text
stringlengths 2
806k
| meta
dict |
|---|---|
This invention relates to generator rotors and specifically, to the repair of generator rotors that have experienced fretting damage and/or cracks in the rotor teeth located at the butt joints of the axially aligned rotor wedges.
Conventional dynamoelectric machines, such as generators used with gas and steam turbines, employ forged rotors of magnetic material into which radial slots are machined for receiving the conductive turns of field windings which are interconnected such as to produce a desired magnetic flux pattern. Typically, included in such conventional rotor slots are creepage blocks at both the top and bottom ends of the slot as well as coil slot wedges for resisting the radially outward forces exerted on the windings when the rotor is operational.
The slot wedges, which are generally dovetail shaped, are used to maintain the copper coils in place while the rotor is spinning at, for example, 3600 revolutions per minute. In the prior art such coil slot wedges were normally 6 to 12 inches long with a number of such wedges being required for each coil slot, particularly in the longer rotors with high electrical ratings. In an effort to decrease the number of parts that are required for assembly as well as increasing the overall speed of such assembly, full length wedges have been used in certain applications. For other applications, tolerances preclude the use of full length wedges and, in these cases, two or more wedges are used in each rotor slot. Cracks have been found, however, in the radial slot walls of several generators, at the butt joint between adjacent rotor wedges, apparently due to fretting damage found at the ends of steel wedges. If allowed to remain in the rotor, these cracks can grow and potentially cause a catastrophic failure of the rotor.
In the past, repairs to cracked generator rotor teeth have involved removing the damaged rotor tooth material. These repairs, however, have not done anything additional to eliminate the future occurrence of additional fretting fatigue damage.
It is also known to use aluminum rotor wedges in certain generator rotors, but these have not previously been recognized in the art as useful for the elimination of fretting fatigue.
One prior solution to the fretting fatigue problem was to machine away the damaged tooth material and to replace the multiple original short steel rotor pole wedges with a single, full-length aluminum wedge. As already mentioned above, however, there are many generator rotors that cannot make use of full length wedges and require the continued use of plural shorter wedges with original dimensions. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Prescribed daily dosage amounts for fiber are often very high, requiring the patient to administer the fiber or fiber composition several times per day. While their benefits are well known to the consuming public, the unpleasant fibrous mouthfeel and texture of products containing dietary fiber have resulted in reluctance of patients to comply with prescribed dosages.
Patient compliance with prescribed drug therapies is also a problem particularly when the drug has an unpleasant taste, after-taste or gritty mouthfeel. Drugs such as cholestryamine and potassium chloride are known to taste unpleasant. The prior art has disclosed products to mask the taste of these drugs, but the products themselves often suffer from their own unpleasant tastes.
The trend, therefore, in patient use of the prior art products containing fiber or drugs has been to deviate from the prescribed dosage or frequency of dosage, thereby diminishing the effectiveness of the therapy.
Two patents which disclose palatable drug formulations use coacervation techniques to combine cholestyramine with modified celluloses. U.S. Patent 3,974,272 shows oral palatable formulations containing aqueous media and cholestryamine. A method of treating hypercholesterolemia is claimed. Chewable products containing cellulosic/gum colloids are disclosed.
U.K. Patent 1,446,352 concerns palatable compositions useful for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia and biliary cirrhosis. The invention provides a liquid composition containing "coacervate of cholestyramine with a cellulose hydrocolloid" derivative. By the term "coacervate" is meant the coagulation of two hydrophilic substances of opposite charge. Representative hydrocolloids are methyl and ethyl cellulose, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose and hydroxypropyl cellulose. A water-insoluble dispersing agent, e.g., a substituted carboxymethylstarch, is optional. In making the composition, 1 part by weight of hydrocolloid is combined with 4 to 10 parts of cholestyramine by dry mixing and passing through a No. 80 U.S. standard mesh screen. The resulting powder is then mixed with a liquid to form a coacervate which can be orally administered.
With respect to dietary fiber, numerous attempts to mask the fibrous mouthfeel have been tried. Various baked products, granola-type product, cereals and snack-food products have attempted to incorporate fiber in confectionery systems. These products are generally high in caloric value and relatively low in dietary fiber. The objective of the prior art has been to attempt to conceal the unpleasant taste and texture of the fiber by using various materials such as fats, polyhydric alcohols, sugar solids or starch. While the objective is achieved to some degree, these materials increase the caloric value and dilute the effective dose. High amounts of fiber, e.g., amounts greater than about 5%, typically were dry-tasting with an unpleasant fibrous mouthfeel.
Fiber products which are specifically intended for bowel normalization and related disorders include those which are slurried in water. With respect to the prior art attempts to make a fiber product when is added to water and drunk as a slurry, the fiber tended to clump together, forming slimy, unpalatable masses. These fiber clumps were comprised of hydrated hydrocolloids, e.g., pysillium. High amounts of excipients were necessary to minimize clumps. These excipients or dispersing aids were generally carbohydrate or fat materials such as sugar, dextrose and the like, which are high in caloric value.
Conventionally, fiber is incorporated into edible substances as fine powder. There are several reasons for this. Fine powdered fiber is less apt to form "fish-eye" clumps when hydrated, e.g., clumps having a dry center and wet surface. Furthermore, the purification of fiber often involves steps which reduce the particle size of fiber. Few soluble dietary fibers, with the exception of guar gum, hydrate sufficiently or uniformly unless the particle size is fine. Fine particles are, however, difficult to handle and process and products containing above 10 to 15% dietary fiber have unpalatable and fibrous textures.
It is well known that the functionality and effectiveness of fiber and certain drugs such as ion exchange resins is dependent on the active surface area. Fine particles achieve the desired therapeutic effects more effectively than course particles because the former have a higher surface area to weight ratio, e.g., a higher active surface. For example, in the case of ion exchange resins, e.g., cholestyramine, a greater surface area allows enhanced adsorption of bile acids, increased ion exchange, as well as other surface phenomena. In the case of fiber, increased surface area allows for increased adsorption of, and combination with, liquids, body metabolites and the like. The result is increased bulk and swelling upon adsorption which is therapeutically desirable.
While course substrate particles do not have sufficient effective surface area to be as effective as the finer particles, finer particles also suffer from certain handling, processing, and formulation problems. The finer particles, having a larger total surface area than courser particles, tend to be organoleptically perceived as too dry or dusty, and in the case of certain fibers a pasty taste results. These organoleptic characteristics are undesirable. Additionally, when fine particles are added in therapeutic amounts to a delivery matrix, e.g, a confectionery formulation, the fine particles tend to disrupt the continuous phase characteristics of the final product. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
An A/C condenser of an automotive vehicle can be damaged by stones and other road debris if not properly protected. Some protection devices in present use have not performed adequately. Others have been mounted on the fascia of the vehicle. Because different vehicles often have different fascias, a protection device mounted on a facia has to be custom made to fit each different fascia design. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Technology
The technology presented herein relates to a storage medium having a game program stored therein and a game apparatus and more particularly, to drawing processing of images in a virtual game space.
2. Description of the Background Art
In recent years, as computers included in game systems have grown powerful, three-dimensional games utilizing three-dimensional computer graphics technique are on the increase. In a three-dimensional game, objects such as player objects and landscape objects which are composed of polygons are disposed in a three-dimensional game space and a view of the game space is displayed as a three-dimensional game screen image.
Here, as one of conventional screen image displaying methods, a method in which an image, such as a monochrome image, whose color information is changed so as to be different from an image normally displayed is used will be described. For example, there are a plurality of worlds in a virtual game space, which are scenes in a game (hereinafter, referred to as worlds). One of the plurality of worlds is a “monochrome world” in which there set are only black-and-white pixels. In this case, objects in worlds other than the “monochrome world” are displayed as color images and objects in the “monochrome world” are all displayed as monochrome images. A difference between the “monochrome world” and other worlds is represented by making all objects in the “monochrome world” black-and-white (for example, see Famitsu Weekly, ENTERBRAIN INC. a September 9th edition, pages 274 to 275).
However, the above-mentioned screen displaying method conventionally has a problem as described below. In the above-mentioned “monochrome world”, a monochrome screen image is simply displayed and only a player object is colored, resulting in a monotonous representation. Further, since a background is a monochrome screen image, it is difficult to gain a sense of distance and it is difficult for a player to grasp a position of the player object in a virtual game space. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Prior Art
In winches used on sailing boats for handling sheets, or other lines, it is common to use a winch in which a lever, or the like, is inserted in top of the winch drum and, either directly or through reduction gears, can be operated to rotate the drum. This type of winch can, with difficulty, be operated by one man, however, for fast and efficient action two men are required, one to operate the winch handle and one to maintain the line in frictional engagement with the winch drum.
In larger sailing craft, types of winches called coffee-grinders or grinders, are quite often used. These types of winches are normally operated by two men who operate crank handles to rotate the winch drum which necessitates a third man to handle the sheets or levers.
Winches operable by leg power have in the past been developed, however, such winches have used rotatable bicycle-type pedal assemblies for motive power. This type of driving assembly has not been entirely successful as the bicycle-type drive results in dead spots where the crank arms are generally in line with the direction of thrust of the legs.
This type of winch, however, does leave a winch operator's hands free so that he can drive the winch with his legs and at the same time handle the line wrapped around the winch drum. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The present invention relates to a test strip supply apparatus and an analyzer using the same, and more particularly to a test strip supply apparatus and analyzer which are effective in analyzing samples from the living body, such as urine and blood, by using test strips each having reaction layers impregnated with reagents.
Test strips are often used in medical examination in hospitals so that urine or blood samples can be simply examined for a plurality of analytical items. Each test strip comprises an elongate sheet-like strip made of plastic or the like onto which a plurality of reaction layers impregnated with reagents are clung.
One example of known automatic analyzers using such test strips is disclosed in JP, A, 61-91571. In this prior art, an arm having a test strip gripper is moved between a test strip supply mechanism, a sample table including sample containers which are placed on the table and in which test strips are to be dipped, and a photometric mechanism, thereby performing photomerry on each test strip which has developed colors in the reaction layers. The test strip supply mechanism supplies the test strips one by one to a position where the arm starts carrying the test strip. The test strip supply mechanism disclosed in JP, A, 61-91571 includes a hopper provided with the bottom movable transversely and each test strip is sent out of the hopper when the bottom is moved with respect to a hopper body in which the test strips are put beforehand. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a power transmission mechanism, and more particularly to a programmable power transmission mechanism, which includes a small-size servomotor that cooperates with a power source to rotate a rotating shaft in two directions.
2. Description of the Related Art
Due to the need for automation of mechanical devices, some power sources, such as electrical motors, hydraulic motors, hydraulic cylinders, pneumatic cylinders, etc, are used in a bulky machine that requires a comparatively large power output, e.g. a plastic injection molding machine or a press machine. However, electrical motors or hydraulic motors are capable of unidirectional rotation only. Although a large-size servomotor can offer a large power output to rotate an object in two rotational directions, it is relatively expensive.
An object of this invention is to provide a power transmission mechanism, which includes a small-size programmable servomotor that cooperates with a power source so as to transmit torque from the power source, thereby rotating a rotating shaft in two directions.
According to this invention, a programmable power transmission mechanism includes first and second torque output units, each of which has a primary driving gear. When a power source rotates an input gear in one direction, the two primary driving gears rotate in two opposite directions. At this time, a motor shaft of a small-size servomotor can rotate in a first direction so that torque is transmitted from the input gear to a rotating shaft via the first torque output unit. Alternatively, the motor shaft can rotate in a second direction that is opposite to the first direction so that torque is transmitted from the input gear to the rotating shaft via the second torque output unit. As such, the first and second torque output units can drive the rotating shaft to rotate in two opposite directions. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The following description relates to electronic signatures. An electronic signature can be used to authenticate the contents of an electronic document by the signer, similar to a manual signature handwritten in ink. Electronic signatures are also used when electronically transmitting documents or messages, to identify the sender and authenticate the message data.
Conventional electronic signatures use public-key encryption. Public key cryptography uses public-private key pairs for creating an electronic signature, electronic signature verification and encryption and decryption of data for security during electronic transmission. A public key owned by an individual receiving the data (the “recipient”) is used by a sender to encrypt the data. The recipient then uses the recipient's corresponding private key to decrypt the data. In order to encrypt the data, the sender must have access to the recipient's public key. Alternatively, a private key owned by the sender can be used to encrypt the data, and the recipient then uses the sender's public key to decrypt the data, and therefore requires access to the sender's public key.
When electronically signing data, a sender signs the data using the sender's private key. This operation can involve using the private key to encrypt a “cryptographic hash” of the data that is being signed, and then making available to the recipient the signed data and the encrypted hash. The recipient verifies the signature by computing a hash over the data using the sender's public key, decrypting the encrypted hash of the signature and comparing the two hashes. If the hashes match, then the data is authenticated.
Typically, a public key for another individual (the sender, for example) is obtained by obtaining an individual's public key certificate directly or indirectly from that individual. A certificate is an electronic data object including a public key, and can be issued by a trusted third party, such as a certificate authority, that verifies the identity of the certificate holder. The certificate can also include the name of the certificate authority and the name of the individual or entity for whom the certificate is issued. The recipient of an electronically signed document can verify the identity of the sender (signer) by verifying the certificate of the sender. A public key certificate for someone else can be obtained in a number of ways, for instance, the certificate can be found in a searchable database on a server, or the certificate owner can include the certificate as an attachment to an e-mail message sent to a recipient. A corresponding private key certificate must be kept secret; for example, the certificate can be protected by a password or other organizational measures. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for the automatic engagement of the feed movement and of the return movement of the slide of a boring head.
2. Description of Related Art
In machine tools, boring heads and facing heads are used, which consist essentially of a displaceable tool slide which accommodates the tool for the chip removal.
The description of a boring head or a facing head for a known boring head of the U-MATIC construction type, which is manufactured by the assignee, can be obtained from the "Operating instructions" from 1988 which relate to boring heads of the types U70, U95 and U125. In this exemplary embodiment, only a feed movement can be carried out by the tool accommodating slide. After the end stop for limiting the feed movement of the tool has been reached, the return movement of the slide must be initiated by the use of a key. In this connection the key is inserted into a recess of an operating device of the boring head in order to bring about, by means of a rotary movement of the device, the return movement of the tool slide. For this reversal process, interruption of the rotary movement of the boring and facing head is unavoidable.
It is obvious that the known boring head cannot be used in modern machining centres, as with these machine tools there is no possibility of engaging by manual operation a return movement of the slide.
From a WOHLHAUPTER brochure, "Machining applications using the APD automatic facing head", publication number 120382, a further boring and facing head has become known. In this known head it is possible to automatically trigger a feed movement and a return movement of the radial slide. The known head has a projecting arm which is provided with a connection coupling which must be brought into work connection with a special connection point provided to this end on the machine tool. By these means the transfer of an air impulse becomes possible, in order to bring about the necessary control processes for the reversal of the direction of movement of the tool slide .of the boring head.
The disadvantage of this known boring head is that, in addition to a connection point in the body of the machine tool, which connection point must be connected to a compressed air source, precise control of the compressed air impulse must also be carried out, in order to thus initiate the reversal of the direction of movement of the tool slide at a desired point.
From U.S. Pat. No. 4,637,285 a further boring and facing head has become known, which has an automatic device for the control of the feed movement and of the return movement of the slide. This head not only has an extraordinarily expensive mechanical construction, but there are also operating means, for the control of the movement of the tool slide, provided on the outside of the head. Furthermore, it is not possible with this known device to carry out a boring process with continuous feed movement. In the described exemplary embodiment according to U.S. Pat. No. 4,637,285, the feed of the tool is carried out in steps, and so the tool is, for example, indexed to the next position after four revolutions. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Numerous advances have been made in both the classification and prognosis of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) based on recent molecular observations. While the inherent heterogenous nature of AML was initially described using the French-American-British classification, the discoveries of unique chromosomal translocations, gene amplification and mutations and their effects on prognosis and response to therapy have resulted in new and more clinically relevant classification systems. Despite these advances, the mainstay for AML treatment has remained chemotherapy. Targeted therapy has played a role in the treatment of selective AML subtypes. Treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) with pharmacologic concentrations of trans-retinoic acid (tRA) results in 90% of the patients achieving a complete remission. This dramatic response of APL cells to high concentrations of tRA is due to the presence of a unique t(15:17) reciprocal translocation resulting in the generation of a promyelocytic leukemia (PML)-retinoic acid nuclear receptor (RAR)α fusion product which, even in the presence of physiologic concentrations of tRA, displays increased binding to co-repressors and induces maturation arrest at the promyelocyte stage. Exposure of these cells to micromolar concentrations of tRA results in the disassociation of PML-RAR from the co-repressors, enhancing its binding by co-activators with the subsequent initiation of gene transcription. Unfortunately, tRA efficacy is restricted to APL with no activity demonstrated in the other AML subtypes. Moreover, with tRA inducing its own catabolism, maintenance therapy may be ineffective with time. New targeted agents including fms-related tyrosine kinase receptor (FLT-3) and farnesyltransferase inhibitors are being evaluated as potential therapeutic modalities for the treatment of AML.
Adamantyl-substituted retinoid-related (ARR) molecules are a unique class of compounds which have been found to induce apoptosis in a large number of tumor types, many of which display resistance to classical retinoids such as tRA. The mechanism(s) utilized by the ARRs in the induction of cell death is not clear. 6-[3-(1-Adamantyl)-4-hydroxyphenyl]-2-naphthalenecarboxylic acid (CD437/AHPN) while initially determined to be a selective activator of the retinoic acid receptors (RARs) β and γ, has been found in numerous studies to inhibit cell growth and induce apoptosis in a variety of malignant cell types utilizing a RAR and retinoid X receptor (RXR)-independent mechanism. In addition, 4-[3-(1-adamantyl)-4-hydroxyphenyl]-3-chlorocinnamic acid (3-Cl-AHPC) which binds to the RARs but does not activate the RARs or RXRs is a potent inducer of apoptosis of AML cells in vitro. Recent reports suggest that the novel nuclear receptor, the small nuclear heterodimer partner (SHP, NR0B2), is involved in the induction of apoptosis by the ARRs.
Despite the reports cited above there is currently a need for additional chemical agents that are useful for inducing apoptosis and/or for treating cancer and in particular for treating leukemias. There is also a need for apoptosis inducers and anticancer agents that have enhanced activity or that have improved pharmacologic properties such as increased solubility or better bioavailability. There is also a need for apoptosis inducers and/or anticancer agents that are less toxic or that have an enhanced therapeutic window. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a color filter substrate, an electrophoretic display (“EPD”) device having the color filter substrate, and a method of manufacturing the color filter substrate. More particularly, the present invention relates to a color filter substrate capable of enhancing reflecting ratio and color reproducibility, an EPD device having the color filter substrate, and a method of manufacturing the color filter substrate.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional EPD device has a reflecting type structure which displays images by reflecting light applied externally of the EPD device.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a conventional EPD device.
Referring to FIG. 1, the EPD device includes negatively charged white ink particles 1, positively charged black ink particles 2, for example, microcapsules 5 encapsulating transparent organic fluids 3 and binders combining the microcapsules 5, which are disposed between two electrodes.
When an electric field is applied to the two electrodes, the white ink particles and the black particles move toward opposite directions to display black or white images. That is, external light applied to the EPD device is reflected by the white ink particles 1 which moves toward an eye, so that images are displayed.
The EPD devices have a high reflectance and a high contrast regardless of the viewing direction. Thus, a screen of the EPD device is as comfortable to watch as a paper sheet. Since each microcapsule is stable in either a black or a white state, each microcapsule maintains the black or white state without maintaining a voltage across the electrodes. Accordingly, power consumption of the EPD device is lower in comparison with that of other display devices. In addition, the EPD device may be manufactured at a low cost since the EPD devices do not require polarizers, alignment layers, liquid crystal, etc., which are expensive requisites for liquid crystal display (“LCD”) devices. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Imaging of human organs plays a critical role in diagnosis of multiple diseases. This is especially true for the human retina, where the presence of a large network of blood vessels and nerves make it a near-ideal window for exploring the effects of diseases that harm vision (such as diabetic retinopathy seen in diabetic patients, cytomegalovirus retinitis seen in HIV/AIDS patients, glaucoma, and so forth) or other systemic diseases (such as hypertension, stroke, and so forth). Advances in computer-aided image processing and analysis technologies are essential to make imaging-based disease diagnosis scalable, cost-effective, and reproducible. Such advances would directly result in effective triage of patients, leading to timely treatment and better quality of life. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Catheters are generally tubular medical devices configured for insertion into canals, vessels, passageways, lumens, or other suitable body cavities (e.g., to deliver energy to target tissue, to permit injection and/or withdrawal of fluids, to keep a passage open, etc.). Many advanced catheters are equipped with sophisticated therapeutic assemblies at distal end portions that are configured for delivery to various target treatment sites within the body. Such therapeutic assemblies are often delicate and complex components that require careful handling.
One example of such a device is a catheter treatment device having a multi-electrode array movable between a delivery or low-profile state (e.g., a generally straight shape) and a deployed state (e.g., a radially expanded, generally spiral/helical shape). The electrodes or energy delivery elements carried by the array can be configured to deliver energy (e.g., electrical energy, radio frequency (RF) electrical energy, pulsed electrical energy, thermal energy) to a target treatment site after being advanced via catheter along a percutaneous transluminal path (e.g., a femoral artery puncture, an iliac artery and the aorta, a radial artery, or another suitable intravascular path). The multi-electrode array can be sized and shaped so that the electrodes or energy delivery elements contact an interior wall of the target artery when the array is in the deployed (e.g., spiral/helical) state within the artery. The multi-electrode array of the catheter treatment device can be particularly delicate, and can be susceptible to damage during shipping and handling if not packaged appropriately. Conventional catheter packaging generally includes a sheath that contains the catheter within its internal lumen contained in long, cumbersome boxes that allow catheters to be shipped in a straight configuration. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Modern aircraft can include a data network that includes a number of transmitting systems that transmit data over the data network to a number of different receiving systems that consume the data. Typically, each transmitting system is directly coupled to one or more receiving systems via direct wired connections to each of the receiving systems so that each transmitting system can transmit data over a wire to the receiving systems that it is coupled to. As such, any receiving system that wants to receive data from one of the transmitting systems has to be directly wired to that transmitting system to receive data from that transmitting system.
One drawback of using direct wired connections between each transmitting system and each receiving system is that the transmitting systems and receiving systems can be located throughout the aircraft. For example, some of the transmitting systems can be located relatively far away from the receiving systems that they are coupled to (e.g., one system may be located in the front of the aircraft and the other may be located in the back end of the aircraft). When a receiving system is located a great distance away from the transmitting systems (or vice-versa), the wire runs needed to wire the receiving system to each transmitting systems can be significantly long. This not only adds cost and weight to the aircraft, but also significantly increases manufacturing and maintenance complexity.
For safety reasons, an aircraft is usually designed to include one or more redundant versions of each transmitting system and one or more redundant versions of the primary data network that is used to couple each of the redundant transmitting systems to corresponding receiving systems. When redundant data networks are employed, the wiring burden increases even more. In addition, because each redundant data network(s) is usually identical to the primary data network, the presence of redundant data networks does not necessarily ensure that they will always be available as a backup. For example, common mode faults may impact both the primary data network and the redundant data network(s) such that both may have the same operational issue(s) and do not operate as intended (e.g., a software bug that impacts both networks).
There is a need for an aircraft that includes an improved data network for communicating critical data to various receiving systems located throughout the aircraft. It would be desirable to eliminate at least some of the wiring needed in such a data network. For instance, it would be desirable to reduce the amount and length of wiring that is required to communicatively couple each of the various transmitting systems to each of the various receiving systems. It would also be desirable to provide alternative paths for communication of critical data between the various transmitting systems and the various receiving systems. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) include a matrix of programmable logic blocks and a network of reconfigurable bus lines through which the programmable logic blocks can be inter-wired. The programmable logic blocks can be configured to perform a range of different functions from simple circuit logic, such as AND and OR operations, to more complex combinational functions. FPGAs can be reprogrammed for desired applications or functionality requirements after manufacturing. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to hose fitting assemblies; and, more particularly, to detachable reusable fitting assemblies for fluid connection to a reinforced hose.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In my U.S. Pat. No. 3,752,506, I disclose a fitting assembly for reinforced hose. This assembly provides a fluid tight seal with reinforced hose having an inner fluid sealing tube and an outer tubular reinforcement. The fitting assembly disclosed in my patent is of the lip-seal detachable and reusable type and includes a nipple having a received in the fluid sealing tube. The nipple also has an integral enlarged diameter portion, and a shoulder portion joining the cylindrical portions, the enlarged portion outer surface having an annular O-ring recess therein axially adjacent the shoulder. An annular connector wire recess is provided on the surface thereof and spaced axially away from the shoulder. A swivel adapter having external threads, is provided, the adapter including a nut portion with an inner diameter of the sleeve portion so as to define an internal annular shoulder. The inner diameter of the nut portion is only slightly larger than the external diameter of the enlarged portion of the nipple for receiving the enlarged portion in snug relation, the inner surface of the nut portion having an annular connector wire recess therein. A wire connector is disposed in the annular wire recesses when in registry to prevent relative axial movement between the adapter and nipple but permitting relative rotation therebetween. An O-ring is disposed in the O-ring recess, and a socket receives therein the adapter sleeve portion and the nipple elongated cylindrical portion. The socket has an internally threaded section adjacent one end for threaded engagement with the adapter and an intermediate section with a diameter greater than the external diameter of the adapter sleeve portion so as to define a second annular space receiving the hose outer tubular reinforcement and a portion of the hose inner tubing. A remaining section of the adapter has an axially rearwardly decreasing diameter and means for gripping the reinforcement when the socket is axially advanced by threaded engagement with the sleeve thereby forcing a portion of the hose inner tube into the first annular space between the sleeve and nipple and forcing a portion of the hose inner tube and the reinforcement into the second annular space between the sleeve and the socket.
Although a certain amount of misalignment can be compensated for in the fitting assembly disclosed in my patent due to the rotation or swiveling of parts, there is no linear adjustment. Thus, there is a need for allowing the nipple of my patented swivel assembly to move in and out in the direction of its longitudinal axis thus allowing like linear adjustment of the final hose assembly. Such feature would make the fitting assembly of my patent quite versatile since the combination of the swivel and limited linear adjustment would compensate for many misalignment problems. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
One of the widely used class of catalysts for the reaction of polyols with amides or esters is tin-based catalysts. However, tin-based materials are now banned in coating materials in some regions such as Europe. Alternative catalysts for the reaction of polyols with amides or esters would therefore be desirable. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Professional and amateur athletes alike strive to obtain a level of athletic ability. Unfortunately, however, their chosen exercise routines may not allow the athlete to excel to their full potential. Further, individuals without experienced coaches or trainers are even less likely to reach their full potential. Thus, merely following a standard exercise routine will not assist the individual to improve certain performance characteristics that may be important. For example, an individual who desires to play football for a professional sports team may have adequate speed to be considered a possible member of the team or league; however, his responsiveness to a sport or fitness-related response may be below acceptable ranges. Blindly following an improper exercise routine may not improve his responsiveness.
Further, coaches and recruiters need to quickly determine the performance characteristics of several individuals in a relatively short period of time. Although they may receive recordings or statistics of possible players, most likely do not provide an accurate evaluation into pertinent characteristics, such as speed, responsiveness, quickness, and power, among others. Further, statistics may be fabricated or inaccurate. Even when attempting to accurately measure performance characteristics, high levels of uncertainty may be present given the unknown condition of timers, equipment, and other variables. Further, each athlete's performance may have been measured with different timers, equipment, and/or environmental conditions.
Certain systems and methods may provide certified ratings of athletes; however, current systems and methods are expensive and time-intensive. For example, current systems and methods require training people to administer a plurality of testing protocols. Further, given the costs and time-intensive process of training, calibrating equipment, traveling to various locations, and conducting the analysis, the process is cost and time prohibitive for many athletes.
Further, amateur athletes may not pursue such testing or analysis. This is unfortunate, because improvements in athletic performance, even for non-competitive individuals, tend to encourage continued exercise. Unfortunately, without proper analysis and testing, an individual may not improve desired athletic qualities. Further, relying only on physical improvements obtained from exercise often results in failure as many physical improvements takes several weeks or months to appear, and thereby provide insufficient motivation to maintain a exercise program. For example, it may take an extended period of time for an individual to physically notice what qualities are improving and what qualities are not improving. Furthermore, without accurate systems and methods for measuring their performance, the individual may incorrectly evaluate one or more performance characteristics. Therefore, for these and other reasons, there is a need for improved systems and methods. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image-processing apparatus and an image-processing method that retrieves an image that is similar to an image that is inputted thereto.
2. Description of the Related Art
A variety of technologies for retrieving a similar image have been proposed. For example, there is a method of dividing an image into a plurality of blocks, and employing an image characteristic amount, i.e., a representative color, of each respective block, to perform a pattern match, thereby using a position information of the color to retrieve the similar image, e.g., Cited Patent Reference 1. The method disclosed according to the Cited Patent Reference 1, however, requires calculating the characteristic amount from the image overall at the time that the retrieval is conducted, and consequently, the retrieval becomes complicated in such a circumstance as when a specified object is cut out from within the image, or when a background color changes, for example.
A method has accordingly been proposed that uses a localized characteristic amount, i.e., a local characteristic amount, rather than the characteristic amount of the image overall, to retrieve the similar image. Such a method commences by extracting a characteristic point, i.e., a local characteristic point, from the image. The method continues by calculating a characteristic amount with regard to the local characteristic point, i.e., the local characteristic amount, from the local characteristic point and image information in a vicinity thereof. The retrieval of the image is performed by matching the respective local characteristic quantities.
A method has been proposed that is capable of retrieval with a high degree of precision with regard to such a technique as the foregoing that uses the local characteristic amount, even when an image is rotated, by defining the local characteristic amount as an amount that is configured of a plurality of elements that are invariant by rotation, e.g., Cited Non-patent Reference 1. In a similar fashion, there is also a method that uses the local characteristic amount to match a position of the image by defining the local characteristic amount as the amount that is configured of the plurality of elements that are invariant by rotation, e.g., Cited Patent Reference 2.
The Cited Patent Reference 1, the Cited Patent Reference 2, and the Cited
Non-patent Reference 1 are as follows:
Cited Patent Reference 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 08-249349. Cited Patent Reference 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 09-44665. Cited Non-patent Reference 1: C. Schmid and R. Mohr, “Local grayvalue invariants for image retrieval,” IEEE Trans. PAMI., Vol.19, No.5, pp. 530-535, 1997.
With regard to the method disclosed in either the Cited Patent Reference 2 or the Cited Non-patent Reference 1, however, in fact, a fluctuation arises in the local characteristic amount that is defined as being invariant by rotation according to the present method, the fluctuation being caused by a noise that emerges when the image is rotated. FIG. 10 depicts an example of the fluctuation in the local characteristic amount that is defined as being invariant by rotation. FIG. 10 depicts the fluctuation in the local characteristic amount that is defined in the Cited Non-patent Reference 1 as a scatter diagram. The diagram plots seven elements of the local characteristic amount that are calculated at a common point when an image is rotated from 0 degrees through to 90 degrees, at 15 degree intervals. A problem that results from the fluctuation in the local characteristic amount that is apparent in FIG. 10 is deterioration in the precision of the image retrieval. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
This invention is concerned with a novel one-piece shelf made from a single piece of plastic of uniform density which is divided into rectangular sections by hinge elements so that the piece of plastic may be shipped flat and the sections may be folded or erected to form a shelf at the point of installation of the shelf.
An object of this invention is a hinge element for a piece of plastic of uniform density which hinge element is formed by a miter cut in the piece of plastic which cut has a depth less than the thickness of the sheet of plastic.
Another object of this invention is a one-piece shelf formed from a single piece of plastic of uniform density which is formed with rectangular sections which ar folded about fold lines to form an integral wall attachment member.
Yet another object of this invention is a one-piece shelf formed from a single piece of plastic of uniform density which is divided into rectangular sections by fold lines with some of the rectangular sections being foldable into a nose portion at the front of the shelf.
Accordingly, the invention relates to an article adapted to be erected to form a shelf or the like which may be attached to a wall or other vertical support. This article includes a generally planar member divided by longitudinally-spaced, laterally-extending hinge elements into rectangular sections. The rectangular sections are foldable about the hinge elements to form a wall attachment member and a shelf member of a shelf. The wall attachment member includes at least four of the rectangular sections folded into a hollow tube. The shelf member includes at least one of the rectangular sections with the shelf member being supported by the hollow tube. A return or nose portion may be formed at the front of the shelf by folded rectangular sections. Threaded fasteners, rivets or welding with heat are used to extend through the shelf member and into the hollow tube to hold the assembly together and to support it on the wall or other vertical support.
In a novel aspect of this invention, the hinge elements are formed by miter cuts in the planar plastic member, each of which cuts is not as deep as the thickness of the sheet of plastic so that each cut leaves a thin web of plastic to function as a hinge. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
This invention relates to a method for extracting gas emanating from a landfill. In particular, the invention relates to a method for determining the amount of gas emanating from the landfill and a method for optimizing collection of the gas.
Generally, a landfill is formed by depositing municipal solid waste and many other types of trash in a canyon or pit (or even on flat ground) and depositing soil on top of the trash. Usually, there are alternating layers of trash and soil, one atop another. The waste and soil layers are individually and collectively porous media through which gas may readily flow. The waste itself, including organic compounds such as cellulose, decomposes microbially. At first, this decomposition is aerobic and produces end products which are primarily carbon dioxide and water. After a while, usually ranging from a few weeks to several months, the waste consumes essentially all free oxygen and begins decomposing anaerobically. Then, microbes break down cellulose and other organic wastes and produce methane (CH.sub.4) and carbon dioxide (CO.sub.2) in substantially equal amounts. The methane gas is useful for fuel.
If free oxygen, such as in air, re-enters the waste, decomposition reverts to an aerobic process, and methane production ceases until essentially all of the free oxygen is again consumed. In general, and within limits, the longer the duration of aerobic decomposition, the longer the recovery time for methanogenesis (methane production). Introduction of air not only delays methanogenesis but also consumes trash that might otherwise have been converted to methane. Moreover, when nitrogen mixes with landfill gas, it is very difficult to purify the methane as may be required for some end uses. The normally occurring carbon dioxide can be removed efficiently, but processes required to remove nitrogen (e.g. cryogenics) are very costly. Air also creates a risk of underground fire and will exacerbate existing fires.
As anaerobic gas production continues, the methane concentration increases in the pores of the trash and soil, and the interstitial gas approaches the composition of the gas produced by the microbial cell itself. The mixture of methane and carbon dioxide (hereinafter "landfill gas" or "LFG") migrates within the landfill by diffusion (concentration-gradient driven mass transport) and advection (pressure-gradient driven mass transport). The LFG moves toward, and eventually saturates, soil and rock layers below and to the sides of the trash. The LFG also moves from the trash through the soil cover to the atmosphere. As the atmosphere is essentially an infinite sink for LFG, LFG keeps escaping along this latter route unless collected. As the gas pressure and LFG concentration increase in the surrounding soils, mass transport to those surrounding soils diminishes and after perhaps a few years, becomes negligible.
As methane is useful for fuel, optimal recovery is desirable. This makes proper collection system design and operation important. A perfect collection system is one which extracts all of the LFG but allows no air intrusion into the waste either by advective or diffusive mass transport. In the absence of an impermeable barrier between the waste and the atmosphere, this cannot be achieved. This is true since diffusion of air into the landfill readily occurs as the pressure regime immediately below the landfill-atmosphere interface approaches atmospheric pressure conditions. Without an impermeable liner, a perfect collection system, therefore, might be considered one which collects all of the LFG but which causes no advective air intrusion.
Common LFG collection systems consist of "wells" connected by pipes to a compressor or blower. Wells are normally vertically-oriented pipes installed in the trash (or in soil which is in pneumatic continuity with the trash). The pipes have perforations or slotted sections at the portions disposed in or near the trash. Alternatively, the wells are horizontal trenches or areas filled with gravel. These trenches or areas may be isolated from the atmosphere by a plastic liner or other impermeable barrier.
None of these common LFG collection systems meets either definition of a perfect collection system as they all admit some amount of air. Since this is the case, and in view of the various reasons for excluding air from the waste during the extraction process, a method is needed to optimally tune the collection system.
To collect LFG, the pressure in the well is reduced below that of the LFG in the landfill. The amount of "pull" exerted by the well on the LFG is controlled by operation of the compressor and/or by flow-controlling valves associated with the wells. Reducing the pressure too much will tend to pull air through the soil cover and into the landfill. However, the requisite amount of pull to cause air intrusion will vary with location of the well due to a variety of factors including unknown local LFG generation rates and the heterogeneities of the waste and soil in the landfill. That is, the LFG concentration, gas pressure, and pneumatic permeability of the porous medium around each well are unknown, spatially heterogeneous, and temporally variable. Therefore, it is difficult to extract all, or even most, of the LFG without locally introducing air into the waste.
The process of controlling flow into the wells is known as "tuning." There are relatively few techniques available for this process. One commonly used technique is to collect and chemically analyze one or more gas samples from the wells for relative concentrations of methane, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and oxygen, or some combination of these gases. When methane concentration is relatively high and nitrogen is relatively low, for example, little or no air may be penetrating the landfill so the tuner increases the LFG extraction rate. When the gas is nitrogen rich and methane poor, when oxygen is in the gas, or when the molecular ratio of carbon dioxide to methane is high signalling substantial amounts of aerobic decomposition, the tuner reduces the extraction rate.
Even assuming that such chemical analysis correctly indicates whether to increase or decrease LFG flow into the well, there is no direct information on how much to increase or decrease flow. Generally, this process is hit-or-miss, especially since the composition of the landfill changes over time. Moreover, changes in LFG composition occur very slowly in response to changes in collection rates. In other words, if the collection rate is increased too much, i.e. sufficiently to introduce air, the resultant reduction in methane and increase in nitrogen in the well may not be detected for several weeks even though air begins to enter the landfill within minutes. If the extraction rate is too low, LFG escapes to the atmosphere, and based on well gas analysis alone, there is no way to tell how much additional gas can be collected by increasing the extraction rate without risking unacceptable atmospheric intrusion.
Another significant problem with LFG collection is determining whether or not the landfill produces sufficient LFG to justify building a gas collection and processing system. Moreover, where a collection system is in place, it is still possible that more gas could be collected if the collection system were to be upgraded. Determining the amount of gas produced can also aid in tuning the collection system, and negotiating energy sales contracts.
Commonly employed testing systems include using a full-scale collection system, a limited collection system with subsequent data extrapolation, waste decay kinetics modeling, laboratory waste decay studies, and tons-in-place estimates. A procedure based upon the cellulose-to-lignin ratio in the waste is sometimes used in conjunction with these other techniques.
Each of these methods suffers from significant drawbacks. For example, using a full-scale collection system is quite reliable but defeats the purpose of determining whether the collection system should be built in the first place. It also tends to be very costly. Where a limited collection system is used, the tester monitors flow rate and methane content of collected gas until they stabilize. This method necessitates extrapolation of the result to the entire landfill, which is very difficult and error-prone due to the heterogeneities of the waste and soil layers. One commonly used extrapolation method, known as the "radius of influence method," involves installing gas pressure monitoring probes radiating outward in one or more directions from a limited number of test wells installed for the purpose. The probes are at substantially the same depth as the slotted LFG intake sections of the wells. In one specific embodiment of this procedure, the tester measures pressures within the probes under non-extraction conditions and then under extraction conditions. In the process, the tester collects landfill gas pressure data from the probes. The tester also determines an extraction rate at which nitrogen begins appearing in the gas and the next lower incremental extraction rate at which there is no nitrogen (the "sustainable extraction rate" ). The pressure measurements so obtained are used to relate the difference in individual probe pressures under extraction and non-extraction conditions to the radial distances of the probes from the wells. The method assumes that at some distance from the well there will be no difference between the extraction and non-extraction probe pressures due to generation of LFG inside that distance sufficient to offset the extraction rate. This distance is taken to be the radius of a circle (the "radius of influence" ), which in turn, is said to define an "area of influence." The total rate of gas production in the landfill is given by the sustainable extraction rate multiplied by the ratio of total landfill area to the "area of influence." This method suffers from many drawbacks and appears to contradict physical laws such as conservation of mass. Because of significant heterogeneities in waste permeability, the approach appears to be unsatisfactory even as an approximation. It can yield total recoverable gas estimates that are incorrect by several orders of magnitude.
In the waste decay kinetics modeling method, the gas generation rate is estimated based on the history of waste disposed at the landfill. The laboratory waste decay study method usually involves taking samples of waste collected during drilling of the wells and attempting to maintain the samples under anaerobic conditions. At a laboratory, the cylinders are placed in a hot water bath and gas generation is monitored for a period of time. In the tons-in-place estimation method, the tester consults reference books or literature to obtain temporal gas yields per unit time and per unit volume or mass of waste in-place, and determines total gas yield based on an estimate of the total amount of waste in the landfill.
In the cellulose-to-lignin ratio method, the tester collects waste samples and determines a concentration of lignin and cellulose, the former being considered a cellulose-associated conservative species and the latter being the primary methane-producing substrate. Based upon concentrations of lignin and cellulose assumed for raw waste, the measured concentrations show what proportion of the original cellulose has decomposed. The tester estimates the total remaining cellulose in the landfill based on the non-decomposed proportions in the sample. The resulting data may be used, for example, to provide decay rate estimates for input to the waste decay kinetics modeling method.
Most, if not all, of these methods suffer from multiple and significant drawbacks including failure to take into account the heterogeneities of the landfill, the absence of proper statistical analysis for providing good confidence interval estimates of LFG production, suspect assumptions about flow and diffusion of gas in the landfill, and possible contradictions of fundamental and immutable physical laws.
In view of the above, there is a substantial need for a more accurate method of estimating LFG production, and a more accurate and faster method for tuning LFG collection systems. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to wireless signal processing apparatus and method. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus and method for receiving and processing a control signal and/or a data signal through a short-range wireless communication.
2. Description of the Related Art
A short-range wireless communication refers to a communication comprising the exchange of information between information processing devices within a relatively short distance, using a radio wave as a transmission medium of information. In the past, a short-range communication was limited to a wired communication that required a wire connection between communication devices. However, due to some merits of a wireless communication, such as mobility, easiness of installation and expansion, etc., a short-range wireless communication has been developed and become widely used in these days.
Some examples of a short-range wireless communication protocol includes Bluetooth, NFC (Near Field Communication), ZigBee, RuBee, a wireless LAN (Local Area Network), and the like. Nowadays, data transmission/reception technologies using these above-mentioned short-range wireless communication protocols have become increasingly popular.
For instance, Bluetooth technology is currently used in several fields such as a Bluetooth-based data transmission, a Bluetooth earphone, a Bluetooth earset, and a Bluetooth-based device control. Nevertheless, there is still much room for expansion toward other fields. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
This invention relates to charge valves for air conditioning systems, and in particular to charge valves that provide extremely low leakage rates.
Air conditioner systems typically include a charge valve positioned on an air conditioner line of the system. A refrigerant fluid is introduced into the system via the charge valve. In the past, charge valves have typically included a valve core that is threaded in place in a valve body. The valve core is depressed or removed for charging operations, and once installed the valve core relies on an elastomeric seal to close the charging passageway. See for example the arrangement disclosed in White U.S. Pat. No. 3,299,648.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/472,260, assigned to the assignee of the present invention, discloses another charge valve that uses a twist-to-open valve that forms a metal to metal seal when closed. This twist-to-open valve is threadedly engaged with the valve body, and rotation of the valve moves it axially with respect to the valve body.
A need presently exists for an improved charge valve that is low in cost, that is simple to operate, and that provides a leak-free seal when closed.
By way of introduction, the charge valves described below include a valve body that defines a bore that is in fluid communication with an air conditioner line via a valve seat. A slide-to-seal valve element is positioned in the bore in an interference fit with the valve body. This valve element is shaped to open the valve at the valve seat when in an opened position and to seal the valve at the valve seat when in a closed position. The interference fit retains the valve element in the closed position without any threaded connection between the valve element and the valve body. A charging passage having an inlet on one side of the valve element and an outlet on the other side of the valve element is positioned to conduct charging fluid across the valve element and through the valve seat when the valve element is in the opened position. Once the air conditioning system has been charged, the valve element is rammed to the closed position, without any substantial rotation, and the interference fit described above maintains the valve element in the closed position.
This section has been provided by way of general introduction, and it is not intended to narrow the scope of the following claims. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a switch, more particularly to a switch that has a rolling conductive ball and that is suitable for mounting on a circuit board for providing triggering signals.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, a jerk-initiated switch 1, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,045,724, is shown to comprise a housing 6, four electric terminal rods 8, and an electrically conductive ball 9.
The housing defines a chamber 65 that has upper and lower tapered portions 652, 651.
Each of the electric terminal rods 8 includes top and bottom end portions 83, 82 received in a respective mounting hole 713 and a respective through hole 613 formed in the housing 6, and a flange 71 between the top and bottom end portions 83, 82.
The electrically conductive ball 9 is disposed in the housing, and is rollable within the chamber 65.
When the switch 1 is in an OFF state, the conductive ball 9 rests in the lower tapered portion 651, and is not in contact with any of the terminal rods 8. When the switch 1 is tilted at 45 degrees, as shown in FIG. 4, the conductive ball 9 rolls to contact the flanges 71 of any two adjacent ones of the terminal rods 8, thereby switching the switch 1 to an ON state.
While the switch 1 can be set to an ON or OFF state by changing the position of the same, the switch 1 cannot be placed in the ON state constantly by rotating the switch 1 continuously about an axis parallel to the terminal rods 8 because the conductive ball 9 tends to move into the upper or lower tapered portion 652, 651 of the chamber 65 from the flanges 71 during rotation.
Moreover, electronic products, such as digital cameras, PDAs, cellular phones, electronic toys, etc., are increasingly being provided with a large number of functions. Consequences of this include the need for circuit boards to be able to provide triggering signals, as well as a high demand for quality. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
For the production of a hollow engine valve, three members thereof, i.e., a valve head portion, a hollow shaft portion, and a shaft end sealing material, are prepared separately, and these three members are finally joined together by welding to obtain a hollow engine valve as a finished product. This technology has so far been performed, as disclosed in Patent Document 1 to be described below. It has also been performed to join a valve head portion and a hollow shaft portion, which has one end sealed, by welding, thereby obtaining a hollow engine valve as a finished product. Sodium is sealed up in or enclosed in a hollow hole of a hollow engine valve for an exhaust valve required to show high-temperature resistance, and takes charge of cooling in regions of the engine valve, where the temperature is particularly high, ranging from the valve head portion to a section of the hollow shaft portion closer to the valve head portion. As the shape of the hollow hole of the hollow engine valve, therefore, a shape having a diameter increased inside the valve head portion, as shown in FIG. 1 of Patent Document 2 to be described later, is more desirable than a simple cylindrical shape as seen in FIGS. 2 and 3 of the Patent Document 1 described later.
With the conventional hollow engine valve, especially, the hollow engine valve for exhaust which is exposed to high temperatures, it has been common practice to use a material showing excellent characteristics involving heat resistance, such as a manganese-based heat resisting steel, or a nickel-based heat resisting steel, in the valve head portion where the temperature is highest; use an ordinary steel material or an ordinary heat resisting steel material for the hollow shaft portion or the shaft end sealing material where the temperature is not so high; and weld the three members, i.e., the valve head portion, hollow shaft portion, and shaft end sealing material, or the two members, i.e., the valve head portion and the hollow shaft portion sealed at one end, thereby constructing a finished product of a hollow engine valve. Alternatively, if particularly excellent heat resistance is required, a method of using a material showing excellent characteristics involving heat resistance for the hollow shaft portion, as for the valve head portion, has been performed.
Essentially, it is ideal to produce the entire hollow engine valve from any of the above-mentioned materials showing characteristics including excellent heat resistance. However, these materials are expensive, hard, and poor in work characteristics or workability. Thus, these materials are used only for the valve head portion where the temperature is particularly high, and an ordinary steel plate is applied to the hollow shaft portion or the shaft end sealing material where the temperature is not very high. With the methods for producing hollow engine valves, therefore, numerous technological developments have been made, particularly, in regard to the method for production of the valve head portion. There are not many cases of using the material showing characteristics including excellent heat resistance for the hollow shaft portion as well. Thus, emphasis will hereinafter be placed on technologies concerned with methods for producing the valve head portion which, in the exhaust valve, needs to use the material showing characteristics including excellent heat resistance and whose forming is difficult.
In the production of the valve head portion of the hollow engine valve, the point of development concentrates on two areas. The first area is a method of producing the leading end diameter-increased section of the valve head portion, and the second area is a technology on a method of providing a hollow hole in the valve head portion. That is, the material used for the valve head portion is excellent in heat resistance, but poor in workability, as mentioned above. Thus, when the leading end diameter-increased section is to be formed, or when the hollow hole is to be provided, a high degree of difficulty in working has to be overcome in comparison with the working of an ordinary steel material. In this connection, various inventions and devices have been accomplished thus far.
In the Patent Document 1, “a hollow valve formed by rolling up a steel plate” does not touch on details of the method for production of the valve head portion, but merely describes “forging”. Since the hollow hole therein is in a cylindrical shape, it is assumed to have been formed using a punch or a drill.
In “a method for production of a Na-filled hollow engine valve” disclosed in the Patent Document 2, “hot plastic working” is described as being used to form the diameter-increased section of the valve head portion, and “hot isostatic pressing” is described as being used to form the hollow hole. It follows, therefore, that “hot forging” forms both of them. In the invention of the Patent Document 2, “a round material of a larger diameter than the diameter of the valve shaft” is described as being used as the material for the valve head portion, and the inner diameter of the hollow hole is described as being initially “larger than the inner diameter of the finished valve hollow portion”. In FIG. 1 of the Patent Document 2, the initial inner diameter of the hollow hole is further increased during the hot forging process of the valve head portion, and the hollow hole increased in diameter is depicted as being provided inside the diameter-increased section of the valve head portion. In the actual forging process, however, it is very difficult to increase the diameter of the hollow hole to a dimension equal to or larger than the inner diameter of the hollow hole initially bored, thereby forming the hollow hole into an appropriate shape. Actually, the hollow hole is not increased in diameter, unlike that depicted in FIG. 1 of the Patent Document 2.
In “a method for production of a Na-filled hollow engine valve” disclosed in Patent Document 3 to be described later, the leading end of a pipe is first forged into a spherical form, and then formed into an umbrella shape, according to the first invention and the second invention of this document. The leading end diameter-increased section of the valve head portion is formed by this method, and this method of forming is hot forging. The difference exists that the hollow pipe remains as such in the first invention, while a highly machinable material is sealed up in the hollow portion in the second invention. The third invention, on the other hand, starts with a pipe having a highly machinable material enclosed in its hollow portion, the pipe having a larger diameter than the diameter of a hollow shaft portion to be formed, and forms one end of the pipe into an umbrella shape, and the other end of the pipe into the shape of a thin pipe. The method of forming is hot forging for both ends.
As far as the formation of the hollow hole is concerned, the first invention has the hollow hole from the start, whereas the second invention and the third invention form the hollow hole by cutting and removing the highly machinable material enclosed in the hollow portion. In all of the first to third inventions, the center of the leading end diameter-increased section of the valve head portion is lacking in the material with high resistance to heat. These inventions, however, adopt a method in which the highly heat resistant material is welded to this central part in the final process, whereby the entire outside of the leading end diameter-increased section is formed as comprising the highly heat resistant material.
In “a method for producing a Na-filled hollow engine valve” disclosed in Patent Document 4 to be described below, the valve head portion is of a conglomerate form (first invention) or in the form of a round bar (second invention), and is characterized by having a shallow hole in an end part thereof joined to the hollow shaft portion. That is, the highly heat resistant material constituting the valve head portion has poor machinability. Thus, only the shallow hole is bored, and the hollow shaft portion is welded to the bored part to form a continuous hollow hole, whereafter the valve head portion is formed into an umbrella shape. The steps of forming the valve head portion are performed by hot forging. Drawbacks characteristic of this method are as follows: The hollow hole bored in the valve head portion is the shallow hole. In the hollow engine valve as the finished product, therefore, the site of welding between the valve head portion and the hollow shaft portion is in the close vicinity of the diameter-increased section of the valve head portion, and is exposed to considerably high temperatures during the operation of the engine. This arouses concern about strength. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Attention has been recently focused on a secondary electron emitter which is used for an electron tube and uses diamond. The reason for this is that the diamond has negative electron affinity, and the diamond has high secondary electron-emission efficiency. One example is reported in “Thin Solid Films 253(1994) p 151.” In the example, the diamond is used as a material for a reflection type secondary electron emitter of which the surface of emission for emitting secondary electrons is the same as the surface of incidence for making primary electrons incident thereon. That is, in the secondary electron emitter, a polycrystalline diamond thin film of which the surface is terminated with hydrogen is formed on a substrate made of Mo, Pd, Ti or AlN or the like, and the emission efficiency of the second electron is improved. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a lubrication means for an internal combustion engine.
More particularly, this invention relates to a lubrication pumping apparatus actuated by one or more reciprocating piston rods to assure lubrication of the crankpin bearing and the wrist pin bearing of an internal combustion engine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many different ways to lubricate the various rotating parts of an internal combustion engine are well known in the art. For example, with internal combustion engines having oil reservoir sumps, lubricating holes are provided in the rod cap of a piston rod to supply lubricant to the rod crankpin bearing of the crankshaft during operation of the engine. These passages typically are transverse to an axis of the crankpin. The openings may be holes drilled through the rod bearing cap or a slot may be provided at the bottom of the rod cap to allow lubricant to pass into the crankpin bearing areas. This method is sufficient to lubricate the rod crankpin bearing where oil in the sump submerges the crankshaft/crankpin as the crankshaft revolves within the engine crankcase or engine block.
There are other methods that force lubricant from a pump within an oil sump of an internal combustion engine to various bearing surfaces. For example, oil is forced through a borehole in the crankshaft into the rod crankpin bearing. These types of engines typically have a motor-driven oil pump that supplies lubricant under pressure to all the bearings.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,280,296 teaches a means to lubricate a rod/crankpin bearing by providing a series of spiral lubricating grooves down the bearing surface of a crankshaft that terminates at the crankshaft flywheel. A port, directed from the spiral lubricating grooves through the crankpin to the interior of the bearing surfaces formed between the crankpin and the rod cap, provides a lubricating path to this bearing, thus providing lubricant to the bearing during operation of the engine. Lubricant is drawn from a sump at the bottom of the crankcase, up the front of the engine to the forward end of the crankshaft and from there down the spiral grooves in the crankshaft to the rod/bearing crankpin. While a means is provided to pump lubricant to a rod/crankpin bearing, there is no means to lubricate the wrist pin connecting the rod to the piston.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,936,748 describes a means for lubricating a two-cycle engine. This invention provides a means to collect oil droplets that separate from a fuel/oil mixture and directs this separated and collected oil to bearing surfaces within the engine. These two-cycle engines depend for their lubrication upon the collection of oil entrained in the stream of gaseous fuel charge (fuel/oil mixture) whereby the lubricant may be selectively directed to critical lubricating points. This patent teaches the utilization of a pressurized lubrication system for two-stroke engines. Collected oil is routed, under pressure, from a crankcase of the engine and is forced into a chamber formed in the crankshaft and, from there, to a port leading from the crankshaft to the rod/crankpin bearings, thus feeding this collected lubricant, separated from the fuel, to this particular bearing.
This patent provides an oil separation system and a separate pump within the crankcase to direct the separated and collected oil to various bearing surfaces, such as the bearing of the crankshaft and the rod/crankpin bearing. There is, however, no means to direct lubricant to the wrist pin bearing.
The present invention goes beyond the state of the art in that a lubricant pumping means is provided by utilizing the reciprocating and circular motion of the piston rod to collect and drive lubricant entrained in a fuel/oil mixture within the crankcase of a two-cycle engine to the crankpin and wrist pin bearings. When the piston moves up its cylinder wall, a partial vacuum is created within the crankcase which draws a mixture of fuel and lubricant into the crankcase chamber. The rod connected between the crankpin of the engine crankshaft and the wrist pin of the piston forms an internal passage that communicates between the crankpin rod bearing and the wrist pin rod bearing. A fuel/oil rod inlet slot is positioned between the crankpin and the wrist pin. The inlet slot is oriented parallel to the shank of the rod. The slot intersects the bore in the rod and communicates between the interior of the crankcase chamber and the interior passage in the rod. Again, as the piston moves up the cylinder, the partial vacuum created within the chamber draws a mixture of fuel and oil into the chamber and, from there, into the inlet slot in the side of the rod transverse to the longitudinal bore in the rod shank. Fuel and oil is "scooped" into the interior of the rod as the rod revolves around the crankshaft flywheel. When the rod rotates clockwise from about the three o'clock position to about the nine o'clock position, fuel is scooped into the inlet slot to the rod interior. As the engine is operating, the interior of the rod eventually fills with lubricant, thus assuring a means to lubricate both the crankpin bearing and the wrist pin bearing from within the interior of the rod while maintaining the temperature of the rod within a safe range (especially during high RPM conditions) to prevent potential catastrophic failure of the rod. Inertial forces generated by the reciprocating piston drives fuel and oil contained within the bore in the rod into the crankpin and wrist pin bearing surfaces under high pressure during engine operation.
Insofar as the inventor is aware, no one has utilized the reciprocating and circular motion of a rod/piston combination to direct lubricant into the interior of a rod to lubricate and cool the crankpin and the wrist pin bearings from within a cavity formed in the rod. These types of bearings are especially subjected to intense heat and frictional loads which, in turn, may catastrophically fail these bearing surfaces under extreme conditions without adequate lubrication and cooling. For example, miniature two-cycle engines typically used in model boats and aircraft are capable of operating in a revolution per minute range between 2,000 and 30,000 RPM's. These types of engines are especially vulnerable to rod failure when operating at high RPM's due to intense heat and sparse lubrication. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Computers, televisions, telephones and other electronic products contain large numbers of essential electronic semiconductor devices. To produce electronic products, hundreds or thousands of semiconductor devices are manufactured in a very small space, using lithography techniques on semiconductor substrates, such as on silicon wafers. Due to the extremely small dimensions involved in manufacturing semiconductor devices, contaminants on the semiconductor substrate material, such as particles of dust, dirt, paint, metal, etc. lead to defects in the end products.
To exclude contaminants, semiconductor substrates are processed within clean rooms. Clean rooms are enclosed areas or rooms within a semiconductor manufacturing facility, designed to keep out contaminants. All air provided to a clean room is typically highly filtered to prevent airborne contaminants from entering into or circulating within the clean room. Special materials and equipment are needed to maintain contaminants within the clean room at adequately low levels. Consequently, construction and maintenance of clean rooms can be time consuming and costly. As a result, the semiconductor processing equipment installed within a clean room should preferably be compact, so that large numbers of semiconductor wafers can be processed within a smaller space, thereby reducing space requirements and costs. Accordingly, there is a need for smaller semiconductor processing equipment, to reduce clean room space requirements.
Existing automated semiconductor processing systems use robots to carry the semiconductor materials. These robots are designed to avoid creating particles which could contaminate the semiconductors. However, even with careful design, material selection, and robot operation, particles may still be created by these robots, via their moving parts. Accordingly, there is a need for improved techniques for processing semiconductor substrate materials with very low levels of contamination to maintain the level of defects at acceptable levels. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Kaolin is a naturally occurring, relatively fine, white clay which may be generally described as a hydrated aluminum silicate. Kaolin clay is widely used as a filler and a pigment in various materials, such as rubber and resins, and in various coatings, such as paints and coatings for paper.
The use of kaolin clay pigments in paper coatings serves, for example, to improve the opacity of the coated paper due to the light scattering ability of the kaolin clay pigment. Light scattering ability (or opacity) of the pigment can be estimated by the scattering coefficient as described in TAPPI, 1978, Vol. 61, No. 6, pages 78-80.
The light scattering ability, or opacifying characteristics, of kaolin clay may be enhanced by aggregating or structuring the minerals of the kaolin clay by chemical or thermal treatment as described above.
Despite their high opacifying characteristics, the usefulness of chemically-structured kaolin clay is limited by its poor rheological properties. In this application, the term "rheological properties" refers to the viscosity or flow characteristics of the structured clay materials, including structured kaolin clay.
The high viscosity of structured kaolin days disclosed in the prior art reduces their pumpability and poses problems in transferring the structured kaolin clay. Further, the high viscosity limits the use of structured kaolin clay in paper coating applications, especially in the high speed paper coating processes.
Therefore, a need exists in the kaolin industry for an opacifying kaolin clay pigment with improved rheological properties. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The present invention relates to a mounting system for an appliance and more specifically to a mounting system for suspending a heat recovery ventilation system from a support structure.
Heat recovery ventilation systems are typically used in conjunction with the central heating system of a dwelling and as such are typically mounted near the ductwork of the furnace and more specifically are usually mounted to either the wall or the ceiling joist in that vicinity. In the past, the installation and/or mounting of the heat recovery ventilation system was a two man operation. The unit was typically secured by strapping or bolting the unit to brackets or the wall or ceiling itself. Since the unit is rather large and cumbersome, it was necessary for one man to lift and hold the unit in position while the other performed the fastening steps.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple appliance mounting system that makes it possible for one man to install and secure a cumbersome appliance such as a heat recovery ventilation unit. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Skid steer loader machines are known for being versatile machines in a wide variety of lifting and moving operations. In general, skid steer loaders are utilized in construction job, demolition jobs, and anywhere else relatively small, nimble machines are needed. One particular capability skid steer loaders are utilized for is gathering materials in a work tool such as a bucket, moving the materials and depositing the materials in a dump truck or container.
One issue conventional skid steer loaders face is that when lifting a load into a high position, the arc path of the lift arm linkage brings the bucket or work tool over top the skid steer loader. This makes it difficult to then place the contents of the bucket into a high sided container or perform other similar operations. To minimize this issue, the lift arm linkage is generally attached at a relatively high point near the rear of the skid steer loader. In this manner, the arc path of the lift arm linkage takes the bucket or work tool forward of the conventional skid steer loader until the bucket is at the same height as the linkage attachment point. Unfortunately, once the bucket is raised above the attachment point of the linkage, the arc path of the lift arm again brings the bucket over top of the conventional skid steer loader.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,053,075 (hereinafter “the '075 publication”), entitled “High Lift Mounting Means for Loader Buckets,” describes a linkage arm system to deliver contents of the bucket above the loader without the bucket being over top the loader. However, this linkage is complicated by dozens of pins and linkage arms.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved lift arm linkage to address the problems described above and/or problems posed by other conventional approaches. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
This invention is related to xerography and more particularly to a developing device for rendering latent electrostatic images visible.
Conventional xerographic developing techniques such as cascade development, magnetic brush development, etc. require the use of a composite developing material which is a mixture of so-called carrier material and toner particles. By rubbing in contact with the carrier, the toner particles acquire an electrostatic charge of a given polarity which is opposite to that of the electrostatic latent image so that it becomes attracted by the latter.
The fact that a toner/carrier mixture is used in these conventional techniques and that only one component of this mixture namely the toner, is gradually consumed during development, necessitates that replenishment must be carried out with fresh toner only.
In order to precisely dose the exact amount of toner powder, relatively complicated systems have been devised, which however fail to provide the necessary guarantee that replenishing is carried out optimally. As a consequence, the replenished toner/carrier mixture may be over or underregenerated, so that optimum conditions for reproducible copying runs are very difficult to create.
It has therefore been proposed e.g. in Belgian Pat. No. 848,236 filed Nov. 10, 1976 by Escophot, to use the toner developing powder alone so that a carrier material is no longer required. In this way replenishment is very easy to realize as the replacement of used toner by fresh one independent of the mass of carrier, may be carried out without complications.
Development occurs by bringing the toner powder into contact with the electrostatic latent imge. Prior to developing, a charge of given polarity is conferred to the toner particles by rubbing them against rollers, scrapers or other expedients having to fulfil certain requirements--especially in tribo-electrical characteristics--so that the toner particles can be deposited on oppositely charged surfaces. This manner of toner deposition is in the art known as "touch-down" or "transfer" development.
The nature of the preliminary charging process is such that in order to get a defined tribo-electric relationship between the toner particles, the applicator body and the walls of the tray in which toner powder is contained, the materials of construction for the aforementioned mechanical parts have to possess adequate tribo-electric characteristics versus the toner powder. So, an applicator roller will have an electric resistivity of about 10.sup.4 Ohms/square, whereas a scraper mounted as a toner flow regulating doctor blade will be made of a material which is a dielectric in nature. Under such conditions, it becomes possible to confer a charge of a given polarity to the toner particles.
Unfortunately, this charge is of rather moderate magnitude. Practical values of it fall between 0.2 to 0.5 micro Coulombs per gram (details about the measurement of this parameter will be given further).
As a consequence of the rather low charge acquired by the toner prior to its deposition onto the latent electrostatic image, this manner of development shows the following inconveniences: high contrast images, high densities and a very steep gradation. This is primarily due to the fact that a large quantity of toner is required in order to neutralize the charge of the latent electrostatic image on the image forming medium. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a dual-bearing reel.
Background Information
The dual-bearing reel includes a reel unit, a spool, a handle and a rotation transmission mechanism. The spool is rotatably supported by the reel unit. The handle is rotatably attached to a lateral surface of the reel unit. When the handle is rotated, the spool rotates.
A well-known type of dual-bearing reel is not provided with a level winding mechanism in order to reduce resistance acting on a fishing line in jigging. However, this type of dual-bearing reel without the level winding mechanism has drawbacks as follows. When wind blows while tension acting on the fishing line is reduced by, for instance, tilting down the fishing rod, chances are that the fishing line outwardly moves within the reel unit. In winding the fishing line under this condition, it is inevitable that the winding position of the fishing line unevenly concentrates on one side of the spool. To solve the drawback, a dual-bearing reel described in Japan Laid-open Patent Application Publication No. 2005-130707 includes a guide member for restricting the moving range of the fishing line.
However, the aforementioned dual-bearing reel potentially has a drawback because the fishing line gets stuck in a gap between the guide member and the reel unit. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Electronic devices are being utilized with more frequency to conduct various types of transactions and exchanges of information. The electronic devices can be provisioned with programming data, including an initial provisioning and subsequent provisioning(s). The provisioning can sometimes include receiving the programming data from a remote source. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Electronic payment methods are gaining popularity as an alternative to cash and credit cards. Mobile devices, such as smartphones, can store and transmit information necessary for electronic payments without the need for physical cards or currency that are easily misplaced or stolen. A mobile device can potentially store information for many payment accounts in a “digital wallet.” Slowly but surely, digital wallets are becoming alternatives to cash and card-filled physical wallets.
Many merchants now accept electronic payments at the point-of-sale. Most point-of-sale electronic payment systems use a near field communication (NFC) chip, which is a short-range communication device that transfers a customer's account information wirelessly from the customer's mobile device digital wallet to a merchant computer. Other point-of-sale systems use a third party intermediary, such as PayPal™, to conduct electronic transactions between a customer and merchant.
Despite their growing popularity, mobile electronic payments raise many new concerns. At the forefront of these concerns is security: customers and their financial institutions need to ensure that electronic payments are authentic and properly authorized. Furthermore, the risk of identity theft increases when account information is transmitted wirelessly and subject to interception. To address these concerns, authentication steps are required at the point-of-sale.
Current authentication systems require the customer to perform many cumbersome steps at the point-of-sale, such as taking pictures of barcodes, and typing usernames, passwords, and PINs. Customers often are forced to complete these tasks while other customers are waiting in line. The complexity and inconvenience of these systems discourage customers from using electronic payments.
In view of these authentication concerns, and the shortcomings of current systems, a convenient and reliable way to authenticate mobile electronic payments is desired. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
A manufacturing system consisting of multiple subsystems can be difficult to manage when an error occurs in a subsystem that is downstream from another subsystem that controls the input data. As an example, consider a document manufacturing system consisting of a continuous-forms printer with inline slitter, merger and stacker units, and an offline binding machine. If a paper jam occurs in the printer, the printer controller can restart printing with the sheet that was jammed once the jam has been cleared. However, if an error occurs later in the system, in the stacking unit or in the binding machine for example, the printer controller will not be aware of the sheet that caused the error or that an error even occurred. Instead, the printer controller may be actively printing a sheet that is hundreds of sheets beyond where the error occurred.
One solution to this problem requires an operator to cancel the job, discard all its sheets, and then reprint the full job. This is extremely wasteful of paper, toner, and other supplies. Another solution has the operator canceling the current job, retaining all sheets up to the error, creating and printing a new job with just the remaining sheets, and merging the original sheets with the sheets from the new job. Drawbacks of this solution are that it adds the complexity of a new print job and the problems associated with merging the new results with the old. In addition, many systems do not provide an easy way for an operator to create a new job containing only the remaining sheets.
A third solution requires the operator to manually calculate the number of sheets that have printed between the error sheet and the sheet currently printing at the printer and then instruct the printer controller to reset the print datastream to the error sheet position and begin printing again. This solution, however, requires an operator to perform a complicated calculation that is often too difficult for the operator to perform correctly, resulting in trial and error, which wastes materials and time.
Accordingly, there is a need for a way to address errors that occur downstream in a manufacturing system without requiring a new job to be created or an operator to guess where to restart the job, which results in excessive waste of time and materials. The present invention addresses such a need. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
This invention relates to an improved method of operating a blast furnace, and more particularly, to a method of operating the blast furnace in which a part of the usual iron ore feed to the furnace is replaced by prereduced iron ore having a relatively low metallization and a relatively high carbon content. Through the use of prereduced iron ore, both a decrease in the coke requirement and an increase in the overall productivity of the blast furnace is achieved. In the following description, the process is illustratively described as applied to the use of a charge of a prereduced iron ore which is sponge iron. However, as the description proceeds, it will be evident to those skilled in the art that the invention is also applicable to a process that uses prereduced iron ores other than sponge iron obtained from the direct reduction of iron ore.
In general, the production of pig iron in a blast furnace involves charging iron bearing material (iron ore, sinter, pellets, iron or steel scrap, etc.), carbonaceous material as fuel (coke), and flux (limestone or dolomite) into the top of the furnace. A blast of heated air is blown through tuyeres mounted in the bosh into the upper portion of the furnace hearth. A portion of the fuel is burned by the blast air to produce heat for the necessary chemical reactions involved and also for melting the iron. The balance of the fuel and a portion of the gas of combustion is utilized to reduce the iron ore descending through the blast furnace. Typically, in the upper portion of the blast furnace, the unreduced iron ore is partially reduced from FE.sub.2 O.sub.3 (hematite) to FeO (wustite) by the upwardly flowing hot gaseous products from the combustion zone located in the lower portion of the blast furnace. The amount of coke required to supply heat to the blast furnace and to effectuate reduction of the unreduced iron ore is a direct function of the amount and composition of the feed charged to the blast furnace and the desired pig iron production.
In previously proposed processes, the productivity of blast furnaces has been increased through a modification of the burden charged to the blast furnace. The use of prereduced iron ore as part of the charge to a blast furnace has been generally disclosed. However, substantially all of the previously proposed processes charged a highly metallized prereduced iron ore into the blast furnace. It was believed that if the metallization and therefore the metallic iron content of the charge is increased to the highest value possible, the amount of reduction required in the blast furnace could be correspondingly decreased. Therefore, there would be an increase in the productivity of the blast furnace and a decrease in the coke consumption since less coke would be needed to reduce the already partially prereduced iron ore in the charge.
None of the improvements previously suggested have adequately addressed the important overall energy consumption and process efficiency considerations. The need for a higher metallization of prereduced iron ore must be balanced against the greater difficulty and expense of obtaining highly metallized sponge iron as compared to sponge iron with a lower metallization. It has been found that the effect of charginga blast furnace with sponge iron of low metallization and high carburization on the economy and efficiency of the overall blast furnace operation has not been adequately considered.
A need exists for an improved blast furnace operation which will both significantly increase the production of pig iron and decrease the coke consumption while simultaneously maximizing overall economy and efficiency in the production of the prereduced iron ore used as part of the charge to the blast furnace. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The present invention relates to hunting apparatus and particularly to apparatus for moving game.
Hunters as well as trappers encounter substantial difficulty in carrying game which has been shot or trapped. This has great significance when the game must be carried for great distances either to return to some base station or to continue to hunt.
It is a primary object of the invention to provide apparatus which will enable the user to keep his hands free and yet easily and comfortably carry game animals and the like.
It is another object of the invention to provide apparatus which is compact and light in weight so that the user is impeded a minimum amount as a result of carrying the apparatus.
Still another object of the invention is to provide apparatus which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of face detection and, more particularly, to an image preprocessing method capable of increasing the accuracy of face detection.
2. Description of Related Art
With the advent of computer technologies, real-time face detection and tracking have become an important issue in many applications including video surveillance, teleconferencing, video retrieval, virtual reality, human computer interactions, and so on. It is essential that a face detection algorithm can execute tasks fast and accurately. A known face detection algorithm, which is described in C. C. Han, H. Y Mark, K. C. Yu, and L. H. Chen, “Fast Face Detection via Morphology-Based Pre-Processing,” Pattern Recognition 33, pp. 1701-1712, 2000, and incorporated herein for reference, has shown a very promising performance in both speed and accuracy when dealing with well lit face images. However, the Han's algorithm degrades considerably when images are taken in insufficient or non-uniform lighting conditions.
In the known patents, U.S. Pat. No. 5,012,522 proposes a face decision rule to find a face in an image by examining dark regions. U.S. Pat. No. 5,216,512 proposes a method using an image pick-up device with an image sensor having a rectangular area to locate a face. U.S. Pat. No. 5,596,362 describes a method to find a face candidate by using edge information and then to verify it by fitting with an ellipse. European Patent 0836326 includes a skin tone detector and an eye-nose-mouth region detector to improve the accuracy of the range of a face except fitting with an ellipse. U.S. Pat. No. 5,715,325 proposes a method to identify a face in an image by reducing the resolution, and then fitting a bounding box with the head region. U.S. Pat. No. 5,835,616 describes a method for face detection using templates, which first finds wrinkles and curved shapes of a facial image by blurring filter and edge enhancer, and then confirms the existence of the human face by finding facial features. However all the above results are limited to images with simple background or head-shoulder images and the detected regions are only rough approximations.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,642,431 describes a face detection system including pattern prototypes obtained by a network training process and distance measurement from the applied image to each of the prototypes. Afterwards, Rowley et al. proposed a more complete version for face detection by neural networks. A description of such can be found in H. Rowley, S. Baluja, and T. Kanade, “Neural Network-Based Face Detection,” IEEE Trans. Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 22-38, January 1998, and is hereby incorporated herein by reference. However the above results are based on the brute force search in the applied image, which is indeed a time-consuming procedure. Therefore it is desired for the above face detection method to be improved. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The present disclosure relates to a stacked sheet detection device and an image forming apparatus including the same.
In general, an image forming apparatus discharges a sheet with an image formed thereon from a discharge port of a main body portion to a discharge tray. In addition, the image forming apparatus may be provided with a stacked sheet detection device configured to detect that sheets are stacked on the discharge tray exceeding a predetermined allowable level.
The stacked sheet detection device may be called a fullness detection device, for example. The stacked sheet detection device includes a shaft, a first rotor, a second rotor, and a fullness detection sensor. The shaft is rotatably supported above the discharge port. The first and second rotors are provided on the shaft. The fullness detection sensor is configured to detect that the second rotor rotates beyond an allowable range. The first rotor is formed in a region of the shaft corresponding to the width of the discharge port so as to project from the shaft toward the discharge tray. The second rotor is provided in a region of the shaft outside the region corresponding to the width of the discharge port.
When the sheets stacked on the discharge tray exceed a certain level of height, the sheets push up the first rotor, and the fullness detection sensor detects that the second rotor has rotated beyond the allowable range.
In addition, the stacked sheet detection device may include a plurality of first rotors aligned at intervals along the width direction of the sheets. In this case, when the sheets stacked on the discharge tray push up at least one of the first rotors, the fullness detection sensor can detect a rotation of the second rotor. With this configuration, even when the orientation of the sheets stacked on the discharge tray is inclined with respect to the sheet discharge direction, any of the plurality of first rotors is pushed up by the sheets, and the fullness detection sensor can detect the fullness of the sheets on the discharge tray.
In addition, the load of the first rotor is applied to the sheet when the discharged sheet is on the way from the discharge port to the discharge tray. With this configuration, in a case where a sheet is discharged from the discharge port in a curled state, the first rotor restricts an excessive floating of the sheet, thereby preventing a stack failure of the sheets on the discharge tray. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
RFID device use is proliferating worldwide with a growing concern regarding security of the sensitive information stored within these devices and safeguarding that information against unwanted or unauthorized retrieval. These issues are becoming a significant problem worldwide.
RFID cards, RFID devices, RFID enabled credit cards, financial cards, ATM cards, debit cards, stored-value cards, banking cards, passports, and other convenience cards (herein referred to generically as RFID devices or electronic cards) may be “read” at a distance by individuals or remotely operated systems seeking to gain the stored secret or proprietary information, such as bank account numbers, identification information (social security numbers, address, phone numbers, building access information, student personal data, TSA clearance information, or medical information.
Best practices dictate using a method and/or device for guarding such information by disabling the functionality of RFID device except when they are to be legitimately used by the owner or an authorized entity. Although sophisticated methods may be employed to prevent unauthorized use or access, for instance through use of active and interfering signals broadcast in proximity to the subject RFID device, these are more costly and are generally classified as “jammers,” as is known in the art. Therefore a simple but effective method and/or device is desired to prevent unauthorized reading or inquiry of RFID devices, and in particular wallet-sized cards carrying magnetic strip and RFID cards or devices.
One such well-known method and/or device shields the RFID device from unwanted interrogating RF signals transmitted from an RFID skimmer that are intended to activate circuits within the RFID device and cause it to transmit or emit sensitive information stored on the device back to the RFID skimmer. Such shielding may be so complete as to form a Faraday shield or cage around the RFID device, and in fact metallic wallets, sleeves, and envelopes have been developed for this purpose. These prior art devices require user intervention to remove the card from the wallet or sleeve to use the card. This may be inconvenient for the user.
In accordance with common practice, the various described features are not drawn to scale, but are drawn to emphasize specific features relevant to the invention. Reference characters denote like elements throughout the figures and text. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Prior art provides for headlights in a vehicle that are used to illuminate the road immediately ahead of the vehicle while driving at night. Some vehicles also provide for headlights that swivel based on sensing the steering wheel turning, to sense a curve in the road and thus swivel the headlights to illuminate the curved road ahead.
These headlights are not entirely satisfactory for various safety conditions that drivers, driving at night, might face. In one illustration of such a safety condition, at night, in non-urban or country and rural areas, these areas are not lighted and do not provide any ambient lighting that would enable a driver to see anything other than the road immediately ahead, in front of the vehicle, that has been lighted by the headlights. Driving at night, without any visual reference other than the road immediately ahead may cause drivers to be disoriented or experience a vertigo effect. Vertigo has been defined in a dictionary as follows:
vertigo/ver•ti•go/(ver´t{hacek over (i)}-go) [L.] a sensation of rotation or movement of one's self (subjective v.) or of one's surroundings (objective v.) in any plane.
Vertigo is the feeling that you or your environment is moving or spinning. It differs from dizziness in that vertigo describes an illusion of movement. When you feel as if you yourself are moving, it's called subjective vertigo, and the perception that your surroundings are moving is called objective vertigo.
Vertigo occurs when there is conflict between the signals sent to the brain by various balance and position-sensing systems of the body. Your brain uses input from four sensory systems to maintain your sense of balance and orientation to your surroundings. These sensory inputs are from:
Vision gives you information about your position and motion in relationship to the rest of the world. This is an important part of the balance mechanism and often overrides information from the other balance-sensing systems.
Sensory nerves in your joints allow your brain to keep track of the position of your legs, arms, and torso. Your body is then automatically able to make tiny changes in posture that help you maintain your balance (proprioception).
Skin pressure sensation gives you information about your body's position and motion in relationship to gravity.
A portion of the inner ear, called the labyrinth, which includes the semicircular canals, contains specialized cells that detect motion and changes in position. Injury to or diseases of the inner ear can send false signals to the brain indicating that the balance mechanism of the inner ear (labyrinth) detects motion. If these false signals conflict with signals from the other balance and positioning centers of the body, vertigo may occur.
As has been described above, vision is an integral part of balance and position sensing systems of the body. Vision gives you information about your position and motion in relationship to the rest of the world. This is an important part of the balance mechanism and often overrides information from the other balance-sensing systems. Hence, driving at night with no visibility except that from the narrow area lighted ahead of the vehicle from the headlights impairs that part of vision that gives us information about our position and motion in relationship to the environment.
Hence new headlights are required to address these and other safety issues and concerns. It is the objective of the embodiments herein to be able to provide an improved design for vehicle lights that would alleviate these safety concerns. It is further the objective to provide for lighting around the vehicle for extra-vehicle activity such as access to the vehicle for loading/unloading at night. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
In the majority of products installing a cellular module of the GSM/GPRS/3G/4G type, the selection of the GSM (PLMN) carrier is processed automatically by the radio module. In this automatic mode, the selection of the GSM carrier is completely managed by the radio module. This solution is practical since it deals with situations such as the search for an operator in a new country (roaming) or makes it possible to pass to another operator when coverage is lost.
Manual or automatic selection according to rules fixed by the main operator is not the only solution.
In the prior art the French patent FR 2949179 is known, which describes a method for establishing a connection between a mobile communicating object and a mobile communication network where the communicating object has list containing a given number of preferred mobile communication networks with which the object can connect. This list comprises a plurality of sub-lists of networks (PLMNs) hierarchized so that the networks (PLMNs) included in a sub-list are preferred to all the networks included in the sub-lists of higher rank.
This method of the prior art comprises the steps consisting of: detecting available networks if at least one of the detected networks belongs to the list, connecting to the preferred network among the detected networks, the preferred network being the network belonging to the sub-list with the lowest rank if the preferred network among detected belongs to a sub-list of rank n higher than or equal to 2: i) seeking the availability of new networks at regular intervals; ii) if one or more networks belonging to one of more sub-lists of rank lower than or equal to n are detected as being available, connecting to the detected network belonging to the sub-list of lowest rank.
In the prior art the American Patent Publication US 2009/0207812 is also known, describing a method for switching a device from a source network to a target network, the source network being one from a WiMAX network and a 3GPP network and the target network being another WiMAX network and the 3GPP network, comprising reception information coming from the device on the source network and on the target network. The information received from the device may be supervised in order to determine whether the parameters of the network of the source have passed an intercell transfer threshold. The information received from the device may also be checked in order to determine whether the parameters of the target network are suitable for a transfer.
The international patent WO 2008/000914 is also known, proposing a solution for measuring an adjacent cell and signaling in a multiple radio access technology (RAT) environment.
User equipment (UE) carries out measurements of adjacent cells with an inter-radio access technology (RAT) during a standby mode of the UE. The results of inter-RAT measurements may be stored in an internal memory of the UE during the standby mode. When the UE triggers an establishment of the connection, a report on inter-RAT measurements containing results of inter-RAT measurements obtained during the standby mode is sent to the network when the connection is established. Consequently the inter-RAT measurement information is immediately available for a network decision at the commencement of the connected mode. For example, an inter-RAT inter-cell transfer may be decided on and implemented without delay, on the basis of the inter-RAT measurement made in advance during the standby mode and signaled when the connection is established.
The prior art also comprises the European patent EP 1986372 describing a method and apparatus for supporting a transfer between heterogeneous access networks, in which user equipment information and the candidate access network information are detected, a transfer decision is evaluated on the basis of the information on the user equipment and the candidate access network information, and an access network is chosen from a plurality of candidate access networks on the basis of the inter-cell transfer decision.
The international patent WO 2005/115039 relates to a method for transferring a communication established between a radio-communication terminal and a first radio-communication system, to a second radio-communication system. For transmitting information, the first radio-communication system uses a first radio-communication standard and the second radio-communication system uses a second radio-communication standard. The radio-communication terminal monitors not only the adjacent radio cells of the first radio-communication system but also the adjacent radio cells of the second radio-communication system by measurements and transmits the valid measured signal levels of the monitored radio cells of the first and second radio-communication systems to a monitoring device on the network side. In the case where the measured signal levels are occasionally not formed during the monitoring of the radio cells by the second radio-communication system, the radio-communication terminal transmits predetermined signal levels to the monitoring device. The radio-communication terminal uses a symbol that enables the network to distinguish the valid measured signal levels from the predetermined signal levels. When the communication transfer is demanded by the monitoring device, only the valid measured signal levels are taken into consideration.
The solutions of the prior art lead to a selection of the network of the PLMN according to criteria taking into account mainly the commercial agreements between the operators and the power of the radio signal received locally.
However, for some applications, other criteria are preponderant: availability of certain accesses (TCP ports for example) for specific data transmissions. By way of example, such applications concern the remote transmission of medical data, for example, by a patient equipped with biomedical sensors, such as a health parameter measurement apparatus (weight, pulse, blood pressure, blood oxygenation level, glucose monitor), automatically triggering the sending of digital data via the mobile network to a server center.
The selection made in accordance with the prior art does not make it possible to favor the most appropriate network and this may lead to serious situations of unavailability of the service because of an inappropriate selection of the network.
In some cases, the radio module is registered with the GSM networks on which: Only the GSM voice service is adopted when the product requires a GPRS service. GPRS is not supported by the operator. GPRS is adopted, but access to the APN to recover an IP address is not possible (temporary unavailability, agreement problems, etc.). An IP address is attributed to the product, but IP communication is not possible (defective equipment on the pathway (router) etc.). The charging rate is not suited to the application. Maintenance operations leading to the unavailability of the service are planned. The network chosen is the one that has the strongest signal but is also the one that is the most saturated. The network chosen was indeed the most suitable at the time of choice, but the quality of the radio signal has dropped without the module changing network.
Registration to these networks according to the solutions of the prior art is therefore a problem when the product needs GSM/GPRS/3G/4G access.
Moreover, in the solutions proposed in the prior art, it is the server that controls the selection of the network from criteria predefined in this server. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a leak indicator for vacuum systems comprising a chamber which is evacuated while the system is in operation plus a vacuum pump used to evacuate the chamber whereby the leak indicator has a test-gas detector in the form of a mass spectrometer plus a high vacuum pump to produce the vacuum necessary for operation of the mass spectrometer.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Before operation, after maintenance or repair work and also after other interruptions of operation, vacuum systems must be tested for the presence of leaks so as to ensure optimum operating conditions of the vacuum system which are not adversely influenced by flows of leaking gas.
From DE-OS 33 16 765 a method and device is known for the detection of leaks on turbine casings. A low pressure is maintained in the turbine casings with the aid of vacuum pumps. For the purpose of leak detection all parts of the turbine casing where a leak is suspected are sprayed from the outside with a test gas, preferably helium. The exhaust gas of the vacuum pumps is monitored with the aid of a sniffer leak indicator so that the presence of any leaks can be determined. Leak detection of this kind is relatively insensitive.
Moreover, the leak detection arrangement for this task is fairly large and heavy, because such an arrangement must include a complete high vacuum system with a heavy backing pump. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The present invention relates to an air suspension system for an automotive vehicle, and more particularly to a simplified air suspension system adapted to provide an air spring that functions as a leveling valve to control the inflow and outflow of compressed air in response to transmitted load or vibration.
Generally, suspension systems have been developed with a view to alleviating shock transmitted from rough terrain to the vehicle body to thereby improve the safety and comfort of riding in a vehicle. One such suspension system is an air suspension system. In this system, the supply and discharge of compressed air is controlled to control the height of the vehicle in response to weight and to suppress changes in the position of the vehicle to provide stability while the vehicle is in motion.
However, prior art air suspension systems generally have a relatively large number of component parts, such as the leveling valve, a lever connected to the rocker of the leveling valve, and a rod connected to the lever and to an axle supporter mounted with the axle. Also, such air suspension systems must take into account interference between related parts of the lever, rod and correlated parts, resulting in difficulty in layout of component parts and design thereof.
The present invention provides an air suspension system for an automotive vehicle adapted to provide a leveling function within an air spring to control the inflow and outflow of compressed air in response to a load or vibration transmitted from rough terrain or from carrying weight of the vehicle while the vehicle is in motion. In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a valve body is mounted in an inner upper portion of a bellows. The valve body has communicating passages for supplying pressurized air into the bellows or for discharging the pressurized air out of the bellows. A piston is installed underneath the bellows. A valve operating means is provided to switch the open/closed state of the communicating passages in response to relative movement of the piston and the valve body.
In a further alternative embodiment of the present invention, an air suspension system for a vehicle preferably includes at least one air spring. In a preferred embodiment, the air spring comprises a bellows, a piston and a valve. The bellows defines a closed space and is adapted to be secured to a portion of the vehicle at an upper end thereof. The piston is disposed at a lower end of the bellows and the bellows is secured around the piston with an air-tight seal. The valve is disposed within the bellows and communicates with a source of pressurized air. The valve also cooperates with the piston to control flow of pressurized air into and out of the bellows in response to up and down motion of the piston as the vehicle moves over the terrain.
Preferably, the valve includes a valve body mounted in an upper portion of the closed space defined by the bellows. The valve body is adapted to be fixed to move with the frame of the vehicle and defines plural air passages. A first air passage provides pressurized air. A second air passage exhausts to atmosphere and leads into the closed space. The first air passage joins the second air passage at a first branch point. A third air passage joins the second air passage at a second branch point, above the first branch point, and communicates with the closed space. A linkage is received at one end in the second air passage and is operatively linked to the piston at an opposite end. A first seal is mounted on the linkage and slideably received in the second air passage to control communication between the second air passage and the closed space, thereby selectively permitting pressurized air to flow into the closed space. A second seal is mounted on the linkage above the first seal. The second seal provides selective communication between the second and third air passages in response to movement of the piston.
In further preferred embodiments, the suspension system of the present invention includes an axle support member on which a vehicle axle and wheel are mounted, with piston being secured to the axle support member. At least two air springs may be mounted on the axle support member. Also, the system may include a pressurized air tank mounted on the vehicle to provide the source of pressurized air. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Conventional dart boards and archery targets are usually limited to having a permanent target pattern on one or both of their faces. The target pattern is generally permanently fixed or printed to the face of the dart board or archery target on which it resides.
It is often desirable, however, to have a variety of targets with differing patterns to either help improve the player or archers skill level, or to keep the activity entertaining. Dart boards and archery targets have been suggested in the past which have targets with game or target patterns other than the traditional dart board pattern or archery target pattern. Most of these, however, are permanently fixed or printed onto the dart board or archery target. Few arrangements have been suggested where the pattern has been changeable. Some targets with changeable target patterns have been suggested, although these usually have not been designed for use with dart boards or archery targets and have often been unnecessarily elaborate or complex.
A target pattern for use with dart boards, archery targets, and the like is needed which is simple to install and which allows the user to remove and replace one target pattern with a variety of other target patterns. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sewing machine with a dust removing device. More particularly, the invention relates to a sewing machine with a dust removing device which is so constructed as to prevent trouble such as faulty sewing to be caused when dust including waste thread and waste cloth is collected under a throat plate, in performing, for example, interlock stitch sewing by an overlock sewing machine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the event that dust including waste thread and waste cloth to be produced-during sewing operation by a sewing machine, is collected at the underside of a throat plate at which sewing parts such as a looper, fabric feed mechanism and knife driving mechanism are disposed, there is a tendency that a needle thread loop is not formed in a predetermined manner, resulting in a faulty sewing such as skip-stitch. If dust is more collected there, the dust will interfere with movable parts such as a needle and looper, and thus cause the deformation and damage on the movable parts.
In order to prevent the faulty sewing and deformation of the movable parts because of the collected dust as described, the following conventional manner has generally been taken. That is, an air gun is manually operated to spray airflow around the underside of the throat plate, thereby to scatter and remove the collected dust. With this manner, however, it is sometimes required to spray airflow by interrupting the operation of the sewing machine in the course of sewing. That is, not only such a time-consuming and tedious cleaning operation but also a lot of time for this cleaning is required, resulting in a low sewing efficiency. In addition, when airflow is sprayed, the collected dust may scatter and suspend around the sewing machine, thus deteriorating working environment.
To solve these problems, U.S. Pat. No. 5,454,338 discloses a sewing machine equipped with a dust removing device (hereinafter referred to as prior art. This prior art is provided with a fan by which an external air is forced to pass through the radiator of an oil cooler for cooling lubricating oil used for lubricating the interior of the sewing machine. By introducing the airflow caused by the fan and then passed through the radiator, into the inside of the sewing machine, the interior of the sewing machine is retained at positive pressure so as to prevent dust including Waste thread, etc. from entering the sewing machine.
In this prior art so constructed, the function of preventing dust entering the sewing machine can be attained by utilizing the airflow generated by the fan for the oil cooler that is originally equipped with the sewing machine in order to cool lubricating oil. Therefore, as compared to the above-mentioned manual removing means of spraying airflow by the air gun, there is no need to perform such cleaning that is tedious and lowers sewing efficiency. That is, such a self-cleaning operation enables to prevent trouble such as faulty sewing due to the dust collected beneath the throat plate.
However, this prior art is constructed so as to merely prevent dust entering the sewing machine by introducing the above-mentioned airflow to retain its inside at positive pressure. It is therefore impossible to prevent trouble caused by the dust collected beneath the throat plate. Further, the interior of the sewing machine is not a completely closed room, and it is thus unavoidable to make working environment not hygienic. This is because, for example, the introduced airflow is blown out to the exterior from the clearance in a needle location of the throat plate, and dust is scattered and suspended around the throat plate. Furthermore, one which is introduced into the sewing machine is airflow heated by heat exchange with the radiator, and it is suppressed that the heated airflow is blown out to the exterior. Therefore, the temperature in the sewing machine will be gradually increased, thereby to facilitate a temperature rise in the movable parts such as the needle and looper which are likely to be heated by the friction during sewing operation. As a result, the thread in contact with the needle and looper is unexpectively cut by heat. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to power supplies for supplying alternating power and, more particularly, to a protection circuit for the switching portion of a power supply.
2. Discussion
Radio frequency (RF) energy is used in various industries for the treatment of materials through induction heating, dielectric heating, and plasma excitation. Plasma excitation can take the form of inductive, capacitive, or true electromagnetic (EM) wave, microwave, couplings. Generators which provide this RF energy utilize many circuit topologies ranging from single class A transistor amplifiers providing a few tens of watts to self-oscillating tube (valve) generators providing many thousands of watts.
The semiconductor manufacturing industry utilizes RF plasmas for depositing and etching micron and sub-micron sized films. A typical power supply for this application may consist of a line frequency transformer/rectifier/capacitor DC power supply and high frequency (HF) linear power amplifier. Typical power and frequency values may be up to 10 KW within the range of 400 KHz to 60.0 MHz. The linear power amplifier employs high frequency/very high frequency (HF/VHF) RF power transistors having high power dissipation capability. Such a power supply or generator would have power controllable to 1 or 2% precision over a 100:1 output load range. Usually the generator is specifically configured to output to a defined load, usually 50 ohms, but should be able to drive any load, even if mismatched, without failure. Typical protection schemes reduce the power. For example, the drive level to a linear amplifier is reduced to correspondingly reduce current or power dissipation. In a 50 ohm system, variation from the typical 50 ohms can be measured as reflected power. The drive level is reduced to limit reflected power.
FIG. 1 shows a typical transformer-coupled push-pull RF power amplifier having switches or transistors S1, S2 driven by sine waves which are out of phase. A five element harmonic rejection filter includes inductors L1, L2 and capacitors C1, C2, and C4. The harmonic rejection filter typically ensures a high purity or uniform sine wave output. No biasing schemes are shown which may be class AB or class B. Either bipolar junction transistors (BJTs) or metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs) are typically used. The transformer T1 has a ratio chosen to match the required power for a given DC supply voltage, usually 28V or 50V. Detailed circuitry follows standard industry practice for broadband HF/VHF power amplifier design as would be used for communications.
The amplifier of FIG. 1 offers one primary advantage, but several disadvantages. The primary advantage is that a broadband design, the output frequency is easily changed simply by varying the drive or input frequency. For a given output frequency, only the output filter needs to be changed. If the basic linearity/purity of the amplifier is good enough, dispensed with altogether. The circuit of FIG. 1 has the disadvantages of poor efficiency and high transistor power dissipation. Efficiency theoretically cannot exceed 70% but typically is no better than 50%. To address the high power dissipation, many applications use expensive, special RF transistors which often employ beryllium oxide (BEo) low thermal resistance technology. This often requires large air or water cooled heatsinks. There is a large amount of data published on RF linear amplifier design. Any power supply manufacturer desiring to design a generator can use the transistor manufacturer""s application circuit with a high degree of confidence.
As can be seen in FIG. 2, the circuit of FIG. 2 utilizes a different mode of operation offering high efficiency and low power dissipation. The drive signals in the circuit of FIG. 2 are fixed at square waves so that the transistors are now in a switching rather than a linear mode of operation. That is, the switches or transistors S1, S2 of FIG. 1 operate in a region between fully off and fully on. The switches or transistors S1, S2 of FIG. 2 operate by switching from fully on to fully off. The output of transformer T1 is now a square wave. A four element filter including inductors L1, L2 and capacitors C1, C2 filters out the required fundamental frequencies to yield a sinusoidal output. Capacitor C4 is removed so that the filter provides an inductive input, in order to reject harmonic current. Although the transistor and transformer voltages are square, the currents are sinusoidal. Efficiency can now be 100%, and typically falls within the range of 80-95%. Such a circuit is usually referred to as a resonant converter or inverter rather than an amplifier.
The circuit of FIG. 2 suffers some disadvantages. The filter is sufficiently selected for a particular output frequency so that only a fixed or narrow frequency range or band of operation is possible. Also, the output power cannot be directly controlled. Unlike, FIG. 1, the circuit of FIG. 2 cannot connect directly to a line or outlet voltage. Rather, the DC input to FIG. 2 requires regulation using an additional power converter, typically implemented using a switched mode converter. Further, mismatch loads can cause high circulating currents between the filter and transistors. The circulating currents are not necessarily limited by limiting the DC input current.
In one aspect of the present invention, a power supply circuit having a DC input supplies alternating power to a load. An inverter generates an alternating output, and an output circuit directly receives the alternating output and feeds it to a load. The output circuit includes first and second rectifiers connected relative to a point in the output circuit so that if the inverter attempts to drive the point to a voltage which exceeds either a predetermined positive voltage or a predetermined negative voltage, a respective one of the first and second rectifiers conducts to cause voltage and/or current to return to the source of DC voltage. The voltage and/or current is fed back into the inverter. This may be achieved, for example, by the first rectifier being connected between the ground or negative input of the DC input and the point and the second rectifier being connected between the point and the positive input of the DC voltage. It will be appreciated that when either rectifier conducts it clamps the point to the voltage of its associated respective input of the DC input. The rectifiers may be embodied as diodes.
In an alternative arrangement, the rectifiers may be connected to a separate voltage source or sources, and the clamping will occur to the voltages determined by the source or sources. The present invention includes a constant voltage sink if, for example, the first and second rectifiers are implemented using Zener diodes. The Zener diodes may dissipate at least some of the voltage and/or current, and they may have an associated transistor through which a higher level of energy can be dissipated. In either case the dissipation occurs through heating. The Zener diodes may be connected back to back so that each diode performs the rectifying action for the other diode. Alternatively, a suitable, separate rectified diode, or rectifying circuit, is used in series with each Zener. In the construction in which the first and second diodes are connected on either side of the point, each diode may be implemented by forming a chain of diodes, such as Shottky diodes, and the diodes may be configured in a single ceramic substrate.
The inverter may include at least two switching devices. The power supply circuit may also include an inductance connected to a point between the two switching devices so that the charging and discharging of the devices, and any associated capacitance, is substantially by means of the inductive current.
In yet another embodiment of the present invention, a power supply circuit has a DC input and supplies alternating power to a load. An inverter generates an alternating output, and an output circuit directly receives the alternating output and feeds it to a load. The output circuit further includes a constant voltage sink for dissipating voltage and/or current if the inverter seeks to drive a predetermined point in the circuit to a voltage which lies outside a predetermined voltage band.
In yet another aspect of the present invention, a power supply includes a supply output and first and second power supply circuits as defined above. The output of each first and second power circuit is connected in parallel to the supply output. Respective alternating signal sources switch the inverters of the first and second supply circuits and control a circuit for altering the relative phase of the signal sources to adjust the power at the supply output. The power supply circuits may be connected in series or parallel.
In yet another aspect of the present invention, a power supply supplies alternating current to a load. First and second power supply circuits each include inverters. An alternating signal source supplies an alternating signal to switch the inverter and to respective power outputs. The power outputs are connected in parallel or series to the supply output through harmonic filters. A control circuit varies the relative phase of the alternating signals to adjust the power at the supply output.
In yet another aspect of the present invention, an input circuit for a voltage inverter has at least two switching devices. The circuit includes an inductance connected to a point between the devices so that charging and discharging the devices, and any associated capacitance, is substantially through an inductive current.
For a more complete understanding of the invention, its objects and advantages, reference should be made to the following specification and to the accompanying drawings. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The low-floor treadmill or running machines are training installations used for performing physical training or walking or running exercising of patients in rehabilitation and of elderly people. In such low-floor treadmills, it is requested to lower a running surface in order to make the patient and elderly people in rehabilitation facilitate getting on and off the treadmill.
An example of known low-floor treadmill or running machine is disclosed in Patent Document 1 which is a previous invention of the present applicant.
In this running machine disclosed in Patent Document 1, a robust guide plate having a reduced friction is used to reduce a heavy load applied to the rear end of an endless belt located at an opposite side from a driving unit. However, the fixed guide plate has such a problem that friction increase comparing to a roller guide so that the guide plate exerts a bad influence on the durability of the moving belt and that a driving motor is overloaded.
Patent Document 2 proposes to use guide rollers arranged at an end of the endless belt in a low-floor treadmill. In this mechanism, however, it is necessary to use big bearings to support an axis of the guide roller, so that a larger space is required, resulting in such troubles that user trip on the treadmill and that the space is limited. Still more, it is difficult to design a smart treadmill. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed in general to integrated circuit devices and methods for manufacturing same. In one aspect, the present invention relates to a capacitor formed in a semiconductor device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Integrated circuit devices, such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM) devices, increasingly require high performance capacitors with sufficient capacitance to extend the refresh period and increase tolerance to alpha particles. For example, a typical DRAM cell configuration includes a capacitor for storing a charge (i.e., the bit of information) and an access transistor that provides access to the capacitor during read and write operations. To increase the storage node capacitance for high performance memory cells relative to bit line capacitance, the overlap area between an upper electrode (plate electrode) and a lower electrode (storage node electrode) should be increased and/or the thickness of a dielectric film interposed between the upper and lower electrodes should be reduced, for example by using a high-k dielectric material having a high dielectric constant k. And while plate overlap can be increased by forming large, overlapping lateral capacitor plate layers, such structures reduce the pattern density at the memory region, resulting in loading effects during photo lithography, etch, and polishing steps. Another technique for increasing capacitance is to fabricate the capacitor in the semiconductor substrate as a cylinder-shaped electrode plate that is concentrically positioned around a lower or storage node electrode plate to create the increased capacitance from the surface area of the storage node electrode. However, the height of such cylindrical capacitors is effectively limited by the constraints from high aspect ratio contact etch limitations which prevent contact etching from proceeding to a sufficient depth. For example, aspect ratios as high as 50-60 are now common in state-of-the-art DRAM devices. While the technical difficulties of fabricating high aspect ratio cell capacitors can be eased by using separate photolithographic steps to stack several vertical layers on top of each other to eventually form one cell capacitor, such multi-stack capacitor manufacturing presents new problems with properly aligning electrodes in the different stack levels to avoid electrical shorts or gaps, and can also damage the capacitor dielectric layers which are sequentially deposited and etched in each stack level. Another approach for increasing the storage capacitance, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 7,449,739, is to form embedded upper and lower capacitor stacks which each include a cylindrically shaped inner storage node and an outer electrode that wraps around a thin capacitor dielectric film formed on the inner storage node. However, the fabrication of capacitor stacks requires that, at each stack, the top of the outer electrode must be recessed below the top of the inner storage node to prevent the outer electrode and inner storage node from being electrically shorted together. To achieve such recessed plate heights, one or more control liner layers may be formed over the top of the inner storage node and then carefully etched to prevent the top of the outer electrode from being exposed. As seen from the foregoing, there continue to be challenges associated with designing and fabricating high performance capacitors.
It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements illustrated in the drawings have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements are exaggerated relative to other elements for purposes of promoting and improving clarity and understanding. Further, where considered appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated among the drawings to represent corresponding or analogous elements. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
As an example of the image display device configured as above, Patent Document 1 discloses a device configured such that a monitor is caused to display a lattice-like, grid image providing a perspective in superposition over an actual image captured by a camera so as to allow monitoring of an area of viewing field that extends forwardly and to the left and right as being viewed from the driver.
This Patent Document 1 discloses an arrangement for setting the grid image at such a height not to be overlapped with the image of any important object which may be present on the road, such as a moving body, a traffic sign, etc. The document discloses also that upon detection of a moving object from within the actual image, the position, the moving speed, etc. of this moving body are acquired and information such as an arrow or the like is displayed on the monitor. The document further describes that a grid corresponding to the area where another vehicle is present is displayed with a more conspicuous color or when the outside of the vehicle is dark such as in the evening or at nighttime, white color is set while restraining the brightness of the grid. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector and the support, and particularly to the support moveable in a floating manner in a vertical direction.
2. Description of Related Art
Chinese Patent No. CN202042681 discloses an electrical connector assembly having a first connector receiving the CPU (Central Processing Unit), and a second connector attached upon the first connector and mechanically and electrically connected to one side/top region of the CPU for further connecting to other electronic parts via an FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit). Anyhow, such an approach improperly increases the height of the whole CPU/connector assembly, thus contradicting the lower profile/miniaturization trend. U.S. Pat. No. 9,130,322 discloses another approach using an adaptor structure cooperation with or located between other two upper and lower connectors for mounting to a top/side region of the CPU board. Anyhow, such arrangement requires the contacts of the lower connector soldered to the CPU board and the contacts of the upper connector soldered to the FPC, thus increasing complexity thereof. Yet another approach is to use a discrete connector side by side arranged with the CPU socket to have a side region of the CPU downwardly abut against the discrete connector for connecting to the FPC. Anyhow, there is a potential risk for poor connection between the CPU and the FPC due to the different heights between CPU socket and the discrete housing.
An improved connector which is located beside the CPU socket with an adjustable effect to comply with the CPU socket having variable heights thereof, thus assuring reliable connection among the CPU, the contacts of the discrete connector and the FPC so as to achieve the superior transmission from the CPU to the FPC. The adjustment of the electrical connector simultaneously reinforces confrontation between the electrical connector and the FPC so that it is unnecessary to have the contacts of the electrical connector soldered upon the FPC but through a clipping/pressing effect via the spring effect. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a telephone device and a hinge unit in a telephone device, the telephone comprising a camera and a display that is configured to be used in an exchange of multimedia content, including image sequences, between device users.
2. Brief Description of Related Developments
Communication devices have during the last decades evolved from being more or less primitive telephones, capable of conveying only narrow band analog signals such as voice conversations, into the multimedia mobile devices of today capable of conveying large amounts of data representing any kind of media. For example, a telephone in a GSM, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS or CDMA2000 type of system is capable of recording, conveying and displaying both still images and moving images, i.e. video streams, in addition to audio data such as speech or music.
A camera equipped communication device can be used in a number of different applications. For example, in addition to a function where an image or a sequence of images are recorded and transmitted to another device by way of, e.g., MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) or as attachments to E-mail messages, image sequences can be used in more interactive two-way communication functions, such as a video conference. Such a function involves a need to display image to a viewer both when imaging in a first direction away from viewer as well as displaying image towards the viewer when imaging himself when participating in the video conference.
The control circuitry and control software of such a communication device needs to know whether the imaging is for the purpose of, e.g., a video conference between the user of the device where the display should be in essentially the same direction as the field of view of a camera performing the imaging, or for the purpose of, e.g., the user imaging a scene where the display should be directed towards the user while the field of view of a camera is essentially in the opposite direction.
This dual functionality is usually achieved by way of providing a communication device with two cameras, a first and a second camera having their respective field of view directed essentially in opposing directions. An example of such a device is the FOMA P2102V telephone, which has a main telephone body and a part, configured to be rotated, comprising a display. The telephone is equipped with two built-in cameras. A first camera is located on the rotatable part and has a field of view such that a person is able to look at the display while at the same time being imaged by the first camera. A second camera is located in the main body of the telephone and is intended for use when performing conventional imaging, i.e. using the device as a conventional digital camera. Needless to say, a drawback with such a device is that it is expensive and also unnecessarily complex. Two cameras arranged in the communication device require extra wiring and additional physical space.
Another example of a camera telephone that is capable of imaging in different directions is the Samsung SGH-P400 camera telephone. The camera is arranged in a hinge part of the telephone and the camera can be rotated in order to enable imaging in different directions. However, this is a complex solution, taking up a relatively great deal of space and it is thereby expensive. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
With the development of direct liquefaction of coal, and since phenolic compounds are a product of this direct liquefaction, the supply of phenols present in tar acids will increase to the point where the tar acids will present a disposal problem. One possible solution is using these phenols as fuel extenders. Because of the toxicity and corrosiveness of phenols, however, they must be converted to less hazardous compounds for most fuel applications. Major alternatives to the disposal of these phenolic tar acids are hydrotreating and conversion to methyl aryl ethers. The claimed invention provides a method for converting these phenols to alkyl aryl ethers which are good octane boosters and anti-knock agents.
The model reaction for the formation of methyl aryl ethers is the formation of anisole from phenol and methanol.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,487,832 teaches a process for preparing anisole by the alkylation of phenols using dimethylether and a solid dehydrating catalyst. An example of such a solid dehydrating catalyst is alumina. Although alumina is a good catalyst for phenol alkylation, it has some selectivity for c-alkylation, producing cresols which are as toxic and corrosive as the phenols and therefore is not a suitable catalyst for phenol alkylation.
Another solid dehydrating catalyst, thoria, is also described in this patent. Thoria is highly selective for O-alkylation of phenol but its radioactivity makes it an unattractive alternative to other catalysts.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,642,912 also discloses a process for the catalytic alkylation of phenols. The catalysts described in this patent are titanium dioxide and derivatives thereof. These catalysts also prove to be good alkylating agents of phenols but, as with alumina, some selectivity to c-alkylation takes place producing unwanted cresols.
Anisole can also be selectively synthesized from sodium phenoxide and dimethylsulfate in the presence of NaOH. This process is known as the Williamson synthesis; see the Merck Index, Eighth Edition, 1968, page 1226. Because stoichiometric quantities of sodium hydroxide are required to produce the sodium phenoxide and because of the large quantities of salt by-product however, this type of process has little commercial appeal. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to lawn mowers. More specifically, the present invention relates to mower cleaning tools that are designed to clean both riding and push lawn mowers.
B. Problems in the Art
As a lawn mower cuts through grass, a large quantity of grass sticks to the mower""s blade and to the underside of the mower""s deck. The grass that sticks to the underside of the mower""s deck and blade can cause a number of problems. For instance, wet grass can lead to corrosion of the blade. The corrosion of the blade due to the grass and the moisture within the grass can lead to dulling of the blade. In addition, grass can obstruct airflow underneath the mower""s deck, and in many mowers, particularly newer mulching mowers, the mower is designed for a particular airflow pattern within the mower""s deck. Finally, grass that has stuck to the underside of the mower""s deck will oftentimes fall off the mower""s deck after the mower has been put into a storage area, leading to a dirty storage area.
To alleviate the problems associated with grass stuck to the mower""s blade and the underside of the mower""s deck, people have used a variety of tools and methods to clean both riding mowers and push mowers. One common method of cleaning the underside of the deck of a riding mower involves removing the deck, along with the blades. After the blades and deck are removed, they are scraped with a conventional putty knife. One drawback to this method is that it requires a great deal of time to remove the lawn mower deck. In addition, the putty knife does not have much surface area with which to scrape the deck. Thus, considerable time is required to clean the deck once it has been removed.
A second common method of cleaning a riding mower involves elevating the front end of the mower with a jack or other elevation apparatus. Then, as in the previous example, the putty knife is used to scrape the underside of the mower""s deck and the mower""s blades. However, the use of a jack to elevate the riding mower leads to safety concerns in that the jack could collapse and injure someone underneath the mower. In addition, the use of a putty knife underneath the mower is unsatisfactory. Due to the short handle on the putty knife, a user""s hand will sometimes strike the mower blade while cleaning the deck, often cutting the hand in the process.
A common method of cleaning a push mower includes turning the mower over and once again scraping both the blade and the deck with a putty knife. As previously described, the short handle of the putty knife brings the hands in close proximity to the blade. When the hand is near the blade, it will often strike the blade and cut the hand. In addition, the putty knife is not set at an angle relative to the handle on the putty knife. Angling of the cutting blade relative to the handle would increase the cleaning effectiveness of the mower tool.
Therefore, it is a primary objective of the present invention to provide a riding lawn mower cleaning tool that allows for cleaning of the mower""s deck without a need to remove the deck.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a lawn mower cleaning tool that can be used without requiring the use of a jack to elevate the mower.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a lawn mower cleaning tool which will keep hands and arms away from the blades while still allowing effective cleaning of the mower deck and the mower blades.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a push mower cleaning tool which has a grip of sufficient size that a lawn mower deck can be cleaned while the hand remains distant from the mower blade.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a push mower cleaning tool that has a blade that is angled relative to the handle to allow for more efficient cleaning of the mower deck and the mower blade.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide riding and push mower cleaning tools that provide a better looking lawn by promoting even grass cut by keeping blades from dulling, and grass clippings from bunching due to grass sticking to the underside of the mower""s deck.
These, as well as other objects and features of the present invention, will be apparent from the following detailed description and claims in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
The present invention relates to lawn mower cleaning tools. In a first embodiment, a riding lawn mower cleaning tool includes an elongated handle and a cleaning blade attached to one end of the handle. The cleaning blade includes a shaft attached to the handle and a generally L-shaped scraping blade attached to the shaft. A first leg of the scraping blade extends upward and the second leg of the scraping blade extends horizontally when the handle is oriented horizontally. This permits the scraping blade to scrape under the mower deck and around the inside of its circumferential wall while a portion of the handle remains available outside the mower deck for the user to hold.
In a second embodiment, a push mower cleaning tool includes a handle with a cleaning blade attached to one end of the handle. The cleaning blade includes a shaft and a scraping blade that extends at an angle relative to the handle and shaft. In both embodiments, the handle is of sufficient length when compared to the diameter of the mower deck such that the underside of the deck can be cleaned without the operator""s hands entering into close proximity with the mower blade.
In a third embodiment, a push mower cleaning tool similar to the second embodiment has shorter handle, which requires the mower deck to be tipped over or tipped on its side for cleaning. However, the handle is still long enough to keep the operator""s hands away from the mower blade. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information distribution system capable of presenting a contract content, etc., of information to be distributed from a distribution center apparatus on a side of a user terminal apparatus, and its distribution center apparatus and user terminal apparatus, and an information storage medium usable for the system.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, services to distribute electronic data in the use of a communication line have become popular with the spread of broadband. Some of them have started to provide services only through a specific information storage medium for which a contract between a user and a distributor is made. In such services, to prevent duplicating of distribution information, a method, which encrypts the distribution information by using proper information, such as a medium ID written into a read only area in the information storage medium, has been employed.
One of the method provides a service to distribute a video content in use of the information storage medium corresponding to content protection for recordable media (CPRM) in the field of a video distribution service (refer to, for example, JP-A 2004-350150 (KOKAI) and JP-A 2005-159752 (KOKAI)).
In distributing the video content, the service encrypts it with a prescribed key and encrypts to distribute a key for decrypting, with a medium ID of the storage medium, the video content distributed in a view request. Therefore, the user who does not have a medium with its ID cannot decrypt the key. Thereby, the method can surely prevent illegal use of duplicate and has an advantage excellent in copyright protection, even if the video content has been duplicated without permission, because the information storage medium corresponding to the CPRM having the medium ID used for encrypting the key is required to obtain the key to decrypt the encryption. The system regarding the method being capable of downloading the video content to store it in a storage medium, it may select any one of the storage medium of a purchase type capable of viewing indefinitely or a rental type capable of viewing within a given period of time like a commercially available DVD package.
Meanwhile, when viewing the video content associated with the information storage medium by using a communication line, the information distribution system given above presents identification information for a video content and management information, such as a view time period, possible to view through the information storage medium in response to a request from a user. As to a method of the presentation, for instance, storing the management information in an inner memory of a user terminal apparatus, or the information storage medium itself to read and display the management information from a storage area when the information storage medium is set, or to access to a distribution center to acquire and display the management information included in user information managed on the side of the distribution center is a generic approach.
However, in such a presentation method, an increase in the number of media to be used poses the need of replacement and setting of each medium for the user terminal apparatus and it results in troublesome work for the user. Therefore, to identify the management information, the user has to make a print or a handwritten note on the user's own terms.
In distributing information content from the distribution center apparatus, the aforementioned system transmits transmission information of matters for attention and limitations or the like to the user terminal apparatus to present it to the user in the use of a display function on the side of the user terminal apparatus. Therefore, to confirm the transmission information for the distribution of the video content, troublesome processing is required for the user terminal apparatus to set the information storage medium to access to the distribution center apparatus, and for the distribution center apparatus to acquire the necessary transmission information from user information managed on the side of the center apparatus. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to measurement devices and measurement methods for obtaining images, such as functional images, structural images, etc., for a measurement subject using various types of magnetic resonances, such as an electron spin resonance (ESR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), etc.
2. Description of the Related Art
Redox metabolism, including active oxygen and free radicals, is closely involved in many physiological phenomena and disease components and progress. Thus, if it is possible to make redox dynamics visible at the individual level, in small experimental animals, there is no doubt that this would greatly contribute to the clarification of vital phenomena, the analysis of disease, the establishment of therapeutic methods for such diseases, and the development of drugs.
Electron spin resonance imaging (ESRI), which specifically detects free radicals, which are intermediate products of redox metabolism, is effective in making redox dynamics visible. However, ESRI images are lacking when it comes to handling internal organs. In order to solve this problem, ESRI/MRI integrated magnetic resonance image analysis devices have been developed that overlay MRI images of internal organs obtained using the nuclear magnetic resonance imaging method (MRI) on the ESRI image.
The Overhauser effect is the phenomenon of the electron spins of free radicals being made to undergo ESR transition, and nuclear spins are polarized through dipolar operation of electron spins and nuclear spins. OMRI is an imaging method wherein an MRI measurement is performed by exciting the electron spins of free radicals and then polarizing the spins of the hydrogen nuclei of water molecules. In OMRI, the nuclear spin polarization is strengthened by a maximum (theoretical value) factor of 330 relative to the normal Boltzmann distribution of nuclear spin. That is to say, it is possible to achieve a 330-fold (theoretical value) improvement in sensitivity relative to an ordinary MRI measurement.
The present applicants have proposed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication 2006-204551, a biometric device for obtaining histological images of organisms using various types of magnetic resonance, including electron spin resonance, nuclear magnetic resonance, etc. This biometric device includes a first magnetic field generation device that generates a magnetic field of a set size, a second magnetic field generation device that generates a magnetic field that is larger than the magnetic field of this first magnetic field generation device, a linear movement device that causes the organism that is the subject of measurement to move linearly between the first and second magnetic field generation devices in synchronization with the radiation of RF pulses, and a measurement processing device that stops the organism that is the subject of measurement and measures histological images of the organism that is the subject of measurement based on signals that are detected according to the RF pulses.
In this biometric device, the first magnetic field generation device can be used as an ESRI external magnetic field generation device and a PEDRI (OMRI) electron spin excitation device, and the second magnetic field generation device as an MRI and OMRI external magnetic field generation device, so that the time variable images of the radical amount can be obtained as OMRI, and the qualitative alteration images can be obtained as four-dimensional spectrum/spatial ESRI/MRI; since the magnetic field from the second magnetic field generation device can be made larger, high-sensitivity, high-resolution images can be obtained.
Incidentally, with this biometric device, the organism that is the subject of measurement is moved repetitively by the linear movement device provided between the first and second magnetic field generation devices, and measurement is performed after the organism is stopped, so large acceleration is generated when moving and stopping the organism. Thus, there is the problem that a large load is imposed on the moving organism to be measured by this biometric device.
The purpose of the present invention is to provide a measurement device and measurement method that allows the load on the organism that is the subject of measurement to be eliminated by measuring the organism that is the subject of measurement without stopping it as it moves through multiple magnetic field generation devices. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
A rather common place assembly procedure is the connecting of one fluid conduit to another for any of a variety of reasons. The connections are, of course, intended to assure that the fluid being contained within the conduit will not leak from the joint.
All manner of couplings, joints, etc. having widely varying characteristics have been devised for use in these assembly procedures. The specific characteristics of any given joint depend in a large part on the nature of the fluid being contained within the conduit as well as the intended pressure thereof.
In some instances, the manufacture of a relatively simple product may require the formation of a large number of fluid tight joints. For example, in the manufacture of some types of heat exchangers, a series of straight tubes impale plate fins. The tubes frequently are connected to convey a heat exchange fluid through the tubes in a serial arrangement and in such a case, U-shaped tubes are located on opposite ends of the heat exchanger core formed by the tubes and the plate fins and are joined to two adjacent tubes to direct fluid emerging from one into the other.
These joints must be provided at each end of each tube in the heat exchanger for a total of two joints per tube. In the usual case, the heat exchanger will include at least 30 tubes (and in some instances, in excess of 100) so there are a large number of joints involved. And, of course, each joint represents a potential leakage site.
Heretofore, the joints have been soldered, brazed, or welded after the conduits were physically assembled together to provide a leak-free joint. Given the large number of joints involved in a typical heat exchanger of this sort, it can be seen that the soldering, brazing, or welding process materially adds to the cost of assembly of the heat exchanger.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the above problems. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The operation of gas turbine engines involves the passage of high volumes of air through the compressor portion of the engine. The high volumes of air inevitably candy a certain amount of hard particles, including abrasive materials such as sand, dirt, metal scraps, etc., which cause serious problems of erosion to the engine components.
The need to provide greater power and greater thrust-to-weight ratios in the advanced engines has led to the development of lightweight non-metallic components in certain portions of the engines. Fiber reinforced epoxy matrix composites are a typical example of materials which have found extensive application in the aerospace industry, particularly for use as airfoil materials in the fan bypass and early compressor stages, where these composites can withstand the temperatures incurred.
Experience with these non-metallic composites has shown that they are prone to surface erosion due to the abrasive particles impinging on the surfaces of the components. This erosion seriously decreases the useful lifetime of the components.
It has been customary to apply an erosion resistant coating to the surface of the components to prolong their lifetimes. A typical coating is achieved by spraying a layer of polyurethane onto the surface of the component, followed by curing at elevated temperature to bond the coat and develop the optimum erosion resistant properties. Typically several coats, up to as many as 20, have been applied to achieve a sufficient coating thickness for adequate erosion resistance. Total coating thickness is usually on the order of 0,005-0.020". Careful surface preparation of the part is required to promote coating adhesion.
The sprayed polyurethane coating has been found to be insufficient to provide adequate protection on the leading edges of the airfoils, where the erosive effects are the greatest. In these areas it is customary to install a metal sheath, either solid or mesh, to provide the necessary protection. However it is not desirable to coat the entire surface of the airfoils with metal because of the added weight and the difficulties of fabrication of the airfoils with an all encompassing metal sheath.
Murphy, et. al., in U.S. Pat. No. 4,594,761, disclose the use of a polyurethane sheath to provide erosion resistance on hollow airfoils used in gas turbine engines. In this method, a polyurethane film, which has an adhesive resin on one surface, is attached to the surface of the airfoil.
Merz, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,966,527, teaches the construction of a composite blade which includes a jacket, a part of which is an erosion protective outer coating made of a polyurethane lacquer or a polyurethane elastomer film.
Barbier, et. al., in U.S. Pat. No. 4,990,205, teach construction of a composite blade which includes an outer layer of "molded polyurethane, which enables the outer profile of the blade to be produced with precision and which possesses excellent resistance to erosion by sand."
While the polyurethane coatings provide good erosion resistance on the surfaces of non-metallic composite airfoils, the performance of these components does not completely fulfill the desired lifetime requirements. The polyurethane provides good resistance to erosion, and is a significant improvement over the epoxy matrix material of the composite. However, the polyurethane coating, which is bonded to the surface of the pre-cured epoxy matrix composite substrate, suffers from premature disbonding if the coating is penetrated by unusually large or sharp particles impinging on the surface or the surface of the composite has not been prepared carefully enough.
An alternate form of erosion-resistant coating consists of an epoxy impregnated fiberglass cloth which is applied to the surface of the fiber reinforced epoxy matrix composite article. By using similar epoxy resins for the article and the coating, and curing both in the same operation, an erosion-resistant coating which is integrally bonded to the structure is obtained. This coating overcomes the peeling problems associated with the bonded polyurethane coatings, and is much faster and less costly to apply. Even though its erosion resistance is not as good as the polyurethane materials, the reduced cost and high resistance to peeling can make it a more desirable coating.
What is needed is an erosion resistant coating for fiber reinforced epoxy matrix composite articles which has improved resistance to erosion compared to the prior art epoxy base coatings.
What is also needed is an erosion resistant coating for fiber reinforced epoxy matrix composite articles which has better resistance to disbonding than the prior art bonded polyurethane coatings.
What is still further needed is a method for applying the improved erosion resistant coatings to the surface of fiber reinforced epoxy matrix composite articles. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a workpiece transfer apparatus of an independent type which rationally performs the loading of an unfinished workpiece onto and the unloading of a finished workpiece from each of a plurality of machine tools performing the same machining function.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a prior workpiece transfer apparatus of the aforementioned type, as shown in FIG. 1, there are disposed in parallel loading and unloading conveyors C1 and C2, along which a plurality (e.g. two) of machine tools M1 and M2 performing the same machining function are disposed, and further, a pair of manipulator carriers 1 and 2 are guided for travelling along an over-head transfer rail 3 extended between a machining station of each of the machine tools M1, M2 and the loading and unloading converyors C1, C2. However, such construction of the transfer apparatus leaves a problem to be solved in that a plurality of workpieces each awaiting a successive machining operation are stocked in that portion of the loading conveyor C1 which extends between the machine tools, thus increasing the number of undesirable in-line stock workpieces. Such construction of the transfer apparatus, moreover, makes it difficult for an operator to monitor the machining operation that each machine tool is performing, since except by turning around the corner of either of the machine tools as indicated by the broken line, he is not able to come from the front of one of the machine tools to the front of the other machine tool, and vice versa. Further, the conveyors C1 and C2 provide obstacles on the passing way of the operator. Although bridges crossing over the conveyors C1 and C2 are installed in places, the provision of the bridges does not bring about a perfect solution in obviating such restraint on the operator's passing.
Another prior transfer apparatus has also been known, wherein as shown in FIG. 2, a pair of machine tools performing the same machining function are disposed respectively at both sides of serially arranged loading and unloading conveyors C1 and C2, and wherein a pair of manipulator carriers 1 and 2 are guided for travelling along an overhead transfer rail 3 extended transversely of the conveyors C1, C2. In this transfer apparatus, workpieces that are stocked on the loading conveyor C1 for machining on either of the machine tools are advantageously decreased in number. However, the conveyors obstruct the way of an operator from one of the machine tools to the other machine tool, and this disadvantageously makes it difficult for the operator to monitor machining operations of both of the machine tools as well as to quickly approach the same. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device and a method for transferring image data.
2. Description of the Related Art
Well-known as a display device mentioned above is, e.g., what is shown in FIG. 3 (Patent Document 1). As shown in the FIG. 3 the display device 1 includes a CPU 4 controlling the whole display device 1 as a first controller, a ROM 5 in which an image data is stored as a first memory, a graphic display controller 6 (hereafter referred to as a GDC) controlling a driver 3 and displaying the image data on a liquid crystal display 2, a VRAM 7 temporally storing the image data displayed on the liquid crystal display 2 as a second memory, and a data bus 8 mutually connecting the CPU 4, the ROM 5 and the GDC 6.
The display device 1 is required to temporally transfer and store the image data stored in the ROM 5 to the VRAM 7 in order to display the image data stored in the ROM 5 on the liquid crystal display 2.
As a conventional method for transferring, steps shown in FIG. 4 are performed. FIGS. 4 (A) to (E) each show a time chart of a read signal of the display device 1 shown in FIG. 3, a state of the ROM 5, a write signal, a state of the GDC 6, and the image data on the bus 8. First, the CPU 4 outputs a read signal to the ROM 5 (FIG. 4 (A)). The ROM 5, corresponding to output of the read signal, outputs the image data onto the data bus 8 (FIG. 4 (B), (E)). The CPU 4 reads the image data outputted on the data bus 8 and stores the image data into the internal memory not shown.
Completing reading, the CPU 4 outputs a write signal to the GDC 6 (FIG. 4 (C)) while outputting the image data onto the data bus 8 (FIG. 4 (E)). The GDC 6, corresponding to the write signal, reads the image data outputted on the data bus 8 and writes the image data into the VRAM 7 (FIG. 4 (D), (E)).
However, in the method above mentioned, the CPU 4 has been required to read the image data stored in the ROM 5 before writing the image data from the CPU 4 via the GDC 6 into the VRAM 7. Namely, there has been a problem in which the conventional method for transferring mentioned above has been required to perform two steps of reading and writing, causing much time for transferring.
[Patent Document 1] JP, A, 2007-248965
An object of the present invention is to provide a display device and a method for transferring image data achieving shortening process time required to transfer image data without greater processing capacity. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
This invention has to do with the application or use of Sentricon bait stations manufactured by Dow Elanco by termite exterminators. A series of holes is drilled around the house or structure to be treated for termites. These holes are typically two inches in diameter and about fourteen inches deep. A "bait station" is to be inserted in these holes. A typical bait station has a cylinder containing the desired termite chemical. The cylinder is inserted into the hole. At the top of the cylinder is a flat circular support plate which rests on the earth and supports the termite cylinder within the hole.
Before the bait station is inserted into the hole the grass must be cut off at the surface down to dirt in an area around the hole. This cutting is presently done by hand cutters in the support area on which the support plate will rest.
It is an object of this invention to provide a tool which will properly cut the grass from this support area. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The embodiments of the present invention relate to personal information management (PIM) clients and, more particularly, to processing recurring events within a PIM client. A PIM client can refer to a computer-based system that can coordinate the entry, tracking, and management of personal information for a user. PIM applications can provide functions such as electronic mail, address books, calendaring, instant messaging (IM), project management, and the like. Typically, a PIM application will perform some combination of one or more of these functions. PIM applications support the user in organizing and interacting with his, or her, personal information. Personal information can include appointments, meeting, tasks, social or business contact information, medical information, financial information, or the like, which is related to the user.
An event that has two or more occurrences can be referred to as a recurring event. A recurring event can be defined as a series of independent occurrences of the event or be defined according to a repeat rule specifying a defined pattern of repetition. For example, a task can be performed every Monday, or a meeting can occur on the last day of every month for one year. An identifier can associate each occurrence of the recurring meeting with each other occurrence or, for example, with a “root” event object representing the recurring event as a whole. The identifier can denote that the occurrences of the recurring meeting are not independent calendar events, but rather are related to one another and form the recurring meeting.
A user can invite other users to attend a recurring event through an event invitation. In addition, the user can issue an event update to an existing recurring event, for example, when a meeting time or date for a recurring event must be changed. A user receiving the event update can decide to either accept or decline the request, and send a response to the issuer of the request based upon that decision. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
In the underground power distribution industry, elastomeric elbows and bushings have seen more than a decade of commercial usage as separable connector elements. Such elbows typically comprise housings with an electrically stress-graded end interfittable with a shielded power cable and an opposite end having an elongate cylindrical contact assembly electrically connected to the cable conductor and receivable by a female contact in the bushing. The bushing contact is in turn electrically connected to user apparatus, for example, a transformer or the like. In adapting the elbow-bushing separable connector to usage in electric arcing situations, i.e., loadmake, loadbreak and fault closure conditions, the elbow contact assembly is generally comprised of an electrically conductive contact (rod) and a rod extension (follower) of material adapted to generate arc-extinguishing gases upon being exposed to electric arching. In turn, the bushing female contact is combined with a block of like arc-extinguishing material.
For safety in the joinder and separation of elbows and bushings under energized circuit conditions, the industry has adopted the so-called "hot-stick" technique, whereby an operator engages the elbow by use of an elongate stick of some ten foot length and thereby moves the elbow into or away from the bushing. With such distance involved, it is unavoidable that occasions arise wherein there is substantial cantilever stressing of the composite rod and rod extension, i.e., where the hot-stick is not axially in alignment with the bushing female contact element. The rod, being of metal, readily accommodates such cantilever stressing. On the other hand, the rod extension, being constituted of non-metallic arc-quenching material, has quite limited resistance to cantilever stress and has been observed to exhibit cracking. In lessening cracking of arc-quenching material upon cantilever stressing thereof, the industry has in the past reinforced the arc-quenching material by running a rigid extension of the rod interiorly of the arc-quenching material for a portion of its length. In these initial embodiments, the art provided such improved cantilever stress resistance by running a rigid electrically conductive (metal pin) member from the male contact to a location axially interior of the extremity of the arc-quenching material, thereby also providing electrical stress relief for the interface of the rod and rod follower.
In a more recent development, set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 3,955,874, it is proposed that the foregoing metal pin member practice is not adequate in that the follower remains susceptible to breakage in its extent axially beyond the pin member. In accommodating its proposed solution to the problem, the effort in such patent provides a solid electrically insulative member of rigid nature extending the full length of the rod follower and includes, for purposes of stress relief, an electrically conductive film on the exterior of such rigid insulative member extending less than the extent of the follower.
While the proposal of the U.S. Pat. No. 3,955,874 may provide full-length rigidity for followers, along with suitable extension of electrical conductivity, longitudinally outwardly of the male contact, it is considered not to be without disadvantage. Thus, on the development of cracks in the extent of the follower overlying the film, the film provides direct electrical connection to the male contact, whereby an electric arc has electrical access to the male contact, diminishing arc-extinction possibilities.
Additionally, the follower reinforcement element runs the full length thereof and occupies contact assembly volume at the follower end face which otherwise would be occupied by arc-quenching material. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
As the time has neared to end (or terminate) the transmission of analog broadcast signals, diverse technologies for transmitting and receiving digital broadcast signals are being researched and developed. Herein, a digital broadcast signal may include high capacity video/audio data as compared to an analog broadcast signal, and, in addition to the video/audio data, the digital broadcast signal may also include diverse additional data.
More specifically, a digital broadcasting system for digital broadcasting may provide HD (High Definition) level images, multiple-channel sound (or audio), and a wide range of additional services. However, a data transmission efficiency for transmitting high capacity data, a robustness of transmitting and receiving network, and flexibility in a network considering mobile receiving equipments are still required to be enhanced. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The present disclosure relates to an information processing device. In particular, the present disclosure relates to an information processing device and an information processing method which displays an image, and a program which makes a computer execute the method.
In the past, information processing devices such as a television reception device, which receives broadcasting waves from each broadcasting station and displays an image based on broadcasting waves, are in wide spread use. In addition, an information processing device is proposed which, along with the image which is a display target, displays character information which relates to the image (for example, subtitles or captions).
For example, a content processing device is proposed which displays subtitles where Chinese characters used in Japanese are accompanied with Japanese syllabary and subtitles where Chinese characters used in Japanese are not accompanied with Japanese syllabary so as to overlap with an image (for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2010-199711). | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wireless communication system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for processing a Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) in a wireless communication system based on a multiple access scheme.
2. Description of the Related Art
In 3rd Generation (3G) advanced wireless mobile communication system standards, two types of reference signals are specified, namely a Common Reference Signal (CRS) and a Dedicated Reference Signal (DRS). CRS is referred to as either a cell-specific RS or Common RS (CRS) in a 3G Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard and is monitored by all User Equipments (UEs) in a cell of a corresponding base station. For multiple antenna transmission, reference signal patterns are defined to distinguish between the antenna ports for channel estimation and measurement. In an LTE system, a maximum of 4 antenna ports can be supported. DRS denotes a reference signal that is separately transmitted from a CRS and listened to by a UE indicated by the base station. In a 3GPP LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) system, this reference signal is referred to as a UE-specific RS, a DRS, or a Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) and is used for supporting a data traffic channel transmission with non-codebook based precoding at the base station.
In the LTE-A system, which is an advanced form of the LTE system, a DeModulation Reference Signal (DM-RS) is transmitted for supporting channel estimation with 8 layers in addition to the aforementioned CRS and DRS.
FIG. 1 is diagram illustrating configurations of a radio frame, a subframe, and a Physical Resource Block (PRB) for transmitting CRS in an LTE system according to the related art.
Referring to FIG. 1, a radio frame is divided into 10 subframes, each having a length of 1 msec. This means that a radio frame has a length of 10 msec and consists of 10 subframes as shown in FIG. 1. In FIG. 1, reference number 110 denotes one of the subframes constituting the radio frame. For each subframe, an evolved Node B (eNB) performs transmission over the system bandwidth in Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA). One subframe consists of a plurality of Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs). One PRB consists of 12 subcarriers. For one subframe, the subcarriers are arranged at a regular interval in the frequency domain. In FIG. 1, reference number 120 denotes one of the PRBs constituting the system bandwidth. In the LTE signal structure of FIG. 1, a number of PRBs is determined depending on the system bandwidth.
The PRB 120 is a time-frequency resource region as denoted by reference number 130. As denoted by reference number 130 of FIG. 1, each PRB is a time-frequency resource region consisting of 12 subcarriers in the frequency domain and 14 OFDMA symbol durations in the time domain. The resource unit defined by one subcarrier and one OFDM symbol duration is referred to as a Resource Element (RE), and one RE can carry one data symbol or reference signal symbol.
The PRB 130 consists of 12 subcarriers and 14 OFDM symbol durations. This means that a PRB 130 consists of a total of 168 REs. The first three OFDM symbol durations of the PRB 130 are assigned as a control region in which the eNB uses a control channel for transmitting control information with which the UE can receive a traffic channel. Although the control region is defined by the first three OFDM symbol durations, it can be configured with the first one or two OFDM symbol durations depending on the eNB's determination.
In FIG. 1, reference number 140 denotes a data RE for use in transmitting traffic channel. Reference number 150 denotes a CRS RE for use in transmitting a CRS for a UE's channel estimation and measurement. Since the positions of the data RE and CRS RE are known to the eNB and UE, the UE can receive the CRS and traffic channel correctly in the PRB. Unless specifically stated otherwise, all indexing starts from 0 in the following description. For example, in FIG. 1, the 14 OFDM symbols constituting the PRB are indexed from 0 to 13.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating resources allocated for a UE to report a channel quality measurement to an eNB in an LTE system according to the related art.
Referring to FIG. 2, the UE measures a channel quality of all the PRBs within the system band for the subframe 230 including a plurality of PRBs. In order to measure the channel quality in each PRB, the UE uses the CRS 220 transmitted by the eNB. Since the CRS is transmitted at the same transmission power in all of the PRBs, the UE can determine which PRB has relatively higher channel quality by comparing the received signal strengths of the CRSs received in respective PRBs. Also, it is possible to determine the data rate which each PRB can support depending on the absolute received signal strength. The channel quality information is mapped in the form of channel feedback information and then reported to the eNB using the uplink control channel as denoted by reference number 240 of FIG. 2. Based on the channel feedback information transmitted by the UE, the eNB performs downlink transmission in the subframes 251, 252, 253, 254, and 255. The eNB can acquire the information on the data rate, preferable precoding, and preferable PRB supported by the UE based on the channel feedback information transmitted by the UE and performs downlink scheduling and Adoptive Modulation and Coding (AMC) based on the acquired information.
In FIG. 2, the eNB uses the channel feedback information 240 before the receipt of the next channel feedback information 260. Although it is depicted that only one UE transmits the channel feedback information in FIG. 2, a real world system is typically designed such that a plurality of UEs can transmit the channel feedback information simultaneously.
However, the method described above has a number of problems. For example, in the LTE system, the UEs measure the channel quality based on the CRS transmitted by the eNB. In case of measuring the channel quality with a CRS as shown in FIG. 2, the number of layers for the eNB to transmit with Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) technology is limited by the number of antenna ports of a CRS. According to the standard, the LTE system can support up to 4 antenna ports. Since more than four CRS antenna ports are not supported, the MIMO transmission of the eNB is limited to a maximum of four layers.
Another problem with CRS-based channel estimation and measurement of the UEs is that the eNB must always transmit a CRS. Accordingly, in order to support more than four antenna ports, an additional CRS should be transmitted. This means that the limited radio resource is excessively concentrated on transmitting a CRS for channel estimation measurement, resulting in bandwidth inefficiency. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Digital versatile disc (DVD) is an emerging technology which due to its nature, requires extensive encryption in order to protect the data, such as a motion picture, against unauthorized copying. DVD is a specification for the content of video, audio and other compressed data to be used as playback video, audio and, for example, subtitle data by a DVD decoder. The DVD video data is specified in the moving picture experts group (MPEG) standard (ISO/IEC 13818-2). As well as being represented by the standard, the data is also encrypted for protection.
Encryption is achieved using the industry's content scrambling system (CSS), which produces an encrypted, encoded data stream for DVD playback. The data stream can be decrypted, for example, by hardware licensed to perform CSS decryption. Conventionally, CSS decryption occurs at a PCI card, which also conventionally includes MPEG decompression of the encrypted, encoded data signal.
A DVD PC system or player is manufactured under license of the DVD consortium to include a copy protect module to protect distribution of DVD data worldwide. This technology includes scrambling of data and the concept of DVD regions throughout the world. Each digital video disc includes data that determines in which of the various defined regions of the world that DVD will play. Each DVD player or PC system sold in a given region must only play digital video discs that are allowed to be played in that region. Currently, the global market is divided into six DVD regions and each digital video disc produced contains data representative of regional information where the disc can be played.
In view of the region-dependent nature of DVD PC systems, there would be commercial advantage to a global technique to update the PC software of different DVD systems sold in the various DVD regions of the world without negatively effecting the region-dependent nature of the DVD systems. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
In an LTE (long term evolution, long term evolution) security architecture, a security system is divided into three parts: a radio plane, a transmission plane, and a maintenance plane.
To tackle transmission threats, a base station (Evolved NodeB, base station) uses an IPSec (IP Security) mechanism to ensure secrecy, integrity and availability of transmission. The IPSec mechanism uses IKE (internet key exchange, internet key exchange) negotiation to perform bidirectional authentication between nodes.
In a scenario that a security gateway (security gateway) exists, when the base station needs to be connected with the security gateway through IKE, the base station downloads a CRL (certificate revocation list, certificate revocation list) file from a CRL server first, and then uses the CRL file to authenticate a digital certificate of the security gateway. In the authentication process, the local time of the base station is used as a basis for judging whether the digital certificate of the security gateway is in a validity period.
Generally, a time server is located in a core network after the security gateway. After an IKE connection is set up between the base station and the security gateway, the local time of the base station may be checked against the time of the time server in the core network.
Currently, in the case that the base station is powered off or stops service interaction with the security gateway in a long time, the time on the base station is reset to a default value (such as January 2008). If the time of the base station is not checked through a GPS (global positioning system, global positioning system), the base station is unable to obtain the time on the time server before connecting to the security gateway. Consequently, the local time of the base station is not correct, and the actually valid digital certificate of the security gateway is unable to pass the authentication, or the actually expired digital certificate of the security gateway passes the authentication, which imposes security threats.
A solution in the prior art is: installing a clock component powered by a battery on the base station. The base station reads correct time from the clock component to align the local time.
In the implementation of the present disclosure, the inventor finds at least the following defects in the prior art.
In the solution put forward in the prior art, a time component and a battery need to be installed on the base station additionally, which increases the cost. Moreover, after the base station is connected with the security gateway, the base station checks time through the time server once obtaining the address of the time server, and the base station does not need the clock component any longer, which leads to waste of resources. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
This invention is related in general to the field of telecommunications. More particularly, the invention is related to a system and method for wireless directory assistance.
Directory assistance is the service of providing a customer a telephone number for a party specified by the customer. The customer may supply a name and a city location of the party to the directory assistance operator, and the operator then looks up that party""s telephone number in a computer database and provides the telephone number to the customer. Most recently, the operator, upon locating the telephone number, would activate a pre-recorded voice announcement to convey the telephone number to the customer. Some directory service providers further offer to connect the customer to the telephone number for a predetermined fee.
Currently, directory assistance calls made by wireless customers are routed from the wireless switch to a centralized directory assistance service provider. Because the directory assistance service provider may service customers within a large geographical area, the call to the directory assistance service provider is usually a long-distance call, which may be routed through one or more switches. If the customer is then connected to the destination telephone number by the directory assistance service provider, then the call from the customer to the destination number is routed through the wireless switch, one or more switches to the directory assistance service provider, and then one or more switches to the destination number. The last leg of the path from the directory assistance service provider to the destination number may also be routed through one or more switches. Therefore, it may be seen that a single call takes up a disproportionate amount of bandwidth to route the call.
Accordingly, there is a need for an efficient method of providing wireless directory assistance service to the customers.
In one aspect of the invention, a method of providing wireless directory assistance service includes the steps of recognizing a wireless call placed by a caller at a telecommunications carrier switch, routing the wireless call to a call management platform coupled to the telecommunications carrier, and a directory assistance service provider is contacted via the telecommunications carrier switch or via a frame relay network. The wireless call is then split from the call to the directory assistance service provider. The call management platform then receives a destination number from the directory assistance service provider and supplies it to the caller in a voice announcement. The destination number may be received in-band or via the frame relay network. The call management platform waits a predetermined time period and then automatically connects the wireless call to the destination number via the telecommunications carrier switch if the wireless call has not been disconnected within the predetermined time period. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
This invention relates generally to method of and apparatus for controlling liquid level and power consumption in liquid treatment systems wherein surface aeration devices are employed in enclosed covered chambers to promote the dissolution of a gas into a liquid.
In the practice of oxygenation of BOD-containing water as taught by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,547,812-3,547,815 to J. R. McWhirter et al, at least one enclosed covered aeration chamber is employed wherein the liquid undergoing treatment is intimately contacted in the presence of activated sludge with oxygen-enriched gas from an overlying gas space to dissolve the oxygen necessary for aerobic biological activity. Such oxygenation systems provide substantial advantages over prior art treatment systems wherein atmospheric air is used as the oxidant in open aeration chambers. For example, the closed chamber oxygenation system is able to operate at biological suspended solids levels several times greater and aeration detention periods several times less than those of air aeration systems while maintaining comparable or better overall levels of treatment. Such advantages are a consequence of the higher mass transfer driving force for oxygen-enriched gas relative to air, which permits higher dissolved oxygen levels to be achieved with economic levels of volumetric oxygen transfer rate per unit of power input. A particularly effective method for obtaining high economic utilization of oxygen gas in the aeration feed gas is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,547,812, wherein the feed gas comprises at least 60% oxygen (by volume) and the oxygen feed gas to total (mixing plus gas-liquor contact) energy ratio is maintained at 0.03-0.40 lb. moles oxygen per horsepower hour of energy supplied. In order to suitably employ such feed gas-energy ratios, it is necessary that the energy supplied to the aeration zone be used efficiently to generate the gas-liquor interfacial area required for oxygen solution. Mixing energy must also be employed to hold the solids uniformly in suspension and to circulate the mixed liquor repeatedly through the gas-liquor contactor. For these reasons, it is taught by the aforementioned patent to use an aeration device whose standard air transfer efficiency is at least 1.5 and preferably 2.5 lb. oxygen/horsepower hour in order that the oxygen may be dissolved rapidly despite the relatively small volume of gas fed to the system, and in order that the biological solids are not damaged and dispersed.
In practice surface aeration devices are often used in the aforementioned oxygenation systems to achieve the desired levels of gas-liquid contacting. These devices are disposed at or near the surface of the liquid to be treated and project relatively large sheets or streams of liquid into the gas phase overlying the liquid pool, thereby providing extensive interfacial area for mass transfer while promoting circulation and fluid mixing in the bulk liquid volume. Surface aerators may be of various types, as for example relatively low speed rotating impellers, disks, or brush devices or high speed propellers mounted in draft tubes. Such devices can provide high rates of oxygen transfer, e.g. 2-4 lb. oxygen/hour per unit of total horsepower input, and thus represent highly efficient means for effecting gas/liquid contact. In contrast to other aeration devices such as diffusers and submerged turbine rotating spargers, surface aerators are not susceptible to clogging by solids, are relatively simple mechanically and do not require gas recirculation compressors and associated piping.
In spite of their desirable features, however, certain disadvantages have become apparent as surface aeration devices have been employed for the treatment of BOD-containing water in closed oxygenation chambers. Surface aeration units are inherently sensitive to changes in liquid submergence, which can greatly affect their efficiency, power requirements and stability of operation. Operation at too shallow an aerator submergence provides insufficient oxygen dissolution for the process requirements and may result in mechanically unstable operation which can drastically shorten equipment life. Alternatively, too great a submergence may result in deleterious overloading of the drive means, e.g., burnout of an electrical motor, and necessitate the shutdown of the treatment system. In addition, operation at too high or too low a submergence will frequently result in cyclic projected liquid patterns and wave motion at the liquid surface, accompanied by severe power surges. For these reasons, the range of tolerable submergence levels for a given surface aeration device may be quite narrow, as for example 2-3 inches overall. Nonetheless, liquid level changes due to pumping cycles within the liquid treatment facility or variations in the influent hydraulic loading may result in liquid submergences which are outside of the desired submergence limits by a factor of two or more in a system lacking means for liquid level control. Under such conditions, the increase in power draw from low submergence to high submergence levels may be substantial, e.g., greater than 60%.
Heretofore, closed chamber oxygenation systems have generally employed a respirometer method of oxygen feed control whereby the feed gas flow control means are responsive to a slight, predetermined superatmospheric pressure in the gas space of the oxygenation chamber. In practice, a simple pressure sensor is positioned in the aeration chamber cover to detect changes in gas space pressure resulting from a decrease or increase in oxygen uptake, as flow of or strength of the influent liquid changes. A control signal based on the pressure sensing is then generated and relayed to a flow control valve on the inlet aeration gas line which adjusts gas flow to maintain the desired set point gas pressure in the oxygenation chamber. Thus, if process changes result in a lowering of gas pressure in the chamber gas space, for example, the control valve will open causing more oxygen-enriched gas to flow to the system. This simple control circuit provides steady, uniform feed of oxygen gas and is usually responsive solely to the oxygen demand and/or mass transfer capability of the system. The selected superatmospheric pressure which it maintains within the oxygenated chamber is only sufficient to reject spent gas from the chamber and is dependent upon the flow resistance of the gas venting means which in turn are usually adjusted to optimize oxygen utilization in the chamber.
Despite its comparatively rapid response to changes in oxygen demand placed on the oxygenation system, however, the above described respirometer system achieves no direct control over liquid level in the closed chamber. In other words, a given gas pressure setting for the oxygenation chamber can be maintained regardless of the liquid level therein. If the influent flow rate of liquid to the oxygenation system varies, then the liquid level in the oxygenation chamber will change correspondingly with the extent of liquid level change depending upon the type of liquid discharge means used to control liquid inventory in the system. In practice, the liquid discharge means generally include a discharge weir which may be disposed external of the oxygenation chamber as for example in a clarification basin downstream from the chamber or alternatively may be positioned in the oxygenation chamber.
If a weir is employed externally of the covered chamber to control liquid level therein and if the oxygen supply to the chamber is regulated in accordance with the respirometer method, then variations in gas pressure within the closed chamber, caused for example by altering the flow resistance of the gas venting means, can produce severe changes in liquid level, with the aforedescribed adverse effects on surface aeration devices positioned in the oxygenation chamber. The severity of the liquid level changes under such conditions is due to the fact that external weir system behaves similar to a manometer in that an increase in gas space pressure displaces liquid from the oxygenation chamber until balance is restored between the respective hydrostatic pressures inside and outside of the chamber.
A further problem encountered with the combination of respirometer control and external weir liquid discharge in the oxygenation system is that liquid level changes therein due to hydraulic load variations tend to be reinforced rather than minimized by the system response. A rise or fall in the liquid level in the oxygenation chamber tends to correspondingly compress or expand the body of gas overlying the liquid. Absent the respirometer-controlled feed gas flow control valve, variations in liquid level attendant hydraulic load changes would be dampened by the "cushioning" effect of the gas volume in the chamber. However, the respirometer-controlled valve reacts in such a way as to eliminate the dampening effect of the gas thereby creating submergence conditions potentially detrimental to surface aeration devices disposed in the oxygenation chamber. For example: when hydraulic load on the treatment system is suddenly decreased, the liquid level in the oxygenation chamber will tend to drop. With such occurrence, the pressure in the gas space will drop due to rapidly increasing volume of the gas space. Pressure will fall below the set point pressure, as detected by the pressure sensor. The respirometer system will then send a control signal to further open the feed gas supply valve, to feed more oxygen-enriched gas into the chamber and thereby increase the gas space pressure. In this manner, the control system tends to depress the liquid level so that surface aerator submergence may remain too shallow. When the hydraulic load on the oxygenation system is suddenly increased, the liquid level in the chamber rises and the gas space volume is correspondingly decreased by compression, so that the gas space pressure increases. Such pressure increase is sensed by the control means, which then act to reduce the gas space pressure by further closing the oxygen aeration gas supply valve. This control system thus may tend to maintain the surface aerator at an excessive submergence under such conditions, with the aforementioned deleterious consequences to the aeration apparatus.
In the other past applications of the closed chamber oxygenation systems where the discharge weir is positioned internally of the chamber, the liquid level and liquid discharge rate are relatively insensitive to variations in gas pressure in the chamber, regardless of the type of oxygen gas feed control. However, with such provision, the weir is inaccessible in the closed chamber and manual adjustment thereof is both inconvenient and expensive. Alternatively, the use of automatic weir adjustment means would require internal mechanisms and positive sealing of the closed chamber and would result in a system which is expensive, mechanically complex and difficult to maintain without system shutdown.
Moreover, it is frequently difficult to accommodate a weir within the confines of the chamber which is sufficiently long and extended to minimize the effects of variations in hydraulic loads. Operationally, the use of an internal weir introduces an additional hydraulic loss which would not otherwise be present and which must be accomodated by provision of additional pumps or pumping capacity in the treatment system.
In connection with the above, it is often desirable to adjust the submergence of the surface aerator device within fairly narrow limits to vary the level of gas-liquid contacting and power input to the aerator, as for example in response to cyclic changes in the oxygen demand of the liquid undergoing treatment. A fixed position internal weir cannot accomodate a wide range of oxygen requirements in the liquid undergoing treatment and maintain an optimium submergence and aerator power input under all conditions. With a fixed position internal weir, the power input to the aerator may be varied by changing the speed of rotation of the aerator, but this requires variable speed drive mechanisms which are expensive to provide and maintain and which usually represent an added inefficiency in the power transmission system. The capability to reduce consumption during periods when oxygen demand is low is important for economy and for energy conservation in the oxygenation system. Similarly, the ability to increase power input therein to meet cyclically- or seasonally-high oxygen demand is important in order to avoid inadequate treatment of wastewater and consequent pollution of receiving waters.
Another important disadvantage associated with the inflexibility of the fixed internal weir is the difficulty in accomodating permanent, progressive increases in liquid flow rate. It is common practice to overdesign a treatment plant in deference to anticipated long-range load increases. For example, a plant may go onstream at half its design capacity, with the full (design) load not expected until a number of years later. Under such conditions, it is often desirable to operate the water treatment facility at a considerably lower oxygen dissolution capability than the ultimate plant load will require. Such provision makes it necessary to operate initially at a lower aerator submergence which is compatable with the relatively low initial dissolution capability and later at an increased aerator submergence for higher dissolution capability. As through put increases, a plant with internal weirs must be periodically modified, either to reposition weirs and/or to adjust the elevation of the surface aeration devices. Such changes are expensive, time-consuming and require shutdown of the facility.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to control liquid level in an enclosed chamber contacting system employing surface aeration in such manner as to continuously minimize liquid fluctuations which would deleteriously affect the surface aeration apparatus.
It is a further object of the invention to control gas space pressure level in an enclosed chamber contacting system employing surface aeration in such manner as to continuously minimize liquid level fluctuations and to limit the aeration power expenditure.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide means for controlling submergence of surface aeration apparatus in enclosed covered aeration zones which are readily adjusted to accommodate changes in both the oxygen requirement of the liquid undergoing treatment and in the hydraulic loading of the aeration zone.
Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the ensuing disclosure and appended claims. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
This application claims priority to an application entitled xe2x80x9cWRISTWATCH EQUIPPED WITH DEVICE FOR ELIMINATION OF STATIC ELECTRICITYxe2x80x9d, filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Jul. 15, 2002 and assigned Serial No. 2002-21501, the contents of which is incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a wristwatch equipped with a device for the elimination of static electricity.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When people touch metallic chests, textiles, automobiles, electronic devices and so on in their daily live, the discharge of static electricity occurs often, so people are startled and irritated.
Further, the discharge of static electricity has a bad effect on the health of people.
One of parts where the discharge of static electricity occurs quite often is a part of the human body which touches objects, such as the wrist, the forearm and so on. Accordingly, if devices for preventing static electricity are installed in wristwatches worn on wrists, the static electricity may be effectively eliminated.
An object of the present invention is to provide a wristwatch equipped with a device for the effective elimination of static electricity, which includes a wristwatch having a certain construction, a coil, a resistor, and a discharge bulb connected in series with each other.
There have been used various types of apparatuses for eliminating static electricity from the human body.
For example, there have been used automobile keys with apparatuses for the elimination of static electricity installed therein, key rings having function for the elimination of static electricity, and apparatuses for the elimination of static electricity installed in footwear.
Conventional apparatuses for the elimination of static electricity, such as automobile keys with apparatuses for the elimination of static electricity installed therein or key rings having function for the elimination of static electricity, are disadvantageous in that it is inconvenient for people to touch bodies of the apparatuses after taking the apparatuses carried in their purses and so on out of the purses and holding the apparatuses in their hands. Conventional apparatuses for the elimination of static electricity, such as apparatuses for the elimination of static electricity installed in footwear, are disadvantageous problematic in that they cannot be used at places where footwear is taken off. Additionally, the conventional apparatuses for the elimination of static electricity have individual constructions regardless of general wristwatches.
Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a wristwatch equipped with a device for the elimination of static electricity, which has a significantly simple construction and can maximize the effect of the elimination of) static electricity.
That is, the device for the elimination of static electricity is installed in a wristwatch, and objects are contacted by the ground protrusions of the device that are disposed on an upper cover of the wristwatch worn on the wrist of a user without holding the device in his hand, thereby conveniently eliminating static electricity affecting the human body, and eliminating static electricity using the wristwatch regardless of places.
In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides a wristwatch, comprising a watch body, and a device for the elimination of static electricity, wherein the watch body is equipped with the device for the elimination of static electricity.
Preferably, the device for the elimination of static electricity includes a coil, a resistor, and a discharge bulb connected in series with each other by conducting wires. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Integrated circuits (ICs) and other electronic devices often include arrangements of interconnected field effect transistors (FETs), also called metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs), or simply MOS transistors or devices. A typical MOS transistor includes a gate electrode as a control electrode and spaced apart source and drain electrodes. A control voltage applied to the gate electrode controls the flow of current through a controllable conductive channel between the source and drain electrodes.
Power transistor devices are designed to be tolerant of the high currents and voltages that are present in power applications such as motion control, air bag deployment, and automotive fuel injector drivers. One type of power MOS transistor is a laterally diffused metal-oxide-semiconductor (LDMOS) transistor. In an LDMOS device, a drift space is provided between the channel region and the drain region.
LDMOS devices may be designed to operate in a high-side configuration in which all of the device terminals are level shifted with respect to the substrate potential. Devices configured for high-side operation have been applied in power switchers in DC-to-DC converters, which have respective LDMOS devices for the high side and low side. High-side capable devices may be designed to prevent a direct punch-through path from a body region of the LDMOS device to an underlying substrate.
LDMOS devices are often used in applications, such as automotive applications, involving operational voltages greater than 45 Volts. Breakdown resulting from applying such high voltages to the drain is often prevented through a reduced surface field (RESURF) structure in the LDMOS device design. The RESURF structure is designed to deplete the drift space of the LDMOS device in both vertical and lateral directions, thereby reducing the electric field near the surface at the drift region and thus raising the off-state breakdown voltage (BVdss) of the device.
Breakdown events may nonetheless occur at an intrinsic location along the current conduction path between the drain and source of an LDMOS device. Such intrinsic breakdown events often lead to device degradation or failure. One technique for avoiding intrinsic breakdown involves clamping the drain voltage with a second device in parallel with the LDMOS device. The drain voltage is clamped to a level between the expected operating voltage of the LDMOS device and the intrinsic breakdown voltage of the LDMOS device. The second device undesirably leads to additional fabrication costs. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Remote or externally hosted applications, such as web-based applications, may be deployed and executed on local client devices via the use of web browsers or other local client software. Frequently, a user of the client device is required to authenticate himself before using the remote application in accordance with the security policy of the organization, company, or network of which the user is a member, the security policy of the remote application provider, or other security policy. This authentication may include supplying a username and password, interacting with a biometric scanner or a fingerprint reader, and/or authentication in some other manner. Authentication is particularly stringent for applications involving the exchange or retrieval of sensitive or confidential information.
In conventional systems, the remote application typically collects authentication information. In the case of a username/password process, the remote application may, for example, present a dialog box prompting the user for this information and verify the received username and password against a secure list. In the case of device-based authentication (e.g., a fingerprint reader), the remote application includes software to interact with and operate the device (to, e.g., activate it, receive the scanned user fingerprint data, and either verify the received fingerprint data against known fingerprint data or transmit it to an authentication server). Often, for security reasons, the software used to interact with the hardware device is a browser plug-in.
Although, as noted, security policies may vary greatly depending on the nature of the application and the policies of an organization, authentication generally entails some effort on the part of the would-be user—supplying the password, operating one-time token-generating device to obtain an authentication code, providing a fingerprint, etc.—as well as provision of the supporting hardware (which, in the case of token-generating devices, must be provided on an individual basis to each user, who must be in possession of the device when logging in). A need therefore exists for techniques for managing authentication that reduce or eliminate the need for specialized hardware and/or cumbersome sign-in procedures. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
For as long as food has been cooked, the Maillard reaction has played an important role in improving the appearance and taste of foods. Controlling Maillard reactions has been a central and major challenge in food industry, because aroma, taste and sensorial properties as well as colour are all strongly affected by Maillard chemistry, particularly in traditional processes such as the roasting of coffee and cocoa beans, the baking of bread and cakes, the toasting of cereals and the cooking of meat.
Maillard reaction technology is used by the flavour industry for the production of so-called process or reaction flavours. Process flavours are complex aroma building blocks, which provide similar aroma and taste properties as thermally treated foodstuffs such as cooked meat, chocolate, coffee, caramel, popcorn and bread. Additionally, they can be combined with other flavour ingredients to impart flavour enhancement and/or specific flavour notes in the applications in which they are used.
During the Maillard reaction a wide range of reaction products is formed with significant importance for amongst others the taste of foods. The chemistry underlying the Maillard reaction is very complex. It involves not one reaction pathway but a whole array of various reaction cascades. The Maillard reaction is most commonly known as the reaction of an amino group of e.g. an amino acid, peptide or protein, with the keto group of a sugar, followed by other, more complex changes which result eventually in the formation of a variety of volatiles and non-volatiles.
It is known, for example, that reaction products obtained by heating a mixture of sulphur-containing amino acids and reducing sugar, have a characteristic flavour similar to roasted or cooked meat to some extent. These Maillard reaction products can suitably be employed as flavouring material for foodstuffs.
Though the understanding of the reaction by food technologists is advancing steadily, the Maillard reaction is notoriously difficult to control. The rate of the Maillard reaction and the nature of the products formed are not only dependant on the reactants present but are also greatly influenced by the reaction conditions. These include the pH and water activity, the presence of oxygen and metals, the temperature-time combination during heating and the presence of reaction inhibitors (like sulphur dioxide). These factors together determine the development of the Maillard reaction during processing, thereby having a high impact on both intensity and quality of the obtained process flavour.
Generally speaking, the Maillard reaction is most effective in generating flavour components when the water activity is low. That is one reason why the outer crust of meat and bread or roasted coffee beans do contain high concentrations of Maillard reaction products in the form of volatile molecules (aroma) and non-volatile molecules (colour and taste).
In order to make Maillard flavours with a broad range of aroma compounds and to do so as efficiently as possible, i.e. in higher yields and/or at a higher reaction rate, several methods using liquid phases with low water activity have been proposed.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,879,130 a method of producing a flavouring agent is described, wherein a paste-like mixture prepared from 70-95 wt % of a source of free amino acids, 1-25 wt % of additives, including at least one reducing sugar and water, is heated and kneaded in order to plasticize it. After extrusion the plasticized mixture is further heated in order to react. After drying and cooling a flavorant is obtained.
In EP-A-1 008 305 a method for producing an aroma product is disclosed wherein saturated C16-C18 monoglycerides are added to an aqueous dispersion of amino acids, peptides or hydrolysed protein and reducing sugars and wherein the mixture is subsequently heated to obtain a micro emulsion. By continuous heating of the micro emulsion flavouring compounds develop.
In EP 0 571 031 a process for the preparation of a savoury flavour is described which comprises reacting mono and or di-methyl-3(2H)-furanone with cystein and or hydrogen sulphide. The reaction is carried out in a medium comprising an organic polar solvent such as glycerol or propylene glycol and less than 20% of water. In addition, a food acid, such as acetic acid, may be present in order to stabilize the thiols present, resulting in higher yields of one of the important meat flavour compounds. According to this document the acetic acid is added in an amount of about 41 mmol/kg. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
In recent years, a modulation method known as an orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (hereinafter also referred to as OFDM) method has been used as a method for transmitting digital signals. The OFDM method is a method of preparing a large number of orthogonal subcarriers within a transmission band, assigning data to amplitude and a phase of each subcarrier, and performing digital modulation by such means as phase shift keying (PSK) or quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM).
An OFDM time domain signal is transmitted in a unit of a symbol called an OFDM symbol (see Non-Patent Document 1, for example). The OFDM symbol is configured by a guard interval and an effective symbol.
By adding a guard interval, regarding a multipath shorter than the guard interval, it is possible to eliminate an influence of the multipath by performing appropriate signal processing on the side of the receiving apparatus (see Patent Documents 1, 2, and 3, for example). Due to such a characteristic, the OFDM method is often employed in digital terrestrial broadcasting that is largely susceptible to multipath interference. Examples of the digital terrestrial broadcasting employing the OFDM method include standards such as digital video broadcasting-terrestrial (DVB-T) and integrated services digital broadcasting-terrestrial (ISDB-T), for example. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for adapting computer-based technologies to each end-user. More specifically, the present invention relates to a dynamic profiling system that takes into account the multiple variables that uniquely distinguish the population of end-users, in addition to the temporal changes that occur within each end-user over time.
2. Description of the Related Art
In its present form, existing technology development is a “one size fits all” approach, with limited ability to adjust functionality to the end-user's unique needs and preferences. Regardless of whether the product is an automobile global positioning system (GPS), medical information system (i.e., electronic medical record (EMR)), bank automated teller machine (ATM), or personal computer software program (i.e, Microsoft PowerPoint), the same limitations in end-user customization holds true.
One of the major disadvantages of existing engineering protocols is that the software developers receive little if any feedback after the product is developed and goes into everyday use. Feedback often takes the form of a limited number of advisory group members, who are not truly representative of the community at large, both in clinical practice and personality. If technology is to be truly adaptive, it must be continually monitored and updated, based on the specific needs and patterns of us by its community of end-users.
Computer-based technologies are largely inflexible and created in the eyes of the engineering team that design them. While periodic upgrades will address some of the perceived technical flaws, these technologies are largely developed to address the needs of large groups of users, as opposed to individual users. If an individual end-user is to get the most efficient use of the technology and specific product being used, his/her individual strengths and weaknesses, biases, and perceptions must be taken into account. At the same time, each end-user is not a fixed or static entity. During the course of time, an individual end-user dynamically changes in a variety of ways including (but not limited to) education and training, experience, stress, fatigue, and adaptability.
Accordingly, a way of adapting computer-based technologies to end-user profiles, which could make access, usage, and training, easier and more efficient for users, and adapt for each user's changes over time, is desired. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to data communications and more specifically to a technique for determining if a tunnel destination endpoint is reachable.
2. Background Information
A computer network is a geographically distributed collection of interconnected communication links for transporting data between nodes, such as computers. Many types of computer networks are available, with the types ranging from local area networks (LANs) to wide area networks (WANs). The nodes typically communicate by exchanging discrete frames or packets of data according to pre-defined protocols, such as the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) or the Internetwork Packet eXchange (IPX) protocol.
The topology of a computer network can vary greatly. For example, the topology may comprise a single LAN containing a single intermediate node of a type such as, e.g., a hub, with end-nodes attached to the hub, or a more complex network containing one or more local area networks connected together through a complex intermediate internetwork comprising a plurality of other types of intermediate nodes, such as switches or routers, interconnected to form a WAN. Each of these latter intermediate nodes typically comprises a central processor that enables the intermediate node to, inter alia, route or switch the packets of data along the interconnected links from, e.g., a source end-node that originates the data to a destination end-node that is designated to receive the data.
In certain complex networks, the protocol employed by the source and destination end-nodes may be incompatible with the protocol used by the intermediate nodes. For example, a network may be configured such that the source and destination end-nodes communicate using the IPX protocol, whereas, the intermediate nodes exchange data using the IP protocol. Often in such networks, data packets are transferred from a source end-node through the intermediate internetwork to a destination end-node using a technique called “tunneling.”
Broadly stated, a tunnel is a logical path through which encapsulated packets travel from a source endpoint through an internetwork to a destination endpoint. Encapsulation is typically performed at the source endpoint of the tunnel and decapsulation is performed at the destination endpoint. Thus, in a typical tunneling implementation, data packets are encapsulated at the source endpoint, sent through the internetwork infrastructure over the tunnel and decapsulated when they reach the destination endpoint.
Encapsulation typically involves enclosing the data (payload) in an additional header to form an encapsulated packet. The additional header, sometimes called a delivery header, provides routing information that enables the encapsulated packet to traverse the intermediate internetwork. Decapsulation typically involves removing the delivery header of the encapsulated packet, thereby yielding the payload. The term tunneling, in general, is often used when referring to the entire process of encapsulation, transmission and decapsulation of packets.
A protocol that may be used in a tunneling implementation to encapsulate packets is the “Generic Routing Encapsulation” (GRE) protocol defined in Request For Comments (RFC) 1701, RFC 2784 and RFC 2890, which RFCs are available from the Internet Engineering Task Force, Network Working Group, http://www.ietf.org and are hereby incorporated by reference as though fully set forth herein. The GRE protocol enables transmission of an arbitrary network protocol over any other second arbitrary network protocol by encapsulating packets of the first protocol within GRE packets that, in turn, are contained within packets of the second protocol. The GRE protocol is typically executed by intermediate nodes, such as routers or switches, that form the source and destination endpoints of a tunnel.
For example, assume a “payload” packet generated by a source end-node requires encapsulation for delivery through an intermediate network to a destination end-node. At the source endpoint of the tunnel, the payload packet is first encapsulated in a GRE packet comprising the payload packet and a GRE header. The resulting GRE packet is then encapsulated in some other protocol, called a “delivery protocol,” and forwarded to the destination endpoint of the tunnel. This delivery protocol is the protocol used by intermediate nodes of the network to route or switch the encapsulated packet through the intermediate network from the source to the destination endpoints.
One problem associated with the GRE protocol is that it does not provide a mechanism to determine if the destination endpoint of the tunnel is reachable. By not “knowing” if the destination endpoint is reachable, the source endpoint cannot prevent the loss of traffic should the destination endpoint become unreachable due to various conditions such as, e.g., a misconfiguration of the tunnel or the unavailability of destination endpoint. Also, traffic cannot be routed along alternative paths because the source endpoint considers the tunnel operational, i.e., in an “up” state, and thus continues to route the packet traffic to the tunnel even though the traffic is not received at the destination endpoint. Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a mechanism that enables a source endpoint of tunnel to determine if the tunnel's destination endpoint is reachable. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
This present disclosure relates generally to method and related composition using plants of the Irvingiaceae family (Ig) to provide numerous health benefits, and more particularly, to the use of Ig and extracts of Ig to control body lipid levels, reduce body weight and prevent or reduce other symptoms associated with Syndrome X, a common metabolic disorder.
Syndrome X is a term that is commonly known in the art that typically refers to a group of health related problems that can include insulin resistance, which is the bodies inability to properly deal with dietary carbohydrates, abnormal blood fats and lipid levels, being overweight, and having high blood pressure.
Insulin resistance is a condition in which the body becomes resistant to its own insulin. The affected individual compensates by releasing more insulin, which can ultimately lead to an increased risk of a variety of symptoms, including, but not limited to obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Accordingly, the development of strategies to prevent or control Syndrome X and to prevent and reduce the symptoms that cause Syndrome X, which include, among other things, insulin resistance, are worthwhile.
Avoiding weight gain from adolescence to middle age is known to reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Despite much debate in the past regarding the influence of obesity on health and the benefits of maintaining normal weight, it is generally accepted that changes in weight correlate to changes in several atherogenic risk factors.
Even with control of weight, many people can still develop symptoms associated with Syndrome X, all of which are highly undesirable. Therefore, treatments that reduce or prevent the symptoms associated with Syndrome X are needed.
No known method or composition has been entirely effective at reducing weight, improving control of body lipids or preventing symptoms associated with Syndrome X. Therefore, improved methods and compositions that prevent or reduce the symptoms of Syndrome X and provide other health related benefits are needed. The present disclosure fulfils these needs and provides for further advantages. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an electro-optical device, such as an active-matrix-driving liquid crystal device, an electrophoresis device, such as electronic paper, an electro-luminescent (EL) display device, and a device including an electron emission element, such as a field emission display and a surface-conduction electron-emitter display, and to methods of manufacturing the same. Also, the present invention relates to an electronic apparatus including the electro-optical device.
2. Description of Related Art
In the related art, electro-optical devices capable of active-matrix-driving have been disclosed. These electro-optical devices include pixel electrodes arranged on a substrate in a matrix, thin film transistors (TFT) connected to each of the pixel electrodes, and data lines and scanning lines connected to the TFTs and provided in parallel in column and row directions.
The related art electro-optical device may include a counter substrate that faces the substrate, counter electrodes that face the pixel electrodes on the counter substrate, and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the pixel electrodes and the counter to display images. The alignment of liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer appropriately changes according to a predetermined potential difference between the pixel electrodes and the counter electrodes, such that the transmittance of light that passes through the liquid crystal layer changes to display images. Two-level electric potential which fluctuates to plus side and minus side with respect to certain electric potential as an intermediate value (hereinafter, common electric potential), may be supplied to the counter electrodes in order to prevent the liquid crystal molecules from deteriorating.
In such a related art electro-optical device, various components, such as the above-mentioned thin film transistors, scanning lines, data lines, and pixel electrodes are constructed on the substrate to form a laminated structure. In this case, it is necessary that the thin film transistors be electrically connected to, the pixel electrodes, the scanning lines, and the data lines. However, it is necessary that the scanning lines and the pixel electrodes, or the scanning lines and the data lines be electrically insulated from each other. In this point of view, interlayer insulating films are commonly included between the various components in the laminated structure. A boron silicate glass (BSG) film may be used as such an interlayer insulating films. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Incentive award programs have been developed in a variety of industries to promote customer loyalty. Generally, such programs reward customers for repeat business with the same merchant or service provider by accumulating reward points which can then be redeemed in a plurality of ways, including exchanging the reward points for additional goods and services that may be selected from an approved list or a redemption catalog, for example. The reward points are usually calculated using a predetermined formula or ratio that relates a customer's purchase volume (i.e., in terms of money value or some other volume parameter) to a certain number of reward points. For example, reward points may be issued on a one-for-one basis with each dollar that a customer spends on particular goods and services.
One well-known example of a customer incentive program is a “frequent flyer” program which rewards airlines passengers with “mileage points” based upon the distances that the passengers fly with a particular airline. The mileage points may then be redeemed for free airfare or free car rentals. Other incentive award programs are designed to induce usage of particular financial instruments, such as credit cards or debit cards, by accumulating reward points or dollar value points based upon the volume of purchases made using the particular financial instrument. These types of programs may be designed such that customers of the financial institution accumulate reward points which can be redeemed for selected goods or services or, alternatively, such that customers accumulate points which have a dollar value which can be applied toward a credit or debit balance, depending on whether the instrument is a credit or debit instrument, for example.
These and other similar incentive award programs are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,774,870 and 6,009,412, issued to Thomas W. Storey and assigned to Netcentives, Inc., both of which are hereby incorporated by reference to the extent that they describe an automated rewards system. For more information on loyalty systems, transaction systems, electronic commerce systems, and digital wallet systems, see, for example: the Shop AMEX™ system as disclosed in Ser. No. 60/230,190 filed Sep. 5, 2000; the MR as Currency™ and Loyalty Rewards Systems as disclosed in Ser. No. 60/197,296 filed on Apr. 14, 2000, Ser. No. 60/200,492 filed Apr. 28, 2000, and Ser. No. 60/201,114 filed May 2, 2000; a digital wallet system as disclosed in U.S. Ser. No. 09/652,899 filed Aug. 31, 2000; a stored value card as disclosed in Ser. No. 09/241,188 filed on Feb. 1, 1999; a system for facilitating transactions using secondary transaction numbers as disclosed in Ser. No. 09/800,461 filed on Mar. 7, 2001; and also in related provisional applications Ser. No. 60/187,620 filed Mar. 7, 2000, Ser. No. 60/200,625 filed Apr. 28, 2000, and Ser. No. 60/213,323 filed May 22, 2000; all of which are herein incorporated by reference. Other examples of online membership reward systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,774,870, issued on Jun. 30, 1998, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,009,412, issued on Dec. 29, 1999, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference. A further example of a loyalty and reward program may be found at the AIR MILES® Web site (www.airmiles.ca), which describes a loyalty program offered by The Loyalty Group, a privately held division of Alliance Data Systems of Dallas, Tex., and which is hereby incorporated by reference. Additional information relating to smart card and smart card reader payment technology is disclosed in Ser. No. 60/232,040, filed on Sep. 12, 2000, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,742,845, 5,898,838 and 5,905,908, owned by Datascape; all of which are hereby incorporated by reference. Information on point-of-sale systems and the exploitation of point-of-sale data is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,832,457, issued on Nov. 3, 1998 to O'Brien et al., which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Portions of each of the above-described programs may be used to induce customer loyalty to particular merchants or service providers who directly provide goods or services to the consumer. In other words, these prior art frequency awards programs provide a means for retail businesses, financial institutions, and others in direct contact with the customers they service to provide incentives to their customers to encourage repeat and/or volume business. However, these programs do not sufficiently address the similar needs of businesses that are further up in the distribution chain, such as manufacturers, to promote volume purchases by customers based upon, for example, brand loyalty independent of the retail source for the purchase. Additionally, the prior art programs do not provide a means for monitoring, tracking, and/or analyzing consumer and product data across distribution channels for a particular manufacturer and/or the variety of goods which that manufacturer places into the stream of commerce for ultimate sale to consumers by a retailer.
Generally, before a product arrives at a retail establishment for sale to a consumer, the product travels through a distribution chain which originates with the manufacturer. The manufacturer typically sells its products to a wholesaler who in turn sells those products to various retailers. Most modern retailers implement some form of computerization or electronic technology in their day-to-day operations. This technology typically consists of using point-of-sale (POS) systems for automating checkout procedures, assisting sales personnel, and the like. POS systems generally include one or more automated check-out terminals which are capable of inputting or sensing and interpreting a symbol or other indicia related to the product, such as a Universal Product Code (UPC), generally comprising a machine-readable bar code coupled with a human-readable UPC number, that is printed on a label or tag which is placed on each item of merchandise to be purchased. The manufacturer may assign and mark each product that it sells with a
UPC. Conventionally, once the product reaches the retailer, the retailer further identifies each product with a Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) number or code as well as other information for identifying a specific item or style of merchandise. The retailer's SKU number may be either an entirely different number used to identify each product (e.g., by style) or a modified version of the manufacturer's UPC number, derived, perhaps, by adding a SKU number to the UPC number, for example.
A POS terminal, a kiosk terminal, or a sales person's hand-held terminal might be coupled to a store computer system, such as a network server or some other store platform host, which is able to recognize and process UPC and/or SKU information which has been manually keyed-in or sensed and interpreted by a device, such as a barcode reader, coupled to the terminal. The computer system typically includes a database which stores information relating to the retailer's product inventory, such as stocked merchandise, a UPC and/or SKU number for each item of merchandise, and various types of merchandise identification information, such as price, inventory, style, color, size, etc., which is associated with each UPC and/or SKU number. When a customer purchases an item of merchandise, store personnel frequently use an automated terminal to read the barcode markings which are attached to the item. A computer interprets the UPC and/or SKU number comprised by the barcode, accesses the database to determine the price for each item, and maintains a running total of the total transaction price.
One problem that results from the independent identification schemes of the manufacturer and the retailers is that there is no way for the manufacturer to track the quantity of any particular product that each retailer sold. For example, even if a manufacturer obtains all of the SKU numbers representing items purchased from Retailer 1 and Retailer 2 by consumers, the manufacturer has no means for determining which SKU number corresponds to the manufacturer's UPC, since the UPC's and SKU numbers of the various retailers are not tracked and matched.
In view of the foregoing, a need exists for an incentive or loyalty program which overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art. Thus, there is a need for a system and method which provides a universal customer incentive program that networks various levels of the product distribution chain, such as manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers, to provide incentives to consumers to purchase products not only from a particular merchant or group of merchants but also from particular manufacturers, who are not necessarily related to the specific merchant who sells the manufacturer's products to the consumer. Additionally, a need exists for a system and method for gathering data which associates particular consumer purchasing behaviors and specific products or product criteria across a manufacturer's distribution channels. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
(a) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to novel mimetopes of anti-PSMA antibodies and their use for detecting, imaging, staging, treating and monitoring of prostate cancer, and/or metastasis thereof. Furthermore, the invention also relates to novel pharmaceutical compositions for the treatment of prostate cancer.
(b) Description of Prior Art
The prostate gland is affected by various significant pathological conditions as benign growth (BPH), infection (prostatitis), and neoplasia (prostate cancer).
Prostate cancer is the second most frequently diagnosed cancer in Canadian and American men, after non-melanoma skin cancer, which is rarely fatal. More importantly, after lung cancer, prostate cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related death. The risk of developing prostate cancer increases significantly with age, particularly for men over 50. For men under 50 years of age the disease is uncommon and death from it is rare.
Prostate cancer accounts for an estimated 28% of newly diagnosed cancer in Canadian men and more than 12% of cancer-related deaths. The current lifetime risk of a Canadian man being diagnosed with prostate cancer is about 1 in 8. In the United States, prostate cancer accounts for approximately 32% of male cancer diagnoses and 14% of cancer deaths. Studies in the United States suggest that the incidence rate may be approaching 1 in 6 men.
Because the incidence of prostate cancer increases with age, it is clear that the burden of this illness will increase dramatically in the coming decades. The aging of the population, particularly the baby boomers, will have important long-term implications for the number of new cases diagnosed. Demographic trends in the next two decades will increase the population at risk for prostate cancer. Statistics Canada projections indicate that the population of men over age 50 will increase from 3.9 million in 1999 to 5.6 million in 2011 (44% increase) and 6.3 million in 2016 (62% increase). The United States Census Bureau projections indicate that the population of men over age 50 will increase from 33.8 million in 1999 to 45.8 million in 2011 (36% increase) and 50.7 million in 2016 (50% increase).
As a consequence of the expected increases in the number of cases of prostate cancer in the coming years due to rising incidence rates and the aging North American population, more resources will likely be allocated to screening men over 50 for this condition, therefore yielding an increase in the number of cases of identified prostate cancer.
Prostate cancer often exhibits a long latency period. However, it is believed that prostate cancer often remains undetected. Also, because it possesses a high metastatic potential to bone and the lymph nodes, with <10% of individuals diagnosed with prostate cancer also demonstrated, by radionuclide scans, to have bone metastasis, prompt detection and treatment is needed to limit mortality caused by this disease. A recent review of treatment of prostate cancer is by Pirtskhalaishvilig et al. (2001, Cancer Practice 9(6):295).
Increased detection of prostate cancer is due in part to increased awareness and the widespread use of clinical markers such as prostate specific antigen (PSA). Prostate specific antigen is a protein that is produced in very high concentrations in prostate cancer cells. Cancer development results in an altered and subsequent loss of normal gland architecture. This in turn leads to an inability to remove secretions and thus the secretions reach the serum. Serum PSA measurement is one method for screening for prostate cancer.
The current diagnostic and treatment paradigm for prostate cancer is reflected in Clinical Practice Guidelines that are widely available to practicing physicians. The guidelines presented below outline the common approach to the detection and management of prostate cancer. The Prostate Specific Antigen test is a blood test used to detect prostate cancer in the earliest stages and should be offered annually to men 50 and older with a life expectancy of 10 years or more, and to younger men at high risk for prostate cancer. The Digital Rectal Exam (DRE) is a test that helps to identify cancer of the prostate, and should be performed on men who are 50 and older and to younger men at high risk for prostate cancer. A biopsy is recommended for all men who have an abnormal PSA or DRE. The options for primary management of prostate cancer are surgery, radiation therapy or close observation. Treatment decisions are based on the aggressiveness of the cancer, the stage of the cancer and the life expectancy of the individual. Advanced prostate cancer is best managed with hormone therapy. Radiation therapy can include external and implanted seeds, a procedure known as brachytherapy.
The PSA test, which facilitates early detection of prostate cancer, has been available in Canada since 1986, although its use did not become widespread until the early 1990's. In 1994 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of the PSA test in conjunction with DRE as an aid in detecting prostate cancer. The free PSA test (fPSA), a more sensitive test for prostate cancer risk than the standard PSA test, received FDA approval in 1998.
Because of the limitations of the PSA test (lack of specificity for prostate cancer and a significant number of “false positive” and “false negative” test results) it remains an investigational tool as opposed to an absolute diagnostic test.
Prostate biopsies are performed to confirm the presence of cancer cells following suspicion raised by the DRE or a positive PSA test. The most commonly reported complications of biopsy consist of traces of blood in the urine, semen or feces. Prostatic biopsy represents the cornerstone of prostate cancer diagnosis.
For prostate cancers in general, biopsies miss cancers at a rate estimated as high as 50 percent. Furthermore, even if a cancer is detected, the location and staging of cancerous cells are not adequately identified.
Thus, there is a need for an improved method for diagnosis and/or detection of cancerous prostate cells.
An important prognostic factor is prostate cancer stage. Cancer staging is performed to determine the extent and spread of cancer in the prostate. Prostate cancer metastasizes by local spread to the pelvic lymph nodes, seminal vesicles, urinary bladder, or pelvic side walls and to distant sites such as bone, lung, liver, or adrenals.
The cancer foci have different malignant potentials and do not pose equal risks for the individual. Heterogeneity confounds the interpretation of positive prostate biopsies since it is not possible to be certain that the most clinically relevant foci of cancer have been detected.
Approximately only 30% of early stage disease will progress to clinically relevant disease within the lifetime of the individual. It is therefore critical to be able to identify those individuals at risk of progression who would benefit from aggressive therapy while sparing low-risk individuals the morbidity resulting from aggressive treatment of indolent disease. Neither rising PSA nor the presence of cancer cells on biopsy may indicate definitively the presence of lethal disease.
A new prostate imaging technology that provides for accurate visualization of extraprostatic growth indicative of metastasis would provide physicians with a tool to determine the progression of the cancer and would be extremely valuable in directing treatment options. Spectroscopy significantly improves the diagnosis of extracapsular extension by MRI. However, studies demonstrate that there is high variability in how clinicians interpret the significance of extracapsular extension. Both CT and MRI can be helpful in staging prostate cancer, because they can indicate periprostatic cancer spread, lymph node abnormality and bone involvement, but their sensitivity for revealing cancer extension has limitations.
Thus, there is a need for a non-invasive test that is able to identify lymph node metastases in individuals at risk for extraprostatic disease following the detection of elevated PSA and/or abnormal DRE and a positive biopsy. This will allow clinicians to reliably differentiate individuals with organ-confined disease from those with metastatic spread to lymph nodes. This will provide the opportunity for the individual and physician to make an informed decision on how to treat the disease and will significantly improve individual health outcome.
Furthermore, a new technology that is able to localize cancerous prostate cells that remain following radical prostatectomy would assist physicians in removing all of the cancerous cells from an individual's body with focused treatment such as radiation therapy. A labeled technology that selectively binds prostate cancer cells will allow clinicians to localize any remaining cancer cells following surgery. An additional new technology would provide direct delivery of therapeutic agents, perhaps preventing the need for surgery.
Thus, there is a need for an improved method to detect and/or diagnose lymph node metastases in individuals at risk for extraprostatic disease following the detection of elevated PSA and/or abnormal DRE and a positive biopsy.
A substantial amount of work has been put into identifying enzyme or antigen markers, which could be used as sites for detection and/or diagnosis for various types of cancers. These markers could also be used to target cancer cells for treatment with therapeutic and/or cancer cell killing agents. The ideal cancer marker would exhibit, among other characteristics, tissue or cell-type specificity.
A 750 amino acid protein (FIG. 2; SEQ ID NO:2), prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), localized to the prostatic membrane has been identified. The complete coding sequence of the gene (FIG. 1; nucleotides 262 to 2514 of GenBank™ accession number NM—004476) is presented as SEQ ID NO:1. PSMA is an integral Type II membrane glycoprotein with a short intracellular tail and a long extracellular domain. This antigen was identified as the result of generating monoclonal antibodies to a prostatic cancer cell, LNCaP (Horoszewicz et al. (1983) Cancer Res. 43:1809-1818). Israeli et al. (Israeli et al. (1993) Cancer Res. 53:227-230) describes the cloning and sequencing of PSMA and reports that PSMA is predominantly expressed in prostate derived cells and shows increased expression levels in metastatic sites and in hormone-refractory states. Other studies have indicated that PSMA is more strongly expressed in prostate cancer cells relative to cells from the normal prostate or from a prostate with benign hyperplasia. Current methods of targeting prostate specific membrane antigen use antibodies with binding specificity to PSMA. One of the first antibodies described with binding specificity to PSMA was 7E11 (Horoszewicz et al. (1987) Anticancer Res. 7:927-936 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,162,504). Indium-labeled 7E11 localizes to both prostate and sites of metastasis, and is more sensitive for detecting cancer sites than either CT or MR imaging, or bone scan (Bander (1994) Sem. In Oncology 21:607-612).
One of the major disadvantages of the 7E11 antibody is that it is specific to the portion of the PSMA molecule which is present on the inside of the cell (intracellular). Antibody molecules do not normally cross the cell membrane, unless they bind to an extracellular antigen, which subsequently becomes internalized. As such, 7E11 cannot be used to target a living prostate cell, cancerous or otherwise. The use of 7E11 for detection or imaging is therefore limited to pockets of dead cells within cancers or tissues with large amounts of dead cells, which cells render available their intracellular portion of PSMA for binding with this antibody.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,107,090, in the name of Neil Bander, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,150,508, in the name of Gerald Murphy et al. describe numerous monoclonal antibodies which recognize the extracellular domain of PSMA, thereby overcoming one of the major drawbacks of the 7E11 antibody. These antibodies, being able to bind to the extracellular domain of PSMA are capable of binding to living prostate cells, thereby allowing a more effective method of diagnosis than 7E11.
As described above, antibodies to PSMA are already in use for diagnostic purposes. For example, PSMA is the antigen recognized by the targeting monoclonal antibody used in ProstaScint™, Cytogen's imaging agent for prostate cancer. However, despite the benefits of antibodies, they possess several drawbacks which make them less than ideal for use in methods of detection, diagnosis and/or treatment of prostate cancers. Specifically, antibodies are high molecular weight proteins in the 150 kDa range and therefore display poor tissue penetrability. Furthermore, mouse monoclonal antibodies act as antigenic targets for the immune system, which results in biological instability in vivo.
It would be highly desirable to be provided with a small molecule, such as a mimetope to overcome the drawbacks of antibodies (Ab) as detailed above, but that retain similar high specificity and affinity of monoclonal antibodies (mAb). A mimetope is a synthetic binding agent and/or derivatives thereof having binding characteristics which imitate or mimic the binding characteristics of a molecule, including a protein and an antibody,
The use of mimetopes presents advantages over the use of antibodies for detection, diagnosis and/or treatment of prostate cancer because of their accessibility to cancer sites. Mimetopes eliminate the problems inherent in using, for example, mouse monoclonal antibodies in humans. Mouse monoclonal antibodies induce antibodies that will clear xenogenic antibodies used for detection, diagnosis and/or treatment of prostate cancer.
It would be highly desirable to be provided with an improved method for diagnosis and/or detection of cancerous prostate cells.
It would be highly desirable to be provided with a new prostate imaging technology offering accurate visualization of extraprostatic growth indicative of metastasis which would provide physicians with a tool to determine the progression of the cancer and be extremely valuable in directing treatment options.
It would be highly desirable to be provided with a non-invasive test that is able to identify lymph node metastases in individuals at risk for extraprostatic disease following the detection of elevated PSA and/or abnormal DRE and a positive biopsy.
It would be highly desirable to be provided with an imaging technology that decreases morbidity by identifying individuals in which surgery is not indicated.
It would be highly desirable to be provided with a new technology that is able to localize cancerous prostate cells that remain following radical prostatectomy which would assist physicians in removing all of the cancerous cells from an individual's body. In addition, it would be highly desirable to be provided with a new technology which would provide direct delivery of therapeutic agents, perhaps preventing the need for surgery.
It would be highly desirable to be provided with an improved method to detect and/or diagnose lymph node metastases in individuals at risk for extraprostatic disease following the detection of elevated PSA.
It would be highly desirable to be provided with an improved molecule over antibodies which would possess characteristics able to overcome the drawbacks and disadvantages present with antibodies.
It would be highly desirable to be provided with a new prostate imaging technology that provides for accurate visualization of extraprostatic growth indicative of metastasis which would provide physicians with a tool to determine the progression of the cancer and be extremely valuable in directing treatment options.
It would be highly desirable to be provided with novel mimetopes of anti-PSMA monoclonal antibodies and their use for detecting, imaging, staging, treating and monitoring of prostate cancer, and/or metastasis thereof. It would also be highly desirable to be provided with novel pharmaceutical compositions for the treatment of prostate cancer. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The instant invention relates generally to heating apparatuses and more specifically it relates to a dish dryer device.
Numerous heating apparatuses have been provided in prior art that are adapted to heat either dishes or towels with an electrical heater unit. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,351,741; 3,538,309 and 4,117,309 all are illustrative of such prior art. While these units may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to rock drilling equipment and more particularly drilling equipment utilised for drilling oil well bores and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A problem which arises in operation of rock drilling equipment of the kind referred to is that occasionally the head of the operative end of the drill bit will break off from the remainder of the drill bit, due to the stresses arising in drilling and, in the absence of measures taken to prevent this, the broken off head of the drill will remain at the bottom of the bore being drilled and thus possibly many hundreds of feet below the surface. If the remainder of the drill string, with the remainder of the bit, is then withdrawn from the bore and the broken drill bit replaced, drilling of the bore cannot be resumed until the broken-off drill bit head is recovered, as otherwise the new drill bit would be bearing upon the broken drill bit head within the bore and not upon the rock. would present an inpenetratable barrier to the new drill bit and would merely result in the new drill bit in turn becoming hopelessly damaged. Various schemes have been proposed in the past for retrieving broken drill bit parts from bores or for ensuring that, should the operative part or head of a drill bit break off from the remainder, that drill bit head will nevertheless be retained on the end of the drill string allowing it to be retrieved from the bore with the drill string when the string is lifted from the bore. It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved arrangement of the latter sort.
According to the present invention, there is provided a rock drilling apparatus including a drill string terminating in a drill chuck and a drill bit detachably fitted into the drill chuck, the drill bit having a shank received in the drill chuck, the drill chuck and the drill bit shank having complementary non circular cross-section portions allowing rotational movement about the drill axis to be imparted to the drill bit via the drill chuck whilst allowing limited longitudinal movement of the drill chuck relative to the drill bit, the drill bit shank and the chuck having complementary formations above a first location along the drill bit, for limiting downward movement of the drill bit in the drill chuck, the drill bit having a drill head at its lower end which is of greater diameter than said shank, said head having a retaining formation above said lower end and the below said first location which is of greater diameter than the drill bit is at said first location, which retaining formulation co-operates with complementary retaining means on said chuck so as to prevent the complete detachment of said drill bit head from the chuck in the event of a fracture of the drill bit at said first location, and wherein said retaining formation on the drill bit head and the complementary retaining formation on the chuck take the form of respective parts of a bayonet connection arrangement which is substantially unstressed in normal operation of the drill, the arrangement being such that, in normal operation, the weight of the drill string, and the weight of the drill bit during lifting of the drill string, are supported by said complementary formations, above said first location which likewise receive the stresses imparted to the drill bit to cause a rotational movement of the drill bit.
Preferably the bit head retaining arrangement includes means associated with the arrangement for preventing rotation of the drill bit head relative to the chuck assembly without disassembly of the chuck assembly.
An embodiment of the invention is described below by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The present invention is an outrigger line return which is used to return a tag line to the base of an outrigger pole used on a fishing boat. More specifically, the present invention is an outrigger return that uses a series of guides that automatically return a tag line to the base of the outrigger once the fishing line is released. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to technology for non-volatile storage.
2. Description of the Related Art
Semiconductor memory has become more popular for use in various electronic devices. For example, non-volatile semiconductor memory is used in cellular telephones, digital cameras, personal digital assistants, mobile computing devices, non-mobile computing devices and other devices. Electrical Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM) and flash memory are among the most popular non-volatile semiconductor memories.
Both EEPROM and flash memory utilize a floating gate that is positioned above and insulated from a channel region in a semiconductor substrate. The floating gate and channel regions are positioned between the source and drain regions. A control gate is provided over and insulated from the floating gate. The threshold voltage of the transistor is controlled by the amount of charge that is retained on the floating gate. That is, the minimum amount of voltage that must be applied to the control gate before the transistor is turned on to permit conduction between its source and drain is controlled by the level of charge on the floating gate.
When programming an EEPROM or flash memory device, such as a NAND flash memory device, typically a program voltage is applied to the control gate and the bit line is grounded. Electrons from the channel are injected into the floating gate. When electrons accumulate in the floating gate, the floating gate becomes negatively charged and the threshold voltage of the memory cell is raised so that the memory cell is in a programmed state. More information about programming can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,859,397, titled “Source Side Self Boosting Technique for Non-Volatile Memory;” U.S. Pat. No. 6,917,542, titled “Detecting Over Programmed Memory;” and U.S. Pat. No. 6,888,758, titled “Programming Non-Volatile Memory,” all three cited patents are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
In many cases, the program voltage is applied to the control gate as a series of pulses (referred to as programming pulses), with the magnitude of the pulses increasing at each pulse. Between programming pulses, a set of one or more verify operations are performed to determine whether the memory cell(s) being programmed have reached their target level. If a memory cell has reached its target level, programming stops for that memory cell. If a memory cell has not reached its target level, programming will continue for that memory cell.
Some EEPROM and flash memory devices have a floating gate that is used to store two ranges of charges and, therefore, the memory cell can be programmed/erased between two states (an erased state and a programmed state). Such a flash memory device is sometimes referred to as a binary memory device.
A multi-state memory device stores multiple bits of data per memory cell by identifying multiple distinct valid threshold voltage distributions (or data states) separated by forbidden ranges. Each distinct threshold voltage distribution corresponds to a predetermined value for the set of data bits encoded in the memory device. For example, a memory cell that stores two bits of data uses four valid threshold voltage distributions. A memory cell that stores three bits of data uses eight valid threshold voltage distributions.
Although non-volatile memory has proven to be very reliable, sometimes errors can occur. Many memory systems uses Error Correction Codes (ECC) to correct errors found during a read process. Sometime, however, ECC cannot correct all errors. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Application of broad-spectrum pesticides is the primary method used for controlling fungal pests. Such application has resulted in significant environmental pollution and ecological disruption. Pesticide residues are found in food and groundwater and often eliminate beneficial organisms resulting in emergence of secondary pests. Furthermore, as the target pests become less susceptible to the pesticide, there can be a resurgence of the original pest, requiring application of excessive quantities of pesticides for control. This has resulted in a search for environmentally safer methods including biological control involving targeting an attribute that is pest specific and the use of synergistic combinations of fungicides to reduce the amounts of application.
One target that has been selected is the structural polymer chitin which is present in insects and some fungi that attack plants, but is absent in higher plants and vertebrates.
Suslow et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,751,681 contains claims directed to preparing bacteria for producing chitinase for the purpose of inhibiting plant pathogens.
Suslow et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,840 contains claims directed to introducing a DNA sequence encoding for the production of chitinase into plants so they are pathogen-resistant.
Harman et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,173,419 teaches obtaining purified endochitinase and chitin 1,4-.beta.-chitobiosidase (referred to therein as exochitinase) from Trichoderma harzianum strain P1 having accession No. 74058 and use of the endochitinase to inhibit the germination and subsequent growth of chitin-containing fungi.
Harman et al U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/919,784 teaches obtaining purified endochitinase and chitin 1,4-.beta.-chitobiosidase (referred to therein as chitobiase) from Trichoderma harzianum strain P1 having accession No. 74058 and use of these to inhibit germination or replication of chitin containing fungi and antifungal synergistic combinations of endochitinase and chitin 1,4-.beta.-chitobiosidase (referred to therein as chitobiase).
Harman et al U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/990,609 is directed to antifungal synergistic combinations of fungal cell wall degrading enzyme and non-enzymatic fungicide, and Harman et al U.S. patent application Ser. no. 08/012,945 is directed to antifungal synergistic combinations of purified cell wall degrading enzyme and antifungal bacteria. Both of these teach obtaining purified glucan 1,3-glucosidase from Trichoderma harzianum strain P1 having accession No. 74058 for the cell wall degrading enzyme. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The present invention relates to the use of muteins of a specific wild-type cytokine, that are also receptor antagonists of the latter, as immunogens to elicit antibodies against the wild-type cytokine, said antibodies being capable of neutralising the biological activity of the wild-type cytokine in diseases caused by an excessive production of the latter.
It is a known fact, for example, that human interleukin 6 (hIL-6) is a polypeptide of 184 aminoacids belonging to the class of helical cytokines. Interleukin 6 is a multi-functional cytokine produced by various cell types. It acts as a differentiation and growth factor on cells of various types, for example the cells of the immune system, hepatocytes, kidney cells, haematopoietic stam cells, keratinocytes and neurons. However, excessive production of hIL-6 is causes a number of diseases, such as chronic auto-immune disorders, systemic lupus erythematosus, myeloma/plasmacytoma, post-menopausal osteoporosis and cancer cachexy.
There is thus a need in this specific sector to counteract the excessive production of a wild-type cytokine in general, and of hIL-6 in particular, both in terms of prevention and of cure.
The use of the present invention enables this need to be satisfied, offering at the same time other advantages which will become clear from the following.
A subject of the present invention is in fact the use of mutants of a wild-type cytokine for the preparation of pharmaceutical compounds for the treatment or prevention or diseases caused by an overproduction of this specific wild-type cytokine.
A further subject of the present invention are pharmaceutical compounds for treatment of diseases caused by the excessive production of a wild-type cytokine, or vaccines for the prevention of said diseases containing as an active principle at least one mutant of that wild-type cytokine.
The pharmaceutical compounds according to the present invention may be formulated according to known methods, which requires for example the presence of a pharmaceutically acceptable vehicle. Examples of these vehicles and methods of formulation can be found in Remington""s Pharmaceutical Sciences. To form a pharmaceutically acceptable compound suitable for effective administration, these compounds must contain an effective amount of the active principle according to the present invention. The pharmaceutical compounds of the present invention are administered to an individual in amounts adequate to the disease, the weight, the sex and the age of the individual in question. Other factors include the method of administration. The pharmaceutical compounds according to the invention may be administered in a wide range of manners, for example subcutaneously, topically, orally and by intramuscular injection.
The pharmaceutical compounds according to the present invention, containing as an active ingredient at least one mutein of a wild-type cytokine, may be administered at therapeutic doses in a wide variety of forms, in conventional administration vehicles.
For example, they can be administered in doses to be taken orally in the form of tablets, capsules, pills, powders, granules, elixirs, ointments, solutions, suspensions, syrups and emulsions, or by injection. In the same way, these compounds according to the invention may be administered endovenously, intraperitoneally, subcutaneously, topically with or without occlusion, or intramuscularly. All the above formes of dosage are well known to those skilled in the pharmaceutical field. In any case an effective, but non toxic amount of the active principle according to the invention must be used.
The daily dose of this active principle may vary within a wide range of between 0.01 to 1000 mg per adult/per day. An effective amount of the active principle according to the invention is usually provided at a dosage of between approximately 0.001 mg/kg and approximately 100 mg/kg of body weight per day.
According to the present invention, the active principle, which is made up of muteins of a specific wild-type cytokine, may be administered typically in a mixture with suitable diluents, excipients or pharmaceutical vehicles (generally referred to by the general term xe2x80x9cvehiclesxe2x80x9d) suitably selected so as to bear in mind the form of administration desired.
The preparation of vaccines according to the present invention is known to persons skilled in this field. Typically, these vaccines are prepared in an injectable form, either, as solution or as suspensions. The preparation can be emulsionated, or the active principle can be incapsulated in lyposomes. The active immungenic ingredient is often mixed with pharmaceutically acceptable excipients that are compatible with the active ingredient. Suitable excipients are, for example, water, dextrose, glycerol, ethanol or the like and combinations thereof. Furthermore, if desired, the vaccine may contain small amounts of additional substances, such as, for example, wetting or emulsionating agents, pH buffering agents, and/or adjuvants to increase the effectiveness of the vaccine.
The vaccines according to the invention are preferably administered parenterally, for example by means of either intramuscular or subcutaneous injection. Other formulations suitable for other methods of administration include suppositories and oral formulations. These compounds contain from 10 to 95% of active ingredient, preferably between 25 and 70%.
Up to this point a general description has been given of the present invention. With the aid of the following examples a more detailed description will now be given, indicating specific situations that can be referred to the present invention, and aimed at giving a clearer understanding of the aims, characteristics, advantages and possible applications thereof. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Air-swept machines for husking or polishing cereal grains are very well known in the art and many different types of said machines are available in the market.
For many years, however, the husking and the polishing operations were carried out in grain mills through the use of different stages, each requiring the use of different machines, due to the fact that the husking of grain was believed to require different rubbing elements as compared to the polishing of cereal grains. This obviously required the provision of intermediate stages for the removal of the husk produced by the husking machines, before the husked grain could be fed to the polishing machines.
In more recent times, a new family of air-swept machines designed to serve both as grain husking and as grain polishing machines was introduced. This type of machines, however, started to be designed as machines having an air-swept treatment chamber formed by a cylindrical abrasive rotor and a polygonal indented screen surrounding said rotor, because it was believed that the use of such polygonal indented screens would increase the efficiency of the apparatus, due to the obstructions produced by the corners thereof on the moving grains, which allegedly would force the grains to be rubbed against each other in said corner areas, accomplishing a more energetic action thereon. The experience gained through the use of said machines throughout the years, however, has proven that said corner areas, rather than effecting the alleged more energetic action on the grains, were areas of heavy accumulation of grains, wherein the grains therefore were not rubbed at all and remained in their original condition throughout the period of treatment.
In order to overcome the above described drawbacks shown by these prior art machines, a new generation of air-swept grain husking and polishing machines was created which, by the use of specially designed screen members, were capable of avoiding the formation of accumulations of untreated grains within the treatment chamber.
One of this new type of machines was described and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,960,068 to Felipe Salete, the same applicant hereof, who describes an air-swept rice polishing machine comprising a treatment chamber for grain which was constituted by a hollow rotor and a cylindrical indented screen surrounding the same. The rotor is preceded by a screw conveyor for forcedly conveying the grain stream upwardly towards said rotor and said rotor has a pair of rectractible knives to retain the movement of the grain at will, whereby the pressure applied by said screw conveyor pushes the grain to be trapped by said rotor, which spins the mass of grains against the action of the indented screen, thus rubbing the grains effectively without accumulation thereof. This machine, however, due to its rotor design, is not capable of husking the grain, whereby an additional husking stage must be incorporated.
One other husking and polishing machine for grains is described and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,292,890 to Salete, which solves the above described problems of the prior art machines, by incorporating a new design of screen and rotor assembly which comprises a cylindrical rotor having two specially designed fluted knives tangentially arranged thereto, such that the grains are gradually pressed when trapped by each knife which is inclined outwardly of the periphery of the rotor, contrary to the direction of movement of the same, and a screen supported by a specially designed screen holder, which comprises two semi-cylindrical screen members attached and fastened to said screen holder by means of a pair of stationary fluted knives having their flutes directed in such a manner that the flow of grains in the treatment chamber is forced downwardly while the stream of grains is pushed upwardly by a screw conveyor provided with an abrasive layer on the forward face thereof, thus producing a high compression of the grains, that are therefore strongly abraded and rubbed both by the screw conveyor abrasive layer and by the screen and rotor assembly, and may therefore be husked and polished in one single machine, although not in one single step, because if husking is desired, the elements of the machine must be adjusted to exercise a stronger action on the grains, whereas if polishing is the preferred function, then the machine must be readjusted to exercise a more gentle action against the grains.
One other grain husking and polishing machine which marks a further advance in the art is that described and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,583,455 also to Salete, that may be regarded as being a remarkable improvement over the machines of the prior art. The general structure of the machine of this U.S. patent is very similar to that of the machine of U.S. Pat. No. 4,292,890, but provides a different type of treatment chamber formed within a specially designed screen and rotor assembly that permits a more efficient rubbing of the grain with a decreased degree of breakage of the same. The screen and rotor assembly of the machine of U.S. Pat. No. 4,583,455 comprises a screen formed by alternate sections of screen material and of abrasive material assembled within a screen holder member which comprises a plurality of vertical channels within which said abrasive sections, which take the form of abrasive blocks, are adjustably mounted. Between each pair of said vertical channels, a corresponding screen section is mounted such that the edges thereof are trapped by said abrasive blocks against the walls of said channels, thus providing alternate abrasive sections for energetically rubbing the grains, spaced between respective alternate sections of screen material to permit the expeditious exit of flour, powder, bran and other impurities of the grain, which are swept by the air circulating through the device; and a rotor which comprises a hollow cylindrical body which is rotatably mounted concentrically within said screen assembly for rotating in unison with a vertical screw conveyor mounted below the above mentioned hollow cylindrical body. The cylindrical body of the rotor is provided with a plurality of radial bores to permit the free passage of air therethrough for sweeping the treatment chamber and also has a plurality of axially extending superficial grooves within each one of which a corresponding abrasive block is mounted to co-act with the abrasive blocks of said screen assembly, said abrasive blocks of the rotor being capable of replacement and of adjustment within the grooves in order to enable the user to adjust the machine for exerting a higher or a lower energetic action to husk and polish the grain passing vertically upwardly of the chamber. By these means, the machine of U.S. Pat. No. 4,583,455 is perfectly capable of performing a husking and a polishing action of the grains in one single step, because the grain stream will be alternately subjected to a strong abrasive and rubbing action between pairs of abrasive blocks, and to a mild rubbing action between a screen section and an abrasive block or a smooth surface of the rotor.
Regardless of the fact that the machines of Salete as described above have represented a considerable advance in the art of grain husking and polishing and have been regarded by the most important grain millers throughout the world as the best machines for this purpose existing in the worldwide marketplace, because any one of said machines accomplish the goals of minimizing grain breakage and the treatment temperature of the grains, thus avoiding agglomeration thereof, considerably decreasing the power consumption per unit of weight of grain treated, providing higher accuracy in the control of the husking and/or polishing operations, etc., which has brought about a considerable improvement in the costs of operation of the mills, as well as an improvement in the quality and uniformity of the treated grain, it is nevertheless to be reminded that very diversified types of grain exist in the producing localities of the world, even for the same species of grain (rice, wheat, corn, etc.) and for the same locality, and that the above described prior art machines are not capable of treating different types and qualities of grain without having to suffer heavy adjustments that therefore require full stoppage of the plant to adjust the machine when a batch of a different grain quality or species is to be treated within the same mill.
Therefore, while very efficient machines are already existing in the market for husking and polishing cereal grains, there remains the need of a machine that may be sufficiently versatile to cope up with the needs of the highly varied types of grains, without however loosing its efficiency for carrying out the husking and/or polishing operations to produce a high quality grain. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Contact lenses from a wide range of materials are nowadays produced in great volume in highly automated manufacturing facilities. Advantageously, these contact lenses are formed using reusable mould halves, the female and the male, which are normally formed from glass or quartz. When mated (mould assembly), these mould halves define a hollow cavity, which corresponds to the subsequent contact lens shape. Before closing the mould halves, a polymer solution is dosed into the female mould half. After closing the mould halves, UV light is radiated over a mould half, which leads to crosslinking of the lens material in the lens cavity. Subsequently, the lens is removed from the mould half, for example with suction grips or mechanical grippers, and placed in the package.
Because contact lenses are intended for use in the eye, great care is taken to make sure that lenses meet strict quality control standards. To ensure consistent quality of the contact lenses, automatic inspection of the contact lenses using industrial image processing methods may be implemented. The known methods for inspection of ophthalmic lenses are based on bright-field and/or dark-field imaging.
WO-A-2005/054807 discloses a method for the automatic inspection of contact lenses, in particular tinted contact lenses, in an automatic lens manufacturing process, the method comprising the use of a dark-field inspection unit with the preferred dark-field inspection method being the so-called Schlieren method.
EP-A-1248092 further discloses the combination of a dark-field inspection unit and a bright-field inspection unit, preferably the combination of the so-called Schlieren method and the transmitted light method. The contact lens is subsequently observed in a dark-field and bright-field.
WO-A-2004/057297 discloses a method for optically inspecting and detecting defects in an object using two different light sources, in particular using a dark-field setup as the first detection method and a bright-field setup as the second detection method.
WO-A-03/073060 discloses the dual inspection of ophthalmic lenses using at least two different machine vision inspection techniques in the manufacturing process for said ophthalmic lenses, the preferred at least two inspection techniques being bright field and dark field inspection techniques; others being absorptive inspection, structure light inspection, fluorescence inspection and spectral masking.
WO-A-99/32869 discloses a system for inspecting contact lenses which utilizes a light source and an electronic camera for obtaining images of the lens, as well as a series of masks, including a bright-field mask, a dark-field mask and a transition mask which is constituted by fine stripes, such that the light interacts in a constructive and destructive manner at different distances from the mask. The images are taken subsequently using one mask at a time.
EP-A-0686842 discloses a lens inspection system and method using two optimized bright-field illumination zones, i.e. using light at two different grey levels. One grey level for the centre zone and one grey level for the peripheral zone. Whereas the use of phase contrast (another conceivable inspection method) is considered to be hypersensitive, i.e. enhancing cosmetic flaws to an extent that the lens is rejected for being defective.
To improve production yield and more importantly to improve the quality of the ophthalmic lens and the wearers comfort, there is a need to create a more accurate inspection system. In particular, a suitable inspection system should carry out an exhaustive examination of the ophthalmic lenses for accuracy of size, surface defects, tears, peripheral ruptures and inclusions such as bubbles and foreign bodies, as well as small defects at the edges of an ophthalmic lens. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The semiconductor device industry has a market driven need to improve speed performance, improve its low static (off-state) power requirements, and adapt to a wide range of power supply and output voltage requirements for it silicon based microelectronic products. In particular, in the fabrication of transistors, there is continuous pressure to reduce the size of devices such as transistors. The ultimate goal is to fabricate increasingly smaller and more reliable integrated circuits (ICs) for use in products such as processor chips, mobile telephones, and memory devices such as dynamic random access memories (DRAMs). The smaller devices are frequently powered by batteries, where there is also pressure to reduce the size of the batteries, and to extend the time between battery charges. This forces the industry to not only design smaller transistors, but to design them to operate reliably with lower power supplies.
Currently, the semiconductor industry relies on the ability to reduce or scale the dimensions of its basic devices, primarily, the silicon based metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET). A common configuration of such a transistor is shown in FIG. 1. While the following discussion uses FIG. 1 to illustrate a transistor from the prior art, one skilled in the art will recognize that the present invention could be incorporated into the transistor shown in FIG. 1 to form a novel transistor according to the invention. A transistor 100 is fabricated in a substrate 110 that is typically silicon, but could be fabricated from other semiconductor materials as well. Transistor 100 has a source region 120 and a drain region 130. A body region 132 is located between source region 120 and drain region 130, where body region 132 defines a channel of the transistor with a channel length 134. A gate dielectric 140 is located on body region 132 with a gate 150 located over gate dielectric 140. Although gate dielectric 140 may be formed from materials other than oxides, gate dielectric 140 is typically an oxide, and is commonly referred to as a gate oxide. Gate 150 may be fabricated from polycrystalline silicon (polysilicon), or other conducting materials such as metal may be used.
In fabricating transistors to be smaller in size and reliably operate on lower power supplies, one important design criteria is gate dielectric 140. The mainstay for forming the gate dielectric has been silicon dioxide, SiO2. A thermally grown amorphous SiO2 layer provides an electrically and thermodynamically stable material, where the interface of the SiO2 layer with underlying Si provides a high quality interface as well as superior electrical isolation properties. In typical processing, use of SiO2 on Si has provided defect charge densities on the order of 1010/cm2, midgap interface state densities of approximately 1010/cm2 eV, and breakdown voltages in the range of 15 MV/cm. With such qualities, there would be no apparent need to use a material other than SiO2, but increased scaling and other requirements for gate dielectrics create the need to find other dielectric materials to be used for a gate dielectric. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
This invention is concerned with improvements in or relating to area measuring machines.
2. Prior Art
In the complete specification of U.S. Pat. No. 3,717,414, issued Feb. 20, 1973 U.K. Pat. No. 1,446,866, are described area measuring machines comprising (a) support means, e.g., a roller, for supporting sheet material the area of which is to be measured and for feeding the material through the machine, (b) a plurality of wheels disposed side by side across the machine and arranged to run on the roller or on sheet material fed by the roller past the wheels, (c) detecting means, one associated with each wheel, for detecting the presence of a piece of sheet material fed between the wheel and the roller, (d) signalling means for signalling each time the periphery of a wheel has been rotated through a unit distance by the passage of sheet material therepast and (e) computing means for summing the signals from each wheel to indicate the area of the piece of sheet material.
Such machines have been found to be, in operation, reliable and accurate. However, should a fault develop on a machine such as described in the aforementioned patent specifications, it is difficult to notice. In order to test that such machines are operating satisfactorily it is a known practice to feed a piece of leather of known area through the machine a number of times, and check that the area of the piece registered by the machine is within the permitted tolerances.
One of the various objects of the present invention is to provide an improved area measuring machine in which it is possible readily to check that the machine is operating satisfactorily. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Computer systems may employ isolated guests such as virtual machines or containers that communicate with physical devices. A virtual machine (VM) is a software implementation of a computer that executes programs in a way similar to a physical machine. The isolated guest may share underlying physical hardware resources between different components of the computer system. Containerized and/or virtualized systems allow multiple isolated guests to run on a single physical host, which allows flexibility and scalability offered by running services or applications on the isolated guests. For example, an isolated guest may perform tasks associated with the functions of physical devices or other resources on the computer system by sending and receiving data over a network.
In some instances, such as in multitenant environments, it may be beneficial to move or migrate an isolated guest to a different host. For example, in larger systems that provide data access, networking, and storage to a large pool of shared resources, computing resources may be delivered in a multitenant environment to various end users. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The present invention relates to constructs for heating, browning and/or crisping food items and, more specifically, relates to containers for heating, browning and/or crisping food items in microwave ovens.
Microwave ovens have become a principle form of heating food in a rapid and effective manner. A variety of containers for heating, browning and/or crisping food items in microwave ovens are known. For example, in a conventional manufacturing process, a microwave interactive web is positioned over a flat paperboard blank and laminated to the blank, and then the blank with the attached microwave interactive web is erected into a package. Such packages have been successfully commercialized. Nonetheless, there is a continuing need for containers that provide a new balance of properties and for improved methods of forming such containers. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
As a structure of positioning and engaging two parts, there is known a structure in which one part has a shaft, the other part has a hole, and the shaft is fitted to the hole. For example, referring to PTL 1, an edge portion of a lower cover has a plurality of pin-like positioning shapes, and an edge portion of a case has a plurality of recessed or protruding positioning shapes. In PTL 1, the edge portions of the case and the lower cover are positioned by fitting the pin-like positioning shapes to the recessed or protruding positioning shapes. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The invention is directed to a cover for an album, and more specifically, the invention is directed to a personalized loose-leaf album cover.
Album covers and related products have been known before. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 170,042 to Anthony shows a photograph album. U.S. Pat. No. 3,301,621 shows a transparent container for books, magazines and the like. U.S. Pat. No. 1,826,259 shows a book cover made from wood.
Devices to be used with books have been known before. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 389,891 to Kinnard shows an adjustable book leveler.
Often times a person wants a loose-leaf album cover that is permanently personalized. However, none of the above-mentioned patents show album covers which are permanently personalized.
Sometimes a person would like a personalized album cover that is permanently personalized on the exterior thereof wherein the personalization of the interior surfaces of the album can be temporary or permanent. None of these earlier patents show a personalized loose-leaf album cover which includes means on the interior surface of the album covers to either permanently or temporarily personalize the album cover.
Thus, there exists a need for a personalized loose-leaf album cover. There exists a further need for a personalized loose-leaf album cover that provides means for personalizing the interior surfaces thereof, either permanently or temporarily. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for estimating a location of a Mobile Station (MS) in a wireless communication system. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus and method for reducing a location estimation error caused by a repeater.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to support a higher transmission rate than a 3rd Generation (3G) mobile communication system and extend service coverage, a new 4th Generation (4G) mobile communication system is being developed. Many research institutes and enterprises of advanced countries are promoting the development of technology for future 4G-standardization.
A 4G mobile communication system operating in a high-frequency domain is limited in its service coverage because of a high path loss. In order to address this problem, a multi-hop signal forward scheme has been investigated. A multi-hop technology can reduce a path loss and make a high-speed data communication possible by relaying data using a relay, and can extend service coverage by forwarding a signal to a Mobile Station (MS), even if the MS is far away from a Base Station (BS).
As such, a multi-hop relay system requires one or more relays for relaying data between a transmitter and a receiver. In a cellular system, a relay can be a separate device distinguished from a BS and an MS. However, an MS can serve as a relay for a different MS. In the multi-hop relay system, a communication between two nodes is implemented through a transmitter-relay, relay-relay, relay-receiver radio link and the like.
Typically, a multi-hop relay technology can be divided into an amplify-and-forward scheme and a decode-and-forward scheme. The amplify-and-forward scheme is a scheme in which a relay amplifies a Radio Frequency (RF) signal received from a transmitter and relay-forwards the amplified signal to a receiver. The amplify-and-forward relay may be referred to in the alternative as a “repeater.” The decode-and-forward scheme is a scheme in which a relay demodulates and decodes a received signal, again modulates and encodes the signal, and relay-forwards the signal to a receiver. The decode-and-forward relay may be referred to in the alternative as a “Relay Station (RS).” The description below is made describing an amplify-and-forward relay (i.e., a repeater) as an example.
Due to an increase of demand for a variety of services, a Location Based Service (LBS) has been developed in various forms. The LBS is, for example, a service of estimating a location of a user who is under emergency (i.e., disaster) circumstances, a service of estimating a location of a user (that is, an MS) and guiding the user to a restaurant and the like.
A Location Detection Technology (LDT) for the LBS has been widely known as a cell IDentifier (ID) technique, an Angle Of Arrival (AOA) technique, a Time Of Arrival (TOA) technique, a Time Difference Of Arrival (TDOA) technique, an Assisted-Global Positioning System (A-GPS) technique and the like. Among the LDT technologies, the A-GPS technique is the one mostly used due to it having the highest degree of accuracy. However, the A-GPS technique requires a minimum of four GPS satellites and thus, in a shadow area where less than four satellites are available, a hybrid GPS technology using TDOA or cell ID is used. That is, hybrid GPS can use either TDOA or cell ID according to requirements of a desired service or number of BSs that can be secured by a user and the like.
In a metropolitan area, many shadow areas can exist between a BS and an MS and thus, many repeaters may be used. When a TOA or TDOA technology is used for LBS, it requires a minimum of three BSs. However, when a signal from a BS is received by an MS through a repeater, a time delay of the received signal through the repeater is different then a time delay of the signal received directly from the BS. This difference in the time delay results in a location estimation error.
FIG. 1 illustrates that an MS receives signals from three BSs in a conventional wireless communication system.
When a signal from each BS is received via a real path through a repeater and not a desired path, a time delay occurs because of the repeater. Thus, an MS cannot calculate an accurate propagation delay (i.e., TDOA, TOA, etc.). That is, because the MS calculates TDOA considering a received signal as directly received from a BS, a location estimation error can occur.
In addition, when a signal from a BS is received by an MS through a plurality of repeaters, the MS cannot be aware if a signal is received through a repeater and thus it cannot accurately determined if the measured time delays correspond to a path though a repeater. Moreover, numerous repeaters are installed in a metropolitan area. These numerous repeaters deteriorate location estimation performance, which causes a problem when using a LDT. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Electronic device packages are typically rigid. An electronic device can be integrated into a variety of package form factors by making the package more flexible. By making a package more flexible, the package can conform to a variety of contours so as to be comfortably integrated into more applications. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The present disclosure generally relates to epoxides, methods for producing the epoxides, curable compositions including the epoxides, and articles and materials including the cured compositions.
Epoxy resins are high performance materials used in a wide variety of applications including protective coatings, adhesives, electronic laminates (such as those used in the fabrication of computer circuit boards), flooring and paving applications, glass fiber-reinforced pipes, and automotive parts (including leaf springs, pumps, and electrical components). In their cured form, epoxy resins offer desirable properties including good adhesion to other materials, excellent resistance to corrosion and chemicals, high tensile strength, and good electrical resistance. Challenges associated with the use of epoxy resins include the brittleness of the cured epoxy resins as a result of crosslinking Thus, there exists a need for epoxy-based materials with improved properties. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
In communication systems that are configured to facilitate communication between multiple users, multiple communication device types, and/or between units/stations having different communication tasks, the communication devices associated with the users and/or tasks (communication end units), are typically configured individually for the particular user or the particular task. End units seldom comprise of multiple input controls to facilitate easy configuration of the end units, e.g. due to size restrictions. Instead, end units typically come with a certain number of sets of configuration settings. The end units also typically only have a few control input buttons, such as the on/off button and/or volume buttons. The sets of configuration settings may be selected on the end units by pressing the few buttons in a pre-specified pattern and/or length of time.
Selecting the configuration settings for end units is typically done on a very occasional or intermittent basis. Consequently, users do not typically remember how to set the particular configuration setting for their end units. This may result in delay in registering the end units and considerable frustration for the user. The user typically resorts to calling the customer services department of their communication device provider.
Communication systems often include a base station (hereinafter referred to as a base unit) and one or more portable end units. The portable end units are typically registered to a particular base unit, or a particular group of base units. When registering an end unit to a base unit, it is typically necessary to place both the base unit and the end unit into registration modes. To put the end unit into a registration mode it may be necessary to press a button on the end unit for a certain period of time, and/or press a combination of buttons. Similar interaction with the end unit may be required when changing configuration settings of the end unit, such as the function(s) of specific button(s), microphone gain, automatic transmission of data, etc.
Some communication systems require that the end units be plugged into the base unit to register and set the configuration settings for the end unit. Typically, the base unit, in such systems, includes configuration settings for the end unit, by virtue of the base unit being larger, including additional functionality compared to the end unit, and having, e.g., an alphanumeric and/or graphical user interface. In some communication systems, configuration settings are communicated to the end units from the base unit over the standard communication links between the end units and the base unit. Such systems would require additional radio bandwidth compared to that used by the (wired) communications between the base unit and the end unit. Furthermore, it may be more challenging to change the configuration settings of the end unit when a new user is using the end unit, or if the user using the end unit transfers to a different role and/or task. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.