A method for immobilizing at least one hazardous chemical, comprising the steps of breaching a container having a bulk chemical agent, adding a rheological modifier into the container, and dispersing the rheological modifier within the container so as to promote interaction between the rheological modifier and the bulk chemical agent.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to method to defeat chemical warfare agents and other hazardous materials, and, more particularly, to a method and device for defeating bulk chemical warfare agents and other hazardous materials, such as those stored in a large drum or other container, by rendering them essentially useless and difficult to remove from a container.
2. Related Art
Chemical warfare agents and many toxic industrial chemicals (TICs), i.e., hazardous materials, that might be used as weapons are typically non-aqueous, i.e., organic compounds. In certain circumstances it may be desired to immobilize such materials in a container so that they can be safely transported or to defeat their use as weapons. In some situations, the container may be an integrated part of an industrial plant or it may be a stand-alone container, e.g., a drum, which cannot be safely opened except in a specially equipped hazardous material facility. In such circumstances, special means and steps must be taken so that the agents can be altered and rendered useless or neutralized.
Denying the utility of bulk or production quantities of chemical warfare agents and/or toxic industrial chemicals by a fast-acting, lightweight system for rendering the materials useless or undeliverable has generally used the approach of chemically neutralizing the agent or TIC. This may render the agent relatively safe to handle or dispose, but it usually requires a stoichiometric ratio of decontaminant or neutralizer to agent that is greater than one. For example, one or more decontaminant molecule is required to destroy or neutralize an agent molecule. Some types of decontamination have involved the use of absorbent materials. Some of these employ reactive chemical decontaminants to neutralize the agent. However, absorbent decontaminants in the prior art do not offer an efficient or low bulk means of immobilizing bulk agent.
Several thickeners have been used in the prior art for increasing the viscosity of chemicals for industrial purposes and for chemical warfare agents. Some are also used as absorbent barriers for protection from hazardous chemicals, which may include chemical agents. Such materials, however, are not readily dispersed within a container. Although they may absorb the agent, they do not generally imbibe the agent so that it is not readily released, for example by compression.
Cross-linked copolymers have been shown to be effective in the immobilization of hazardous materials by forming super-thickened gels or solid-like materials. However, the introduction of these materials into containers and their effective use to defeat bulk chemical agents without specific knowledge of the agent characteristics has not been previously addressed. Moreover, their direct use for the defeat of bulk quantities of already 'thickened agent' is not effective, because they cannot be readily dispersed.
Several means for breaching a closed container of hazardous material are known. These permit a tubulation or other hollow penetration of a container wall without the unwanted release of hazardous material from within the container. However, these devices do not allow for a simple and low cost means to insert material and mix it.
Although the chemical warfare agents of interest may span a multitude of variants such as organo-phosphorous compounds, which include G-type nerve agents and V-type nerve agents, and non-traditional agents, vesicants, blood agents, choking agents and/or incapacitating agents, a method is needed to render the targeted materials useless regardless of the type of chemical composition or chemical functionalities. To accomplish this objective, the method must be able to incapacitate the targeted materials without creating a new hazard in the process, either to personnel or the environment.
Several of the presently inventoried decontamination technologies are based on an aqueous decontaminant formulation, which may be fine for attacking lower, but still lethal concentrations or quantities of chemical warfare agents and rendering them useless. However, for dealing with bulk chemical warfare agents such as batch process preparations that may be stored in concentrated or 'neat' form and in quantities which comprise from one to hundreds of liters, these technologies are not viable solutions for a covert defeat. Part of the unsuitability of decontaminant to bulk agent defeat derives from unfavorable stoichiometric requirements. This is especially true for existing aqueous-based technologies, where extremely large quantities of decontamination materials may be required for bulk agent degradation. Also, a substantial amount of support equipment may be needed. Comparison can also be made to those processes that have been previously evaluated, and some employed, for destroying large caches of chemical agents as part of the stockpile and non-stockpile agent demilitarization programs. These processes include wet air oxidation, supercritical water oxidation, controlled hazardous material incinerations, and several others. All of these physical approaches require sophisticated equipment, substantial amounts of materials and/or energy, and are not particularly amenable to unattended operation.
A fast-acting, lightweight system that chemically attacks and neutralizes or destroys any chemical functionality of interest may be an insurmountable task because nearly all chemical warfare agents are organic molecules, which typically possess any of a myriad of different functionalities with significantly different reaction kinetics and susceptibilities to decontamination technology. An additional factor to consider entails the degree of sophistication in the preparation techniques and purity of the chemical agent of interest. Even though the known stockpiles of chemical agents are comprised primarily of 'neat' agents with added stabilizers, the clandestine compositions are expected to be less pure. Their manufacture will likely involve fewer expensive purification steps, and they may be stored in inert organic solvents as protection from unwanted aqueous degradation. A similar argument applies to several of the toxic industrial chemicals (TICs) that are identified as potential chemical weapons, such as those on government compiled lists such as the ITF-25 and ITF-40 lists, many of which are inorganic chemicals.

Method for defeat of bulk chemical warfare agents


Systems and methods for switching between voltages are provided. One system includes an output, first and second switches coupled to the output. The system also includes a first transmission gate coupled to the first switch and a second transmission gate coupled to the second switch. One method includes receiving, at the first transmission gate, a first pair of complementary voltages and receiving, at the second transmission gate, a second pair of complementary voltages. The method further includes selecting the smallest voltage amongst both pairs of complementary voltages and outputting a third pair of complementary voltages. In one method, the first pair of complementary voltages includes a first negative voltage and a positive voltage, the second pair of complementary voltages includes a second negative voltage and the positive voltage, and the third pair of complementary voltages includes the smaller of the first and second negative voltages and the positive voltage.

1. Field
Various embodiments relate to electronic circuits and, particularly, to systems and methods for switching between voltages.
2. Description of the Related Art
Some memory systems utilize multiple voltages during operation that are typically produced by voltage pumps. Specifically, these memory systems utilize a first voltage pump to produce a high voltage during program and erase operations and a second voltage pump to produce a lower voltage during read operations. That is, during program/erase operations the first voltage pump is producing the high voltage and the second voltage pump is OFF (i.e., 0 volts). Conversely, during read operations the second voltage pump is producing the lower voltage and the first voltage pump is OFF (i.e., 0 volts).
When the first voltage pump and/or the second voltage pump are each respectively OFF, the memory systems experience a significant amount of leakage current. To overcome the issues associated with the leakage current, the size of the voltage pumps are increased, which increases the area of the die.


A method and apparatus for disintegrating and otherwise destroying a syringe needle through total and complete incineration. This apparatus being contained within a housing having an orifice through which a syringe needle is continuously inserted, engaging a first conductive plate shaped and positioned so as to accept a vast majority of all commercial needles, then engaging a movable second conductive plate movable within the housing from a first position immediately adjacent to the first conductive plate to a second position commensurate to the length of said needle, actuating a switch which, when closed, permits an electric current to emanate from a suitable power source to pass between a first and second electrical contact disposed upon the first and second conductive plates such that the needle is subjected to electrical current sufficient to immediately disintegrate it along its entire length with a resultant caplike mushroom cover at the distal end of the needle remnant effectively eliminating needle reuse or leakage of mediation or body fluid.

The instant invention deals and otherwise relates to a needle disintegration device. More importantly, the instant invention involves an apparatus which is important to medical safety in general and resolves several problematic aspects of syringe needle disposal. The vast majority of all syringes used in the medical community are, indeed, disposable in nature. These syringes are utilized to inject medications and draw fluids for miscellaneous testings and other medical procedures. Once utilized, a used syringe should ideally be disposed of in such a manner as to not create the possibility of contamination or injury to a third party. In particular, used syringe needles always pose the possibility of "sticking" an unintended individual. Residual medication and/or body fluids are then capable of being passed into an unintended or unsuspecting individual. It is medically well understood that this potentiality of fluid transmission is incredibly dangerous. Transmission of infectious hepatitis, AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome), and other catastrophic and dangerous diseases or afflictions are quite capable of being transmitted in this manner.
The instant device accomplishes complete incineration of the needle at temperatures in the neighborhood of 1,000.degree. C. to 2,000.degree. C. It is believed and understood that incineration at such extreme temperatures attenuates or otherwise destroys nearly any pathogen.
Additional societal concerns are also addressed and remedied by the within invention. One of the greatest of these concerns is the possibility of syringes secondarily being used by drug addicts and for other unlawful and unsavory purposes.
An ideal needle destruction means would accomplish resolution of both of the foregoing problem areas and other foreseeable difficulties. Specifically, it would eliminate the hazard posed by the possibility of a needle "stick" and also eliminate any possibility of reuse by addicts and for other unintended purposes.
In the past few years, there have been several advancements in needle disposal techniques. Initially, some of these measures involved the simple shearing of the syringe to separate the needle from the syringe housing. Unfortunately, however, this did not adequately address the issue of the possibility of a needle "stick" to an individual thereby possibly transmitting disease or unwanted medication. Further, these methods often left a needle remnant of sufficient quantity to allow syringe reuse. Additional methods have involved incineration and grinding of syringes to address needle destruction. Unfortunately, however, none of these methods have been sufficient to accomplish all of the aforesaid objects and desires. They result in either leftover needle sheathing, a modicum of an opening through which medicines and/or fluids continue to pass, or disposal of a syringe needle wherein residual bacteria or other pathogens continue to exit in the needle remnants.
It is, therefore, a principal object of the within invention to accomplish all of the foregoing objects and desires through the utilization of a needle disintegrating device which totally and completely destroys the entire length of a syringe needle and, due to the nature of disintegration, provides a caplike mushrooming on the needle remnant so as to eliminate the possibility of needle "stick" or continued use of the syringe.
It is a further object of the within to provide an apparatus which is safe and economically viable in operation and capable of use on a vast majority, if not all, of the syringe needle lengths, shapes, and diameters in the marketplace.
In the preferred embodiment of the within invention, a syringe disintegration device comprises a generalized housing containing the incineration elements. The housing has an orifice through which nearly any sized syringe needle may be inserted into the interior of the housing. Upon insertion into the housing, the syringe needle first comes in contact with a first conductive plate shaped so as to receive a plurality of syringe needle sizes and diameters. As one pushes the syringe into the housing orifice the needle tip then engages a second conductive plate which is disposed so as to be axially movable between a first and second position. The distance between the first and second position is of sufficient distance so as to accept all, or a vast majority, of needle lengths in use in the marketplace. The first and second conductive plates are equipped with first and second electrical contacts and are electrically compatible to enable the passage of current as between them. Electrical current is actuated when a needle is completely inserted into the housing orifice and the needle hub comes in contact with the first conductive plate which flexes and pressure actuates a switching mechanism. Thereupon, an electrical current is passed between the first and second conductive plates by means of a power source consisting generally of standard electrical current modified by a transformer to the eight to fifteen volt range. Additionally, movement of the second conductive plate from its first position opens a circuit allowing current flow to a light or sound emitting mechanism intended to indicate operation and a time relay actuated exhaust fan. Remnants of the needle fall into the bottom of the housing and are collected therein for subsequent disposal as harmless trash due to their innocuous and safe character.
A review of the within invention and drawings will indicate there are numerous other applications and or objects to be accomplished, many of which will become obvious and evident upon review of the within specifications, drawings and other data contained and comprising this Application. It will be seen that the apparatus and the methods thereof accomplish needle disintegration in a novel and unique manner differentiating substantially from the prior art and other devices characteristically used for the aforesaid purpose.

Needle disintegration device method and apparatus


The invention relates to a cutting tooth for a trench wall cutter having a tongue-shaped tooth base for reception in a cutting wheel, whereby the tongue-shaped tooth base has a circumferentially surrounding holding groove, and at least one cutter which is arranged at the head-side of the tooth base. Provision is made for the cutting tooth with the tooth base and the cutter to be designed mirror-symmetrically to a plane of symmetry so that at least two opposite arranged cutters are present on the tooth base.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a cutting tooth for a trench wall cutter having a tongue-shaped tooth base for reception in a cutting wheel, whereby the tongue-shaped tooth base has a circumferentially surrounding holding groove, and at least one cutter which is arranged at the head-side of the tooth base. Such a cutting tooth is designed with a tongue-shaped tooth base for reception in a cutting wheel, whereby the tongue-shaped tooth base has a circumferentially surrounding holding groove, and with at least one cutter which is arranged at the head-side of the tooth base.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR §§1.97 and 1.98
Cutting teeth of such type are known for example from EP 1 780 375 A1 as well as from EP 0 916 771 A2.
The known cutting teeth are inserted with their tooth bases into cutting tooth holders that are provided circumferentially on the cutting wheel. In order to secure the respective cutting tooth in the cutting tooth holder in a direction lying transversely to the cutting direction, a surrounding holding groove is provided circumferentially on the tooth base, into which a corresponding profile on the cutting tooth holder engages. For the removal of soil material the cutting teeth have cutters that are arranged at the head-end of the tooth base.
DE 1 749 015 U, DE 39 20 011 C3, DE 195 47 170 C2, GB 714,251, GB 2 053 315 A, U.S. Pat. No. 2,690,904, U.S. Pat. No. 4,120,106, U.S. Pat. No. 5,810,449 and EP 1 452 686 A1 describe tooth arrangements for cutting wheels, in which case the cutting wheels are provided for alternating directions of rotation. The tooth arrangements have movable elements, whose position relative to the cutting wheel is changed upon alternation of the direction of rotation.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,629,964 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,755,933 describe chisel inserts for working the soil that can be mounted in different positions.


A radio frequency (RF) tuner includes a housing, a cantilever snap formed in the housing, the cantilever snap being configured to securely couple the housing to a consumer premise component, and a handle formed on an edge of the housing.

The television (TV) has become ubiquitous in modem society. As a result, a variety of services are being provided via TV. Many of these services are provided using a consumer premise component such as a set-top box that works in conjunction with the TV to provide the desired service. These consumer premise components enable standard television sets to receive video and/or audio signals transmitted over cable or satellite networks.
In conjunction with providing desired audiovisual services to consumers, consumer premise components also aid in maintaining a secure connection between the consumer and a transmitting entity by providing a descrambler or decoder unit, which unscrambles or decodes a signal carrying the desired programming. Unauthorized parties who do not have the consumer premise component will be unable to receive the audiovisual programming in an intelligible form.
However, the elements of the consumer premise components may readily become obsolete for a variety of reasons such as changing methods of encoding or the addition of new features and functions. Traditionally, the above-mentioned situations were remedied by providing authorized subscribers with a new consumer premise component containing an updated tuner/decoder unit designed to fully receive and translate the audiovisual programming signals transmitted by the signal provider. However, this solution is both expensive and time consuming, especially if authorized subscribers are widely spread over a large geographic region.
Alternatively, recent methods for solving the obsolescence of the elements of the consumer premise component have included manufacturing the consumer premise components to accept upgrade modules. While this method often eliminates the need for providing consumers with updated decoders, traditional upgrade modules have required specialized tools to perform the installation. Consequently, traditional upgrade modules have necessitated installation by a specialized installation/repair person performing a temporally expensive and inefficient house call.

System and method for a removable tuner module


The present invention generally relates to a method for rapidly counting micron and/or submicron particles by passing such particles through any of a plurality of orifices simultaneously with an ion current and measuring the signal generated thereby. The present invention also generally relates to a device for practicing the method of the present invention. Some embodiments can include methods and/or devices for distinguishing between and counting particles in mixtures. Still other embodiments can include methods and/or devices for identifying and/or counting bioparticles and/or bioactive particles such as pollen.

The present invention is generally related to a multichannel particle counting method and a device for practicing the method. Such counters can be used to count micro-scale and/or nano-scale particles and the like. Counters within the scope of the present invention generally operate by sensing changes in resistance, conductivity, conductance or the like. More particularly, as a particle passes through a channel, it disrupts the ion current therein, thus increasing the channel's resistance.
Quantitative measurements of the size and concentration of micro and nano scale particles has been accomplished using Coulter counters. A typical Coulter counter device comprising a single micropore that separates two chambers containing electrolyte solutions. When a particle flows through the microchannel, it results in the electrical resistance change of the liquid filled microchannel. The resistance change can be recorded in terms of current or voltage pulses, which can be correlated to size, mobility, surface charge and concentration of the particles. Due to the simple construction of these devices and the reliable sensing method, Coulter devices have found application in a broad range of particle analyses from blood cells to polymeric beads, DNA, virus particles and even metal ions.
One substantial disadvantage of existing Coulter counters is their low throughput efficiency, which substantially extends measurement times. Coulter counting measurement relies on particles passing through a tiny orifice (microchannel) one by one from one chamber to the other. Thus, in order to complete sampling of a small number of particle solutions, thousands of micro or nanoparticles have to pass through the orifice one by one, which could be prohibitively time consuming. For instance, one estimate shows that a sample having a particle concentration of 108 particles/mL (v/v ratio 0.026%) requires 27.7 hours to complete a measurement, assuming each particle takes about 0.05 seconds to pass through the orifice, only one particle is resident in the orifice at any given time, and assuming a 0.01 mL sample volume. The measurement time is further extended as the orifice size decreases.
A variety of approaches to alleviating the time-measurement issue have been tried in the art. For instance, electroosmosis and electrophoresis have been applied to drive particles and electrolyte fluids. However, both methods have fallen short. Particularly, in order to obtain a sufficient fluid velocity, a strong external electric field must be applied leading to high power consumption, which is not practical for most biological applications. Furthermore, electroosmosis and electrophoresis only drive charged particles. Thus, if the particles are only slightly charged or neutral, electric forces are too weak to substantially shorten measurement time. Accordingly, there is a deficiency in the art in that it lacks a high throughput particle counting method and device, which is compatible with biological particles.
The present invention overcomes the challenges and deficiencies of the prior art by providing a particle counting method and device having a plurality of orifices, which are capable of counting particles in parallel with one another. Furthermore, such systems are compatible with biological particles inasmuch as it circumvents the need for electrophoretic or electroosmotic fields. Thus, the present invention fills a substantial gap in the art.

Coulter counter having a plurality of channels


A connector assembly in which whether or not a plurality of housings have been completely combined together can be easily confirmed without much time and labor, and the plurality of housings can be positively combined together. In the connector assembly, a plurality of housings are stacked and combined together in a multi-stage manner, and each of the housings receives terminals each having a contact portion for connection to a mating terminal and a wire connection portion for connection to an end of a wire, and the housings, combined together, are adapted to be engaged with and fixed to a mounting portion of a vehicle body. The connector assembly further includes a fitting mechanism which allows the engagement and fixing of the connector relative to the mounting portion when the housings are in a completely-combined condition in which the plurality of housings are properly combined together, and prevents the engagement and fixing of the connector relative to the mounting portion when the housings are in an incompletely-combined condition in which the plurality of housings are not properly combined together.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a connector assembly comprising a plurality of housings stacked and combined together in a multi-stage manner.
2. Background
FIG. 6 shows a connector assembly disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Sho. 48-578. In this figure, this connector assembly 1 comprises two (lower and upper) housings 2 and 3 stacked and combined together in a two-stage manner. Terminals 5, each connected to an end of a wire 4, are received in each of these housings 2 and 3. Engagement recesses 6 and 6 are formed respectively in opposite side portions of an upper surface of each of the housings 2 and 3, and engagement projections 7 and 7 are formed respectively on opposite side portions of a lower surface thereof.
The two housings 2 and 3 are stacked together in a two-stage manner, and the engagement projections 7 and 7 of the upper housing 3 are engaged respectively in the engagement recesses 6 and 6 of the lower housing 2, so that the housings 2 and 3 are held in a combined condition.
In the above connector assembly 1, however, when the upper and lower housing 3 and 2 are stacked together in a two-stage manner, and are pressed against each other, the engagement projections 7 and 7 sometimes fail to be properly engaged respectively in the engagement recesses 6 and 6, and the connector in an incompletely-engaged condition is transferred to a subsequent step. In this case, when a wire harness, connected to the connector assembly 1, is moved for installation purposes, there is a possibility that the upper and lower housings 3 and 2 are disconnected from each other.
Therefore, it is proposed to confirm whether or not the two housings 2 and 3 for each connector assembly 1 have been properly combined together in a two-stage manner. In this case, however, there is encountered a problem that much time and labor are required for confirming the combined condition.
And besides, when trying to fit the connector in an incomplete condition relative to a mating connector, there is a possibility that the two housings 2 and 3 are disconnected form each other.


An actuator latch system of an HDD retains a swing arm in place when the magnetic head of the HDD is parked and includes a rotatable latch lever having a hook that absorbs shock when engaging the swing arm. A rear end of the swing arm has a corner portion. The hook has first and second portions with a third portion extending there between Inner surfaces of the first through third portions delimit a slot. The inlet of the slot has a width less than the corner portion. The inner surface of the first portion of the hook contacts a first surface of the rear end of the swing arm, and the inner surface of the second portion of the hook contacts a second surface of the rear end of the swing arm, when a shock rotates the swing arm while the magnetic head is parked.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hard disk drive. More particularly, the present invention relates to an actuator latch system of a hard disk drive, which locks an actuator of the hard disk drive in place when the disk of the hard disk drive is not rotating.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hard disk drives (HDD) are used in electronic devices such as computers to reproduce data from a disk or record data onto the disk. More specifically, in addition to such a disk, an HDD includes a magnetic (read/write) head, an actuator for moving the magnetic head over a desired location (track) of the disk, and a spindle motor for rotating the disk. The magnetic head is floated a predetermined height from the recording surface of the disk while the disk is rotated, and detects/modifies the magnetization of the recording surface of the disk to reproduce/record data from/onto the disk.
In addition, when the HDD is not in use, that is, when the disk is not rotating, the magnetic head is parked off of the recording surface of the disk. Systems for parking the magnetic head of the HDD include a contact start stop (CSS) type of parking system and a ramp type of parking system. In the CSS type of parking system, an inner circumferential portion of the disk devoid of recorded data is reserved as a parking zone, and the magnetic head is held against the parking zone of the disk when the magnetic head is parked. In the ramp type of parking system, a ramp is disposed radially outwardly of the disk, and the magnetic head is held against the ramp when the magnetic head is parked.
However, an HDD can be subjected to external shock or vibrations when the HDD is not in use. Such external shock or vibrations have the potential to move the magnetic head out of the parking zone or off of the ramp and onto the recording surface of the disk. If this were allowed to happen, the magnetic head or the recording surface of the disk could be damaged. Therefore, the actuator needs to be locked in place when the magnetic head is parked. To this end, HDDs include various kinds of actuator latch systems.
FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C illustrate a conventional latch system of an HDD for locking the actuator of the HDD in place when the magnetic head is parked.
Referring to FIG. 1A, the actuator 10 of the HDD includes a swing arm 12 that is rotatably supported by a pivot 11, a suspension 13 disposed on an end portion of the swing arm 12, and a slider 14 supported by the suspension 13. The head slider 14 contains the magnetic head. The suspension biases the head slider 14 and hence, the magnetic head, toward a (recording) surface of the disk during a read/write operation in which the magnetic head is recording data onto the disk or reading data from the disk.
In addition, the HDD includes a single lever inertial latch system 20 for locking the actuator 10 in place when the magnetic head is parked on ramp 15. The inertial latch system 20 includes a latch lever 21 supported so as to be freely rotatable, a latch hook 22 integral with the latch lever 21, a notch 23 in the swing arm 12 of the actuator 10, a crash stop 24 that limits the rotation of the swing arm 12 in a clockwise direction, and a latch stop 25 that limits the rotation of latch lever 21 in the clockwise direction.
As shown in FIG. 1B, when shock applied to the HDD causes the swing arm 12 of the actuator 10 and the latch lever 21 to rotate counter-clockwise due to inertia, the latch hook 22 is received in the notch 23 such that the rotation of the swing arm 12 of the actuator 10 is arrested. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1C, when shock applied to the HDD causes the swing arm 12 of the actuator 10 and the latch lever 21 to rotate clockwise due to inertia, the swing arm 12 collides with the crash stop 24, and then rebounds from the crash stop 24 and thus rotates counter-clockwise. At the same time, the latch lever 21 rebounds from the latch stop 25 and thus rotates counter-clockwise. In this case, the latch hook 22 can be received in the notch 23 to arrest the further rotation of the actuator 10 in the counter-clockwise direction. However, the conventional single lever inertial latch system 20 is unreliable.
In the case in which the shock applied to the HDD causes the swing arm 12 to initially rotate counter-clockwise, the rotation of the swing arm 12 is indeed arrested by the latch lever 21 as described above. However, the impulse generated by the engagement between the swing arm 12 and the latch hook 22 causes the latch lever 21 and the swing arm 12 to spring back. Thus, the swing arm 12 rotates clockwise. The swing arm 12 collides with the crash stop 24, rebounds, and then again rotates counter-clockwise. In this case, though, the rotation of the swing arm 12 and the rotation of the latch lever 21 are poorly timed. As a result, the swing arm 12 is not hooked by the latch hook 22. Therefore, the swing arm 12 continues to rotate counter-clockwise such that the magnetic head moves off of the ramp 15 and onto the recording surface of the disk. Accordingly, the magnetic head or the recording surface of the disk can be damaged.
FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C show a dual-lever inertial latch system 40 that is designed to obviate the above-described problem of the single lever inertial latch system.
Referring to FIG. 2A, the dual-lever inertial latch system 40 includes first and second latch levers 41 and 42 that are supported so as to be freely rotatable, a latch pin 43 integral with the first latch lever 41, a latch hook 44 integral with the second latch lever 42, a notch 45 in a swing arm 32 of the actuator 30, and a crash stop 46 limiting the rotation of the swing arm 32 in the clockwise direction.
As shown in FIG. 2B, when shock applied to the HDD causes the swing arm 32 of the actuator 30 and the first and second latch levers 41 and 42 to rotate counter-clockwise due to inertia, the latch hook 44 is received in the notch 45 in the swing arm 32. Thus, the swing arm 32 of the actuator 30 cannot rotate further. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2C, when shock applied to the HDD causes the swing arm 32 of the actuator 30 and the first latch lever 41 to rotate clockwise due to inertia, the swing arm 32 initially rotates clockwise, then collides with the crash stop 46, rebounds from the crash stop 46, and thus rotates counter-clockwise. In addition, the first latch lever 41 rotates clockwise, and the latch pin 43 engages the second latch lever 42 to make the second latch lever 42 rotate in the counter-clockwise direction. Accordingly, the latch hook 44 of the second latch lever 42 is received in the notch 45 and thus, the rotation of the swing arm 32 in the counter-clockwise direction is arrested.
The conventional dual-lever inertial latch system 40 operates reliably regardless of the direction in which shock is applied to the HDD. However, two latch levers 41 and 42 are required. That is, the structure of the dual lever latch system 40 is complex and bulky. Accordingly, the dual-lever inertial latch system 40 is expensive. Also, it is difficult to incorporate the dual-lever inertial latch system into a small disk drive such as those used in mobile devices.

Actuator latch system of hard disk drive including latch lever that absorbs shock


A method of making a design on a receiving surface of an object, including overlaying a surface bearing an original pattern with a transparent or translucent thin sheet capable of permeating an ink, and tracing the original pattern on the sheet with an ink containing an organic solvent in which a first, white coloring agent selected from salicylic acid and acetylsalicylic acid and a second coloring agent giving a color other than white are dissolved, thereby to form a copy pattern on the surface of the sheet. The copy pattern-bearing sheet is overlaid with the receiving surface and the assembly is heated while maintaining the receiving surface in pressure contact with the sheet, whereby the ink of the copy pattern penetrates through the sheet onto the receiving surface to form thereon the design having a white color attributed to the first coloring agent or a color attributed to the second coloring agent, depending upon the heating time.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to an ink composition for forming a design on an object and, more specifically to an ink useful for forming a design on textiles, leathers, papers, plastics or metals in handicraft, tailor or embroidery fields. The present invention is also directed to a writing instrument containing the above ink composition, to a method of forming a pattern on a receiving surface of an object and to a pattern forming kit.
2. Description of Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,226,990 assigned to Adger Kogyo Co., Ltd. discloses a method for making a rough design on a receiving surface of an object. In this method, after a surface bearing an original pattern has been overlaid with an ink-permeable tissue paper, the original pattern is traced on the tissue paper with a first writing element to form a copy pattern corresponding to the original pattern on the surface of the tissue paper. Then, after the receiving surface has been overlaid with the tissue paper having the copy pattern, the copy pattern is traced with a second writing element containing an erasable ink, whereby the ink of the element penetrates through the tissue paper onto the receiving surface to form the rough design thereon.
With the above method, two, first and second writing elements are required for making a rough design on a receiving surface. Further, it is necessary to use two or more kinds of the second writing elements having different colors, e.g. black and white, when the receiving surface has different colors, e.g. white and black.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,082,495 assigned to Adger Kogyo Co., Ltd. discloses a substantially colorless, transparent ink composition containing (a) an organic solvent, (b) salicylic acid or acetylsalicylic acid dissolved in the organic solvent, and (c) a polymer dissolved in the organic solvent. The ink composition turns white upon use. The white pattern is erasable by wiping with a water-impregnated wet cloth or by ironing. With this ink composition, it takes a few seconds before the written image becomes visible.

Ink composition writing instrument containing same method of forming pattern on receiving surface of object and pattern forming kit


A foldable leg rest has a seat, a first folding frame and a first stage drive mechanism. The first folding frame is pivotally connected to the seat. The first stage drive mechanism includes two angle adjusters, two first stage DC motors and a drive rod. Each of the angle adjusters is disposed between one of opposite sides of the seat and one of opposite sides of the first folding frame. The first stage DC motors are respectively disposed on the sides of the seat. The drive rod is connected between the angle adjusters. In use, the first stage DC motors are actuated to drive the drive rod and the angle adjusters such that the first folding frame is pivoted relative to the seat.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to chairs, and more particularly to a foldable leg rest applied to a chair for supporting the legs of a sitter in a stretched position.
2. Description of the Related Art
Chairs allow people to sit thereon and support weights of sitters. A conventional chair substantially comprises a seat and a backrest for supporting the bottom and the back of a sitter. The backrest may be adjustable in angle relative to the seat by an angle adjuster to fit different needs of different sitters.
However, when a person sits on the conventional chair for a long time, for example, on a long vehicle trip, the legs of the sitter will become tired and numb, or feel pain due to long time of bending. Accordingly, the conventional chair should be further improved to provide an enhanced comfort for the sitter.


There is provided a pressure sensor having: a sensor chip (30) which detects a pressure; a base plate (20 (21, 22)) which supports the sensor chip (30); and a support diaphragm (50) which is bonded to the base plate (20 (21, 22)) and supports the base plate (20 (21, 22)), wherein the pressure sensor (1) has a structure in which the support diaphragm (50) is joined to a package (10), and the sensor chip (30) and the base plate (20 (21, 22)) are supported in the package through the support diaphragm (50) alone, thereby constantly and accurately detecting a pressure without being affected by a heat stress caused due to heat from the outside.

A pressure sensor provided with a diaphragm structure which detects a change in measurement target pressure as a change in electric capacitance has been conventionally widely known. As an example of this pressure sensor, there is a pressure sensor in which a movable plate is joined near a strain generating region on a vacuum chamber side of a diaphragm and a movable electrode and a fixed electrode are respectively formed on opposed surfaces of an outer peripheral portion of the movable plate and a fixed portion of the diaphragm to detect a change in electric capacitance between these electrodes as a change in pressure (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2002-267559 as Patent Document 1).
Further, there is also considered a pressure sensor having a structure in which a sensor chip is supported in a metal frame body of a package through a metal plate, a cover plate and a buffer member to securely support the sensor chip in the package and the cover plate is held and constrained between the metal plate and a base.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2002-267559


An automatic optical sighting system generates at least one adjustment for an adjustable optical system based on at least one detected condition, an appropriate dynamic model of a projectile in flight, and a solution of the equations of motion in flight, so that the projectile will have a trajectory between an origin and a selected target that helps the projectile to hit the target.

The present inventive concept relates to an automatic optical sighting system (AOSS) that may be used with an optical enhancement device, such as a telescopic sight for use with a civilian or military individual shoulder- or hand-fired firearm, or in any firearm classified as a line-of-sight or a "small arm" firearm that is on a mechanical mount for stability or portability.
FIG. 1 depicts a basic problem associated with aiming a firearm. Line of sight 110 of a shooter (also referred to herein as "marksman," "operator," or "user") from a firearm 111 to a target 112 essentially a straight line. The shooter aims firearm 111 by choosing a direction to point firearm 111 such that a projectile leaving firearm 111 hits target 112. Extended bore line 113 is a straight line projecting from the muzzle 114 of firearm 111, and is the straight line direction in which firearm 111 is aimed (or pointed). A projectile leaving firearm 111 travels in a curved trajectory 115, thereby deviating from the straight line path of extended bore line 113. Accordingly, a basic problem for a shooter is to choose the proper pointing orientation of firearm 111 so that a projectile leaving firearm 111 hits target 112, that is, selection of the proper angle of elevation of extended bore line 113, so that trajectory 115 followed by a projectile leaving firearm 111 ends at target 112.
To further complicate the basic problem, trajectory 115 may be affected by factors including gravity, distance to target ("range" herein), and weather conditions, such as atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity and wind (i.e., ambient conditions), as well as other secondary factors discussed below. In order to hit target 112, a shooter must also adjust the orientation, or firing position, of firearm 111 to take into account each of the factors affecting trajectory 115.
Existing sighting systems for civilian, law enforcement, and military firearms that are used for adjusting the orientation of a firearm are limited by the training of the marksman to judge ambient conditions at the location and time when a shot is taken. Generally, a marksman must be very familiar with characteristics of the firearm, as well as ballistic performance characteristics of the ammunition under various conditions. Performance characteristics of the firearm and ammunition in ambient conditions at the time of firing are typically evaluated manually and processed mentally in order to determine sighting-system aiming point changes that the marksman deems necessary to produce the desired projectile point-of-impact. Further, due to variable target distances, atmospheric conditions and geographic conditions at the time of firing, a marksman must consider many variables in combination to determine the optimal sighting-system settings for hitting an intended target, thus presenting a difficult task. This is particularly true in military and law enforcement situations, but the same considerations also apply to hunters and target shooters in the civilian community.
Further difficulties in selecting a proper firing position are caused by secondary effects, such as Coriolis acceleration and Yaw of Repose deflection. Such secondary effects may have inconsequential effects on firing accuracy at shorter ranges, but can cause impact misses at long ranges. Recent developments in firearms and ammunition have made it possible to fire at targets that are very far (1000 meters or more) from a firing point, thereby increasing the importance of taking into account secondary effects for ballistic calculations. Additionally, in some military and law enforcement scenarios, range distances are shorter than 1000 meters, but targets appear very small, requiring secondary effects to be considered. Such stringent requirements for firing accuracy, in turn, place stringent requirements on a sighting system for mechanical and optical repeatability, accuracy, and computational algorithm precision and accuracy, which, in turn, places similarly stringent requirements on the collection accuracy of the corresponding raw data, such as range and ambient conditions.
The literature on firearms and projectile ballistics contains much information concerning accurately aiming a firearm. One automatic aiming system, in particular, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,252,706 B1 to Kaladgew, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
According to Kaladgew, stepper motors situated external to the body of a telescopic sight are used for adjusting an automatic aiming system. A significant drawback, however, is that in-field use, a problem of stepper motor failure caused by dirt and moisture or mud build-up between the body of the scope and the body of the firearm can prevent a stepper motor from producing a desired adjustment. Further, the Kaladgew system provides no manual override in the event of battery failure, motor failure or system-controller failure.
Other drawbacks that are associated with the Kaladgew system include that Kaladgew does not disclose how windage adjustments are made, i.e., how the data is collected and processed, and how commands to a windage stepper motor are generated. Target distance is measured by Kaladgew using a laser rangefinder mounted on the firearm, although no other techniques are disclosed for measuring or incorporating target distance in calculations. Kaladgew also does not address incorporation of secondary factors when calculating telescopic sight adjustments, which, as discussed above, can play a significant role in long-distance target shooting, or in situations in which extreme precision is required. Specific factors not considered by Kaladgew include (1) gyroscopic (six-degrees-of-freedom) effects on bullet flight; (2) parallax corrections for a telescope sight; (3) altitude and atmospheric condition effects on projectile trajectory, (4) corrections for wind effects, especially vertical wind effects; and (5) Coriolis effects.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,813,025 B1 to Edwards, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference, discloses use of electronic adjustment motors that power movement of internal parts, but does not disclose any details of the mechanical interface between a motor and a corresponding adjuster that is to be adjusted on a telescopic sight. Edwards also provides telescopic sight adjustments through user-activated switches. By gathering data from an objective module that displays various data, a user may interpret the gathered data, and then activate one or more switches that are controlled by finger movements, which, in turn, cause telescopic sight adjustments to be made. Edwards provides no provision for automatic adjustment of telescopic sight adjustments through microprocessor system-initiated signals linked directly to adjustment motors. Additionally, Edwards provides no manual override for adjusting a telescopic sight in the event of electrical failure. Further, Edwards does not calculate or implement corrections for secondary effects (e.g., Coriolis Effect, gyroscopic effects) that may have significant impact on accuracy in long-range target situations.
Thus, a major drawback of both Kaladgew and Edwards is that neither automatically solves the equations of motion of a projectile from a muzzle to a target in near real time and, under all applicable conditions of firing, provides correct aiming adjustments to a sighting system based on the automatically solved equations to impact the target.
Another serious drawback of both Kaladgew and Edwards is that neither patent makes use of feedback information related to a state of at least one optical adjustment to either (1) enable the corresponding adjustor to accomplish a commanded adjustment quickly and accurately, or (2) confirm to the firearm operator that the commanded adjustment has been accomplished before firing the firearm.
Consequently, what is needed is a way to automatically solve the equations of motion of a projectile from a muzzle to a target in near real time and, under all applicable conditions of firing, provide correct aiming adjustments to a sighting system based on the automatically solved equations in order to impact the target. What is also needed is a system that utilizes feedback information related to a state of at least one optical adjustment to either (1) enable the corresponding adjustor to accomplish a commanded adjustment quickly and accurately, or (2) confirm to the firearm operator that the commanded adjustment has been accomplished before firing the firearm.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Polymers containing glutarimide units and also acid and/or anhydride units are compatible with polyesters, such as poly(ethylene terephthalate) to form blends. Chemical interaction (grafting) between the polyester and the acid/anhydride groups of the polyglutarimide occurs on processing the blends. The extent of grafting and the properties of the resultant blend can be enhanced by appropriate catalyst.

Polyglutarimides are polymers containing units of the structure: ##STR1## where R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 are H or CH.sub.3 and R.sub.3 is hydrogen, alkyl, cycloalkyl, substituted alkyl, substituted cycloalkyl, aryl, substituted aryl, alkaryl, substituted alkaryl, aralkyl, substituted aralkyl, or heterocyclic. Polyglutarimides (especially those polyglutarimides were R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 are CH.sub.3 and R.sub.3 is H or methyl), are useful thermoplastics, exhibiting thermal stability, moldability, clarity, low color, reasonable toughness, and good barrier properties. It has further been known that such polyglutarimides, especially those where acid or anhydride groups present in the polyglutarimide are reacted with an alkylating or esterifying agent to reduce the acid/anhydride content to levels of about 0.5 weight percent or less, are compatible with a broad variety of polar thermoplastics, as well as serving as compatibilizers for blends of many polar polymers. Among the polar polymers are included polyesters, especially aromatic polyesters, by which is meant the polymer formed by condensation of an aliphatic glycol with an aromatic acid, such as poly(ethylene glycol) terephthalate, commonly known as poly(ethylene terephthalate), poly(butylene terephthalate), and the like.
It has more recently been found than in the blending of polyglutarimides with polar polymers having reactive terminal or pendant groups, such as amine or primary hydroxyl, that grafting occurs, probably at residual acid or anhydride groups in the polyglutarimide. For this reason, polyglutarimides maintaining all or part of the acid/anhydride groups are preferred for such blending/grafting. Blends of polyesters, such as poly(ethylene terephthalate), with a polyglutarimide where the content of acid and/or anhydride has been substantially reduced, do not appear to be chemically attached or grafted in the absence of a catalyst.
Even more recently, it has been discovered that the extent of reaction between a polyglutarimide containing a preponderance of units of the glutarimide structure where R.sub.1 =R.sub.2 =R.sub.3 =methyl and about 5 weight percent of units derived from methacrylic acid or from methacrylic anhydride with a polyamide such as polycaprolactam may be increased by the presence of small amounts of a basic catalyst, such as sodium hydroxide.
The catalysts of the reaction between hydroxylic groups in a polyester and the acid/anhydride sites in a polyglutarimide is not known to the art, nor it is obvious that a catalyst useful with polyamides in the melt would also be useful with polyesters. It is further not obvious that the resulting graft copolymer formed in higher yield will impart improved performance to the blend of graft copolymer and remaining unreacted polyester and polyglutarimide.

Graft copolymers of polyglutarimides and aromatic polyesters


The present invention relates to a vinyl chloride resin latex for a thermal sublimation transfer image-receiving sheet, comprising a vinyl chloride homopolymer and an alkylbenzenesulfonate salt in an amount of more than 1 part by weight to 5 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the vinyl chloride homopolymer; and a thermal sublimation transfer image-receiving sheet using the same.

Conventionally, it has been done to form a character or an image on a transfer-receiving material by using a thermal transfer system. As the thermal transfer system, a thermal sublimation transfer system and a thermal melting transfer system are being widely used. Of these, the thermal sublimation transfer system is a system using a sublimable dye as a color material, where the dye in the sublimable dye layer on a thermal transfer sheet is transferred onto a transfer-receiving material such as thermal transfer image-receiving sheet by using a heating device such as thermal head or laser beam, which is controlled to generate heat according to image information, and an image is thereby formed. In this thermal sublimation transfer system, the amount of the dye transferred can be controlled on a dot basis by overheating in an extremely short time. Thanks to use of a dye as the color material, the thus-formed image is very clear and has excellent transparency and therefore, the image obtained is excellent in the half-tone reproducibility and gradation and becomes an extremely high-definition image. Thus, a high-quality image comparable to a full-color silver-salt photograph can be obtained. Moreover, as compared with the normal silver-salt photographic image forming system, the thermal sublimation transfer system has many advantages such as being a dry process, capable of visualizing an image directly from digital data, and easy to duplicate.
Generally, in a thermal transfer image-receiving sheet, at least a dye image-receiving layer (receptive layer) and a heat-insulating layer are formed on a support. As the resin for forming the receptive layer, a vinyl chloride-based resin is used, because this is excellent in dyeability with a dye and releasability and causes no abnormal transfer such as fusion bonding between the thermal transfer sheet and the thermal transfer image-receiving sheet during thermal transfer. At the time of coating a vinyl chloride-based resin on a base material sheet to form a receptive layer, the resin has been conventionally used by dissolving it in an organic solvent.
However, it is concerned that the working environment is worsened by the use of an organic solvent.
To eliminate this concern, a method of forming a receptive layer by using a vinyl chloride-based resin latex without use of an organic solvent is being widely studied (Patent Document 1).
Nevertheless, a satisfactory image is not obtained by a thermal sublimation transfer image-receiving sheet using the vinyl chloride-based resin latex.
In this way, a vinyl chloride-based resin latex giving a thermal sublimation transfer image-receiving sheet capable of excellent image formation is not known.

Vinyl chloride resin latex for thermal sublimation transfer image-receiving sheet, and thermal sublimation transfer image-receiving sheet using same


A microprocessor-based voltage regulator for an alternator reduces battery drain by removing current from the field coil during times when the alternator is not rotating, as indicated by an AC Sense signal responsive to one of the windings of the alternator prior to rectification. The field coil switch is controlled by the microprocessor to one of four duty cycles to provide effective voltage regulation with a minimum of additional hardware. The microprocessor generates a warning signal in the event of a non-standard operating condition such as drifting voltage regulation, disconnected batteries, or thermal limits that approach shut down.

This invention relates to a voltage regulator suitable for use with a generator such as an alternator, and in particular to a voltage regulator that provides improved control functions.
FIG. 9 shows a prior-art dual voltage alternator A that supplies output currents to two separate buses, a 28 volt bus and a 14 volt bus in this example. This alternator is suitable for use in a dual battery system that uses a first battery B1 interposed between ground and the 14 volt bus and a second battery B2 interposed between the 14 volt bus and the 28 volt bus.
In the conventional manner, the alternator A includes a field coil F and two sets of stator windings W. The stator windings W are connected by rectifying diodes D to the 28 volt bus, and the stator windings W are also connected to the 14 volt bus by winding switches such as SCR's S. Conventionally, the alternator A is controlled by a voltage regulator (not shown in FIG. 9) that controls current through the field coil F to regulate voltage on the 28 volt bus, and that controls the winding switches S to regulate voltage on the 14 volt bus.
In the past, voltage regulators have been constructed both as analog and as digital circuits, in some cases including microcomputers. See, for example, Kissel, U.S. Pat. No. 4,659,977, and Judge, U.S. Pat. No. 5,216,350. Falater, U.S. Pat. No. 5,225,764 discloses a digital voltage regulator that employs a duty cycle generator to vary the duty cycle of a field coil switch.
In spite of this work, a need presently exists for an improved voltage regulator that is both effective in operation and inexpensive in construction.

Voltage regulator with improved field coil current control system and warning system


A collapsible pickup bed rack apparatus includes a frame having a first side member, a second side member and an end member attached to first ends of the first and second end members. A perimeter flange attached to an upper edge of the frame is positionable on an upper edge of a pickup bed's perimeter wall. Brackets are attached to the first and second side members adjacent to the end member. A rear support includes a pair of vertical posts each having a bottom end and a top end. A horizontal post is attached to the vertical posts. A front support includes a pair of vertical rods each having a lower end and an upper end. A horizontal rod is attached to the vertical rods. A plurality of couplers releasably couples the front support to the brackets and rear supports to the frame adjacent to the second ends.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to rack devices and more particularly pertains to a new rack device for positioning on a perimeter wall attached to a pickup bed for providing a support area for tools, recreational devices, and the like, and which may be readily disassembled when not in use.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of rack devices is known in the prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 6,752,301 describes a collapsible rack device that is configured for use in pickup beds. Another type of rack device is U.S. Pat. No. 5,037,152 that is configured for being attached to the side walls of a pickup bed and includes telescopic arms that extend upwardly from the pickup bed. Another rack device for a pickup truck is found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,758,508 that includes a frame configured for fitting within a pickup bed and which may be readily collapsed when not in use. Still yet another such device is found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,332,637.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the need remains for a device that is positionable on an upper edge of a perimeter wall attached to a pickup bed and extends along the length of the perimeter wall to prevent accidental shifting of the device. The device should include easily removable supports that are attachable to and extend upwardly from the device. Further, the supports should have a shape to encourage the retention of supported items in such a manner that they remain within a perimeter of the truck.


A warning sign for mounting on a structural member, such as a cross arm of a utility pole, has an elongated U-shaped support member and a warning message disposed thereon. The warning sign is installed on the structural member by a utility worker at ground level by pushing it upward onto the structural member, about which it locks and cannot be easily removed. The support member and warning message are preferably extruded from high-density polyethylene which includes ultraviolet (UV) inhibitors.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to warning signs. More particularly, the present invention relates to warning signs of the variety required in some jurisdictions to be placed on the cross arms of all utility poles mounted immediately adjacent to electrical power lines. Regulatory requirements dictate that the term "High Voltage" be affixed to both sides of the cross arms in order to warn utility workers and the general public of the danger of high voltage.
2. Description of the Prior Art
At present, the signs used for the above-noted purpose are typically flat metal or plastic signs bearing the terminology "High Voltage". The signs are attached to both sides of the cross arm either in the maintenance yard when the pole is being assembled or on-site when the pole is being disposed at a desired location. Signs of this type hold up for a time under ambient conditions, but eventually fall off, fall into disrepair or fade due to weather conditions, especially exposure to sunlight, and must be replaced.
Replacement typically requires a lineman to climb the pole or to use a bucket lift truck to reach the level of the cross arm to install a new sign, generally with hammer and nails or some other suitable fastening means. Before this can be done, the lineman must cover all of the live wires and other components within close proximity to the sign with an insulating rubber blanket to protect himself and others from the danger of electrocution. While prudent, this safety procedure takes additional time and adds to the labor costs of the utility.
The present invention enables warning signs of this type to be installed and replaced from ground level without requiring a lineman to ascend to the level of electrically live components, thereby lowering labor costs and reducing the risk of electrocution.

Utility pole warning sign and method of manufacturing the same


A roller-supported base and guide track arrangement for use with stacked storage bins. The stacked bins are removably supported on the wheeled base which has front wheels which are adapted to directly rollingly engage the floor, typically a carpeted floor. The wheeled base also has rear wheels which are rollingly supported and guided on freestanding guide tracks which are positioned directly on the carpeted floor adjacent opposite sides of the base for controlling movement of the base solely due to engagement with the rear wheels thereof. The guide tracks comprise horizontally elongate upright loops which maintain a guided rolling engagement with the rear wheels.

Stackable storage bins or tubs are used in offices and the like, although their use is disadvantageous in some use situations since accessing objects stored in the bins typically requires a partial unstacking of some of the bins so as to access any of the bins other than the uppermost one. The unstacking and accessing of the bins is further complicated if the bins are used in a situation wherein the stack is stored under a table top or worksurface, since then the entire stack must be slidably moved outwardly from under the table top to then permit unstacking for accessing of the bin storage compartments.
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved roller-supported base and guide track arrangement for use with a stackable bin storage system, which arrangement facilitates the movement of the stacked bins from a storage position to an access position, and which specifically maintains guidance or control over the stacked bins during movement between these two positions without requiring complex guide or supporting housing structures.
In the improved stackable storage bin arrangement of this invention, the stacked bins are removably supported on a wheeled base which has front wheels which are adapted to directly rollingly engage the floor, typically a carpeted floor. The wheeled base also has rear wheels which are rollingly supported and guided on freestanding guide tracks which are positioned directly on the carpeted floor adjacent opposite sides of the base for controlling movement of the base solely due to the engagement with the rear wheels thereof. The guide tracks, in the illustrated and preferred embodiment, comprise horizontally elongate upright loops which maintain a guided rolling engagement with the rear wheels of the base to limit movement of the base between storage and access positions, and prevent skewing of the stack of bins during the movement. The front rollers of the base maintain direct load-bearing rolling engagement with the floor.
Other objects and purposes of the invention will be apparent to persons familiar with arrangements of this general type upon reading the following specification and inspecting the accompanying drawings.


A method for industrial production of a butadiene-isoprene copolymer rubber having a trans-1,4-structure (TBIR) and an apparatus for implementing the method. The production method includes: pumping a predetermined amount of a butadiene and an isoprene into a polymerization reactor, and performing bulk polymerization in the presence of a catalyst to obtain TBIR; performing extrusion, devolatilization, granulation and drying on the produced TBIR, and then packaging the produced TBIR; and separating unreacted monomers by a recovery and separation device followed by separately refining the unreacted monomers, and then returning the unreacted monomers to a batching device or a storage tank. The production apparatus has a recovery and refining unit, a polymerization unit, a post-treatment unit and a utility unit. By the production apparatus and the production method industrial production of TBIR by bulk polymerization is realized.

The trans-1,4-butadiene-isoprene copolymer rubber (TBIR) is a new generation of rubber materials produced by the copolymerization of isoprene monomer and butadiene monomer, comparing with the ordinary natural rubber, the main feature of this rubber is its excellent flex fatigue resistance, low rolling resistance, low heat build-up and good abrasion resistance, so it is an excellent material for producing high performance, energy conservation and environment protection. Thanks to its outstanding dynamic performance, fatigue resistance and low heat build-up, it also has bright prospects in the manufacturing of all kinds of shock-reducing rubber materials. The Patents (U.S. Pat. No. 5,100,965, WO9723521, U.S. Pat. No. 402,115, U.S. Pat. No. 5,844,044, UK2029426) disclosed the excellent physical mechanics performance of butadiene-isoprene copolymers having a high trans-1,4-structure, especially its fatigue resistance and good crack growth resistance, and therefore it is an ideal rubber for the development of high performance tires.
Comparing with the polymers of cis-1,4 structure, the trans-1,4-polydiolefin is normally a crystalline plastics at room temperature, and to produce elastomeric materials requires increasing its sulfur content or preparing it with other rubbers and then going through the process of co-vulcanization (ZL 95110352.0, ZL 200610043556.4).
The syntheses of TBIR usually adopts coordination polymerization catalysts such as allyl nickel catalyst system, TiCl4/VOCl3/Al(i-Bu)3 catalyst system, allyl chromium-silicate catalyst system, lanthanoid metal compounds catalyst system [Dokl. Akad. Nauk SSSR, 1976; Ger. Pat. 2331921, 1975; Dokl. Akad. Nauk SSSR, 1973; Prom-st Sint Kauch, 1982; JP1990-60907, 1990; US 2005/0222348], and anionic alkyllithium system [U.S. Pat. No. 4,020,115, 1997; UK Pat 2029426, 1980; U.S. Pat. No. 5,100,965, 1992]. But the systems above have the problems such as catalytic inefficiency or low trans structure content or other problems not mentioned, for example, the trans structure content of the U.S. Pat. No. 4,020,115 is just below 80%. In the meantime, most of them adopt solution polymerization by using solvents like methylbenzene, the post-processing programs such as the recovery and refining of solvents are cumbersome and complex.
By using supported titanium system catalysts [JP1985-42412, 1985; China Elastomerics, 2002, 2003; Acta Polymerica Sinica, 2002; China Synthetic Rubber Industry, 2002, 2011; China Rubber Industry, 2010], the adjustable TBIR can be composed whose trans structure content is more than 97% and the monomer composition in the copolymer can be adjusted. Its catalytic efficiency is high, which can reach 30000 times. The Chinese patent No. ZL201210138621.7 disclosed a butadiene-isoprene copolymer rubber having a trans-1,4-structure which contains more than 90% trans structure, the proportion of butadiene and isoprene within the copolymer are 0.5-80% and 20-99.5% respectively, and the composition of comonomers can be adjusted. Meanwhile, two kinds of its monomers' microstructure sequence distribution can be graded distribution or uniform distribution. The patent does not refer to the rubber's industrial producing process and process apparatus therefore it cannot realize the industrial production. Moreover, the patent does not refer to and solve the problems of the post-treatment of polymers, the addition of ingredient systems, and extrusion and granulation. But a large amount of wastewater was generated during the coacervation process of the post-treatment of traditional rubber, and its energy consumption is very high.
To overcome and solve the above-mentioned problems of TBIR in the polymer microstructure controlling, polymerization process, polymerization method and its industrialization, the present invention provides a method for industrial production of trans-1,4-butadiene-isoprene copolymer rubber and an apparatus for implementing the method.

Method for industrial production of trans-butadiene-isoprene copolymer rubber and apparatus therefor

QINGDAO UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

SHANDONG HUAJU POLYMER MATERIALS CO., LTD.

CHAMBROAD CHEMICAL INDUSTRY RESEARCH INSTITUTE CO., LTD.


A processing device that processes detection strengths detected at a first detection position and a second detection position by a detector for detecting detection targets generated from a plurality of sources, includes a two-dimensionalization unit converting detection strengths a pair of sources into a two-dimensional distribution of coordinate points in which the detection strength for one source is represented by an X-axis value, and the detection strength for the other source is represented by a Y-axis value; a demarcation unit demarcating in the two-dimensional distribution of coordinate points, a predetermined region including a mixed region in which coordinate points relating to the first detection position and coordinate points relating to the second detection position are mixed; and a replacement unit replacing the two-dimensional distribution of coordinate points in a demarcated region that has been demarcated, with a two-dimensional distribution of coordinate points relating to another pair of sources.

For example, in Japanese Patent No. 5437959, in an X-Y orthogonal coordinate system in which a driver's seat-side reception signal strength Hd with which radio waves from a driver's seat antenna have been received by an electronic key and a passenger seat-side reception signal strength Hp with which radio waves from a passenger seat antenna have been received by the electronic key are represented by the X axis and the Y axis, respectively, a determination line L serving as a reference for determining the position (inside or outside the vehicle), which has been constructed by a plurality of linear expressions, of the electronic key is defined. Also, a communication terminal position determination device is disclosed that determines the position of the electronic key based on the position, relative to the determination line L, of coordinate points P determined from the driver's seat-side reception signal strength Hd and the passenger seat-side reception signal strength Hp.
Meanwhile, as described above, in order to determine a determination expression for determining whether the position of the electronic key is located inside or outside the vehicle, the reception signal strengths of the radio waves received by the electronic key inside and outside the vehicle are detected, and a determination expression for the above-described determination is derived based on the results of the detection.
That is, reception signal strengths with which detection targets (radio waves) generated from a plurality of sources including the driver's seat antenna and the passenger seat antenna are received (detected) by the electronic key are detected inside and outside the vehicle. Then, from the results of the detection, a determination expression for separating the reception signal strengths detected in the interior of the vehicle and the reception signal strengths detected outside the vehicle is obtained. Thereafter, the position of the electronic key is determined using the reception signal strengths and the determination expression.
Therefore, in order to obtain an accurate determination expression, it is necessary to clearly divide the reception signal strengths relating to the vehicle interior from the reception signal strengths relating to the vehicle exterior. In the actual results of detecting the reception signal strengths, a portion in which reception signal strengths detected inside and outside the vehicle overlap or are mixed is often present, and it is difficult to clearly divide these reception signal strengths from each other. However, such a problem cannot be solved by the communication terminal position determination device of Japanese Patent No. 5437959 described above.
Therefore, it is an object of the present disclosure to provide a processing device, a processing method, and a computer program that make it possible to clearly divide, for detection strengths detected at a first detection position and a second detection position by a detector for detecting detection targets generated from a plurality of sources, detection results relating to the first detection position from detection results relating to the second detection position.

Processing device, processing method, and computer program


A new cultivar of Gaura lindheimeri, ‘HARROSY’, characterized by its flowers that emerge from crimson red buds and have flower petals that are white in color with pink margins.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Gaura plant, botanically known as Gaura lindheimeri 'HARROSY' and will be referred to hereafter by its cultivar name, 'HARROSY'.
The Inventors discovered the new cultivar, 'HARROSY' as a branch mutation of Gaura lindheimeri 'Siskiyou Pink' (not patented) in a garden plot at their nursery in Whitchurch, Hants, United Kingdom in summer of 2006.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar was first accomplished by softwood stem cuttings in Whitchurch, Hants, United Kingdom in 2006 under the direction of the Inventors. Propagation has determined that the characteristics of this cultivar are stable and are reproduced true to type in successive generations.


Apparatus for use in association with an electric vehicle including an electric motor and a vehicle body having a storage compartment to facilitate interchange of battery packs in the storage compartment. The apparatus includes a movable frame for receiving a battery pack having electrical fittings. The frame is movable to a position where the electrical fittings of the battery pack engage electrical fittings leading to the electric motor.

Electric vehicles are well known in the transportation art. Popularity of such vehicles is again on the increase for a number of reasons, including the non-polluting characteristics of such vehicles.
Vehicles powered by electricity, however, do have drawbacks. For example, the current state of technology limits the range of such vehicles. The batteries of a conventional electrically powered passenger car or other road vehicle often have to be recharged after about 125 miles or even considerably less. Most electric automobiles incorporate battery packs which are permanently or semi-permanently installed; that is, the same batteries remain in the car and are recharged over and over again. This results in considerable accumulated downtime for the vehicle due to the fact that the recharging procedure is relatively slow. Only after the performance of the batteries has deteriorated significantly are they removed from the vehicle and replaced.
It is known to insert and remove batteries relative to passenger cars and other vehicles as modular packs wherein a plurality of batteries are in each modular pack. For example, the following patents illustrate such arrangements: U.S. Pat. No. 3,838,745, issued Oct. 1, 1974, U.S. Pat. No. 3,847,242, issued Nov. 12, 1974, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,109,064, issued Aug. 22, 1978. Other representative arrangements are disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 3,876,086, issued Apr. 8, 1975, 4,102,273, issued Jul. 25, 1978, and 3,708,028, issued Jan. 2, 1973.
Prior art arrangements are generally characterized by their relative complexity and high expense. Furthermore, removal and insertion of prior art batteries and battery packs in electric powered vehicles is often a time consuming matter, not only because of the relative complexity of such arrangements, but also due to the fact that electrical interconnect between the batteries and battery packs and the electric system of the vehicle is itself time consuming, often requiring considerable work by the installer.

Battery pack installation and storage system for electric vehicles


An apparatus measures electromagnetic signals from a weak signal source. A plurality of primary sensors is placed in functional proximity to the weak signal source with an electromagnetic field isolation surface arranged adjacent the primary sensors and between the weak signal source and sources of ambient noise. A plurality of reference sensors is placed adjacent the electromagnetic field isolation surface and arranged between the electromagnetic isolation surface and sources of ambient noise.

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a noninvasive technique that measures the direct consequence of neuronal activity in the living brain. MEG measures magnetic fields that emanate from the head, unimpeded by anatomy, and by the electromagnetic "right-hand rule" are associated with electrical currents generated by the flow of ions in and around active neurons. Other functional brain imaging modalities such as fMRI, PET, and optical techniques infer brain function indirectly by measuring changes in blood flow, volume, oxygenation, etc. that are hypothesized to be associated with neuronal activity. MEG is further unique in that it, together with EEG (electroencephalography), is the only noninvasive method of measuring brain function at sub-millisecond temporal resolution or better. The physiological processes underlying the indirect measures of brain function inherently evolve at a far slower timescale.
Cohen primary reported detecting a magnetic signal originating from the human brain in 1968 using a non-superconducting sensor [1]. Shortly thereafter a RF (radio frequency) SQUID (Superconducting QUantum Interference Device) sensor was used for the first time to measure biomagnetic signals originating from the human heart [2], and the human brain [3]. The evoked-response brain activity measured with a SQUID sensor was reported by Brenner, et al., in 1975 [4]. Once it was clear that human brain activity could be observed and measured non-invasively by instruments consisting of one or a few sensors, the goal quickly shifted to precisely localizing the neuronal sources responsible for the measured magnetic activity. The position and vector characteristics of these neuronal sources can be estimated from the inverse solution of the field distribution measured outside the head.
Magnetic field distributions were originally obtained using single sensor systems that mapped fields around the head by moving the sensor in space and presenting the same stimulus to the subject at each sensor location. By the mid-1990's multiple sensors arrays covering much of the head were commercially available from companies including 4D-Neuroimaging in the US, CTF in Canada, and Neuromag in Finland, with large projects also in place in Japan. These systems consisted of 100 sensors or more spaced at various intervals over the head using various configurations. Sensor arrangement variables including gradiometric configurations, sensor spacing and other parameters have been quantitatively modeled by Flynn [5] and Mosher [6] for performance optimization. Different designs are driven by various design parameters impacting detection efficiency, cost, and target application.
Although MEG is not truly tomographic, and source reconstruction is limited by solutions of the electromagnetic inverse problem, constraints used for source localization have demonstrated reliable and accurate results. Current MEG instrumental source location accuracy reported in the literature is approximately 2 to 4 mm, depending on signal-to-noise (S/N) of the measured MEG signal, source parameters, and a variety of other parameters. Typically, 5 to 10 mm accuracy is attained in most medical applications with the latest instruments. In addition to locating the sources of neuronal activity, MEG temporal resolution is unsurpassed by any other brain imaging method.
A typical MEG experiment involves numerous successive presentations of a given stimulus or group of stimuli to a subject for which the evoked brain response is measured. An exemplary protocol would be stimulating the receptor nerves on a fingertip using a pneumatic button. The activated touch receptors transmit a signal via peripheral afferents and the spinal cord to the thalamus, which in turn transmits the signal via third-order fibers to activate a small portion of the sensory region of cerebral cortex (primary somatosensory cortex). Neurons in the cortex are arranged in columnar structures that are associated with the receptive field location and the type of stimulus.
As neurons are activated, positive ions are rapidly transported through the cell membrane into the cell (depolarization) followed by a slightly slower outflow of positive ions (repolarization). The entire process lasts approximately 3 milliseconds (msec), not including the afferent signal propagation. This phenomenon propagates along some portion of a neuron generating a concentrated ionic flow or intracellular current inside the neuron.
MEG measures the magnetic fields that are associated through Maxwell's equations with movement of charge. Although electrodes implanted in cortex near or inside of cell bodies can measure the response of individual neurons, it is impossible for current technology to observe such a signal noninvasively (i.e., from outside the skull). MEG is a viable technique because all of the neurons in a given cortical column, or set of columns, respond roughly synchronously to a single stimulus, resulting in a superposition of the fields from hundreds or thousands of activated neurons. Nonetheless, the typical MEG signal measured during evoked response experiments is very tiny, only tens to hundreds of femtotesla (10−14 to 10−13T). MEG instruments today universally use SQUID sensors to measure these extraordinarily small magnetic fields. A state-of-the-art production SQUID will have sensitivities down to ˜2 fT/√Hz (one femtotesla, fT, is 10−15T).
The greatest challenge to measuring magnetic fields resulting from brain activity and localizing neuronal sources is the massive amount of magnetic noise in our environment. Magnetic noise in an urban setting is commonly in the range of 10−9 to 10−5T generated by AC line noise, automobiles, trains, elevators, etc. Urban magnetic noise is many orders of magnitude larger than the fields produced by the brain. A variety of techniques have been used to reduce the ambient magnetic fields for MEG measurements including: 1) locating the MEG instrument and subject in a magnetically shielded room (MSR), 2) using gradiometric magnetic field sensors coupled to SQUIDs, 3) active compensation of magnetic noise with field coils, 4) measuring or estimating the ambient noise fields and digitally subtracting the noise from sensors that are measuring brain activity, and 5) averaging MEG data from numerous stimuli. In addition to these hardware-based approaches, a broad array of additional post-processing software algorithms have been developed to reduce noise in MEG data, such as simple filters (low-pass, high-pass, band-stop, etc.), ICA [7, 8], etc.
A typical two-layer MSR will reduce noise by at least 30 dB at 0.1 Hz and 80 dB at 100 Hz for a cost of several hundred thousand US dollars. Gradiometers will further reduce noise at the cost of some reduction of brain signal. Gradiometer performance depends on numerous parameters including gradiometer design (e.g., gradiometer order and baseline), quality of fabrication, and characteristics of the noise source (e.g., physical size, proximity). Typical primary-order gradiometers reduce ambient magnetic fields from sources such as AC power lines by about 40 dB.
Active noise compensation involves measuring the noise field and using sets of large magnetic field coils relatively distant from the MEG system to cancel the noise field by superposition [9]. Such systems produce a limited set of spatial and temporal frequencies (due to the magnetic field coil size and inductance), are extremely sensitive to mechanical effects such as vibration, and are costly. A second form of active field cancellation uses the modulation and feedback coil common to most SQUID sensors to generate the noise compensation field at the SQUID pickup loop [10]. This method has greater frequency response (though still limited by processing and conversion speeds), fewer mechanical issues, and is less costly. This approach enables suppressing ambient fields with higher spatial frequencies because the background fields can be measured in close proximity to the MEG sensors and the field compensation is performed directly at the MEG sensors. The drawback is that the ambient field sensors placed close to the MEG array will be sensitive to sources in the brain; consequently, some brain signal will be cancelled along with the background. Although active noise cancellation techniques have the advantage of reducing the dynamic range of the MEG signals (typically dominated by ambient noise), any noise inherent in the background field measurement and generation of cancellation fields will be irreversibly added to the MEG signals.
Reference sensors are used by most modern MEG systems to further reduce background by measuring the ambient fields near the MEG sensor array, projecting the ambient field to the MEG sensors, and digitally subtracting the ambient field contribution to the signal measured by the MEG sensors [11, 12]. Large dynamic range analog and digital electronics are required for both background and MEG signals to avoid saturation. Such large dynamic range electronics have only become commercially available and affordable in recent years. Additionally, reference sensors must measure the background field with low noise and sufficient resolution to minimize increasing the noise floor of the MEG signals.
Simultaneous sampling of ambient and MEG fields with subsequent projection and subtraction of background from brain signals effectively removes noise up to the Nyquist limit and eliminates phase lag caused by real-time conversion, processing, and feedback inherent in all active noise cancellation approaches. In order to accurately characterize the ambient field at the primary MEG sensors, the reference sensors must be placed as close as possible to the MEG array. However, as the reference sensors approach the MEG array, they will be increasingly sensitive to magnetic fields originating in the brain. Any method that projects fields measured at the reference sensors to the primary MEG sensors and subtracts the projected values will necessarily subtract some portion of the brain signal contained in the reference sensor measurement. Consequently, there is a tradeoff between placing reference sensors as close to the MEG sensors as possible (to accurately characterize the spatial frequency of ambient fields) while minimizing the brain signal contained in the reference sensor measurement.
Other techniques have been developed using reference sensors in close proximity to the primary MEG sensors or using the MEG sensors themselves to measure the ambient background fields. These techniques invariably apply a. model-based description of the noise to separate the ambient field contribution from the fields originating in the brain. Although this approach has been shown to be quite effective, it suffers from the imperfect model describing the noise and consequently does not completely remove ambient field noise from the MEG signal. It may also remove some signal originating from the brain that is not entirely orthogonal to the model description of the ambient noise sources.
Finally, averaging MEG data from multiple stimuli (data epochs) is commonly used to increase MEG signal-to-noise (S/N). Every presentation of the stimulus evokes a reproducible and nearly identical cortical response; consequently the S/N of evoked response measurements can be greatly improved by averaging the data from a large number of stimuli. In theory, this averaging reduces both ambient field noise and brain activity that is uncorrelated with the stimuli. Although the noise is reduced by roughly 1/√Ne (where Ne is the number of epochs recorded and averaged), the evoked response signal begins to degrade for large numbers of stimuli. Consequently S/N does not increase indefinitely. Furthermore, averaging epochs is not possible for all functional brain studies (e.g. epilepsy) and there is increasing evidence that effects such as alterations in the dynamics of ongoing neural synchrony would be washed out by averaging multiple epochs of evoked response recordings.
Various objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Noise cancellation in magnetoencephalography and electroencephalography with isolated reference sensors


Methods and systems for a vehicle transmission are provided. In one example, a vehicle transmission system includes a first planetary gear set rotationally coupled to a second planetary gear set and a first electrical machine rotationally coupled to a gear in the first planetary gear set. The vehicle transmission system further includes a second electrical machine rotationally coupled to a gear in the second planetary gear set and a first clutch configured to selectively disconnect the first and second planetary gear sets from a drive axle.

Vehicle transmissions deliver torque to vehicle drive axles. Infinitely variable style transmissions specifically provide gear ratio adjustment continuity in some vehicles. These transmissions have a relatively high degree of adaptability and allow for the control of the input speed independent from the output speed.
However, several drawbacks with vehicle transmissions, and more specifically, infinitely variable transmissions in hybrid or battery electric vehicles (BEVs) have been recognized by the inventors. For example, previous vehicles have relied on inverters to bring electric motors in the driveline to a zero-torque state to, for example, prevent unwanted vehicle movement caused by the unplanned release of battery power to the electric motors. Inverters designed to bring the motor to a zero-torque state may be complex. Utilizing inverters capable of bringing the motor to a zero-torque state in a vehicle may consequently run-up production costs.

Vehicle transmission and method for operation of said transmission


A power conversion apparatus includes a power converter circuit that outputs an AC power to an electric motor, and circuitry that controls the power converter circuit to add a first change, accompanying a change of a power generated by the electric motor, to a first phase angle, which is a phase angle of a magnetic flux direction of the electric motor corresponding to the AC power, extracts a component generated by the first change from first information indicating the electric power supplied to the electric motor, and estimates the power generated by the electric motor based on the component.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a power conversion apparatus, a power estimating method for an electric motor, and a control method for the electric motor.
2. Related Art
JP-A-2003-259680 discloses a synchronous motor driving apparatus including an electric current phase controller. The electric current phase controller outputs an excitation current command value in order to control a phase angle of an electric current so as to increase an output torque.

Power conversion apparatus, power estimating method for electric motor, and control method for electric motor


An integrated circuit may include a mixed instruction multiple data (xIMD) computing system. The xIMD computing system may include a plurality of data processors, each data processor representative of a lane of a single instruction multiple data (SIMD) computing system, wherein the plurality of data processors are configured to use a first dominant lane for instruction execution and to fork a second dominant lane when a data dependency instruction that does not share a taken/not-taken state with the first dominant lane is encountered during execution of a program by the xIMD computing system.

This disclosure relates to systems and methods for instruction multiple data computing and, more specifically, for mixed instruction multiple data computing.
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it may be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
An integrated circuit may contain fixed logic suitable, for example, for us in computing applications. Integrated circuits may also contain programmable logic fabric that provides a highly flexible platform that can be configured after manufacturing with a custom circuit design. The flexibility and variability in the possible designs that may be programmed into this type of integrated circuit also provides for various parallel computing architectures that may be used to process data. In one example, single instruction multiple data (SIMD) architectures may be used, which may perform the same operation on multiple data items simultaneously. In another example, multiple instruction multiple data (MIMD) architectures may be used, which include multiple processors that may function asynchronously and independently to process the multiple data items. It may be beneficial to improve on SIMD and/or MIMD architectures to deliver more efficient computing of, for example, multiple data items, in integrated circuits.

Systems and methods for mixed instruction multiple data (xIMD) computing