A projection display is capable of suppressing both the trapezoidal distortion of an enlarged image projected on a screen by oblique projection and aberrations resulting from oblique projection and includes a projection optical system provided with lenses that can be easily manufactured and assembled. The projection optical system for obliquely projecting an image formed by a display device on the screen includes a free curved lens having a rotationally asymmetric free curved surface. The free curved lens has fringing parts having outlines of a shape coinciding with an arc of a circle having the center on the optical axis of the free curved lens.

The present invention relates to a projection display capable of projecting a color image to display an enlarged color picture.
A projection display for displaying an enlarged image of an image formed by a display device using reflection or transmission liquid crystal panel or micromirrors is required to form a sufficiently enlarged image on a screen and to have a small depth. A projection optical unit and a projection display intended to meet such requirements are disclosed in JP-A 2001-264627. The known projection optical unit and the known projection display project an enlarged image obliquely on a screen. Such an image projection mode will be referred to as "oblique image projection mode". A method of optical adjustment of a projection display employing a curved mirror for oblique projection is disclosed in, for example, JP-A 2002-350774.
When an image is projected on a screen in an oblique projection mode at a predetermined angle to a normal to a major surface of the screen, for example, from a level below that of the screen, the image projected on the screen is subject to trapezoidal distortion and to optical aberration due to the difference in projection distance between light beams projected on an upper part of the screen and those projected on a lower part of the screen. A method of correcting such optical aberration disclosed in JP-A 2001-264627 corrects the trapezoidal distortion by a free curved mirror having a negative power and disposed between a projection optical system and the screen. The display device is translated greatly in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis relative to the coaxial projection optical system and the display device is tilted relative to a rotationally asymmetric projection optical system and is translated to correct the aberration.
When the aberration is corrected by such a method, an image displayed on the screen is likely to be longitudinally displaced. Therefore, a correcting mechanism for correcting the longitudinal displacement is necessary. A coaxial projection optical system required to have a large field angle needs many lenses and a large aperture. Any measures are not taken to cope with aberration and increase in distortion due to the deformation of optical parts caused by changes in ambient conditions.
Although an adjusting method that moves a free curved mirror is disclosed in JP-A 2002-350774, nothing is mentioned therein about aberration correction. Any measures are not taken to cope with increase in distortion due to the deformation of the free curved mirror caused by changes in ambient conditions
Thus the known technique uses separate means respectively for correcting trapezoidal distortion and aberration and hence needs many lenses each having a big diameter. The known technique has difficulty in achieving both satisfactorily reducing trapezoidal distortion and aberration when an image is projected in an oblique projection mode, and forming a display in a small depth and/or lowering the lower end of a screen, which will be referred to as "set compaction". Any measures are not taken to cope with increase in aberration and distortion due to the deformation of optical parts caused by changes in ambient conditions. Both those known techniques do not mention about the shape of a free curved mirror that can be easily made.

Projection display, projection optical system and transmission lens or free curved lens


A predetermined amalgamation of electrodes formed or manufactured at least in part, by predetermined, sequential manufacturing operations into a balanced and shielding electrode structure. The balanced total electrode structure also uses a grouping of identically configured, and balanced positioned, shielding electrodes that are amalgamated in sequential combination with predetermined, complimentary balanced shielded electrodes groupings and other predetermined elements that are together, practicable to provide predetermined multiple energy conditioning functions operable upon portions of propagating energy as well simultaneously being operable to provide a common, voltage reference function operable for at least dynamic circuit operations.

Today, as the density of electronic devices in societies throughout the world is increasing, governmental and self-imposed standards for the suppression of electromagnetic interference (EMI) and protecting electronics from that interference have become much stricter. Only a few years ago, the primary causes of interference were from sources and conditions such as voltage imbalances, spurious voltage transients from power surges, human beings, or other electromagnetic wave generators.
At higher operating frequencies, line conditioning of propagating energy portions using prior art componentry has led to increased levels of interference in the form of EMI, RFI, and capacitive and inductive parasitics. These increases are due in part to the inherent manufacturing imbalances and performance deficiencies of the passive componentry that create or induce interference into the associated electrical circuitry when functioning at higher operating frequencies. EMI can also be generated from the electrical circuit pathway itself, which makes shielding from EMI desirable.
Differential and common mode noise energy can be generated and will usually traverse along and around cables, circuit board tracks or traces, high-speed transmission lines and bus line pathways. In many cases, these critical energy conductors act as an antenna radiating energy fields that aggravate the problem even more.
In other energy conditioning areas such as for high frequency decoupling for instance, a novel and unique approach is to provide an invention that allows for predetermined and closely positioned parallel energy pathways or electrodes to operate dynamically in close proximity to one another to allow development of a low impedance energy pathway that will develop upon a third parallel energy pathway not normally considered as integral for energized circuit operations.
This third energy pathway is normally found to be electrically isolated from, but be found internally adjacent to, the electrically opposing differential electrode energy pathways or power/signal planes. This third energy pathway can also be utilized in one invention circuit assembly for multiple attachments as opposed to utilizing many, individual discrete low impedance decoupling capacitors, positioned in parallel within a prior art circuit assembly in an attempt to accomplish the same goal.
The present invention discloses a new predetermined embodiment that can be part of a predetermined circuit system to provide predetermined circuit protection and predetermined energy conditioning from various invention embodiments, invention assemblies, invention assembly circuit arrangements that will help also provide the current passive component manufacturing infrastructure with multifunctional energy conditioning structure that also allows an unprecedented ease of adaptability or production changeover as compared to the prior art.

PREDETERMINED SYMMETRICALLY BALANCED AMALGAM WITH COMPLEMENTARY PAIRED PORTIONS COMPRISING SHIELDING ELECTRODES AND SHIELDED ELECTRODES AND OTHER PREDETERMINED ELEMENT PORTIONS FOR SYMMETRICALLY BALANCED AND COMPLEMENTARY ENERGY PORTION CONDITIONING


A digital image display apparatus for converting a pixel value of medical digital image data such as MRI image data or CT image data into brightness in accordance with a display window including a window level and a window width of a display unit, determines the optimum window level and width for each image as follows. The apparatus obtains a histogram of pixel values from the digital image data and calculates brightness data of a pixel value having a highest frequency, brightness data of a pixel value at a boundary between a background and an image, area data of a portion having middle brightness within a display brightness range, area data of a portion having maximum brightness, and data indicating a ratio between an area of a portion having higher brightness than the middle brightness and an area of a portion having lower brightness than that obtained, when the digital image is to be displayed by a given display window on the basis of the histogram. The apparatus obtains image quality indicating clarity of the image displayed by the given window on the basis of the above data by using arithmetic operations or by using a neural network, thereby determining the optimum display window which provides a maximum image quality.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital image display apparatus for displaying an image by converting a pixel value of a digital image data into brightness by means of a display window, which can suitably set a window level and a window width as parameters concerning pixel value-to-brightness conversion, i.e., the display window, in accordance with characteristic features of the digital image data.
2. Description of the Related Art
An example of the image display apparatus of this type is an apparatus for displaying a medical image such as a CT image or an MR image. When the medical image data is to be displayed so as to be observed or photographed on a film as a picture, each pixel value of the image data must be converted into brightness by a predetermined nonlinear conversion function. The conversion function is nonlinear because the dynamic range of the medical image is wider than that of a display screen. If all of the pixel values included in the pixel value range of the digital image data are converted into brightness by using a linear conversion function, no clear image can be displayed. This conversion function is called the display window having the window level and the window width as parameters.
In a conventional system, an operator manually adjusts the window level and the window width while monitoring the image displayed on the screen and sets the display window (conversion function) which allows a necessary portion in the image to be displayed with optimum contrast and brightness This operation becomes cumbersome for the operator if the operator must adjust the window level and width for a number of images
In an MRI apparatus or a CT apparatus, therefore, it is attempted to preset standard values of the window level and the window width for each scanning condition and read out the corresponding preset standard values in accordance with the scanning condition of each scan, thereby automatically setting the window level and the window width.
Further, it is proposed to set the display window in accordance with the characteristic features of the image data. An example of such an apparatus is an image display apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Disclosure No. 63-84526. This apparatus forms a histogram as shown in FIG. 1A, concerning a pixel value from image data and calculates a threshold level Th from the maximum frequency H.sub.max, e.g., 0.05 .times. H.sub.max, thereby determining a range (Wl to Wh) having a frequency with a level Th or more. The apparatus determines the window width WW (Wl to Wh) and the window level WL (=(Wh+Wl)/2) for display of the image, from the lower pixel value limit Wl and the upper pixel value limit Wh as shown in FIG. 1B, thereby forming the conversion function or the display window for pixel value-to-brightness conversion.
This conventional arrangement, however, has the following problem. That is, since the display window is set on the basis of only the threshold level obtained from the maximum frequency in the histogram, it often does not coincide with a display window set by an operator. If the automatically set window is not suitable for observation, the operator must adjust the automatically set window, resulting in a cumbersome operation.

Digital image display apparatus with automatic window level and window width adjustment


An accessory in the form of a metal-wire meshed tube body having a dual structure is provided wherein a metal-wire meshed tube body with fine mesh density is incorporated inside a metal-wire meshed tube body with coarse mesh density.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an accessory and a method of making the same to provide protection against flattening and deformation caused by external pressure and to promote stabilization and diversification in color and design variation by combining a couple of meshed tube bodies formed by weaving specific metal wire, preferably precious metal wire such as gold, silver or platinum, to have respective different mesh density.
2. Related Background Art
Publicly known accessories, such as necklaces and bracelets, are made in the conventional technique in which specific precious metal wire such as gold, silver or platinum wire is weaved by a specific knitting machine to form a meshed tube body in a cylindrical shape, and metal rings and clasps fastened to the metal rings are attached to the respective ends of the meshed tube body.
Also, as stated in the official gazettes of Japanese Patent Application Publication Numbers 299514/1999 and 360320/2002, publicly known accessories are made in a manner that a precious-metal net which is formed by connecting ball chains made of precious metal is formed into a tubular shape, and a bead-like or string-like object or flexible object made of synthetic resin is inserted therein.
In the first one of the above-mentioned conventional techniques, i.e. the technique of weaving specific precious-metal wire such as gold, silver or platinum wire by a knitting machine to form a meshed tube body in a cylindrical shape, the problems are not only that external pressure is likely to cause a deformation, such as dent and flattening, of thus weaved precious-metal meshed tube body, but also that significant decorative effects cannot be achieved in terms of novel color and design.
In the second case on the other hand, i.e. either the techniques disclosed in the official gazettes of Japanese Patent Application Publication Numbers 299514/1999 or 360320/2002, precious-metal net is formed with precious-metal ball chains, and this precious-metal net is formed into a tubular shape. Since a net tube body made of precious metal has no resistance to deformation caused by external pressure and has no self-recovery characteristics, a bead-like or string-like object or flexible object made of synthetic resin is inserted into the net tube body to prevent flattening by external pressure. The net tube body is unable to keep its cylindrical shape for itself, which fact leads to the problem that use of different members increases the total cost and, moreover, causes difficulty of keeping definite form in color and design.

Abstract: The accessory is provided in the form of a combination of a couple of meshed tube bodies formed by weaving metal wire to have respective different mesh density, wherein a dual-structure meshed tube body 3 is composed of a metal meshed tube body 1 with coarse mesh density positioned outwardly and a metal meshed tube body 2 with fine mesh density positioned inwardly.


An apparatus and a method for determining the cure state of thermosetting polymers using time domain reflectometry. A miniature capacitor is constructed at the end of a coaxial transmission line which is immersed in the curing polymer so that the polymer is the dielectric of the capacitor, and step function voltage pulses are fed to the transmission line, while the reflected signal from the line is monitored. The amplitude and decay characteristics of the reflected signals, which are related to the degree of cure and the viscosity, respectively, are fed to a computer for interpretation and display.

This invention deals generally with electrical measuring and testing, and more specifically with the determination of the non-electric property of the state of cure of a thermosetting polymer by the use of time domain reflectometry.
The degree of cure of thermosetting polymers is of considerable interest in industry because the cure status determines the strength of a part and also whether it can be subjected to subsequent manufacturing processes. However, since the cure status of the internal portion of a part can not be evaluated visually, considerable effort has been expended to find methods to accurately evaluate the cure state.
Several electrical methods to determine cure state have been used. Among them are the measurement of impedance (U.S. Pat. No. 5,432,435 to Strong et al), reflection of continuous microwave energy (U.S. Pat. No. 5,059,914 to Lacombe et al), and dielectric properties (U.S. Pat. No. 4,777,431 to Day et al). Carrozzino et al have also performed laboratory tests (noted in Polymer Engineering And Science March 1990, Vol. 30, No. 6, pp 366) on the use of time domain reflectometry to evaluate the degree of cure. However, Carrozzino concluded that such an approach had poor accuracy and repeatability, and the publication did not disclose the use of in-situ sensors or the measurement of viscosity.

Method and apparatus for in-situ measurement of polymer cure status


Methods, systems, and media for identifying abusive user accounts based on playlists are provided. In accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, a method for identifying abusive content is provided, the method comprising: determining at least one feature associated with a playlist created by a user-generated channel; calculating a playlist score associated with the playlist based on a playlist classifier, wherein the playlist classifier comprises a function that maps the at least one feature to the playlist score; calculating a channel score associated with the user-generated channel based at least on the calculated playlist score; determining that one or more content items associated with the user-generated channel is to be demoted based on the calculated channel score, wherein the one or more content items comprises the playlist; and causing the one or more content items to be demoted.

Keyword searching is an important tool that allows users to discover content on media content platforms. As such, great emphasis is placed on search engine optimization to cause content to appear earlier (or rank higher) in a search results list for certain keyword search queries. Content, such as a video content, that receives a high rank in a search results list is more visible to users, which can attract more visitors that may select the video content for consumption, accrue more watch time, and ultimately lead to increased revenue. However, bad actors can abuse this visibility by automatically creating hundreds or even thousands of playlists (sometimes referred to as "spam playlists") that are optimized to flood a search results list for popular keyword search queries. For example, each of these playlists can include unrelated, misleading, repetitive, racy, pornographic, infringing, and/or "clickbait" content to target unsuspecting users.
Existing approaches for controlling spam playlists are ineffective due to the sheer number of spam playlists. For example, in connection with video provision services, manual user reporting of individual spam playlists simply cannot address the thousands of new spam playlists that are automatically generated by abusive users on their respective user channels each day.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide new methods, systems, and media for identifying abusive user accounts based on playlists.


There is provided a brassiere that includes a body having a pair of breast cups, a pair of stretchable panels each adjacent a separate breast cup and connected to a back of the brassiere, and a pair of stretchable sheaths secured along a lower portion of the breast cup and floating along the panel of the brassiere. Each panel is made of a stretchable material. The brassiere further includes a pair of underwires each positionable in one sheath. Preferably, the underwire is anatomically shaped so that the curve of the underwire is greater on the inner portion compared to the outer portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to brassieres. More particularly, the present invention relates to a brassiere having underwire support, yet permits natural shaping and flexibility.
2. Description of the Prior Art
To be comfortable, a brassiere must combine both support for the wearer""s breasts and freedom of movement for the wearer""s body.
In order to give freedom of movement to the wearer, some brassieres include a high percentage of stretchable materials, such as elastic. However, brassieres formed primarily of stretchable fabric may not provide sufficient breast support.
To achieve a suitable level of support for the breast, brassieres use support underwires and/or nonstretchable fabric in certain areas. However, support underwires, especially when secured in place by nonstretchable material, can become an impediment to an active wearer. Moreover, support underwires, especially during movement by an active wearer, may poke through the fabric of the brassiere.
There are brassieres that attempt to combine support and freedom of movement. For example, some brassieres place the underwires in an inner panel next to the skin, so that the underwires are spaced apart from the material forming the breast cups. However, this configuration increases the complexity of the brassiere, and may do little to overcome the dual problem of achieving flexibility and support.
Giving the foregoing, there is a need for a brassiere that provides freedom of movement without discomfort, as well as support for the breasts, during all activities of the wearer.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a brassiere that provides freedom of movement without affecting adversely the brassiere""s ability to support the wearer""s breast.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide such a brassiere that has a partially floating underwire.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such a brassiere that has stretchable panels.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide such a brassiere that has a stretchable underwire sheath.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a brassiere that has underwires with an anatomically desired shape thereby enhancing support, natural shaping and comfort on the body.
These and other objects of the present invention are achieved by a brassiere that includes a body having a pair of breast cups, a pair of panels each adjacent to a separate breast cup and connected to a back of the brassiere, and a pair of stretchable sheaths secured along a lower portion of the breast cup and floating along the side panel of the brassiere. Each side panel is made of a stretchable material. The brassiere further includes a pair of underwires, each positionable in one of said pair of sheaths. In a preferred embodiment, the panels stretch only in the sideways or horizontal direction. Since the sheath is not attached to the body of the brassiere along the side panel, it floats thereby providing greater flexibility. In a first embodiment, the panel one panel that extends to the back of the brassiere. In a second embodiment, the panel is a side panel that is connected to one or more other panels, one of which extends to the back of the brassiere. Preferably, in any embodiment, the underwire is anatomically shaped so that the curve of the underwire is greater on the inner portion compared to the outer portion thus providing enhanced support at all times.


A composition and playback system includes a sound bank containing at least one instrument sound, an input device for receiving music control signals, a sequencer coupled to the input device for storing the music control signals, and a work manager coupled to the sound bank and to the sequencer for generating a musical work file containing the music control signals and at least a portion of the sound bank. The system further includes a synthesizer engine coupled to the input device for processing the music control signals based on the instrument sounds contained in the sound bank, a mixer coupled to the synthesizer engine for mixing effects with the processed music control signals, and a speaker system coupled to the mixer for converting the mixed music control signals to sound.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) technology, and more particularly to a system and method for generating, distributing, storing and performing musical work files.
2. Description of the Background Art
Music is one of the most popular forms of creative expression. Accordingly, musical system designers have attempted to provide composers with musical tools, such as Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) technology and General MIDI, for facilitating the creation, distribution, storage and performance of musical works.
MIDI is an international standard that specifies a hardware setup and a software protocol for controlling electronic music instruments. The hardware setup is a serial communications network that runs quickly enough to play very complex music in real time. The software protocol is comprehensive and flexible, and provides a mechanism for encoding basic note playing, performance expression, sound selection and elaborate modes of tape machine and theatrical control. Although MIDI is compact, flexible and lends itself to multimedia applications, traditional MIDI equipment is commonly acknowledged as far too complex for consumers to handle. Further, MIDI compositions are system dependent, and thus, for example, musical information intended by the composer to represent the sounds of a grand piano may be reproduced by a first player system as a bass guitar and by a second player system as a flute.
In response to the complexity and system dependence of MIDI, music system designers created General MIDI which recommends standards and common practices for providing more predictable results and a greater ease of use. Thus, musical information intended by the composer to represent the sounds of a grand piano will be played by all player systems which implement General MIDI as a grand piano. However, because of several critical limitations including a lack of variety, a lack of playing audio samples and poor expressive quality, composers have found General MIDI to be inhibiting.
Therefore, a system and method are needed to provide composers with a musical tool that facilitates generation, distribution, storage and performance of musical information without compromising composer intention, creativity and sound quality.

System and method for generating, distributing, storing and performing musical work files


Headlight for a motor vehicle comprising a reflector and a light source (S) running transversely to the optical axis (Y—Y) of the reflector and placed near the focal point of the reflector. The transverse light source (S) is placed near the internal focal point (Fi) of an ellipsoidal reflector (R1). The wall of the ellipsoidal reflector has a cutout (1) situated on one side of the plane passing through the geometric axis of the light source (S) and parallel to the optical axis (Y—Y) of the ellipsoidal reflector. A lens (2) with an optical axis parallel to or coincident with that of the ellipsoidal reflector (R1) is placed in front of this reflector, the focal point (3) of the lens being close to the external focal point (Fe) of the ellipsoidal reflector. A verticalized reflector (R2) is arranged on the opposite side of the cutout (1) to the most-part of the ellipsoidal reflector (R1), this verticalized reflector (R2) being designed to produce, from the source (S) housed in the ellipsoidal reflector, a long-range beam which is not intercepted by the lens, the ellipsoidal reflector giving a wide beam of shorter range.

The invention relates to a headlight for a motor vehicle of the kind comprising a reflector and a light source running transversely to the optical axis of the reflector and placed near the focal point of the reflector.
EP 0 933 585 discloses a headlight with a transverse source and a verticalized reflector. The expression "verticalized reflector" is to be understood as meaning a reflector running mainly in the vertical direction and the surface of which is determined such that it reflects, in a substantially horizontal direction, rays of light originating from a source situated near the focal point of the reflector. The headlight according to EP 0 933 585 makes it possible to obtain a beam with a satisfactory range along the optical axis of the projector, with the beam cut off sharply below a horizontal plane.
However, illuminating the shoulders of the highway is a relatively tricky task.

Projector with transverse light source for automotive vehicle


A communication system for producing electronic business information reports comprising: a communication network, a website module, a product fabrication module, a computer system for communicating with and controlling the operation of the group of modules via the network, means for accessing the computer system thereby to enable communication and control of the modules by a user, and means for providing just-in-time business information reports wherein a request therefor is transmitted through the website to the product fabrication module.

It has been known for many years to build up files, and to provide databases that contain the files, relating to a variety of businesses about whom inquiries are to be made. Many companies conduct investigations aimed at establishing credit worthiness, or lack thereof, of such businesses, and also to associate this credit information with a variety of other data about those businesses.
Besides the more or less traditional investigations into credit worthiness and other related data, there has been developed a novel scheme that will aid customers to determine whether businesses that are inquired about appear to share certain proclivities with businesses already identified as having engaged in questionable, even unethical, activity. In this connection, reference may be made to co-pending application U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/021,253, filed on Dec. 13, 2001, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety, and that produces by its system's operation a figure of merit or "higher risk" score. In accordance with that invention, the characteristics of certain businesses on file, which businesses are considered to have engaged in questionable activities, are used to train a neural network whereby a neural network module, which is capable of identifying patterns in the data elements or characteristics of those businesses, is created. Thereafter, the data elements of business under inquiry is analyzed by the neural network module such that a weighted sum of its elements or characteristics can be obtained. The so-called "higher risk score" can be developed from this weighted sum. The higher risk score indicates to the subscriber or customer that the business is under financial stress and thus they may want to be careful in extending credit because they may not be repaid.
The present invention is directed to a method of converting such previously developed or stored business data into usable data that may be retrieved by a user in a report format on-the-fly.

System and method for producing electronic business information reports and related products


The present disclosure relates to devices methods for the reverse transport of lipids such as cholesterols for the treatment diseases and conditions caused by vulnerable plaques. The devices can reduce or eliminate vulnerable plaques by transporting the plaques away from their location.

A vulnerable plaque is an atheromatous plaque which is particularly prone to producing sudden major problems, such as a heart attack or stroke. Generally an atheroma becomes vulnerable if it grows rapidly and has a thin cover separating it from the bloodstream inside the arterial lumen. Tearing of the cover is called plaque rupture.
An atheroma (plural: atheromata) is an accumulation and swelling (-oma) in the artery walls that are made up of cells (mostly macrophage cells), or cell debris, that contain lipids (such as cholesterol and fatty acids), calcium and a variable amount of fibrous connective tissue. In the context of heart or artery matters, atheromata are commonly referred to as atheromatous plaques.
These anatomic lesions usually begin in later childhood and progress over time. Veins may not develop atheromata, unless surgically moved to function as an artery, as in bypass surgery. The accumulation (swelling) is usually between the endothelium lining and the smooth muscle wall central region (media) of the arterial tube. While the early stages, based on gross appearance, have traditionally been termed fatty streaks by pathologists, they are not composed of adipose cells, but of accumulations of white blood cells, especially macrophages that have taken up oxidized low-density lipoprotein (LDL). After they accumulate large amounts of cytoplasmic membranes (with associated high cholesterol content) they are called foam cells. When foam cells die, their contents are released, which attracts more macrophages and creates an extracellular lipid core near the center to inner surface of each atherosclerotic plaque. Conversely, the outer, older portions of the plaque become more calcific, less metabolically active and more physically stiff over time.
Collectively, the process of atheroma development within an individual is called atherogenesis and the overall result of the disease process is termed atherosclerosis. Because artery walls typically enlarge in response to enlarging plaques, these plaques do not usually produce much stenosis of the artery lumen. Therefore, they are not detected by cardiac stress tests or angiography, the tests most commonly performed clinically with the goal of predicting susceptibility to future heart attack. Additionally, because these lesions do not produce significant stenoses, they are typically not considered critical and/or interventionable by interventional cardiologists, even though they may be the more important lesions for producing heart attacks.
In many cases, a vulnerable plaque has a thin fibrous cap and a large and soft lipid pool underlying the cap. These characteristics together with the usual hemodynamic pulsating expansion during systole and elastic recoil contraction during diastole contribute to a high mechanical stress zone on the fibrous cap of the atheroma, making it prone to rupture. Increased hemodynamic stress correlates with increased rates of major cardiovascular events associated with exercise, especially exercise beyond levels an individual does routinely.
The most frequent cause of a cardiac event following rupture of a vulnerable plaque is blood clotting on top of the site of the ruptured plaque that blocks the lumen of the artery, thereby stopping blood flow to the tissues the artery supplies.
Upon rupture, atheroma tissue debris may spill into the blood stream; these debris are often too large to pass on through the capillaries downstream. In this situation, the debris may obstruct smaller downstream branches of the artery resulting in temporary to permanent end artery/capillary closure with loss of blood supply, and death of the previously supplied tissues. A severe case of this can be seen during angioplasty in the slow clearance of injected contrast down the artery lumen. This situation is often termed non-reflow. Additionally, atheroma rupture may allow bleeding from the lumen into the inner tissue of the atheroma making the atheroma size suddenly increase and protrude into the lumen of the artery producing lumen narrowing or even total obstruction. Repeated atheroma rupture and healing is one of the mechanisms, perhaps the dominant one, which creates artery stenosis.
There is an unmet need for devices and methods which remove vulnerable plaques as vulnerable plaques can cause various diseases and conditions such as heart attack and stroke.

Devices and methods for reverse lipid transport


For providing power control for a mobile station in a mobile communication, in connection with accomplishing a handover of the mobile station from a presently serving cell to a target cell, each cell is assigned a maximum transmitting power level at which mobile stations are allowed to transmit in the cell. The receive level of the downlink signal of the handover target cell is measured at the mobile station prior to the handover, and the transmitting power level of the measured receive level of the downlink signal of the target cell. The mobile station is commanded to use the determined transmitting power level as its initial output power level in the target cell following the handover. The transmitting power level of the mobile station following the handover is lower than the maximum transmitting power level of the target cell by an amount equal to the difference between the optimum level of the uplink signal of the target cell and the measured receive level of the downlink signal of the target cell as measured prior to the handover, if the measured receive level of the target cell is higher than the optimum level of the uplink signal of the target cell.

It is characteristic of a modern mobile communication system that a mobile station is free to roam and connect from one cell to another within the mobile communication system. If a mobile station does not have an ongoing call, the cell crossover only results in registering to a new cell. If a mobile station MS is handling a call during the cell crossover, the call must also be switched to the new cell by a way which causes as little disturbance to the call as possible. The cell crossover process during an ongoing call is called a handover. A handover may also be carried out within the cell from one traffic channel to another. In order for the mobile communication system to be able to detect a need for a handover and to select a suitable target cell for the handover, various kinds of measurements are required in order to determine the connection quality and field strength levels of the neighbouring cells. A handover from the serving cell to a neighbouring cell can occur, for example, (1), as measurement results of the mobile station/base station indicate a low signal level and/or quality in the present serving cell, and a better signal level can be obtained in a neighbouring cell, or (2), as a neighbouring cell enables communication at lower transmitting power levels. The latter may occur in cases a mobile station is in a border area between cells. In radio networks, the aim is to avoid unnecessarily high power levels and thus interference elsewhere in the network.
The transmitting power of a mobile station is usually controlled from the fixed network by a power control algorithm. The mobile station measures the receive level (field strength) and quality of the downlink signal received from the base station of the serving cell, and the base station of the serving cell, in turn, measures the receive level (field strength) and quality of the uplink signal received from the mobile station. On the basis of these measurement results and the preset power control parameters, the power control algorithm determines an appropriate transmitting power level of which the mobile station is then informed in a power control command. During a call, power control is continuous.
Mobile communication systems of this kind, however, have a problem regarding the post-handover situation. Following the handover, it takes a while before an adequate number of measurement results can be obtained from the mobile station and the base station of the new cell, and before the power control algorithm is able to make an optimal adjustment to the transmitting power levels of the base station and the mobile station. For this reason, the mobile station is first, following the handover, commanded to use the highest transmitting power allowed to it in the new cell. The highest allowed transmitting power ensures an adequate link quality even to those mobile stations that are located in the cell border area as the handover is carried out. If, however, the mobile station is closer by as the handover is carried out, the highest allowed transmitting power might be unnecessarily high. Although the power control rapidly decreases the transmitting power of the mobile station to an appropriate level, the post-handover radio frequency power peaks may cause uplink disturbances in the radio network. Furthermore, overrated power levels unnecessarily shorten the battery life in the battery-powered mobile station.

Power control method and arrangement for handover in a mobile communication system


A process for preparing a radiation image storage panel composed of the steps of preparing a multi-layer sheet composed of a flexible base, an adhesive layer and a transparent resin film; coating a fluororesin layer on the resin film; peeling the base together with the adhesive layer from the fluororesin-coated sheet; forming an adhesive agent layer on the multi-layer sheet on the side having no fluororesin layer; covering the adhesive agent layer with a protective film; and placing under pressure on a beforehand prepared stimulable phosphor sheet composed of a support and a stimulable phosphor layer the multi-layer sheet after removing the protective film so that the adhesive agent layer can be brought into contact with the phosphor layer.

A radiation image recording and reproducing method utilizing a stimulable phosphor described is now practically employed. In the method, a radiation image storage panel comprising a stimulable phosphor (i.e., stimulable phosphor sheet) is employed, and the method comprises the steps of causing the stimulable phosphor of the panel to absorb radiation energy having passed through an object or having radiated from an object; sequentially exciting the stimulable phosphor with an electromagnetic wave such as visible light or infrared rays (hereinafter referred to as "stimulating rays") to release the radiation energy stored in the phosphor as light emission (i.e., stimulated emission); photoelectrically detecting the emitted light to obtain electric signals; and reproducing the radiation image of the object as a visible image from the electric signals. After a series of those steps, the radiation image storage panel thus treated is subjected to a step for erasing a radiation image remaining therein, and then is stored for the next radiation image recording and reproducing procedure. Thus, the radiation image storage panel can be repeatedly employed.
In the radiation image recording and reproducing method, a radiation image is obtainable with a sufficient amount of information by applying a radiation to the object at a considerably smaller dose, as compared with a conventional radiography using a combination of a radiographic film and radiographic intensifying screen. Further, the method is very advantageous from viewpoint of conservation of resource and economic efficiency because the radiation image storage panel can be repeatedly used in the method, while the radiographic film is consumed for each radiographic process in the conventional radiography.
The radiation image storage panel commonly employed in the above-described method has a basic structure comprising a support, a stimulable phosphor layer, and a protective film overlaid in order. The phosphor layer generally comprises a binder and a stimulable phosphor dispersed therein. However, there is also known a phosphor layer comprising agglomerate of a stimulable phosphor without binder. The phosphor layer containing no binder can be formed by deposition process or firing process. Further, there is known a phosphor layer comprising agglomerate of a stimulable phosphor impregnated with a polymer material. A radiation image storage panel having any of the above phosphor layers can be used for the radiation image recording and reproducing method.
As is described above, a film of transparent polymer material is generally placed on the phosphor layer so as to protect the phosphor layer. The protective film is generally formed by following two conventional methods. The first method comprises the steps of applying a resin solution onto the surface of the phosphor layer and drying the coated solution (coating method). The second method comprises placing a beforehand prepared transparent resin film on the surface of the phosphor layer via an adhesive layer (film adhering method). Although the coating method comprises a relatively simple procedure and gives the film having strong adhesion, the formed film has such insufficient physical strength that the surface of the coated protective layer sometimes suffers abrasion. On the other hand, the film adhering method comprises a relatively complicated procedure, which generally comprises the steps of beforehand preparing a transparent resin film having an adhesive layer and placing the film on the surface of the phosphor layer. The conventional protective film formed by either method has an advantageous feature in that the protective layer is liable to be stained when the radiation image storage panel having the protective film is conveyed in an apparatus for the radiation image recording and reproducing method, and further it is difficult to remove thus formed stains.
The radiation image storage panel is repeatedly used in the cyclic procedure comprising the steps of exposing to a radiation (for recording of a radiation image), irradiating with stimulating rays (for reading of the recorded image), and exposing to an erasing light (for erasing the remaining image). In this procedure, the panel is transferred from one stage to another stage by means of conveying means such as belt and rolls in the apparatus, and after a cycle of steps is conducted, the panel is piled up on other panel and stored for next cycle. Since the surface of the panel is directly touched to the conveying means (e.g., belt and rolls) during conveying, stains and abrasions are sometimes produced. The stains and the abrasions thus produced on the protective film disturb passages of the stimulating ray and the stimulated emission, and consequently make the resultant image quality poor.
In order to solve the above problem, several improvements are proposed. In copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/469,761 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,227,253, for example, improved protective films are proposed. The proposed films are prepared by applying a coating solution containing a fluororesin onto the surface of the phosphor layer and dried to form a fluororesin-contained protective film. It is stated that the stains and abrasions are hardly produced on the surface of the protective film thus prepared, and further the stains on the surface are easy to remove.
Although the above-mentioned prior arts solve the problem concerning the stains on the protective film, they cannot satisfactorily inhibit occurrence of the abrasions. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/834,772 discloses a method for preparing a protective film free from both stains and the abrasions. The method comprises the steps of placing a hard plastic film on the surface of the phosphor layer and then forming a coated fluororesin layer on the surface of the plastic film, to prepare a protective film comprising the plastic film and the coated fluororesin layer provided thereon.
The above-mentioned method effectively keeps the protective film from both stains and abrasions, and therefore a protective film can be advantageously prepared in accordance with the above method in a process for the preparation of radiation image storage panel. However, the inventor has found the problem of the above method: that is, it is not always easy to evenly form a coated fluororesin layer on the surface of the plastic film fixed on the phosphor layer with adhesive. The reason of this trouble appears as follows. Since the films provided on the phosphor layer are required to have a small total thickness so as to obtain a resultant image of a high quality, a very thin film is generally used as the protective film. Consequently, the protective film is so thin that roughness of the phosphor layer surface appears on the protective film surface, and the roughness sometimes further appears on the fluororesin layer coated on the plastic film surface.
Moreover, it is not easy to form a thin coated fluororesin layer on the surface of a multi-layer sheet comprising a support, a stimulable phosphor layer and a plastic film. Although this trouble can be avoided by a method comprising the steps of beforehand forming a coated fluororesin layer on the plastic film and then sticking the plastic film with adhesive onto the surface of the phosphor layer, it is not easy to prepare a thin plastic film having both a coated fluororesin layer provided on one surface and an adhesive layer provided on the other surface.

Process for preparing radiation image storage panel


Social graphs may be determined for individual users belonging to affiliations in virtual spaces accessible via electronic social networks. Affiliations within one or more virtual spaces may be managed. A given affiliation within a given virtual space may comprise a discrete group of users with a relationship having a functional significance within the given virtual space. Relationships within one or more electronic social network may be managed. A given relationship within a given electronic social network may represent a reciprocal relation between two or more users in the given electronic social network. Social graphs associated with individual users may be determined based on the affiliations within the one or more virtual spaces and the relationships within the one or more electronic social networks.

Systems exist for forming and/or recognizing affiliations between users of virtual spaces (e.g., video games or other virtual spaces). An affiliation may include an alliance, guild, cohort, and/or other affiliation with a discrete group of users. Typically, however, existing approaches involve affiliations limited to a single virtual space. Furthermore, existing systems do not incorporate both affiliations in virtual spaces and relationships in social networks when determining a social graph for a given user.


A self-aligning curb box assembly is provided. The curb box includes a cylindrical conduit extending from the ground surface downwardly and has a detachable cover at its upper, surface end. The conduit has an inverted “U” shaped passageway formed at its lower end through which a generally horizontally oriented supply line, such as for water or gas, passes. The supply line has a valve body and an “open-to-shut” valve cock located in the line positioned within the passageway at the lower end of the curb box, the valve cock extending upwardly. The assembly includes a positioning insert placed within the curb box at its lower end thereof. The insert limits lateral movement of the valve body in any direction throughout 360° in the plane about the valve when the insert is installed. The insert prevents substantial movement, both laterally and vertically, of the valve body relative to the curb box, thereby permitting ease of access to the valve cock by a valve key extending through the curb box to the valve to turn the valve off (or on). Also provided are the curb box alignment insert itself and a method of its use in aligning the curb box and valve in order to gain access by a valve key from ground level to the valve cock in said buried valve.

The invention relates to a protective, hollow, elongated housing, known in the industry as a curb box, which extends generally from a utility supply valve for a water or gas line buried in the ground, the curb box extending upwardly to the ground surface.
Gas or water mains, which supply residential or commercial buildings and which extend along and are buried under streets and roads running past the buildings, are connected from the main to each building by individual service lines, wherein the main and the service lines all extend below the frost line in the respective areas being served. Each service line is provided with a shut-off valve assembly, typically located near the curb of the street or road, or otherwise near the main supply line, hence the name "curb box". The assembly generally includes a housing disposed about the valve and a tubular, vertically oriented conduit, typically 4″ to 8″ in diameter, extending from the buried valve housing upwardly to the ground surface, having a cover or lid thereat removably secured to the conduit. This assembly effectively protects the underground valve from the environment and unauthorized access thereto.
To turn the supply of gas or water to an individual building on or off, the cover is removed and a tool, termed a "key", being a long rod with a slot or fork at its lower extremity, is inserted at the surface opening into the tubular conduit. The key extends downwardly to the head of the valve stem whereat, in theory, the key engages the valve cock and the valve stem is rotated 90° about its vertical axis to turn the gas or water supply to the building off (or on, as the case may be).
Problems associated with conventional curb boxes are well known. Ground in which valves are initially located may be disturbed, such as for backfills in new housing developments. Continuous variations in temperature can cause expansion and contraction of both the ground and the valve and piping. Repeated freezing and thawing can displace the valve substantially out of alignment with the curb box cover and the housing assembly. Soil erosion, water seepage, vehicles driving over the surface above the valve and other, similar forces can all cause the valve to move out of alignment with the access port at the surface, thereby making it difficult or impossible to reach the valve stem with the valve key. If the valve stem is not perfectly upright, it often cannot be opened. When the valve can not be opened by the key, the only available alternative is to excavate, and dig down to the valve itself, locate it, and shut it off. This can be a relatively very expensive operation.
Many prior patents have issued which purportedly address and solve this valve misalignment problem inherently associated with conventional curb boxes. Among these are U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,327,925; 4,572,236; 4,691,733; and the patents set out on the Invention Disclosure Form submitted simultaneously with the original application for this patent. None of these prior patents, nor any of the references cited within them, either discloses or suggests, either alone or in any combination, the features or advantages of the valve key alignment assembly presented hereinbelow.
While each of these prior patents purports to address and solve the curb box valve alignment problem, none provides the advantages, both in achieving mechanical alignment between key and valve stem and extremely low cost, provided by the invention disclosed and claimed herein.

Valve key alignment assembly for curb stop box


The present invention provides a method for treating Alzheimer's Disease using a xanomeline transdermal formulation. The invention provides desired transdermal xanomeline patch formulations.

Xanomeline, described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,043,345 ('345), is a compound having muscarinic activity which can be useful for the treatment of Alzheimer's Disease. As set forth in the '315 patent, xanomeline can be prepared in a solid form for oral use, in the form of suppositories for rectal administration, or in the form of sterile injectable solutions for parenteral use. A formulation for a typical tablet is provided; however, the patent does not suggest that it would be possible or desirable to prepare a transdermal xanomeline patch formulation.
Applicants have discovered that the transdermal xanomeline patch formulation of this invention provides suprising beneficial effects. The present invention provides a method for treating Alzheimer's disease with fewer side effects than are typically associated with muscarinic agonists like xanomeline.
The transdermal formulation of this invention provides consistent dosage of the active ingredient, achieves sustained plasma concentration of the pharmaceutically active agent, and encourages patient compliance.


A gasket system is described and depicting having a gasket located between and sealing a cylinder head and a cylinder block. The gasket has a first metal layer and a second metal layer adjacent said first metal layer. The second metal layer has a bead region and a stopper region. At least a portion of the bead region has a predetermined tensile strength and a predetermined range of yield strength.

The trends to reduce fuel consumption and emissions in internal combustion engine powered vehicles have placed increased demands on the performance of many components. Reducing fuel consumption by using lighter materials in engine cylinder blocks and head assemblies has proven successful, although the lighter alloys used typically experience greater deflection with equivalent cylinder compression ratios. This reduced stiffness may result in additional deflection within the head assembly and cylinder block, resulting in greater deflection between the head assembly and cylinder block, and thus, increased demand on a cylinder head gasket to accommodate relative deflection.
Reducing emissions by increasing the engine compression ratio has also proven successful. However, this increase in cylinder pressure typically results in increased motion between the mating surfaces of the head assembly and cylinder block. These factors, and others, have resulted in the technology of MLS cylinder head gaskets becoming an area of constant innovation.
The gasket areas immediately adjacent the circumference of engine cylinder bore apertures are subject to considerably greater stresses for assuring proper sealing than areas of the gasket radially remote from the apertures. These gasket areas immediately adjacent the circumference of engine cylinder bore apertures also experience greater displacement between the mating surfaces than areas of the gasket radially remote from the apertures. Typically, MLS gaskets incorporate at least one beaded region to ensure an adequate seal.
This displacement between the mating surfaces results in axial motion within the active layers and creates a micro-motion between the active layer and any adjoining surface. This motion requires a minimum durability in the beaded region to ensure that the gasket repeatably seals between the mating surfaces.
Layers with beaded regions, also called "active" layers, exert pressure on the sealing surfaces to ensure an adequate seal. Generally, the higher the surface pressures, the better the sealing function, or sealing capability. MLS gaskets sealing between a cylinder head assembly and a cylinder block are typically exposed to temperatures that often exceed 1600 degrees F.
Selection of materials for the active layers is typically limited due to the desired hardness, durability, spring rate, ductility, softening point, and other characteristics. Conventionally, materials have been selected by considering the available desirable properties of materials that have evolved into use.
A typical material for active layers of MLS gaskets is 301 stainless steel (301 SS). Tensile strength for 301 SS is in a range of about 1350 to 1600 MPA, and yield strength is in a range of about 1050 to 1250 MPA. While 301 SS has the capacity to retain adequate properties during engine operation, improved materials are sought to increase gasket sealability, reliability, and/or capacity to withstand increased displacement between the mating surfaces.


A traction enhanced wheeled irrigation system. The traction enhanced irrigation system includes at least one rotary powered tire and wheel upon which at least a portion of a traction enhanced irrigation system travels across the ground. A traction enhancer includes an arched body having a substantially concave interior surface establishing an interior space for accommodating a portion of the tire of the irrigation system and a substantially convex exterior surface that faces away from the tire of the irrigation system when installed thereupon. A paddle extends outwardly from the convex exterior surface for engaging the ground as the tire rotates thereacross for resisting slippage of the tire on the ground.

Irrigating systems are well known in the agricultural industry. Systems of different configurations are used to distribute needed water for planted and growing crops. In that many fields are extensive and irrigation water is need over the expanse of the property, irrigation systems are often rollingly mounted on wheeled carriage systems. These systems may be arranged for substantially linear and curved travel, or they may be oriented for circular or rotational travel. These rotational configurations are normally referred to as pivot irrigation systems.
Many times when water is applied to a field by an irrigation system the ground becomes muddy and can cause the wheeled carrying structures to become bogged down in the resulting mud. Primarily, this entrapment of the wheeled portions results from a significant loss of traction causing intended progress to be halted. Now in a substantially more slippery state since the irrigation water has been added, the mud prevents the tires of the carriages from achieving sufficient traction to progress the irrigation systems in the desired pattern. As a result, if undetected, this bogged situation is self-worsening in that the longer a distributing irrigation system remains still, the more water that is distributed to that particular location. As more water is added to the soil being turned by the rotating tires, the mud becomes more soupy and the carriages detrimentally dig further into the ground.
Present solutions for this bogging characteristic is for an operator to detect the bogged condition and cease operation of the water sprinklers. One or more operators must then travel to the bogged system and urge the sunken carriers from their self-perpetuating entrapment.
These bogging conditions prove disadvantageous in that those systems with a bogging propensity must be constantly monitored and their operation altered based upon conditions which are desirably eliminatable. The present invention has been developed to remedy the irrigation system's creation, entrapment in, and perpetuation of such bogged down conditions.

Traction enhancers for irrigation systems


A new Portable Clothes Hanger Holder for providing a device from which clothes hangers may be suspended. The inventive device includes a unitary member including a trough-shaped portion and a clip portion extending from the trough-shaped portion. In use, the trough-shaped portion is adapted for receiving the hook of a clothes hanger and the clip portion is adapted for removably securing the unitary member to a horizontal door frame molding.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to clothes hanging devices and more particularly pertains to a new Portable Clothes Hanger Holder for providing a device from which clothes hangers may be suspended.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of clothes hanging devices is known in the prior art. More specifically, clothes hanging devices heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known prior art clothes hanging devices include U.S. Pat. No. 4,872,568; U.S. Pat. No. 5,433,355; U.S. Pat. No. D267,455; U.S. Pat. No. 5,405,026; U.S. Pat. No. 5,333,743; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,858,867.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a new Portable Clothes Hanger Holder. The inventive device includes a unitary member including a trough-shaped portion and a clip portion extending from the trough-shaped portion. In use, the trough-shaped portion is adapted for receiving the hook of a clothes hanger and the clip portion is adapted for removably securing the unitary member to a horizontal door frame molding.
In these respects, the Portable Clothes Hanger Holder according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of providing a device from which clothes hangers may be suspended.


A controller controls the output current by measuring and controlling the switching current of the power converter. A first circuit generates a first signal in accordance with the switching current. A second circuit detects a discharge-time of the transformer. A third circuit generates a third signal by integrating the first signal with the discharge-time. The time constant of the third circuit is programmed and correlated with the switching period of the switching signal, therefore the third signal is proportional to the output current. A switching circuit generates a switching signal and controls the pulse width of the switching signal in accordance with the third signal and a reference voltage. Therefore, the output current of the power converter can be regulated.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power converter, and more particularly, to an output current controller of the resonant power converter.
2. Description of Related Art
A variety of power converters have been widely used to provide regulated voltage and current. In order to precisely control the output current, traditionally a current detection circuit and output control circuit is equipped at the output of the power converter. However, a considerable power loss is normally consumed due to the output current detection circuit, particularly as the output current is high-level. Besides, this output control circuit takes a space of the PCB (print circuit board) and increases the cost of the power converter. Thus it is desirable to provide a controller that combines with the output control circuit of the power converter for the output current control. The switching current of the power converter is normally smaller than the output current. Therefore, the power converter saves the power losses by the switching current control instead of the output current control. Furthermore, this controller can be combined with the output control circuit as one integrated circuit, which dramatically reduced the space and cost of the power converter.

Controller having output current control for a power converter


A refill adapted for use with a volatile material dispenser comprises a body adapted to hold a volatile material and a wick disposed within the body and extending out of the refill. The wick is adapted to transport the volatile material from the body out of the refill. One or more features of the refill allow the refill to be easily inserted into a volatile material dispenser and/or allow air to flow around the refill.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to refills and, more particularly, to refills for holding volatile materials.
2. Description of the Background
Devices that release vapors into the air are well-known in the art. Generally, the purpose of such devices is to deodorize, disinfect, or add positive fragrance to the ambient air, or to distribute insect repellants or insecticides into the air to kill or repel unwanted pests, such as mosquitoes and gnats.
Various types of devices have been employed to dispense vapors into the air. For example, passive dispensing devices are known, wherein a volatile material in a gel, liquid, or solid form is provided within a container. The volatile material is diffused into the surrounding atmosphere, and the diffusion may be assisted by the natural airflow within the surroundings. A vent may be included in such passive dispensing devices to increase and decrease the amount of volatile material emitted from the passive dispensing devices. Aerosol containers have also been employed to eject droplets of volatile material from a pressurized container into a surrounding atmosphere upon activation of a trigger.
Other devices have utilized mechanical or electrical devices to dispense volatile materials into the atmosphere. In one such device, a container having a porous wick disposed therein in contact with a liquid volatile material and extending out a neck of the container is disposed within a diffusion device. The volatile material travels through the porous wick to an exposed end thereof. The diffusion device may include a heater and/or a fan disposed adjacent the exposed end of the wick to assist in the volatilization and/or dispersion of the liquid volatile material in the wick. Optionally, the container with porous wick and volatile material may be positioned to emit volatile material therefrom without being disposed within a diffusion device.
Containers or refills having wicks in contact with a volatile material generally include a reservoir portion for holding the volatile material and a neck portion that forms an opening in communication with the reservoir portion. A plug assembly is disposed within the neck portion, wherein the plug assembly includes a hole through a central portion thereof for accommodating the wick. If used in combination with a volatile material dispenser, containers and plug assemblies of different refills are generally configured to fit within a particular volatile material dispenser. Such containers and/or plug assemblies may also be configured to retain the refill within the volatile material dispenser. For example, one commercial refill includes a container having a body with front and rear walls having projections extending outwardly therefrom. The projections interact with features in the volatile material dispenser to retain the refill within the volatile material dispenser.

Volatile material dispenser allowing airflow around a refill


Methods and apparatus for facilitating pre-read and/or post-read operations of a disk drive. A write command is received including a logical block address (LBA) for user data in the write command. Parity data for correcting the user data is generated by encoding the LBA with the user data. The parity data is written on a disk of the disk drive with the user data so that the LBA can be recovered using the parity data when read from the disk. When a read command is received by the disk drive, requested user data is read from a first sector. User data and parity data is read from a second sector adjacent the first sector. The parity data is used to recover an LBA for the second sector and it is determined whether to store the user data read from the second sector based on the recovered LBA.

Disk drives are often used to write data on or to read data from a recording media. A disk drive can include multiple rotating magnetic disks with tracks for storing data and heads to read data from the disks and/or to write data on the disks. The disks are typically arranged in a stacked configuration with the heads arranged in a corresponding stacked assembly referred to as a head stack assembly (HSA). The HSA can be attached to an actuator that is typically moved by a voice coil motor (VCM). This arrangement ordinarily allows for positioning of the head to read data from or to write data on an adjacent surface of one of the disks in the stack.

Data access for shingled magnetic recording media


By using the ratio of the G component to the R component G/R, or the ratio of the B component to the R component B/R, from a television monitor image, and referring to a conversion table for converting to distribution temperature, a surface temperature of a flame is found for each pixel. An area in which luminance signals included in an image of a surveillance area exceed a prescribed level is sampled as a flame outline, and at least the distribution temperature of a sampled flame region is detected, and distance to a radiant energy source is measured. The amount of radiant energy from the radiant energy source is estimated by computation, based on the sampled flame area and its distribution temperature and the distance to the source of radiant energy. The system is provided with a fire image recognition section for recognizing a fire from radiant energy itself and from change in radiant energy over time and outputting fire detection information and an intruder entity recognition section which, from monitor images from the same camera, recognizes an intruder entity and outputs burglary detection information. Processing modes are provided enabling fire and/or intruder entity image processing to be selected. If abnormality detection information is received using fire image or intruder entity recognition processing, a pre-alarm is outputted in the central monitor room, and also the monitor image in the central monitor room is switched to the image of the location where the abnormality has been detected.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a surveillance monitor system for monitoring fires and thefts, in particular one designed so that it can recognize and warn of both fires and thefts by monitoring images from the same television camera. The invention also relates to a surveillance monitor system which detects a fire by a fire detection method using images of a surveillance area, from which the system deduces the radiant energy of the radiant energy source and, from this data, judges whether there is a fire.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are known fire monitor systems using television cameras and having the virtue of providing a great quantity of information and monitoring a large surveillance area. Also there are known burglary monitor systems using television cameras.
An example of a fire monitor system using a television camera is Japanese Patent Laid Open 1-268570, a fire extinguishing system.
This system can recognize the size of a flame and detect the position of a flame by processing luminance signals of a monitor image obtained by a monitor television camera. In more detail, it compares an image's luminance signals with a threshold value, and judges a part of the image whose luminance signals exceed the threshold value to be a fire source. As an example, this method for detecting a radiant energy source based on luminance signals is used for detecting a radiant energy source for the purpose of controlling an extinguishing system in Japanese Patent Laid Open 1-268572. If there are a plurality of flames it extinguishes the fire by controlling the nozzle based on arranging the targets to be extinguished in order of size from the largest flame downwards.
Again, an example of an anti-burglary monitor system using a television camera is Japanese Patent Laid Open 2-171897, an abnormality monitor system. In this system a reference image of the surveillance area in its normal state is memorized beforehand, and edges in a current image obtained by the television camera are sampled and compared with the reference image. Then only (an edge or) edges which appear/(s) in the current image but not in the reference image are/(is) sampled, and if the number of pixels of the area surrounded by the edge exceeds the threshold value number, it recognizes it as an intruder. Also the new edge information of current images is constantly logically added to amend the reference image so that, even though the shadows of objects in the room move with the movement of the sun, these shadows are not mistakenly recognized as intruders.
However, known monitor systems using television cameras were divided into systems monitoring fires and systems for anti-burglary monitoring, and thought of separately, so that even if they were installed in the same building, they were installed as separate systems and also the data from the two systems was processed separately, resulting in the following problems.
First, compared with monitor systems using presently used fire sensors and intruder detectors the system cost of a monitor system using a television camera was rather high because an image processor exclusively for processing the enormous quantity of data were used. As a result surveillance monitor systems using a television camera are not in widespread use.
Second, the image processing technology for recognizing fires and for recognizing intruders had not been perfected or brought to maturity, and therefore there was still the possibility of some other cause being mistakenly recognized as a fire or intruder. Thus, the automatic issuing of an alarm based on image recognition was a problem from the point of view of reliability, just as it was with conventional fire sensors and intruder detectors.
Third, particularly in the case of fire detection based on the known method depending solely on luminance signals, lights other than fires, for example reflected light of headlights, or sunlight, sometimes caused the luminance signals to exceed the threshold value. As a result it was difficult to distinguish correctly between changes in luminance signals due to a fire and change in luminance signals due to other causes, and thus fire detection systems using images had the disadvantage of not being sufficiently reliable.

Surveillance monitor system using image processing for monitoring fires and thefts


The system and method analyzes activities of users in a recommender system to identify experts. Two types of experts may be identified: authoritative experts and hub experts. An authoritative expert is a user who creates items or documents in a given field that are acted upon by a large number of users within a community who are well connected in the given field. A hub expert is a user who is aware of important items or documents within a given field and uses, works or acts upon items or documents produced by authoritative experts. The system and method also identifies authoritative items (e.g., documents). An authoritative item or document is one which has been acted upon by a large number of users within a community who are well connected in the given field (i.e., hub experts).

Recommender systems typically provide recommendations to users based on a user's defined preferences and interests. Early recommender systems, for example Firefly and GroupLens, provided personalized recommendations of movies, restaurants, newsgroup articles and music to an Internet audience. These early systems generally used statistical algorithms to perform what is called in the literature automated collaborative filtering (ACF). Basically, the algorithms learn to identify groups of people with similar preferences within given domains of interest or genres. As a result, recommender systems are able to provide personalized recommendations, predicting how much an item is likely to appeal to a user based on how others evaluated the item. The more items a user evaluates, the better the system will be able to personalize its recommendations. Recommendations usually consist of numerical ratings input manually by users, but they can also be deduced from user behavior (e.g., time spent reading a document, actions such as printing, saving or deleting a document). A premise of recommender systems is that a user is going to prefer an item that is similar to other items chosen by the user and by other users.
An emerging category of product functionality is skill mining. Skill mining lets a system automatically identify users' skills and expertise based on the observation of the documents they produce (e.g., reports, E-mail or discussion database postings). This information is used to augment the system's information retrieval and knowledge management capabilities by causing it to fulfill a user's request for information with pointers to knowledgeable colleagues in addition to document references. Current systems for skill mining have a major drawback; they are based on individual production of information, without collective means for measuring how "authoritative" a person is in a field. However, several algorithms have been proposed in the recent years attempting to measure the "authority" level of a page or of an author by elaborating on the connections among documents, typically either hyperlinks or co-citations. This category of algorithms is based on the observation that the more a resource is "used" or referred to, the more authoritative it is. An example of such category of algorithms is HITS (Kleinberg, J. M., "Authoritative Sources in a Hyperlinked Environment", IBM Research Report RJ 10076, May 1997, pp. 1–33).
Knowledge Pump, a Xerox system, provides community-based recommendations by initially allowing users to identify their interests and "experts" in the areas of those interests. Knowledge Pump is then able to push relevant information to the users based on those preferences. This is accomplished by monitoring network traffic to create profiles of the users, including their interests and communities of practice, thus refining the community specifications. For many users, items recommended by experts are given greater weight than items recommended by non-experts. However, identifying experts within a community of interest is not always straightforward. What is needed is a method for identifying experts or authorities in a recommender system.

Method and system for expertise mapping based on user activity in recommender systems


Patterned electrical circuitry in laminar form with foraminous substrate having been sized with conductive and non-conductive compositions in any desired side-by-side patterned configuration. The resulting lamina is substantially homogeneous electrically through any part of its thickness despite the interposition of fragmentary portions of the foraminous substrate, which may be made up of paper, polymeric film, or textile material.

Circuit boards or "cards" are an accepted means for installing auxiliary or supplemental interchangeable circuitry in computers and electronic equipment of all kinds--found in automobiles, appliances, etc. The boards themselves are undergoing continual changes, such as conversion to surface mounting of components, but in general have become so well accepted as to escape some desirable critical review.
Usual substrate material for circuit boards or the like is non-conductive and in the form of self-supporting sheets to carry conductive structures plated or otherwise deposited thereon, as in a thin film, or inserted into bores or openings molded or otherwise formed therein, or secured thereto in some acceptable manner. Conductive structures on one or both faces thereof may be connected to one another by conductive traces along a face or via bores from one face through to the opposite face plus appropriate terminals, leads, etc. Resulting circuit boards and their component substrates usually are made up of smooth-surfaced polymeric thermoplastic sheet material with a thickness on the order of a millimeter or so, with or without a fibrous filler reinforcement, and capable of being flexed a bit.
Even "substrate-less" circuit boards disclosed in the present inventor's aforementioned patent, require physical support during their formative stages--removable at a later stage in the process. It would be advantageous if temporary support could be incorporated into the resultant structure while retaining benefits of substantial face-to-face homogeneity of side-by-side non-conductive and conductive compositions in a patterned electrical structural lamina.

Patterned circuitry with foraminous substrate and method of making


A rolled strip of Tee-nuts connected together by flexible means for use in Tee-nut setting machines, and a rotatable table support for such rolled strip of Tee-nuts. The flexible means is offset to one side of the central axis of the Tee-nuts to facilitate feeding of the Tee-nuts to the setting machine

Threaded Tee-nut fastening devices are widely used in the furniture industry for securing components of furniture together. Such Tee-nuts are formed of sheet metal, and incorporate on internally threaded sleeve or barrel, and an integral face flange, and spikes, which are embedded in the work piece around a pre-drilled hole. They are used, for example, in the construction of beds, for securing legs to a bed frame, and other furniture items.
Various forms of apparatus have been devised for the power-operated setting of such Tee-nuts at a high rate of speed. One example of such a Tee-nut setting apparatus is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,460,217.
The apparatus disclosed in that patent has operated satisfactorily for many years. In that apparatus, the wooden workpiece was first of all placed on a lower working surface. Tee-nuts were fed from a hopper down a curved, gravity slide, to a power-operated setting plunger located above the work piece. The Tee-nut was held in registration with the bottom of the plunger, and when the plunger was operated downwardly the Tee-nut was released, and the plunger struck the Tee-nut forcing it downwardly into a hole in the workpiece.
One problem in the design of such earlier machines was that they required the use of a hopper, and a relatively expensive feed mechanism, for feeding the loose Tee-nuts. These requirements added to the complexity and hence the expense of such earlier apparatus. These factors had, in turn, limited the scope of the sales of such machines. In practice, they were economical only for relatively large scale manufacturing facilities.
Another problem was that the Tee-nuts did not always slide smoothly in the slide. Occasionally the operator had to release jammed Tee-nuts.
A further proposal is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,821,940, granted to Allan C. Rotherham entitled Tee-nut Insertion Machine.
In this machine, a hopper and feed mechanism generally similar to that shown in earlier Tee-nut insertion machines, was used. However, in this machine, the Tee-nuts were fed to a feed mechanism from which they were delivered one at a time to a plunger. The plunger in this case operated with an upward insertion stroke, so that the Tee-nut was forced upwardly into the workpiece. Above the workpiece, a stationary anvil or support was located against which the workpiece was held, while the Tee-nut was forced upwardly. In this device, however, the Tee-nuts were simply placed loose in the hopper as in the earlier devices, and as a result, it was necessary to provide for a two position delivery system for delivering the Tee-nuts to the plunger.
The Tee-nuts were delivered to a preliminary insertion location, at which point they stopped. The end most Tee-nut was then moved over a ledge, one at a time by a piston, from the preliminary location, to the so called extended location, in which position it was then held ready for insertion by the plunger.

Rolled strip of tee-nut fasteners for tee-nut fastener setting apparatus


The present invention relates to a manufacturing method for a diamond-like carbon diaphragm, comprising the steps of: placing a base material in the air; a step of depositing a composite diamond-like carbon diaphragm comprises: importing a carbon-containing gas from one end of an atmospheric pressure plasma chemical vapor deposition device, importing a main gas from the other end of the atmospheric pressure plasma chemical vapor deposition device; bringing the ionized carbon-containing gas out of the atmospheric pressure plasma chemical vapor deposition device by the main gas and depositing the same on the surface of the base material to form a composite diamond-like carbon diaphragm; a step of forming a diamond-like carbon vibrating diaphragm comprises: cutting from the composite diamond-like carbon diaphragm a diamond-like carbon vibrating diaphragm having the required diameter, forming a diamond-like carbon vibrating diaphragm having the required shape by means of a compressing process.

Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) technology was developed in the early 1970s, which is essentially a hydrogen-containing amorphous carbon diaphragm. Since DLC has properties similar to those of natural diamonds, such as high hardness, good corrosion resistance, smooth surface, low friction coefficient, good abrasion resistance, good biocompatibility, etc., it can be used on a vibrating diaphragm of a speaker to extend its high frequency. However, since a twisted sp3 bond is included in the molecular structure thereof, the internal stress is high, and adhesion is often poor, and some problems such as cracking and peeling are likely to occur.
Plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) and physical vapor deposition (PVD) are commonly used in the conventional manufacturing method of the DLC diaphragm. Conventional PECVD needs to be performed under high temperature and vacuum conditions. Conventional PVD needs to be performed under vacuum conditions. The manufacturing process steps and devices are complicated, and the adhesion of the DLC diaphragm is poor due to residual thermal stress. It is often necessary to additionally employ an intermediate layer or add other elements for the deposition of the DLC diaphragm to solve the problem of poor adhesion, the manufacturing process steps are increased, and the adhesion is difficult to guarantee.

Manufacturing method for diamond-like carbon vibrating diaphragm and loudspeaker


A working unit of construction equipment with an attachment self leveling function is disclosed. The working unit includes an attachment self leveling linkage. The linkage automatically maintains the desired angle of the attachment relative to the reference or ground surface, thereby maintaining the horizontal position of the attachment without any motion for controlling the bucket cylinder while lifting up the attachment from the initial position to the uppermost position by the arm-up motion during the operations of construction equipment. The attachment self leveling linkage has a simplified construction, thereby being easily produced and installed at a lower cost and lightening the weight of the working unit. The linkage thus improves the operational efficiency of the working unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a working unit of construction equipment such as excavators and loaders. More particularly, the invention relates to a structural improvement in an attachment self leveling linkage suitable to automatically maintain the desired angle of the attachment, such as a bucket or fork detachably mounted to the tip of the working unit, relative to the reference or ground surface, thereby maintaining the horizontal position of the attachment without any motions for controlling the bucket cylinder while lifting the attachment from the initial ground position to its uppermost position by the arm-up motion during the operations of construction equipment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In typical construction equipment such as loaders, various types of attachments are detachably mounted to the tip of the working unit, thereby effectively performing the desired operations such as digging, loading and lifting operations. The above attachments are selectively pivoted to the tip of the arm which is included in the working unit. The above arm is pivoted to the forehead of the construction equipment's frame. A hydraulic cylinder (hereinbelow, referred to as "arm cylinder") is pivoted to the frame of the construction equipment at its cylinder part and pivoted to the middle portion of the arm at its actuating rod part. Due to the telescopic motion of the actuating rod of the above arm cylinder, the arm can be turned up or down about the pivot joint between the arm and the frame's forehead. In addition, another hydraulic cylinder (hereinbelow, referred to as "bucket cylinder") is pivoted to the arm at its cylinder part and pivoted to the attachment or bucket at its actuating rod part. Due to the telescopic motion of the actuating rod of the above bucket cylinder, the attachment can be turned in and out about the pivot joint between the arm and the attachment, thereby performing the desired operations.
However, the angle of the attachment relative to the reference or ground surface cannot be maintained at a fixed angle while turning up or down the arm by simply operating the arm cylinder without operating the attachment by handling, for example, the bucket control lever. That is, the angle of the attachment relative to the ground surface in the above case gradually varies in accordance with the positional displacement of the arm, thereby failing to maintain the horizontal position of the attachment while turning the arm up or down. Therefore, the operator during the operations performed by a fork used as the attachment must handle the bucket control lever continuously so as to adjust the angle of the fork and to maintain the horizontal position of the fork while turning the arm up or down. This is inconvenient to the operator and reduces the operational efficiency of the construction equipment. That is, the operator must handle the bucket control lever to continuously adjust the angle of the attachment relative to the ground surface simultaneously while handling the arm control lever so as to turn the arm up or down. Such a lever handling motion not only requests the operator to be highly skilled, it also remarkably reduces the operational efficiency of the construction equipment.
In an effort to rectify the above problems, attachment self leveling linkages have been actively studied and developed in the field of the art. The above attachment self leveling linkages are used for automatically maintaining the desired angle of the attachment relative to the ground surface without needing to handle the bucket control lever while lifting up the attachment from the initial ground position, for example, the initial digging or loading position, to the uppermost position during the operations of construction equipment.
Construction equipment with the above attachment self leveling linkage has built up large markets particularly in the Americas. The origin of attachment self leveling linkages for construction equipment goes back to the linkage disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,817,448. However, the attachment self leveling linkage disclosed in the above U.S. patent has a complicated construction as it includes a plurality of connection members with the pivot joints in the same manner as most of the early attachment self leveling mechanisms which were proposed in the 1950's but have not been used practically. Therefore, the attachment self leveling linkage of the above U.S. patent has problems that the linkage is very difficult to produce, increases the cost and weight of the working unit and has a poor operational efficiency.
In addition, other types of attachment self leveling mechanisms using hydraulic circuits instead of the above linkages for maintaining the horizontal position of the attachment have been proposed and used practically. The above self leveling mechanisms using hydraulic circuits perform the same functions as those of the above-mentioned attachment self leveling linkages. However, the operational reliability of the above self leveling mechanisms using the hydraulic circuits are lower than that of the attachment self leveling linkages. In this regard, the self leveling linkages have been used more preferably to the self leveling mechanisms with the hydraulic circuits. In the field of the art, it thus needs to simplify the construction of the attachment self leveling linkages while achieving the desired operational effect of the linkages. When the construction of the attachment self leveling linkages is simplified as described above, the linkages can be easily produced at the lower cost. The self leveling linkages with the simplified constructions also reduce the weight of the working units of the construction equipment, thereby improving the operational efficiency of the equipment.
Representative examples of the attachment self leveling linkages with the simplified construction suitable to achieve the above object are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,486,141 and 5,201,235.
In order to improve the construction of the linkage of U.S. Pat. No. 2,817,448, the attachment self leveling linkage disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,486,141 includes a shorter arm cylinder achieving the same operational effect. However, the self leveling linkage of U.S. Pat. No. 4,486,141 has a problem in that a plurality of link members are concentrated to around the equalizer bar thereby applying overload onto the equalizer bar during the operations of the construction equipment. In addition, the shorter arm cylinder must be pivoted to a lower portion of the equipment's frame. Therefore, the arm cylinder's length is not sufficiently reduced because the arm cylinder should turn the arm up to the desired uppermost position during the operation of the equipment.
Meanwhile, the construction of the attachment self leveling linkage of U.S. Pat. No. 5,201,235 is schematically shown in the accompanying drawing, FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the above linkage somewhat reduces the number of links and pivot joints between the links. However, both the arm cylinder 302 and the equalizer bar 303 pivoted to both ends of a relatively longer equalizer lever 301 need to be lengthened so as to adjust the attachment within the total operating range. In addition, the longer equalizer lever 301 somewhat projects out of the lower side of the arm 304. The lever 301 thus may strike an obstacle, such as a truck deck, placed ahead of the lever 301 during the operations of construction equipment.

Working unit of contruction equipment with attachment self leveling function