An exercise device in which removable weight may be provided in a housing of the device. Two rotatable handles may be provided in the housing, permitting various hand orientations during exercise. The removable weight may be received within and/or removed from a cavity of the device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an exercise device, a method of fabricating the device, and a method and system for interaction with an exercise device.
2. Description of Related Art
Today, dumbbells may be generally recognized as the most efficient of strength training devices. They allow extreme flexibility in patterns of movement and allow the athlete to perform a real world training regimen unlike, for example, bungee cord exercises. Therapists prefer dumbbells because dumbbells may reflect everyday movements and the flexibility of a dumbbell may allow the patient to train around joint and muscle trauma. People that train with dumbbells may enjoy productive gains not available with other training modalities because dumbbells generally require balance and involve synergistic muscle groups to contract during the lift. The necessity to balance the dumbbells and coordinate movement of each hand may stress the muscular and nervous system unlike any machine exercise. With machines, a portion of the athlete's musculature can actually relax due to the absence of fully balanced coordination, i.e. one side can push harder than the other.
There are two basic forms of dumbbells: fixed or "pro-style", and adjustable dumbbells. Fixed dumbbells are individually compact, but are typically sold in sets which typically may be stored on a rack that is bulky and cumbersome. Adjustable dumbbells have historically incorporated plates and locking collars secured to the ends of an extended handle.
Adjustable dumbbells may be the most space and cost efficient exercise equipment. However, adjustable dumbbells may have some drawbacks. One drawback may be the time it takes to change or adjust both dumbbells. Removing and replacing the locking collars and plates may be time consuming, and can be a potential safety hazard if the collars are not securely tightened. Some exercises such as bench presses, inclines and shoulder work typically begin and end with the dumbbells resting on the knees of the user. However, this may be unwieldy and painful if the ends of the dumbbells are not relatively flat.
Various adjustable dumbbells have been developed heretofore. U.S. Pat. No. 4,743,017 to Jaeger, U.S. Pat. No. 4,529,198 to Hettick and U.S. Pat. No. 6,083,144 to Towley, III et al. are representative of the prior art in this regard. Each of these patents, however, addresses only certain aspects of an adjustable dumbbell, such as releasability, interlocking of the weights, etc. Moreover, the exercise devices in each of these references may involve a relatively cumbersome operation to add and/or subtract weight and/or may be somewhat bulky and cumbersome to store.


A communications network, computer program product and method for transmitting data packets in the communications network comprising synchronized nodes via a predetermined path in the communications network, wherein the synchronized nodes of the predetermined path include a source node, a target node and at least one intermediate node, the synchronized nodes synchronously feed data packets into the predetermined path and each have first and second buffers for respectively buffering high-priority data packets and low-priority data packets, wherein each intermediate node having an empty first buffer at a given point in time, and to which the source node feeds a high-priority data packet into the predetermined path toward the target node, generates a second high-priority data packet and feeds the generated second high-priority data packet into the predetermined path toward the target node so as to ensure high-priority data packets on the predetermined path are not delayed by low-priority data packets.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication network and method for transmitting data packets in the communication network which comprises synchronized nodes via a predetermined path in the communication network.
2. Description of the Related Art
Communication networks for control and regulatory processes, as in the manufacturing and processing industry, are often physically distributed systems in which data need to be transmitted between the participating nodes with a particular quality of service. Examples of such nodes are controllers, sensors, actuators or switches. The communication platform typically used is an industrial Ethernet with realtime capability, such as PROFINET. To ensure short end-to-end delays and little variation therein, particularly jitter, the critical control and regulatory data need to be forwarded with preference, i.e., particularly with priority, over other data in the communication network.
The aforementioned PROFINET communication network as an example of an industrial Ethernet standard is based on a time-division multiplexing method for ensuring different qualities of service. In this case, all the nodes of the PROFINET communication network are synchronized to one another. A time cycle of the time-division multiplexing method used comprises fixed time windows for isochronous realtime traffic (IRT, Isochronous Realtime), other realtime traffic (RT, Realtime) and normal traffic. This cycle is continually repeated. Within the respective time window, exclusively the traffic intended therefor is attended to. Other packets are buffer-stored at the respective node.
The time window for isochronous realtime traffic allows deterministic transfer characteristics, such as for motion control applications. In this context, the network resources along the scheduled path in the communication network are exclusively reserved even before the system is started up. Hence, there is a precise stipulation of when and on what network interface or port a node feeds in a packet or forwards a received packet. This approach allows the prevention of competing access to network resources, such as the simultaneous forwarding of packets via the same port of a node. However, the available resources of the communication network cannot be jointly used by other traffic dynamically and hence efficiently.
In the time window for normal traffic, on the other hand, packets are forwarded based on their priority, particularly via strict priority scheduling, and static multiplexing. Packets are forwarded only when they have been received completely. This can be called store and forward forwarding. However, this can entail high-priority control and regulatory data packets experiencing waiting times at the nodes because the relevant port to which the packets are intended to be forwarded is already blocked by an ongoing transmission process for another packet. This can result in greatly varying end-to-end delays. This problem is shown schematically in FIGS. 1 and 2. In this case, FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a network topology for a communication network N with four nodes A, B, C, D. A path P of the communication network N is determined by the subpaths D-C, C-B and B-A. In addition, FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram for the transmission of data packets P1-P3 via the communication network N of FIG. 1.
The packets P1 and P3 are high-priority data packets, whereas the packet P2 is a low-priority data packet. In this case, by way of example, the node A is a control device (controller) to which high-priority data packets, in this case the data packets P1 and P3, are transmitted cyclically from the sensor nodes B and D. By way of example, the node C is an actuator that receives high-priority manipulated values cyclically from the control device A. Here, the node C sends only low-priority data packets P2 to the node A. Furthermore, it can be assumed that the high-priority data packets P1 and P3 are transmitted as Ethernet packets having the same length. FIG. 2 considers exclusively the communication in the direction of the node A, the destination node. However, a corresponding situation also applies to the opposite direction, in that case to the destination node D.
In detail, FIG. 2 shows the message flow diagram for the transmission of the data packets P1-P3 at the beginning of a cycle at the instant t=0. In this case, t shows the temporal extent, whereas R illustrates the spatial extent. At the instant t=0, the node B sends the high-priority data packet P1 in the direction of the node A, the node C sends the low-priority data packet P2 in the direction of the node A and the node D sends the high-priority data packet P3 in the direction of the node A. Each node B, C, D has only one data packet P1, P2, P3 ready for sending in the direction of the destination node A. As a result, the respective data packet P1, P2, P3 is transmitted at each node B, C, D. The problem is the long transmission period for the low-priority data packet P2 at the node C on account of the high packet length thereof, particularly in comparison with the packet lengths of the high-priority data packets P1, P3.
At the node C, the high-priority data packet P3 arriving from the adjacent node D must wait for the complete transmission of the low-priority data packet P2, since the transmission process for the low-priority data packet P2 had already been started before the packet P3 arrived at the node C. Only after complete transmission of the low-priority data packet P2 with the relatively high data length can the data packet P3 be transmitted from the node C to the node B. At the node B, the data packet P3 must also then await the complete transmission of the data packet P2 from the node B to the node A. The result of this is a long delay for the high-priority data packet P3, particularly for long linear topologies comprising a plurality of nodes.

Communication network and method for transmitting data packets in the communication network


This invention relates to a safety electrical receptacle and in particular to one including a lower casing, an upper casing engaged with the lower casing having two slots for receiving two prongs of a plug, a sealing mechanism mounted within the upper casing and including two stoppers, a retractable frame on which are mounted the two stoppers, and two springs, each of the two stoppers being urged by a corresponding one of the two springs to go inwards thereby sealing the slots of the upper casing, the stoppers being engaged with the retractable frame so that the retractable frame will be retracted inwards when the stoppers are urged to go inwards, and a positioning member fitted on the retractable frame and the stoppers for enabling the retractable frame and the stoppers to move horizontally only, whereby the receptacle may prevent the children from getting an electric shock accidentally.

It has been found that the conventional electrical receptacle mainly comprises an upper casing and a lower casing which are joined together by a screw extending through the threaded hole of the upper casing and the threaded hole of the lower casing. The upper casing is provided with two slots on the top for adapting to receive the prongs of a plug. However, the upper casing does not have any sealing means so that the children may insert metal pins into the receptacle and get an electric shock accidentally.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a safety electrical receptacle which may obviate and mitigate the above-mentioned drawbacks.


A universal mounting bracket includes a pair of upper and lower generally L-shaped legs connected together along their backs to permit slidable length adjustment between the upper and lower feet of the legs. A hanger is connected to the back and secured to an inward surface of a rocker panel to support the hanger with the upper foot in contact with the vehicle floor board and the lower foot projecting horizontally outwardly from below the rocker panel to support a running board thereon. The upper and lower legs of the bracket have the feet connected to the back portion at an angle greater than 90.degree. relative to the horizontal, such that adjustment of the length of the backs will move the lower foot both horizontally and vertically relative to the upper foot. A running board is secured to the lower foot of the bracket, and has a back wall which is secured to the bottom wall of the rocker panel.

Running boards are a popular accessory item for many vehicles, particularly pickup trucks. Not only do the running boards provide a pleasing appearance to the vehicle, but they also protect the sides and rocker panels from rocks and gravel thrown from the vehicle tires.
Because of the wide variety of makes and styles of vehicles, as well as a variety in the styles and types of running boards, it is typically quite difficult for a supplier of running boards to maintain a stock of all of the appropriate mounting hardware to attach a particular style running board to a particular make of vehicle. While there are a variety of running board mounting systems which permit adjustment, these mounting systems typically require separate adjustment of vertical and horizontal straps.

Universal mounting bracket for running boards


The present invention discloses a method for etching a silicon surface or forming alignment marks in a silicon substrate by first coating the substrate with an oxide layer, then depositing and patterning a photoresist layer on top of the oxide layer and forming the alignment marks by a dry etching process utilizing fluorine/oxygen etchant chemistry for the simultaneous etching of the two layers in a single process wherein the oxide layer prevents the contamination of the silicon wafer by any silicon particles formed.

In the fabrication of integrated circuit chips from a silicon wafer, dimensions must be controlled with extreme accuracy during the masking (or photo imaging) step in order to ensure that circuits are laid down within allowable specifications. An important tool for such dimensional control is the alignment technique or by using alignment marks. The alignment technique refers to the ability of printing images of a mask over other images that were printed in previously masking steps with high precision. The overlay errors which are defined as errors in the placement of one pattern in relation to another must be tightly controlled such that it is within an allowable range. The accuracy of pattern placement on a reticle (in a masking machine) is therefore crucial to the superposition of successive masks during chip fabrication. In order to ensure such accuracy, each mask contains specifically designed and positioned alignment marks, or registration marks which allow the alignment of a subsequent mask. During the fabrication of IC chips, it is critical to align each subsequent layers to a previous layer with extreme accuracy in order to ensure circuit continuity.
The alignment of a mask to a wafer is generally performed in a wafer stepper tool. For instance, a frequently used equipment is an ASM lithography stepper. The function of the stepper is to transfer a desired pattern from a reticle onto a photoresist layer formed on the wafer. Typically, the reticle contains a 5x magnified version of the pattern to be reproduced. The photoresist layer is generally a transparent photosensitive material that is coated on top of the wafer. After the wafer is loaded into the stepper machine, the alignment marks on the wafer are used as reference points for adjusting the position of the reticle over the wafer such that a precise alignment of the reticle to the previous layer formed on the wafer can be achieved.
Alignment is typically performed in an automated manner by sensing a light, i.e., a laser beam, detracted from alignment marks on the wafer. A typical wafer 10 having a locating notch 12 and alignment marks 14 is shown in FIG. 1. Since precision of alignment depends on the contrast of an optical signal obtained from an alignment mark, the mark should ideally be provided with a sufficiently large step, and consequently producing a large variance in its refractive index for producing a sufficiently large contrast. FIG. 2 is an illustration of how the measurement of an alignment mark is conducted on the surface of a silicon wafer. It is seen that an optical beam 20, or laser beam, is moved across the surface 22 of the wafer 10 in a perpendicular direction with the surface. A typical alignment mark 24, as shown in FIG. 2, is formed by first etching a trench in the silicon surface 22 and then filling it with silicon oxide 16. A photomask (not shown) such as one for the active area mask can then be directly aligned to the mark 24. An alignment signal 28 can be measured having a sufficient magnitude 30 such that a proper alignment can be accurately made. The registration of a new mask to a previously defined pattern on the wafer is therefore accomplished on the chip by scanning the optical beam 20 across the alignment mark 24 etched in the substrate 10 and by detecting the secondary electrons 26 and the backscattered electrons 32.
The alignment mark 24 is normally formed by etching a predetermined depth 18 into the surface 22 of silicon wafer 10. The step 18 etched forms a distinct step height in the wafer surface which is then used as an alignment mark. The depth of the alignment mark thus formed can be chosen such that it is a multiple of the wavelength of the optical light (or laser light) used in the stepper machine for performing alignment. For instance, in a typical alignment mark forming process, an alignment mark photoresist layer 34 is first deposited onto the surface of a silicon wafer. The thickness of the alignment mark photoresist layer can be suitably chosen from a range between about 8,000 .ANG. and about 15,000 .ANG.. After an image is formed in the photoresist layer 34, a descum procedure is necessary to remove any residual photoresist left on the surface of the wafer. The descum procedure can be carried out in an oxygen plasma process at 100.degree. C. and 12 Torr pressure, RF power of 300 W, an O.sub.2 flow rate of 8000 Sccm for an etch time of 15 seconds. The wafer is then sent through an oxide wet dip process followed by a hard bake for removal of all moisture. The wafer is then dry etched to form the alignment marks followed by a standard photoresist strip. A typical flow chart for the process is shown in FIG. 3.
In the conventional alignment mark forming process, a thin layer, i.e., of approximately 350 .ANG. of thermal oxide is first grown on the silicon substrate by a furnace process prior to the deposition of photoresist. The oxide layer serves two functions. First, it prevents silicon particles produced during a dry etching process from contaminating the wafer surface. Secondly, the growth of the oxide layer decreases the oxygen content (i.e., in SiO.sub.2) on the wafer surface which frequently contain impurities that have higher concentration of oxygen. As a result, the growth of the oxide layer on the wafer surface reduces surface defects on the wafer. The conventional process for forming alignment marks therefore requires an additional step of oxide removal by a wet dip process with acid. As a result, a hard bake process must be subsequently conducted to remove moisture. The conventional process for forming alignment marks therefore requires the additional processing steps of descuming, the oxide wet dip, and the hard bake process which increases the fabrication cost of a wafer.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method for forming alignment marks in a silicon wafer that does not have the drawbacks and shortcomings of the conventional methods.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for forming alignment marks in a silicon wafer that has simplified processing steps than the conventional methods.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method for forming alignment marks in a silicon wafer by first forming an oxide layer to prevent the contamination of silicon particles and then removing the oxide layer and partially the silicon layer in a single dry etching process.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a method for forming alignment marks in a silicon wafer that is capable of producing marks of improved detection signal when measured in a stepper machine.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a method for forming alignment marks in a silicon wafer including the step of etching through an oxide layer and into the silicon surface by a single plasma dry etching process utilizing an etchant chemistry of fluorine and oxygen.
It is another further object of the present invention to provide a method for forming alignment marks in a silicon wafer including the step of etching through an oxide layer and into a silicon layer by using a mixture of CF.sub.4 and O.sub.2 as the etchant gas in a dry etching process.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


A method of measuring quality of service includes receiving, from a content server, a transmission of a first media stream and comparing that first media stream with a second media stream that corresponds to the first media stream prior to transmission thereof. This comparison provides a basis for determining a quality of service of the transmission.

In a content delivery system, a content-server transmits a media stream to a client over a communication channel. The content-server often transmits media streams at times during which the client system is unlikely to be in use. These media streams are saved in a mass-storage medium for later retrieval and viewing by an audience.
During transmission, transmission errors are introduced. These errors affect the viewability of the media stream. The extent of these errors is reflected in the "Quality of Service", or QOS, for that transmission. In many cases, a content-delivery system measures QOS during transmission of the media stream. If the measured QOS indicates excessive transmission errors, then the content-server re-transmits the media stream.
A conventional content delivery service measures its QOS by collecting network statistics and inferring, on the basis of those network statistics, how good the media stream would appear to the viewing audience.


Embodiments of the invention facilitate high-dynamic-range (HDR) imaging by generating portions of spatial and/or temporal luminance patterns with different spectral power distributions substantially concurrent with, for example, the modulation of the light intensity associated with the portions of luminance patterns. The method can include predicting luminance patterns associated with multiple spectral power distributions. The method also can include distributing portions of the luminance patterns in one or more temporal fields. In some embodiments, distributing the portions of the luminance patterns can include interlacing those portions. Further, the method can include modulating light intensities of the luminance patterns to produce an age with other spectral power distributions. In some embodiments, the distribution of the luminance pattern portions can be substantially synchronous with modulating the light intensity of the luminance patterns.

High dynamic range ("HDR") imaging technology is implemented in projection and display devices to render imagery with a relatively wide range of luminance levels, where the range usually covers five orders of magnitude between the lowest and the highest luminance levels, with the variance in backlight luminance typically being more than, for example, about 5%, regardless of whether the overall luminance of the display is not relatively high. In some approaches, HDR image rendering devices employ a backlight unit to generate a low-resolution image that illuminates a display that provides variable transmissive structures for the pixels. An example of an HDR image rendering device is a display device that uses a multitude of monochromatic light emitting diodes ("LEDs") (e.g., white-colored LEDs) as backlight elements and a liquid crystal display ("LCD") for presenting a high-resolution image, illuminated by the LEDs.
While functional, various approaches have drawbacks in their implementation. In some approaches, LCDs, such as active-matrix LCDs ("AMLCDs"), can include a transistor and/or a capacitor for each sub-pixel, which can hinder transmission efficiencies of passing light through traditional pixels, which usually have three filtered sub-pixel elements corresponding to a set of color primaries, such as red ("R"), green ("G") and blue ("B"). Generally, the method of synthesizing a full-color image is known as spatial color synthesis. In some other approaches which utilize temporal color synthesis, fields of different colors are displayed in sequence (e.g., R, G and B) by transitioning through different backlight elements having different color outputs. Typically, this produces luminance variations from field to field that may be perceptible as flicker. A relatively more difficult problem arising from temporal color synthesis results from relative movement between the displayed image and the viewer's retina, whether the motion arises from the image or from the viewer's head and eye movements. In either case, the time-varying color components are no longer imaged on the same retinal region and the observer experiences what has come to be known as "color break-up," or "the rainbow effect." In at least one approach, a black frame may be inserted to reduce motion blur. However, the inserted black frame reduces the light throughput efficiency of the display and may also cause increased flicker due to the introduction of relatively large temporal luminance differences. Further, optical response times of LCD pixels to change from one luminance value to another may differ depending on the applied voltage range (or corresponding digital data values) across which the LCD pixel is transitioning. Typically, an LCD pixel can have a pixel value from 0 (e.g., no intensity) to 255 (e.g., full intensity), or, in some cases, pixel values may range from 0 to 1024. In some cases, for example, the optical response time of an LCD pixel may be quite different when changing between pixel values in the range of 0 to 255 than when changing between pixel values in the range of 128 to 200. Thus, a slow optical response time for some pixels can affect the rate at which other pixel values and/or intensities can be modified.
In view of the foregoing limitations of the existing approaches, it would be desirable to provide systems, computer-readable media, methods, integrated circuits, and apparatuses to facilitate high dynamic range imaging, among other things.

Dual modulation using concurrent portions of luminance patterns in temporal fields

Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation


An object of the present invention is to provide a paint composition for in-mold coating of thermoplastic plastic substrates, the paint film resultant from which composition neither peels off nor becomes turbid even if the mold is opened in a state where its temperature is high, needless to say that the resultant paint film has excellent adhesion to nonpolar thermoplastic plastic substrates and adequate flowability. As a means of achieving this object, a paint composition according to the present invention for in-mold coating of thermoplastic plastic substrates comprises: an acryl-modified unsaturated dicarboxylic acid (anhydride)-grafted polyolefin (A); at least one member (B) selected from the group consisting of reactive oligomers and reactive monomers; and a radical polymerization initiator (C); in a specific formulation ratio, with the paint composition being characterized in that: the acryl-modified unsaturated dicarboxylic acid (anhydride)-grafted polyolefin (A) is in the range of 92 to 112° C. in melting point and in the range of 5 to 15 mass % in ratio for which unsaturated dicarboxylic acid (anhydride)-derived structural units account in its structure.

A. Technical Field
The present invention relates to: a paint composition for in-mold coating, which is suitable for in-mold coating to thermoplastic plastic substrates such as polyolefins; and a thermoplastic plastic molding which involves the use of this paint composition.
B. Background Art
Polyolefinic resins, which are typical as thermoplastic plastics, have various excellent properties such as moldability, chemical resistance, heat resistance, water resistance, and good electrical properties and are inexpensive, so they have hitherto widely been utilized as plastic moldings for such as home electric appliances and automobile parts. In addition, as the case may be, these plastic moldings are decorated by in-mold coating.
However, prior paint compositions for in-mold coating have had problems in that: if thermosetting resins or polar materials are used as substrates, then the prior paint compositions may be able to exercise sufficient adhesion, but, if nonpolar materials such as the polyolefinic resins are used as substrates, then the adhesion is so insufficient as to result in failure to obtain sufficient paint film performances. Furthermore, paint compositions used for in-mold coating are required to have not only the adhesion to substrates but also the flowability for injecting the composition into a narrow cavity in a mold. However, as to the prior paint compositions for in-mold coating, this flowability has also been insufficient.
Thus, as solution of these problems, there is proposed a paint composition for in-mold coating of thermoplastic plastic substrates, which comprises: an acryl-modified polyolefin; a reactive oligomer and/or a reactive monomer; and a radical polymerization initiator; in a specific ratio (refer to patent document 1 below).
[Patent Document 1] JP-A-249680/2002 (Kokai)
However, the paint composition for in-mold coating which is described in the aforementioned patent document 1 has had a problem in that: it may have satisfactory performances in points of the adhesion to nonpolar materials and the flowability, but, if the temperature of the mold during the molding operation is higher than the melting point of the above composition, then, in order to prevent the paint film from peeling off during the mold-releasing operation, the mold must be cooled and then opened. As a means of solving this problem, it can be conceived to raise the melting point of the composition. However, as to the paint composition for in-mold coating which is described in the aforementioned patent document 1, another problem that the resultant paint film becomes turbid has been found to occur, from the present inventor's attempt to use an acryl-modified polyolefin of a high melting point in order to raise the melting point of the composition.

Paint composition for in-mold coating of thermoplastic plastic substrates and its uses


The present disclosure pertains to the field of cosmetics and concerns a cosmetic product for changing the natural colour of keratinous fibres, in particular human hair, comprising (i) at least one package (VP) comprising a water-soluble film (F), (ii) at least one cosmetic composition (KM) which is packaged in the package (VP) and contains at least one oxidizing compound, (iii) at least one cosmetic colour composition (FZ) which is packaged in the package (VP), wherein the oxidizing compound is a solid oxidizing agent. Furthermore, the present disclosure relates to a method for colouring hair.

Changing the colour of keratinous fibres, in particular hair, constitutes an important area of modern cosmetics. By employing this, the appearance of the hair as well as the latest fashion trends and also an individual's aspirations can be harmonized. In order to change the hair colour, the person skilled in the art will be aware of a variety of possibilities.
The colour of hair can be temporarily changed using direct dyes. Here, fully-formed dyes diffuse out of the colorant into the hair fibres. Colouring with direct dyes is associated with little damage to the hair; a disadvantage, however, is that the colours obtained with direct dyes do not last as long and wash out more quickly.
If the consumer wants a long-lasting colour result or a nuance which is lighter than the initial colour of the hair, then oxidative colour-changing agents are usually employed. For permanent, intensive colours with appropriate fastness, what are known as oxidative dyes are used. Colorants of this type usually contain oxidative dye precursors, what are known as developer components and coupler components, which together form the actual dyes under the influence of oxidizing agents—usually hydrogen peroxide. Oxidative dyes are exemplified by excellent, long-lasting colour results.
Lightening or bleaching of hair by itself is often carried out using oxidizing agents without the addition of oxidative dye precursors. For a medium bleaching effect, hydrogen peroxide alone is sufficient for use as the oxidizing agent; to obtain a stronger bleaching effect, a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and peroxydisulphate salts is usually employed.
Oxidative colour-changing agents are usually offered for sale in the form of two-component agents, in which two different preparations are packaged separately in two separate packages and which are only mixed together shortly before use.
The first preparation is a formulation—which is usually acidic for reasons of stability—which, for example, contains hydrogen peroxide as the oxidizing agent, in concentrations of from about 1.5 to about 12% by weight. The oxidizing agent formulation is usually in the form of an emulsion or dispersion and as a rule is in a plastic bottle (developer bottle) provided with a recloseable dispensing opening.
This oxidizing agent formulation is mixed with a second preparation prior to use. This second preparation is a formulation which is alkaline, which is often in the form of a cream or a gel, and when a change of colour is desired along with lightening, additionally contains at least one oxidative dye precursor. This second preparation may, for example, be provided in the form of a tube or in the form of a plastic or glass container.
In the case of the usual form of application described above, the second preparation, which contains the alkalizing agent and/or the oxidative dye precursors, is transferred from the tube or container into the developer bottle and then mixed with the hydrogen peroxide preparation already in the developer bottle by shaking. In this manner, the ready-to-use mixture is produced in the developer bottle. Application to the hair is then carried out via a small nozzle or dispensing opening at the top of the developer bottle. The nozzle or dispensing opening is opened after shaking and the ready-to-use mixture can be dispensed by squeezing the flexible developer bottle.
Using the developer bottle requires the user to have a certain amount of skill, and so some users prefer to produce the ready-to-use mixture in a mixing bowl and to apply it using a brush.
When producing the ready-to-use mixture in a bowl, both components—the first preparation which contains the oxidizing agent and the second preparation with the alkalizing agent and/or the oxidative dye precursors—are transferred in their entirety into a bowl or similar vessel and are then stirred in it, for example with the aid of a brush. The ready-to-use mixture is then removed from the mixing bowl using the brush. In this form of application, it is not necessary to use a bulky and expensive developer bottle, and research is still being carried out into inexpensive forms of packaging for the oxidizing agent preparation that use less material.
In this context, packaging in the form of sachets or pouches, which as a rule are prepared from plastic films or from metal films, are candidates for inexpensive forms of packaging which do not consume much material.
However, filling packages of this type with oxidizing agent preparations is fraught with problems which are caused by the reactivity of the oxidizing agent. Oxidizing agents are highly reactive substances which—independently of the storage conditions or of the possible presence of impurities which cause decomposition—can partially decompose, with the concomitant formation of oxygen (i.e. of gas).
As a rule, the interior volume of developer bottles which are known in the prior art are filled with the oxidizing agent composition to the half-way mark at most, but are usually only one-third filled. As a rule, developer bottles are produced from polyethylene. Because polyethylene is permeable to water vapour as well as to gases, no extra pressure or only a slight overpressure arises in the developer bottle. Furthermore, developer bottles are usually provided with stable, thick walls and a stable screw closure, so that the diffusion of water vapour or gases through the thickness of the walls is reduced and a small increase in pressure inside the bottle does not have any negative effects.
As a consequence, the packages are usually bulky, whereupon sustainability as regards environmental and resource considerations is compromised. An advantage would be gained if a solid could be used as the oxidizing agent. Then, oxidative dye precursors and oxidizing agents could also be provided in one container, because reacting the components necessitates mixing with water. Persulphates and percarbonates are known solid oxidizing agents for colour compositions. They are used in the form of salts. However, the use of salts is a disadvantage as regards adjusting the viscosity of the ready-to-use cosmetic composition. Polyelectrolytes are in fact often used as thickening agents, such as xanthan, for example, which loses its ability to increase viscosity with increasing salt content. If the ready-to-use hair colour composition has too low a viscosity, it is unpleasant to apply and thus is less manageable.

Powdered hair colour with percarbonate in a water-soluble film


A composition contains three or more compounds represented by general formula (i) below.

Liquid crystal display devices have been used for watches and electronic calculators, various measuring apparatuses, automotive panels, word processors, electronic notebooks, printers, computers, televisions, watches, advertising displays, etc. Typical examples of a liquid crystal display mode include a TN (twisted nematic) mode, a STN (super twisted nematic) mode, a vertical alignment mode using TFT (thin-film transistor), an IPS (in-plane switching) mode, and the like. Liquid crystal compositions used for these liquid crystal display devices are required to have stability to external stimuli such as moisture, air, heat, light, and the like, exhibit a liquid crystal phase within as wide a temperature range as possible including room temperature as a center, and have low viscosity and low drive voltage. Further, each of the liquid crystal compositions is composed of several types to several tens types of compounds in order to have optimum values of dielectric anisotropy (Δ∈), refractive index anisotropy (Δn), etc. for a display device.
A horizontal alignment-mode display, such as a TN mode, a STN mode, an IPS (in-plane switching) mode, FFS (fringe field switching-mode liquid crystal display device), or the like, uses a liquid crystal composition having positive Δ∈. Also, there has been reported a driving method in which a liquid crystal composition having positive Δ∈ is vertically aligned with no voltage applied, and display is performed by applying a transverse electric field, and the need for a liquid crystal composition having positive Δ∈ is further increased.
In addition, low-voltage driving, fast response, and a wide operating temperature range are required for all driving methods. That is, a large absolute value of positive Δ∈, low viscosity (η), and a high nematic-isotropic liquid phase transition temperature (Tni) are required. Also, in view of setting of Δn×d which is the product of Δn and a cell gap (d), it is necessary to adjust Δn of a liquid crystal composition within a proper range according to the cell gap. In addition, when a liquid crystal display device is applied to a television or the like, fast response is regarded as important, and thus a liquid crystal composition having low rotational viscosity (γ1) is required.
A liquid crystal composition disclosed as a configuration of a liquid crystal composition contains, for example, a compound represented by general formula (A-1) below and a compound represented by general formula (A-2) below, which are liquid crystal compounds having positive Δ∈ (refer to Patent Literature 1).

Also, a liquid crystal composition containing a compound represented by formula (A-3) below is disclosed (refer to Patent Literature 2).

One of the characteristics of these liquid crystal compositions is that they contain one or two tricyclic or tetracyclic compounds having a 2,3′,4′,5′-tetrafluorobiphenyl structure.
On the other hand, with expanding application of liquid crystal display devices, significant changes are found in use method and manufacturing method thereof. In order to cope with these changes, it is demanded to optimize characteristics other than basic physical property values which have been known. That is, VA-mode and IPS-mode liquid crystal display devices using liquid crystal compositions are widely used, and supersized liquid crystal devices of 50 inches or more are put into practical application. With increases in substrate size, instead of a usual vacuum injection method, a one drop fill (ODF) method becomes the mainstream of a method of injecting a liquid crystal composition into a substrate. However, when a liquid crystal composition is dropped on a substrate, the problem of degrading display quality by dropping marks is surfaced.
Further, in a process of manufacturing a liquid crystal display device by the ODF method, it is necessary to drop a liquid crystal in an optimum amount according to the size of a liquid crystal display device. A large deviation of the dropping amount from the optimum value disrupts a balance between previously designed refractive index and driving electric field of a liquid crystal display device and causes the occurrence of spots and display defects such as contrast defect and the like. In particular, small liquid crystal display devices in heavy use for recently popular smart phones have a small optimum amount of liquid crystal filling, and thus it is difficult to control a deviation from the optimum value within a predetermined range.
Therefore, in order to maintain liquid crystal display devices in high yield, for example, there is the necessity for the performance of being little influenced by a rapid pressure change and impact produced in a dropping apparatus during dropping of a liquid crystal, and being capable of continuous stable dropping over a long time.
Accordingly, for liquid crystal compositions used for active matrix drive liquid crystal display devices which are driven with TFT elements or the like, developments are being required in view of a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device in addition to the characteristic of having high resistivity or high voltage holding ratio, and stability to external stimuli such as light, heat, and the like, which has been regarded as important, while maintaining the characteristics and performance, such as fast response and the like, which are required for liquid crystal display devices.

Abstract: (In the formula, Ri1 represents an alkyl group having 1 to 8 carbon atoms, and one or nonadjacent two or more —CH2— in the alkyl group may be each independently substituted by —CH═CH—, —C≡C—, —O—, —CO—, —COO—, or —OCO—; mi1 represents 1 or 2; Ai1 represents a 1,4-cyclohexylene group or a 1,4-phenylene group which may have a fluorine atom or a chlorine atom substituted for a hydrogen atom, when mi1 represents 1, Ai1 represents a 1,4-phenylene group which may have a fluorine atom or a chlorine atom substituted for a hydrogen atom, and when mi1 represents 2 and a plurality of Ai1 are present, Ai1 may be the same or different, and Xi1 represents a hydrogen atom, a fluorine atom, or a chlorine atom.)


A carpet removal apparatus for removing carpet adhered to a floor provides a spool having an attachment member adapted to attach a portion of a carpet to be removed to the spool member. The spool member is rotated over the upper surface of the carpet about the axis of the spool member to wind the carpet onto the spool member and tear the carpet from the floor. The spool member is typically rotated using a motor supported by a frame rotatably attached to the spool member. A power transmission member transmits the power and rotation from the motor to the spool member, slowing the rotation and increasing the power. An alternative, manual spool member uses a pair of rotating handles, one attached to each end of the spool member. The rotating handles are used as levers to force the rotation of the spool member and, thereby, wind the carpet onto the spool member, ripping the carpet from the floor.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to the field of carpet removal. More specifically, the invention relates to a carpet stripping device that uses a lower power motor to rotate a carpet spool and, thereby, strip the carpet from the floor.
2. Related Art
Carpet is often adhered to a floor using an relatively strong adhesive. When the carpet wears, it must be removed and replaced. However, removing the carpet glued to the floor can be quite difficult. Typically, the carpet is removed by hand by simply pulling the edges of the carpet, ripping the carpet from the floor. Pulling the carpet from the floor can require a number of workers, pulling in unison to remove the carpet. The adhesive is sometimes strong enough that pieces of the concrete floor is ripped up with the adhesive and the carpet during the carpet removal. Thus, removing the carpet in this manner is labor intensive, costly, and time consuming.
A number of devices have been developed to remove carpet glued to a floor. Most of these devices use some sort of pulling device wherein one end is clamped to the edge of the carpet and the opposite end of the device is anchored. A motor then pulls the first end of the carpet toward the anchored second end ripping the carpet from the floor. Typically, these devices do not provide a means for neatly cutting the carpet to a width that can be easily handled.
Another prior effort uses a blade that scrapes below the carpet while an elevated, motorized spool rolls the carpet thereon. Although this device provides a way to neatly cut the carpet into strips, the device appears to be relatively complicated and, thus, relatively costly.
Thus, despite the use of the prior art features, there remains a need for a relatively inexpensive carpet stripping device that is easy to use and reduces or eliminates the manual labor associated with carpet stripping.


The present invention relates to a switch device (100) for use in hand-held power tools. The switch device (100) may include at least one chamber (102) whose interior serves as an accommodation space. The chamber (102) may partially encase an operational member (104) for actuating the hand-held power tool through the switch device (100). Further, the switch device (100) is provided with multiple holes (202) on side walls (204) of the chamber (102) to create a passageway for external particulate materials. Also, a bottom surface (205) of the chamber (102) may be sloped to extend from an interior of the chamber (102) to each of the multiple holes (202), to enhance the discharging of the external particulate materials through the holes (202).

A hand-held power tool, such as a chain saw, may use a switch device for actuation of electrical supply in the hand-held power tool. Generally, rocker type switch device are used in the hand-held power tools. However, other types of switch device, such as, but not limited to, toggle switch device, push button switch device, momentary switch device, or the like may also be used in similar operations.
The switch devices used in the hand-held power tool include one or more chambers to accommodate an operational member and a contact member. The hand-held power tool may encounter external particulate materials around/into the switch device while the hand-held power tool is in operation. The external particulate materials may include saw dust, dirt, or the like. These external particulate materials may affect the overall performance of the switch device.
Various measures have been adopted in the art to protect the operational member and the contact member of the switch device. One way is to seal the contact member that may at least partly reduce abrasion between the contact member and a pressing member. In other cases, measures have been taken to enclose the switch device within a protective housing to protect the switch device from the external environment.


A device may be configured to sense its own orientation with respect to a coordinate system, and to also sense the orientation of a user's head with respect to the device. The device may then determine whether the device orientation has changed with respect to the coordinate system and/or whether the head orientation has changed with respect to the device. Audio signal generation in the device may then be controlled based on the determination. For example, the position of a simulated sound source may be changed in a 3-D audio field based on determined changes in device and/or head orientation. The audio signal may then be transmitted from the device to an apparatus configured to generate sound based on the audio signal (e.g., headphones).

Three-Dimensional (3-D) audio is a technology in which sound is generated in a manner that creates the illusion that the source of the sound is somewhere in a 3-D space surrounding the hearer. For example, movies and video games may employ 3-D audio to create an "immersive" effect wherein the participant (e.g., user) is made to feel as if actually a part of the content being viewed by generating sound that appears to come from various directions (e.g., left, center right, back, etc.). In stationary systems this effect may be simulated through the placement of speakers in the various directions. Sound from content such as, for example, a movie, a video game, etc. may then be directed to a speaker corresponding to the direction from which the sound is meant to be heard. Since the system is fixed, the sound always appears to be coming from the correct direction (e.g., the direction intended by the creator of the content) regardless of where the user is positioned. More recently, portable systems (e.g., mobile communication and/or computing devices) have evolved to have the capability of generating 3-D audio. A user may view content on a portable system and listen to audio associated with the content on headphones configured to generate directional sound in accordance with the content. However, at least one limitation that exists in portable 3-D audio is that the sound field is relative to the headphones. As opposed to a stationary system where the sound generation is relative to a fixed coordinate system, and so the user is free to move about the physical space without changing the intended sense of immersion, in portable devices the coordinate system is relative to the headphones of the user, and thus, the head of the user. When the head of the user moves the sound field moves as well. As a result, the direction from which a sound emanates no longer matches the direction intended by the creation of the content, destroying the intended sense of immersion to be created by the content.
Although the following Detailed Description will proceed with reference being made to illustrative embodiments, many alternatives, modifications and variations thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art.


A planetary gear assembly for a drum washing machine and a washing machine are provided. The planetary gear assembly includes a planetary gear component. The planetary gear component includes a planet carrier, a plurality of planetary gears rotatably mounted to the planet carrier separately and configured to be meshed with a main shaft separately, the main shaft being configured to drive a drum to rotate in a drum washing machine; and a planetary gear outer teeth casing fitted over an outer side of the plurality of planetary gears, meshed with the plurality of planetary gears separately, and configured to be in transmission connection with an agitator in the drum.

When laundry is washed in a drum washing machine, a drum is rotated to drive the laundry and water in the drum to rotate and wash the laundry, and the laundry is lifted up and down by a baffle in the drum and is dropped by an inner circumferential surface of the drum. However, due to a single washing mode, the washing effect is affected. Therefore, there is a need for improvement.
To this end, a drum washing machine provided with an impeller in a drum is proposed in a related art. For example, PCT/CN2016/11037 discloses a drum-type washing machine, in which the impeller is directly driven to rotate by an electric motor while the electric motor drives the drum to rotate by means of transmission of a planetary gear mechanism, and a rotational speed of the drum is less than a rotational speed of the impeller. However, since the drum itself has a larger volume than the impeller does, and the drum is required to carry the laundry and the water during washing, the planetary gear mechanism has a relatively large load, to affect the effect of transmission of power by the planetary gear mechanism and the service life thereof.

Planetary gear assembly for drum washing machine and drum washing machine


Present disclosure provides a pharmaceutical composition or a preparation composition containing fermented papaya preparation as an active ingredient for treating a patient with electrohypersensitivity or relieving a symptom thought to be a symptom of the electrohypersensitivity, and methods of use thereof.

In recent years, a source of radio waves and electromagnetic waves has diversified, the number of people suffering from hypersensitivity to electromagnetic waves and electromagnetic fields increases, generally called "electrohypersensitivity". Symptoms thereof vary from person to person, there is a wide range of severity, and some people who are affected will interfere with daily life.
According to World Health Organization (WHO), electrohypersensitivity (EHS) is also called idiopathic environmental intolerance (IEI) due to electromagnetic field (IEI-EMF) (Hansson Mild K, Repacholi M, van Deventer E, Ravazzani P, eds. 2006. Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity: Proceedings, International Workshop on EMF Hypersensitivity, Prague, Czech Republic, Oct. 25-27, 2004. Geneva (Switzerland): WHO Press. p. 16.). All the symptoms reported by these patients that may cause chronic insomnia, fatigue, hypersensitivity, and depression tendency occur each time they feel exposed to electromagnetic fields (Bergqvist U, Vogel E, Editors. Possible health implications of subjective symptoms and electromagnetic fields. A report prepared by a European group of experts for the European Commission, DGV. Arbete och Halsa, 1997:19. Swedish National Institute for Working Life, Stockholm, Sweden. http://www2.niwl.se/forlag/en/; Santini R, Seigne M, Bonhomme-Faivre L, Bouffet S, Defrasme E, Sage M. Symptoms experienced by users of digital cellular phones: a study of a French engineering school. Electromagn Biol Med. 2002, 21:81-88., Roosli M. Radiofrequency electromagnetic field exposure and non-specific symptoms of ill health: a systematic review. Environ Res. 2008, 107:277-287., Baliatsas C, Van Kamp I, Bolte J, Schipper M, Yzermans J, Lebret E. Non-specific physical symptoms and electromagnetic field exposure in the general population: can we get more specific? A systematic review. Environ Int. 2012, 41:15-28., and Hagstrom M1, Auranen J, Ekman R. Electromagnetic hypersensitive Finns: Symptoms, perceived sources and treatments, a questionnaire study. Pathophysiology. 2013, 20:117-122.).
On the other hand, "electrohypersensitivity" is considered to have no medical diagnostic criteria since WHO said that the existence of various symptoms is real but "there are no medical diagnostic criteria and there is no scientific basis that the symptoms are causally related to electromagnetic field exposure (WHO fact sheet no 292, December 2005)".
In recent years, the present inventors showed clinically that electrohypersensitivity that they also called electromagnetic field (EMF) intolerance syndrome (EMFIS), is related to a decrease in intracerebral tissue pulsation within the temporal lobes and can be characterized biologically by several blood biomarkers. They showed that the peripheral blood of the patients had several biological abnormalities including various degrees of oxidative stress, low grade inflammation, and autoimmune response. Thus, the present inventors hypothesized that this process can explain the opening of the blood brain barrier and a decrease of brain blood flow in temporal lobes of these patients (Belpomme D, Campagnac C, Irigaray P. Reliable disease biomarkers characterizing and identifying electrohypersensitivity and multiple chemical sensitivity as two etiopathogenic aspects of a unique pathological disorder. Rev Environ Health. 2015, 30: 251-271; Belpomme D, Hardell L, Belyaev I, Burgio E, Carpenter D O. Thermal and non-thermal health effects of low intensity non-ionizing radiation: An international perspective. Environ Pollut. 2018 November; 242(Pt A):643-658.).
A fermented papaya preparation (FPP) produced by fermenting immature fruits of Carica papaya (Carica papaya Linn) together with sugar with edible yeast increases maltose and maltotriose compared to a case of mixing with saliva and water.
Oral ingestion of the FPP is expected to increase the oligosaccharide to regulate an intestinal environment, and expected to suppress blood sugar elevation in type 2 diabetic patients, improve energy metabolism, and promote wound healing by enhancing immunity (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-041478, PCT International Publication No. WO2016/027334, and PCT International Publication No. WO2016/027333). The FPP is also known to have antioxidant properties and to obtain effects on symptoms associated with aging (Aruoma O I, Hayashi Y, Marotta F, Mantello P, Rachmilewitz E, Montagnier L. Applications and bioefficacy of the functional food supplement fermented papaya preparation. Toxicology 278: 6-16, 2010.).

Method for treating electrohypersensitivity with a fermented papaya preparation


In charge-coupled imaging devices it is generally necessary to provide zones (12) in the matrix with a contact. These zones may form part, for example, of a mechanism for draining charge, for example as a protection against overexposure. In the case of imaging devices with a horizontal readout register on one side of the matrix, these contacts can be provided on the opposite side. However, it is often desirable or even necessary, as in the case of imaging devices with four-quadrant readout, to provide such contacts on the same side as the horizontal readout register. To this end, a dummy line (14'-17') is provided in accordance with the invention between the matrix and the horizontal readout register (6), said dummy line having an electrode structure which leaves room for contact windows (22) to the zones (12).

The invention relates to a charge-coupled imaging device comprising a semiconductor body which is provided at a surface with a two-dimensional matrix of photosensitive elements which are arranged in rows and columns and in which, dependent upon the intensity of incident electromagnetic radiation, electric charge is generated which can be transferred in the form of discrete charge packets via a system of parallel transport lines in the form of charge-coupled devices in the column direction towards a readout register in the form of a charge-coupled device for transferring charge packets in a direction parallel to the rows.
Such a device is for example known from the article "Tektronics Four Quadrant Readout 1024 * 1024 CCD Imager: First Test Results" by Delamere et.al., published in Proc. Spie Vol. 1071 Optical Sensors and Electronic Photography (1989), pp. 197/202. In said article a description is given of a CCD imaging device which comprises a number of adjacent vertical CCD-channels which form the matrix of photosensitive elements. The upper side and the lower side of the matrix are each provided with two horizontal readout registers which are each connected to one of 4 output amplifiers. When the device is in operation, in the integration period an image is converted to a pattern of charge packets of charge carriers of a certain type, for example electrons in the case of an n-channel CCD. Subsequently, the charge packets in the various quadrants can be transferred via the vertical channels to the associated horizontal readout register to be read out. The use of four readout registers permits the stored information to be read out very rapidly. This is very important, particularly, yet not exclusively, when the number of photosensitive elements is very large, such as in "Full Frame" imaging devices.
In CCD imaging devices in general, it may be necessary to provide zones in the matrix with an electrical connection to supply or drain current, or to apply a specific voltage. As will be apparent from the description of the drawings given below, this situation occurs when the imaging device must be protected against overexposure (anti-blooming), requiring electric charge generated in the matrix to be drained. In the case of imaging devices which are provided with a horizontal readout register on only one side of the matrix, for example the lower side, such connections can be provided at the upper side of the matrix where there is no horizontal readout register. Of course, in this case the same problems as described above with respect to the four-quadrant imaging device would occur if it were necessary, for example, to provide such electrical connections at the lower side.

Charge-coupled imaging device having electrical connections on the readout register side


The present invention is related to an enhanced equalizer using channel estimation. A scaled version of a channel estimate is used as an expected average behavior of the product of a transmitted signal and a received signal to implement Griffith algorithm. The present invention also uses advance or prediction of a channel estimate to overcome the lag problem inherent in a least means square (LMS) algorithm in a time varying channel. Therefore, the present invention enables the use of a small step size while attaining the same tracking capability with a large step size. A channel estimate at some time in the future is used for updating equalizer filter tap coefficients. This may be performed with a prediction filter. Alternatively, a delay may be introduced in the input data to the filter tap coefficient generator, which makes a channel estimate look like a prediction to the filter tap coefficient generator.

One of the methods for adjusting filter coefficients of an adaptive filter is a least mean square (LMS) algorithm. In an LMS filter, the filter coefficients are updated based on an error between an actual output of the LMS filter and a reference value. The error is fed back to update the filter coefficients and updated filter coefficients are generated based on a step size and the error, which is iteratively updated until convergence is obtained.
Performance of an LMS equalizer, (or a normalized LMS (NLMS) equalizer), is degraded in quickly varying channels if a small step size is used since the speed of convergence does not keep up with the quickly changing channel. Using a large step size may increase convergence speed, and therefore may enhance the performance of the LMS equalizer. However, using a large step size may cause excessive misadjustment errors. Therefore, there is a trade-off between tracking capability and misadjustment errors. A large step size is preferable to track the channel better. However, a small step size is preferable to reduce the misadjustment errors. Therefore, step size is set to optimize the overall performance, but nevertheless implementation of the LMS algorithm often results in sub-optimal convergence time.
The Griffith algorithm is based on an adaptation of the LMS algorithm that does not require an error signal but requires apriori knowledge of an expected value of a product of a reference signal and a data vector.
It would therefore be desirable to perform channel estimation without the limitations of the prior art.

Channel estimation enhanced LMS equalizer


In an isolated DC-DC converter, an on-period control circuit generates an off-timing signal when the output voltage of an isolated DC-DC converter exceeds a reference voltage. A signal reception/power switch driving circuit causes a first switching device to be turned on based on a pulse signal for switching that is output from a PWM control circuit, and causes the first switching device to be turned off based on an off-timing signal transmitted by an off-timing signal transmission unit. A bootstrap circuit boosts a control voltage of the first switching device with the pulse signal for switching that is output from the PWM control circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an isolated DC-DC converter having DC isolation between the input and output thereof and a circuit arranged to perform switching control of the main switching device.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 shows a circuit diagram of an isolated switching power supply apparatus disclosed in International Publication Pamphlet No. 2007/018227. Referring to FIG. 1, terminals +Vin and −Vin are respectively the (+) input terminal and (−) input terminal for a DC input power supply. Terminals +Vout and −Vout are respectively the (+) output terminal and (−) output terminal.
This isolated switching power supply apparatus includes an input smoothing capacitor C1, a main transformer T1 having a primary winding n1 and a secondary winding n2, a first switching device Q1 for switching an input voltage applied to the primary winding n1 of the main transformer T1 from the input DC power supply, a square wave oscillator circuit 1 for generating a square wave signal supplied to the gate of the first switching device Q1, a signal reception/power switch driving circuit 2, a rectification side synchronous rectifier Q2 and a commutation side synchronous rectifier Q3 for synchronously rectifying a voltage induced in the secondary winding n2 of the main transformer T1, a synchronous rectifier driving circuit 3 for driving both rectifiers, an off-timing signal transmission circuit 4, a ramp generator circuit 5, an on-period control circuit 6, a choke coil transformer L1, and an output smoothing capacitor C2.
The isolated switching power supply apparatus also includes a pulse transformer T2 and a diode D5 for transmitting an output signal of the off-timing signal transmission circuit 4 to the signal reception/power switch driving circuit 2 in an isolated state.
The square wave oscillator circuit 1 is a multivibrator including inverters IC2 and IC3, and a CR circuit. The signal reception/power switch driving circuit 2 includes an AND gate IC4, a switching device Q4, a resistor R8, and a diode D9.
The synchronous rectifier driving circuit 3 includes a rectification side synchronous rectifier driving terminal FRD and a commutation side synchronous rectifier driving terminal FLY. The off-timing signal transmission circuit 4 includes an AND gate IC5 and a capacitor C7. An on-period control circuit 6 includes a comparator IC1 and a reference power source Vref.
The ramp generator circuit 5 generates a ramp voltage signal using the choke coil transformer L1 and a CR circuit, and inputs the signal to the comparator IC1 of the on-period control circuit 6.
The switching power supply apparatus shown in FIG. 1 constitutes a resonance reset forward converter, in which an input DC power supplied across +Vin and −Vin is, after being smoothed by the input smoothing capacitor C1, converted into an AC power through switching performed by the first switching device Q1 (primary power switch). This AC power is transmitted from the primary winding n1 to the secondary winding n2 of the main transformer T1, and converted back into a DC power, after being rectified by the rectification side synchronous rectifier Q2 and the commutation side synchronous rectifier Q3, and being smoothed by the choke coil transformer L1 and the output smoothing capacitor C2.
The comparator IC1 of the on-period control circuit 6 compares the output voltage at the (+) input and a divided voltage of the reference power source Vref at the (−) input. A ramp wave generated by the ramp generator circuit 5 is superimposed on the divided voltage of the reference power source Vref at the (−) input and gradually diminishes during the on-period of the first switching device Q1. When the (+) input voltage becomes higher than the (−) input voltage during the on-period due to the gradual decrease in the (−) input, the output voltage level of the IC1 changes from an L level to an H level.
The AND gate IC5 keeps detecting the on-period of the first switching device Q1 through the choke coil transformer L1, and when the output voltage of the IC1 changes from an L level to an H level during the on-period of the first switching device Q1, outputs an off-timing signal via the capacitor C7 and transmits the signal from the secondary winding n2 to the primary winding n1 of the pulse transformer T2. At this time, the diode D5 resets the pulse transformer T2 excited by the transmission of the off-timing signal.
The square wave oscillator circuit 1 outputs a square wave having a maximum on-duty ratio. Since the output of the inverter IC2 has a timing opposite that of the square wave oscillator circuit 1, the output capacitor of the switching device Q4 is charged via the diode D9 and the resistor R8 during the off-period of the square wave oscillator circuit, whereby the drain voltage of the switching device Q4 changes to an H level. The AND gate IC4 becomes an H level when both of the output voltage of the square wave oscillator circuit 1 and the drain voltage of the switching device Q4 become an H level. Hence, when the output voltage of the square wave oscillator circuit changes from an L level to an H level, the output of the AND gate IC4 also changes from an L level to an H level, whereby the first switching device Q1 is turned on.
When an off-timing signal is input to the gate of Q4 via the pulse transformer T2 during an on-period of Q1, Q4 is turned on and the charge stored in the output capacitor is discharged. Thereby the drain voltage of Q4 changes from an H level to an L level, and the output of IC4 also changes from an H level to an L level, and hence the first switching device Q1 is turned off.
On the basis of the above-described operation, the signal reception/power switch driving circuit 2 determines the off timing of the first switching device Q1 in synchronization with the turn-on timing of the square wave oscillator circuit 1, and determines the off timing of the first switching device Q1 in synchronization with the turn-off timing, whereby PWM control is performed and the output voltage of the switching power supply is stabilized. Hence, very fast responsiveness is realized without a phase delay caused by a photocoupler or an error amplifier.
In the known isolated switching power supply apparatus without a photocoupler or an error amplifier shown in FIG. 1, the square wave oscillator circuit 1 includes an inverter, and the signal reception/power switch driving circuit 2 includes an AND gate. Since the maximum rated absolute voltage of general high-speed logic ICs is usually approximately 7 V, the gate driving voltage of the first switching device Q1 is limited to a voltage lower than that voltage. To realize a sufficient gate driving voltage, a MOSFET which can drive the first switching device Q1 at a logic level is required; however, a MOSFET which allows logic-level driving with a withstand drain voltage over 100 V is not easily available. In addition, the gate driving power is not satisfactory for a high-power switching power supply which requires a high input capacity for the first switching device Q1.
For these reasons, the known isolated switching power supply configuration shown in FIG. 1 is not suitable for a high-input-voltage and high-power switching power supply.
A possible solution may be a configuration having a two-stage Darlington connection of FETs in which a high-speed logic gate IC uses an output thereof to drive a low-withstand-voltage FET, which in turn drives a high-withstand-voltage FET. Alternatively, an IC for driving a high-withstand-voltage FET may be used which can raise the logic output of approximately 5 V to an output of approximately 8-10 V.
These configurations, however, disadvantageously result in high cost and require high-power resistors resulting in low circuit efficiency.


A cross between a female variety known as CL61-620 with a mixture of male varieties has produced an improved variety of sugar cane.

This new variety of sugar cane with the identifying number CL77-797 originated as a seedling produced by the inventor by crossing the variety CL61-620 as a female with a mixture of varieties as male. In this form of variety designation, which is well known to sugar cane breeders, "CL" denotes the breeding locality or station, i.e. Clewiston, Fla.; 77 represents the year that the particular variety was first grown, i.e. 1977; and 797 is the distinctive number assigned to that variety among those grown in that year. The cross was made in December 1975, at Clewiston, Fla. and this new variety was selected from among the progeny of the cross. The inventor has subsequently asexually reproduced the new variety at Clewiston, Fla., by means of stem cuttings.
The new variety matures early (i.e. has commercially acceptable sucrose levels beginning in November), maintains a high level of sucrose throughout the harvest season (a typical harvest season is November 1 to March 15), produces high tons per acre of cane and high tons per acre of sugar. In a trial with six replications in a randomized complete-block design over three crops (i.e., three crops were harvested from the same six plots) on a medium mineral Terra Ceia organic soil, the new clone averaged higher in both early and late percent yield of sucrose (yield of 96.degree. sucrose, percent cane) and higher in both early and late tons per acre of sucrose than standard cultivars CL61-620 and CP70-1133 . The new clone produced more tons per acre of cane than CP70-1133 and slightly less than CL61-620. In a trial with four replications in a randomized complete-block design extending over three crop years on a low mineral Terra Ceia organic soil, the new clone averaged higher in both early and late percent yield of sucrose than standard cultivars CL61-620 and CP72-1210 . The new clone exceeded CP72-1210 in tons per acre of cane and both early and late tons per acre of sucrose. The new clone approached CL61-620 in tons per acre of cane, and both early and late tons per acre of sucrose. The new clone has been competitive with standard cultivars under large scale outfield testing practices. During the 1994-95 season CL77-797 was compared with both CL61-620 and CP80-1827 in the first crop of successively planted cane (successive planting refers to the cycle of planting in which the old stubble is disced out immediately after harvest, the field prepared for planting, then planted with sugar cane after only a few weeks). The large scale outfield testing fields, which varied from 35 to 70 acres each, were distributed over variable organic soil types, and varied in planting dates and harvest dates. CL77-797 averaged higher in percent yield of sucrose, tons per acre of cane, and tons per acre of sucrose than either CL61-620 or CP80-1827.
In one regular commercial planting following fallow in a 37-acre field, this new variety produced 88 tons per acre of cane and 9.8 tons per acre of sugar in a 17-month crop.
The new variety is not recommended for commercial use on sandy soils.
Based on experimental tests and extensive field observations the new variety is judged to be resistant to several diseases common to Florida. In inoculation tests the variety was highly resistant to smut (caused by Ustilago scitaminea Syd. and P. Syd.), resistant to ratoon stunting disease (caused by Clavibacter xyli subsp. xyli, Davis), resistant to leaf scald (caused by Xanthomonas albilineans Ashby, Dowson) and to sugarcane mosaic virus strains A, B, D, and E. In order to verify the inoculation tests, extensive field observations were made and the variety was found to maintain its resistance to the four diseases above under commercial cultural practices. Further, based on extensive field observations the new variety is judged to be resistant to rust disease (caused by Puccinia melanocephala Syd. and P. Syd.), eye spot disease (caused by Bipolaris sacchari (Butl.) Shoemaker), and brown stripe (caused by Cochliobolus stenospilus (Drechs.) Mat. and Yam. The new clone is subject to natural infections of pokkah being (caused by Fusarium moniliforme Sheldon).
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved variety of sugar cane.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description of the drawings and appended claim, and upon reference to the accompanying drawings.


The present invention provides compounds of Formula (I) which can be used as ACC inhibitors and potently as therapeutic agents against diseases mediated by ACC.

ACC is a multi-subunit enzyme in most prokaryotes and in the chloroplasts of most plants and algae, whereas it is a large, multi-domain enzyme in the endoplasmic reticulum of most eukaryotes. The most important function of ACC is to provide the malonyl-CoA substrate for the biosynthesis of fatty acids. The activity of ACC can be controlled at the transcriptional level as well as by small molecule modulators and covalent modification. The human genome contains the genes for two different ACCs—ACACA and ACACB. Uncontrolled ACC activities can lead to serious disease such as a metabolic disease (e.g., obesity), a liver disease (e.g., a nonalcoholic fatty liverdisease), or cancer.
Fatty acid metabolism dysregulated through elevated fatty acid synthesis (FASyn), impaired fatty acid oxidation (FAOxn), or both is a hallmark of various metabolic disorders, including insulin resistance, hepatic steatosis, dyslipidemia, obesity, metabolic syndrome (MetSyn), and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), that can lead to the development of type 2 diabetes (T2DM), nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and atherosclerotic vascular disease. Altered fatty acid metabolism also is a hallmark of cancer and contributes to the abnormal and sustained cellular proliferation of malignancy. Therefore inhibition of FASyn and/or stimulation of FAOxn have the potential to affect these maladies favorably. As a result of its unique position in intermediary metabolism, pharmacologic inhibition of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) offers an attractive modality for limiting FASyn in lipogenic tissues while simultaneously stimulating FAOxn in oxidative tissues. ACC catalyzes the ATP-dependent carboxylation of acetyl-CoA to form malonyl-CoA, the rate-limiting and first committed reaction in FASyn. This conversion proceeds in two half-reactions, a biotin carboxylase (BC) reaction and a carboxyltransferase (CT) reaction. ACC activity is tightly regulated through a variety of dietary, hormonal, and other physiological responses including feed-forward activation by citrate, feedback inhibition by long-chain fatty acids, reversible phosphorylation and inactivation by AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), and modulation of enzyme production through altered gene expression. ACC exists as two tissue-specific isozymes that are encoded by separate genes and display distinct cellular distributions. ACC1 is a cytosolic enzyme present in lipogenic tissues (liver, adipose); ACC2 is a mitochondrially associated isozyme present in oxidative tissues (liver, heart, skeletal muscle). In the liver, malonyl-CoA formed in the cytoplasm by ACC1 is used primarily for FASyn and elongation, whereas malonyl-CoA formed at the mitochondrial surface by ACC2 acts primarily to regulate mitochondrial FAOxn through allosteric inhibition of carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1. This functional compartmentalization results from a combination of synthesis proximity and the rapid action of malonyl-CoA decarboxylase. In the heart and skeletal muscle, which lack ACC1 and thus have a limited capacity for FASyn, the malonyl-CoA formed by ACC2 functions primarily to regulate FAOxn. Adipose tissue primarily contains ACC1 to support FASyn in that tissue.
Obesity is a health crisis of epic proportions. The health burden of obesity, measured by quality-adjusted life-years lost per adult, has surpassed that of smoking to become the most serious, preventable cause of death. In the US, about 34% of adults have obesity, up from 31% in 1999 and about 15% in the years 1960 through 1980. Obesity increases the rate of mortality from all causes for both men and women at all ages and in all racial and ethnic groups. Obesity also leads to social stigmatization and discrimination, which decreases quality of life dramatically. The chronic diseases that result from obesity cost the US economy more than $150 billion in weight-related medical bills each year. Furthermore, about half of the obese population, and 25% of the general population, have metabolic syndrome, a condition associated with abdominal obesity, hypertension, increased plasma triglycerides, decreased HDL cholesterol, and insulin resistance, which increases the risk for type-2 diabetes (T2DM), stroke and coronary heart disease. [Harwood, Expert Opin. Ther. Targets 9: 267, 2005].
Diet and exercise, even when used in conjunction with the current pharmacotherapy, do not provide sustainable weight loss needed for long-term health benefit. Currently, only a few anti-obesity drugs are approved in the US, the fat absorption inhibitor orlistat (Xenical®), the 5-HT2C antagonist lorcaserin (Belviq®), and the combination therapy phentermine/topiramate) (Qsymia®). Unfortunately, poor efficacy and unappealing gastrointestinal side effects limit the use of orlistat. Surgery can be effective but is limited to patients with extremely high body-bass indices (BMI) and the low throughput of surgery limits the impact of this modality to about 200 k patients per year. The majority of obesity drugs in clinical development are designed to reduce caloric intake through central action in the CNS (e.g., anorectics and satiety agents). However, the FDA has taken an unfavorable position against CNS-active agents, due to their modest efficacy and observed/potential side-effect profiles.
The continuing and increasing problem of obesity, and the current lack of safe and effective drugs for treating it, highlight the overwhelming need for new drugs to treat this condition and its underlying causes, particularly related to ACC.

Compounds and their uses as ACC inhibitors


An aircraft comprising a space-optimized standing seat for cabin attendants in a passenger cabin is provided. The aircraft comprises a cabin attendant seat and a cabin with an aircraft exit. The cabin attendant seat comprises a seating area and a backrest and is arranged in the region of the aircraft exit. Therein, the cabin attendant seat is designed as a standing seat.

In aircraft, for example in airplanes for transport of passengers, cabin attendants, for example stewardesses and stewards, may be present on board who may assist in ensuring flight comfort and safety of passengers. At least during the take-off and landing phases the cabin attendants, too, need to take up positions that meet certain safety requirements.
To this effect flight attendant seats, also known as cabin attendant seats (CASs) are provided that are designed as folding seats. Folding seats are, for example, known from DE 10 2004 025 980 A1 and US 2005/264058 A1. The folding seats may be folded in when they are not in use. The folding seats must be arranged in such a manner that, for example, any jamming of the seat surface cannot prevent unimpeded access to an exit in the case of evacuation.
In addition, other objects, desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent summary and detailed description, and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background.

Space-optimized cabin attendant standing seat for aircraft


Systems and methods for a content-adaptive photo-enhancement recommender that produces multiple enhanced images based on content and color layout parameters derived from related high-quality images are disclosed. In some embodiments, a user-uploaded image is enhanced based on parameters learned from high-quality images similar in content to the user-uploaded image and obtained using content-based image retrieval techniques.

In today's age of social media, people upload millions of pictures every day on websites such as Flickr, Facebook, Google+, Instagram, etc. It has been found that a high-quality image on websites attracts a larger audience and hence image enhancement tools have recently been introduced as an integral part of some of these websites. However, conventional image enhancement tools on such websites are not content-adaptive or dynamic. Thus, they produce similar effects for seemingly different images, which may be undesirable. In some cases, complex post-processing operations can be performed on an image by using professional image editing software. However, such software is computationally expensive and is not portable. In addition, such software requires manual intervention and skilled knowledge about the photo-editing process. All these reasons hinder the use of such software on mobile devices. As such, there is a need for further improvements in photo-enhancement techniques and systems.
Aspects of the present disclosure address the aforementioned issues.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding elements among the view of the drawings. The headings used in the figures do not limit the scope of the claims.

Arizona Board of Regents on Behalf of Arizona State University


An integrated bearing and pump assembly is formed by positioning a hydrodynamic pump coaxially with respect to a hydrodynamic bearing. The integrated assembly provides pressurized fluid for use within the device incorporating the bearing. The hydrodynamic pump comprises a secondary hydrodynamic bearing incorporated into the primary bearing assembly. The secondary bearing is optimized for high flow pumping applications rather than the high pressure, zero flow requirements of the primary bearing. When the bearing assembly is rotated, fluid flow is provided.

A traditional mechanical bearing uses a liquid lubricant in combination with ball bearings to reduce the frictional wear of a rotating shaft. However, when used in high precision, high RPM applications, traditional mechanical bearings have several shortcomings. Ball bearings are not perfectly spherical and the race within which they sit can deform slightly. This can cause random fluctuations in the orientation and position of the rotating shaft. Furthermore, mechanical bearings often wear in ways that increase the magnitude of these random displacements. In addition, wear particles and lubricant can spread from the mechanical bearing and contaminate the device incorporating the rotating shaft.
Because of the above difficulties, a gas bearing is often the preferred way of supporting a rapidly rotating shaft for some applications. Gas bearings may use either hydrostatic or hydrodynamic principles of operation. In a hydrostatic bearing a source of pressurized gas is supplied between a rotating shaft and its surrounding sleeve. The gas acts as a lubricant and allows the shaft to rotate without coming into contact with the sleeve. In a hydrodynamic bearing, oblique grooves are cut in a shaft and the rotation of the shaft causes gas to flow through the grooves. The dynamic pressure created by this gas flow allows the gas to act as a lubricant. In many applications, the lubricant gas used is simply filtered air. For other applications, noble gases or nitrogen may be preferred because of their relative inertness.
The pressure created by hydrodynamic gas bearings can be sizable. However, this pressure is usually unavailable for other uses within a device. Any attempt to bleed gas flow from a gas bearing would seriously affect its ability to function properly. Therefore, devices that incorporate hydrodynamic gas bearings are unable to utilize the pressurized gas created by the rotating shaft. If such a device requires a long-term source of pressurized gas it must incorporate a mechanical compressor. These compressors are often undesirable since they occupy space within the device, consume power, and are a source of vibration and contamination.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for an apparatus that allows the gas pressure created by a hydrodynamic bearing to be utilized for other purposes by the device incorporating the bearing.

International Business Machines Corporation


A method and apparatus for determining a current user by receiving an application-level usage indicator; determining a user identifier by consulting a pre-established set of one or more user profiles according to the application-level usage indicator; and executing the application when the determined user identifier is associated with a user that is entitled to use the application.

A wide variety of applications are now available for various computing platforms. Many of these applications comprise licensed software. In the past, it was not very common for one user to share an execution platform with another user. However, as the size of an execution platform has been reduced with advances in technology, it is now very common for users to share the hardware platform that is used to execute a particular application. In this sense, when an application is installed on a particular hardware platform—for example, a notebook computer, a personal organizer or a media access device—that application can be used by the borrowing user.
Not only can a borrowing user or use an application that is installed on an execution platform that the user has borrowed, the borrowing user can in many instances access digital content by using a particular application that is also installed on a borrowed hardware platform. As such, where the borrowing user has borrowed, for example, a media access device, the borrowing user can enjoy content that is owned or licensed to the user that actually owns the execution platform. Such access is becoming more and more prevalent. The concern is that a borrowing user is able to use applications or enjoy content that has been licensed to a different user, i.e. the user that loaned the execution platform to the borrowing user.
There are many ways which have already been devised for identifying a particular user before granting access to an application or to some form of digital content. The ubiquitous password is often used to identify a particular user. The problem with using a password is that the owner of the execution platform can simply provide the password to the borrowing user. Again, the borrowing user is allowed to use an application or to enjoy content that is rightfully licensed to the owner of the execution platform. Another technique for identifying a current user relies on some form of token. A token can include such items as a smart card, a card with a magnetic stripe, or a dongle that can be communicatively associated with the execution platform in order to identify a particular user. It should be appreciated that a dongle or any other token is typically associated with a valid access license and is not necessarily associated with a user. Again, a borrowing user can simply obtain the token from the owner of the execution platform.
More sophisticated means for identifying a current user rely on biometrics. The biometrics refers to the mechanics of identifying a physical characteristic for a particular user. For example, a fingerprint, a retinal pattern, vocal or facial characteristics have all been used to identify a current user. These techniques are more effective in identifying a current user because a current user simply cannot loan his personal biometrics signatures to a borrowing user. The drawback with these biometrics techniques is that they often require specialized hardware and are costly to implement.
The invention, in one aspect, features a method for authenticating the usage of an application. The method includes receiving, from a user device, request to execute a first application. The method also includes executing, on the user device, a second application in response to the request. The method also includes receiving, from the user device, an application-level usage indicator, wherein the application-level usage indicator corresponds to current operation of the second application by a user and comprises at least (i) user input commands and (ii) passive usage metrics. The method also includes determining the identity of the user-by comparing the application-level usage indicator with a pre-established user profiles wherein the user profile is associated with previous operation of the second application by the user and comprises at least (i) user input commands and (ii) passive usage metrics. The method also includes executing, at the user device, the first application if the identified user is entitled to use the first application according to the user profile.
In some embodiments, any of the above aspects can include one or more of the following features. In some embodiments, receiving an application-level usage indicator includes receiving an email application usage indicator including at least one of an email client password, a mail recipient indicator, and a mail sender indicator. In some embodiments, receiving an application-level usage indicator includes receiving an content presentation application usage indicator including at least one of an access password, a content file-open indicator, a presentation time indicator, and a content navigation indicator. In some embodiments, receiving an application-level usage indicator comprises receiving a word processing application usage indicator including at least one of a document navigation indicator, a document file-open indicator, and a document file-save indicator. In some embodiments, receiving an application-level usage indicator includes receiving a web browser application usage indicator including at least one of a web-page address indicator, and a web-page dwell indicator.
In some embodiments, executing the first application includes determining a user identity confidence level based on the comparison of the application-level usage indicator with the pre-established user profile, and executing the first application if the identified user is entitled to use the first application based on the user profile and if the user identity confidence level meets a minimum confidence level for the second application. In some embodiments, executing the first application includes determining a user identity confidence level based on the comparison of the application-level usage indicator with the pre-established user profile, and requesting additional identity information from the user if the user identity confidence level fails to meets a minimum confidence level for the second application.
In some embodiments, requesting additional identity information from the user includes requesting the user to execute a third application, receiving an application-level usage indicator corresponding to current operation of the third application by the user and comprising at least (i) user input commands and (ii) passive usage metrics, and refining the determination of the identity of the user by comparing the application-level usage indicator corresponding to current operation of the third application by the user with a pre-established user profile, wherein the user profile is associated with previous operation of the third application by the user and comprises at least (i) user input commands and (ii) passive usage metrics. In some embodiments, requesting additional identity information from the user includes requesting the user to execute a password-protected third application, receiving a password from the user upon executing the third application, and refining the determination of the identity of the user by comparing the received password with a pre-established user profile, wherein the user profile is associated with previous operation of the third application and comprises at least a predefined password.
In some embodiments, the method includes creating a user profile based on one or more application-level usage indicators received from the user device during a registration period of the application. In some embodiments, the method includes identifying the user through a login process if a predominate user of the first application has not yet been determined, receiving, from the user device, an application-level usage indicator corresponding to current operation of the first application by a user and comprising at least (i) user input commands and (ii) passive usage metrics, creating a user profile for the indentified user based on the application-level usage indicator corresponding to the current operation of the first application by the user, and determining that the identified user is the predominate user when the user profile meets a minimum confidence level for the first application.
In some embodiments, the passive usage metrics includes a length of time that the second application has been executing, a length of time that the second application has displayed a particular piece of content, a timestamp that the second application was executed, or any combination thereof.

Method and apparatus for authenticating usage of an application