This invention pertains to epoxy resins having increased chemical resistance to solvents, and good cured mechanical properties which are prepared by curing the epoxy resins with a curing agent comprising a mixture of methylene bridged poly(cyclohexyl-aromatic)amines. The methylene bridged poly(cyclohexyl-aromatic)amine curing agents are the residue obtained from the distillation of a mixture of poly(cyclohexylaromatic)amines formed by the hydrogenation of crude methylenedianiline or crude di(4-amino-3-methylcyclohexyl)methane.

Aliphatic and aromatic polyamines have been used in the past for curing epoxy resins. It is well known that the aliphatic amines have accelerated reaction with epoxy resins and react at a faster rate than do aromatic polyamines. Aliphatic polyamines can effect cure at room temperature while aromatic polyamines generally require more rigorous cure conditions or additives which act as accelerators.
Epoxy resins by their very nature are generally chemically resistant and have utility as coatings, encapsulating agents and composite matrices. Even so, the properties of epoxy resins also are affected by the type of curing agent used for curing the polyepoxide. Cycloaliphatic curatives permit rapid, subambient or low temperature cure cycles but also leave residual NH functionality in the cured epoxy resin which may react with ambient carbon dioxide to form surface carbamates. These carbamates lead to water spotting and poor interfacial adhesion and, as a result, the resins may be unsuited for subsequent coating and architectural applications. In addition, either incompatibility or rapid cures effected by cycloaliphatic polyamines often result in incomplete incorporation of the curative in the final epoxy matrix. Amine exudation and degradation of surface and interfacial properties of the epoxy resin may result because of such lack of incorporation. Aromatic amines, on the other hand, because they are less basic and nucleophilic than their cycloaliphatic counterparts, do not react with carbon dioxide to form surface carbamates and thus do not suffer from the inadequacies imparted by cycloaliphatic amines. In addition, chemical resistance of epoxy resins cured with aromatic amines is superior to that of cycloaliphatic cured systems. However, there are problems associated with the use of common aromatic polyamines. One problem associated with such common aromatic diamines relates to their hygienic considerations in the workplace. Many single ring and double ring diamines are toxic or carcinogenic.
Representative patents which describe epoxy resins and the utilization of aromatic and cycloaliphatic amines as curatives, therefore are as follows:
U.S. Pat. No. 2,817,644 discloses a process for curing and resinifying polyepoxides by reacting the polyepoxides with hydrogenated aromatic primary or secondary amines. Examples of aromatic amines which could be hydrogenated to form the cycloaliphatic counterparts include p,p'-methylenedianiline, 2,4-diaminotoluene, and the like. The hydrogenated aromatic amines provide epoxy resin products having excellent hardness and excellent resistance to solvents and water.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,981,711 discloses the use of amines as hardening agents for epoxy resins formed by the reaction of a polyglycidylether of a polyhydric phenol with epichlorohydrin. Both aromatic and cycloaliphatic amines are represented and these include para.para'-diaminodiphenylmethane, para.para'-diaminodiphenylpropane, and cycloaliphatic amines include diaminodicyclohexylmethane (often referred to as PACM), diaminodicyclohexylpropane and diaminotricyclohexylmethane.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,999,826 discloses epoxy resins cured with a polyamide adduct incorporating both aliphatic and aromatic amines. The polyamide adduct when used to cure the epoxy resins provides an epoxy product which has a balance of properties associated with cycloaliphatic and aromatic curatives. More specifically, these epoxy resins exhibit great toughness, excellent resistance to impact and excellent machinability. Volatility of the adduct is much lower than the corresponding amines and hygienic safety is improved. The patentees do point out in the background portion of the invention that when mixtures of aliphatic and aromatic polyamines were simply blended together and reacted with epoxy resins, the resulting product was quite brittle and had poor machining characteristics. In addition the simple blending of the aliphatic and aromatic amines did not overcome the volatility and toxicity of the blend.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,226,737 and 4,321,353 disclose epoxy curatives which are methylene bridged polycycloaliphatic polyamines represented by the structural formulas: ##STR1## wherein x and y are from 0-2 and the sum of x plus y is from 1 to 4. Typically the curative consists essentially of from 50 to 75% of the methylene bridged tricyclohexyltriamine and from 15 to 30% of the tetracyclohexyltetramine. The patentees report that the curing agents overcome substantial problems encountered with prior art amine curatives in that they have lower volatility and reduced toxicological properties. In addition the patentees report higher glass transition temperatures, and thus improved thermal properties, can be achieved vis-a-vis 1,2-cyclohexanediamine.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,321,438 discloses aliphatic and cycloaliphatic amines, including piperazines as curing agents for fluidized bed epoxy coating compositions. Examples of aliphatic amines include diethylenetriamine and triethylenetetramine; cycloaliphatic diamines include di(4-aminocyclohexyl)methane, di(3-methyl-4-aminocyclohexyl)methane and the N-substituted derivatives.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,629,181 discloses various cycloaliphatic and cycloaliphatic-aliphatic di-primary amines for use in preparing adducts as curing agents for polyepoxide resin systems. Representative amines include 1,4-diamino-3,6-diethylcyclohexane; 2,2-di(4-aminocyclohexyl)propane which is commonly referred to as hydrogenated bisaniline A and 3-aminomethyl-3,5,5-trimethyl-l-cyclohexylamine, which is commonly referred to as isophoronediamine.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,447,586 discloses a process for producing polyepoxide resins by incorporating therein a metal fluoborate and a hindered aromatic amine curing agent. Examples of the hindered aromatic amines include diethyltoluenediamine, methylenebis(2,6-diisopropylaniline), methylenebis(2,6-diethylaniline) and methylenebis(2-methyl-6-ethylaniline).
U.S. Pat. No. 4,946,925 discloses various bridged bis(cyclohexylamine) derivatives as curing agents. Each cyclohexylamine group has two alkyl groups where the alkyl groups are in the 2 and the 5 positions and the amine groups are in the 4 position. Specific curing agents include 2,2',5,5'-tetramethylmethylenedicyclohexylamine and 2,2',5,5'-tetraethylmethylenedicyclohexylamine. The tetraalkyl substitution pattern in the bridged cyclohexylamine derivative provides for extended pot life by retarding activity of the amine as a curative and the tetraalkyl substitution also enhances thermal properties of the epoxy resin.
British Patent 1,536,808 discloses a process for the hydrogenation of methylene bridged aromatic amines, such as, methylenedianiline. The patentees suggest that it is well known that the mixed isomeric methylene bridged polycyclohexylpolyamines are useful as curing agents for vicinal epoxides.

Epoxy resins cured with mixed methylene bridged poly(cyclohexyl-aromatic)amine curing agents


A multistage thermal desalination system, together with its associated method of use, allows de-scaling of subsystems exposed to saturated saltwater by alternating the saturation stage of the process between two neighboring physical desalination stages. The desalination system is provided with at least one transfer conduit, at least one pump, and valving to permit saltwaters being desalinated by higher and lower stage desalination subsystems to be swapped. By replacing the saturated saltwater in a higher salt concentration desalination subsystem with lower salt concentration saltwater, the scaling in higher salt concentration desalination subsystem is reduced while the saturation load is placed on another of the desalination subsystems.

Treatment of waste saltwater to reduce volume is becoming increasingly important, particularly for mining, oil and gas, and inland desalination systems. Mines can produce tailings water, which is typically ponded. Oil and gas operations can produce saltwater within the hydrocarbon reserve or during processing. Desalination is increasingly being used in both industries as regulations require treatment of impaired water. Desalination is also used in coastal regions to produce freshwater from seawater, with the more saline brine reject returned to the ocean. Inland brackish water can be desalted; however, there is often no convenient way to dispose of the brine reject.
Common brine reject management options include discharge to a sewer or the environment, ponding, deep well injection, or treatment to produce solid salt in concentrators and crystallizers. The first two methods are becoming more challenging to use due to tightening environmental regulations and associated costs. This is moving the emphasis to so-called Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) processes. In such processes, concentrators and crystallizers are used to distil water and produce solids, which can then be landfilled or put to secondary use. Due to the need to operate at high concentrations that exceed the osmotic pressure limits of reverse osmosis systems, such ZLD processes involve an evaporation-condensation cycle. In such evaporation-condensation cycles, the water in the saline saltwater waste is evaporated to a nearly pure vapor and condensed to recover nearly pure liquid water. Despite their popularity, ZLD processes are expensive, costing roughly five times as much as employing traditional deep wells. ZLD processes also experience considerable reliability challenges due to the inherent saturation point operation.
The capital costs of ZLD processes are high due to the extensive use of alloyed steels and titanium required at the operating temperatures and pressures. Energy costs are high due to the use of large volume compressors, which on average consume 20 to 60 kWh of electrical-mechanical power per cubic meter treated.
Considerable effort has been focused on multiple effect thermal desalination processes. These comprise a cascade of evaporation-condensation processes, each subsequent process in the cascade operating at a temperature below that of the previous process in the cascade. A given evaporation-condensation process in the cascade obtains its required latent heat of evaporation from the heat of condensation resulting from a preceding higher temperature evaporation-condensation process.
Humidification dehumidification (HDH) is one form of multiple effect thermal desalination, described in Canadian Patent Application 2,816,746, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein. In brief, an air stream is humidified by warm saltwater, which drips through a humidification zone to promote heat and mass transfer from the warm saltwater to the air stream, with said air stream having a wet bulb temperature lower than the warm saltwater temperature. The humidified air stream is then cooled by a radiator surface that is colder than the wet bulb temperature of the humidified air. As air is cooled, the air's ability to hold vapor decreases and moisture condenses on the cooler tubes while transferring its heat of condensation to the cooler saltwater inside the radiator tubes, which is then directed to the humidifier of the subsequently lower temperature effect.
Operation of the system described in Canadian Patent Application 2,816,746 may be at or above saturation. However, saturated operation increases the propensity of solids and scale to build up on internal surfaces, reducing heat transfer effectiveness and clogging flow paths resulting in performance degradation and reliability challenges. In fact, the most common reoccurring maintenance required in any humidification driven saltwater concentrating system is de-scaling the system components. Therefore, there is also a need to devise a system that efficiently and periodically removes scaling in multiple effect desalination processes.
Canadian Patent Application 2,821,453, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein, describes one such method to periodically clean internal surfaces through a series of freshwater or chemically enhanced wash cycles based on predetermined operating criteria. Additional methods, systems, and techniques for de-scaling desalination systems continue to be developed.

Multiple effect concentration swap de-scaling system


A casing includes end plates and first through fourth side plates. The first and third side plates are short, and the second and fourth side plates are long. At least cross sectional areas or shapes of the first through fourth side plates are determined such that the sides of the end plates have substantially the same deflection in the stacking direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fuel cell stack including a box-shaped casing and a stack body in the casing. The stack body is formed by stacking a plurality of unit cells. Each of the unit cells includes an electrolyte electrode assembly and a pair of separators sandwiching the electrolyte electrode assembly. The electrolyte electrode assembly includes a pair of electrodes, and an electrolyte interposed between the electrodes.
2. Description of the Related Art
For example, a solid polymer fuel cell employs a membrane electrode assembly which includes an anode and a cathode, and an electrolyte membrane (electrolyte) interposed between the anode and the cathode. The electrolyte membrane is a polymer ion exchange membrane. Each of the anode and the cathode is made of electrode catalyst layer of noble metal formed on a base material chiefly containing carbon. The membrane electrode assembly and separators sandwiching the membrane electrode assembly make up a unit of a fuel cell.
In the fuel cell, a fuel gas such as a gas chiefly containing hydrogen (hereinafter also referred to as the hydrogen-containing gas) is supplied to the anode. The catalyst of the anode induces a chemical reaction of the fuel gas to split the hydrogen molecule into hydrogen ions and electrons. The hydrogen ions move toward the cathode through the electrolyte, and the electrons flow through an external circuit to the cathode, creating a DC electric current. A gas chiefly containing oxygen or air (hereinafter also referred to as the oxygen-containing gas) is supplied to the cathode. At the cathode, the hydrogen ions from the anode combine with the electrons and oxygen to produce water.
Generally, a predetermined number of, e.g., several tens to several hundreds of fuel cells are stacked together to form a fuel cell stack for achieving the desired level of electricity in power generation. Components of the fuel cell stack need to be tightened together so that the internal resistance of the fuel cell does not increase, and the sealing characteristics for preventing leakage of reactant gases can be maintained.
In this regard, a fuel cell stack as disclosed in Japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2001-135344 is known. As shown in FIG. 9, the fuel cell stack includes a stack body 2 formed by stacking a plurality of unit cells 1. End plates 3 are provided at opposite ends of the stack body 2 in the stacking direction. Further, auxiliary plates 4a, 4b are provided outside the end plates 3.
A pair of tightening bands 5 are provided along both sides of the stack body 2. Cylindrical coupling members 6 are provided such that holes of the coupling members 6 are arranged in a line respectively at ends of the tightening bands 5, and the auxiliary plates 4a, 4b. Metal pins 7 are inserted into the holes of the cylindrical members 6. Thus, the tightening bands 5, and the auxiliary plates 4a, 4b are coupled together.
According to the disclosure of Japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2001-135344, a plurality of bolts 8 are screwed into holes of the auxiliary plate 4a, and a plurality of belleville springs 9 are arranged on the auxiliary plate 4b. When the bolts 8 are screwed into the auxiliary plate 4a, the end plate 3 is pressed toward the auxiliary plate 4b, and the belleville springs 9 on the auxiliary plate 4b are compressed. Accordingly, the required tightening force is applied to the stack body 2 between the pair of end plates 3.
However, in the conventional technique disclosed in Japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2001-135344, the end plates 3 may have a rectangular shape. In this case, if a same load is applied to the short sides of the end plates 3 and the long sides of the end plates 3, the deflection in the short sides is different from the deflection in the long sides.
Therefore, if the surface pressure varies in the fuel cell stack due to the thermal expansion, the expansion of the electrolyte membrane, or the creep of the membrane electrode assembly, the uniform surface pressure is not maintained in each of the fuel cells 1. Thus, the power generation performance and sealing characteristics of the fuel cell stack are lowered.


An improved directory-based cache coherency memory system for a multiprocessor computer system. The memory system includes a dual ported system memory shared by the multiple processors within the computer system; a plurality of data cache memories, at least one data cache memory associated with each processor; and first and second memory busses, the first memory bus connecting a first subset of processors and associated data cache memories to a first port (PORT A) of the system memory, and the second memory bus connecting a second subset of processors and associated data cache memories to a second port (PORT B) of the system memory. Cache coherency is maintained through the use of memory line state information saved with each line of memory within the system memory and data cache memories. The system memory contains a system memory line state for each line of memory saved within the system memory, the system memory line state being any one of the group: SHARED PORT A, SHARED BOTH, OWNED PORT A and OWNED PORT B. Each one of these states is represented by a different two bit code saved with each line of memory in system memory. Additionally, each data cache memory contains a data cache memory line state for each line of memory saved within the data cache memory, the data cache memory line state being any one of the group: MODIFIED, EXCLUSIVE, SHARED, or INVALID.

The past several years have seen near exponential increases in the performance, speed, integration density, and capacity of computer systems. These improvements coupled with the decrease in costs for computer systems, have resulted in more expansive utilization of computer systems the development of more sophisticated and resource intensive computer applications. According to recent historical trends, application memory requirements double yearly. Although the costs for computer systems and components has steadily declined in recent years, high speed RAM memory utilized in system main memory and cache memories remains one of the highest cost components within most computer systems.
System and cache memories, used primarily for the temporary storage of data, application software and operating system software, are also being utilized within more sophisticated multiprocessor systems for the storage of parity bits, cache coherency state information, and error detection and/or correction syndrome bits. These additional memory requirements of multiprocessor systems, and the higher memory demands of advanced operating systems and applications, result in an increased demand, and cost, for high speed RAM.
More efficient methods for utilizing high speed system and cache memory, and for reducing system and cache memory requirements, are desired.

Directory-based coherency system using two bits to maintain coherency on a dual ported memory system


A method and apparatus for generating complex 3D stereo images in response to real time viewer head movement by dynamically accessing pairs of stereo images selected from among a precomputed set of images. The precomputed images correspond to a predetermined set of possible viewpoints, and are accessed based upon a prediction of viewer head movement. The arrangement of predetermined viewpoints may be along one, two, or three dimensions.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of computer graphics systems. More particularly, this invention relates to real time generation of complex high resolution stereo 3D images in a head tracked stereo display system.
2. Art Background
The human eye can be modeled as an optical system coupled to a retina, with the retina functioning as a light transducer. The human eye is immersed in physical space filled with light rays. A point source of light exists at every point in the physical space that is a boundary between transparent and opaque surfaces, or a boundary between transparent surfaces of different refractive indices. Human stereo vision is achieved by immersing the two eyes at different locations within the physical space.
A typical computer graphics system generates images by producing an image plane of light sources, or an image plane of reflectors of light. Such an image plane is approximated by a two dimensional array of point light sources known as pixels. The light produced by the image plane is the sum of the half spheres of light expanding out from each pixel on the image plane. The color and intensity of each pixel is separately controllable, but the distribution of color and intensity across the half sphere usually is not controllable. The pixels that comprise the image plane appear substantially the same when viewed from any angle.
Nevertheless, a head tracked stereo display system simulates the interaction of human eyes with the light rays of the physical space in order to enable a viewer to perceive 3D images. A head tracked stereo display system senses the location in physical space of the viewer's head and eyes, computes a pair of stereo images of a virtual object based upon the location of the head and eyes, and generates the stereo image on a stereo display device.
A head tracked stereo display system requires that only two images be computed and generated at a time, which results in substantially less computation than holographic systems. Moreover, the pair of stereo images have the same appearance as a hologram. With a head tracked stereo display system, the virtual object appears to remain stationary when the viewer's head tilts, or when the viewer's head moves to look around the side or over the top of the virtual object. For further discussion regarding head tracked stereo display systems, refer to Paley, W. B. Head-tracking Stereo Display, Techniques and Applications, Proceedings of SPIE, Febuary 1992.
In a head tracked stereo display system, the scenery and objects of the stereo images must be rendered in a sufficiently short time span to be physiologically acceptable to the human visual system. Past head tracked stereo display systems used commonly available 3D computer graphics image generation hardware and software to produce stereo images with 3D display primitives. However, the performance of such systems is limited by the speed of the 3D graphics rendering hardware. As the complexity of the stereo images increases, the graphics rendering hardware becomes too slow to generate 3D stereo images at an acceptable rate.
As will be described, the present method and apparatus generates complex 3D stereo images by dynamically accessing pairs of stero images selected from among a precomputed set of images. The precomputed images are selected based upon a prediction of viewer head location for the next frame of the stereo display.
This application is related to application Ser. No. 07/875,042, filed on Apr. 28, 1992, entitled Method and Apparatus for High Resolution Virtual Reality Systems Using Head Tracked Display.

Method and apparatus for head tracked display of precomputed stereo images


In a disc cartridge, the shutter opening/closing operation is to be performed reliably. To this end, the distal ends of a first engagement member 75 and a second engagement member 79 provided to a base 66 are pivotally movable in a direction along a lateral surface of a housing 51, in addition to being movable in a direction perpendicular to the lateral surface of the housing 51. The state of engagement of the first engagement member 75 and the second engagement member 79, provided to the base, with a first mating engagement section 110 and with a second mating engagement section 108, provided to an inner rotor 101, facing outwards from one lateral surface of the housing 51, when the base 66 performs relative movement along the lateral surface of the housing 51, may be maintained for prolonged time, while the load applied to the distal ends during engagement and disengagement may be reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a shutter opening/closing mechanism in which a shutter is opened/closed by rotating an inner rotor of a disc cartridge, and to a disc driving apparatus in which signals may be recorded and/or reproduced for a disc-shaped recording medium housed in a housing of such disc cartridge.
This application claims the priority of the Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-102345 filed on Apr. 4, 2003, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein.
2. Description of the Related Art
A disc driving apparatus for recording and/or reproducing signals for a disc-shaped recording medium, exemplified by an optical disc, such as CD (Compact Disc), DVD or MD, and a magneto-optical disc, is used extensively for recording and/or reproducing music or pictures. Additionally, this sort of the disc driving apparatus is used as a storage device for an information processing apparatus, such as a computer.
In the disc driving apparatus, a disc-shaped recording medium is first set on a tray, and then the tray is pulled from a pull-out position to a recording and/or reproducing position. In this state, a turntable is uplifted from a lower position to float the disc-shaped recording medium from the tray. The recording medium is then run in rotation, at the same time as an optical pickup is moved radially of the recording medium, in order to record and/or reproduce the signals.
Meanwhile, a disc-shaped recording medium, recorded to a high density, such as BD (Blue-ray Disk), is used as a disc cartridge, accommodated in a housing, in order to prevent contamination e.g. with dust. For this reason, the disc cartridge is designed and constructed so that an aperture for recording and/or reproduction formed in the housing is closed by a shutter during non-use time, with the shutter opening the aperture during recording and/or reproduction to enable accessing by the optical head.
Thus, in a disc driving apparatus for recording and/or reproducing signals for such disc cartridge, it is desirable that the shutter completely opens the aperture in timed relation to the loading of the disc cartridge in the recording or reproducing position. That is, the aperture must be opened in a satisfactory manner even in case the state of closure by the shutter is incomplete. On the other hand, when the disc cartridge is taken out after the end of the recording or reproducing operation, the aperture in the housing must be positively closed by the shutter.

Shutter closing mechanism and disc driving apparatus


A stacked capacitor having very thin fins and subminimum dimension supports for the fins is described. The capacitor includes a stack of conductive layers on a substrate. A plurality of subminimum dimension trenches are formed in the stack and a columnar conductive layer lines the trenches in contact with alternate layers of the stack. An insulator lines these alternate layers and the columnar conductive layer and capacifively couples these alternate layers and the columnar conductive layer to a second plate layer that is formed between the alternate layers, within the columnar layers in the trenches, and extending between stacked capacitors.

Stacked capacitors are widely used in dynamic random access memory chips (DRAM). But several problems have been identified with stacked capacitors, including a trade off between capacitance and surface topology. As the size of DRAM cells diminishes with each new generation of technology, improvement is needed in capacitor design to maintain the needed level of capacitance for each cell. Two general techniques have emerged, roughening and multiple stacked layers or fins.
Several techniques have been described for providing structures to texture or roughen the surface of polysilicon electrodes used as capacitor plates. Commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,254,503, to the present inventor, describes several of these prior art techniques and provides a method of achieving subminimum dimension trenches within a capacitor to substantially increase surface area and capacitance.
Alternatively, commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,160,987 to Pricer et al., describes a capacitor having a large number of fins. However, adding fins can significantly increase stack height and surface topology to the detriment of subsequent processing steps.
A structure which provides a large number of fins without substantially increasing stack height would be valuable and is provided in this invention.

Mechanical supports for very thin stacked capacitor plates

International Business Machines Corporation


The invention relates to a drilling apparatus and a method for introducing a drilling element into the soil. The drilling element is rotatably and slidably supported on a mast, with a torque being applied through a rotary drive located on the mast. In order to support the torque an additional turning device is fixed to the mast, which can be engaged with the driven drilling element.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a drilling apparatus for introducing a drilling element into the soil comprising a rotary drive, which is supported on a mast for introducing the drilling element arranged rotatably and slidably on the mast, and a turning device having a collet that can be turned by means of at least one operating cylinder.
The invention further relates to a method for introducing a drilling element into the soil, wherein the drilling element is set into rotation by means of a rotary drive and slid along a mast.
2. Description of Related Art
In the prior art a variety of soil drilling machines is known which are especially employed in specialist foundation engineering for foundation measures. With these drilling machines a drill hole can either be produced by means of a drilling tool, with the hole being then filled with concrete for example in order to produce a foundation pile. Furthermore, with a drilling apparatus a screw anchor or a bored pile with a screw tip can also be screwed directly into the soil. Especially in the latter case relatively high torques may be required for great pile lengths in order to screw the pile into the soil.
The drive of the drilling apparatus is to be designed according to the maximum torque to be expected, for which reason the drive constitutes a major cost factor in a drilling apparatus.
To produce cased drillings, drilling apparatuses are known which are additionally provided with a casing machine that serves to screw in the supporting casings. Such casing machines have a collet which can be turned through operating cylinders.

Drilling apparatus and method for introducing a drilling element into the soil


In general, the disclosure describes various aspects of techniques for evaluating decisions determined by autonomous devices. A device comprising a memory and a processor may be configured to perform the techniques. The memory may store first state data representative of a first observational state detected by an autonomous device, and first action data representative of one or more first actions the autonomous device performs responsive to detecting the first observational state. The processor may execute a computation engine configured to identify, based on the first action data, a first inflection point representative of changing behavior of the autonomous device. The computation engine may further be configured to determine, based on the first inflection point, first explanatory data representative of portions of the first state data on which the autonomous device relied that explain the changing behavior of the autonomous device, and output the first explanatory data.

Artificial intelligence (AI) generally refers to a way by which autonomous devices operate to identify decisions responsive to changing observed state. AI models may utilize machine learning (ML), which typically involves training a machine learning model with training data to produce a trained model able to generalize properties of data based on similar patterns with the training data. Training the model may involve learning model parameters by optimizing an objective function, thus optimizing a likelihood of observing the training data given the model. Given variabilities in the training data, the extent of training samples within the training data, and other limitations to training, and the complexity of modern machine learning models, it is often difficult to explain decisions that appear erratic or fail to meet expectations.

Explaining behavior by autonomous devices


An ironing board having an iron rest that is situated at the blunt end of the ironing board. The iron rest (3) is mounted on the ironing board (2) like a drawer and can be pushed in under the ironing board (2) after use.

Ironing boards normally in use have an ironing surface which is currently often made of expanded metal. A rest surface which is situated at the blunt end of the ironing board is provided for the iron. The iron may be placed horizontally or in an oblique position at a predefined angle here. Flexible rods fixedly attached to the iron rest are used as cable holders for the iron cord. Foldable legs which may be folded up on the bottom of the ironing board are attached underneath the ironing board. As a result, the ironing board requires little space for storage. The legs are designed such that they permit the board height to be adjusted to different heights, so that the board is adaptable to the size of the operator. Except for this possibility of height adjustment, the boards are otherwise equipped in a very inflexible manner and offer little possibility of adjustment to changed conditions.
DE 195 26 637 A1 describes an ironing board in which the iron rest has a coupling part for an extension cord which is used for conducting current from a wall outlet to the ironing board. The coupling part is designed as an outlet into which the plug of the iron cord can be inserted. The iron cord itself may pass through a cable holding device. The tensile force occurring here due to the deflection or bending of the cable holding device interferes with the ironing operation. When ironing, the cable is maximally tensioned at the narrow tip of the ironing board, where the tensile force is therefore high. In addition, when the iron is put down on the rest surface, the cable guide is easily twisted and the cable is in the way on the rest surface. The rest surface itself is formed by a sheet metal insert which receives a rotatable iron rest. The rotatable iron rest represents an improvement with respect to a rigid rest because it allows the iron to be placed oriented in different directions. However, when changing from a right-handed to a left-handed operator, the cable holding device must be changed from the left side of the iron rest to the right side.
GB 2 124 616 A describes a possibility of a different type of adjustment of the iron rest position relative to the length of the ironing board. For this purpose, the ironing board is equipped with guide strips underneath the board surface in which the iron rest may be displaced via holding rods over the ironing board in the longitudinal direction of the ironing board. In this way the iron rest may be displaced from its position at the blunt end of the ironing board over the end of the ironing board. This reduces the reach for the iron when ironing smaller pieces.
An object of the present invention is to improve the known ironing boards, in particular by reconfiguring the rest surface for the iron to thereby achieve greater safety and flexibility in handling the ironing board.
The design of the iron rest in the form of a drawer, so it may be pushed under the ironing board after use, represents an improvement with respect to the safety requirements. In addition, space is saved when storing the ironing board.
It is advantageous if it is possible to pull out the iron rest in two different pull-out positions and fix it in these positions. The first pull-out stage may be used for a normal steam iron and the second pull-out stage for a steam iron station.
To increase safety, the ironing rest is provided with an outlet for a power cord. This outlet is equipped with a switch for interrupting the current. In addition, it has a pilot lamp for indicating whether or not the switch is on. In addition, the outlet is designed at the same time as a handle for the displaceable iron rest.
For guiding the iron cord, the iron rest has a recess through which the iron cord is guided to be inserted with its plug into the outlet from below. A weight is suspended on the iron cord to tauten the cord.
The receptacle for the iron has an opening having two support flaps opposite one another, oriented obliquely to the ironing board surface and pointing downward. A further, third, support flap is preferably provided, which points upward and is an extension of one of the first two support flaps. The support flaps themselves are articulated to the side edges of the opening opposite one another via hinges, and, when not in use, may be folded into the plane of the opening. The support flaps may be fixed in the folded-in position.
Another improvement of the iron rest is achieved by the fact that it is equipped with a rotatable support for the iron. This rotatable support may be fixed at any angle.


An electronic device includes: a plurality of oscillators (10) that output modulation waves of a parametric speaker; a display unit (40) that displays a plurality of contents at the same time; a recognition unit that recognizes the locations of a plurality of users; and a control unit that controls the oscillators (10) so as to reproduce sounds corresponding to the contents. The control unit controls the oscillators (10) so as to reproduce the sound corresponding to the content selected by each user, toward the location of each of the plurality of users which is recognized by the recognition unit.

Various studies on a technique regarding an electronic device such as a portable terminal device have been conducted. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique in which a distance between an antenna mounted in a portable communication device and a head is measured using ultrasonic waves and matching conditions of a matching circuit of the communication device are changed on the basis of the distance. In addition, Patent Documents 2 to 4 disclose a technique regarding a speaker of a portable terminal device.
Patent Document 2 discloses a technique in which a distance from an object imaged by an imaging unit is measured and a sound is constantly located in a predetermined space depending on the distance. In addition, Patent Document 3 discloses a technique in which a distance between an auditor and a speaker is measured and the distance is reflected in a coefficient of a filter using a head-related transfer function (HRTF) modeled as a database. Further, Patent Document 4 discloses a technique regarding a portable terminal device including a plurality of superdirective speakers that output sound signals.


Embodiments of the present invention provide a method, system and computer program product for mapping models to relational databases for reporting tools. In an embodiment of the invention, a model mapping method for models of a model driven development (MDD) environment can include initializing a database table and selecting a data source storing a modeling framework representation of a model. A first query can be executed against an application programming interface (API) of the data source supporting a modeling framework query language to retrieve selected elements of the model. Likewise, a second query can be executed against the API of the data source to retrieve selected attributes of the selected elements of the model. Finally, rows of the database table can be populated with the retrieved selected elements of the model and corresponding columns of the database table can be populated with the retrieved selected attributes of the selected elements of the model. Consequently, a report can be generated for the model based upon the rows and columns of the database table.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of model driven development and more particularly to reporting tools for reporting information contained in models produced in model driven development.
Description of the Related Art
Modern software systems have become increasingly pervasive and open-ended, and are expected to deliver critical computing services in a dependable manner across multiple, heterogeneous, computing environments. To better manage the complexity of developing modern software systems, software development strategies can be employed which raise the level of abstraction at which software systems are conceived, implemented and evolved. Model-driven development (MDD) represents one such software development strategy in which models are the primary artifacts of software development.
Modeling complex applications has several general benefits that can include a better understanding of the business or engineering situation at hand, the construction and design of application architectures, and the creation of visualizations of code and other forms of implementation. In this regard, the essence of modeling is abstraction and any visualization of code is indeed an abstraction in that application information can be selectively exposed while details deemed unnecessary or unwanted can be suppressed. In conventional MDD, visual models can be created utilizing model constructs or model types.
In a typical model driven development (MDD) process, models are first-class artifacts, and as such, consume a substantial amount of time and effort at the outset so that the models be used to generate lower level models and ultimately source code. Consequently, tools that help gain better understanding of the information contained in models are known to be very useful. Reporting tools for MDD are an important aspect of MDD and allow for the creation of custom views of the information contained in models—views that are easier to consume especially by non-technical individuals. At present, many reporting tools have been marketed for use in creating reports of information contained in models.
Notwithstanding, the use of reporting tools does not come without complication. Specifically, a discrepancy often exists between the format of data expected by the reporting tool and the format of data chosen for a model under consideration by the reporting tool. In this regard, a common format of models is the format proposed by the Object Management Group (OMG)—essentially a hierarchy of structured data that follows a meta-model or a schema. The OMG proposed format utilizes the extensible markup language (XML) variant, XML meta-data interchange (XMI) as a format for persisting models. In concert with XMI, the Eclipse Modeling Framework (EMF) provides a popular framework with services for defining meta-models, abstract syntax for modeling languages, which can be used to create conforming models and persisting them in XMI.
Notably, some of the more popular reporting tools such as the open-source Business Intelligence Reporting Tool (BIRT)—a plug-in to the Eclipse environment—are not designed to read structured data of models in its native format. Rather, most popular reporting tools are designed to handle data structured in the format of a database, specifically tables with rows and columns. To that end, it is thus required to map the structured representation of models to a database representation. This approach has been adopted in reporting tools by providing a generic XML based data mapping extension that is able to consume models as XML data that follows a certain XML schema. Such extensions use an XML-based query language, for instance "Xpath", as a query engine operating on the data of the model.
Nevertheless, some issues remain in using such solution for reporting on models in a MDD environment. In particular, XMI semantics are not completely described by XML; for example, XMI has the notion of multiple-inheritance that does not exist in XML. This incongruity results in the loss of information in transforming the information of the model from a native format to a database format. Also, model implementations often provide an application programming interface (API) that applies to the model data. In consequence, viewing a model through an API as pure data inhibits the ability to extrapolate useful information easily from models in the mapping process.
Addressing these inherent deficiencies, a two-phase approach has been proposed in which the first phase transforms models into simple XML data that can be easily consumed by the XML mapping process and the second phase performs the XML mapping. The XML transformation, however, introduces performance penalties resulting from additional required upfront processing, and complexity designing a new report-friendly XML schema and designing a mapping from the various meta-models to the new report friendly XML schema. These problems are often amplified if attempting to do a complete schema mapping that fits any report generically, rather than a tailored mapping for every report.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Database mapping of models for reporting tools in model driven development

International Business Machines Corporation


A shape supporting and form maintaining device, known as a “HatNoodle”, for a cap. The cap includes two components, an essentially hemispherical crown component and an attached visor component. The aforementioned “HatNoodle” device is constructed from a resilient material and includes a bottom surface and an essentially convex top surface. The bottom surface may contain a plurality of insertion holes that extend into, but not completely through, the material of the device and are used when installing the device into a cap. The top surface of the device contains a plurality of compliance slots wherein each compliance slot begins at the center of the top surface of the device and proceeds outward in a radial direction. The compliance slots facilitate installing a cap onto the device. These compliance slots also allow the device to better conform to the shape of the inside surface of the crown of the cap hat it resides within.

Many items, products and articles of apparel made of cloth, leather and other natural and artificial fabrics and materials and combinations of such materials possess a characteristic shape and form that is both functional and aesthetically pleasing. During the manufacturing or fabrication of such items, products or articles of apparel, special processes, operations, components, fixtures and procedures are incorporated and used to create, preserve and maintain this characteristic shape. One such example is the inclusion or use of stiffening structures or compounds such as adding a stiffened backing material to a component or article for the purpose of stiffening a panel or section that is subject to folding, creasing or crushing pressures. Another example is the common practice of adding stiffness to a fabric by starching it. Other processes, operations, components, fixtures and procedures are included in the manufacturing or fabricating process to not only define and establish the form and shape of these items when they are sold, but to protect and maintain that shape as long as possible afterward.
From the effort and cost associated with implementing these shape supporting and form maintaining measures, it may be inferred that producing a product with an aesthetically pleasing appearance is a primary goal of the manufacturing or fabrication process. It may also be inferred that another primary goal of the manufacturing or fabrication process is to ensure that the item will retain its characteristic and aesthetically pleasing shape and form while subject to the rigors of use, transportation and storage.
The inclusion and incorporation of the processes, operations, components, fixtures and procedures to establish and preserve the shape and form of articles and items of apparel are indicative of the desire of the user to not only purchase attractive and well-formed items, but to maintain them in that same pleasing form thereafter. In view of this desire by the purchaser or user to obtain a well-formed and shaped item and to keep that item in the same pristine condition as when purchased, it can be concluded that a large portion of the value of the item resides in its shape and appearance. The cost of the special processes, components, fixtures and procedures used in the manufacture of the articles, products and items of apparel is justified by the additional value imparted to the end product. That value can be diminished or lost when the appearance of the product is damaged or changed through even careful use, transport or storage of the articles, products and items of apparel.
An example of such an item, product or article of apparel is the baseball cap. The term "baseball cap", or even just the word "cap", is intended in this application intended to also include sports and similar caps. These caps include a wide variety of different shapes and configurations and are manufactured from an equally wide variety of fabrics and materials. Such caps may include a visor or bill, or be visorless. They may be essentially hemispherical in shape, or non-hemispherical. Many more options and variations are available, including but not limited to, colors, materials, size, incorporation of decorative insignia or devices, etc.
The prototype for what can be considered the standard variety of baseball or sports cap in use today is the "Brooklyn" or "5950" baseball cap. This model traces its origin to the 19th century when it was introduced as an alternative to the berets, derby caps and the like worn by various baseball teams and players. From this introduction, the baseball cap, and again this includes sports caps and other styles of visored or visorless, brimmed or brimless, hemispherical shaped or non-hemispherical shaped caps, has developed and evolved from a non-essential baseball uniform option into the ubiquitous and utilitarian fashion accessory it is today. It can be said with some truth that the baseball, or sports, cap has essentially supplanted most, if not all, other styles and varieties of men's hats for daily wear.
In one of its common implementations, a baseball cap includes two main sections, the crown and the visor. The crown of a baseball or sports cap may have a hemispherical shape that may or may not be elongated to better fit the head of the user. Many variations of this basic form, such as caps with cylindrically shaped crowns, exist. A visor is often attached to the front of the cap at the base or brim of the crown to shield the wearer's eyes from the sun.
When a quality cap is purchased, it normally possesses a shape and form that exemplifies the aesthetically pleasing characteristics desired by the purchaser. The cap may be purchased for wearing, to be placed in a cap collection or even to be included as a component in an artistic display of sports equipment and/or memorabilia. Regardless of the intended use of the cap, the purchaser would like to maintain the cap in the same pristine condition as when it was purchased.
Maintaining the desired shape and form of a cap after purchase can be very difficult because of the demands placed on the cap when it is worn, transported or stored. Even determining how to store a cap in such a way as to preserve its form and shape can be a problem. Simple expedients for cap storage such as hanging it from a coat hook or placing it on a hat or coat rack can eventually cause the crown of the cap to stretch and deform with time. Merely storing the cap on a shelf or on some other flat surface may cause the crown to sag and lose its shape.
Wearing a cap may cause the crown to become deformed or to lose its shape. Transporting the cap in a piece of luggage, a gym bag, or another container may cause the crown to become crushed, wrinkled or deformed, marring the cap's appearance. These issues clearly indicate the need for a device whose functions go beyond preserving the shape of a cap's crown. A device is needed that can help to preserve the characteristic shape and form of the crown cap's crown when it is not being worn while at the same time facilitating the restoration of the shape of the cap's crown after the cap has been crushed or deformed.
Baseball caps become dirty and soiled through use, transport or storage and may need to be washed or laundered from time to time. Also, a cap may become wet during use. If a laundered or wet cap is not dried properly, the crown can become deformed and lose its shape. There exists a need for a device to be employed to form and shape the cap's crown during the drying process. This problem is separate from the problem of maintaining the shape of the visor of a cap, if one is present.
Some inventions have been proposed that have attempted to address the various aspects of the shape maintaining or shape enforcement problem faced by the hat owner. Schoonover (U.S. Pat. No. 5,012,531) describes a case or holder for a cap that attempts to maintain the shape or form of the hat while it is being transported. This solution is not optimal because it requires the user to fold the crown of the cap in order to use the device.
Weltge (U.S. Pat. No. 5,725,134) describes a method of using a device made of a resilient, compressible material to retain the shape of a baseball, sports or similar cap. The method and device do not require the user to fold the crown of the cap. However, the method patented and the device disclosed in the patent do not incorporate methods, procedures, structures or devices that address the problem caused by the exertion of excessive force by the device against the inner surface of the crown of the cap during the insertion process. This force can make the device difficult to insert and can distort or damage the shape of the cap. Additionally, the apparatus mentioned in Weltge is shown incorporating a plurality of ventilating holes extending through the material of the disclosed device. When the disclosed device is in use, the holes are pressed against the inner surface of the crown of the cap and may wrinkle or deform the cap. The use of these holes to compress the material of the device during its insertion into a cap is of questionable value. The compressive force exerted upon the holes by the user's fingers during insertion is directed toward the center of the device. Any force acting to compress the top surface of the device is communicated from this central area by pulling and stretching the device's material. This pulling and stretching of the material may cause the shape of the device to be permanently deformed and may even result in the central material tearing free from the rest of the device. In addition. Weltge's device contains no aspects or features that reduce the pressure the device exerts on the brim of the cap without distorting the essentially circular or oval shape of the brim, both while it is being inserted into a cap and while it is in place in the cap. This pressure can deform the brim of the cap, or it may distort or damage the cap size adjustment feature often incorporated into the brim of a cap.
Richilin (U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,992) describes a wig stand with ventilation channels. These channels begin at the base of the device, extend upwards along the device's sides and join with other channels on the top surface. The channels provide air circulation paths along the inside surface of a wig placed on the device for air that traverse the inner surface of a wig placed on the device. In order to provide entry and exit portals for the circulating air, the channels must begin and end at the base of the device. One reason such a wig stand would not be suitable for use with a sports cap is that the channels, due to their round shape and their positioning on the surface of the device, would not allow the device as a whole to properly flex during the insertion process, easing the insertion of the device into a cap. Another reason is that the channels, by their need to originate and terminate at the base of the device, would create irregularities in the surfaces of the device that contact the inside surface of the cap. This probably would create wrinkles and creases in a cap placed upon it. This possibility of causing creases and wrinkles is especially troublesome for the front area of the sports cap, where a logo or design is usually displayed. Richilin's design shows channels traversing this critical logo area.
Minton (U.S. Pat. No. 6,648,189) discloses a device similar to that shown in Weltge. Both patents require the use of a compressible material to allow insertion of the device into a cap by squeezing it to compress its size, inserting it and then releasing it to allow it to regain its former shape. There are two problems with this approach. One of the problems is that compressing the device for insertion requires significant effort and could prove difficult to properly accomplish. A second problem is that the pressure exerted against the inside surface of the crown of the cap during the insertion process may be excessive, causing fatigue and perhaps damage to the hat. Also, the feature of the device disclosed in Minton that requires the material of the device to extend below the brim of the cap when it is in place, making it visible when inserted, could preclude its use when the hat is to be displayed for viewing with the device in place. The device disclosed also does not contain aspects or features to prevent or reduce pressure on the brim of the cap or any adjustment mechanism incorporated in the brim.
The hat shaping arrangement described in Jones (U.S. Pat. No. 6,253,973) discloses an inflatable bladder that is placed inside the crown of the cap and then inflated to shape or form a cap. This patent additionally discloses a pump used to inflate the arrangement and valving used both to contain the air held within and to control the release from the bladder as needed.
Hooser (U.S. Pat. No. 4,858,247) and Myers (U.S. Pat. No. 5,148,954) disclose inventions that are cut from a flat sheet of material and then bent into a circular form and fitted into the crown of the cap. The construction and use of the disclosed inventions indicates that the devices themselves could be crushed during the storage and transport of a cap. The inventions also require considerable configuration or setup before they can be fitted into cap and may not be suitable for frequent use.
Other devices, apparatus and arrangements such as the device described in Rigler (U.S. Pat. No. 6,311,879) address the problem of protecting the shape of the cap's visor. This visor is normally attached to the brim of the cap. Devices, apparatus or methods that protect the visor do not necessarily include aspects or features that protect the shape and form of the hat crown. Other devices that do protect the crown of the cap may not necessarily allow the cap to be displayed while the device is in place.
Using a simple convex, spherically or hemispherically shaped device could provide a solution that could protect and maintain the shape and form of a cap's crown. However, such a simple shape could prove difficult to insert into the cap's crown. If a hollow spherical or hemispherical device is substituted for a solid device, this does not markedly improve the ease of insertion of the device into the crown of the cap. The difficulty in insertion is due to the fixed size of the device and the difficulty in modifying the shape of the device so that it can be inserted into the cap. If such a device is forced into a cap, the act of insertion itself could crease, wrinkle or possibly damage the cap. Also, such a device may not include any aspects or features to allow it to conform to the shape of the inner surface of the crown of the cap while in place.
Another problem of using a hemispherically shaped device is that pressure is exerted over the entire inner surface of the cap, including the brim lining the bottom of the cap. Many caps include a device in the brim to allow adjusting the size of the cap to the wearer's head. Using a device that applies force to the brim may damage or cause premature failure of the cap due to failure of this adjustment device.

Cap shape supporting and form maintaining device, aka “HatNoodle” and method of storage for cap


A non-contact power receiving apparatus includes a power reception unit for receiving electric power from a power transmitting apparatus outside of a vehicle in a non-contact manner, and a control device for controlling the electric power transmission from the power transmitting apparatus. The control device controls the electric power transmission based on a monitoring result obtained by monitoring the surroundings of the vehicle, and a door state detection result obtained by detecting whether or not a door of the vehicle is open. The control device causes, if the door state detection result indicates that the door is open, the power transmitting apparatus to reduce the power of the electric power transmission, and controls the electric power transmission without using the monitoring result.

In order to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide gas as a way to address global warming, there has been increasing development of vehicles configured such that a vehicle-mounted power storage device can be charged from outside, such as electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2010-140451 (Patent Document 1) discloses monitoring the approach of an object by a sonar with regard to a charging device for a vehicle-mounted battery in a plug-in hybrid vehicle and an electric vehicle. When an object comes within a prescribed distance, this technique generates a warning signal, issues an audio warning with a horn or a light warning with illumination, starts recording image information from a camera, and communicates with an established mobile network through a vehicle-mounted communication device.

Non-contact power receiving apparatus, non-contact power transmitting apparatus, and non-contact power transmitting/receiving system


A tandem hydraulic master cylinder having body (1) pierced with a bore having first (2a) and second (2b) inlets for receiving hydraulic fluid at low pressure. A primary piston (3) and a secondary piston (4) respectively slide in first (S1) and second (S2) length sections of the bore of body (1). A primary pressure chamber (5) is located in the bore between the primary piston (3) and the secondary piston (4) and a secondary chamber (6) is located between the secondary piston a bottom of the bore. First and second upstream and downstream sealing cups (91a,91b) and 92a,92b) respective seal the bore and the primary chamber (5) and the secondary chamber (6). The primary chamber (5) has a first re-supply duct (21) and a first outlet orifice (41) and the secondary chamber (6) has a second re-supply duct (22) and a second outlet orifice (42) for receiving and communicating hydraulic fluid. The primary (3) and secondary (4) are guided by the wall (100) of the bore while the body (1) has a first longitudinal passage (51) connecting the first downstream cup (91b) the second upstream cup (92a) and the first outlet orifice (41) with the primary chamber (5) via a first radial passage (61) situated between the first and second length sections (S1,S2).

A master cylinder of this type is known in the prior art, and depicted, for example, in patent document EP-0,387,012.
The master cylinder described in this document, essentially designed to exhibit satisfactory axial compactness, does, however, employ a cylindrical cartridge inside the body, and this necessarily leads to a not insignificant increase in the outside diameter of the master cylinder.
Moreover, insofar as the internal arrangement of this master cylinder is designed in such a way that the cartridge is some distance from the primary piston, the latter is, by construction, deprived of effective guidance which means that any oblique thrust during actuation of the master cylinder carries the risk of causing the primary piston to jam in the bore.

Compact dual master cylinder with offset primary outlet


A plasma display apparatus including: a plasma display panel; a non-conductive chassis disposed on a rear portion of the plasma display panel to support the plasma display panel; a circuit unit disposed on a rear portion of the chassis to drive the plasma display panel; and a conductive member disposed between the plasma display panel and the chassis, having at least a part that is slit and protruded toward the chassis. In addition, the circuit unit includes a grounding portion having a grounding voltage and the grounding portion is electrically connected to the protruding portion of the conductive member.

1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of the present invention relate to a plasma display apparatus, and more particularly, to a plasma display apparatus having light weight and improved grounding performance.
2. Description of the Related Art
Plasma display apparatuses including plasma display panels are flat panel display apparatuses to display images using gas discharge. The plasma display apparatuses can be used to provide a large screen with superior characteristics in terms of image quality, thickness, weight, and viewing angle.
In particular, in order to fabricate the plasma display apparatus having a light weight, a chassis that supports the plasma display panel should be thin or a material of the chassis should be a light weight material. However, if the chassis supporting the large plasma display panel becomes too thin when the size of the flat panel display increases, a structure of the plasma display apparatus becomes too weak. Therefore, a structural stability may be reduced by making the chassis too thin. In order to solve this problem, the chassis may be formed of a plastic material having light weight, besides aluminum that is generally used to form the chassis. However, if the chassis is formed of such a plastic material, the chassis is generally not conductive, and thus, a circuit unit cannot be grounded by the chassis.


A security system for a vehicle which includes an internal compartment which is designed to contain humans. A door is formed within the exterior wall of the vehicle with the door providing access into and out of the internal compartment. A plurality of cameras are mounted within the internal compartment and exteriorly of the vehicle with one camera observing directly the area of the door. The output signals of all cameras are supplied through a multiplexer which causes all the output signals of the cameras to be placed on a single frame of the video camera permitting simultaneous observance of all cameras when the recorded film is observed by a human. When the door is closed, the signals of all cameras are reproduced on the video recorder at a slow playback speed. When the door is open, only the door mounted camera is recorded by the video recorder with sound also being recorded.

1) Field of the Invention
The field of this invention relates to security systems and more particularly to a security system for a vehicle such as a bus, train, plane or ship such as a ferry.
2) Description of the Prior Art
Security systems have long been known to be usable in conjunction with vehicles. Most security systems are designed to be an alarm of some sort and are used primarily in conjunction with automobiles and trucks. However, in connection with transportation type vehicles such as vans, recreational vehicles, buses, trains, including subways, planes and ships, there has long been a need to have a security system be operable during the time that the vehicle is being operated.
A desirable form of such a security system would be to observe the passenger compartment and vehicle surrounding area by cameras. There are times when passengers will allege that an accident has occurred which has caused them injury when in fact there has not been such an accident. If a camera recorded the alleged accident and discovered there was no such accident, this can eliminate fraudulent insurance claims.
Additionally, cameras can be used to make certain the driver of the vehicle is operating the vehicle correctly. For example, in the case of a bus, a camera can be mounted exteriorly of the vehicle to make sure that the operator of the vehicle is operating the vehicle safely in relation to other vehicles on the road. Also, when the passenger door of the bus is opened, it is normally required that the operator step to the bottom of the exit stairway of the bus to help any passenger(s) on and off to minimize accidents. If the operator is observed not following this procedure, appropriate disciplinary action can be taken. Also, cameras can be used by management to verify payment of correct fares on public transportation vehicles.
Prior to the present invention, there has not been known any security system for a public transportation vehicle such as a bus, train, plane or ship which would permit the management to observe at a later time what actually occurred while that public transportation vehicle was being operated.

Vehicle surveillance camera system actuated upon passenger entry


Systems and techniques are disclosed relating to communications. The systems and techniques involve communicating over a physical channel having a plurality of modulation channels each having a channel capacity by allocating a plurality of data streams among the modulation channels as a function of the channel capacity for each of the modulation channels, and modulating the data streams to support transmission over the physical channel as a function of the data stream allocation among the modulation channels. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or the meaning of the claims.

Wireless and wire-line communications utilize electromagnetic waves propagated through free space or media to transport information. The electromagnetic waves are generally high frequency sinusoidal signals encoded with the information. The process of encoding the information onto the sinusoidal signal is called modulation.
Advanced modulation techniques have been developed over the years to increase the bandwidth efficiency of communications. Digital modulation is one such technique. Digital modulation refers to the process of representing a digital data stream by modulating a sinusoidal signal. Typically, fixed length sinusoidal signals known as symbols are used to represent multiple binary values of the digital data stream. This can be accomplished by varying the amplitude, phase and/or frequency of the sinusoidal signal to generate a symbol with M signal states capable of representing n values where M=2n.
The performance of a digital modulation system can be measured by the ability of a receiver to correctly recognize the transmitted symbols in the presence of noise and other disturbances. Noise can enter the receiver through the antenna along with the symbols, or it can be generated within the receiver itself. The ratio of the symbol (or signal) strength to the noise level is called the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). If the SNR is high few errors will occur. However, as the SNR reduces, the noise may cause the symbols to be demodulated at the receiver incorrectly, and errors will occur. The bit error rate (BER) is often used as a measure of these errors. Typically, the BER is used by those skilled in the art as a design parameter, which defines the minimum quality of service. This design parameter can then be used to determine the SNR and modulation scheme needed to meet the quality of service requirements.
With the tremendous increase in wireless applications over the past years, there has been a desire to design more bandwidth efficient systems to increase user capacity. However, with increases in bandwidth efficiency comes reduced noise immunity. This reduction in noise immunity tends to increase the BER beyond an acceptable level to meet the minimum quality of service requirements. Accordingly, there is a need for modulation techniques with better noise performance for improved user capacity without sacrificing quality of service.


A common consolidation management application provides an interface to the multiple different system management software applications and at least one user input console. An adapter in each of the system management software applications supports communication with the consolidation application. A system administrator issues requests to different system management software applications using a common interface provided by the consolidation application. The consolidation application can be installed over an existing complex of computer systems managed by different management applications, without modifying the managed systems or replacing the management applications.

In the latter half of the twentieth century, there began a phenomenon known as the information revolution. While the information revolution is a historical development broader in scope than any one event or machine, no single device has come to represent the information revolution more than the digital electronic computer. The development of computer systems has surely been a revolution. Each year, computer systems grow faster, store more data, and provide more applications to their users.
Early computer systems were very expensive and difficult to use, capable of being programmed and manipulated by only a handful of highly-educated specialists. The cost of operating such computers was correspondingly high, and they were therefore used for only the most essential tasks. The dynamic which has driven the information revolution is the sustained reduction in the cost of computing. Thus, information which was too expensive to gather, store and process a few years ago, is now economically feasible to manipulate via computer. The reduced cost of information processing drives increasing productivity in a snowballing effect, because product designs, manufacturing processes, resource scheduling, administrative chores, and many other factors, are made more efficient.
The cost of information processing not only includes the cost of computer hardware and software, but perhaps even more significantly, the cost of human resources devoted to operating and maintaining computer systems. Improvements to the usability of computer hardware and software reduce the cost of human resources associated with information processing, either by reducing the amount of time directly devoted to a particular task by a human operator (user), or by reducing the level of training required of a user in order to achieve proficiency in performing the task. Continued progress of the information revolution requires still further improvements to the usability and manageability of computer systems.
Many enterprises operate large networks of computer systems. These networks are often arranged in a hierarchy, in which individual employees, agents, contractors, volunteers or other users perform useful work on terminals or workstations, which are in turn attached to larger computer systems. The larger systems may further be interconnected in hierarchical, web, ring, or other network configurations.
Large computer system networks have assumed an ever larger role in the operations of many enterprises. Transactions with customers or clients are recorded on computers. Internal financial data is stored on computers. Documents are generated, stored and printed on computers. Manufacturing processes are controlled by computers. Products are developed on computers. The list goes on and on. Over time, these large computer system networks become so integrated with the operations of the enterprise that it becomes virtually impossible for the enterprise to function without the computer network.
Unfortunately, these systems do not just take care of themselves, and like any complex piece of machinery, require supervision and maintenance. Because these networks are both very complex and very essential, most such systems have dedicated personnel responsible for their administration and maintenance. These personnel may perform tasks such as changing network configurations, authorizing users to access network resources (or removing authorizations), backing up and restoring data, loading new or upgraded software, analyzing network performance, tuning the network by re-allocating resources, replacing malfunctioning components, and so forth.
In almost any large enterprise, one will find a conglomeration of computer systems which were acquired at different times, for different purposes, from different vendors, using different architectures, and performing different functions. This is understandable, given that enterprises are constantly expanding and changing. Enterprises are often divided into organizational units which perform different functions, and thus have different computing needs. An enterprise may re-organize its operations to make them more productive, or may expand into new lines of operation, or may simply grow in its existing lines of operation. Many of these changes require new computer system capability. It is understandable that persons responsible for obtaining new computer system capability in such circumstances will want computer systems which are most suited to the intended use of the organizational unit involved. Moreover, many enterprises include divisions or other portions which were acquired through purchase, merger or otherwise from other enterprises, and alter acquisition continue to use computer systems which were previously used by the division before its association with the acquiring enterprise.
While the existence of a variety of computer systems in a large enterprise is the result of rational decisions made at the time each of the various systems was acquired, the result of changes over time is often a heterogeneous collection of systems with little in common. Most individual users don't care very much about this complexity, because they become accustomed to using one system, and don't worry about what others are using. However, for people who are charged with supervising and maintaining the enterprise's computer systems, this complexity can be daunting.
Large system complexes are usually managed using system management software. As used herein, system management is the administration and maintenance of one or more computer systems. System management software is software executing on one or more computer systems which is used to administer and maintain the computer system(s) on which it executes, and/or other computer systems which communicate with the system(s) on which the software executes. This software may reside in a dedicated system used only for management of a complex of computer systems, of may reside in a system which concurrently performs other tasks. A system in which system management software for managing other systems resides is referred to herein as a management server, and the systems which it manages are referred to as managed systems. A single management server might manage thousands of managed systems.
For the same reasons that a variety of computer systems exists in many enterprises, a variety of system management software exists. System management software is often acquired for use with a particular subset of the computers within the enterprise, and as the collection of computers changes, the system management software changes accordingly. The variety of different system management software applications means that system administrators and other maintenance personnel must use multiple applications, and often multiple separate computer systems, to manage the computers within an enterprise. This circumstance naturally makes administration more difficult.
The conventional "solution" to this problem has been migration of the computers systems within an enterprise to a common system management framework. I.e., a common system management application or suite of applications, which is intended to manage all the computer systems within the enterprise, is chosen for the use of the administrators based on any desired characteristics. The existing computer systems (i.e., the managed systems) are then migrated to work with the new common system management application (which may be on a new management server). For those systems which do not already support the new common system management application, it is generally necessary to install some additional software.
Unfortunately, this solution is rather expensive, as it can involve modifying the software on a large number of computer systems. For some of the managed systems, particularly older systems, it may be impossible to provide all the functional capabilities desired. Finally, even when migrated, the solution is often only temporary, because mergers, re-organizations, and other changes to the underlying computer systems within an enterprise may re-introduce the problem.
A need exists for improved techniques for managing to complexity of computer systems within an enterprise, particularly techniques which are more easily adapted to rapid changes in the collection of computer systems within an enterprise.

Method and apparatus for managing multiple data processing systems using existing heterogeneous systems management software


A gate reader assembly for positioning and identifying articles carried by conveyor systems. The gate reader assembly including a main housing for attachment to said conveyor adjacent a conveyor line of the conveyor; a sprocket rotatably mounted on said housing and having a plurality of gullets formed thereon, each gullet configured for receiving one of said articles. In addition, said sprocket is configured to rotate about an axis normal to said conveyor line via a horizontal force from said articles such that said rotating sprocket is configured to receive and move said articles along said conveyor line. The gate reader assembly additionally includes a detent mechanism disposed on the housing and slidably coupled to the sprocket for releasably restraining said sprocket from rotation thereby inhibiting said article against further movement along said conveyor line. The gate reader assembly further includes a reader subassembly for mounting on said housing and for identifying said articles when restrained by said detent mechanism.

Currently, a variety of conveyor systems exist in the art which are used for inspecting, identifying, controlling movement and processing of articles such as containers located on a conveyor line. Inspection machines used with conveyors can include a means for moving the articles from the conveyor line to an inspecting station where the articles are examined for flaws or other physical characteristics as necessary. For example, a controlling apparatus such as a star wheel is used to control the path of the articles on the conveyor. The controlling apparatus engages the path defined by the conveyor line to receive the articles travelling along the conveyor line for inspection. In this way, the articles are only transferred back to the conveyor line if they pass the requirements of the inspection operation and are otherwise redirected onto a different set of conveyor which may serve to discard the article. This approach may be disadvantageous as it is time consuming to redirect the articles away from their main path of travel in order to process them.
Other known conveyor systems include labelling machines which interact with the conveyor line and a number of containers travelling thereon. The labelling machines often also include a synchronization apparatus which engages and receives the containers, and subsequently releases the containers at predefined time periods onto the conveyor in time for engagement and labelling by a label transport system. This approach also interferes with the normal flow of the containers on the conveyor line.
Other known conveyor systems for processing articles such as clinical containers employ a plurality of conveyors and a control assembly. The control assembly is located on the conveyor system and is used to examine and process the containers using identification labels. The control assembly then redirects the containers to another conveyor line for further testing and processing accordingly.
The difficulty with these conveyor systems is that they generally interrupt the travel path of articles along the conveyor line in order to provide the appropriate processing such as identification, examination and the like. The processing means employed are time consuming and hinder the continuous movement of the articles along the conveyor line by redirecting the articles away from the main conveyor onto other conveyor lines for subsequent testing and/or processing.
In addition, these types of conveyor systems are complex to manufacture and require precise synchronization between a multitude of processing and conveyor systems to prevent adjacent articles from jamming against one another and possibly causing breakage.
Accordingly, there is a need for a conveyor system and processing assembly that minimally interferes with the path of travel of articles on the conveyor system. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to obviate or mitigate at least some of the above-presented disadvantages.

Conveyor system with gate reader assembly


A method and device for updating map data of a navigation device. The method includes receiving information relating to an area update of the map data from a data server via a wireless broadcast to the navigation device; and displaying the information in graphical form on a map displayed on a display screen. The method may further include receiving a user input selecting an area on the map corresponding to the area update; wirelessly transmitting the area as an area selection to the data server; wirelessly receiving updated map information corresponding to the selected area from the data server; and loading the received updated map information into the navigation device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile vehicle navigation method and apparatus thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
A related art mobile vehicle navigation apparatus is an apparatus which generates road guidance information based on a Global Positioning System (GPS) signal and map information, and provides the road guidance information to a user.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a related art mobile vehicle navigation system.
As shown in FIG. 1, the related art mobile vehicle navigation system may include an information providing center 3 for providing traffic information; and a mobile vehicle navigation apparatus 4 mounted inside a vehicle and for receiving traffic information through a wireless communication network 2 so as to provide a road guidance service based on a GPS signal received from an artificial satellite 1 and the traffic information.

Mobile vehicle navigation method and apparatus thereof


A voltage controlled oscillator and a method of operating a voltage-controlled oscillator are disclosed. The oscillator comprises a current controlled oscillator having a variable frequency current output, a first control path for generating a first control current having a first adjustable gain, and a second control path for generating a second control current having a second adjustable gain. A summer is provided for adding the first and second control currents to obtain a summed control current, and for applying the summed control current as an input current to the current controlled oscillator. A control sub-circuit is used for controlling the gain of the first control current as a function of a defined voltage on the second control path to maintain constant the gain of the current output of the current controlled oscillator over a given operating range of the current controlled oscillator.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to voltage-controlled oscillators, and more specifically, the invention relates to architectures for maintaining constant voltage controlled oscillator gain. Even more specifically, the preferred embodiment of the invention relates to such an architecture that is very well suited for use in phase-locked loops in order to make loop dynamics uniform across the tuning range of the voltage controlled oscillator.
2. Background Art
Phase-locked loops (PLLs) are commonly used to generate high-frequency signals in a wide variety of electronic circuit applications. Many important PLL parameters (jitter, settling time) depend on the bandwidth of the PLL. Loop bandwidth in turn depends on, among other parameters, the gain of the oscillator in the PLL. In the case of a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO), the gain, which is the incremental slope of its output frequency vs. tuning voltage characteristic, has the units Hz/V. For many VCO types (e.g., LC, ring VCOs of the current starved type, ring VCOs of the delay interpolating type, or ring VCOs of a hybrid type), their output frequency vs. tuning voltage characteristic is nonlinear; giving rise to a VCO gain that varies as a function of tuning voltage. For many VCOs, the input voltage is converted to a current (by a voltage to current converter (V-I converter)), which in turn is applied to a circuit and which can be viewed as a current controlled oscillator (ICO). Non-linearity in the overall VCO tuning characteristic can stem from non-linearity in the ICO's output frequency vs. tuning current characteristic, or from non-linearity in the V-I converter's current vs. voltage characteristic. Solutions exist to create a VCO with a linear characteristic by introducing a non-linearity into the V-I converter that compensates for the inherent non-linearity of the ICO.
Single port VCOs do not always enable adequate PLL performance due to tradeoffs associated with VCO gain. High VCO gain helps enable a wide tuning range, while low VCO gain helps reduce noise sensitivity. Architectures have been proposed that split the VCO control path into two (or more) paths. In the case of a two-path control loop, one path has lower gain and high bandwidth, while the other path has high gain and lower bandwidth. This splitting reduces the VCO's noise sensitivity by allowing for substantial filtering on the high VCO gain path, however, the VCO will still have a nonlinear tuning characteristic.

Architecture for maintaining constant voltage-controlled oscillator gain


The present BIOS configuration update technique allows a system administrator the ability to remotely configure a set of computing systems from various manufacturers from a single administrator console. A BIOS configuration description is used for defining hardware settings within the computing system. The BIOS configuration description may pre-define a schema that various manufacturers use when designing the interface to the configurable elements within their computing systems. Alternatively, the BIOS configuration description may define a set of rules which the various manufacturers use when designing the interface to their configurable elements within their computing systems. Using the BIOS configuration description, one management application may then access the configurable elements on the computing systems from the various manufacturers.

Computing systems have a basic input/output system (BIOS) that controls the hardware elements within the computing systems. For example, BIOS may contain code to control a keyboard, a display screen, disk drives, and the like. Typically, the BIOS is stored in a read-only memory (ROM) chip that is part of the computing system. Because the BIOS is in ROM, it is always available for booting the computing system. In some computing systems, the BIOS may be copied and decompressed from ROM to a faster random access memory (RAM) each time the computing system is booted. This allows faster booting of the computing system and a smaller ROM storage size. The BIOS may also be stored in a flash memory chip that allows the BIOS to be updated if necessary.
In order to configure settings for the hardware elements controlled by the BIOS, a user interacts with a BIOS setup utility provided by a computer system manufacturer (i.e., original equipment manufacturer (OEM)). The BIOS setup utility may be accessed by a user who is physically interacting with the computing system running the local BIOS setup utility. In addition, some manufacturers provide a remote BIOS setup utility that allows a user to configure a computer system across a network. However, both the local utility and the remote utility are system-dependent. Therefore, a remote network utility from one manufacturer is not able to modify BIOS settings on a computing system from another manufacturer. In addition, while interacting with the BIOS setup utility, the operating system is not present. Thus, a system administrator is unable to remotely configure a set of computing systems, with an operating system present, from various manufacturers using an administrative application executing on a single remote administrator console.


A removable lock for installation in a water well having a plastic casing includes a cylindrical body that fits loosely within the plastic casing. The body includes pivotable blades having points that are directed downwardly and outwardly. After the lock has been lowered a substantial distance below the ground into the casing, the blades are forcibly pivoted so that the points of the blades penetrate into the plastic coating. After the lock is thus set, the application of a downward force to the body of the lock will cause the point of the blades to dig deeper into the plastic casing so that the blades cut a slit in the plastic casing if an attempt is made to drive the body downward within the casing. A coupling is included at the top end of the body, and the coupling is engaged to the lower end of a pipe string for moving the lock into the casing and for removing it. To prevent unauthorized removal of the plug, the coupling at the top end of the body is provided with threads of an uncommon type.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the field of water wells, and specifically relates to a device that is installed underground in the well to deny access to lower portions of the well.
2. The Prior Art
A number of plugs, seals, locks, and wireline tools have been developed in the oil industry to solve various problems unique to that industry, but on close inspection it will be seen that none of these oil industry devices works in the same manner as the present invention. The present invention requires that the well have a plastic casing. Such casings are almost universally used in water wells, but are not used in oil and gas wells.
For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,812,911, Vann shows a retrievable plug that includes locking dogs that can be extended radially outwardly from a plug to engage a circumferential slot. Similarly, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,116,274, Rankin et al. show a wireline latching apparatus that also includes three arms that are pivotally mounted to the apparatus and that can be actuated to an open position in which they engage a downwardly facing shoulder in the casing.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,058,162, Smith describes a well tool that can be locked within and sealed with respect to the bore of a well. The device has a threaded coupling at the top and a threaded member that operates locking dogs that engage the bore of the well.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,411,314, Shearhart shows the use of a socket wrench at the lower end of a string of tubing for engaging a hexagonal nut located at the top end of a casing packer for the purpose of rotating the nut.
Thus, although the relevant technology was developed in the oil industry, it will be seen below that the present invention includes distinguishing structural features which adapt it for use in water wells.