateral, 5-0200 μm-axial in the visible spectral range) of thick tissue layers. Such imaging is relatively insensitive to small shifts in the position of the imaged object, and combination of the large field-of-view and sufficient lateral resolution enables rapid examination of large surfaces, thus facilitating tumor margin delineation. However, morphology of individual cells and fine structures cannot be resolved using MSPLI. Thus, the multi-spectral polarized light imaging approach can benefit from combination with a high-resolution technique, such as confocal reflectance microscopy, which can be used by a pathologist in the cases when high-resolution images of small suspicious areas are required. Such combination may become a powerful tool for cancer detection and demarcation.

Device and method for wide-field and high resolution imaging of tissue


The present invention discloses various features and combinations thereof for use with articles of footwear such as boots. The boots are especially adapted for use on construction projects, and provide protection, support and comfort to the wearer. Numerous outsole configurations and styles are provided, which provide superior traction and a low center of gravity for enhanced balance. Different layers of materials provide puncture resistance, abrasion resistance, thermal insulation, waterproofing and other benefits. Protective and/or insulative plates may be utilized in the footwear for puncture protection or thermal insulation, for example. Shovel guards protect the wearer when using a tool, and toe tools permit the wearer to employ the boot as a tool of its own. Structural support cages chimney structures are also utilized for support and comfort.

The present invention relates generally to articles of footwear and, more particularly, to footwear used as workboots in, for example, construction and related industries. Of course, the footwear of the present invention is not limited to such utilitarian functions but can be used in any footwear setting, including, for example, routine footwear environments such as everyday footwear or fashion footwear.
Conventional work boots offer the wearer little protection against the hazards that are commonly encountered on job sites. Known boots typically have all leather uppers, a construction that offers the wearer's feet little protection from punctures, cuts and other dangers. All leather uppers also leave the wearer's foot hot and uncomfortable, especially in warmer climates.
Leather uppers typically fail to protect the wearer from water, causing the wearer's foot to become wet when the boot is exposed to water, such as when it is raining or when walking through puddles. Wet feet can be extremely uncomfortable for the wearer, especially over long periods of time. This can lead to skin irritation, fungal infections, and the like.
The outsoles of conventional work boots as known in the art are similarly flawed. Conventional outsoles for work boots are typically very thick, which raise the wearer's foot high off the ground. This height leads to instability and possible injury due to easily twisted ankles.
Work boots also typically include flexible outsoles that cause the wearer's foot to bend over the arch or middle portion of the boot when the wearer walks on narrow footholds, such as ladders. Flexible outsoles also bend when a user is operating tools that require the wearer's foot, such as a shovel. This bending of the boot and the wearer's foot is uncomfortable for the wearer and may lead to injuries such as muscle damage over time.
Conventional work boots also fail to provide adequate protection from kicking hard objects without damaging the boot. While some boots provide steel toe protection, using these boots to kick hard surfaces damages the leather upper.
Thus, there is a need for articles of footwear that will protect the wearer from punctures and water and provide sufficient rigidity to reduce bending of the boot over narrow surfaces. There is also a need for a boot with a rigid toe that can be used to perform construction-related tasks without damaging the boot.
The present invention addresses these needs. The present invention is an article of footwear that utilizes a number of features to create an ideal work boot.


A device for removing concrete debris from passages within modular blocks is disclosed. The device includes nozzles mounted to a plate at locations corresponding to the passages on the modular blocks. An actuator is secured to the block molding machine, supports the plate, and moves the plate from a retracted position to an extended position in close proximity to the conveyor. The nozzles are operatively connected to a source of compressed air and are arranged to enter within the passages of the modular block when the plate moves to the extended position. A control system directs operation of the device such that when a modular block reaches a predetermined location on the conveyor, the actuator moves the mounting plate to the extended position causing the nozzles to enter within the passages of the modular block and emit jets of compressed air to remove concrete debris from within the passages.

Modern, high speed, automated concrete block plants and concrete paver plants make use of concrete block molds that are open at the top and bottom. These molds are mounted in machines which cyclically station a pallet below the mold to close the bottom of the mold, deliver dry cast concrete into the mold through the open top of the mold, densify and compact the concrete by a combination of vibration and pressure, and strip the uncured blocks from the mold by a relative vertical movement of the mold and the pallet. Once the blocks are stripped from the mold they are protected until they are sufficiently hardened to permit handling without damage. The concrete blocks thus hardened are cured in a curing yard to permit complete moisturization for at least twenty-one days.
For efficient high-volume production, concrete block molds are typically configured to produce multiple blocks simultaneously. A concrete block mold generally comprises side walls and end walls that define the periphery of a mold cavity. Within this mold cavity, division plates may be used to sub-divide the mold cavity into a plurality of block-forming cavities. Further, movable side walls may be used to form the side faces of the block-forming cavity. The division plates are generally rectangular-shaped plates attached to the side walls of the mold. Further, the side walls of the block cavity and the division plates may be covered with replaceable mold face linings to protect the mold components from abrasive wear.
Concrete blocks fabricated by the automated processes described above are often used in the construction of vertical walls, such as sitting walls, or set-back retaining walls for securing earth embankments against sliding and slumping. The blocks, often referred to as wallstones are stacked on each other and located in rows to form a wall. The wall structure can have a variety of shapes, such as linear, concave, and convex curved, serpentine and circular to conform to the landscape utilization. Each wallstone may have one or more attractive and decorative faces. The decorative faces can be smooth, serrated, horizontally grooved, vertically grooved, diagonally grooved, checkerboard or have an aggregate appearance. The front face of the block can be broken apart concrete or broken irregular pattern. The wallstone may be of any desired color including gray or earth tones and the like.
Each wallstone may have a generally flat top and bottom surface so that the rows of wallstones can be stacked or superimposed on top of each other. The adjacent rows of blocks may be connected together with rods or pins. Each block has one or more passages extending from the top surface to the bottom surface to accommodate the rods or pins. Rows of wallstones overlap each other so that each wallstone is pinned to adjacent wallstones located in adjacent courses of wallstone above and below. Multiple passages may be provided to the wallstones to add versatility so that each wallstone may be used in the construction of a vertical wall or a set-back wall.
For example, the wallstone may be fabricated to be versatile by providing six passages, four to be utilized for the construction of a set-back wall and two to be utilized for the construction of a vertical wall. To construct a set-back wall, after a first layer of wallstone is set and leveled in all directions to create a base, a subsequent course is added such that the two front passages of the subsequent layer wallstones are aligned above a pocket (also referred to as an "offset pocket") located in the wallstones in the course below, to create a slight offset. After the wallstones are set and visually aligned, pins are dropped in these two holes and into the pockets in the wallstones of the base layer. This process is repeated as subsequent courses are added above previous courses to construct a set-back wall. In this manner, the wallstones become interlocked together, adding strength and integrity to the overall wall structure. To construct a vertical wall, the two passages located in the pocket of the wallstones of the subsequent course are aligned above the pocket of the wallstones in the previous course, and pins are dropped in these two holes and into the pocket in the wallstones of the previous course.
A common drawback is that during fabrication of the wallstones, debris created during the fabrication process can become lodged in the passages. If not removed quickly, the debris will cure within the passages and create obstructions therein, thus preventing use of the interlocking feature of the wallstones. Currently, the method for cleaning the passages of such debris involves manually inserting a dowel into each of these passages after the wallstone is stripped from the mold within the production environment and which adds to the overall cost and increases safety concerns. Such manual debris removal from the passages has other disadvantages. It is a delicate operation requiring a certain amount of dexterity to avoid damaging the passages of uncured wallstones. Also, the current manual cleaning requires added labor expressly dedicated to this particular task to keep pace with the high volume of wallstone being produced by the automated process. Thus, the debris removal device of the present invention offers significant advantages over the current manual cleaning described above. The debris removal device of the present invention is operative to direct a flow of pressurized fluid, such as air through a plurality of outlets and through the passages of wallstones as the wall stones are conveyed after being stripped from the mold. The device of the present invention is automated and may be integrated into the concrete block manufacturing process, thus eliminating the need for increased labor. Also, the device of the present invention can remove debris from multiple passages simultaneously to keep pace with the rate of automated production. Also, the device will substantially reduce the potential for damage to the wallstone passages.

Device for removing debris from passages in manufactured modular blocks


A system and a method of the interaction and preservation of two or more reagents used in a chemical reaction is described, in which the reagents are put in contact one with another only when a buffer (A) carrying a sample to be treated with said reagents breaks a partition barrier (4, 14) placed between two containers belonging to a device comprising a first upper container (2, 12) and a second lower container (3, 13) of a test tube (1), the bottom wall of the first container (2, 12) forming said partition barrier (4, 14) able to be perforated by the buffer (A) carrying the sample to be treated.

Different methods for preserving two or more reagents, in order to put them in contact only when they have to be used for a rapid antigen extraction, are known in the state of the art. For example, in pharmaceutical preparations, a reagent is commonly preserved in a solid state and it is dissolved in a liquid state solvent just before the use, by perforating a mechanical partition wall.
Other preservation methods have been described as well, in which two or more containers, each containing a reagent, are inserted into a single main container inside which, after the breakage of the internal containers, the reagent mixing takes place.
The traditional methods of extraction of saccharidic antigens of group A streptococcus provide for the use of liquid reagents (Lenneft, E. H., Ed., Manual of Clinical Microbiology, Fourth Edition, American Society of Microbiology, Washington, D.C., 1985, pages 170-171). Typically, two liquid reagents are used in the extraction stage: an acid (acetic, hydrochloric or citric acid) and a sodium nitrite solution. The two reagents are mixed in a test tube in which the wad used to take the biological sample to be examined is inserted.
In other known methods, at least one of the two reagents is in a solid state (U.S. Pat. No. 5,536,646), or the reagents are contained in test tubes or flasks with several separate compartments, each containing a single reagents to be mixed immediately before use (U.S. Pat. No. 4,673,639).
By mixing the two reagents, nitrous acid, which is a relatively unstable acid, is produced, thus requiring that the reagents are mixed immediately before the extraction process starts. Otherwise, the instability of the resulting nitrous acid solution can reduce the extraction effectiveness. In fact, if the reagents are prematurely mixed with respect to the biological sample addition, according to what described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,851,337, the nitrous acid decomposition takes place and the extraction solution can lose its effectiveness in a very short time.
According to the method described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,415,994, the extraction takes place in a well directly obtained in the cartridge containing the immunochromatographic strip. One of the two reagents is contained in a flask, that contains on its turn a phial with the second reagent. The operator mixes the two reagents by breaking the phial and then pours the mixture in the well in which the wad is placed. In this way, the operator does not have to count the drop number of each reagent. However, in this case too the extraction takes place after the two reagents have been mixed. Moreover, the insertion of the wad in the well sometimes causes the even partial occlusion of the liquid drainage conduit and thus the flow is slowed down or even blocked. Otherwise, if the wad is inserted in a manner such that the liquid does not flow therethrough before reaching the immunochromatographic chamber, the reaction liquid can reach the immunochromatographic membrane before the extraction takes place.
According to other known methods (U.S. Pat. No. 5,494,801), a third reagent is added to the two default ones in order to neutralize the solution before the chromatographic stage takes place. At present however the use of three reagents is considered too complicated for the operator, and thus the systems providing for the use of two reagents only are preferred. Furthermore, even these methods do not avoid the risk of effectiveness reduction of the extraction due to the time elapsed between the reagent mixing and the sample insertion.
Methods that provide for the insertion of the sample, on which the extraction has to be performed, in a device before adding the reagents have been described too (U.S. Pat. No. 6,168,956). In these methods, the operator must apply the reagents according to the optimal time sequence. However, the need to determine the volume of the reagents (for example, by counting the reagent drops) still remains, as well as the possibility to use the same reagents twice.
The traditional methods of extraction of lipopolysaccharidic antigens from Chlamydia trachomatis provide for the use of an alkaline reagent able to extract the lipopolysaccharidic antigens, in which an acid or a buffer is inserted to neutralise the extraction. According to a traditional method, the alkaline reagent consists of sodium hydroxide and the aid reagent for neutralizing the extraction solution is hydrochloric acid.
The wad through which the biological sample has been taken is inserted into a test tube containing the alkaline reagent for the extraction and it is agitated for a predetermined time, after which the neutralization reagent is added.

Method and device of rapid antigen extraction


An insert is disclosed for use with a closed loop dispensing system. The insert includes a flat, ring-shaped venting member which permits air to pass therethrough but prevents liquid from passing therethrough. A foam liner is positioned at the underside of the venting membrane to shield or protect the venting membrane when the retainer disc of the insert is secured to the lower end of the insert.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a closed loop dispensing system and more particularly to a dispensing system for dispensing corrosive liquid chemical or dangerous medical liquid products which are typically drawn from a container, such as a bottle or the like. Even more particularly, this invention relates to a container insert or throat plug which is press-fitted into the throat of the container with the container insert including a venting membrane for relieving vacuum pressure from within the bottle. Even more particularly, this invention relates to a means for preventing damage to the venting membrane when the retaining disc of the container insert is threadably secured to the lower end thereof
2. Description of the Related Art
Many container inserts have been previously provided wherein a venting membrane is held in place in the container insert by a disc which is threadably secured to the lower end of the container insert. See for example, Applicant's U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,968,983; 6,669,062; 6,142,345 and 5,988,456. The venting membranes of the prior art are disc-shaped and are quite fragile. In some cases, when the retainer disc is threadably secured to the lower end of the container insert, the fragile venting membrane is torn or otherwise damaged due to the rotation of the retaining disc with respect to the venting membrane.

Container insert for use with a closed loop dispensing system


A semiconductor device includes a signal input circuit suitable for synchronizing an input signal with a clock signal and receiving the clock signal as a power source when the input signal has a first phase, where the signal input circuit amplifies a swing width of the input signal based on a swing width of the clock.

1. Field
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to an integrated circuit design technology, and more particularly, to a semiconductor device with a clock-based signal input circuit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, an energy harvesting technology has been introduced to a semiconductor system. The energy harvesting technology produces and provides a power from a peripheral energy source. The harvesting technology includes a method for producing a power from a solar energy using a solar cell, a heat energy using a Seeback effect, and a vibration energy using a Faraday's law of electromagnetic induction or a piezoelectric effect, or a magnetostriction effect.
However, since a power, which is generated using the energy harvesting technology, is used limitedly, it is not easy to use in a high speed operation and a low power supply of a semiconductor system.

Semiconductor device with clock-based signal input circuit


A primary device placed at the upstream end of a duct and a relay device placed at an access point pull a cable through respective duct segments. The pulling speed of the primary device is controlled by an operator. The pulling speed of the relay device is variable in response to movement of the cable by the primary device to maintain equilibrium between the pulling speeds of the devices. The pulling tension exerted upon the cable by each device is monitored and discontinued upon reaching a predetermined maximum value. At the inlet to the second segment, lubricant is supplied to the cable at a quantitative rate which is proportional to the pulling speed.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the installation of signal transmission cable.
More particularly, the present invention relates to method and apparatus of the type especially adapted for pulling an extended length of fiber optic cable through a subterranean duct.
In a further and more specific aspect, the instant invention concerns improvements in methods and apparatus according to the foregoing for monitoring and sensing selected characteristics of the cable during pulling and modulating the pulling accordingly.
2. Prior Art
Various types of cable especially adapted for the transmission of audio and visual signals are well known. Conventional cable, for example, incorporates metallic wire as the medium for transmission of signals in the form of electric current. More recently, the art has directed attention to fiber optic cable in which encoded light pulses are transmitted through thin fibers of glass, plastic or other transparent material.
Signal transmission cables are subject to varying installation schemes. Especially common are airborne installations and underground installations. In an airborne scheme, the cable is suspended between supporting members such as poles. In an underground system, the cable is buried. Certain types of cable are suitable for direct installation. Others require a protective encasement.
In an underground or subterranean system it is generally preferred that the cable resides within a conduit commonly termed a subduct. The subduct provides protection for the more fragile types of cable. The subduct also facilitates maintenance of the cable and may accommodate subsequent installation of additional cable.
Typically, a subterranean system includes a subduct of extended length, frequently many miles, which has been buried by conventional practice such as plowing, trenching and filling. Accessibility is provided by a series of manholes or vaults, each having an opening at ground level. Entrance and exit vaults reside at respective ends of the subduct. Access vaults are placed at spaced locations intermediate the entrance and exit vaults.
The several access vaults divide the subduct into plurality of segments. Each segment has an entrance or upstream end at one vault and an exit or downstream end at the subsequent vault. A pull line extends through the subduct. A slack length of the pull line, commonly incorporated into the subduct prior to burial, is available within each vault.
The signal transmission cable is pulled through the subduct by the pull line. The cable is supplied by a spool thereof placed near the entrance vault. The upstream end of the pull line and the cable, in sequence, are drawn through the subduct. The operation is completed when the downstream end of the transmission cable is received within the exit vault and the pull line is stowed, usually upon a take-up spool.
It is desirable that cable be installed in continuous runs of maximal length. Splicing is a laborious, expensive and time consuming task. Additionally, each splice adversely effects transmission quality. The foregoing is substantially more pronounced in fiber optic cable than in wire cable. Further limitations, restricting the length of a single pull, are the result of the inherent tensile weakness of fiber optic cable. Accordingly, the prior art has devised various techniques for pulling extended lengths of transmission cable, especially fiber optic cable.
In accordance with one scheme, the installation is accomplished by a sequence of pulls and stores. Initially, cable is pulled from a supply spool through the first segment of the subduct and stored at the first access vault. Subsequently, the cable is pulled through the second segment and stored at the second access vault. The process is repeated in sequence temporarily storing cable at each access vault and subsequently pulling the cable through the adjacent downstream segment.
More recently, the art has provided means and methods for simultaneously pulling a cable through at least two adjacent segments of a subduct. The pull line is wound about the capstan wheel of a winch placed in the exit vault and in each access vault. The several capstan wheels are simultaneously driven by individual hydraulic motors, each powered by hydraulic fluid of pre-set maximum pressure. Tension exerted by a downstream winch pulls the cable into frictional driving engagement with the rotating wheel of the adjacent upstream winch.
Although providing certain advantages over previous efforts, the multiple winch system described above is not considered to be a panacea. Initially it is noted that set-u is laborious and time consuming, requiring that each winch be lowered into a vault and frequently requiring partial disassembly and reassembly. Further, since the capstan wheel is driven by a motor which responds to a predetermined fluid pressure system it is possible that excessive tension can be exerted upon the cable. Also the system requires the constant observation of a workman for adjusting and controlling each winch. Other shortcomings are noted.
It would be highly advantageous, therefore, to remedy the foregoing and other deficiencies inherent in the prior art.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide improvements in the installation of signal transmission cable.
Another object of the invention is the provision of improvements especially adapted for the installation of fiber optic cable in a subduct.
And another object of the invention is to provide an improved cable pulling system which operates in response to actual cable tension.
Still another object of the instant invention is the provision of improved means whereby an upstream pulling means is actuated and regulated in response to a downstream pulling means.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide means for regulating the speed of operation of an upstream pulling means in response to the speed at which a cable is pulled by a downstream pulling means.
Yet still another object of this invention is the provision of means for monitoring the upstream stress upon a cable and maintaining the stress below a predetermined value.
And a further object of the invention is to provide a system which is self-regulating and does not require constant observation and control by a workman.
Still another object of the immediate invention is the provision of an integrated system including various ancillary functions such as lubricating the cable and taking-up the expended pull line which function at a rate proportional to a rate at which the cable is pulled
Yet a further object of the invention is to provide a cable pulling system that can be emplaced and made operational with comparative convenience and ease.
And yet another object of the invention is the provision of improvements according to the above which are relatively unencumbered and inexpensively practiced.


A Hall sensor includes a Hall well, such as an implanted region in a surface layer of a semiconductor structure, and four doped regions spaced apart from one another in the implanted region. The implanted region and the doped regions include majority carriers of the same conductivity type. The sensor also includes a dielectric layer that extends over the implanted region, and an electrode layer over the dielectric layer to operate as a control gate to set or adjust the sensor performance. A first supply circuit provides a first bias signal to a first pair of the terminals, and a second supply circuit provides a second bias signal to the electrode layer.

Hall sensors provide magnetic field sensing capabilities through causing a bias current to flow in a Hall well or other implanted region of a semiconductor structure, and sensing a Hall voltage across two terminals of the implanted region. A magnetic field in the implanted region interacts with bias current flow to generate the Hall voltage through Lorentz force interactions, and the sensed Hall voltage is proportional to the applied magnetic field. Although the magnetic sensitivity, resistance, offset, noise and bandwidth are generally static for a given Hall sensor construction, these properties can vary with environmental conditions such as temperature and/or stress.


A gemstone including a substantially rectangular girdle with rounded corners, a crown extending in a first direction from the girdle, and a pavilion extending in a second direction from the girdle opposite the first direction. The gemstone has 69 uniquely arranged and angled facets, 41 of which are in the crown, and 28 of which are in the pavilion. The height of the crown is preferably between 12 to 19½% of the width of the stone, the total depth of the stone is preferably between 58-68% of the width of the stone, and the width of the table is preferably between 55-65% of the width of the stone.

One of the main characteristics of a diamond is light return or light performance, i.e., the amount of light returned to the eye from the diamond. The higher the light performance grade, the greater the brilliance (white light) and fire (colored light) of the diamond. Light performance is impacted by, among other things, the number, shape, angles and arrangement of the facets on the cut diamond. However, just increasing or decreasing the number and angle of the facets does not directly correlate to an increase in light performance. In fact, sometimes an increase in the number of facets can result in a diamond that is dull and lifeless, exactly the opposite of what is desired. It is the exact and precise combination of angles and facets that have to come together to create the perfect formula for the highest light return.
The cushion cut diamond is a diamond shape that was popular in the early 19th century and was so named because it was very similar to a plump cushion or pillow. The forerunner to the cushion-cut is the so-called Old Mine Cut, which was a square cut with rounded corners, deeply cut with a high crown, small table and large facets. The Old Mine Cut had 33 crown and 25 pavilion facets.
Many of the most famous gemstones in the world are cushion-cuts, including the blue Hope Diamond (45.52 cts), the Regent Diamond (140.5 cts) and the yellow Tiffany Diamond (128.54 cts). The largest cut blue sapphire in the world, the 423 ct Logan Sapphire in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, is a cushion-cut.
The cushion cut diamond has gained in popularity in recent years as a more distinctive alternative to the traditional round brilliant cut. Typical cushion-cut diamonds contain from 58 to 64 facets. However, even with this number of facets, compared to round brilliant cut diamonds, typical cushion cut diamonds available to consumers lack both fire and brilliance.

Cushion cut gemstone with excellent optical brilliance


A powered projectile having a nose portion, a body portion, a tail portion, and a central axis. In various embodiments a collar is rotatably mounted to a control support portion with a plurality of aerodynamic surfaces thereon for despinning the collar. An alternator configured as an axial flux machine with a stator arranged can be axially adjacent to one or more rotors, the stator including a plurality of windings and the one or more rotors each including a plurality of permanent magnets arranged about the face of the respective one or more rotor. In various embodiments the projectile includes an assembly of projectile control circuitry. In one or more embodiments, upon relative motion of the rotor with respect to the stator, magnetic flux from the magnets interacts with the windings of the stator and passes through an air gap between the one or more rotors and stator.

Extensive efforts have been directed toward guiding, steering, or configuring military grade projectiles for proximity sensing, seeking, or other "smart" operations. Such projectiles greatly enhance target engagement and operational efficiencies compared to traditional projectiles. For example, in certain applications the ability to perform guided maneuvers and/or the ability to perform proximity sensing may be necessary to provide a reasonable probability of engaging a target as delivery errors, environmental factors, or other issues are known to significantly degrade the effectiveness of traditional projectiles. This is particularly true when engaging moving targets, small targets, or targets that can take evasive action. In addition, such capabilities can reduce collateral damage, conserve ammunition, reduce costs, minimize personnel time in engaging targets, among other benefits.
Such projectiles have included barrel-fired and non-barrel-fired projectiles, boosted, and non-boosted projectiles, and spin stabilized and fin-stabilized projectiles. In addition, such projectiles have included, low caliber (50 caliber or less), medium caliber (greater than 50 caliber to 75 mm), and large caliber projectiles (greater than 75 mm and generally used as artillery, rockets, and missiles).
For example, large caliber artillery and other projectiles, have been successfully guided—utilizing systems such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,981,672, owned by the owner of the instant application. Artillery shells utilizing this type of design have been well received by the military. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 7,412,930. These patents are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes.
Guided missiles have long been utilized for targeting aircraft and may be self-guided or remotely guided. See, for example: U.S. Pat. No. 3,111,080, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes. Such missiles are typically fin-stabilized rather than spin-stabilized, having internal propulsion systems and relying upon fins and radially extending flaps or propulsion directing members for altering flight path. In addition, guided missiles typically need to be launched or fired from launch tubes or brackets that are designed specific to the missile. Due to their internal propulsion systems, missiles are substantially more expensive than non-propelled projectiles.
With respect to medium and small caliber projectiles, several solutions have been proposed utilizing movable aerodynamic surfaces for steering. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,422,507, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes, discloses a greater than 50 caliber projectile that may be fired from a conventional barreled gun. This projectile utilizes a spoiler that extends and retracts from a rearwardly positioned despun portion out into the air stream. The despun portion is despun by a motor and batteries are disclosed as providing power to the bullet.
Several solutions to guiding small caliber projectiles, that is 50 caliber or less, have been proposed. These include firing the projectile without spinning the projectile and utilizing axially extending control fins for altering the flight. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,781,709, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes. A notable disadvantage to such projectiles is that they cannot be fired from existing rifled barrels for conventional non-steerable projectiles and require internal batteries for operating the control circuitry and control fins which may affect the useful life of the projectile and provides a failure path. U.S. Pat. No. 5,788,178, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes, also discloses a small caliber bullet that is designed to be fired from a non-rifled barrel. Deployable flaps are utilized controlling the flight path in the ′178 device and the device requires a battery.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,716,639 discloses small to medium caliber projectiles fired through a rifled barrel that use beveled surfaces or canards on a despun nose portion operated by a motor and battery for flight control. U.S. Pat. No. 4,537,371 discloses a projectile fired through a barreled projectile that distributes air from the air stream through the projectile with valves to discharge the air laterally to change the flight path. These references are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes.
Additional prior guidance systems utilizing fins, wing-like projections, or canards have been proposed. See for example the following U.S. patents: U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,004,519; 4,373,688; 4,438,893; 4,512,537; 4,568,039; 5,101,728; 5,425,514; 6,314,886; 6,502,786; 7,431,237; 7,849,800; 8,319,164; 8,552,349; 9,303,964; 10,038,349. These patents are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes.
It is generally understood in the art that fuzing, sensing, proximity, and other "smart" functions are generally required for such projectiles. Further, for all types and sizes of such projectiles, elements necessarily include some form of powered control/operation circuitry and a power supply. Control/operation circuitry generally includes electrically powered circuitry such as a processor, memory, communications circuitry, sensors, fuzing, and other componentry. Furthermore, such componentry generally needs to be activated extremely quickly once the projectile is fired, as the flight time will generally be short. For example, for small and medium caliber projectiles, that timeframe may be within a few seconds to milliseconds.
For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,568,039, 9,303,964, 4,438,893, 8,552,349; 5,101,728, incorporated above, among others, include a discussion of a projectile with a radial flux machine or otherwise generically described alternator that is configured to produce power for the projectile while the projectile is in flight. As such, further improvements would be welcome for such projectiles that allow miniaturization, provide cost savings, improve performance, of projectiles with on-board power supplies.

Axial flux machine for use with projectiles


A communication method and data transmission protocol adapted to an image communication apparatus is provided. More particularly, this protocol provides a structure in which video, audio, and control data are multiplexed for communication, wherein loss of data other than video and audio data can be minimized, video, audio, and control data can be easily separated when the receiver side reads a packet data, and its control data can be set so as to select an image quality and a retransmission privacy mode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication method adapted to an image communication apparatus, and more particularly, to a data transmission protocol for an image communication apparatus which is capable of minimizing loss of data other than video and audio data and easily separating video, audio, and control data.
2. Description of the Background Art
FIG. 1 is a view illustrating the construction of an image communication apparatus according to the conventional art.
As illustrated therein, the image communication apparatus includes: a CCD 2 for converting an external light inputted via a lens 1 into an electric video signal; a CCD driving unit 3 for transferring the video signal converted by the CCD 2 to a digital signal processor(DSP) 4; a digital signal processor 4 for digitally processing the video signal inputted from the CCD driving unit 3 and outputting the same to be displayed on a monitor 7 in the format of a luminance signal and a color signal for image compression; an image compressing/restoring unit 5 for performing compression/restoration of the video signal; a communication control and interfacing unit 8 for communicating with communication lines and a voice input/output unit 9 for the purpose of transmitting the compressed video signal and receiving the transmitted video signal; and a controlling unit 6 for controlling each part of a system for the purpose of processing, compressing, restoring, and transmitting the above video signal. The operation of the thusly constructed image communication apparatus will now be described.
First, the external light inputted through the lens 1 is converted into an electric signal through the CCD 2 to be supplied to the CCD driving unit 3.
The CCD driving unit 3 corrects the converted video signal for an analog signal of a predetermined level, and thereafter outputs the same to the DSP 4. The DSP 4 performs clamping, RGB(Red Green Blue) color control, brightness control, etc. of the video signal outputted from the CCD driving unit 3, and thereafter outputs the same to the monitor 7 to display the image of the resultant video signal.
At this time, the DSP 4 converts the video signal outputted from the CCD driving unit 3 into a predetermined format of a luminance signal and a color signal to thus output the same to the image compressing/restoring unit 5 for the purpose of image compression and transmission to the outside.
The image compressing/restoring unit 5 executes compression in JPEG(Joint Photographic Experts Group) and MPEG(Moving Picture Expert Group) according to the type of the inputted video signal, and the compressed video signal is transmitted to the communication lines and the voice input/output unit 9 via the communication control and interfacing unit 8.
And, such a signal flow is controlled by the controlling unit 6.
As a data communication method utilizing a modem, i.e., the communication control and interfacing unit 8, in the image communication apparatus, there are a HDLC(High-Level Data Link Control) method and a NON-PROTOCOL method. The HDLC method is commonly being used. This will be explained with reference to FIG. 2.
FIG. 2 is a view illustrating a frame structure based on the HDLC method in case of modem data transmission according to the conventional art. That is, it is a frame structure for showing a data communication method utilizing the HDLC method.
As illustrated therein, in the HDLC method, a frame consists of a start flag(START Flag) representing the start of a frame, a data information(audio/video/control) to be transmitted, a CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Checking) code, i.e., an error detecting code, and a stop flag(STOP Flag) representing the stop of a frame.
In the above HDLC structure, the start and stop flag representing the start and stop of a frame contains a flag pattern of '01111110(7EHEC)' as a combination of 8 bits for the purpose of frame synchronization. Such a flag synchronization method is a method for maintaining synchronization between a transmitter side and a receiver side all the time by sending a code of a predetermined pattern although there is no data to be transmitted. Here, the aforementioned predetermined pattern is called as the flag pattern of '01111110(7EHEC)'.
The receiver side, i.e., a modem, receiving such flags delivers data information to the controlling unit 6 after removing the start and stop flags.
In addition, a data information followed after the start flag and containing audio/video/control data is transmitted in a predetermined number of bytes. At this time, a data byte has a structure of 8 bits. However, a start bit and a stop bit are appended to both ends of the 8-bit structure, and thus the data byte is transmitted in 10 bits.
In addition, to search each of the audio/video/control data, a CRC code is contained in the data information itself.
In addition, only in case of a flag(01111110), a data stream has five consecutive 1's. Thus, in the case where original data information to be transmitted has six consecutive 1's, '0'(zero insert) is forcibly appended next to the fifth 1, whereby the start flag is distinguished from the stop flag and then the receiver side removes '0' followed after five consecutive 1's.
Thereafter, the data stream is followed by the CRC code(error detection code), which is a combination of 16 bits, and checks whether there is an error or not in portions excepting the start and stop flags.
Meanwhile, a data communication method utilizing a modem, i.e., a communication control and interfacing unit 8 in the image communication apparatus includes the NON-PROTOCOL method. This will be explained with reference to FIG. 3.
FIG. 3 is a frame structure according to the NON-PROTOCOL method of the conventional art.
As illustrated therein, a data having a data stream alone is directly transmitted.
On the other hand, firstly, a transmission protocol for discrimination of files such as audio, video, control data, etc. of the above transmitted data information is established between the transmitter side and the receiver side, and then the transmitter side transmits data to the receiver side according to this protocol, for example, in the promise that the ratio of video to control is 3:2. Therefore, it is difficult for the receive side to discriminate files, and in the case where data transmission is carried out by changing the above transmission protocol within the range of a predetermined number of files, those files must be newly discriminated.
As described above, in the HDLC method according to the conventional art, a data information(audio/video/control/etc.) has another CRC code after acquiring the CRC code for error detection by using a modem line, so there is a problem that a redundancy occurs as much as the CRC code.
In addition, in the HDLC method according to the conventional art, although an overhead of a data byte, i.e., a data byte is 8 bits, 10 bits are actually transmitted in order to transmit the data byte because a start and a stop bit are appended upon transmission. Thus, data loss per second is increased, and the size of the data loss is also increased.
In addition, in the HDLC method according to the conventional art, '0' is forcibly appended next to the fifth 1 in order to prevent the case where a data of a data information has five consecutive 1's is applied only to flags. That is, '0' is inserted in order to prevent the case where the data contains the same data as the start/stop flags. Thus, there is a problem that the overhead of the data information is increased due to zero insertion and the receiver side must remove the inserted '0'.
In addition, in the NON-PROTOCOL method according to the conventional art, firstly, a transmission protocol for discrimination of files such as audio, video, control data, etc. of the above transmitted data information is established between the transmitter side and the receiver side, and then the transmitter side transmits data to the receiver side according to this protocol. Therefore, it is difficult for the receive side to discriminate files.
In addition, in the NON-PROTOCOL method according to the conventional art, in the case where data transmission is carried out by changing the above transmission protocol within the range of a predetermined number of files, those files must be newly discriminated.

Data transmission protocol for image communication apparatus


Disclosed are antibody drug conjugates (ADC) that include highly potent toxic agents with specific antibodies to target tumors. Also disclosed are related antibodies, polypeptides, nucleic acids, host cells, compositions, and uses.

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, exceeded only by heart disease. It features an abnormal mass of malignant tissue resulting from excessive cell division. Cancer cells proliferate in defiance of normal restraints on cell growth, and invade and colonize territories normally reserved for other cells. Modes of cancer therapy include chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, and combinations of these treatments. Chemotherapy typically involves use of one or more compounds that inhibit cancer cell growth. While many cancer chemotherapeutic agents have been developed, there remains a need for more effective and specific therapy.

Specific delivery of toxins conjugated with antibodies to activate matripase

RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY


A bioaerosol collection device (BCD) includes a housing with a first opening, a second opening, and a plate positioned between the first opening and the second opening. When a vacuum is applied to the second opening, the resulting air flow through the BCD causes bioaerosols to collect on a medium positioned on a surface of the plate. The collected bioaerosols are incubated and the resulting bacterial colonies can then be counted to determine a level of bioaerosol contamination in the air.

Many contagious illnesses result from human inhalation of infectious, aerosolized particles. As used herein, an "aerosolized particle" is a particle which has become airborne within a liquid droplet or other airborne carrier (e.g., a dust particle). Infectious, aerosolized particles include bacterial cells, fungal spores, viruses, and other biological material. These infectious, aerosolized particles are referred to herein as "bioaerosols".
Viruses which can be transferred from human to human via an airborne route include rhinovirus, influenza virus, measles, rubella, and smallpox. Bacteria which can be transmitted via aerosols include staphylococcus aureus (staph infection) and legionella pneumonphila (Legionnaires disease). Aerosolized fungi can include, for example, Aspergillus which has been implicated as an airborne hazard in a hospital setting.
Infectious particles can become aerosolized, for example, when a person speaks, coughs, or sneezes. As more has been learned about the nature of infectious aerosols, researchers have discovered that various medical and dental procedures can generate bioaerosols as well. For example, infectious particles can become aerosolized when high-speed medical and dental machinery (e.g., dental scalers, bone saws, electrocautery procedures, and laser surgery) causes particle-containing droplets to be forced from a human or animal source. Infectious particles can also exist in vaporized water from cooling towers, water faucets, and humidifiers, for example. Spray irrigation which uses reclaimed waste-water also contains bioaerosols. Further, agricultural dust and airborne organic materials are likely to contain bioaerosols.
In order to protect humans and animals from preventable infectious illnesses resulting from the inhalation of bioaerosols, a need to detect and quantify bioaerosols exists. Detection and quantification of bioaerosols is an important first step in the identification and elimination of dangerous bioaerosols.
Several devices and methods for assessing airborne concentrations of viable microorganisms have been developed. Among the most simple of all methods is to place petri dishes with nutrient or selective media around the tested area. The bioaerosols attach to the surface of the nutrient agar plate and the level of bioaerosols in the environment can be inferred from the quantity on the plate.
Another method uses an Anderson Microbial Sampler (AMS) to collect bioaerosols. The AMS is a commercially available device having one, two, or six stages. For a multi-stage AMS, each successive stage has smaller through-holes. Because the through-hole size decreases with each stage, air drawn through the AMS accelerates at each stage. Less aerodynamic particles are trapped at the earlier stages.
A petri dish containing an agar medium appropriate for the microorganism being measured is placed in the AMS and a sample of air is drawn. The petri dish is then removed, inverted in its cover, incubated, and colonies enumerated.
The AMS enables particles to be sized aerodynamically, regardless of physical size, shape, or density. However, the AMS is relatively expensive. The expense of prior-art devices precludes widespread use of bioaerosol measurement devices, thus, the potential health benefits of such measurement devices generally remain unrealized
What is needed is an apparatus for measuring bioaerosols which is inexpensive, accurate, and has a simple design. Further needed is a non-invasive, simple method for measuring bioaerosols using such a device.

Method and apparatus for collecting airborne biological particles


An apparatus is herein provided for use in the adjustment of an ocular mechanism within an optical instrument, such apparatus including a base with an aperture at least partially surrounded by perimetrically conforming upstanding member. The apparatus further includes a hollow drawtube which holds the ocular mechanism and substantially matingly conforms to both the aperture and the upstanding member to provide for controlled passage of the drawtube through the aperture. The drawtube is held by a radially adjustable control shaft and a plurality of spaced bearings. The control shaft is selectively placed in rotating frictional engagement with the drawtube by linear, radial translation of the shaft.

The present invention relates generally to optical instruments, and more particularly to an apparatus for use in adjusting ocular mechanism in such instruments to effect focus thereof. Although the invention has wide utility, it has proven particularly useful in the context of focusing a telescope and is described as such herein.
A conventional telescope, it will be appreciated, is a combination of two optical systems, such systems cooperating to bring a distant object into view. The systems, namely an eyepiece and an objective, are relatively positionally adjustable via apparatus known as an optical focuser. Most commonly, the focuser is mounted to the telescope objective and the eyepiece is carried by the focuser, the eyepiece being moved relative the objective to effect telescope focus. Focus is achieved when the primary principle focal point of the eyepiece is brought into coincidence with the secondary principle focal point of the objective.
In the past, telescope enthusiasts have focused their equipment using mechanism such as a sliding drawtube, a threaded focusing tube, or a rack and pinion combination. Although effective under limited circumstances, such mechanisms necessarily require the use of components machined to within precise tolerances and are therefore costly to manufacture and difficult to maintain. Where equipment does not meet the prescribed tolerances, whether it be due to careless construction or to inevitable wear between moving parts, the telescope will be plagued by problems related to rocking, slipping or even jamming of the eyepiece. A failure to meet desired tolerances will also lead to "slop" in the relative adjustment of optical systems and therefore to difficulty in bringing the telescope into focus. It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a focuser employing improved mechanism for use in dealing with problems related to inaccurate machining or component wear.
In an attempt to deal with the above-identified problems, at least one focuser has heretofore been developed which employs a pivotally adjustable rotating shaft to effect movement of an eyepiece by operative frictional engagement therewith. Such an apparatus, known generally as a Crayford focuser, maintains operative engagement between the rotating shaft and the eyepiece via biased pivoting of the shaft. This arrangement, however, fails to deal adequately with the problem of eyepiece-adjustment slop, pivot of the rotating shaft bringing about a corresponding change in the frictional force applied to the eyepiece. The change in the direction of the applied force may, in turn, lead to an improper distribution of stresses within the focuser, and thus to excessive wear. It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a focuser which includes improved mechanism for use in addressing the problem of "slop" in eyepiece adjustment.
Another problem with known Crayford focusers relates to the inadequate protection offered to the telescope eyepiece during the focusing operation, the eyepiece usually being carried through an aperture in a generally flat base. Although the eyepiece may be carried in a movable drawtube, the drawtube moves through the aperture with limited structural support. It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a focuser which offers improved protection to the eyepiece during focusing thereof.
These and other objects, which will become apparent upon reading further, are attained by the present invention as shown in the drawings and described in the specification set forth below.

Apparatus for adjusting the position of a drawtube in an optical instrument


Techniques for detection over-the-top piracy are described. In some embodiments, a piracy detection method is performed at a server by a piracy detector. The piracy detector obtains records associated with requests for access from a plurality of client devices. The piracy detector further distributes the records to a plurality of nodes according to distribution keys extracted from the records, where each of the plurality of nodes receives a respective set of records associated with a respective distribution key and generates a set of respective watch session records based on the respective set of records. The piracy detector also generates watch session records associated with the distribution keys by aggregating the respective watch session records from the plurality of nodes. The piracy detector additionally identifies one or more pirated client devices among the plurality of client devices based on clusters established from the watch session records.

Content delivery networks (CDNs) facilitate fast and reliable content delivery. CDN streaming servers typically cache content on multiple servers that are geographically dispersed. When a user submits a request for a media content item, the CDN streaming server nearest the user's location provides the item, thus accelerating the content delivery and improving the viewing experience. The request from the user often includes a token, which is granted upon authenticating the user and upon which the CDN makes authorization decisions. While serving millions of requests per second, the CDNs record activities in CDN logs, e.g., recording requests, responses, and/or token information. Thus, the CDN logs contain a wealth of information about security. However, due to the enormous amount of data, many previously existing anti-piracy solutions consider using raw CDN logs for piracy detection cost prohibitive. As such, without an efficient way to store and process CDN log data, it is impractical for previously existing piracy detection solutions to utilize CDN logs for over-the-top piracy detection.
In accordance with common practice the various features illustrated in the drawings may not be drawn to scale. Accordingly, the dimensions of the various features may be arbitrarily expanded or reduced for clarity. In addition, some of the drawings may not depict all of the components of a given system, method, or device. Finally, like reference numerals may be used to denote like features throughout the specification and figures.

Methods, systems, and devices for detecting over-the-top piracy


A shaker device has a flow gate operated by gravity or by inertial force applied to the flow gate. The bottom of the gate has a plurality of spikes that fit within a plurality of openings in a cap. The flow gate may be a separate device to attach to a container or be attachable to a conventional shaker cap through which fluent material would fall. The flow gate slides upon one or more posts to prevent rotation thereon and misalignment. In a non-pouring position, the spikes prevent debris from entering in the shaker.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to utensils, and, in general, relates to kitchen utensils, and, in particular, relates to kitchen/dinning utensils that pour fluid or fluent materials therefrom.
Description of the Prior Art
Kitchen or dinning utensils are used for cooking food and/or in the preparation of food for eating such as the application of condiments thereon, for example.
For example, a conventional parmesan cheese shaker has a main body usually made of glass or plastic with a screw-on cap thereon with a plurality of holes therein sufficiently large to allow for the pouring or shaking of parmesan cheese chips therefrom. The holes are continually open and thus moisture, dirt, germs, and other matter can enter. The chips may become sticky and may clump on or about the openings to prevent proper pouring of the chips onto food.
Numerous examples of shakers, even stylized ones, are made by manufacturers such as Norpro, OneSource, Metalcraft, Royal Industries, Tablecraft, Tupperware, ShakeNPour, UsimplySeason, etc. The problem with open holes is addressed by one shaker having a cap with a rotatable cover with holes or slots that would align with holes or slots in the non-rotating section under the cap. When not in use, the cover is turned to prevent the open holes in the cap from being exposed. Other commercial shakers are available that are throw away and sold with condiments therein. One or more flip lids exposing multiple holes or one large opening are available. Various improvements or features are disclosed by issued patents or patent applications that address some of these problems:
US Patent Application 2006/0201974 discloses a shaker having a spring-biased flip top with prongs on an outer container for keeping the pour holes open in an inner container, the containers being separable. US Patent Application 2003/0090036 discloses a cap having self-closing flaps, two, to cover one section with holes and another section having a large opening. U.S. Pat. No. 8,851,338 discloses a controlled dispenser having a rotating ball 22 with a cavity 24 therein. A desired amount of material is placed in the cavity when turned upside down and then the ball rotated to retain that amount. The ball is further rotated to cause the cavity 24 to be exposed so that the material falls therefrom. U.S. Pat. No. 8,701,941 discloses a container having a clump decimator 155 located in a rotatable cap section 114. U.S. Pat. No. 8,251,256 discloses a container having a device for controlling the quantity of a granular material that exits from a bottom section. U.S. Pat. No. 6,116,469 discloses a wiper unit 3 with a sprinkler top 58. U.S. Pat. No. 5,499,736 discloses a cap member for a shaker. U.S. Pat. No. 4,545,508 discloses a flip-up lid having plugs 32 for insertion into openings for unblocking of material such as parmesan cheese. U.S. Pat. No. 4,488,667 discloses a removable cap 16 with cleaning plugs 60. FIG. 7. U.S. Pat. No. 4,026,336 discloses a spring controlled transfer means for moving condiments from a bulk storage container to a dispenser.
Accordingly, there is a need for device for easily insuring that openings in a utensil remain open as well as preventing entrance of foreign matter.


An apparatus for placing a fuel cell stack in a standby mode is provided. The apparatus comprises a compressor, a fuel cell stack, a cathode valve and a controller. The compressor is operably coupled to an air induction system for providing a cathode stream. The fuel cell stack provides electrical power to a load in response to the cathode stream. The cathode valve is operably coupled to an outlet of the fuel cell stack for controlling a flow of the cathode stream to the fuel cell stack. The controller is configured to receive a power request amount for the load and to compare the power request amount to a predetermined amount. The controller is further configured to control the compressor to operate at a minimum speed and the cathode valve to close in response to determining that the power request amount is similar to the predetermined amount.

A system and method for placing a fuel cell vehicle system into a stand-by-mode is disclosed in U.S. Publication No. 2011/0087389 ("the '389 publication) to Burleigh et al. The '389 publication discloses a system and method for putting a fuel cell vehicle system into a stand-by mode where there is little or no power being consumed. The quantity of fuel being used is minimal and the fuel cell system is able to quickly recover from the mode. The method includes determining whether predetermined stand-by mode vehicle level entrance criteria have been satisfied at a vehicle control level and predetermined stand-by mode fuel cell level entrance criteria have been satisfied for a fuel cell system control level. The method further includes putting the vehicle in the stand-by mode if both the vehicle level entrance criteria and the fuel cell level entrance criteria have been satisfied. The method exits the stand-by mode if predetermined vehicle level exit criteria have been satisfied or predetermined fuel cell level exit criteria have been satisfied.

Apparatus and method for fuel cell standby


A method for operating an engine comprises introducing a first fuel, a second fuel and an oxidant into a first engine cylinder and a second engine cylinder; monitoring a plurality of engine parameters; and adjusting a quantity of one of the first fuel, the second fuel, and the oxidant introduced to the first engine cylinder to be different from a quantity of one of the first fuel, the second fuel, and the oxidant introduced to the second engine cylinder based at least one of the plurality of monitored engine parameters.

This invention relates generally to methods for operating an engine. More particularly, this invention relates to methods for introduction of a plurality of fuels into an internal combustion engine for operating such an engine.
Internal combustion engines have been widely used in many fields, such as vehicles due to high power-to-weight ratios together with high fuel energy density. In recent years, with increasing attention of reducing pollution of harmful engine emissions to environment, internal combustion engines, such as compression ignition engines (also known as "diesel" engines) can be modified to burn a plurality of fuels, such as both natural gas and diesel fuels, which is referred to as dual fuel operation.
During the dual fuel operation, the natural gas is premixed with an intake air, and then the mixture is introduced into engine cylinders during intake strokes thereof. Subsequently, compression strokes of the engine cylinders start and proceed to increase pressure and temperature of the mixture. At the end of the compression strokes, a small quantity of the diesel fuel is injected into the engine cylinders to ignite the mixture of the intake air and the natural gas by the auto-ignition of the diesel fuel so as to trigger combustion in the engine cylinders.
As a result, the substitution of the natural gas to the diesel fuel reduces the emissions of the pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides (NOx), and particulate matter (PM). However, when the operation of such engines is switched from a steady state to an increased load state, such as a transient acceleration state, the quantity of the natural gas is increased significantly to provide desirable power, which results in reduction of the air fuel ratio (AFR) and may cause the auto-ignition of the premixed natural gas accordingly. The auto-ignition of the premixed natural gas may cause detonation or knocking in the engine cylinders, thereby damaging the engine.
There have been attempts to avoid the detonation or knocking in the engine cylinders. For example, to enable the dual fuel operation, the compression ratio of the engine cylinders may be reduced. This may result in reduction of the cycle efficiency of the engines and increased challenges during cold start. Alternatively, during the dual fuel operation, the substitution of the natural gas to the diesel fuel may be reduced, which increases the harmful engine emissions and the fuel cost due to the increased quantity of the diesel fuel.
Therefore, there is a need for new and improved methods for operating an internal combustion engine in an increased load state thereof while having a high ratio of a gaseous fuel, such as natural gas to a liquid fuel, such as diesel.


An apparatus for heating a window of a vehicle comprises an electrical storage unit configured to store an electrical charge and a plurality of heating circuits disposed on a window of the vehicle. The apparatus further comprises a controller configured to monitor the electrical charge of the electrical storage unit and selectively activate one or more of the heating circuits based on the electrical charge.

Modern automotive vehicles include a number of convenience features that may promote ease of use and efficiency in operation. Traditionally, automotive vehicles have relied on internal combustion engines to drive the vehicle and supply energy to various vehicle systems and accessories. However, vehicles are increasingly relying on electrical storage cells to power the drivetrain and other systems. The disclosure relates to a defrosting or heating system for a backlight of a vehicle that may provide for various benefits, particularly for electric or hybrid vehicles that rely on power from batteries or electrical storage cells to sustain operation.

Backlight window defrosting system based on field of view


The description relates to visual post builders. One example can receive a user search topic relating to a collage. This example can concurrently present a collage template and search results for the search topic. The collage template can be manifest as a grid of equal sized rectangles. The example can automatically populate a user selection from the search results into one or more rectangles of the collage template. The example can also automatically populate additional user selections into remaining rectangles of the collage template until all of the rectangles of the collage template are populated or the user indicates that the collage is complete.

In some scenarios a user has an idea or a concept they would like to express with visual imagery. With current tools, users are forced into additional roles to accomplish the goal. For instance, the user has to assume the role of librarian of source media. The user then has to assume the role of designer to maintain the visual configuration and layout of these source media on a page. For example, a user can create a slide in PowerPoint® that brings together images on a topic, but the user is forced to collect these images into his/her file system, and use complex tools to crop, size, etc. The user also has to arrange the images based on the images' individual attributes, and find how to fit in other media (such as text or web links or videos) into a blank canvas with a limited variety of templates. The learning curves for these tools are large, and the tools don't allow for the in-line sourcing of content from the internet. It's expected that the creation of a slide deck is a labor-intensive process that will take a minimum of many minutes. These content creation tools are also based on static sets of imagery and videos, rather than content derived from the immediacy of the moment and social interactions.


A base plate for foundation which is a board having a prescribed external size and possesses a bolt pore having an approximately cross shape at approximately the middle portion thereof and in which the top surface of the board except for the portion of the bolt pore has a prescribed area and a foundation of structure having the base plates for foundation arranged so that the area of projection chart thereof is minimized are provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a base plate for foundation used as a member for a method for ventilating a place under the floor in a structure, especially in a housing and relates to a foundation utilizing the same.
2. Prior Art
With regard to the effect of ventilating a place under the floor of a wooden house constructed by a mat foundation manner, it has been proven that the foundation packing method is highly effective for preventing the timber from being decayed in comparison with a manner of the ventilation through a ventilation hole and, thus, the technologies for a base plates for foundation in the foundation packing method have been developed. The term "foundation packing method" used herein means a method for inserting a base plate for foundation between a mat foundation and a wooden sill.
The foundation packing method is a method in which a base plate for foundation is provided between a mat foundation made of concrete and a wooden sill placed on the mat foundation. In this method, the ventilation of a place under the floor is carried out through dehumidification grooves placed on the base plate for foundation and through gaps formed by the right and left sides of the base plates, a mat foundation residing at a lower portion, and a wooden sill residing at an upper portion. In comparison with the ventilation through the ventilation holes, generally produced by hallowing out a foundation, the foundation packing method has the merits that there is no lacking in the section at the rise of the foundation, there is no need of a desiccant sheet because the sill is not in contact with the foundation, narrow portions, such as corners, can be ventilated, ventilation means can be placed at portions near the front door and terrace where the provision of the ventilation hole is not preferable in terms of the design, and the like. The base plate for foundation used for such a foundation packing method requires considerable compression strength, considerable weatherability, considerable dehumidification property, and the like.
Japanese examined patent application 55-40734 discloses a base plate for foundation composed of a plastic composite. The base plate for foundation disclosed therein is a board having a rectangle shape as a whole, and possesses grooves on the top and bottom surfaces for the purpose of the stabilization and of the ventilation and drainage, etc. Optionally the base plate for foundation may possess mortises and dovetail grooves for jointing two or more base plates for foundation at the forward and backward portions, and mortises and dovetail grooves for rectangularly jointing them at the side portions. Moreover, it also possesses a long pore for penetrating a bolt for fixing the wooden sill set on the mat foundation.
However, the base plate for foundation described above has the problems as follows:
(1) The base plate for foundation is desirable to be placed under a pillar C in the case of the conventional frame work as shown in FIG. 5, or placed under a vertical frame T in the case of the wood frame construction as shown in FIG. 6. However, when the base plates for foundation having a rectangle shape as a whole as in the case of the conventional plates are used so that each of the long sides of the base plate for foundation is arranged to be in consistence with the axis of the mat foundation and the wooden sill, the gaps formed by the base plates for foundation residing at the right and left positions, the mat foundation D and the wooden sill K, i.e., the area of the projecting chart of the open hole for ventilating a place under the floor, is decreased. Especially, in the case of frame work method, which must use a large number of the base plates for foundation, the problem associated with decrease in a ventilation effect becomes significant. For this reason, the effect of the ventilation of a place under the floor is decreased. This is overcome by decreasing the area of projection chart of the base plate for foundation, but when it is excessively decreased, the capability to support a load is unduly decreased.
(2) Since the conventional base plate for foundation possesses a long pore for penetrating an anchor bolt for fixing the wooden sill D on the mat foundation K, even if the anchor bolt is somewhat deviated from the correct position, the application can be done without any problem. However, the long pore disclosed therein, which is linear, is not applicable except for the deviation of the position only in one direction.
(3) The conventional base plate for foundation has grooves for ventilation and dehumidification on both of the top and bottom surfaces thereof, and the direction of each groove is in consistence with the lengthwise direction of the base plate for foundation. The air for ventilation and dehumidification, therefore, only flows in one direction, and thus, it cannot be said that the base plate for foundation is of effective ventilation performance. Furthermore, since the grooves are provided on both of the top and bottom surfaces, the area in contact with the mat foundation and the wooden sill is small, resulting in the problem associated with the capability to support a load and slip resistance. This is significant when the total size of the base plate for foundation is decreased.
(4) Since the conventional base plate for foundation possesses grooves for ventilation and dehumidification on both of the top and bottom surfaces thereof and is composed of a plastic composite, the surface thereof easily slips. In the case of using this plate, the foundation of the housing becomes unstable.
(5) In the course of the production of the conventional base plate for foundation, the mold release is carried out with clamping the ends of the base plate for foundation after the injection molding, the base plate for foundation itself is easily deformed, causing the problem to have an adverse influence upon the quality thereof in some extents.

Base plate for foundation and foundation of structure


The synthesis, and use as catalysts of chiral organolanthanide complexes for polymerization of substituted acrylates are disclosed, having the structure [(C.sub.5 R'.sub.4-x R*.sub.x) A (C.sub.5 R".sub.4-y R'''.sub.y) M Q.sub.p ].sup.m, where x and y represent the number of unsubstituted locations on the cyclopentadienyl ring; R', R", R''', and R* represent substituted and unsubstituted alkyl groups having 1-30 carbon atoms and R* is a chiral ligand; A is a fragment containing a Group 13, 14, 15, or 16 element of the Periodic Table; M is a Group 3, 4, 5, or lanthanide metal of the Periodic Table; and Q is a hydrocarbyl radical, aryl, hydrogen, amide radical, or halogen radical, with 3.gtoreq.p.gtoreq.o; and m=o or +1.

The polymerization and copolymerization of methylmethacrylate with a chiral organolanthanide catalysts, such as Cp'.sub.2 LnR (Cp'=C.sub.5 Me.sub.5, R=CH.sub.3 or H and Ln=Sm, Y, Lu) yields a substantially syndiotactic polymethyl methacrylate. (H. Yasuda, et al, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1992, 114, 4908-4910.) However, catalyst improvements would be of great practical importance if better control over stereoregularities from syndiotacticities to isotacticities could be obtained, the use of undesired excess of co-catalysts were eliminated, and molecular weight and molecular weight distribution could be controlled, and the isospecific polymer nature could be easily prepared and controlled.
As such, there is a need to control stereochemistry in a great many chemicals and polymers and chiral metal catalysts offer an efficient means to do this. The design of a chiral metal catalyst necessarily relies on the design of appropriate ligands which create an asymmetric environment about the metal center. Certain classes of organolanthanide catalysts which are highly active for a variety of reactive purposes are known and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,668,773 and 4,801,666. Organolanthanide hydrides, (Cp'.sub.2 LnH).sub.2 and (Me.sub.2 SiCp".sub.2 LnH).sub.2, (Cp'=.eta..sub.5 -(CH.sub.3).sub.5 C.sub.5, Cp"=.eta..sub.5 -(CH.sub.3).sub.4 C.sub.5 are known to effectively and selectively catalyze a number of olefin transformations including hydrogenation, oligomerization/polymerization, and hydroamination. Heretofore it has not been known whether an appropriate coordination environment could be devised to effect lanthanide-centered asymmetric catalytic transformation and to obtain favorable characteristics, such as extremely rapid kinetics, large turnover capacity, and reactivity tunable with the specific chiral ligand used. The synthesis of stereoregular polymers has been reported with the use of chiral organs-group IV (Ti, Zr, Hf) catalysts having approximate C.sub.2 symmetry. Such catalysts resulted in isospecific polymerization of .alpha.-olefins. Most of the ligands for these "C.sub.2 " catalysts are based upon indenyl or related cyclopentadienyl components, and are difficult and expensive to synthesize. In only a few cases are the isotacticities of the polymeric products at a useful level.

Method for catalytic polymerization of substituted acrylates


In a bulk bin having side walls joined to one another at adjacent edges along vertical scores, and bottom flaps joined to bottom edges of the side walls along a flap score, with adjacent flaps separated from one another by a flap slot, a shaped cut is made at the terminal end of the flap slot to redirect stress away from the bottom end of the vertical score and resist initiation of tearing of the vertical score at that point. In one embodiment, the shaped cut is a downwardly open hook shape which terminates in an end pointing laterally away from the vertical score and into the flap. In another embodiment, the shaped cut resembles a modified Greek letter psi (ψ), with the ends pointing laterally away from the vertical score, and in still another embodiment, the shaped cut is “T” shaped, with the ends of the “T” pointing laterally away from the vertical score.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to bulk bins, and more particularly to bulk bins made of corrugated paperboard with means to resist initiation of tearing of the vertical scores in the bin.
2. Prior Art
Many products are stored and shipped in bulk containers, which are commonly constructed of corrugated paperboard. These containers or bins may be used to hold up to 2400 pounds of product, and are often used to ship and store flowable products. For instance, the poultry industry uses corrugated paperboard bulk bins to ship and store flowable de-boned meat product. Flowable products, in particular, exert an enormous force on the side walls of the bin, tending to cause them to bulge outwardly, especially toward the bottom of the bin.
Bulk containers or bins made of corrugated paperboard have side walls joined along vertical score lines, and bottom flaps are usually joined to the bottom edges of the side walls, with the flaps separated from one another by flap cuts or slots. In conventional constructions the flap slots terminate at or closely adjacent the lower end of the vertical scores, and the stresses exerted on the bin when it is filled with flowable product tend to concentrate in the area where slots terminate adjacent the bottom end of the scores. This stress concentration further tends to focus along an axis leading from the flap slot into the lower end of the vertical score, with the result that splitting of the vertical score is initiated, sometimes resulting in tearing along the entire length of the vertical score and failure of the bin.
Accordingly, there is need for a bulk bin having means to prevent initiation of splitting of the vertical score in a bulk bin, caused by concentration and focusing of stresses into a lower end of the vertical score from the flap slot.

Octagonal bulk bin with means to resist initiation of failure of the vertical score in the bin