The present invention provides a method for detecting buried explosives which exude vapors of the explosive chemical to the surface. A biological sensor that is applied on the surface produces a detectable signal when it is contacted by the explosive chemical, producing an identifiable pattern for pin-pointing the explosive. The biological sensor is a genetically altered organism.

The wars of this century have involved the use of massive numbers of high explosive munitions. Shells, bombs, and landmines all function in substantially the same way. A high explosive charge fills the munition housing. This high explosive charge is characterized by its relative stability and insensitivity to shock, handling, and temperature changes. This enables the munitions to be safely handled and transported without the risk of accidental detonation. A small booster or initiator of a more sensitive explosive is typically provided to detonate the high explosive. A fuze is then provided to detonate the booster when a specific event occurs. For example, a bomb fuze may detonate the booster after a specific pre-selected time has elapsed after the bomb has been dropped. Similarly, an artillery fuze may detonate a shell on impact after firing, or at a predetermined height above ground. And the fuze in a landmine will detonate the booster when a predetermined amount of pressure is sensed.
Most munitions function as intended and explode when they are supposed to. However, some munitions malfunction and do not explode. Such munitions are not safe, and often remain buried beneath the surface of the ground, presenting a significant hazard which can render an area so dangerous that it is no longer habitable. Almost eighty years after the end of World War I, there are still areas in France which remain fenced-off due to the danger of unexploded munitions. The greater hazard, of course, occurs in the areas which are still inhabited. Farmers in France still plow up unexploded ordnance; some of them are injured or killed in the process. The same problems exist in other areas of the world where conflicts have raged, from Germany to Africa, and from Kuwait to Bosnia or Vietnam.
Conventional methods of removing buried, unexploded munitions are time consuming and often dangerous. For example, conventional methods often involve the location of the buried, unexploded munitions by an individual who inserts a probe into the soil, until a solid object is encountered. The solid object is excavated, and if found to be an unexploded munition, it can be remotely detonated using a conventional high explosive charge, such as a block of TNT or C-4, placed onto or next to the munition. This method can be risky when the buried munitions contain magnetic fuzes, when the personnel clearing the area are not careful, and when anti-personnel mines are present.
Other conventional methods include remotely detonating explosive charges above the surface of the area thought to contain mines, in an attempt to detonate them, and propelling a heavy weight or roller over the area thought to contain mines (for example, in front of an armored vehicle), to detonate the mines. The primary disadvantages for these methods are (1) it can be dangerous since some mine fuzes can be set to count occurrences, and detonate on the second or subsequent occurrence (i.e., the pressure exerted by the heavy weight is sufficient to count as an occurrence, but doesn't detonate the mine; the pressure exerted by the armored vehicle pushing the weight is also sufficient to count as an occurrence, and will detonate the mine if the fuze is set to detonate on the second occurrence); (2) this method is not very likely to detonate munitions which are buried more deeply than mines (more than 1-2 feet below the surface), or munitions which do not use pressure fuzes.
Accordingly, the need exists for a safe method of detecting buried ordnance so that steps can be taken to remove the hazard by physically removing the ordnance, or by detonating it remotely.

Method for detection of buried explosives using a biosensor


The present BBQ oven with controllable level position of charcoal chamber and inserts generally comprises a truncated spherical body including a thermometer and recesses for barbecuing food and/or insert holding rods in the upper portion of body, and the first necks (for control of the level position of the burning charcoal chamber, comprising a plate for charcoal), second neck (for an air flow control), sleeve and clamping member in the lower portion of the body.

Barbecue is a favorite food of many people all over the world. The 90% of traditional barbecue ovens generally are of square configuration (U.S. Pat. No. 6,708,601; D724,886, etc.) or rectangular configuration (U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,635,947; 8,875,622; 8,991,384, etc.) (and includes a furnace compartment, an iron grid shelf set in an upper part of the BBQ's body and a fuel or charcoal chamber receptacle placed on a bottom of the BBQ's body. Food supported on the iron grid is grilled directly on burning charcoal. During barbecuing, oil secreted from food and some condiments will drop directly onto the burning charcoal, which would generate flames and heavy smoke and make the food burnt. The gravy stuck to the iron grid will be burnt and become soot carbon, which would become carcinogens upon contacting food. In addition, the existing barbecue ovens are generally disadvantageous in that they burn the barbecuing food and consume a plenty of charcoal, because the level position of the burning charcoal chamber with respect to the barbecuing food is permanent (fixed) and is uncontrollable, except the limited quantity of levels of the grid shelves.
It is also known, that currently 75-85% of barbeques sold are powered by gas and are of infinite variety in a crowded marketplace, the primary difference between most gas powered products is a geometric configuration of them, but they are still mostly made of the metal materials that does not lead to the expected food taste. Mostly, they are of a stainless steel appliance type design with side work surfaces and hinged top covers.
Some barbecue devices offer a complex burning system. For example, the assembly by U.S. Pat. No. 7,637,258 is an open "funnel shaped" inner burner inside an open top outer casing. The casings closed base has a central hole accommodating the burners small open bottom ash exit. The space between the inner burner wall and outer casing wall forms an annular air plenum that's supplied by an electric variable speed blower. Air enters the burner combustion space through perforations in the burner/plenum wall. This ensures rapid ignition and controls combustion rate (temp). This also precipitates ash from burner ash exit, through the ash chute and into storage container fitted to outer casings base. A radial diffuser centered on the heating surface provides a variable speed lateral air sheet between heating and grill surfaces, instantly blowing "Smoke and Flare-Ups" to the outer burner perimeter.
The device includes three main components. Through the "cut out" is seen the primary air supply duct intruding into the base of the outer casing, which encloses the inner burner to form a dual wall combustion chamber resulting in the formation of the annular air plenum. Also comprising an upper component, ash chute, mid component ash container, lower component. Projecting above the combustion chamber is the horizontal air diffuser, fitted onto the top of the air duct extension into a central air duct extending from the ash chute into inner burner. The flange fixed below the top of the central air duct locates the fire grate. The inner burner walls are perforated with holes allowing air to enter burner combustion space from air plenum space between outer casing wall and the inner burner wall. Primary air supplies air plenum through duct in base of the outer casing. The ash exit at the bottom of inner burner directs combustion ash into and through the ash chute, which is attached to the base of the combustion chamber. The ash then falls into the ash container, which removable fits to the ash chute bottom flange. The device also has a top flange and screw holes on the cylindrical body and radial supports which locate the central air duct. Below the top of the duct is located the flange which supports the fire grate. The secondary air supply flows through the supply duct, which intersects and conjoins with the vertical central air duct. The ash container's larger cylindrical body is located below the ash chute. The ash container includes a wide top flange, docking pin locator tube supported and positioned by the radials.
Such BBQ devices are extremely complex and expensive.
The known other BBQ devices are rotary barbecue devices. The rotary BBQ device by U.S. Pat. No. 8,991,384 wherein a completely combustible ceramic burner is used, the food is rotated to make rotation and revolution possible so that the food can periodically move close to the ceramic burner, the condition of the food approaching the ceramic burner rotates by 180° per revolution of rotating discs, and the rotating plate can be removed from the casing. The device includes a casing forming a body thereof and having an exhaust gas housing for collecting exhaust gas and an exhaust gas path connected to the exhaust gas housing to discharge the exhaust gas via an exhaust hole; a ceramic burner mounted at the upper side of the casing to radiate infrared rays towards the inside of the casing; two rotating discs; rotating members mounted to the corresponding rotation couplings of the two rotating discs; a driving unit connected to any one of the rotating discs to rotate one or more of the rotation couplings in the centers and the rotation couplings in the edges; and a moving unit connected to the rotating discs to move the rotating discs. The casing has a box shape in general, and it is formed in a two-layer structure of a cooking layer for cooking foods using heat and a storage layer for storage by heat insulation of cooked foods through the heat generated from the cooking layer. The casing forms the body of the barbecue device, and has an exhaust gas housing for collecting exhaust gas and an exhaust gas path connected to the exhaust gas housing to discharge exhaust gas via an exhaust gas outlet. The storage layer comprises the installed shelves for storing foods and a door through which the inside can be seen. The inside of the wall of the casing is made of stainless steel plate. The front door of a transparent material is installed in the front of the casing so as to watch the cooking process, and it is preferable that the material of the door is heat-resistant glass. On the top of the casing is installed a burner, on top of which there are an exhaust gas housing for collecting exhaust gas generated by combustion of the burner and an exhaust gas path connected to the exhaust gas housing, and the collected exhaust gas is discharged via the exhaust gas outlet. Around the exhaust gas path or the exhaust gas housing is installed a heat exchange jacket. As the heat-exchange medium circulating in the heat exchange jacket is heat-exchanged with exhaust gas, a considerable part of the heat of exhaust gas can be recovered to be utilized. As a heat-exchange medium, water may be used; it is introduced into a water inlet, and is discharged from the water outlet through the heat exchange jacket. A duct is arranged around the exhaust gas path or the exhaust gas housing. If air is blown into the duct through an intake port, air is heated by exhaust heat. At this time, by discharging hot air from the exhaust port, heat of exhaust gas can be recovered to be utilized. By using hot water and hot air obtained through the recovered heat of exhaust gas, the inside of the storage space or supply hot water can be heated. The exhaust gas path is made of a double structure of an inner tube and an outer tube. The inner tube is connected to the exhaust gas housing and the outer tube is connected to a ventilation duct. The ventilation duct sucks in air from the atmosphere and supplies it to the burner. The burner mounted at the upper side of the casing radiates infrared rays toward the inside thereof. The burner of a general type may be used for the ceramic burner. The burner includes a housing which is connected to a gas tube. The barrier blocks the gas supplied from the inside of the housing to help gas diffusion, and a cell-type base plate discharges gas.
Such rotary BBQ devices are complex and expensive too.
Another rotary BBQ device, described in the U.S. Pat. No. 6,041,695, is also intended to rotate the food during barbecuing. This device is an indirect heat barbecue oven and smoker which utilizes an elongate chamber for receiving combustibles so that smoke may be produced therein and wherein there is provided a rotating wheel with support arms, wherein each pair of support arms support an open mesh tray upon which foods or the like may be positioned and wherein the bottom of the oven forms a slanted floor of the oven and acts to receive and direct grease and fluids so that the same may be drained to the outside of the oven without contamination of the burners.
This BBQ device includes an enclosure, having an upper smoker and heat portion and a lower burner portion, and having a bottom floor which is somewhat inclined from the portion of the chamber furthest from the burners so that grease and other drippings that fall onto bottom floor are directed towards a drain or exit port which communicates to a lower grease receiving receptacle. The floor slopes towards the drain port which has a closure, but which may be open during the barbecuing process to allow grease and other fluids to accumulate on the bottom floor and allowed to be drained therefrom. Supported within the oven in the upper portion is rotatable wheel member comprising spaced and opposed support arms each carrying an open mesh tray in pivoted relationship so that the trays stay in the horizontal, level position during operation and when the wheel assembly rotates. Upright bracket of tray allows for attendant to support arm. Sleeve is provided for adjustment of trays. Wheel assembly is driven by external motor by means of pulley and chain mechanism to slowly rotate wheel assembly through 360°. The wheel assembly is positioned somewhat higher than the center of the upper oven portion so as to allow the trays carrying for example, meat and the like, to pass through a concentrated smoke and heat upper portion of oven portion. An elongate wood receiving chamber or compartment, having spaced apertures with outside door, is provided to receive wood by which smoke and the like is generated. Charring as opposed to full combustion is achieved by reason of the limited number of apertures provided to thereby control the amount of oxygen provided to wood contained within the compartment. The compartment has its forward end closest to the door opening lower than the reward section by about 15°, so that smoke generated by the slightly combustible wood within compartment moves rearwardly towards and into the back portion of barbecue oven. The wood smoke generating compartment comprises two parallel burners connected through suitable gas conduit, which has the usual gas controls and regulator by which gas being passed into the burners may be regulated. The front of barbecue oven is provided with an opening with hinged door so that access to the interior of oven may be obtained. Door is secured through the front portion of oven by a simple L-shaped latch member engaging flange provided around opening. The upper most portion of opening is below a line drawn therefrom to the lower most interior opening of vent, thereby allowing for an accumulation of heat and smoke in section of upper oven portion. The lower most portion of the vent is about ½ inch above the top of the opening which prevents smoke and heat bellowing out towards the operator. The arms of rotating member pivotally support each of the trays by simple bolt and nut mechanism. The elongate compartment for receiving wood has an opening exterior of the barbecue oven so that additional wood may be placed thereinto and a slot is provided at the exiting terminus of compartment so as to receive plate door suspended from a chain.
This device is a mobile device and need an electrical power supply for the motor and motor control/regulator.
The recent BBQ oven by U.S. Pat. No. 8,960,083, includes a main furnace, an auxiliary furnace arranged below the main furnace and a charcoal disc selectively placed on the bottom of the main furnace or the bottom of the auxiliary furnace. The top of the main furnace has an inclined tile roof shaped main furnace top portion with hinged left and right triangular side plates and a detachable connecting rod means. The furnace chamber can be covered by hinged front and rear covers. The handled fork can be inclined erected on top portion of the main furnace or inclined inserted into the interior of the main furnace chamber and the auxiliary furnace chamber for grilling or roasting in a hanging manner to avoid the food to contact the iron grid. The barbecue oven can be used for grilling, roasting, grilled and hot pot cooking and other function, and can be stored and carried conveniently. The main furnace comprises a bottom frame, a front wall, a left wall, a rear wall and a right wall erected from the bottom frame, to form a rectangular main furnace body with an open top and an open bottom. The interior of the main furnace body defines a main furnace chamber. A horizontally extending support bar is arranged on an inner surface of the front wall, and the distance of the support bar from a top edge of the front wall is approximately ⅓ of the height of the front wall. A horizontally extending support bar is also arranged on an inner surface of the rear wall, and the distance of the support bar from a top edge of the rear wall is approximately ⅓ of the height of the rear wall. A left triangular side panel and a right triangle side panel are pivotally connected respectively to the top edge of the left side wall and the top edge of the right side wall by hinges. The left triangle side panel and the right triangular side panel are pivotal about the hinges respectively between a downward position in which the left triangle side panel and the right triangular side panel lie on an outer surface of the left side wall and the right side wall respectively and an upward vertical position. The angle between a waist edge and a bottom edge of each of the triangle left side panel and the triangular right side panel is 35°−45°. On the inner surface of each triangle side panel, an inward recessed pocket-shaped socket is formed by means of stamping near a top position of each triangle side panel. A detachable connecting rod means is provided, which is comprised of a two-bar connector and inserters fixed to both ends of the former. When the left triangle side panel and the right triangular side panel are in its upward vertical position, the connecting rod means is inserted via its inserters into the pocket-shaped socket, and connected the left side panel integrally with the right side panel. The charcoal disc comprises a chassis with a plurality of vents provided therethrough. Two bars are provided on an upper surface of the chassis near its front and rear edges. When in use, the charcoal disc is placed on the bottom frame of the main furnace or on the support bars of the main furnace. The peripheral dimension of the charcoal disc is slightly smaller than that of the main furnace chamber of the main furnace.
This device does not provide any control of the air in the barbecuing area and/or heat.
Thus, there is a great need in the art for the improved BBQ oven with controllable level position of charcoal chamber and inserts, providing a tasty food in the convenient, effective and not expensive easy controllable barbecue device.


The laser of a laser-generated windshield display is controlled to initially deflect the laser beam in the direction of a reflective target disposed outside a display region of the windshield, and a sensor disposed in a reflection path of the target is sampled to detect the presence of a feedback signal that occurs when the laser beam impinges on the sensor. If the feedback signal is detected, the laser beam is deflected onto the display region to generate a driver display; but if the feedback signal is not detected, the laser is automatically turned-off. Once the laser is turned off for lack of a feedback signal, the control is repeated following a specified delay interval so that the driver display will automatically resume the when the condition that prevented generation of the feedback signal is cured.

The viability of using an electronically deflected laser beam to create visible patterns on a vehicle windshield has recently been demonstrated. The laser operates in the non-visible ultraviolet (UV) spectrum, and the visible patterns are produced by a windshield coating that emits visible light when excited by the UV laser energy. In a typical implementation, the laser device is mounted forward of the rearview mirror, and directs a laser beam downward onto the interior surface of the windshield forward of the driver. Potential applications include highlighting significant objects or features in the driver field of view such as road edges, signs, pedestrians, and other vehicles to increase the likelihood that they will be comprehended by the driver.
As with any laser application, care must be taken to detect unusual conditions that present a potential safety hazard to the vehicle occupants or nearby pedestrians, and to shut-down the laser whenever such a condition is detected.

Automatic fault detection and laser shut-down method for a laser-generated windshield display


Measurements for an eye diagram of signal of interest are placed in a data structure that is examined to locate an eye opening of interest. The eye opening of interest is normalized into figure of merit units related to the operational voltage and timing requirements of the data receiver for that signal. The locations within the normalized eye opening may be taken as center locations for trial symmetric shapes that start out small and are enlarged until they first include locations not part of the normalized eye opening. The center of a largest such shape is mapped back into the units of the original eye diagram as optimum sampling parameters for data analysis equipment that uses the receiver to sample the signal once per unit interval to discover logical value. An alternative is to repeatedly remove the ‘outer layer’ of the normalized eye opening until only one location remains.

Digital systems have signals with abrupt transitions and whose time variant analog behavior represents boolean (two-state logical) values described as ONE or ZERO, TRUE or FALSE, or perhaps HIGH or LOW. The 'real' information content carried by such signals is encoded within sequences or combinations of these logical values. Nevertheless, it will be remembered that when signals are sent from one place (component or assembly) to another, or from one entire system to another, they rely on their analog properties to do so. That is, it is their underlying voltage or current (or light) that makes the journey, while it is some observable property such as magnitude or polarity that is subsequently interpreted as representing one or the other of the possible logical values.
Very often it is the magnitude of a voltage that determines the logical value to be understood. The abrupt transitions are constrained to occur at particular times indicated by a clock signal, and the stable or asserted regions between transitions are compared against a threshold to ascertain the logical value. The nominal shortest period of time between transitions for a signal is called a UI (Unit Interval), and its phase and duration is either supplied by a clock signal accompanying the data, or is derived from the data.
Logic analyzers are members of a class of electronic test equipment that observes collections of digital signals, converts them to instances of corresponding logic values along a time axis, and reports on and analyzes their (logical) activity. This class of test equipment, which we may call data analysis equipment, generally samples only once within each consecutive UI, takes the sampled value as indicative of the logical value for that UI, and does not attempt to reconstruct the underlying analog waveform. A clock signal is either re-constructed from the data or is supplied as a separate signal, and transitions in the clock signal are used to delimit the UI. As the speeds of digital systems increase into the Gigabit per second region the issues of exactly where within the UI to make the threshold decision for a data signal, and with what threshold voltage, become increasingly problematic. Quite aside from how the SUT (System Under Test) itself performs these tasks, the logic analyzer has to perform them as well, and do so correctly if the measurement of the data is to have any utility. It is conventional for both the threshold and the delay relative to the onset of the UI (as indicated by a transition in the clock signal) to be adjustable by the operator of the logic analyzer. Hereinafter, we shall collectively refer to these as 'sampling parameters' and to their individual elements as 'threshold' and 'sample position,' respectively. Some logic analyzers even attempt to automate the process of selecting these sampling parameters. These prior art techniques for setting threshold and sample position each have certain associated disadvantages.
An eye diagram is a stylized representation of a signal's behavior. An eye diagram can be made by superimposing a large number of time domain trace segments that each correspond to just an individual UI (that's exactly how a 'scope would make a basic eye diagram). Implicit in this idea is the notion that satisfaction of some clock signal-related trigger event allows the correct registration of each segment on the other. This will display both rising and falling edges, and asserted regions (whether HIGH or LOW) each in their same relative horizontal locations, for perhaps a million (or more) cycles of the signal. The result is (hopefully) a central empty opening called an 'eye' (on account of its shape) that is free of any traced activity, since during that time any signal will be either already HIGH or already LOW. At each edge of an eye for a typical (non-pulse) signal is an X-shaped boundary produced by rising and falling transitions, with straight lines above and below the Xs produced by the various consecutive ONEs and consecutive ZEROs in the data. And while it is then possible to discern if in that collection of cycles there were instances of overshoot, slow rise or fall times, or inappropriate asserted voltage levels, knowledge about which cycle(s) is(are) at fault is generally lost. That is a minor price to pay for an easily viewed presentation that gives valuable information about overall margins (the size and shape of the eye). Once any such violations of margins are confirmed, their location in the data (if such information is needed) and their causes can be sought using other test techniques. Often, two or three consecutive UIs are treated as a unit collection, and superimposed on other such unit collections to create an eye diagram having two or three eyes. There are other ways to actually create eye diagrams besides the brute force 'scope technique alluded to above, and some of these are quite a bit faster than the 'scope's method for the number of signal cycles that are typically of interest. They, too, incorporate the notion of triggering from a clock signal as the reference for registering events occurring at the same general location along the UI but measured during different cycles of the data.
For data analysis equipment, such as logic analyzers, that capture the logical values once per UI (as opposed to a 'scope that densely samples the actual analog waveform), it is conventional to use the 'X crossing' voltage of an eye diagram as the threshold for a data receiver (comparator), and to delay the capture of the comparison output from the associated clock so as to locate the sample position midway between consecutive crossings. However, this may not actually be an optimum set of sampling parameters.
Recently, some data analysis equipment, including logic analyzers, have begun to support the ability to perform eye diagram measurements, and new techniques are thus possible within such test equipment (such as logic analyzers) to allow it to automatically recommend or decide the best time within the UI, and with what threshold, to 'sample' an incoming signal to decide its logical value. Such automatic selection (or a recommendation) should take the behavior of the data receiver into account and can be of benefit to the internal operation of the logic analyzer when used in its traditional logic analysis capacity (it is desirable that it not mis-sample the data . . . ). In addition, such recommended information (not necessarily obtained from a logic analyzer, but perhaps from a 'scope that also does eye diagrams) can also be of use to persons responsible for setting the sampling parameters for the receivers that belong to/are part of the SUT itself, and that are not part of any external test equipment, such as logic analyzer.
Furthermore, the conventional notion that the best threshold voltage is at the 'X' crossing of an eye diagram, and that midway between the Xs is the best sample position, while often not a poor combination of choices, may not actually be the best combination. Another way to define the degree to which a combination of sampling parameters is satisfactory is to take into account certain performance requirements of the receiver that is in use, and choose a location that offers equal margins in all directions (i.e, for both directions in each of voltage and in time). This sounds harmless enough, but can be difficult to accurately visualize, particularly if the eye diagram for the signal of interest differs significantly from an ideal or nominally correct shape.
There are various reasons for this. Consider first the matter of threshold voltage. Unlike its brother the DSO (Digital Sampling Oscilloscope) that simply digitizes a waveform and reconstructs it afterward, the Logic Analyzer relies upon a threshold comparator (often called a 'receiver') to decide what the logic value is. So does the SUT. The behavior of the threshold comparator/receiver is of interest, and has an effect on margins. It is instructive to dwell on this topic for a moment.
Suppose that the threshold was one volt. Applied signals higher than one volt are reported as HIGH, while those less than one volt are reported as LOW. The threshold is supplied as an analog reference voltage, as we will assume that our one volt is as good as it gets (or at least a good as it needs to be), and remove it from consideration. However, we can ask certain embarrassing question, such as "Well, what happens if the reference voltage itself is applied to the data input?" It is a fair question, but one that ought never to happen as a steady state condition, since we expect the input signal to vary abruptly between two values on either side of that one volt. So, we might give an evasive answer, such as "Well, you get whatever logical output that you had before . . . " The next question is: "Suppose an evil demon raised the input voltage to one tenth of a micro-volt above one volt. Then what?" At this point we confess the existence of hysteresis, and explain that it takes a rising signal going from LOW to HIGH an extra 100 mv above the threshold to cause a change in the receiver's output, and likewise another 100 mv below the threshold for falling transitions in the other direction. So we answer that there are two thresholds, 1.10V for rising signals and 0.900V for falling signals. Then we add that these numbers are exemplary only, and that they might not even be the same for the two directions of transition.
Question: "That is all well and good, but the demon is not so easily fooled. He raises the input from below 0.900 V to one micro-volt above 1.10V. Now what?"
Answer: "Maybe it'll switch, and maybe it won't. There is this noise floor . . . ."
Question: "I see. Then how about a millivolt above the upper threshold?"
Answer: "It'll probably switch, but it won't do so very quickly."
Question: "Hmm, you mean that there is delay from when the input actually changes to when the output has the proper value?"
Answer: "Unfortunately, yes."
Question: "Even if the one millivolt change had a really short rise time itself?"
Answer: "Probably so."
Question: "This delay ends up in my measurement, and I don't like that. But I can live with it if it is well behaved, say, as a common mode effect that cancels out. I suppose then that falling signals have the same delay?"
Answer: "They have a delay, but it is generally not the same as for rising signals . . . ."
Question: "This is disgusting. I had no idea that comparators were so fussy. Suppose I supply more ΔV. Will that help?"
Answer: "Yes, especially if it has a respectable dv/dt to go with it."
Question: "Alright, you've got me at a disadvantage. My real job is hunting demons, and I've got to get on with it. What's it going to take to get good performance?"
Answer: "Give us at least a nice snappy 250 mv and you are in business."
Question: "That's rather pricey. Seems like a King's ransom. I suppose that for such a handsome effort there are essentially no delays?"
Answer: "No, there are still delays, but they are fairly short, and what is more, they are essentially equal for both rising and falling signals."
Comment: "TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY!?"
Reply: "Well, this IS a published specification for production parts in commerce. We have to keep the cost under control here, since we suspect that you are secretly building a Logic Analyzer and are not interested in just one signal, and that something like sixty-four channels is more likely to be the case. Probably most of the comparators will actually work well with half that specified value, but there is no guarantee . . . ."
This imaginary conversation could be repeated using the idea of a minimum pulse width that needs to be applied before the output will reliably switch from one state to the other. Half a nanosecond is a reasonable example value for minimum signal duration. So, when we consider where in an eye opening to locate sampling parameters for best Logic Analyzer operation (or more generally, for best operation of a particular data receiver in whatever kind of equipment) we ought to keep the minimum voltage excursion ΔVmin and its minimum duration ΔTmin in mind. Particularly so, if the shape of the eye opening for the applied signal is less than ideal.
Say, for example, the signals of interest arrive over transmission lines that are beset with reflections. This condition can give the eye opening a stepped contour, and to maximize the ability of the Logic Analyzer to sample correctly we may wish to deliberately move, say, the location of the sample position within the time duration of the UI. Or, perhaps the eye opening is not stepped, but is instead both sloped and not very high, or has ringing at one end. We may be tempted to slide the sample position over some to gain better access to the needed quarter of a volt or so change required by the comparator. The presence of jitter is another factor that affects the situation. But we realize that in changing the sample position we are trading increased voltage margin for a decrease in margin for pulse width. It is not so easy to tell by simple observation where the gain in one parameter's margin begins to erode the minimum margin needed for the other. This is particularly so if the eye diagram is for a pulse-type signal, or for a regular signal that has reflections, or, if for any kind of a clocked digital signal there are indicated signal occurrences for regions INTERIOR to the nominal eye opening (i.e, the signal violates the rule that the only time it is allowed to have a value between the asserted extremes is during a transition at the end/beginning of a UI, and that those transitions should be abrupt). This last business of signal activity indicated within the nominal eye opening, when combined with different rate of margin consumption versus changes in the sampling parameters, can REALLY complicate the task of finding suitable sampling parameters.
Thus, we see that there are various issues that can arise, and that should be taken into consideration if an automated mechanism is to be reliable in its recommendation or selection of an optimum set of sampling parameters, and is to avoid being flummoxed by various extreme signal behaviors. What to do?

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method for selecting and extracting an eye diagram opening for subsequent processing


There is disclosed a recordable optical element that includes a metallized dye. The element has a transparent substrate and on the surface of the substrate, a dye containing recording layer and a light reflecting layer. The improvement is that the dye is a metal complex of a metallized formazan dye. The dyes that are used in the element are very light stable.

There are many types of optical recording materials that are known. In many of the materials, the mode of operation requires that the unrecorded material have a high absorption and that the recorded areas, often referred to as pits, have low optical density or high reflection. The high reflection pits are made by ablating away the high absorption recording material, usually exposing an underlying reflective support.
One of the currently popular forms of optical storage of information is the compact disk or CD. Digital information is stored in the form of high optical density marks or pits on an otherwise reflective background, the exact opposite of the above described optical recording materials. In this format, the optical information is most often in the form of read only memory or ROM. Optical information is not usually recorded in real time but rather is produced by press molding. In a typical process, the optical recording substrate is first press molded with a master containing the digital information to be reproduced. The thus formed information is then overcoated with a reflective layer and then with an optional protective layer. In those areas having the deformations or pits, the optical density is higher than in those areas not having the deformations.
In Japanese KOKAI 62-144997 there is described an optical recording element having a recording layer having a formazan-nickle complex. However, all of the complexes disclosed in this reference are bidentate and have a poor index of refraction at about 780 nm and a low extinction coefficient.
It is desirable to produce optical recording media which, when recorded in real time, produces a record that mimics the conventional CD on read out. Read out is at about 780 nm. In this manner, information can be added to the CD and the CD can be used on a conventional CD player.
One recently disclosed system of this type is the so called "Photo CD". In this system, conventional photographic film is first processed in a conventional manner. Then, the images from the film are digitized and the digital information is recorded in a CD readable form on an optical recording material. Images can then be played back on a CD type player into a conventional television. Since a CD has a capacity for a number of digitized images that is greater than the typical roll of consumer film, it is anticipated that the user will want to add images to a preexisting CD. Thus the need for recordable, CD compatible optical recording material.
One method for forming a recordable element that mimics conventional mold pressed CD elements is to provide a heat deformable support having thereon, in order, a layer of a dye that absorbs recording radiation and a reflective layer. Exposure of the recording layer through the support by the recording beam heats the recording layer to an extent that it is said that the surface of the heat deformable support just adjacent to the recording layer surface is deformed. Materials of this type are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,618, European Patent Application 0,353,393 and Canadian Patent Application 2,005,520.
Commercially useful materials of the type described in these references have stringent requirements. One of these requirements is light stability. Since the Photo CD is a consumer product, it must be capable of withstanding extreme environments. Between the time the original images are recorded on the Photo CD and the time subsequent images are recorded, the CD might be placed in strong sunlight, for example. The recording layer must be very light stable for this purpose.
In the U.S. and the European applications mentioned above, the preferred dyes for the recording layer are indodicarbocyanine dyes. However, this type of dye has less than the desired light stability and will in fact fade to an unusable state in only a few days of intense sunlight.
Thus, there is a continuing need for optical recording materials that have the necessary optical characteristics so that they are CD compatible and yet are light stable. It is to a solution to this problem that the present invention is directed.

Optical information recording medium using metallized formazan dyes


A system for transporting and burning under negative pressure in a boiler a raw coke oven gas to produce steam energy. The system has the usual battery of coke ovens and corresponding ascension pipes connected to a collector main. Flushing liquor is sprayed into the hot coke oven gases to effect cooling in the collector main. A transport main delivers the cooled raw coke oven gases and flushing liquor to a burner of a steam producing boiler where the transport main includes a downcomer for separating the raw coke oven gas from the flushing liquor. The coke oven gas is burned in the boiler where a suction fan is provided at the exhaust of the boiler to develop a negative pressure in the system where the boiler has reinforced walls to withstand the negative pressure. A change in negative pressure in the system is detected and monitored by a controller system which varies draw of the suction fan in response to a detected change in negative pressure in the system. The system is readily retrofitted to existing coke ovens and in turn replaces the usual by-products plant. The generated steam may be used in the co-generation of electrical or mechanical energy. The system may be controlled in a manner to minimize and/or eliminate surplus flushing liquors.

The blast furnace process is the prevailing method of primary iron production. Considering the large investment in blast furnaces, it is doubtful that the technology will be replaced in the next 20 years, the life expectancy of the present blast furnaces.
Coke is an essential blast furnace feed stock. Coke serves as a fuel, to supply heat and to produce a reducing atmosphere, and contributes to the permeability of the furnace burden. Coke is produced by the destructive distillation of coal. In the distillation process, coal is heated in an oven in the absence of air (oxygen). The volatile matter (methane, hydrogen, tar, benzene, ammonia, naphthalene, etc.) is driven off leaving behind a solid material comprising mostly carbon, which is called coke.
The volatiles produced from early coke making facilities were burned as they evolved from the coke ovens. The recovery of the volatiles for use as chemical feed stocks and fuel was a significant early advancement in coke making technology. The recovered coal chemicals, which include: coal tar, light oil (benzene, toluene, xylene), naphthalene, and ammonia, were the foundation of the chemical industry for the first half of this century. Coke oven gas, consisting of methane, hydrogen and the other gaseous hydrocarbons that remained after the coal chemicals were removed, was distributed through pipelines to neighboring industries and towns to be used as an industrial and domestic fuel. Many coke plants were operated primarily for the recovered chemicals and coke oven gas, the coke being a secondary product that contributed little to the profitability of the plant.
In recent years, the chemical industry has shifted away from coal chemicals and is now based primarily on chemicals produced from petroleum and natural gas. Natural gas has become the industrial and domestic fuel of choice, eliminating the need for coke oven gas. Coke ovens now exist to supply coke for the blast furnace and to a much lesser extent the foundry industry. The recovered coal chemicals are commonly sold at a loss considering the high cost of operating and maintaining the chemical recovery plant (referred to as the by-product plant by the iron and steel industry where the primary product is coke).
The energy required to operate a by-products plant is about one half the value of the recovered chemicals and coke oven gas. Continued large capital investment is also required to up-grade by-product plants so that they comply with increasingly stringent environmental requirements.
Considering that there is little to be gained by recovering coal chemicals, developments in coke making technology have reverted back to non-recovery principles such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,287,024. Once again, coke ovens are being designed to burn the volatiles as they evolve from the ovens. However, to achieve an energy efficiency approaching that of a recovery coke making facility, the products of combustion of the volatiles are conducted under the ovens so that the heat required for the coking process can be extracted. The combustion products are then ducted to waste heat recovery boilers where much of the remaining heat is extracted to produce steam. The steam is used for power generation and heating. The modern non-recovery coke oven technologies are based on special oven design. It is not possible to convert or retrofit existing recovery coke ovens to these non-recovery technologies.
Other attempts in dealing with coke oven gases for purposes of combustion and/or elimination of toxic components are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,292,345; 3,581,715; 4,100,033 and 5,433,600. U.S. Pat. No. 3,292,345 describes the combustion of ammonia and H.sub.2 S gases removed from the coke oven gases by way of a stripping operation. This approach does not replace the by-products facility but instead only replaces one unit of that facility in dealing with the ammonia gases. U.S. Pat. No. 3,581,715 describes the production of calcium carbides in the use of a continuous travelling grate stoker. The temperatures and products of combustion in making the calcium carbide are cooled before providing supplementary fuel for a steam generator. U.S. Pat. No. 4,100,033 describes the immediate combustion of volatiles as they are emitted during the coke oven charging step. This set-up is not designed for continuous operation in treating coke oven gas during the entire coking process. U.S. Pat. No. 5,433,600 describes a burner for burning coke oven gases. The burner construction is designed for burning coke oven gases derived from a by-products facility. The small diameter fuel orifices and swirling elements in the fuel stream would tend to clog due to all of the tar and fines constituent in the raw coke oven gases and not provide satisfactory service.
The life expectancy of existing recovery coke ovens is between 5 and 20 years. Because of the large capital cost of coke plants, these plants will continue to operate to the end of their lives to supply blast furnace coke. By design, the recovery coke oven requires the operation of the associated by-product plant. The by-product plant provides the following necessary operating requirements:
1) Suction required to remove the volatiles from the ovens. PA1 2) Pressure control for the coke ovens. The pressure on the ovens must be precisely controlled so that it is slightly negative to prevent leakage of volatiles and to limit the amount of air infiltration. PA1 3) The production of coke oven gas to underfire the ovens. PA1 4) Eliminate the coal chemicals in an environmentally acceptable manner. PA1 5) Achieve an acceptable plant energy efficiency for economical and environmental reasons. PA1 i) a battery of coke ovens; PA1 ii) a plurality of ascension pipes connecting the coke ovens to a raw coke oven gas collector main, the ascension pipes and collector main having means for spraying flushing liquor to cool the raw coke oven gases emitted from the coke ovens and collect sprayed flushing liquor in said collector main; PA1 iii) a transport main for transporting flushing liquor and raw coke oven gas from the collector main to a burner of a steam producing boiler, the transport main including a downcomer for separating raw coke oven gas from flushing liquor; PA1 iv) the burner supplying air for mixing with raw coke oven gas delivered by the transport main to effect burning of raw coke oven gas in the boiler and produce a boiler exhaust; PA1 v) a suction fan being provided at an exhaust of the boiler to draw boiler exhaust from the boiler and develop thereby a negative pressure in the coke ovens, ascension pipes, collector main, transport main, burner and boiler, the boiler having reinforced walls of substantially gas-tight construction to withstand negative pressure, raw coke oven gas in said transport main is drawn through said burner by such negative pressure developed in said boiler by said suction fan; PA1 vi) means for detecting a change in negative pressure in the system; and PA1 vii) a controller system for varying draw of the suction fan in response to a detected change in negative pressure in the system. PA1 i) a negative pressure reinforced boiler with suction fan for exhausting combustion gases from the boiler with, PA1 ii) a burner introducing cooled separated raw coke oven gas under negative pressure for burning in the boiler, PA1 iii) means for controlling air to fuel ratio to said burner, and PA1 iv) means for varying negative pressure developed in said boiler by said suction fan. PA1 i) burning a cooled separated raw coke oven gas stream at a negative pressure by drawing combustion gases from the boiler with a suction fan.
The non-recovery coke making system of this invention supports the operation of existing or new recovery type coke oven batteries by providing the above listed essential operating requirements as a by-product plant. However, they are provided in a completely different manner.
The volatiles from recovery coke ovens, which equate to the raw coke oven gases, have never been considered to be a practical fuel. No technology exists to handle the volatiles at a temperature high enough to prevent the heavy components of the tar and pitch from condensing. Present technology for cooling and transporting the volatiles to the by-products plant is not compatible with present fuel systems equipment. The severe fouling conditions caused by condensing of tar, pitch, and naphthalene, and coke, coal, and ash particulate, quickly fouls piping and in line devices. There is no pumping or compressing equipment technology, no flow metering technology that can operate under these condition with the reliability required for combustion safety in a boiler system.
The non-recovery system of this invention enables the volatiles from the coke ovens to be burned in power boilers to produce steam at a high efficiency. The process involves burning the volatiles in a combustion process designed to incinerate the volatiles and to minimize formation of pollutants that could form due to the chemical composition of the volatiles. The boilers efficiently extract the heat of combustion from the combustion products. The clean, cool products of combustion can be passed through suction fans to provide the suction required for the coke oven battery operation.
The proposed non-recovery cokemaking technology can be retrofitted to existing recovery coke ovens. Increased thermal efficiency and the relative greater value of power compared to coal chemicals makes such retrofits economically attractive. For new installations, the capital cost is much less than for the construction of a by-products plant.

Non-recovery coke oven gas combustion system


A baby-care implement comprises a hood which covers a top of a seat thereof. The hood comprises a mounting base fixed to a body of the baby-care implement, a first hood bone whose lower end is turnably connected to the mounting base, a second hood bone positioned on the inner side of the first hood bone, whose lower end is turnably connected to the mounting base, a third hood bone positioned on the inner side of the second hood bone, a first hood sheet mounted on the first hood bone and extending backward and forward, and a second hood sheet mounted on the second hood bone, overlapping the inner side of the first hood sheet and extending backward and forward. The second hood sheet comprises one end in the back-and-forth direction which is separated from the first hood sheet and the other end which is connected to the first hood sheet.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a baby-care implement provided with a seat such as a baby carriage, a baby bed/chair, a baby bed, a baby chair and the like, and more particularly, to a baby-care implement provided with a hood which covers a top of a seat.
2. Description of the Background Art
Conventionally, it is known that a hood for protection from the sun is mounted on a seat of a baby-care implement such as a baby carriage. In many cases, a hood sheet is formed of an airtight cloth and the like entirely to shut out the sunlight or wind. Therefore, air in the seat stagnates, which gives a baby uncomfortable feeling in some cases. This is noticeable in a case of a domed hood which completely covers a top of the seat.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-19962 discloses a hood mechanism which can appropriately shut out the sunlight or wind and provide appropriate air circulation. The hood mechanism disclosed in the above document comprises a plurality of frames turnably provided at a base, and hood sheets provided between the frames. The hood sheet between the adjacent desired frames is formed of a mesh material and both ends of the mesh material is detachable. According to this hood mechanism, the air circulation can be provided in the seat to some extent by exposing the hood sheet formed of the mesh material according to need.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 7-19948 discloses a baby carriage provided with a windproof hood inside a hood. A hood sheet has a domed configuration which covers a top part and a rear part of a seat, and a front part of the seat is largely opened. The windproof hood is formed of a transparent synthetic resin film and the like so as not to prevent a field of view of a baby and it is turnably provided inside the hood sheet. According to this hood mechanism, when air circulation is needed, the windproof hood is brought to a rear position so as to overlap the hood sheet. Meanwhile, when it is necessary to prevent wind from entering the seat, the windproof hood is brought to a front position of the seat in which the hood sheet is not provided.
The Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-19962 discloses the hood which can provide the air circulation in addition to an original sunshade function. In addition, the Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 7-19948 discloses the hood which can provide a high windproof effect in addition to an original sunshade function.
The inventors of the present invention consider that the above hood function is not enough to provide comfortable circumstances for a baby in the seat. Thus, the inventors considered a hood of the child-care implement which can have the following functions.    (1) Ultraviolet ray blocking effect    (2) Noise blocking effect    (3) Cold protecting effect    (4) Wind-proof effect    (5) Dust-proof effect    (6) Air permeability    (7) Preferable field of view from a mother    (8) Preferable field of view from a baby    (9) Brightness adjustment in a seat

Aprica Ikujikenkyukai Aprica Kassai Kabushikikaisha


Aspects for generating CRT timing signals in a graphics accelerator are described. A method aspect includes shifting reference count values forward by a predetermined count period. A single comparator is utilized to perform a plurality of comparisons between CRT timing signals and at least one of the reference count values during the predetermined count period. Further, compensation for the shifting forward occurs by shifting back signals output from the single comparator. With the present invention, CRT timing signals are generated through time-shifting of relevant signals. The time-shifting further allows the utilization of a single comparator, which reduces the logic gate requirement and thus the area and cost.

The present invention relates to graphic accelerators, and more particularly to generating CRT timing signals in a graphics accelerator.
Computer processing of 3D (three-dimensional) graphics can be considered as a three stage pipeline, comprising the general steps of tessellation, geometry, and rendering. The tessellation stage typically refers to the creation of a description of an object and the conversion of the description to a set of triangles. The geometry stage involves transformation, i.e., the scaling and rotation of the triangles, and lighting, i.e., the determination of the brightness, shading and texture characteristics of each triangle. The rendering stage involves the calculation of all attributes of the pixels forming the triangles, e.g., color, light, depth, and texture, and provides a two dimensional display from the triangles created in the geometry stage.
In the rendering stage, data is normally processed pixel by pixel. A rendering engine calculates all attributes of the pixel (color, light, depth, and texture) and must be able to process millions of polygons per scene and to construct a quality 2D (two-dimensional) representation in real time, for animation.
In displaying graphics data on a display device, such as a CRT device, a CRT controller is utilized to provide the display signals to the display device. FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art approach for providing CRT timing signals of horizontal synchronization (Hsync), vertical synchronization (Vsync), blanking, and display enable (Disp). A horizontal counter 100 provides a horizontal line/pixel count value and a vertical counter 102 provides a vertical line/pixel count value. Separate registers 104, 106, 108, 110, 112, 114, 116, and 118 store start and end count values for the timing signals Hsync, Vsync, blanking, and display enable. The horizontal count value from horizontal counter 100 is compared with the Hsync start and end times, blanking start and end times, and display start and end times from respective registers 104, 106, 112, 114, 116, and 118 via comparators 120, 122, 124, 126, 128, and 130. The vertical count value from vertical counter 102 is compared with the Vsync start and end times from registers 108 and 110 via the comparators 132 and 134. SR flips flops 136 are set and reset based on the comparison match signals generated from the comparators 120, 122, 124, 126, 128, 130, 132, and 134 to provide the desired signaling of Hsync, Vsync, blanking, and display enable. The use of separate comparators and registers for each start and end time ensures that timing signals, which need to be generated at the same count value, are capably produced from the conventional CRT timing signal generator. Unfortunately, the logic required for the multiple comparators and registers in this arrangement consumes a large silicon area.
Accordingly, a need exists for a technique for generating CRT timing signals that consumes less area than traditional techniques.
The present invention meets this need and provides aspects for generating CRT timing signals in a graphics accelerator. A method aspect includes shifting reference count values forward by a predetermined count period. A single comparator is utilized to perform a plurality of comparisons between CRT timing signals and at least one of the reference count values during the predetermined count period. Further, compensation for the shifting forward occurs by shifting back signals output from the single comparator.
With the present invention, CRT timing signals are generated through time-shifting of relevant signals. The time-shifting further allows the utilization of a single comparator, which reduces the logic gate requirement and thus the area and cost. These and other advantages of the present invention will be more fully understood in a conjunction with the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.

Method and system for generating CRT timing signals in a graphics accelerator


The present disclosure describes a technique for honoring virtual machine placement constraints established on a first host implemented on a virtualized computing environment by receiving a request to migrate one or more virtual machines from the first host to a second host and without violating the virtual machine placement constraints, identifying an architecture of the first host, provisioning a second host with an architecture compatible with that of the first host, adding the second host to the cluster of hosts, and migrating the one or more virtual machines from the first host to the second host.

Virtualized computing environments have evolved from implementations including a single host executing one or more virtual machines, to implementations including a cluster of hosts in which each host executes one or more virtual machines. One reason for this evolution is to provide an environment in which a system may load balance virtual machines executing on an overloaded host by migrating virtual machines of the overloaded host to a less loaded host within the cluster, thereby increasing overall performance and efficiency. To assist in the load balancing effort, virtual machine placement constraints are frequently implemented. In general, however, it is often not feasible to perform a rolling patch/upgrade without violating virtual machine placement constraints and requesting administrator intervention. As such, an existing challenge is to update a host running virtual machines within a cluster of hosts without violating one or more virtual machine placement constraints.

Honoring resource scheduler constraints during maintenances


An infusion machine including a cold-water container (1) which incorporates a water purification device (5) and which comprises a water outlet (2) connected to a water heater (3). The water purification device includes a removable cartridge (7) comprising a bottom part forming a cup (8) which is designed to be mounted sealingly in a suitable basin (10) formed in the bottom of the container, and in which is housed so as to be removable a filter sachet (15) containing a water purification substance (16), and a top part forming a cap (18) which is located in line with the cup (8) and which is able to close the latter, the cap (18) of the cartridge comprising at least one opening (42) through which the water from the container enters, and the cup (8) of the cartridge comprising at least one opening (51) through which the water flows into the water heater (3) after passing through the filter sachet (15) used particularly for electric coffee makers.

In order to ensure that the infusion has a good aroma, the inclusion in the container of a filter suitable for purifying the water intended to supply the water heater is known. To this effect, a water purification filter of a known type consists of a removable cartridge made of relatively flexible material, filled with a water purification substance containing granules of activated charcoal. This cartridge, which forms a water purification filter, is placed, so as to fit closely, in a basin with a suitable shape, formed in the bottom of the container, and includes water inlet and outlet orifices through which the purified water, after passing through the filter cartridge, flows into the water heater.
However, because such a filter cartridge is applied against the walls of the shaped basin in the bottom of the container, the said filter cartridge is liable to deform as a result of an increase in its volume due to a swelling of the mass of the purification substance caused by the water which it retains, resulting in a certain amount of difficulty in extracting the filter cartridge from the container when it is being changed.
The aim of the invention is, notably, to mitigate these drawbacks.

Infusion machine including a water purification device

Landais, deceased; Francis Pierre Jacques

by Pierre Chevalier, legal representative


An ATV lift handle is provided for an all terrain vehicle having a vertically movable blade at the forward end thereof. The vertical movement of the blade is controlled by a lift handle positioned rearwardly thereof and which is pivotally mounted on a lift handle bracket. The lift handle bracket has a locking pin movably mounted thereon which protrudes outwardly and rearwardly therefrom when in its extended locked position. The locking pin is movable from its extended locked position to a retracted non-locking position against the resiliency of a spring operatively connected thereto. When it is desired to lock the blade in its upper non-working position, the lift handle is pivotally moved rearwardly of the protruding locking pin and is placed in engagement therewith to prevent the lift handle from moving forwardly. When it is desired to lower the blade, the lift handle is pivotally moved with respect to the lift handle bracket to disengage the lift handle from the locking pin and to cause the locking pin to move to its retracted non-locking position. When it is desired to raise the blade, the lift handle is pivotally moved rearwardly into engagement with the locking pin with the engagement therewith causing the locking pin to move to its retracted position so that the lift handle may be moved rearwardly without requirement that the lift handle also be pivotally moved outwardly with respect to the lift handle bracket.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an all terrain vehicle (ATV) and more particularly to a lift handle used in conjunction with an ATV having a vertically movable blade at the forward end thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
All terrain vehicles (ATVs) have met with increased popularity during the last few years. The ATVs have been used for cultivating, plowing, disking, plowing snow, etc. In connection with the use of the ATV for plowing snow, dirt, etc., a vertically movable blade is mounted at the forward end of the ATV, such blade being operatively connected to a lift handle which is positioned at one side of the ATV so that the operator of the ATV may raise and lower the blade as required. In many applications, the blade at the forward end of the ATV has a bell crank apparatus connected thereto which includes a rearwardly extending lift rod which is connected to a lift handle so that the operator may pull the lift handle rearwardly to raise the blade and may move the lift handle forwardly to allow the blade to lower into engagement with the dirt, snow, etc. In many cases, the lift handle is pivotally mounted on a lift handle bracket which is secured to the ATV. The lift handle, in many cases, has a locking pin extending therefrom which engages the rearward end of the lift handle bracket to yieldably lock the lift handle in its rearward position so that the blade is maintained in its raised position. When the lift handle is moved between its rearward and forward positions or locked and unlocked positions, the locking pin rubs along the outer surface of the lift handle bracket and will eventually wear through the lift handle bracket.
In an effort to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art, the inventor herein previously provided an ATV lift handle rub block which is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,615,745.
Although the ATV lift handle rub block of applicant's earlier patent did provide a significant advance in the art, it has been found that, in some situations, the lift rod, which extends between the bell crank apparatus and the lift handle, does not have sufficient clearance or room with respect to other structure on the ATV to permit the lift rod to be moved laterally when the lift handle is moved outwardly with respect to the lift handle bracket during the raising and lowering of the blade. The instant invention permits the lift handle to be moved between its raised and lowered positions with a minimum amount of outward movement of the lift handle being required.


An ECU calculates a foreign-matter accumulation index base on a total flow rate of EGR gas integrated since the previous execution of a last foreign-matter removal operation until the present execution of the foreign-matter removal operation. The ECU controls an actuator for operating an EGR valve and a number of the actuations of the EGR valve on the basis of the foreign-matter accumulation index. When the total flow rate of the EGR gas increases, the quantity of foreign matters contained in EGR gas correspondingly increases. Therefore, as the foreign-matter accumulation index becomes larger, the actuation intensity of the EGR valve is set higher and the number of the actuations of the EGR valve is set larger. As a result, the removal operation of foreign matters can be efficiently executed in accordance with the deposition intensity or the deposition quantity of foreign matters.

Heretofore, an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) is performed in a diesel engine, for example. Specifically, exhaust gas is partially recirculated into intake pipe in order to reduce nitrogen oxides (NOx) contained in exhaust gas. However, exhaust gas contains unburned fuel, engine oil, soot, and the like, in addition to gaseous substances such as the NOx. When these components are deposited and solidified on the inwall surface of an EGR passage, an operation of an EGR valve may be disturbed.
For example, according to JP-A-2003-314377, an EGR valve is actuated when a diesel engine stops, thereby removing foreign matters deposited on the inwall surface of the EGR passage.
However, in this disclosure, the EGR valve is actuated for a predetermined number and at a predetermined intensity, irrespective of an extent of the deposition of foreign matters such as a deposition quantity and a deposition intensity. Accordingly, it is difficult to efficiently remove foreign matters. Specifically, when the deposition quantity of foreign matters is small or when the deposition intensity thereof is low, the number of the actuations of the EGR valve and the intensity of the actuations are unnecessarily afforded, and hence, a wasteful energy consumption increases. To the contrary, when the deposition quantity of foreign matters is large or when the deposition intensity thereof is high, the number of the actuations of the EGR valve and the intensity of the actuations become insufficient, and hence, foreign matters are left behind without being sufficiently removed.

EGR control apparatus and method for operating the same


An improved method and apparatus designed to facilitate the dispensing and inventory control of medications is provided, preferably in the form of a book (16) containing a plurality of transparent bags (10-14). Each of the bags (10-14) holds one or more multiple-dosage cards (32-36) including a plurality of transparent, frangible, single dosage form-holding compartments (38). Each bag is moreover provided with medication and dosage form information (25), preferably along a side marginal edge thereof. A record sheet (52) is also provided which includes reference markings (54) for each of the medications and dosage forms contained within a respective bag (10-14), along with spaces (56) for noting periodic usage of each dosage form of each different medication. Periodic inventory control is accomplished by counting the individual dosage forms of each medication through the outer transparent bags (10-14) and the compartments (38), and correlating the counted number of each dosage form of each medication with the inventory control record 52.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is broadly concerned with an improved method and apparatus for facilitating the dispensing and maintenance of inventory control for a plurality of different medications in individual dosage forms (e.g., tablets or capsules). More particularly, it is concerned with such a method and apparatus which makes use of individual selectively openable bags each holding one or more medication cards; the bags include a transparent viewing panel, whereas the cards have a plurality of frangible, substantially transparent single dosage form-holding compartments. In use, as a particular medication is needed, the corresponding bag is opened, and the desired number of individual dosage forms is removed from the multiple-dosage card. A notation is made of the medication removed on a control record, the card is returned to the bag, and the latter is resealed. Inventory control is accomplished by periodically counting the individual dosage forms of each medication by viewing through the corresponding bag and the single dosage compartments of the card(s) therein, and correlating this count with the notations on the inventory control record.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In many health care settings, narcotics, analgesics and other medications are provided in single dosage forms used for the alleviation of pain. Many of these are controlled substances and must be carefully accounted for in order to eliminate theft and drug abuse. Accordingly, all health care institutions should have an accounting system in place for the monitoring of use or wastage of controlled medications. Such systems typically require, as a part of each nursing shift routine, that the medications be counted by two members of the professional staff, one from each of the offgoing and oncoming shift. This count insures that the beginning and ending shift totals accurately reflect the amount and type of medications used during the course of the shift. In a typical oncology hospital unit, 40-50 different types and dosages of controlled medications must be counted three times in each 24 hour period, 365 days per year. As can be appreciated, this represents a significant time factor.
Orally administered tablets and capsules are normally packaged on flat, rigid, multiple-dosage cards presenting a number of frangible, substantially transparent, single dosage compartments. As the medication is needed, it is necessary to break the necessary number of compartments to remove the tablets or capsules from the card. At the same time, a record is kept of medication and dosage form usage on a shift drug record. It has been found that over time the individual dosage form compartments can become separated from the card, leaving them loose and easily misplaced. This results in increased nursing time spent looking and accounting for all used and unused dosages.
There is accordingly a real and unsatisfied need in the art for an improved method and apparatus designed to facilitate the dispensing and periodic inventory control of medications.

System and apparatus for accurate drug inventory control


A housing (10) comprises a first housing member (12) having a rib (14) about a substantial portion of the periphery of the first housing member, the rib being on at least two planes (22 and 24). A second housing member (30) having protrusions (32) on portions of the second housing member guides an O-ring (17) towards portions of the rib about the periphery of the first housing member. The O-ring placed on the rib of the first housing member aides in forming a radial seal when the second housing member is coupled to the first housing member.

Compression seals are common among portable products requiring environmental and water sealing. Some compression seals are used on products requiring sealing on more than one plane. For example, Motorola's watch pagers typically use compression seals for sealing a non-planar housing. Compression sealing typically provides a strong seal, but increased cost in terms of manufacturing, assembly time, and parts. Compression seals typically require a compression force on opposing housings applied by clamping or screws. Radial seals are generally easier in assembly and usually cost less in terms of parts. But when a seal is required for a non-planar housing, radial seals have not been found to exist. Since radial seals are generally restricted to one plane, design flexibility is hampered. For instance, if some features on a radio require sealing while other features do not, there are limitations dependent on the location of a planar radial seal as to where those features have to be within the product. Sealed features and non-sealed features will have to be located on opposing sides of the single plane of the seal. Therefore, a need exists for implementing a lower cost radial seal in a non-planar housing that would provide greater design flexibility.
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional radial seal 6 is formed between a first housing member 1 and a second housing member 2. The radial seal 6 is typically formed using an O-ring 3 having an unloaded diameter 4 as indicated. The O-ring is radially compressed to form a loaded diameter 5 which is typically the width of the channel between the two housing members. The conventional O-ring is mounted on a single plane to provide an equivalent radial force (or horizontal force shown by 4) throughout the perimeter of the entire O-ring. If the housings members were compressed sufficiently to deform the O-ring 3 to the extent of forcing the O-ring to touch the bottom portion 2 of the second housing member, a radial seal would no longer exist; Rather, a compression seal would be formed since a partial vertical force would be applied to the O-ring 3. Thus, a true radial seal would have no vertical forces (in the orientation shown) and only horizontal forces or radial forces.


A method and apparatus for measuring the progress of a formal verification process using an analysis region, and measures the effectiveness of the current set of properties/requirements in verifying different portions of logic within the design. The present invention applies the concept of analysis region to analyze the properties/requirements for a design. The analysis region can be expanded or contracted either manually or automatically based upon the results of the analysis. The present invention generates a visual display that is available to the user that represents the amount of source code in the analysis region for a given property or multiple properties in comparison to the maximum possible analysis region. The present invention can display this information in a bar graph format, on a line-by-line basis for the source code and on a waveform display, for example.

The present invention relates generally to the field of functional verification of digital circuit designs. More specifically, the present invention relates to the field of formal verification of a digital circuit design and verifying the behavior of a circuit model to satisfy specified properties.
Recent increases in the complexity of modern integrated circuits have exacerbated the difficulty of verifying design correctness. The verification phase of a typical integrated circuit design project consumes approximately 70-80% of the total time and resources dedicated to a project. Flaws in the design that are not found during the verification phase have significant economic impact in terms of increased time-to-market and reduced profit margins.
A typical design flow for integrated circuit design includes many steps that proceed sequentially, with each step depending on the results of the previous steps. Consequently, when a flaw is discovered in a step, all the previous steps must be repeated, often at a significant cost. Hence, it is highly desirable to find and fix design flaws as early as possible in a design flow.
Traditionally, simulation-based techniques have been used to verify design correctness. Transistor-level simulation based techniques were used in the early 1970s and logic gate-level simulation based techniques were used in the late 1980s. As the complexity of designs increased with the passage of time, drawbacks associated with these techniques came into light. These techniques became less effective because of their inability to completely and quickly verify large designs. A popular alternative is the use of Register Transfer Language (RTL)-level simulation. Contemporary verification and debugging tools use various levels of abstractions for defining design specifications. These abstractions are expressed in high-level description languages. High-level description languages provide a number of functionalities for analyzing and verifying a design while performing simulation. For example, a designer can navigate the design hierarchy, view the RTL source code, and set breakpoints on a statement of an RTL source code to stop the simulation. Also, line numbers are provided in the RTL source code to identify different lines and statements. Further, the verification and debugging tools often support viewing and tracing variables and some times even signal values. These RTL-level simulation tools typically also offer these and other types of RTL debugging functionalities.
The verification tools as mentioned above typically follow a design flow. In the first step of the design flow, the conceptual nature of the integrated circuit is determined. The desired functionality of a circuit is expressed as a collection of properties or specifications, and possibly as a model of the behavior in a high-level language such as C++. The RTL model of the digital circuit is built based upon knowledge of the specifications or the high-level model. The RTL model is expressed in a hardware description language (HDL) such as Verilog or VHDL available from IEEE of New York, N.Y. Many other steps such as synthesis, timing optimization, clock tree insertion, place and route, etc., yield subsequent transformations of the design. These transformations eventually result in a set of masks that are fabricated into integrated circuits. The current invention is targeted at finding design flaws in the RTL model of the design, which is a very early phase of the design flow.
In the design flow, creation of RTL source code is followed by verification in order to check the compliance of the RTL source code to the design specifications. Three approaches commonly used to verify the design at the RTL level are simulation, emulation and formal methods.
Simulation is one of the most prevalent methods used to determine whether the design is in accordance with the specifications by simulating the behavior of the RTL model. The simulation process uses RTL source code and a "Testbench" to verify a design. The Testbench contains a subset of all possible inputs to the circuit/logic. For an 'n' input circuit, there are 2n possible input values at any given time. For large n, e.g., for a complex design, the number of possible input sequences becomes prohibitively large. To simplify this, only a subset of all possible input sequences is described in any given Testbench. An example of such a tool is SMV from Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pa. To simulate the RTL model, a Testbench must be created to provide appropriate input stimulus to the RTL model. Creating the Testbench is a time consuming process. The process of simulating the Testbench is also time consuming. Furthermore, it is effectively impossible to create enough test cases to completely verify that the specified properties of the design are true. This is because of the sheer number of possible input sequences, and also because it requires in-depth knowledge and tremendous creativity on the part of the Testbench creator to imagine the worst-case scenarios.
An increasingly popular alternative is to use formal methods to completely verify properties of a design. Formal methods use mathematical techniques to prove that a design property is either always true, or to provide an example scenario (referred to as a counterexample) demonstrating that the property is false. One category of tools using formal methods to verify properties are known as Model Checkers. An example of a conventional model checking tool is the Formal-Check tool from Cadence Design Systems, Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif.
Traditionally, simulation has been used to verify the functionality of a digital design in an ad-hoc manner. When simulation is used, progress is tracked by, for example: (1) the number of tests created (random, constrained random, or directed) to generate stimulus, (2) the percentage (%) of input space simulated (for example, in processors with instruction architecture), (3) the percentage of lines in the design description that have been exercised by tests, (4) the extent in which signal values are toggled by the tests, (5) the extent in which finite state machines transit from a specific state to another specific state as exercised by the tests, and (6) the % of items in the test plan have corresponding tests. To measure these items, a combination of the following techniques can be used: 'code-coverage', 'line-coverage', 'branch-coverage', 'subexpression-coverage', 'state-coverage', 'arc coverage', and 'functional coverage', for example.
When a design team starts to use formal verification, these metrics become less useful, because formal verification analyzes all possible legal sequences of inputs (subjected to constraints) and formal verification leads to an emphasis on the completeness of the set of requirements, whereas simulation concentrates on the stimulus generation (and simulation checkers are not analyzed for completeness). As a result, there is a need to define new metrics to measure progress in the use of formal verification to verify a digital design.
One such conventional system for measuring coverage on a design is the use of a cone of logic with respect to a property. For example, RuleBase: an Industry-Oriented Formal Verification Tool, Ilan Beer, Shoham Ben-David, Cindy Eisner, and Avner Landver, 33rd Design Automation Conference, DAC 1996, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. In this paper, the authors identify the cone of logic as the relevant portion of the design with respect to a property and states that if the formula verifies a property of one design output, only this output and its input cone of logic are necessary. The RuleBase paper identifies unnecessary parts and removes them."
Other references use a "cone of logic" to determine if more properties should be written. However, the use of analysis region (which is the same or smaller than the full cone of logic) to formally verify a property means that a coverage metric using the cone of logic does not provide a good indication of how many properties should be written to completely verify a block. On the other hand, in the present invention, because an analysis region should be tuned to be as small as possible to achieve a fast true proof, this provides a good balance between achieving complete analysis region coverage and achieving minimal analysis region for fast formal verification.
What is needed is a system and method for (1) measuring the progress of a formal verification process using the concept of an analysis region, (2) measuring the effectiveness of the current set of properties/requirements in verifying different portions of logic within the design and (3) having a visualization display that communicates the measurement succinctly to the user.

System and method for measuring progress for formal verification of a design using analysis region


The invention relates to a method of treating a subject who has cancer or a non-malignant tumor, the method comprising administering a therapeutically effective amount of a 18-20 member bi-polycyclic compound to the subject.

The disappearance of muscle mass associated with several pathological conditions is not effectively addressed by palliative or pharmacological therapies. Therefore there is a need to develop therapeutics that delay or prevent the mechanisms of muscle atrophy and can therefore inhibit or help to prevent muscle degeneration and support muscle function in patients.
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The Royal Institution for the Advancement of Learning/ McGill University