A plurality of binding elements, each of a substantially uniform thickness, the fingers being looped over and coupled to the spine such that the inner surface of the fingers is disposed against the inner surface of the spine by an adhesive when assembled. In an embodiment, at least a portion of the outer surface of the binding element is resistant to a more permanent attachment to the adhesive such that the plurality may be stacked together, and successively decoupled or removed for insertion into a stack. The binding elements may include score lines or bends in the fingers to provide a rounded closed loop structure; optional gussets in the bends inhibit straightening of the fingers. The fingers optionally include variations in cross-section along the length to relieve certain stresses to inhibit the looped finger. The binding elements optionally include structure for facilitating interaction with an automating binding process.

Typically, mechanically bound books are created using either relatively small, inexpensive machines that require a significant amount of labor to create each book, or large, expensive machines that require much less labor per book. Use of small, inexpensive machines is widespread inasmuch as they are present in many offices. Such machines are adequate for creating relatively small quantities of books. As the number of books to be assembled increases, however, the manpower required is significant when utilizing such small, inexpensive machines. In practice, it is not uncommon for operators to spend an hour or more assembling twenty to fifty books.
Automated machines, on the other hand, are relatively uncommon in offices. Rather, they are most often found in dedicated print shops or binderies. While these machines may be capable of creating the twenty to fifty books in as little as two to five minutes, the size and cost of automated machines can be prohibitive to smaller or occasional users. Further, it is often time consuming for operators to set up such automated machines or to modify machines to change from one size or color of binding element to another. The specialized training required to operate and set-up automated binding machines further limits benefits available to general office users.
Various types of binding elements have been utilized to mechanically bind a stack of perforated sheets or the like, including metal spiral wire or plastic spiral, double loop wire, wire comb, or hanger-type designs, plastic comb, hot-knife or cold-knife strip (e.g., VeloBind® available from General Binding Corporation), and loose leaf binders (e.g., 3-ring binders).
Such binding elements are not generally adaptable to highly automated binding machines. Automated binding machines require a supply of binding elements be located in or proximal to the device. The greater number of binding elements that can be loaded into a binding element magazine, the longer the machine can run without operator intervention. While an element magazine of fifty to one hundred binding elements would seem ideal for general office use, the bulky nature of most currently available binding elements would generally make magazines required to accommodate such a large number of binding elements impractical. Loose-leaf binders, for example, are poor from this standpoint inasmuch as the integral covers and ring assemblies take up considerable space.
When previously-formed binding elements are utilized, not only must the element magazine contain a sufficient quantity of binding elements to minimize operator loading, it must support, align and present the binding elements in a form suitable for interaction with the binding machine. Thus, the binding elements must be presented such that the binding machine may remove an element from the magazine and position it in the binding mechanism for interaction with a stack of sheets and before finally finishing the book. The structure of virtually all loose binding elements makes them highly prone to tangling unless the elements are controlled by the magazine. As a result, if the packaging method does not control the elements, the binding machine must have sufficient mechanism to disentangle the elements. Such detangling mechanisms would presumably be prohibitively complex, as well as expensive and unreliable.
Thus, each of the binding elements currently known and available in the industry presents certain disadvantages, either in the packaging of the elements prior to binding, the automation of the binding process in connection with the elements, or in the qualities of a book bound by the elements.

Binding elements and plurality of binding elements particularly suited for automated processes


A structural building component for a residential or light commercial building includes a PV laminate and a plastic frame disposed at least around the PV laminate. The plastic frame includes a first electrical connector for communication with the PV laminate and receptive to electrical connection with a contiguous PV laminate. The first electrical connector is configured to facilitate electrical and mechanical connection with the contiguous PV laminate and the frame includes a means for facilitating attachment to the building structure.

Providing electricity through photovoltaic cells is becoming more popular as this technology has decreased in cost and reliance on other sources of electric power is increasingly disfavored for environmental and strategic reasons. However, providing a general use tile with electrical components that is easy to install and electrically connectable to other tiles without external wiring has been elusive.
Photovoltaics refer to cells that convert sunlight directly into electrical energy. The electricity produced is direct current that can be used as direct current, converted to alternating current through the use of an inverter, or stored for later use in a battery. Conceptually, in its simplest form, a photovoltaic device is a solar-powered battery whose only consumable is light. Because sunlight is universally available, photovoltaic devices have many advantages over traditional power sources. Photovoltaic systems are modular, and so their electrical power output can be engineered for virtually any application. Moreover, incremental power additions are easily accommodated in photovoltaic systems, unlike more conventional approaches such as fossil or nuclear fuel, which require multi-megawatt plants to be economically feasible.
Although photovoltaic cells come in a variety of forms, the most common structure is a semiconductor material into which a large-area diode, or p-n junction, has been formed. In terms of basic function, electrical current is taken from the device through a contact structure on the front that allows the sunlight to enter the solar cell and a contact on the back that completes the circuit.
In the field of solar PV modules, proposals have been made to form the PV module having the general characteristics of a roofing tile so that the PV laminate may be integrated into a roof, commonly but not exclusively, a tile roof. An alternative approach is to have a module which is adapted to be mounted over a roof. However, important considerations to the design and development of PV modules include the ability of the modules to be effectively integrated architecturally into a roof design.
Traditionally a photovoltaic (PV) module is mounted onto a finished rooftop, e.g. a rooftop already covered with shingles or tiles. Installation usually requires the addition of brackets or other devices to which the modules are affixed that require a number of rooftop penetrations to provide anchoring. In some cases existing rooftop material is removed or reinstalled to accommodate the installation. This installation represents additional cost, and in many cases, substantial cost due to the special nature of the installation and the requirement for specially trained installers. Installation can represent 25-30% of the total installed system cost which limits widespread economic viability of PV in the residential and light commercial markets today. In addition to the high cost of installation, PV installation adversely affects the appearance of a rooftop since the "look and feel" of traditional PV modules with metal frames and glass surfaces is discontinuous with other roofing materials. Aesthetics is critical to home builders and home buyers alike.
There have been several attempts to define the PV module as an integrated building material. Most notably, an a-Si on stainless steel product has been promoted as an integrated photovoltaic solution. However, this product has had limited growth due to the use of a plastic coating instead of glass and the overall low efficiency and high cost/Watt of the product.
There have also been attempts to laminate thin film and Monocrystalline Si PV onto various types of tiles that are then used as roofing materials. These products have not succeeded in the marketplace for several reasons including high cost and the large numbers of interconnections needed. Most recently, a product has been designed to replace concrete tiles. Although the form factor and method of installation is consistent with a concrete roofing tile, it still uses a metal frame. While this product looks more aesthetically pleasing than traditional modules and has made some inroads with builders, it still requires specially trained installers and is limited to replacing concrete tiles. No one has come up with a blend of photovoltaics and roofing material that can meet the necessary cost, and material compatibility.
Accordingly, there is still a need for a photovoltaic solar roof or solar facade that does not require special roofing preparation and doesn't impact roofing stability. Furthermore, it is desired that the laying and repair of a solar roof or solar facade may be undertaken, without the expenditure of further cost, and simple to install by normal building trades requiring only a minimum of special training.

Photovoltaic integrated building component


A device having the ability to alternate between dry spill and wet spill clean-up by simply rotating the head of the device to either the bristle side, for dry material clean-up, or the rubber squeegee side for wet material clean-up. Located on the handle is a release button coupled to the rotatable coupling by which the head rotates about the handle. When this button is pulled or otherwise selectively activated (e.g., pushed, pressed, etc.) the head will now rotate freely allowing the user to alternate between dry and wet clean-up. In an embodiment, the head may be locked at a variety of angles for side sweeping applications such as inside a cabinet, on top of a work bench, etc.

1. The Field of the Invention
This invention relates to whisk brooms, squeegees, and related systems.
2. Background and Relevant Art
Whisk brooms and dustpans are common items found in most business and home settings. Whisk brooms and dustpans come in a variety of shapes and sizes. They are used to clean up a variety of dry spill debris only. Often, there is a need to clean up a wet spill, or a spill including both wet and dry components. Existing whisk brooms have limited usefulness in such circumstances.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


The present invention relates to a device for displaying a set of data in a space in a manner appropriate for the data while the data are being classified and arranged encounters a problem of requiring a large amount of computation and difficulty in observing results. In relation to a set of data to be expressed in the form of a matrix, a smaller volume of data pertaining to rows or columns are arranged in a space by means of a self-organizing method. The remaining data are arranged through use of only a result of arrangement. Classification and arrangement of data can be performed with a smaller amount of computation. Data pertaining to rows or columns can be utilized by displaying data pertaining to both rows and columns. Hence, a more understandable result can be obtained.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to data analysis utilizing an electronic computer and to display of a result of analysis. In particular, the invention can be applied to display of results of document research while the results are classified through use of keywords and analysis and to display of a relationship between clients and commodity products in connection with analysis of a market.
2. Description of the Related Art
A relational matrix defined by words and documents is often employed in classification and analysis of documents. This corresponds to a matrix which is defined by assigning words to rows and documents to columns and recording the number of times words appear in corresponding documents (see FIG. 3). A vector expression of a word can be extracted by picking up the rows of the matrix one by one, or a vector expression of a document can be extracted by picking up the columns one by one. Hence, a distance between two words A and B can be defined by the distance between vectors, a cosine of vectors, or an inner product of vectors. Similarly, a distance between documents can also be defined by a distance between vectors, a cosine of vectors, or an inner product of vectors. Specifically, a distance between words can be expressed by comparison between vectors which employ documents as components, and a distance between documents can be expressed by means of comparison between vectors which take words as components. Further, a distance between a document and a word can be defined by reference to the number of times the word appears in the document.
A relationship between clients and purchased commodity products in relation to marketing is taken as example data which can be expressed in the form of a matrix. In a matrix in which commodity products are assigned to rows, and clients are assigned to columns, if data pertaining to the specific commodity products and quantities purchased by a certain client are recorded, thereby enabling recording of a relationship between clients and commodity products (see FIG. 9). Even in such a case, vector expressions of respective clients or those of respective commodity products can be extracted. A vector of a certain client shows the client's preference for a commodity product. Clients having vectors of the same lengths can be said to have the same preferences. Even in this case, a distance between clients can be expressed by vectors which take commodity products as components. A distance between commodity products can be expressed by vectors which take clients as components.
In this example, documents and words are related to each other in the form of rows and columns of a matrix. Clients and commodity products are also related to each other in the same fashion. A large number of combinations of data are defined in the form of such a relationship. In subsequent descriptions, a matrix is described by taking a relationship between words and documents as an example.
As a result of the proliferation of IT technology and the Internet, the number of documents produced in electronic form is increasing explosively. For instance, electronic versions of existing newspaper articles and existing patent publications, which have already been issued, have reached an enormous volume, and their volume is certain to increase continuously in the future. Effective utilization of such documents inevitably requires search, classification, and analysis means which enable on-target selection of a target document.
The following methods are broadly grouped and available as means for classifying results of search of a document.
(1) A first method is to establish classification criteria beforehand and classify documents according to the criteria. FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing the outline of operation and processing pertaining to the method. At the outset, criteria are manually prepared as a preparatory stage (1701). It is a common practice that, once the criteria have been established, they can be used for general purposes over several occasions. Next, a document is searched (1702), and a cluster of search results is automatically classified in accordance with the criteria (1703). The results are displayed on a per-category basis (1704). This method is suitable for use with newspaper articles for which categories can have been prepared beforehand.
(2) A second method is to locate an aggregation of documents in a space through use of only distances among the documents. Computation is performed repeatedly until location of the aggregation is completed, whereby self-organizing classification becomes feasible. Famous means for realizing the second method include an SOM (self-organizing map) [a reference document: T. Kohonen "Self-organizing Map" Springer-Verlag Tokyo, ISBN 4-431-70700-X(1996)] and a layout based on a spring model [a reference document: Peter Eades: "A Heuristic for Graph Drawing," Congressus Numerantium, Vol. 42 (1984)], [a reference document pertaining to an example applied to analysis of documents: Isamu WATANABE "Visual Text Mining," Vol. 16, No. 2 (2001), Journal of JSAI (Japanese Society for Artificial Intelligence)].
The spring model is a layout method specific to an undirected graph (a graph involving no directions) and can be applied to classification and arrangement of documents and words. For instance, when documents are arranged, documents are deemed as nodes of a graph. The nodes are deemed to be connected together by springs in accordance with a distance between the documents (or the degree of similarity). FIG. 28 shows an example of an initial state.
As shown in FIG. 28, nodes schematically represent documents, and serrated lines schematically represent springs. A system formed from the nodes and the springs is brought to a stable state; that is, a state in which the respective springs are settled with lengths close to their original lengths or without involvement of expansion or contraction. Consequently, similar documents are located adjacent to each other, and non-similar documents are located so as to become distant from each other. FIG. 29 shows such an example.
From the example shown in FIG. 29, it can be visually ascertained that documents A, B, and C are analogous to each other but a document D is not analogous to any of the documents A, B, and C.
The methods, such as the SOM and the spring model, enable realization of an arrangement suitable for an aggregation of documents obtained as a result of search and hence enable flexible classification of documents on a per-search basis. Under these methods, self-organizing classification is performed. Therefore, a result of classification does not necessarily comply with a guideline which is visibly understandable for persons. Hence, a cluster of results is subjected to labeling.
A flowchart shown in FIG. 18 shows the labeling operation. Specifically, documents are first searched (1801), and self-organization and arrangement of the thus-searched documents are performed (1802). On the basis of a result of arrangement, the documents are divided into clusters (1803). The respective clusters are labeled (1804). Finally, the result of arrangement and the labels are displayed (1805). JP-A-8-263514 describes an example to which an SOM is applied as the previously-described self-organizing method. In many occasions, a result of adoption of the SOM is displayed in the form of a cluster of cells, such as that shown in FIG. 22. A result of use of the spring model is often displayed as an arrangement of data in a space, such as that shown in FIG. 20.
(3) A third method is to classify documents in accordance with the degree of proximity to a keyword. FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing the outline of operation and processing of this method. First, documents are searched (1901). The documents obtained as a result of search are afforded keywords by a person, or keywords are automatically extracted for the documents (1902). The keywords are arranged at fixed points in a space (1903). The individual documents obtained as a result of search are arranged in the same space in accordance with the degree of proximity to the keywords (1904). Finally, a result of arrangement is displayed (1905). JP-A-2000-76279 describes an example of this method.
(4) JP-A-10-171823 describes a technique for arranging documents in a given dimensional space in accordance with proximity and non-proximity in terms of semantic contents, by means of clustering documents represented in the form of vectors into an appropriate number of groups and applying mapping means only to typical centers of the clusters. According to this technique, documents to be analyzed are first transformed into vectors by vector transform means 3503. The documents, which have been transformed into vectors, are classified into clusters by clustering means 3504. Then, typical vectors of the respective clusters are extracted by cluster center extraction means 3505. The cluster centers are arranged in a low-dimensional space while distances between the cluster centers are kept as intact as possible. The documents included in the respective clusters are arranged on the basis of the thus-determined arrangement and positions and the result of classification of the vectors determined by the clustering means 3504. At the time of arrangement of documents, the documents are compared with the center of the cluster located adjacent to the cluster to which the vectors of the documents belong.
However, the first classification means enables classification of documents in accordance with only predetermined criteria. This method may be suitable for classifying newspaper articles into categories, such as economics and sports. However, a situation in which search results must be classified in accordance with new criteria is encountered in search of documents at all times. Even when sports are classified into professional sports and amateur sports, the Olympic Games, which have been changed so as to permit participation of professional athletes, may require another criterion. Classification changes according to the circumstances. Hence, a limit is imposed on the method for establishing criteria in advance.
According to the second classification method, computation of distances among all the documents must be performed repeatedly until the documents are settled at appropriate positions (or location of the documents is completed) in order to effect self-organizing classification. When the number of documents to be classified has become enormous, continuation of computation until location of the documents is completed incurs very high expenses. Therefore, the method is to be said to be less practical.
In relation to the spring model, a model pertaining to four nodes is shown in FIG. 28. FIG. 30 is a schematic representation of a model pertaining to eight nodes, in which springs are depicted as lines. As can be seen from this drawing, when the number of nodes is doubled; that is, when four nodes are doubled to eight nodes, the number of springs is quadrupled. When N documents are interconnected with springs, the number of springs is determined as {N×(N−1)}/2. Consequently, the number of springs is on the order of the square of N.
Provided that documents can have been arranged in a space through use of the spring model, as shown in FIG. 20, determination of the nature of clusters is a delicate problem. Even when the documents have been clustered in such a manner as shown in FIG. 21, the clusters are not always appropriately labeled with labels (character strings) signifying clusters. Since the clusters are determined through computation of multi-dimensional vectors, there are no guarantees that classification is easily understandable for a person. Even if an attempt is made to extract classified labels from titles of documents and display the thus-extracted labels in a manner as described in JP-A-2000-82068, appropriate labels will not always be extracted when labels of the clustered documents differ from each other or when a large number of documents of the same title are present in another cluster. Hence, the labeling problem cannot be solved unless expensive computation is performed after the documents have been classified and arranged. The same also applies to the SOM.
The third classification method is based on the premise that keywords are fixedly displayed and spaced uniformly from each other. When a person designates keywords, the person is not allowed to set a desired number of desired classification words. Specifically, when, for example, six keywords have been selected, the six keywords will not always be words which are optimal for classification of an aggregation of documents and which represent opposites. For example, when an attempt is made to classify newspaper articles pertaining to sports, words which are not uniform in terms of conceptual or abstract level, such as "Baseball," "Ball Game," "High-school Baseball Games," or "J-League," or which are not suitable for classifying an aggregation of documents may be designated. In a case where keywords are extracted by a computer, even if appropriate keywords are extracted, the keywords are uniformly spaced apart from each other with regard to an aggregation of given documents, and hence there may arise a chance of the aggregation of documents being classified into clusters different from the original characteristics of the documents. More specifically, on the premise that six keywords are arranged in a hexagonal pattern in a manner as described in JP-A-2000-76279, when only one of the six keywords has a meaning unique to the aggregation of documents, appropriate classification and arrangement of the documents should fail to be achieved.
Under the fourth technique, at the time of arrangement of each document, the document is compared with a center of a cluster located in proximity to a cluster to which the document belongs. However, the document is not compared with centers of all clusters. Therefore, even when a document vector classified into a certain cluster actually has a characteristic similar to a center of a cluster located outside the neighborhood of the cluster to which the document belongs, the influence of the center of the cluster located outside the neighborhood is disregarded. Hence, a mapping result accurately reflecting the characteristic of a document can hardly be attained. Moreover, when documents are arranged, the documents are not labeled. Therefore, a displayed result of arrangement may be visually less discernible for a user. In order to realize display of labeled documents, expensive computation, such as computing operation for determining labels on the basis of a result of arrangement of data or a correspondence between labels and data, is required.

Device and method for automatically classifying documents using vector analysis

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


Embodiments of techniques to verify the interference fit of fasteners are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method includes aligning a probe proximate a fastener, the fastener being disposed within a material. A dynamic stress signal is generated from the probe using a low frequency transducer, and the dynamic stress signal is interrogated after it passes between the fastener and the material. An interference fit is then determined based on the interrogated dynamic stress signal.

Recent estimations indicate that, on the average, each aircraft in the U.S. commercial aircraft fleet receives a lightning discharge about once each year. The aircraft generally experiences the lightning discharge when flying through a heavily charged portion of a cloud. In such cases, the discharge generally originates at the aircraft and extends outwardly from the aircraft. While the discharge is occurring, it generally moves from the nose of the aircraft and onto a plurality of skin panel portions of the aircraft as it moves through the charged region. The discharge may also attach to wing tips and/or edges of wing control surfaces (e.g., ailerons) during the discharge. The discharge then generally leaves the aircraft structure through the empennage. Since commercial aircraft contain relatively large amounts of fuel, and also generally include sensitive electronic equipment such as navigational computers and communications equipment that may be damaged by a lightning discharge, commercial aircraft are required to comply with a comprehensive set of certification procedures in order to verify that the aircraft is sufficiently protected from the potentially damaging effects of a lightning discharge.
Today's aircraft are being designed and built with greater percentages of composite material. Although composites are lighter and may have better mechanical and fatigue properties than traditional aluminum, they are less electrically conductive, and have poor electromagnetic shielding, causing poor current dissipation when lightning strikes the aircraft. Without an adequate conductive path, arcing and hot spots can occur that may char, delaminate and/or penetrate an aircraft's composite skin, and may reduce the load-bearing characteristics of the aircraft structure. For example, lightning may attach to a fastener and then flow though the fastener into a sub-structure below the surface (or skin) of the aircraft. The low electrical conducting capacity of composite materials may increase the likelihood that sub-structures may be adversely affected by the lightning strike, particularly when lightning attaches to a fastener, if additional safety techniques are not implemented.
Therefore, techniques to improve an airframe's tolerance to lightning strikes, particularly when lightning attaches to aircraft fasteners, have utility and may improve the economy and/or safety of air transit.

Ultrasonic method to verify the interference fit of fasteners


An enhanced visibility system for a work machine includes an image capture device, a sensor, one or more control circuits, and a display. The image capture device is configured to obtain image data of an area surrounding the work machine. The sensor is configured to obtain data regarding physical properties of the area surrounding the work machine. The control circuits are configured to receive the image data and the data regarding the physical properties, and augment the image data with the data regarding the physical properties to generate augmented image data. The display is configured to display the augmented image data to provide an enhanced view of the area surrounding the work machine.

Work machines, such as dozers, for example, are used for a variety of tasks requiring operator control of the work machine and various implements associated with the machine. This control may be performed by an operator physically on the machine, or remote from the machine using one or more remote devices. These machines can be large and complex, increasing the desirability to know the surroundings of the machine when providing control.
U.S. 2018/0141658A1 A1 describes a driver assistance system for an automobile that employs an aerial camera.

Enhanced visibility system for work machines


Apparatus for inserting Tee-nuts in a solid wooden workpiece, the Tee-nuts having flanges and threaded sleeves of predetermined length, the workpiece having a thickness greater than the sleeve length. The apparatus has an anvil, an anvil die supported on the anvil, a through bore in the anvil die extending along an axis normal to the anvil, and a circular cutting edge. A power operated device is mounted so as to be reciprocable towards and away from the anvil. A moveable die is mounted on the reciprocable device in registration with the anvil die. The movable die includes a stub portion which can be slidingly received in the threaded sleeve of a Tee-nut, and which registers co-axially with the through bore in the anvil die. The anvil die is generally frusto-conical and has two outer surface portions meeting at an obtuse angle.

Tee-nut insertion machines are in wide use for inserting Tee-nuts into a wooden workpiece. Such Tee-nuts usually comprise a sleeve portion which is internally threaded, and a face flange portion, which usually has prongs formed integrally therewith. In most cases the wooden workpiece is first of all predrilled on a drill press, and the wooden workpiece, already drilled, is then brought to the Tee-nut insertion machine. At that machine, each hole must be carefully registered with a Tee-nut insertion rod. The rod then picks up a Tee-nut and forces it into the predrilled hole. The rod at the same time forces the prongs into the workpiece around the hole.
Tee-nut machines, for this purpose, have been known in the past. In many cases the Tee-nuts were located loose in a hopper, and were fed downwardly to the lower end of a rod, which was, in fact, the piston rod of an operating cylinder.
The wooden workpiece was placed below the rod on an anvil, in registration with the Tee-nut. When the cylinder was operated, the hammer or piston rod would drive downwardly picking up the Tee-nut and forcing it into the hole.
In other machines, the cylinder and rod were located below the workpiece, and an anvil was located above the workpiece. In this case, the wooden workpiece was held upwardly against the anvil, with the hole registering with the Tee-nut which was located beneath it.
Operation of the cylinder would then pick up the Tee-nut and drive the Tee-nut upwardly into the workpiece.
Substantial improvements on these two types of machines are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,214,843, granted Jun. 1, 1993 inventors Walter H. Leistner and Keith G. Bromley, title "Fastener Setting Apparatus and Method and Fastener Strip Therefor", assignee Sigma Tool & Machine.
In that application, there is disclosed an arrangement of Tee-nuts, formed together into a strip by a flexible connection means. Tee-nuts could then be formed into a large roll. The roll could be placed on a table which was then fed to the insertion rod.
This system did away with the difficulties involved in handling loose Tee-nuts in a hopper, and considerably simplified the machine.
Such strips of Tee-nuts were applicable both to the upward insertion type of machine and also the downward insertion type of machine.
However, even using these improved machines, it was still necessary to predrill all of the Tee-nut holes on a drill press before the Tee-nuts could be inserted by the rod and cylinder.
Clearly, from the viewpoint of speed of operation, it would be desirable if the drilling step were eliminated. In the past, in connection with other types of fastenings, used in relatively thin members such as synthetic plastic panels, it has been the practice to both punch an opening through the thin workpiece and at the same time embed a fastening in the opening. The fastening was almost as long as the thickness of the plastic, and effectively punched out a slug of plastic, as the fastening was driven in. However, it was never thought practical or even possible to apply a self-punching technique to the insertion of Tee-nuts in thicker wooden workpieces. Tee-nuts are usually inserted in relatively thick wooden workpieces such as the frames of beds and furniture, or for example, in panels of shelving or other items of furniture. In some cases the wooden workpieces are both thick and made of softwood, and in other cases the workpieces may be made of hardwood, or chip board, or variations on chip board which are both more dense and stronger than conventional chip board.
In these cases, the workpiece is thicker than the length of the sleeve of the Tee-nut. It is necessary, in this cases, that the hole receiving the Tee-nut shall pass completely through the workpiece. This ensures that any male threaded fastening member which is inserted into the Tee-nut can extend completely through the sleeve, and into the hole in the workpiece, so as to permit the threads to be tightened up. In a typical bed frame or furniture frame, the wooden workpiece may be substantially thicker than the length of the Tee-nut. The Tee-nut sleeve may have a length of about one-half inch, more or less, depending upon the design of the Tee-nut.
It was always thought necessary in this application, that the holes must be pre-drilled. However, pre-drilling of holes, in a factory, on high speed drill presses, did not produce a clear, clean hole. Wood chips were usually left in the hole, and sometimes interfered with the Tee-nuts.
However, if it is attempted to punch a hole simultaneously with the driving of a Tee-nut into a workpiece of this thickness, it is necessary that the operation shall not only punch a hole of sufficient depth to receive the Tee-nut, but shall also punch a hole completely through the workpiece, even though the Tee-nut only reaches perhaps no more than one-half the thickness of the workpiece.
It is also desirable that the self-punching insertion machine shall be adaptable to Tee-nuts of various sizes, having sleeves of various different lengths, and also to workpieces of different thicknesses.
It is also apparent that in order to achieve this type of self-punching operation satisfactorily that the working cylinder must develop very substantial forces on the insertion piston rod. This in turn leads to considerations of the construction of the overall machine, and also safety considerations.
It is also necessary to ensure that in the punching operation, the sleeve of the Tee-nut does not become full of wood chips, since if it does, it may be difficult if not impossible to insert a male threaded member.
Thus the earlier problems relating to pre-drilling leaving wood chips, would not be solved.
The characteristics of the Tee-nuts themselves will also have a considerable influence on the operation of the machine, and all of these factors must be taken into account to produce a satisfactory, reliable machine capable of repetitively punching and simultaneously inserting Tee-nuts into a workpiece.
Still another problem in the design of such a machine is that it must be adaptable to workpieces of different types of woods some of which are softer and some of which are harder. The machine itself must be capable of being so adjusted that it will insert the Tee-nut to the correct depth in the workpiece, regardless of whether the workpiece is hard or soft. Under-insertion of the Tee-nut will be totally unacceptable, since a substantial portion of it will be left outside the workpiece. Over-insertion, for example in a softer workpiece, is equally undesirable, since it tends to damage the workpiece. The construction and design of such a machine must therefore take into account all of these varying conflicting factors, and solve them in a manner which is practical and satisfactory, and workable on the factory floor, as well as in the design laboratory.


An axial gap motor including a rotor and stators, wherein: the rotor is provided with a plurality of primary magnet portions, a plurality of auxiliary magnet portions, and a rotor frame; the rotor frame is provided with a plurality of ribs that extend in the radial direction of the rotor frame, and a shaft portion and a rim portion that are integrally connected with each other via the ribs, and the rotor frame houses the primary magnet portions and the auxiliary magnet portions; the primary magnet portions are provided with primary permanent magnet pieces; the auxiliary magnet portions are provided with auxiliary permanent magnet pieces; and each of cross-sectional areas of the ribs which is perpendicular to the radial direction increases from the rim portion side towards the shaft portion side in the radial direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an axial gap motor.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, an axial gap type of permanent magnet synchronous machine is known (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. H10-271784) that is provided with, for example, a pair of stators that are positioned facing each other so as to sandwich a rotor from both sides in the rotational axis direction thereof, and that forms a magnetic flux loop via the pair of stators.
However, in the permanent magnet synchronous machine according to the above described conventional technology, an improvement in the rigidity of the rotor, and suppression of the vibration and noise that are generated when the permanent magnet synchronous machine is in operation are desired.
The present invention was conceived in view of the above described circumstances, and has an object of providing an axial gap motor that enables an improvement in the rigidity of the rotor.


A method of establishing a supplemental channel (SCH) to provide burst timing for high-speed data transmission in a mobile communication system is disclosed. In the SCH establishing method, a source base station transceiver determines that a traffic burst exists and sends a target base station transceiver a burst request message. The burst request message includes forward and reverse burst timing information and channel use time information, which is determined in consideration of a discontinuous transmission (DTX) mode, in order to reserve necessary resources, when a large amount of high rate data is to be transmitted. Then, the target base station transceiver sends the source base station transceiver a burst response message including information about resources committed to the traffic burst.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a method of providing burst timing in a base station (BS) of a mobile communication system, and in particular, to a method of providing forward and reverse burst timing with respect to the time of using a supplemental channel (SCH) and a supplemental code channel (SCCH) for rapid transmission of a large amount of data in a BS, taking into account a discontinuous transmission (DTX) mode.
Specifically, the present invention relates to a method of providing burst timing definable with respect to the use time of a physical channel and the start and end time of data and a method of supporting an AAL5 protocol for high-speed data transmission between BTSs by a base station transceiver system (BTS) and a base station controller (BSC) in a mobile communication system under a ratio channel environment which allows high-speed data processing.
2. Description of the Related Art
Typical CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) mobile communication systems provide mainly voice service, but the IMT-2000 (International Mobile Telecommunications-2000) standard has been developed to additionally provide high-speed data transmission. IMT-2000 mobile communication systems are capable of transmitting high quality voice and moving pictures, as well as Internet browsing.
A CDMA mobile communication system is comprised of a BS including a BTS and a BSC, a mobile switching center (MSC), and a mobile station (MS). Radio links between an MS and a BTS include a forward link directed from the BTS to the MS and a reverse link directed from the MS to the BTS.
All channels are divided into physical channels and logical channels. A logical channel .is set on a physical channel and it is possible that a plurality of logical channels are set on one physical channel. If the physical channel is released, the logical channels are automatically released. However, a physical channel is not necessarily created to set up a new logical channel. If a physical channel that can carry another logical channel has already been occupied for other logical channels, all that should be done is to assign the new logical channel to the already established physical channel.
Physical channels are categorized into dedicated channels and common channels according to their characteristics. The dedicated channels are so named because they are dedicated to communication between a BS and a particular MS, and include a fundamental channel (FCH), a dedicated control channel (DCCH), and a SCH. The FCH, compatibly used with TIA/EIA-95-B, transmits voice, data, and signaling signals. The common channels indicate channels, commonly shared by a BS and a plurality of MSs. A forward physical channel transmitted to the MSs from the BS is a paging channel, and a reverse channel transmitted to the BS from an MS is an access channel. These common channels are compatible with IS-95-B.
Data communication in a mobile communication system is characterized by bursts of concentrated data transmission interspersed between long periods of no data transmission. Accordingly, the next generation mobile communication system is developed in such a way that it can operate in a discontinuous transmission (DTX) mode in which a dedicated channel is only assigned when there is data to be transmitted.
In the DTX mode, frame data is transmitted only when transmission data exists in a wired communication system or in a mobile communication system. Hence, if transmission data is absent for a predetermined time period in the DTX mode, frame data is not transmitted. The DTX mode has the distinctive advantages of minimum transmission power, reduction of the strength of interference which adversely affects the system, and increase of total system capacity.
The DTX mode is supported on a DCCH and an SCH. Because of this, the DCCH can be used as a control channel which provides an efficient packet service. In DTX mode, null frames are transmitted on the DCCH for power control and no data is transmitted on the SCH. Considering limited radio resources, BS capacity, and power consumption of an MS, dedicated traffic and control channels are connected only during actual data transmission and released during non-transmission periods while in the DTX mode. Communication is conducted on a common channel while the dedicated channels are released. As a result, the usage efficiency of the radio resources is increased. Various channel states are set according to channel assignment and the presence or absence of state information in order to implement the DTX mode.
FIG. 1 is a state transition diagram for a typical packet service in a mobile communication system.
Referring to FIG. 1, a packet service is comprised of an active state 11, a control hold state 12, a suspended state 13, a dormant state 14, a packet null state 15, and an initialization state 10. Service options are connected in the control hold state 12, the active state 11, and the suspended state 13. It is to be noted herein that the present invention pertains to a base station which supports the DTX mode on an SCH and a DCCH in the active state 11 and the control hold state 12.
FIG. 2 illustrates a reference model of 3G IOS (Interoperability Specifications) for a digital air interface between an MSC and a BS and between BSs in a general mobile communication system.
Referring to FIG. 2, an A1 interface and an A2/A5 (exclusive for circuit data) interface are defined for transmitting a signal and transmitting user information, respectively, between an MSC 20 and a BSC 32. An A3 interface is defined to connect a target BS 40 to a frame selection/distribution function unit (SDU) 34 of a source BS 30 for soft/softer handoff between BSs. Using the A3 interface, signaling and user data are transmitted between the target BS 40 and the SDU 34 of the source BS 30. An A7 interface is defined to transmit/receive signals between the target BS 40 and the source BS 30 for soft/softer handoff between BSs. Wired communications links between the BSs 30 and 40 and between the BS 30 and the MSC 20 are a forward link directed from the MSC 20 to the BS 30, a reverse link directed from the BS 30 to the MSC 20, and a link connected between the BSs 30 and 40. The MSC 20 has a call control & mobility management block 22 and a switch 24. The MSC 20 is connected to a data network (not shown) such as the Internet via an inter-working function (IWF) block 50.
FIG. 3 illustrates a signal flow by which an SCH is established between a source BS and a target BS in conventional technology. This procedure is executed to establish an SCH between the source BS and the target BS when a large amount of high rate data is received from an external Packet Data Service Node (PDSN) or data is to be transmitted by assigning the SCH upon call origination from an MS.
Referring to FIG. 3, the source BS 30 recognizes that an MS has origination/termination data to transmit/receive to/from another MS or the PSDN (3a). Then, the source BS 30 determines a traffic burst required during service instance support, selects the target BS 40 which will assist the determined traffic burst, and transmits a burst request message (A7-Burst Request msg.) to the target BS 40, requesting reservation of necessary resources (3b). The target BS 40 checks whether part or all of the requested resources are available and transmits a burst response message (A7-Burst Response msg.) inlcuding information about the resources committed for the traffic burst to the source BS 30 (3c). Meanwhile, the source BS 30 awaits receipt of the burst response message for a first predetermined time. Tbstreq after transmission of the burst request message. Upon receipt of the burst response message within Tbstreq, the source BS 30 prepares a set of frame selectors based on the information of the burst response message and transmits a burst activate message (A7-Burst Activate msg.), which indicates a set of the committed resources to be actually used, to the target BS 40 (3d). If timer Tbstreq expires, the source BS may choose to send an A7-Burst Request message again.
Meanwhile, the target BS 40 awaits receipt of the burst activate message for a second predetermined time Thstcom after transmission of the burst response message. If the target BS 40 receives the burst activate message within Tbstcom, it transmits a connect message (A3-connect msg.), which is for connecting all cell resources to be used for the traffic burst to the designated frame selectors, to the source BS 30 (3e). The source BS 30 transmits a connect acknowledgment message (A3-connect Ack msg.) to the target BS 40, notifying the target BS 40 that physical channels to support the traffic burst are ready (3f). If timer Thstcom expires, the target BS may decommit all radio resources committed for the cell(s) included in this message. Meanwhile, the target BS 40 awaits receipt of the connect acknowledgment message for a third predetermined time Tconn3 after transmission of the connect message. If the target BS 40 receives the connect acknowledgment message within Tconn3, it transmits a burst activate acknowledgment message (A7-Burst Activate Ack. msg.) to the source BS 30 (3g). If timer Tconn3 expires, the BS shall include all new cells that would have been added by the A3-Connect message to the list of non-committed cells in the A7-Burst Response message.
Meanwhile, the source BS 30 awaits receipt of the burst activate acknowledgment message for a fourth predetermined time Tbstact after transmission of the burst activate message in step 3d. If the source BS 30 receives the burst activate acknowledgment message within Tbstact, it transmits a command through a scan message (SCAM_msg.) to an MS, ordering the MS to prepare for the traffic burst (3h). Then, the MS a layer 2 acknowledgment message (Layer 2 Ack. msg.) to the source BS 30 in response to the scan message (3i). The network and the MS exchange forward or reverse traffic burst information for a predetermined time period or until the source BS 30 expands or ends the traffic burst (3j). If timer Tbstact expires, the source BS may choose to resend this message, to terminate traffic burst preparations, or to request that the MSC clear the call association.
The structure of the burst request message transmitted in step 3b is shown in Table 1. The burst request message is an A7 interface message by which a source BS requests reservation of resources to support data traffic burst to a target BS.
TABLE 1Information ElementElement DirectionTypeMessage Type IISource BS > Target BSMCall Connection ReferenceSource BS > Target BSORBand ClassSource BS > Target BSORDownlink Radio EnvironmentSource BS > Target BSORCDMA Serving One Way DelaySource BS > Target BSORPrivacy InfoSource BS > Target BSORA3 Signaling AddressSource BS > Target BSORCorrelation IDSource BS > Target BSORSDU IDSource BS > Target BSORMobile Identity (IMSI/MIN)Source BS > Target BSORMobile Identity (ESN)Source BS > Target BSORFrame Selector InfoSource BS > Target BSORA7 Cell InfoSource BS > Target BSORBurst TimingSource BS > Target BSORM: Mandatory, O: Optional, R: Recommend, C: Conditionally Recommend
Referring to Table 1, burst request message fields provide information as described below:                1. Call Connection Reference: the only identification used for call connection in the whole system;        2. Band Class: a frequency band;        3. Downlink Radio Environment: a signal strength measurement value provided by a mobile station;        4. CDMA Serving One Way Delay: an estimated value of a single-directional delay in an MS with respect to a cell related with REF_PN;        5. Privacy Info: (public and private) CDMA long code mask information;        6. A3 Signaling Address: network node including an SDU instance in use for a call;        7. Correlation ID: a factor of correlating a request message to a response message;        8. SDU ID: a particular SDU instance ID in one SDU node;        9. Mobile Identity (ESN): Electronic Serial Number (ESN) of an MS;        10. Frame Selector Info: a set of frame selectors used for one call association. This field is used to add a new frame selector to a call association or amend the property of a frame selector in an existing call association;        11. A7 Cell Info: Information about a set of cells to which specific physical cahnnels are added for a call association; and        12. Burst Timing: a factor representative of the period and start time of a data burst on a set of physical channels.
The structure of the burst response message in step 3c is shown below in Table 2. The burst response message is an A7 interface message as a response for the burst request message (A7-Burst Request msg.) by which the source BS requests reservation of resources to support a data traffic burst to the target BS.
TABLE 2Information ElementElement DirectionTypeMessage Type IISource BS > Target BSMCall Connection ReferenceSource BS > Target BSORCorrelation IDSource BS > Target BSOCA7 Committed Cell InfoSource BS > Target BSORA7 Uncommited Cell InfoSource BS > Target BSORBurst TimingSource BS > Target BSORM: Mandatory, O: Optional, R: Recommend, C: Conditionally Recommend                 1. Call Connection Reference: an identification for a call connection which is unique to the whole system;        2. Correlation ID: a factor of correlating a request message to a response message;        3. A7 Committed Cell Info: information about a set of cells committed to specific physical channels for a call association by a target BS; and        4. A7 Uncommitted Cell Info: information about a set of cells uncommitted to specific physical channels for a call association by a target BS.
The burst activate message (A7-Burst Activate msg.) in step 3d is shown in Table 3. The burst activate message is an A7 interface message which the source BS transmits to the target BS to commit a set of reserved resources for supporting a data traffic burst.
TABLE 3Information ElementElement DirectionTypeMessage Type IISource BS > Target BSMCall Connection ReferenceSource BS > Target BSORCorrelation IDSource BS > Target BSOCFrame selector InfoSource BS > Target BSORA7 Cell InfoSource BS > Target BSORM: Mandatory, O: Optional, R: Recommend, C: Conditionally Recommend                 1. Call Connection Reference: an identification for a call connection which is unique to the whole system;        2. Correlation ID: a factor of correlating a request message to a response message;        3. Frame Selector Info: a set of frame selectors used for one call association. This field is used to add a new frame selector to a call association or amend the property of a frame selector in an existing call association; and        4. A7 Cell Info: information about a set of cells to which specific physical channels are added for a call association.
The information elements of the burst activate acknowledgment message (A7-Burst Activate Ack. msg.) in step 3g is shown in Table 4. The burst activate acknowledgment message is an A7 interface response message to the burst activate message which the source BS transmitted to the target BS in order to commit a set of reserved resources for supporting the data traffic burst.
TABLE 4Information elementElement DirectionTypeMessage Type IITarget BS > Source BSMCall Connection ReferenceTarget BS > Source BSORCorrelation IDTarget BS > Source BSOCA7 Uncommited Cell InfoTarget BS > Source BSORM: Mandatory, O: Optional, R: Recommend, C: Conditionally Recommend                 1. Call Connection Reference: an identification for a call connection which is unique to the whole system;        2. Correlation ID: a factor of correlating a request message to a response message; and        3. A7 Uncommitted Cell Info: information about a set of cells uncommitted to specific physical channels for a call association by a target BS.
Table 5 lists the fields of the Frame Selector Info information element included in the burst request message (A7-Burst Request msg.) shown in Table 1 and the burst activate message (A7-Burst Activate msg.) shown in Table 3.
TABLE 576543210OctetA3/A7 Element Identifier1Length2Count of Frame Selectors3Length of Frame Selector Information4ReservedFrame Selector Index 15Physical Channel Type 16A3 traffic Channel Protocol Stack 17Frame Offset 18Reserved(MSB)9ARFCN1(LSB)10Forward Channel Bandwidth 111Reverse Channel Bandwidth 112ReservedFrame selector Index 213Physical Channel Type 214A3 Traffic Channel Protocol Stack 215Frame Offset 216Reserved(MSB)17ARFCN2(LSB)18Forward Channel Bandwidth 219Reverse Channel Bandwidth 220......ReservedFrame Selector Index amPhysical Channel Type am + 1A3 Traffic Channel Protocol Stack nm + 2Frame Offset nm + 3Reserved(MSB)m + 4ARFCN n(LSB)m + 5Forward Channel Bandwidth nm + 6Reverse Channel Bandwidth nm + 7                1. Count of Frame Selectors: number of frame selectors;        2. Length of Frame Selector Information: the number of octets used to transmit a set of fields for each instance of a frame selector;        3. Frame Selector Index: a binary value used to uniquely indicate a frame selector used for a call association; and        4. Physical Channel Type: the type of a physical channel associated with a designated frame selector. Table 6 below shows the hex values taken by the Physical Channel Type field.        5. Frame Offset: frame offset for a given frame selector;        6. ARFCN (Actual Radio Frequency Channel Number): real radio frequency channel number related with a band class for a call association;        7. Forward Channel Bandwidth: the band of a forward channel assocaited with a frame selector; and        8. Reverse Channel Bandwidth: the band of a reverse channel assocaited with a frame selector.
TABLE 6Value (Hex)Physical Channel Type01HFundamental Channel (FCH) TIA/EIA/−9502HSupplemental Channel (SCH) TIA/EIA/−9503HDedicated Control Channel (DCCH) TIA/EIA/−958OH to 9FHReserved for UMTSAll other valuesReserved
As shown in Table 6, since the Physical Channel Type field only defines IS-95 channels, and not CDMA-2000 channels, when the CDMA-2000 standard is applied to a mobile communication system, the Base Stations will not be able to identify channels because the CDMA-2000 channels will be confused with IS-95 channels.
The A3 Traffic Channel Protocol Stack is a protocol stack used for an A3 traffic channel attached to a given frame selector. Its structure is shown below, in Table 7.
TABLE 7Value (Hex)Protocol Stack01HAAL2/ATM/Physical LayerAll other valuesReserved
As noted from Table 7, only the AAL2 (ATM Adaptation Layer 2) protocol, which is used for voice service, is defined in the protocol stack used for the A3 traffic channel. Therefore, the protocol stack is not fit for high rate data.
Burst Timing included in the burst request message (A7-Burst Request msg.) shown in Table 1 and the burst response message (A7-Burst Response msg.) shown in Table 2 have the following information elements, shown below in Table 8.
TABLE 876543210OctetA3/A7 Element Identifier1Length2Burst Action Time3(MSB)Burst Duraction4(LSB)5                1. Burst Action Time: accurate start time of a data burst; and        2. Burst Duration: a binary value indicating burst duration expressed in the number of frames. The binary value is the assignment time of an IS-95 SCH and an IS-95B SCCH in IS-2000.
The above-described conventional technology has the following problems within a BS and between BSs, not with a radio link between a BS and an MS.
There is no way to discriminate between the FCH and SCH in the IS-95B standard and the FCH, DCCH, and SCH in the CDMA-2000 standard with the Frame Selector Info fields shown in Table 5 in the procedure shown in FIG. 3. Therefore, a BS cannot adequately identify channels. Furthermore, high rate data cannot be transmitted since only the AAL2 protocol, which is used for voice service, is defined in the A3 Traffic Channel Protocol Stack.
The duration and start time of a data burst cannot be supported on a concurrent bi-directional SCH or SCCH with the burst timing message of Table 8. The DTX duration of a reverse SCH and SCCH is not provided, thereby making it impossible to perform rapid packet service in a BS. Consequently, a new method should be explored to process high rate data.

Method of providing burst timing for high-speed data transmission in a base station transceiver system of a mobile communication system


In a system for transmitting a three-dimensional (3-D) digital image over a communication network, in response to a client computer generating a request for interaction with a 3-D image stored on an image storage device, a server computer performs two-dimensional sub-band transform decompositions in x-axis and y-axis directions upon the 3-D image, performs a one-dimensional sub-band transform decomposition in a z-axis direction upon a portion of the two-dimensionally transform-decomposed digital image, and progressively transmits to the client computer data representing a region of interest specified in the client request.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to the field of medical imaging and, more specifically, to transmission of medical imagery via a relatively narrow bandwidth client-server computer network such as the World Wide Web.
2. Description of the Related Art
The most common medical imaging techniques produce three-dimensional (3-D) data sets. Medical imaging techniques, such as computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance (MR), positron emission tomography (PET), and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), generate multiple slices in a single examination. Each such slice represents a different cross-section of the body part that is imaged. A simple transfer to the client computer of the result of the examination stored in the server's storage is obviously time consuming in a narrow bandwidth environment. This problem can be overcome by storing images in some compressed formats.
Data compression techniques can be roughly divided into two classes: lossy and lossless. Lossless compression techniques allow exact reconstruction of the original image, while lossy compression techniques achieve higher compression ratios, because they allow some acceptable degradation.
Although lossy compression is acceptable in many cases, lossless transmission is required in medical applications because lossy compression of images can lead to errors in diagnosis by introducing artifacts. Furthermore, there exist several legal and regulatory issues that favor lossless compression in medical applications. Although precise diagnosis require lossless representation of the study, lossy compression can be extremely useful for medical applications in which quick image browsing is desired. Therefore, the combination of lossy and lossless representations in a single workflow is desirable, with progressive lossy streaming of 3-D data terminating at lossless quality.
Because 3-D image data can be represented as a set of two-dimensional (2-D) images, it is possible to code these 2-D images independently. There exist several 2-D lossless compression algorithms, such as the LOw COmplexity LOssless COmpression of Images (LOCO-I) on which a lossless image compression standard called JPEG-LS is base, the Context-based Adaptive Lossless Image Codec (CALIC) algorithm and Compression with Reversible Embedded Wavelets (CREW). However, such 2-D methods do not utilize the inter-slice dependencies that exist among pixel values in the third dimension. A better approach considers the whole set of slices as a single 3-D data set taking advantage of correlation in all three dimensions.
Several methods that utilize dependencies in all three dimensions have been proposed for compression of 3-D data, both lossy and lossless, such as the Improved 3-D EZW (3D-IEZW); Modified EZW algorithm, used for compression of volumetric medical images; Context-based coding improvement of the EZW algorithm (3-D CB-EZW); a 3-D extension of Set Partitioning in Hierarchical Trees and Scalable Compressed Video coding algorithms. However, there is a common disadvantage of all the existing methods: they all need to store a compressed version of the original data, because the compression is very time consuming. These methods additionally lead to a tremendous growth of system memory usage. Wavelet compression is well known in the art. Conventional compression systems preferred wavelet bases of best coding performance.
A system and method for transmitting a digital image over a communication network is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 6,314,452, "System and Method for Transmitting a Digital Image Over a Communication Network", incorporated herein in its entirety by this reference That system and method does not address problems involved with lossless compression, and it does not specifically address 3-D images.
A system and method for a lossless wavelet transform in 2-D, having only the X and Y directions, is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 60/198,017 "Lossless Progressive Streaming of Images Over the Internet" incorporated herein in its entirety by this reference. That system and method does not address 3-D images.

Three-dimensional image streaming system and method for medical images


A double ended musical mechanism having a primary body for anchoring strings and containing electrical connections for electrical operation including pickups, volume, and tone controls, a secondary body for securing and tuning the strings and containing electrical connections, and an interconnecting central body. The central body, between the primary and secondary bodies, contains a number of hammer pads for temporarily anchoring strings against so that when a string is anchored against a hammer pad, two musical notes are produced, one each from the primary and secondary bodies.. An additional embodiment includes the provision of an electrical pickup in the central body so that when a string is anchored in two places against a hammer pad, three musical notes are produced. Yet another embodiment includes the provision of a primary neck with a device for anchoring the strings which contains a number of hammer pads, a secondary neck for securing and tuning the strings and containing a number of hammer pads, and an interconnecting central body, located between the primary and secondary necks, which contains electrical devices for operation so that when the strings are anchored against the hammer pads, two musical notes are produced.

This invention relates to an improved musical device for providing on one string more than a single musical note at a time. In particular, this invention relates to a double ended musical apparatus and method.
Musical instruments have been known since the dawn of time. Guitars, in particular, have been an integral part of the world's societies for ages. From classical guitar to rock and roll, guitars have flourished. A typical guitar is a flat-bodied string instrument that has a long fretted neck and usually six strings. It is played with a pick or plucked with the fingers and sounds an octave lower than written. In addition to the long fretted neck, the guitar shape is comprised of a strongly rounded lower portion separated from a comparable but often smaller upper portion by a smooth and gradual intermediate constriction.
Variations on the normal guitar include electric guitars. An electric guitar is a guitar whose tone is magnified electrically by a microphone or pickup device that is built into the instrument or attached externally, by an audio-frequency amplifier, and by a loud speaker. The volume and resonance, or tone, of the device is subject to control by the player.
Most guitars are hung or supported by the shoulder and held in front of the player while the player stands or sits upright. A variation of this usual manner in playing the guitar is represented by a so-called hawaiian guitar. This type of guitar is a flat-bodied stringed musical device that has a long fretted neck and usually six to eight strings. This guitar is held in a horizontal position either on the knees of the player or on an adjustable stand. It is played by plucking the strings with thimbles, the desired pitch being obtained by sliding a small metal bar across the raised strings.
There are still other variations of guitars, some guitars having more than one neck, for example, but displaced in the same relative position as "normal" prior art guitars.
A drawback to the non-electric and electric guitars known in the art is that only a single note is obtained from any of the prior art guitars whenever the guitar string is anchored against the fret. Thus, it would be an advancement in the musical art, pleasurable and, indeed, there is a need in the art, for providing a musical instrument in the nature of a guitar that produces more than one musical note at a time. It, therefore, is an object of this invention to provide an apparatus and method for a musical device that produces more than a single note at a time on a single string.

Multiple resonant mode stringed musical apparatus and method utilizing primary and secondary bodies


Method and apparatus for performing feature engineering using negative inferences are provided. One example method generally includes identifying a plurality of concepts and analyzing a corpus of documents to determine a first co-occurrence rate for a first concept and a second concept in the plurality of concepts. The method further includes analyzing the corpus of documents to determine a second co-occurrence rate for the second concept and at least a third concept of a set of concepts related to the first concept and determining an inverse relationship between the second concept and the third concept. The method further includes generating test data for training a machine learning model including a negative inference between the second concept and the third concept and training the machine learning model using the test data.

The present invention relates to machine learning-enabled treatment selection, and more specifically, to feature engineering for machine learning-enabled treatment selection.
As machine learning techniques have advanced, the use of machine learning in different applications has greatly increased. One way in which machine learning has improved over time is through the use of feature engineering. Typically, feature engineering may be performed prior to training a machine learning model in order to improve the data used for training, and ultimately the output of the machine learning model once trained. Feature engineering may be either automated or manual.
Existing feature engineering has some limitations, however. One such limitation is the lack of complex logical inferences in automated feature engineering. Manual feature engineering may be able to include such inferences, however manual feature engineering is time consuming, expensive, and in general impractical given the vast number of potential inferences across all potential attributes or concepts in a data set. Therefore, systems and methods are needed which extend the capabilities of conventional automated feature engineering.

Negative inferences in machine learning treatment selection

International Business Machines Corporation


Methods of forming composite materials, which may include filament winding two or more carbon nanotube yarns to form one or more material layers, contacting the yarns with a resin, and applying one or more stretching forces to the material layers. Composite materials also are provided.

Composite materials having high strength-to-weight ratios, as well as one or more other desirable functional properties may have a number of applications, including applications in the aerospace industry. Research of carbon fiber-reinforced composites, however, is beginning to show diminishing returns, because, in many instances, the properties of the composites are approaching the performance limitations of the individual constituent materials of current reinforcement fibers and resin matrices.
Efforts have been made to overcome these limitations by exploring and developing nanostructured composites. For example, novel nanoscale building block materials, such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs), graphene, and nanocellulose materials may demonstrate desirable structural and transport properties compared to the state-of-the-art (SOTA) fibers and their composites.
CNTs can have unusually high tensile strength (e.g., ˜150 GPa), high modulus (e.g., ˜1 TPa), large aspect ratio, low density, good chemical and environmental stability, and/or high thermal and electrical conductivity; thus making CNTs potentially attractive fillers and/or reinforcements to enhance the mechanical, thermal, and/or electrical properties of materials, such as polymer matrices.
However, the incorporation of CNTs in composites has mainly been at relatively low concentrations in polymer-based matrices, due at least to poor dispersion. Incorporation of CNTs has improved electrical and/or mechanical properties of some materials, but most, if not all, of the materials have included only a low mass fraction (e.g., 0.05-5 wt. %) of CNTs. This is most likely due to poor interfacial interaction(s) between CNTs and matrix materials, and the difficulty of aligning CNTs at low volume fractions.
As manufactured, CNTs typically do not adequately bond to chemicals and often are in agglomerated "bundles" that may include multiple species of CNTs, as well as potentially significant portions of residual catalysts and/or amorphous carbon. It can be difficult, therefore, to assemble CNTs efficiently to form macroscale CNT structures and to increase, maximize, or fully utilize the outstanding mechanical properties of CNTs. In addition, the manufactured composite sizes (especially thicknesses) usually are very small (e.g., a few microns).
One of the difficulties that prevents CNT composites from being comparable to the SOTA aerospace-grade carbon fiber composites may include the fabrication difficulties that can be faced when producing composites with a relatively high concentration of ultra-long CNTs.
CNT yarns are formations of ultra-long CNTs entangled together and bulk-oriented in the same direction. Although CNT yarns have been used in some composite materials, the efforts to do so have been limited due to one or more of the foregoing difficulties.
Recently, a method for manufacturing relatively large samples of highly aligned and densely packed CNT/Bismaleimide (BMI) composite samples with ultra-high mechanical properties was demonstrated by Y. Han et al., "Bio-Inspired Aggregation Control of Carbon Nanotubes for Ultra-Strong Composites," Sci. Rep., vol. 5, p. 11533, June 2015, which is incorporated herein by reference.
There remains a need, however, for composite materials that may include relatively high concentrations of CNTs, and may have one or more desirable properties, such as an extra-high modulus and/or adequate interfacial shear properties. There also remains a need for methods of producing composite materials that are scalable and capable of producing aerospace-quality composite materials having one or more advanced structural or multifunctional properties using CNT yarns, including commercially available CNT yarns, and a resin matrix, including an aerospace-qualified resin matrix. There also remains a need for composite materials for which resin-dominated tests such as flexural, lateral compressive, and/or short beam shear can be performed.

Composite materials including carbon nanotube yarns and methods

The Florida State University Research Foundation, Inc.


A pallet container for storing and transporting liquid filling materials includes an exchangeable thin-walled inner container of thermoplastic, and a tubular lattice frame closely enclosing the inner container and made of vertical and horizontal tubular bars. The tubular lattice frame is fastened to the upper outer rim of a bottom pallet having a flat pallet top deck which includes a sheet-metal plate for supporting the inner container and a pallet substructure having four corner feet, four middle feet arranged there between, and a steel-tube base ring that is horizontally peripheral on the bottom side. The pallet substructure has four individual tube sections which extend diagonally directly beneath the metal plate and are each fastened to two adjacent middle feet to form a diamond-shaped supporting frame beneath the bottom plate. The tube sections are connected to base ring in an electrically conductive manner via corresponding screw connections.

The present invention relates to a pallet container for storing and transporting in particular hazardous liquid filling materials, having an exchangeable thin-walled inner container made of thermoplastic for receiving the filling material, having a tubular lattice frame which closely encloses the inner container as a supporting casing and is made of welded-together vertical and horizontal tubular bars, said tubular lattice frame being fastened to the upper outer rim of a bottom pallet that is suitable for fork-lift trucks, wherein the rectangular bottom pallet has a flat pallet top deck, consisting of a thin sheet-metal plate, for supporting the lifted inner container, and a pallet substructure having four corner feet and four middle feet arranged therebetween and made of thermoplastic, and has a rectangular steel-tube base ring that is horizontally peripheral on the bottom side, wherein the bottom pallet is provided with means for discharging electric charges.
The pallet is equipped, between the pallet top deck and the peripheral bottom ring and between the corner and middle feet with in each case a corresponding recess for the insertion of the forks of a fork-lift truck. The pallet can be passed beneath from all four sides in the longitudinal or transverse direction. Such filled pallet containers having a filling volume of approximately 1000 liters with a conventional pallet size of 1200 mm×1000 mm can have a weight of well over 1 t, depending on the specific weight of the liquid filling material, and are only able to be handled with fork-lift trucks. In this case, the shorter pallet sides (1000 mm) are designated the front and rear sides and the two longer pallet sides (1200 mm) are designated the longitudinal sides. An extraction fitting is conventionally arranged centrally in the front side at the bottom of the plastics inner container.
In order to transport hazardous liquid filling materials, such pallet containers have to have official authorization for their specific design. If combustible or explosive liquids are intended to be conveyed in such pallet containers, these containers require a very particular official authorization, in which it is demonstrated that design measures provided ensure that electric charges are discharged, and reliably prevent the containers from being able to become electrically charged (formation of sparks), thereby ruling out a risk of explosion.


Structures in the nanoscale and mesoscale domain are provided. The structures typically have a shell which can be comprised of a porous polymeric material such as parylene. The surfaces of the shell can further comprise pendant functional groups that can provide reactive or passive characteristics.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to nanoscale and mesoscale structures and methods of preparation and use thereof and, in particular, to nanoscale and mesoscale spherically-shaped hollow spheres.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Goldstein et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 4,381,963, disclose a microfabrication molding process.
Olson et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 4,508,760, disclose a method and apparatus for microencapsulation.
Versic, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,973, discloses a moldable microcapsule that contains a high percentage of solid core material, and method of manufacture thereof.
Witzke et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 5,094,906, disclose ceramic microtubular materials and methods of making same.
Versic, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,288,504, discloses pharmaceuticals microencapsulated by vapor deposited polymers.
Hoffman, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,298,298, 5,352,512, and 6,194,066, discloses microscopic tube material and method of their manufacture.
Craighead et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 6,559,474, disclose a method for topographical patterning of materials.
Feldheim et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 6,602,932, disclose nanoparticle composites and nanocapsules for guest encapsulation and method for synthesizing same.
Greiner et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 6,667,099, disclose meso- and nanotubes.
Rennebeck, in International Publication No. WO 97/26225 discloses hollow microfibers of ceramic material and a process for its manufacture and its use.
Laurencin, et al., in International Publication No. WO 99/18893, disclose hybrid nanofibril matrices for use as tissue engineering devices.

Methods of preparation of hollow microstructures and nanostructures


A connector system employs an electromechanical connector to connect to a complementary electromechanical connector on an electronic device in a medical system. A shroud surrounds the electromechanical connector and is conductive and shaped to provide a thermal contact to the electronic device. A shielded cable can be electrically coupled to the electromechanical connector and extending through an opening in the shroud, and an electromagnetic shield attaches to the shroud and surrounds the portion of the shielded cable extending from the shroud. A mechanical lock may be included with a spring to press the shroud against the electronic device when the mechanical lock engages the electronic device.

Electronic devices such as camera systems used in or with minimally invasive medical instruments generally have stringent performance requirements. In particular, such devices must be small enough, e.g., less than about 10 mm in diameter, to be inserted through a cannula or other guide and must be long enough to reach a work site within a patient in order to perform the required function. For example, a camera system for a minimally invasive medical instrument must be able to provide a surgeon or other clinical personnel with moving images, typically stereoscopic views, of sufficient clarity to enable precision procedures. The high image quality and reasonable frame rates generally require high-frequency data transmissions for digital transmission (e.g., from CMOS cameras) along the relatively long length of the instrument. The long signal path and metal employed in a shaft or other part of the medical instrument can unintentionally provide an effective antenna that could generate electromagnetic interference (EMI) particularly from high frequency data signals. Careful shielding of signals, particularly data signals, may thus be required.
Another issue for electronic devices in minimally invasive systems is generation and dissipation of heat. For a typical minimally invasive medical system, the heat generated from operation of a distal electronic device must be removed from a work site within a patient. Otherwise, heat buildup within the patient may interfere with operation of the device or worse injure the patient. Active cooling systems, e.g., that rely on electro-mechanical cooling techniques such as air or water flow or thermoelectric cooling devices, may consume premium space within the instrument and increase the complexity of the instrument. To provide a more compact device, passive cooling that conducts heat from the distal tip of the instrument may be used, but a heat conduction path from the distal tip of the instrument may be narrow and long, restricting heat flow and increasing the operating temperature of the electronic device. A mounting for an electronic device such as a camera system that is passively cooled should thus provide a thermal contact with low resistance to heat flow regardless of the length or narrowness of the heat path.
Yet another issue for connecting an electronic device at the distal end of a minimally invasive medical instrument is the ability of the connection to withstand forces that occur when the instrument moves or flexes. For example, a camera system at the distal end of a probe may need to be positioned and pointed for viewing of a work site from a user selected viewing point. A connector for such an electronic device must thus be able not only to withstand the forces that movement of the electronic device causes but also maintain electrical connections, EMI shielding, and a low-resistance thermal connection during such movement.


A method calibrates a load sensor in a rotor blade of a wind turbine. The method includes checking a state and/or operating parameters of the wind turbine; continuously measuring a calibration condition for the wind turbine and comparing the measured calibration condition with predefined calibration prerequisites; switching to a calibration mode when the measured calibration condition meets the predefined calibration prerequisites or switching to a restricted production mode when the measured calibration condition does not meet the predefined calibration prerequisites; and, collecting measurement data in the calibration mode. The calibration mode is terminated when the required data have been collected for the calibration; and, switched from the calibration mode to an interruption mode. The mode is switched from the interruption mode to the restricted production mode when the measured calibration condition does not meet the predefined calibration prerequisites for longer than a predefined period of time.

Wind turbines include a rotor, the rotor hub of which is typically provided with three rotor blades. The rotor blades take power from the incoming wind and drive an electrical generator via a drive train with or without a gearbox, which generator generates electrical power and feeds the same into the electrical power grid.
Wind turbines have a so-called pitch system for each rotor blade, via which the rotor blade can be rotated about its longitudinal axis. When the wind turbine is equipped with individual pitch control (IPC), the pitch angle of each rotor blade can be set independently of the other rotor blades. The bending moments acting on the rotor blade during operation can be resolved in two main directions. In the case of the bending moment in the flapwise direction, a positive moment occurs when the blade tip is bent toward the pressure side. A negative moment is considered to occur when the blade tip is bent toward the suction side. In the case of the bending moment acting in the edgewise direction, the moment is considered positive when the blade tip bends toward the leading edge and negative when the blade tip bends toward the trailing edge of the rotor blade. Load sensors typically attached in the region of the rotor blade root can be used to measure these moments. It is thereby important to work with calibrated sensors that not only measure a relative change in the loads on the rotor blade, but that also make it possible to assign a direction and magnitude to the moments.
A measuring system connected to the load sensors is also referred to as a rotor blade load (RBL) sensor system. Monitoring the moments on the rotor blades produces a series of advantages. For example, rotor blade vibrations can also be monitored or loading caused by extreme gusts of wind can be prevented via a common adjustment of the pitch angles (EGLM=extreme gust load mitigation).
U.S. Pat. No. 9,353,727 discloses a calibration method in which a rotor azimuth angle and a pitch angle are determined for a first rotor blade, the loads being measured in a first cross-section of the first rotor blade via a first load sensor. The theoretical loads are determined based on the rotor azimuth angle and the pitch angle. The measured loads are compared with the theoretically determined loads. This known method makes it possible to calibrate the sensors during operation when the rotor blades are installed, in particular while the wind turbine is connected to the electrical power grid.
US 2017/0292501 A1 discloses a method for automatically calibrating a load sensor of a wind turbine. During calibration, a large number of sensor signals are recorded, the recorded values being compared with a load estimation. Proceeding from this comparison, the data are evaluated in order to ascertain whether the load sensors are functioning correctly. A statistical correlation between the measured values and the values determined in the model is used to calibrate the parameters.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,702,388 discloses a calibration method for load sensors in the rotor blades of a wind turbine. In the method, the generator of the wind turbine is operated in motor mode in order to shift the rotor and thus the rotor blades into a predetermined defined state in which the values of the load sensors are recorded for calibration.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,157,522 discloses a calibration method for a wind turbine that can be carried out automatically. Strain gauges are used on the inner wall of the rotor blade in the cylindrical portion of the rotor blade, in the vicinity of the blade flange. The measured values for the measuring system to be calibrated are recorded in the horizontal position of the rotor blade for different pitch angles. The acting moments are produced by the dead weight and weight distribution of the rotor blade.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,004,862 discloses a method for calibrating load sensors of a wind turbine, the method including the steps of carrying out a predetermined pitch movement for at least one rotor blade and recording the values measured by the load sensors. By comparing with predefined parameters, the calibration of the load sensors can be adapted as required. In particular, it is proposed to repeat the rotor blade adjustment process multiple times.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,645,034 discloses a method for operating a wind turbine, in which the wind turbine is rotated with its rotor without or with little wind loading in order to calibrate the sensor. In the process, the load values are recorded and used for calibration. This calibration takes advantage of the fact that, in the case of a rotor with a horizontal axis, the weight of the rotor blade and the weight forces that arise as a result lead to loading that is detected by the load sensor, no loading occurring as a result of a weight force when a rotor blade is vertical, that is, in the 6 o'clock or 12 o'clock position, but the loading of the weight forces being at their highest in the horizontal position of the rotor blade, that is, in the 3 o'clock or 9 o'clock position. By virtue of this load measurement, zero crossings of the load signal can be detected and assigned. The weight load of a rotor blade is typically known and can therefore be used for qualitative assignment.

Method for calibrating one or more load sensors in a rotor blade of a wind turbine


A wellhead isolation tool is mounted to a wellhead to isolate the bore of the wellhead from a treating fluid being injected. The isolation tool has a housing which has an upper section and a lower section. A valve is connected between the upper and lower sections. A mandrel is slidably carried in the housing and moves from an upper position spaced entirely in the housing to a lower position extending through the bore of the wellhead. In the lower position, the upper end of the mandrel is below the valve. This allows the valve to be closed and the upper section removed. The treating line is attached to the upper end of the valve. The nozzle has annular recesses formed in it to enhance turbulence to reduce erosion.

A producing well will have a wellhead or Christmas tree at the surface for controlling the well. The wellhead assembly supports casing which extends into the well. Tubing extends through the casing for producing the formation fluids. The Christmas tree is a tubular body having a bore extending vertically through it with outlets leading from the bore through the sidewall. Valves are mounted in the bore and to the outlets of the tree for providing access to the tubing as well as directing the produced fluid out to a flow line.
From time to time, many wells require the injection of a treating fluid. One technique know as fracing involves pumping high pressure fluid into the well to fracture the formation to enhance its production. Small hard spheres called proppants are contained in the slurry being pumped into the well. Other techniques involve pumping corrosive fluids such as acid into the well to enhance formation fluid production.
During the well treatment process, lines from large pumps will be connected to the wellhead to pump the treatment fluid through the wellhead and down the tubing. The treatment fluid can be damaging to the interior of the bore of the wellhead. Acids may be corrosive, and slurries with proppants can cause erosion of the wellhead bore. To avoid damage, isolation tools have been used to isolate the bore of the wellhead. A typical isolation tool has a lubricator housing that mounts to the upper end of the wellhead. A tubular mandrel with a piston is located in the housing. After the housing is installed on the wellhead, the operator opens the wellhead master valve and applies hydraulic pressure to the piston to force the mandrel downward. The lower end of the mandrel will extend through the bore of the wellhead and sealingly into the tubing. A treatment line is connected to the upper end of the lubricator housing for delivering the fluid through the mandrel and into the tubing.
While workable, one disadvantage is that the upper end of the lubricator housing can be quite high because the housing has to be at least as long as the mandrel. The mandrel has to be long enough to extend completely through the wellhead into the tubing. Connecting the treatment line to the top of the housing is difficult.
Also, the nozzles located at the lower ends of prior art isolation tools do not adequately protect the production tubing from excessive wear. With high flow rates, the nozzles direct the fluid outward at high velocities which can wear the inside of the tubing, particularly if the injection fluid has solids contained therein.