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This invention provides for a reliable and quick identification and retrieval system for use in connection with the typical valet parking system presently utilized by the vast majority of restaurants and other establishments offering their patrons valet parking.
Prior systems have traditionally consisted of a plurality of identification cards, usually two (2) small rectangular or squared shaped pieces of paper or cardboard. The two cards bear the same identification number. Upon a patron's arrival at the restaurant, the parking valet would hand the driver one of the numbered cards and upon parking the patron's vehicle would return to a central location at which the keys of the parked automobiles would be stored for safekeeping. The keys of a particular vehicle would be placed in a compartment within this storage facility along with the second numbered identification card. When the patron was ready to exit the premises, he returned his numbered identification card to the parking attendant who would in turn retrieve the patron's keys from the storage area by locating the matching identification card. The attendant then retrieves the patron's vehicle from the parking lot and returns it to the patron at the front of the restaurant.
Prior systems such as that just described are old in the art. These systems all suffer from a common shortfall. They lack reliability and quickness. Experience has shown that during the peak hours at popular restaurants, patrons are generally arriving at a faster rate than the parking attendants can park the cars and return the car keys and identification card to the storage area. Accordingly, it is common practice for the valet services to "stack" vehicles near the entrance of the restaurant until a lull occurs in the volume of incoming patrons at which time the attendants will then park several vehicles in succession without returning to the central storage area between the parking of each vehicle. The attendants commonly put one vehicle's keys and identification card in their pocket while they park a second or third vehicle. In doing so, the identification cards and keys of the several vehicles frequently become mixed up and upon the attendant's return to the central storage facility, the identification cards are frequently matched with the wrong set of keys. This mix-up leads to the retrieval of the wrong vehicle upon the patron's attempted departure.
A second problem arising under the prior system is the amount of time needed to retrieve the vehicles. When attempting to retrieve a particular patron's vehicle, the attendant generally has nothing more to guide him than the knowledge of the general make of the vehicle to enable him to quickly retrieve the vehicle. Frequently there are several vehicles of the same make in the parking lot and the attendant may initially attempt to retrieve the wrong vehicle. Also, in the evening it may be sufficiently dark outside that even knowledge of the color of the patron's vehicle is not helpful in enabling the quick location of the vehicle in question until the attendant is actually almost upon the vehicle.
A need, therefore, exists for a reliable identification and quick retrieval system for use by valet parking systems. The need exists for a system which eliminates the improper identification of a patron's vehicle keys and which also decreases the time necessary for the attendant's retrieval of the patron's vehicle. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Memory technology implies the need for accessing data within memory devices, such as DRAM or other memory devices. Therefore, different addressing strategies have already been proposed.
A possible feature of DRAMs is address multiplexing. This technique enables splitting the address in half and feeding each half in turn to the chip on the address bus pins.
The chip has a large array of memory capacitors that are arranged in rows and columns. To read one location in the array, the control circuit first calculates its row number, which it places on the DRAM's address pins. It then toggles the row address select (RAS) pin, causing the DRAM to read the row address. Internally, the DRAM connects the selected row to a bank of amplifiers called sense amplifiers, which read the contents of all the capacitors in the row. The control circuit then places the column number of the desired location on the same address pins, and toggles the column address select (CAS) pin, causing the DRAM to read the column address. The DRAM uses this to select the output of the sense amplifier corresponding to the selected column. After a delay called the CAS access time, this output is presented to the outside world on the DRAM's data I/O pin.
To write data to the DRAM, the control logic uses the same two-step addressing method, but instead of reading the data from the chip at the end of the operation, it provides data to the chip at the start of the operation.
After a read or write operation, the control circuit returns the RAS and CAS pins to their original states to ready the DRAM for its next operation. The DRAM requires a certain interval called the precharge interval between operations.
Once the control circuit has selected a particular row, it can select several columns in succession by placing different column addresses on the address pins, toggling CAS each time, while the DRAM keeps the same row activated. This is quicker than accessing each location using the full row-column procedure. This method is useful for retrieving microprocessor instructions, which tend to be stored at successive addresses in memory.
In addition, the provision of commands is typically provided through command strobes on the command bus. The number of different commands depends on the number of pins on the command bus with 2N commands being a possibility with N being the number of pins at the command bus. With the increasing demand for different commands, the command bus needed to be expanded. However, as die size is a crucial factor in application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) design, the number of pins on the command bus needs to be decreased.
Further, the size of the buses is also relevant for the overall size of the connection interface between the memory device and the central processing unit (CPU). The higher data rates that were required, the higher the number of connection pins on the data bus were selected. This increased the size of the interface. In addition, the number of pins on the address bus and the overall number of pins of the interface determined the type of memory to be used on the interface, besides protocol issues. However, the demand for flexibility of usage of different kinds of memory devices was not accounted for. There is a need for a flexible interface, which enables the use of different kinds of memory devices with different kinds of capabilities in terms of data throughput on the data bus.
With the rising need for flexible use of standard components, there is a need for providing a memory interface enabling to use both volatile memory and non-volatile memory on one same interface. However, as non-volatile memory and volatile memory have different prerequisites for the interfaces, there needs to be a possibility to adapt the interface for use with both types of memory. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an illuminating device which makes an annular luminous body emit light, an operating device having the illuminating device, and an audio apparatus including the operating device.
The present application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. Hei. 11-4435, which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has been known an operating knob used in an electric apparatus such as an audio apparatus or the like. FIG. 1 shows an example of an operating knob and a related illuminating device that emits light to illuminate the outer circumferential side of the operating knob. A light guiding member 2 is formed in a hollow cylindrical manner. A knob 1 is fittable into a hollow portion of the light guiding member 2. The light guiding member 2 has an annular luminous surface 3 at an end side thereof (the left side in FIG. 1) , and a plurality of illuminants 4 (two illuminants in FIG. 1) such as LEDs or the like are disposed at the opposite end side of the light guiding member 2. Under this construction, light is emitted from the illuminants 4 toward portions of the light guiding member 2, and is guided by the light guiding member 2 so as to be emitted from the luminous surface 3.
Incidentally, in the aforementioned illuminating device disposed on the outer circumferential side of the knob 1, only two parts of the luminous surface 3 existing in the direction of irradiation of the illuminants 4 shine brightly as hatched portions in FIG. 2, the whole region of the outer circumference of the knob 1 cannot be illuminated. If the whole region of the outer circumferential of the knob 1 is to be illuminated, it is necessary to provide a large number of illuminants 4, and therefore, the construction is made to be complicated.
With the above aforementioned circumstances in view, it is an object of the present invention is to provide an illuminating device which can make an annular luminous body emit light in a wider range with a simple construction, an operating device having such the illuminating device, and an audio apparatus including the operating device.
In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an illuminating device for receiving light emitted from a light source and emitting light, the illuminating device which comprises a tubular-light guiding member that is capable of guiding light, and an annular luminous body connected to a first end portion of the light guiding member, the luminous body which is made to emit light by the light guided by the light guiding member.
According to the second aspect of the present invention depending on the first aspect, it is preferable that the luminous body includes a tapered surface which is made to emit the light.
According to the third aspect of the present invention depending on the second aspect, it is preferable that the tapered surface is processed in one of an aventurine-like manner and a frosted-glass like manner.
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention depending on the second aspect, it is preferable that the tapered surface has a concave surface.
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention depending on the first aspect, it is preferable that the light source is directed to a second end portion of the light guiding member, and emits the light in a direction substantially parallel with an axial direction of the light guiding member.
According to the sixth aspect of the present invention depending on the first aspect, it is preferable that the illuminating device further comprises a light entering portion for leading the light emitted from the light source into the light guiding member so as to be spirally guided in the light guiding member.
According to the seventh aspect of the present invention depending on the first aspect, it is preferable that the light guiding member formed in a hollow cylindrical manner.
According to the eighth aspect of the present invention depending on the first aspect, it is preferable that the light source emits beam-like light toward the light guiding member.
According to the ninth aspect of the present invention depending on the first aspect, it is preferable that the light guiding member is capable of spirally guiding the light.
According to the tenth aspect of the present invention depending on the first aspect, it is preferable that the illuminating device further comprises a reflection member, wherein the light emitted from the light source is reflected by the reflection member, and enters the light guiding member.
According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention depending on the sixth aspect, it is preferable that the illuminating device further comprises a reflection member disposed on the light entering portion, wherein the light emitted from the light source is reflected by the reflection member, and enters the light guiding member.
According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention depending on the first aspect, it is preferable that the light emitted from the light source enters a second end portion of the light guiding member, and is spirally guided by the light guiding member.
According to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention depending on the second aspect, it is preferable that the tapered surface has a convex surface.
According to the fourteenth aspect of the present invention depending on the second aspect, it is preferable that the tapered surface has an angular surface.
Further, in order to achieve the above object, according to the fifteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an operating device which comprises a light source which emits light, a tubular-light guiding member having a hollow portion, the light guiding member that receives the light emitted from the light source, and is capable of guiding the light, an annular luminous body connected to a first end portion of the light guiding member, the luminous body which is made to emit light by the light guided by the light guiding member, and an operating knob partially insertable in the hollow portion of the light guiding member.
According to the sixteenth aspect of the present invention depending on the fifteenth aspect, it is preferable that the luminous body includes a tapered surface which is made to emit the light.
According to the seventeenth aspect of the present invention depending on the sixteenth aspect, it is preferable that the tapered surface is processed in one of an aventurine-like manner and a frosted-glass like manner.
According to the eighteenth aspect of the present invention depending on the sixteenth aspect, it is preferable that the tapered surface has a concave surface.
According to the nineteenth aspect of the present invention depending on the fifteenth aspect, it is preferable that the light source is directed to a second end portion of the light guiding member, and emits the light in a direction substantially parallel with an axial direction of the light guiding member.
According to the twentieth aspect of the present invention depending on the fifteenth aspect, it is preferable that the operating device further comprises a light entering portion for leading the light emitted from the light source into the light guiding member so as to be spirally guided in the light guiding member.
According to the twenty-first aspect of the present invention depending on the fifteenth aspect, it is preferable that the light guiding member formed in a hollow cylindrical manner.
According to the twenty-second aspect of the present invention depending on the fifteenth aspect, it is preferable that the light source emits beam-like light toward the light guiding member.
According to the twenty-third aspect of the present invention depending on the fifteenth aspect, it is preferable that the light guiding member is capable of spirally guiding the light.
According to the twenty-fourth aspect of the present invention depending on the fifteenth aspect, it is preferable that the operating device further comprises a reflection member, wherein the light emitted from the light source is reflected by the reflection member, and enters the light guiding member.
According to the twenty-fifth aspect of the present invention depending on the twenties aspect, it is preferable that the operating device further comprises a reflection member disposed on the light entering portion, wherein the light emitted from the light source is reflected by the reflection member, and enters the light guiding member.
According to the twenty-sixth aspect of the present invention depending on the fifteenth aspect, it is preferable that the light emitted from the light source enters a second end portion of the light guiding member, and is spirally guided by the light guiding member.
According to the twenty-seventh aspect of the present invention depending on the sixteenth aspect, it is preferable that the tapered surface has a convex surface.
According to the twenty-eighth aspect of the present invention depending on the sixteenth aspect, it is preferable that the tapered surface has an angular surface.
According to the twenty-ninth aspect of the present invention, it is preferable that an audio apparatus comprises an operating device defined in the aforementioned fifteenth aspect of the present invention. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Wireless technology has continued to improve at an impressive rate the past decade. Wireless technology now allows for electronic devices as small as quarter-sized watches to have not just fully functional CPUs but sensors and touch interfaces for allowing user interaction and monitoring as well. One area where these new technologies have not been fully exploited is in the field of medical headlights. Medical headlights are used by surgeons and other medical professionals for illumination of cavities and other spaces that receive inadequate light. Operation and control of medical headlights is often performed manually. What is needed is a better way to wirelessly operate and control a medical headlight with wireless earpieces. | {
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Papers capable of reversibly displaying digital information, which are so-called digital papers, are being actively studied at present because their importance will increase in the digital information era in the future. Representative examples of the mode include an electrophoresis display mode based on the movement of electrically charged fine particles, a thermally rewritable display mode utilizing the thermally reversible color development process of a leuco dye, and a mode utilizing the volume expansion of a high-molecular weight gel.
Among them, the thermally rewritable display mode utilizing the thermally reversible color development process of a leuco dye has been eagerly studied because white display on a basis of scatter close to paper can be utilized.
Leuco dyes are widely used as various display materials because they can realize a color development system by the acid-base reaction. For example, there are enumerated thermosensitive papers, pressure-sensitive papers, and thermosensitive printing materials. In addition, since the leuco dyes can realize a reversible color development system of the acid-base reaction, for example, reversible thermosensitive display materials comprising a combination of the leuco dye with a developer are known. The details of the reversible thermosensitive display materials are described in, for example, Polymer Preprints, Japan, Vol. 42, p. 736 (1993).
As the display material comprising a polymer having a leuco dye connected thereto by covalent bond are enumerated those disclosed in JP-A-11-181031. However, the display materials disclosed in this patent are of an irreversible color development system.
Further, as a display mode utilizing the phase change of a high-molecular weight gel are enumerated those disclosed in JP-A-11-236559 and JP-A-9-160081. However, the display materials disclosed in these patents still involve a problem such that the display contrast is low, and hence, its improvement has been demanded.
As the technology of complexing a high-molecular weight gel with a photo-functional material, high-molecular weight gels having a residue that can be ionically dissociated upon irradiation with light are disclosed in JP-A-62-55967. However, this residue involves a problem in stability of the chromophore, and hence, its improvement has been demanded.
As materials comprising a polymer having a leuco dye and a developer connected thereto by covalent bond are enumerated those disclosed in JP-A-11-181031. However, the materials disclosed in this patent relate to an irreversible display material comprising a combination with a functional group having an acid-proliferating function. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Field of The Invention
This invention generally relates to an image forming device for recording a high-picture-quality image and more particularly to an image forming device for performing tone reproduction (namely, gradational recording) of an image by changing the size of dots according to input image data. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Inserted blade cutting heads or routers are rotating cutting tools used particularly in wood working, for example, for the cutting of wood profiles which consist of a rotatable tool support body and a plurality of cutting blades mounted thereon circumferentially and evenly spaced from one another. The cutting edges of these cutting blades are ground corresponding to the contour of the profile to be cut.
It is important for such cutting heads with inserted blades that the cutting blades of the cutting head are all accurately positioned in axial as well as in radial directions so that all the cutting blades provide for the same cut. The accurate mounting of the various cutting blades must therefore be reproducible in a reliable manner.
Usually, such cutting heads have cutting blade mounting arrangements with a support plate which is provided with a rear gear tooth arrangement and on which the cutting blades abut with their back side. With its rear gear tooth arrangement, the support plate engages a corresponding gear tooth arrangement in the blade carrying cutting head. A chucking wedge is provided which firmly engages the cutting blades with the support plate. The support plate often has at its underside a ground step structure or, in place of the step structure, a ground wedge which is provided in order to form a highly accurate back support surface for the lower edge of the cutting blade.
Pins, inserted into the support plate, which cooperate with a side edge surface of the cutting blade or a lower cut out formed therein to provide a stop structure assuring a predetermined and reproducible axial position for the cutting blade in the cutting head.
It is the object of the present invention to provide an improved cutting blade support arrangement for a cutting head whereby handling of the cutting blades is facilitated and utilization of the cutting blades is improved. | {
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Medical patients may receive various treatments. For example, a medical patient may be prescribed medication by a healthcare professional. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention relates, generally, to a system and process for readily determining, for a specified knowledge domain in a given field of endeavor as represented in a neural network, perturbations applicable to such specified knowledge domain that will produce a desired output, and employs neural network-based technology to quickly and easily arrive at a determination of the particular perturbation-output mapping relationship associated with or required to produce the desired output. Typically, such system and process can be utilized to determine those input patterns to a neural network, which input patterns may be representative of designs, concepts, or plans of action, that will produce a desired result within the particular knowledge domain, and operates to determine the particular input-output mapping relationship associated with or required to produce the desired result. Such system can be employed in some instances and in some embodiments as a target seeking system for use with various design or problem solving applications, and can, in some embodiments, also comprise or be comprised of a system and process for autonomously producing and identifying desirable design concepts.
Prior to this invention, artificial neural network (ANN) emulations of biological systems were used for tasks such as pattern recognition, neural control, and the generalization of experimental data. The present system represents a new approach and a new application of ANN's in which the system functions to permit a user to specify desired outputs or results for a given design or problem solving application and to thereafter obtain identification of system perturbations that would produce the desired output. Such system perturbations may be external to the ANN (e.g., changes to the ANN data inputs) or internal to the ANN (e.g., changes to weights, biases, etc.) By utilizing neural network-based technology, such identification of required perturbations can be achieved easily, quickly, and, if desired, autonomously. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an electromagnetic actuator. More specifically, the invention relates to an electromagnetic actuator that can be configured in a normally open configuration or a normally closed configuration to push or pull a device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Actuators are used to move devices, or elements thereof, between positions of operation. By way of example, an actuator may move a switch from an open condition to a closed condition. Actuators may also move elements between a plurality of positions. In the case where an actuator operates a valve, a valve may move between open and closed positions. In addition, the actuator may move the valve to a plurality of positions between the open and closed position to regulate a flow of material, i.e., fluid flow, as it passes through the valve by varying the size of the opening created within the valve.
A typical actuator used to automatically move a switch or a valve between conditions is an electromagnetic actuator. While operating under the same principle, an electromagnetic actuator that is designed to be normally open is conceptually different in its layout or design from an electromagnetic actuator that is designed to operate in a normally closed condition. Because the normally open actuator and the normally closed actuator are designed differently, the part designs for each of the actuators varies depending on the type of actuator being used. Because the designs are different, inventory for several parts is required. By increasing the number of parts, costs associated with inventory and assembly for such actuators are increased. In addition, errors in part selection increase as the multiple of part combinations grows due to the increased number of parts based on what condition a particular actuator is to be operating in.
An actuator assembly operates a device in a normally open mode and a normally closed mode. The actuator assembly includes a frame that extends between a first ridge and a second ridge. A primary plate is adapted to be secured to either the first ridge or the second ridge. The primary plate includes a primary hole. A secondary plate is adapted to be secured to either the first ridge or the second ridge, opposite the end to which the primary plate is secured. The secondary plate includes a secondary hole. A bobbin defining a longitudinal axis extends between the primary and secondary plates. A coil wound around the bobbin receives an electrical current to induce a magnetic field thereabout. A rod extends from within the frame to a device along the longitudinal axis. The rod is movable along the longitudinal axis in response to the magnetic field to open and close the device. The actuator assembly also includes a plunger extending through a portion of the bobbin. The plunger is movable with respect thereto in response to changes in the magnetic field. The plunger includes a rod receptacle for fixedly securing the rod therein allowing the rod to move with the plunger. The plunger is adapted to be oriented in a first orientation allowing the actuator assembly to operate the device in the normally open mode and a second orientation allowing the actuator assembly to operate the device in the normally closed mode. | {
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Marker lamps are frequently fitted to the outside of large vehicles, such as trucks, trailers, and recreational vehicles. Marker lamps are installed on a vehicle to provide an indication of its size, shape, and direction of motion so that nearby motorists and pedestrians can quickly evaluate the characteristics of the vehicle and take necessary steps to avoid an accident. Some vehicles, such as large trailers, are provided with a set of top located marker lights, known as clearance lights. Clearance lights are mounted on a vehicle in order to provide a ready indication of whether or not the vehicle can drive under a low ceiling structure, such as a bridge or a loading dock canopy. A typical marker lamp assembly comprises an incandescent light bulb that is encased inside a small housing. A colored lens, typically an amber lens, forms the outer wall of the housing. The amber wavelength light emitted by the bulb passes through and is diffused by the lens. This light is the light nearby motorists and pedestrians observe when they see an illuminated marker light.
While conventional bulb-in-housing marker lamps have proved useful for providing an indication of the shape of the vehicle to which they are attached, they are not without some limitations. The trucks, trailers, and other vehicles to which these lamps are mounted often experience intense vibrations and/or vibrate constantly while in motion. The bulbs in these lamp assemblies contain thin, fragile filaments. Over time, the vibrations to which these bulbs are exposed cause the filaments to break, resulting in burnout of the bulb. Since many marker lamps are located on the top of the vehicle to which they are attached, and can be 10 or more feet off the ground, removing and replacing the burned-out bulbs can be a laborious and time-consuming task. Another disadvantage of these assemblies is that in some environments the ambient light may be so intense that it washes out the light emitted by a marker light. This can make it difficult on a bright, sunny day, for example, to use the marker lights to evaluate whether there is sufficient clearance for a truck trailer to pass under a bridge or through a tunnel.
Moreover, the housing forming the body of a marker lamp is simply a hollow body. The outer wall of this body is a thin plastic layer that has relatively minimal mechanical strength. Consequently, the lenses of this assembly are prone to breakage when struck by foreign objects, such as rocks that may be thrown up from the road by the wheels of the vehicle or deliberately thrown by mischievous persons. Once an object breaks the lens, the lamp assembly may no longer emit the appropriate color light and confuse nearby persons who expect the light to have certain characteristics. Also, if the object strikes the marker/clearance light hard enough it will break not only the lens but the bulb inside the lamp housing. Once this happens, the lamp assembly is rendered completely useless.
Recently, there have been some attempts to use light-emitting diode (LED) lamp assemblies to substitute for conventional incandescent bulb-type marker lamps. A disadvantage of these assemblies is that a single LED does not emit light over a relatively wide arc. In order to provide an LED marker lamp assembly capable of emitting light over a wide viewing field, it has been necessary to construct these assemblies using a number of spaced-apart LEDs. These assemblies are typically too large to put in a vehicle body opening that are normally formed to accommodate marker lights. Moreover, the large number of LEDs that form a single lamp assembly collectively typically consume a relatively large amount of power. | {
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Internet commerce, or e-commerce as it is otherwise known, relates to the buying and selling of products and services between consumers and merchants over the Internet or other like transactional exchanges of information. The convenience of shopping over the Internet has sparked considerable interest in e-commerce on behalf of both consumers and merchants. Internet sales, or like transactions, have been typically carried out using standard credit cards such as Visa®, MasterCard®, Discover®, American Express®, or the like, or standard debit cards, i.e., check cards or automated teller machine (ATM) cards which directly access funds from an associated deposit account or other bank account.
While widely used for more traditional face-to-face transactions, use of these standard cards in connection with e-commerce presents certain difficulties, including difficulties concerning authentication or positive identification of the cardholder. For example, maintaining consumer confidence in security has become difficult with increased reports of fraud. The resulting apprehension is also fueled by consumer uncertainty of the reputation or integrity of a merchant with whom the consumer is dealing. Questionable security of the consumer's card information or other personal information typically submitted along with a traditional e-commerce transaction (e.g., address, card number, phone number, etc.) serves to increase apprehension even more. Additionally, cardholders, merchants and financial institutions are all concerned about safeguarding against fraudulent or otherwise unauthorized transactions.
Accordingly, various credit card networks have implemented initiatives or programs aimed at safeguarding against fraud. For example, Visa® and MasterCard® both support authentication initiatives whereby a cardholder is authenticated by the bank or financial institution issuing the card, i.e., the issuing bank. FIG. 1, illustrates one such exemplary authentication initiative. As shown in this example, a consumer/cardholder 10, e.g., employing a suitable web browser or the like, is making an on-line purchase, e.g., over the Internet, from a merchant 20. As is known in the art, the illustrated back-end payment processing chain includes an optional payment gateway 30, the merchant's financial institution or acquiring bank 32, the credit card network 34 and the issuing bank 36.
At a point of checkout, the consumer 10 selects an appropriate payment method based on the initiatives supported by the merchant 20. At this point, the consumer fills out the on-line checkout form including a payment option, card number, expiration date, etc. Based on the payment information, the merchant 20, via a plug-in 22 installed on their server, passes a verify enrollment request (VEReq) message to a directory 38 on a server, e.g., suitably operated by the credit card network 34. The directory 38 includes a database associating participating merchants with their acquiring banks and a database associating card number ranges with locations or addresses, e.g., universal resource locator (URL) addresses, of issuing banks' authentication servers, e.g., the authentication server 40 for issuing bank 36. The VEReq message is a request to verify the enrollment of the card in the authentication program, and it contains the card number provided by the consumer 10.
Based on the card number range stored within the directory, the VEReq message will be sent to the appropriate URL address for the server 40 which returns to the merchant 20 via the directory 38 a response thereto, i.e., a verify enrollment response (VERes). That is to say, the server 40 will verify the enrollment status of the card and respond with a VERes message to the directory 38 which is then passed back to the merchant's plug-in component 22.
Based on the VERes message (i.e., if positive), the merchant plug-in component 22 will redirect the cardholder's browser to the server 40 by passing it a payer authentication request (PAReq) message generated by the merchant's plug-in component 22. The consumer 10 then completes an authentication process directly with the server 40. The authentication server 40 authenticates the consumer/cardholder 10 and responds to the merchant 20 with a payer authentication response (PARes) message including a digital signature. The merchant's plug-in component 22 validates the digital signature of the PARes and extracts the authentication status and other specified data that is to be used by the merchant 20 during the payment authorization process carried out via the back-end payment processing chain. For example, the merchant 20 sends an authorization/sale transaction to their payment gateway 30 along with the data elements received from the PARes. The payment gateway 30 routes the data to the acquiring bank 32 based on the acquirer's specification. The acquiring bank 32 then sends the data via the appropriate credit card network 34 to the issuing bank 36 for settlement.
When using authentication initiatives such as the aforementioned example, the credit card network often ensures participating merchants that fraudulent transactions and other charge backs, as they are known in the art, will not be the merchants' responsibility provided the specified protocols have been followed. However, there are considerable burdens placed upon the merchants to participate in the authentication initiatives. For example, typical installation of the merchant plug-in can be overly burdensome using up resources, i.e., computing power, memory, data storage capacity, etc., the merchant would otherwise prefer to devote to other tasks. Often, the plug-in component can be extremely large and/or cumbersome to implement on the merchant's server. Moreover, for a merchant that participates in a plurality of such authentication programs for multiple credit card networks, the burden can be that much more, i.e., requiring a separate plug-in component for each individual authentication initiative they wish to support, especially considering that each credit card network may have its own particular protocols, data fields that are employed in the respective messages, specific data format requirements, etc.
Further, the merchants are responsible for remaining current with initiative protocols that can change periodically. That is to say, as the authentication protocols are updated and/or changed by the respective credit card networks, the merchants are likewise responsible for updating and/or changing their plug-in components to reflect those update and/or changes being mandated by the credit card networks.
The present invention contemplates a new and improved system and/or method which overcomes the above-referenced problems and others. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present disclosure generally relates to the production of fluids from a subterranean formation, and, more specifically, to subsurface well systems having multiple drain wells and methods for use thereof.
Multiple, interlinked wells are commonly used in subterranean operations to maximize the production of hydrocarbon fluids from a subterranean formation. The use of multiple, interlinked wells may result in higher production than can be obtained from multiple, non-interlinked wells. Interlinked wells can be particularly advantageous in lenticular pay zones (also commonly referred to in the art as compartmentalized reservoirs), for example, where there can be multiple, non-contiguous hydrocarbon-bearing subterranean zones. FIG. 1 shows a schematic of an illustrative lenticular pay zone 1 having isolated hydrocarbon-bearing subterranean zones 2 located therein. Hydrocarbon-bearing subterranean zones 2 can vary widely in size and shape. It can be difficult to penetrate a sufficient number of hydrocarbon-bearing subterranean zones in a lenticular pay zone while using only a single well, particularly a substantially vertical well. Even when multiple wells, optionally having lateral branches, are used to penetrate a greater number of hydrocarbon-bearing subterranean zones, the formation pressure may not be sufficiently high to enable free fluid flow from the well. In either case, production from the lenticular pay zone may not be economically feasible, even though significant amounts of hydrocarbon fluids may be present therein.
In cases where the formation pressure is insufficient to enable free fluid flow from a well, a lifting mechanism can be employed to assist in the production of a hydrocarbon fluid to the earth's surface. From an operational standpoint, it can often be desirable to have a substantially vertical production well when using a lifting mechanism to assist in fluid production. In a lenticular pay zone, this preference for a substantially vertical production well can make contact with multiple hydrocarbon-bearing subterranean zones problematic when using a single production well.
When multiple hydrocarbon-bearing subterranean zones are being simultaneously penetrated by several wells, the wells can be configured as drain wells to channel hydrocarbon fluid flow toward a few interlinked production wells. For example, the drain wells can be discharged into a collection well which directs the hydrocarbon fluid flow to the production wells. Use of one or more collection wells can be advantageous from the standpoint of pooling the hydrocarbon fluids into a larger volume that is more easily produced to the earth's surface. Pooling of hydrocarbon fluids into a larger volume can also make production more economically viable. In addition, directing the hydrocarbon fluid flow to a few production wells avoids having to control production and maintain a separate lifting mechanism at a large number of separate production wells. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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For many companies, individuals, and institutions, access to the Internet is typically achieved using a service provider. Service providers generally deliver various computer services to entities by means of computer networks. For example, service providers often offer such services as website hosting, electronic commerce, email, and network connectivity services.
Entities that rely on Internet communication or commerce for their day-to-day affairs may not only be interested in the type of service a service provider offers, but also the quality of its service. To attract these customers, service providers will often promise a quality of service level that, should they fall below, obligates the service provider to pay penalties to the customer. Such a promise is often expressed in a service level agreement between the service provider and the customer. Absent a service level agreement, a service provider may still be liable for service penalties by law as a result of its representations, advertising, or industry standards. Thus, the service provider may be exposed to quality of service liability as a result of either express or implied service agreements with its customers.
Quality of service guarantees can come in many forms. A guarantee may specify how quickly or how often a technical assistant is made available to the customer. Thus, quality of service penalties may result from not having enough technical assistants immediately available to speak with customers. Penalties may also result from not having enough bandwidth to meet its customers' collective throughput level at a particular time. Regardless of the type of quality of service liability the service provider is exposed to, the amount of penalties paid by the service provider could mean the difference between success and failure for the service provider.
In general, many service providers assume that not all of their customers will require peak service at the same time. This situation is similar to an electric company assuming that not all its customers will require peak electricity at any particular point in time. Thus, a service provider may not have the capability to service each customer at peak demand levels at the same time. By not having the infrastructure in place to provide peak service to all its customers at the same time the service provider takes on even greater quality of service liability. Nevertheless, such an operating model is often the only way for service providers to offer their services at competitive prices.
Insurance policies are known in the art as a means of offsetting risk of financial loss. The purpose of insurance is to provide economic protection against losses incurred due to the occurrence of a chance event. Various types of insurance policies are used to mitigate various types of risks. For example, fire insurance can be purchased to protect against the risk of property damage and economic loss due to fire.
Conventional insurance policies are generally static in nature. Once an insurance policy is purchased, factors affecting the insurance company's exposure to liability are reviewed infrequently. Thus, conventional insurance programs are often ill suited to account for frequent situational changes that may affect risk of loss. | {
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This invention relates to fuel injection systems for internal combustion engines and more particularly to those of the type including an intake-air flow detecting device provided on the intake-air passage or manifold duct of the engine to detect the flow of engine intake air as a value of vacuum pressure, a fuel feed pump arranged on the fuel line interconnecting a fuel injection valve fitted to the intake-air passage on the downstream side of a throttle valve and a fuel tank, and a fuel metering device interposed between the fuel injection nozzle and the fuel feed pump to meter the fuel delivered therefrom in accordance with the value of vacuum pressure transmitted from the intake-air flow detecting device.
In general, fuel injection systems of the type described are advantageous in that they are simple in construction and limited in fabrication cost but have been unsatisfactory in that, with the conventional construction, the vacuum pressure in the intake-air passage can hardly be controlled as expected in accordance with the condition of engine operation and hence the system can only contribute a little to exhaust emissions control and fuel economy. | {
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Polypeptides are useful in a variety of diagnostic, therapeutic, agricultural, nutritional, and research applications. Although polypeptides can be isolated from natural sources, the isolation of large quantities of a specific polypeptide from natural sources may be expensive. Also, the polypeptide may not be of uniform quality due to variation in the source material. Recombinant DNA technology allows more uniform and cost-effective large-scale production of specific polypeptides.
One goal of recombinant polypeptide production is the optimization of culture conditions so as to obtain the greatest possible productivity. Incremental increases in productivity can be economically significant. Some of the methods to increase productivity in cell culture include using enriched medium, monitoring osmolarity during production, decreasing temperatures during specific phases of a cell culture, and/or the addition of sodium butyrate (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,705,364).
However, as more polypeptide-based drugs demonstrate clinical effectiveness and increased commercial quantities are needed, available culture facilities become limited. Accordingly, there remains a need in the art to continually improve yields of recombinant polypeptides from each cell culture run. | {
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In order to design an optical system so as to have a specified degree of correction for chromatic aberration, it is necessary to use an appropriate combination of optical materials for the refractive elements of the system. A technique is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,889 for identifying appropriate combinations of optical materials to use in designing optical systems that are to have a specified degree of color correction.
Techniques are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,958,919 and 5,033,831 for selecting combinations of liquids and glasses for use as the lens elements of optical systems that are to be well-corrected for chromatic aberration.
Unless an appropriate combination of optical materials is used for the refractive elements of an optical system, it would not be possible to achieve a specified degree of correction for chromatic aberration for the system. However, the selection of an appropriate combination of optical materials is not a sufficient condition for achieving the specified degree of correction for chromatic aberration. In addition to using an appropriate combination of optical materials, the designer must also determine an appropriate design form for the system--i.e., an appropriate set of geometrical relationships for the refractive elements that comprise the system.
Until recently, techniques as described in the above-cited references for selecting appropriate combinations of optical materials for use in designing optical systems that are corrected for chromatic aberration over specified wavelength ranges had generally not been applied to the design of lens systems incorporating a liquid optical element in the UV wavelength band, because there has been practically a complete absence of refractive index measurements at ultraviolet wavelengths for optically useful liquids.
Recent collaboration between researchers at the Lockheed Palo Alto Research Laboratories in Palo Alto, Calif. and the Vavilov State Optical Institute in St. Petersburg, Russia has resulted in the measurement of refractive indices for a number of liquids at ultraviolet wavelengths. The data obtained thereby has made possible the use of liquids to design optical systems that are well-corrected for chromatic aberration over a broad wavelength band in the ultraviolet region through the visible region into the near infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. | {
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1. Field of the Disclosure
This invention relates to triarylamine compounds. It also relates to electronic devices in which at least one active layer includes such a compound.
2. Description of the Related Art
Organic electronic devices that emit light, such as light-emitting diodes that make up displays, are present in many different kinds of electronic equipment. In all such devices, an organic active layer is sandwiched between two electrical contact layers. At least one of the electrical contact layers is light-transmitting so that light can pass through the electrical contact layer. The organic active layer emits light through the light-transmitting electrical contact layer upon application of electricity across the electrical contact layers.
It is well known to use organic electroluminescent compounds as the active component in light-emitting diodes. Simple organic molecules such as anthracene, thiadiazole derivatives, and coumarin derivatives are known to show electroluminescence. Organometallic compounds such as cyclometallated complexes of Ir and Pt are known to show electroluminescence. Semiconductive conjugated polymers have also been used as electroluminescent components. In many cases the electroluminescent compound is present as a dopant in a host material.
There is a continuing need for new materials for electronic devices. | {
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Electronic mailboxes are used to store electronic mail (e-mail) messages. Electronic mailboxes are connected to the Internet to enable users to send and receive incoming and outgoing e-mail messages. These mailboxes may also be extended to deliver e-mail to mobile wireless communication devices via wireless networks. In the case of a corporation, electronic mailboxes are typically located on mail servers at the corporation. On the other hand, mailboxes for small businesses or individuals are typically located on mail servers at an Internet service provider (ISP) location.
Mail user agents (MUAs) use a technique called polling to deliver messages from the mail server to the mail program at a user's computer or mobile wireless communications device. A MUA is a program running either on a user's personal computing device (mobile or stationary), or on a shared server that checks for new mail on behalf of a multitude of such users. More particularly, polling is the retrieval of incoming messages from other users at the mail server and delivery of these messages to the user's mailbox.
Mailbox polling generally occurs at different intervals or rates. Furthermore, mailbox polling rates may be customized. That is, corporations and/or Internet service providers may change polling intervals to best meet their particular needs. For example, because e-mails used for business communications are often high priority communications, corporate mail servers may be polled fairly regularly, such as every one to two minutes. On the other hand, ISP mailboxes are typically polled less frequently, e.g., once every fifteen minutes.
Mailbox polling typically occurs synchronously at the mail server at a predetermined interval. Mailboxes on the server are polled to send or receive messages, regardless of whether the mailbox has any new incoming or outgoing messages. In large systems, this traditional polling method may consume large amounts of server resources and thus impact performance.
More particularly, such resource consumption may be split into two parts, namely resource consumption (RC) on a mail server (MS), and on the MUA. RC on MS increases with the frequency of polling, and is particularly demanding when the MUA is running on a mobile wireless device. Such a consumption of resources and associated performance impact is particularly acute when mobile wireless communications devices are used. This is because of the bandwidth constraints associated with the wireless networks over which mobile wireless communications devices communicate with mail servers. For example, a mail server hosting a thousand or more mailboxes may need to communicate message data to several hundred or even thousands of mobile wireless communications devices after each polling interval. This may severely congest the wireless network and cause significant service delays. Furthermore, some mail servers may not be able to adequately support such usage models.
As a result, traditional mailbox polling does not perform particularly well when one or more of the following conditions are met: (1) a large number of mailboxes are being polled; (2) polling frequency is high; (3) MUA is on an network where connections to the MS are slow and/or expensive; and (4) the cumulative workload of polling can overwhelm the capacity of the network. One approach which has been used to address this problem is adaptive polling. Adaptive polling is a more intelligent method of polling mailboxes based upon a triggering event. More particularly, adaptive polling automatically changes the polling interval for a user based on the triggering event(s).
By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,557,026 describes a system for converting information from a text format to an audio format, in which the information is transmitted from a server to a client device via a wired or wireless communications link. In particular, the information relates to “stories” such as news headlines, stock quotes, etc. The server includes a data source monitor which periodically polls data sources to check for new stories based upon polling schedules. The patent notes that the polling schedules may include an adaptive scheduler, which increases the polling frequency with the rate of arrival of new stories. Moreover, the adaptive scheduler reduces the polling rate as the rate of arrival of new stories decreases. Static schedulers are also included, for example, to provide hourly polling during business hours.
Despite such systems, further advancements in polling techniques are desirable to accommodate the ever-increasing usage of mobile wireless communications devices for accessing electronic messages. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to image forming apparatus, and more particularly to a color MFP (Multi-Function Peripheral) and a monochromatic MFP (Multi-Function Peripheral) having a color scan function.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, an apparatus called a multi-function peripheral (MFP), in which functions of a copier, a facsimile and a printer are integrated, has widely been used.
A color MFP has a function of executing scan, copy and print in color.
In a conventional color MFP, in general, when a monochromatic (achromatic) original is to be copied, the original is read by a color scanner and the read image information on the original is sent to a printer section, thereby forming an image. In addition, in a case where the color MFP is provided with a monochromatic copy mode or a single-color copy mode, monochromatic image information (luminance information) is, in general, extracted from color image information that is read by the color scanner, and the printer is operated in the monochromatic print mode or single-color print mode, thereby obtaining a monochromatic image or a single-color image.
The color MFP is generally constructed to include a scanner section, in which a color sensor is incorporated, and a 4-rotation-type color printer (to be described later).
A monochromatic MFP with a color scan function has such a function that copy and print are executed in a monochromatic mode and scan is executed in a color mode.
Like the color MFP, in the monochromatic MFP with the color scan function, when a monochromatic original is to be copied, the original is, in general, read by a color scanner and monochromatic image information (luminance information) is extracted from the read color image information, and the printer is operated in the monochromatic print mode, thereby obtaining a monochromatic image.
The monochromatic MFP with the color scan function is generally constructed to include a scanner section, in which a color sensor is incorporated, and a monochromatic printer.
In addition, a CCD sensor that is used in the MFP, that is, a CCD sensor functioning as a color sensor that is incorporated in the scanner for reading a color image, is generally composed of three lines of, e.g., R, G and B (R: red, G: green, and B: blue), which have sensitivities for only specific light wavelengths).
However, in the case where an original that is read by color scanning is copied as a monochromatic document by a conventional method, such problems as a decrease in image quality and deficiency in image output speed have been pointed out.
In the case where monochromatic image information is to be obtained by the above-described sensor, the monochromatic image information is compounded from R, G and B color information, which is separately read. Thus, if lens characteristics have chromatic aberration or if non-uniformity in speed (jitter) occurs in the driving system at a time of reading, misregistration would occur in images that are captured by the R, G and B sensors. Consequently, an edge portion, in particular, of an image, which should normally be a monochromatic (achromatic) image, may be captured as a color image, or an image with color misregistration (chromatic aberration), which is larger than a real image, may be captured. A monochromatic image, which is obtained on the basis of such information, becomes different from a normal image, and the image quality deteriorates.
FIGS. 34, 35, 36 and 37 explain this phenomenon. For example, if chromatic aberration or driving jitter occurs when a rectangular original image (achromatic) with no density gradient is read by three RGB line sensors, images that are read by the RGB line sensors are misregistered in a main scan direction and a sub-scan direction. If such image information is output from a printer section, the shape of the output image is distorted, as shown in the Figures. Consequently, density gradient occurs at the edge portions. Thus, the quality of the image that is output from the printer deteriorates (problem of image quality).
In addition, the three RGB line sensors that are built in the scanner section are normally provided with color filters for passing only light of specific wavelength bands. The sensitivity of these line sensors is lower than that of a sensor with no such filter. As a result, compared to an apparatus that is dedicated to a monochromatic mode, there is a problem that the speed of monochromatic copy is low. If the speed is to be increased, it is necessary to increase the size of the sensors, thereby enhancing the sensitivity, or to provide a large light source. This leads to an increase in size of the apparatus (problem of reading speed, and problem of increase in size of the scanner section).
Furthermore, in the case where the print output speed of the color printer section differs between the color mode and monochromatic mode, an unmatched relation in speed occurs between the scanner section and the printer section. Consequently, the performance of the printer section cannot fully be exhibited. Besides, this leads to such problems that the lifetime of the printer section decreases, and the lifetime of consumable components of the printer section, such as a photoconductor drum, becomes shorter than the normal lifetime (problems of apparatus lifetime and consumable component lifetime). | {
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The present invention relates to a satellite on an equatorial orbit with improved solar means and which is more particularly used in satellite telecommunications.
The satellite according to the invention is of the "stabilized three axes" type. In such a satellite, the payload is placed on a main body rotating about an axis perpendicular to the plane of the orbit, i.e. in parallel to the North-South axis. The rotation speed is such that one of the faces of the satellite is constantly oriented towards the earth. The solar generator comprises two flat blades or fins covered with solar collectors.
A satellite of the present type and which is closest to that according to the invention is described in French Pat. No. 2 472 509 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,374,579). It is illustrated in FIG. 1 and comprises:
a service module 21 equipped with a polar stellar sensor 25 positioned on the north face 211, a solar sensor 26 located on the solar face 212, whereby said sensors are arranged in such a way as to supply attitude control information along three axes for the stabilization of the satellite; PA1 solar panels 23 rigidly fixed to the service module in such a way that when they are opened out in orbital configuration, they extend in the orbital plane; PA1 a rotary interface device 24 fixed to the service module; PA1 a payload module 22 equipped with antennas and connected to the interface device, the latter being arranged in such a way as to permit the payload module 22 to be continuously pointed towards the earth.
Such a configuration has disadvantages with respect to the solar means used by it. Throughout the remainder of the description, "solar means" are understood to mean means having a function relating to the sun. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a zoom lens and an image pickup apparatus including the zoom lens, and more particularly, to a zoom lens suitable for use in an image pickup apparatus, such as a video camera, an electronic still camera, or an image pickup apparatus such as a camera using a silver-halide film.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, image pickup apparatuses with increased functionality and decreased size have become very appealing. Incidentally, there is an increased demand for a zoom lens having compact size, wide angle of view, high zoom ratio and high resolving power, as an imaging optical system for use in such image pickup apparatuses.
A zoom lens is known in which a first lens unit having a positive refractive power, a second lens unit having a negative refractive power, a third lens unit having a positive refractive power, and a rear group including at least one lens unit are arranged in order from an object side to an image side. For purposes of the following description, the side of a lens where an object to be imaged is placed is called the object side or front side of the lens; and the side of the lens where the image is formed is called the image side or back side of the lens. Thus, for example, a zoom lens including, in order from the object side to the image side, four lens units having positive, negative, positive, and positive refractive powers is known.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,206,137 discloses a zoom lens having a zoom ratio of 15 or more and an imaging angle of view of 62 degrees at a wide angle end.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,286,304 discloses a zoom lens that includes, in order from the object side to the image side, five lens units having positive, negative, positive, positive, and positive refractive powers.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,177,092 discloses a zoom lens that includes, in order from the object side to the image side, five lens units having positive, negative, positive, positive, and positive refractive powers.
To reduce the size of the entire zoom lens while maintaining a predetermined zoom ratio, the refractive powers (optical powers=reciprocals of focal lengths) of lens units that constitute the zoom lens are increased, and the number of lenses is reduced. In such a zoom lens, however, the lens thickness increases to ensure an edge thickness with the increases in refractive powers of the lens surfaces. In particular, the front-lens effective diameter increases, and it is difficult to sufficiently reduce the size of the entire zoom lens. At the same time, it is difficult to aberrations, such as chromatic aberration, at the telephoto end.
To obtain a high optical performance in the above-described four-unit and five-unit zoom lenses while achieving a high zoom ratio and a compact lens system, it is important to properly set the refractive powers, lens configurations, and moving conditions for zooming of the lens units. In particular, it is important to properly set the refractive powers of the second and third lens units and the moving conditions of the first, second, and third lens units for zooming. | {
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In the existing systems of sap collecting for syrup production, large mature maple trees (e.g., typically having a diameter at breast height (dbh) of at least 8 inches) in naturally-regenerated hardwood stands are tapped in the spring using a drill bit and a spout inserted therein to channel the sap into a collecting system. In some older systems, the sap is collected from each tree with buckets, while in more modern systems sap is collected via a network of plastic tubing that connects each tree to one or more central collecting points. In the latter system, the flow of sap can be augmented by applying a vacuum to the spout via the tubing system.
Conventional sap collecting approaches typically require some level of crop management. This can range from minimal thinning to individual crop tree selection and tending on a periodic basis to encourage strong crown growth of dominant and co-dominant trees. The density of a typical managed stand of maple trees can range from about 40 to 120 trees/acre, with 80 maple crop trees/acre or greater being considered wellstocked.
Conventional sap-collecting systems place severe constraints on the potential productivity of maple syrup production operations. The large land area required for the tree stand results in relatively low productivity per unit land area, usually in the range from about 16 to about 40 gallons of syrup per acre annually. In addition, the need for a stand of mature trees with adequate spacing and other properties conducive to sap production limits the growth and expansion of the sap collecting operation due to the large land area lengthy time span required to establish the stand.
One way to increase the total sap (and thus syrup, sugar, or other desirable plant compound) output of existing sap collecting operations is to try to add new trees or by initiating new production operations. However, this requires a substantial investment to purchase or lease large tracts of forested land. And, there is a finite quantity of existing land that meets the appropriate criteria for syrup production, and maple syrup production in particular. Moreover, it typically requires at least 30 to 50 years for a maple tree to become mature enough before it can be tapped using conventional sap collecting techniques.
Moreover, current sap-collecting systems involve high operating costs to support and maintain a sap collecting infrastructure over a large forested area. The tubing collecting system not only requires large initial investments in supplies and labor for its creation and installation, but also poses high annual recurring costs for maintenance. | {
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The present disclosure relates to a rear suspension or shock absorber for a vehicle that includes a portion that includes compression of a compressible fluid and damping using a substantially incompressible fluid. In particular, the present device includes a piston that includes a compressible fluid on one side of the piston and a substantially incompressible fluid on the other side of the piston.
For many years, bicycle designers have struggled with the design of rear suspension systems. Use of air or nitrogen as the primary spring for the suspension has the benefits of reduced weight and adjustability by comparison with coil springs. The characteristics of a gas spring may be improved by providing a negative gas spring that opposes the primary, or positive, gas spring to improve initial compliance and soften re-extension (“topping out”). However, gas spring systems often suffer from friction at the dynamic seals that contain the pressure in one or more gas chambers. Designers have attempted to ameliorate this problem by spraying a small amount of lubricant, often oil, into the gas chamber on one or the other side of the piston. Such a design does not often allow for adequate lubrication, as there is no mechanical means for the lubricant to be distributed onto the surfaces in need of lubrication or to reapply the lubricant.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have a design for a rear suspension that incorporates desirable features of an air- or gas-based suspension but minimizes friction. Further, it is desirable to incorporate a lubricant that is under pressure to lubricate the dynamic pressure containment seals and dynamically sealed surfaces of the positive and negative springs. The result may be improved performance of the rear suspension to absorb and damp impact, while also allowing for on-the-fly adjustment of damping performance. | {
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This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
As a result of environmental and other concerns, plastic containers, more specifically polyester and even more specifically polyethylene terephthalate (PET) containers are now being used more than ever to package numerous commodities previously supplied in glass containers. Manufacturers and fillers, as well as consumers, have recognized that PET containers are lightweight, inexpensive, recyclable and manufacturable in large quantities.
Blow-molded plastic containers have become commonplace in packaging numerous commodities. PET is a crystallizable polymer, meaning that it is available in an amorphous form or a semi-crystalline form. The ability of a PET container to maintain its material integrity relates to the percentage of the PET container in crystalline form, also known as the “crystallinity” of the PET container. The following equation defines the percentage of crystallinity as a volume fraction:
% Crystallinity = ( ρ - ρ a ρ c - ρ a ) × 100 where ρ is the density of the PET material; ρa is the density of pure amorphous PET material (1.333 g/cc); and ρc is the density of pure crystalline material (1.455 g/cc).
Container manufacturers use mechanical processing and thermal processing to increase the PET polymer crystallinity of a container. Mechanical processing involves orienting the amorphous material to achieve strain hardening. This processing commonly involves stretching an injection molded PET preform along a longitudinal axis and expanding the PET preform along a transverse or radial axis to form a PET container. The combination promotes what manufacturers define as biaxial orientation of the molecular structure in the container. Manufacturers of PET containers currently use mechanical processing to produce PET containers having approximately 20% crystallinity in the container's sidewall.
Thermal processing involves heating the material (either amorphous or semi-crystalline) to promote crystal growth. On amorphous material, thermal processing of PET material results in a spherulitic morphology that interferes with the transmission of light. In other words, the resulting crystalline material is opaque, and thus, generally undesirable. Used after mechanical processing, however, thermal processing results in higher crystallinity and excellent clarity for those portions of the container having biaxial molecular orientation. The thermal processing of an oriented PET container, which is known as heat setting, typically includes blow molding a PET preform against a mold heated to a temperature of approximately 250° F.-350° F. (approximately 121° C.-177° C.), and holding the blown container against the heated mold for approximately two (2) to five (5) seconds. Manufacturers of PET juice bottles, which must be hot-filled at approximately 185° F. (85° C.), currently use heat setting to produce PET bottles having an overall crystallinity in the range of approximately 25%-35%. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lamp controller for controlling what is called a lighting state of a lamp provided on a vehicle such as an automobile, the lighting state specifically meaning whether the lamp is lit on or lit off and how the light is distributed, and in particular relates to a lamp controller that is preferably applicable to lamps of an automobile that runs on electric power from a battery (electric cell).
2. Description of Related Art
In a vehicle such as an electric automobile or hybrid automobile, in which at least part of the electric power supplied from an on-vehicle battery is used to drive the vehicle, this battery is also utilized as power supply to light various lamps including headlamps and tail lamps. It is desirable for such a vehicle to suppress the power consumed by these lamps in order to ensure traveling of the vehicle or to improve the mileage even when the remaining charge of the battery becomes low. Some techniques have been proposed to control the lighting state of lamps in a vehicle that runs on electric power supplied from a battery in order to suppress the power consumed by the lamps when the remaining charge of the battery becomes low. Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-188122 (JP 2006-188122 A) proposes a technique wherein the supply of power to lamps is automatically controlled or automatically stopped by detecting a remaining charge of the battery and the ambient light of the outside of the vehicle so that safety is ensured for the vehicle by illumination with the lamps while saving the power consumption of the lamps.
While the technique of JP 2006-188122 A is described in terms of application to headlamps of an automobile, this technique is actually a technique to automatically control or automatically turn off a plurality of lamps collectively. Therefore, when the technique of JP 2006-188122 A is applied to headlamps each including a low-beam lamp and a high-beam lamp, for example, light amounts of the high-beam lamps and low-beam lamps are reduced simultaneously once the remaining charge of the battery becomes low. On the other hand, when the technique of JP 2006-188122 A is applied to both headlamps and tail lamps, light amounts of both of the headlamps and tail lamps are reduced at the same time, or all of the headlamps and tail lamps are turned off. If the light amounts of all the lamps are simultaneously reduced, or all the lamps are turned off, it may become difficult to secure safety of the automobile by illumination of the lamps. | {
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Communication networks are undergoing a rapid evolution from circuit switched technologies, originally developed for voice communications to packet switched technologies. The packet technologies were originally developed for data communications, but as speed has increased and the technologies have evolved, the packet networks have been able to provide generic transport for all forms of information (voice, video, multimedia, text, etc.). Next generation networks will provide end-to-end packet transport, typically, based on Internet Protocol (IP) packets. However, as more and more communication applications have migrated to packet transport that was often intended for an open Internet application, they have become subject to many of the security issues that plague the public Internet, hacking, security, information theft, identity theft, etc. Hence, security is a significant concern.
Existing mechanisms address security in a layered approach—at link layer, at network layer, and at the application layer—and at many points in the end-to-end path of service delivery. This is not very efficient in terms of network resources and in terms of performance of latency-constrained applications. A need exists for an enhanced technique for providing security in a native packet network offering a wide range of communication service applications, particularly one that is efficient to implement and scale from the perspective of the network operator. | {
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This invention relates to a unique brake lining wear indicator utilizing a temperature sensor assembly embedded in a brake lining of a drum brake assembly.
Drum brakes are widely used in vehicle braking systems. In a typical drum brake, two arcuate brake shoe assemblies are located inside a rotating cylindrical brake drum. Each brake shoe assembly includes a backing plate which carries brake lining friction material presenting a wear surface. A brake actuator moves the brake shoe assemblies toward the rotating brake drum such that the wear surface of the brake lining friction material contacts the inner surface of the drum, thus retarding the rotation of the drum. Over a period of time, the contact between the lining and the drum causes the lining to wear. If the lining becomes too thin, ineffective braking can occur. Thus, it is desirable to provide an indication when brake lining thickness is such that the brake shoes should be changed.
Several problems arise when trying to determine whether the brake linings have sufficiently worn such that they need to be changed. Often the wheel and the brake drum have to be removed from the vehicle for the brake lining thickness to be measured. This is cumbersome and time consuming. Visual brake lining wear indicators, such as notches in the lining or color coded layers in the lining, have been used more effectively to determine when the linings should be changed. When a visual wear indicator is used, an inspector can visually examine each brake lining to determine whether it needs to be changed without having to physically measure the thickness. However, the use of these visual wear indicators can also be cumbersome and time consuming because they require the inspector to visually check each lining while the vehicle is stationary. Thus, it is desirable to have an efficient way to continuously monitor the brake lining thickness during the operation of the vehicle to determine whether the brake linings need to be replaced without having to visually inspect each brake lining.
Some prior art systems have monitored brake lining thickness on vehicles by using a single thermistor sensor in the lining which changes its electrical resistance based on temperature. Brake lining wear for this system is calculated based on changes in measured resistance of the thermistor. Such systems can often be ineffective and produce inaccurate results. Other systems have monitored the temperature of the brake linings to compare these temperatures to electronically stored standard characteristics for the brake lining. These systems are complicated and vary from lining to lining due to varying characteristics in lining materials and configurations.
Thus, it is desirable to have a simple temperature based lining wear indicator which can be used universally on all brake linings and which calculates accurate remaining useful thicknesses of brake lining material. | {
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Such lubricant compositions are also referred to as SAE 0W-x compositions. SAE stands for Society of Automotive Engineers in the USA. The “0” number in such a designation is associated with a maximum viscosity requirement at −35° C. for that composition as measured typically by a cold cranking simulator (VdCCS) under high shear. The second number “x” is associated with a kinematic viscosity requirement at 100° C.
The minimum high temperature viscosity requirement at 100° C. is intended to prevent the oil from thinning out too much during engine operation which can lead to excessive wear and increased oil consumption. The maximum low temperature viscosity requirement, VdCCS, is intended to facilitate engine starting or cranking in cold weather. To ensure pumpability the cold oil should readily flow or slump into the well for the oil pump, otherwise the engine can be damaged due to insufficient lubrication. The mini rotary viscosity (MRV) requirement is intended to ensure a minimum pumpability performance.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,693,598 describes a lubricant formulation according to 0W-20 based on so-called poly-alpha olefins. Poly-alpha olefins are prepared by oligermization of alpha olefins (PAO) as for example described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,965,018. The disadvantage of such PAO base stock is its high cost of manufacture, as for example mentioned in the introductory part of U.S. Pat. No. 6,060,437. Nevertheless PAO are widely used to formulate such lubricant compositions because no commercially available alternative exists having the cleanliness and low temperature properties as PAO. Another aspect of using PAO base stock is that additional base stock like for example ester based or aromatic based base stock will also be present in the lubricant formulation in order to confer additional desired characteristics as for example additive solvency and seal compatibility. | {
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This invention relates to a food product and a method of making a food product.
The type of food product to which this invention is directed can be referred to as a settable dessert or a dessert product or it sometimes can be referred to as a mousse but while being similar the product of this invention is in fact none of these although for convenience it will be referred to as a dessert type product.
Many dessert type products are available in ready-to-use form but these have limitations either in relation to their long keeping ability, their ability to be frozen and refrozen without losing their structure and/or their ability to accept and integrate with fruit products which may have high acidity without losing their structure. Furthermore such existing commercial dessert type products do not have a richness or quality taste to be used directly in high class restaurants or to be sold in shops as a high class dessert.
It is an object of this invention to provide a food product and a method of manufacture of a food product generally of dessert type which at least to some extent reduces one or more of the problems expressed above or provides the public with a useful alternative.
This invention in one form can be said to reside in a method of making a food product which comprises the steps of aerating while cold one or more of the ingredients selected from cream, thickened cream, artificial cream or cream cheese to an extent that there is by reason of aeration a substantial overrun of the original volume of the selected ingredients, then adding dissolved gelatine as a hot solution to the cold aerated ingredients and mixing the aerated product with the hot gelatine solution and then allowing the resultant mixture to set.
In preference the method includes adding further ingredients selected at least from sugar, flavouring, fruit, fruit juice and water.
In preference the method can be further characterised in that the extent of overrun is within the range of from 10% to 40% of the volume of the original unaerated volume.
It is sometimes difficult to get up to 40% overrun but approximately 25% overrun is found to be ideal.
Best methods of manufacture of a food product in accord with this invention will now be given it being emphasised that the specific performance is not intended to illustrate the only way in which the invention can be achieved.
It will be useful to discuss the invention in general before the specific description will be given.
It has been previous conventional practice not to add hot gelatine solution to a cold aerated mix. I think this was on the presumption that such a step would result in a collapse of the aerated mix. What I have found instead is that with careful selection of quantities and proportions that the gelatine can set in a way which is different to anything I have previously known and there are significant advantages from this different result.
I think that the gelatine solution will initially follow the path of the existing cold ingredients which flow around the air bubbles. If the gelatine sets before the aeration collapses then the gelatine will have to have set with a structure that may resemble a fractured sponge so that the gelatine may be sinuous and tortuous.
In other words by introducing a hot (approximately 80 degrees Centigrade) gelatine solution into the aerated form of the cold (approximately 10 degrees Centigrade after the hot gelatine solution is added) mix of cream or cream like materials means that the gelatine while still unset can be distributed so as to follow the cellular shapes of the aerated materials and as such when it sets its structure will be perhaps sinuous and tortuous as a result.
This different structure of set gelatine from our experiments offers a number of advantages. If the resultant product is frozen then if as would be expected the liquid components of the mixture expand upon being frozen but with the body structure of the gelatine being sinuous and tortuous this means that such an action may not, unlike a homogenous structure, be broken into small fragments that will not subsequently interlink. There can still be after the product has thawed a connected structure of sinuous lengths of the gelatine which hold together in a connected way because of the tortuous shape of these. This is at this stage a theory as to the reason why this invention provides a useful result.
The method of the invention is more stable than other similar products in the presence of fruit or fruit juices. I believe this may be because the gelatine will not be so fractured after setting as can be the case with other forms of manufacture and as such the material is more chemically resistant against enzyme or acid attack.
In this specification reference to the word "hot" is intended as a reference to a temperature that would be considered as hot to those working in this field and comprises a temperature of liquid above which a person would not comfortably leave their hand in the liquid. This temperature is at a minimum about 48.degree. Centigrade and any temperature above this would be hot for the purposes of this specification. | {
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Rotating disk memories usually comprise one or more disks driven about a vertical axis. Each disk has a plurality of concentric tracks on one or both surfaces from which or to which signals are received or transmitted by means of reading and writing heads. A positioner moves the heads over the surface of the disk, generally radially with respect to the disk, and thereby locates a reading or writing head over a track as required.
Prior positioners comprise a drive unit coupled to a support and a carriage unit mounted on wheels that moves in ways on the support. These prior positioners are subject to two problems. One is wheel wear. Any wheel wear means the carriage can move off its normal line of travel. With spacings of less than 0.010 inch between track centers, any such deviation can cause positioning errors on the disk because the heads are themselves cantilevered on long arms extending from the carriage. The arms magnify any carriage deviation.
It is also difficult to align prior positioners. Whenever a carriage or drive unit is replaced, especially in the field, a technician must first combine the drive and carriage units as a subassembly and align them along a drive axis so the carriage and drive units move freely. Then this subassembly must be mounted and aligned to orientate the heads properly with respect to a disk.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a more reliable positioner which is less subject to wheel wear.
Another object of this invention is to provide a positioner which simplifies on-site replacement and alignment. | {
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The present invention relates to a novel braking mechanism for a rotatable core support for paving fabric which is held to a roll.
Paving fabric has been used as a laminate between asphalt coatings applied to vehicular surfaces. It has been found that plastic sheeting extends the life of the pavement by preventing reflex cracking.
Reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 3,913,854 and my co-pending application Ser. No. 529,627 filed Sept. 6, 1983 which describes various apparatuses for laying the paving fabric. U.S. Pat. No. 3,913,854 describes a tensioning device which utilizes a non-rotatable spindle surrounded by a rotatable insert that fits within a fabric roll. A friction brake is applied between the spindle and the insert to prevent free spinning of the insert and control the unraveling or unwinding of the fabric from the roll. Although the device described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,913,854 is satisfactory in most cases the distance between opposing inserts on either end of the roll is only adjustable by moving an arm supporting the insert along a lateral bar connected to the vehicle.
A paving fabric roll support which not only controls the turning resistance of the portion contacting the roll but is adjustable laterally would be a great advance in the construction industry. | {
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1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a liquid drop ejecting device and liquid drop ejecting method which eject liquid drops (droplets) onto a recording medium by a head having liquid drop ejectors which eject liquid drops, and to a controller which controls the liquid drop ejecting device, and to a storage medium which stores a program.
2. Related Art
Inkjet printers, which have a head at which a plurality of liquid drop ejectors ejecting liquid drops are lined-up and which carry out image recording by ejecting ink drops from the liquid drop ejectors, are coming into wide use. Further, in recent years, inkjet printers have employed a two-liquid reacting system for the purposes of improving image density, improving on blurring (feathering) of ink into the sheet, shortening the drying time, and the like. This two-liquid reacting system applies onto a sheet, in addition to the inks of the respective colors, a reaction liquid (also called processing liquid) which makes components of the inks cohere, thicken, or become insoluble.
However, because the spreading of the ink liquid drop in the lateral direction lessens due to the ejection of the reaction liquid, it is easy for stripe-like image defects to become conspicuous due to non-ejection or directional bending of liquid drop ejectors of the head.
PWA (Partial Width Array) inkjet printers, which carry out printing by moving a recording sheet in a subscanning direction while scanning a recording head in a main scanning direction, can employ a multipass recording method. Therefore, variation in the ejecting characteristics of the respective nozzles of the recording head can be dispersed, and deterioration in image quality can be prevented. A multipass recording method is a method in which, by moving the recording medium by minute amounts in the direction in which the nozzles of the recording head are lined-up and scanning the recording head plural times (multipass) in the direction orthogonal to the direction in which the nozzles are lined-up, a thinned-out image is complementarily recorded in the same region of the recording medium by different nozzles groups and the image is completed.
However, in a so-called FWA (Full Width Array) inkjet printer which has an elongated recording head having substantially the same width as the width of a recording sheet and which carries out recording while keeping the recording head fixed and conveying only the recording medium, basically, the head is fixed and the recording sheet is conveyed. Therefore, such multipass printing cannot be carried out, and defects in liquid drop ejectors become particularly great problems. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
Disclosed herein are recombinant DNA useful for providing enhanced traits to transgenic plants, seeds, pollen, plant cells and plant nuclei of such transgenic plants, methods of making and using such recombinant DNA, plants, seeds, pollen, plant cells and plant nuclei. Also disclosed are methods of producing hybrid corn seed comprising such recombinant DNA. Also disclosed are plants and seeds having an increased oil content or modified oil composition. All genetic resources disclosed herein were directly obtained from sources that are currently common to the United States; the ancestral sources of each specific genetic material is unknown.
2. Summary of the Invention
This invention provides recombinant DNA encoding or suppressing proteins with at least 95% identity to at least 95% of a sequence selected from SEQ ID NOs: 4-6. The invention further provides isolated polypeptides with at least 95% identity to at least 95% of a sequence selected from SEQ ID NOs: 4-6.
Another aspect of the invention further employs recombinant DNA for expression or suppression of proteins thereby imparting enhanced agronomic traits to the transgenic plants. Recombinant DNA in this invention is provided in a construct comprising a promoter that is functional in plant cells and that is operably linked to DNA that encodes or suppresses a protein having at least 95% identity to at least 95% of a sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs 4-6.
Other aspects of the invention are specifically directed to transgenic plant cells comprising the recombinant DNA of the invention, transgenic plants comprising a plurality of such plant cells, progeny transgenic seed, embryo and transgenic pollen from such plants. Such transgenic plants are selected from a population of transgenic plants regenerated from plant cells transformed with recombinant DNA and expressing or suppressing the protein(s) by screening transgenic plants in the population for an enhanced trait as compared to control plants that do not have said recombinant DNA, where the enhanced trait is selected from group of enhanced traits consisting of enhanced water use efficiency, enhanced cold tolerance, increased yield, enhanced nitrogen use efficiency, enhanced seed protein, enhanced seed oil and modified oil composition. In further embodiments, such transgenic plant cells include polynucleotide stacks which express or suppress multiple proteins of the invention. In a particularly specific embodiment of the invention, such transgenic plants comprise polynucleotide stacks encoding proteins which are at least 95% identical to at least 95% of SEQ ID NOs: 4-6.
In yet another aspect of the invention the plant cells, plants, seeds, embryo and pollen further comprise DNA expressing a protein that provides tolerance from exposure to an herbicide applied at levels that are lethal to a wild type plant cell. Such tolerance is especially useful not only as an advantageous trait in such plants but is also useful in a selection step in the methods of the invention. In aspects of the invention the agent of such herbicide is a glyphosate, dicamba, or glufosinate compound.
Yet other aspects of the invention provide transgenic plants which are homozygous for the recombinant DNA and transgenic seed of the invention from corn, soybean, cotton, canola, alfalfa, wheat or rice plants. In certain embodiments, for instance for practice of various aspects of the invention in Argentina, the recombinant DNA is provided in plant cells derived from corn lines that are and maintain resistance to the Mal de Rio Cuarto virus or the Puccinia sorghi fungus or both.
This invention also provides methods for manufacturing non-natural, transgenic seed that can be used to produce a crop of transgenic plants with an enhanced trait resulting from expression of a stably-integrated recombinant DNA construct. More specifically, the method comprises (a) screening a population of plants for an enhanced trait and a recombinant DNA construct, where individual plants in the population can exhibit the trait at a level less than, essentially the same as or greater than the level that the trait is exhibited in control plants, (b) selecting from the population one or more plants that exhibit the trait at a level greater than the level that said trait is exhibited in control plants, (c) collecting seed from a selected plant, (d) verifying that the recombinant DNA is stably integrated in said selected plants, (e) analyzing tissue of a selected plant to determine the production or suppression of a protein having the function of a protein encoded by nucleotides in a sequence of one of SEQ ID NOs: 1-3. In one aspect of the invention, the plants in the population further comprise DNA expressing a protein that provides tolerance to exposure to a herbicide applied at levels that are lethal to wild type plant cells and the selecting is affected by treating the population with the herbicide, e.g. a glyphosate, dicamba, or glufosinate compound. In another aspect of the invention the plants are selected by identifying plants with the enhanced trait. The methods are especially useful for manufacturing corn, soybean, cotton, canola, alfalfa, wheat, rice, sugarcane or sugar beet seed.
Another aspect of the invention provides a method of producing hybrid corn seed comprising acquiring hybrid corn seed from a herbicide tolerant corn plant which also has stably-integrated, recombinant DNA construct comprising a promoter that is (a) functional in plant cells and (b) is operably linked to DNA that encodes or suppresses a protein having the function of a protein encoded by nucleotides in a sequence of one of SEQ ID NOs: 1-3. The methods further comprise producing corn plants from said hybrid corn seed, wherein a fraction of the plants produced from said hybrid corn seed is homozygous for said recombinant DNA, a fraction of the plants produced from said hybrid corn seed is hemizygous for said recombinant DNA, and a fraction of the plants produced from said hybrid corn seed has none of said recombinant DNA; selecting corn plants which are homozygous and hemizygous for said recombinant DNA by treating with an herbicide; collecting seed from herbicide-treated-surviving corn plants and planting said seed to produce further progeny corn plants; repeating the selecting and collecting steps at least once to produce an inbred corn line; and crossing the inbred corn line with a second corn line to produce hybrid seed.
Another aspect of the invention provides a method of selecting a plant comprising plant cells of the invention by using an immunoreactive antibody to detect the presence or absence of protein expressed or suppressed by recombinant DNA in seed or plant tissue. Yet another aspect of the invention provides anti-counterfeit milled seed having, as an indication of origin, plant cells of this invention.
Still other aspects of this invention relate to transgenic plants with enhanced water use efficiency or enhanced nitrogen use efficiency. For instance, this invention provides methods of growing a corn, cotton, soybean, or canola crop without irrigation water comprising planting seed having plant cells of the invention which are selected for enhanced water use efficiency. Alternatively methods comprise applying reduced irrigation water, e.g. providing up to 300 millimeters of ground water during the production of a corn crop. This invention also provides methods of growing a corn, cotton, soybean or canola crop without added nitrogen fertilizer comprising planting seed having plant cells of the invention which are selected for enhanced nitrogen use efficiency.
Another aspect of the invention provides transgenic plants with enhanced oil levels, including algae. In a particular embodiment, the invention provides transgenic seeds with seed composition improvement including enhanced protein, oil or starch levels.
Some of the recombinant DNA provided by this invention are transcription factors. This invention provides a method of producing a transgenic plant having an enhanced agronomic trait produced by expression of a transcription factor. This method includes identifying target genes of a transcription factor, which includes the steps of assessing a dataset of expression profiles of a transcription factor gene and other genes and analyzing said dataset to determine a subset of genes that are regulated by said transcription factor, and cloning the coding sequence of at least one of the subset of genes into a plant transformation vector and transforming a plant with such vector.
Furthermore, this invention provides novel genes of Glycine max GLABRA2 (Gm.GL2) and Rhodosporidium toruloides DGAT2 (Rt.DGAT2); and an Arabidopsis/Brassica chimeric DNA construct (At.Bn.Otf1) of an oil transcription factor, coding for proteins as set forth in SEQ ID NO:4 through SEQ ID NO:6, respectively, which are particularly useful for generating transgenic crop plants having seeds with enhanced oil levels. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image display apparatus that displays an in-vivo image obtained by a capsule endoscope inserted in a subject body, and a capsule endoscope system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, in an examination of a subject using a capsule endoscope that is inserted in a subject body and captures an image inside the body, an in-vivo image group obtained by the capsule endoscope is observed in a pseudo moving image or a still image list to select what has an abnormal observation. This operation is called “observation.”
When an abnormal observation is found, in order to identify in which portion (i.e. which organ) in the subject body it is found, a method of estimating the position of each in-vivo image captured in the subject and a method of creating the trajectory of the capsule endoscope in the subject have also been proposed (for example, see Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2006-75301, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2007-283001 and Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2008-100075). | {
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In the so-called chopper-type converter consisting of two switching elements and a reactor, in order to prevent these two switching elements from being simultaneously turned on (brought into conduction) when changing the switching states of these two switching elements, a dead time is generally provided during which both of the switching elements are temporarily turned off. However, there is a problem that, due to the influence of this dead time, the output voltage of the converter may vary when the direction of the current flowing through the reactor changes.
In order to address this problem, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2007-325435 (PTL 1) discloses a power supply device that can suppress an unexpected increase in the output voltage of the boost converter. In this power supply device, when a phenomenon occurs in the switching cycle of the switching element in which the current flowing through the reactor of the boost converter is retained at a value 0 during the dead time, it is determined that the cyclical zero current retention state is brought about. Then, the voltage command value of the boost converter is corrected downward by a prescribed voltage. This allows suppression of an unexpected increase in the output voltage of the boost converter caused due to the influence of the dead time (see PTL 1). | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a door and, in particular, to a bi-directionally swinging door in which at least one of the edges of the door seals positively into a doorjamb.
2. Description of the Related Art
Traditional doors operate by means of a doorknob with bolt. When the door is in the closed position, the bolt of the doorknob fits into a recess drilled into the doorjamb and secures the door from being opened. To open the door, the doorknob is turned which retracts the bolt away from the doorjamb and into the interior of the door. Once the bolt clears the doorjamb, the door is able to swung open. Typically, the door will be hung on single-direction hinges which limits the door's swinging movement to a single direction, either in or out of the doorway.
Current door designs may not be applicable for use by someone who is disabled or handicapped. For example, turning the doorknob may be difficult for a person who lacks dexterity or has limited motor function. Likewise, someone who is confined to a wheelchair, walks with the aide of crutches or a cane, or has arthritis may have difficulty operating a door with a rotatable or twistable doorknob.
An additional problem with the traditional single-directionally hinged door is that the door must be opened toward the door's operator half of the time, either when ingressing or egressing through the doorway. Consequently, half of the time, one has to step-out or get-out of the way of the opening door. While seemingly a simple task for one able, this is more challenging for someone confined to a wheelchair, or walks with the assistance of crutches or a cane.
Another disadvantage with current door designs is that the door is held shut merely by the doorknob's bolt. The traditional doorknob's bolt does not provide much security against forcible entry. A potential intruder may gain entry simply by cutting the bolt or breaking the doorjamb around the location where the bolt is inserted. | {
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The stability of proteins used in medical treatment is an important concern in medicine. Protein degradation can be classified as physical or chemical degradation. Physical degradation is caused by a change in conformation that leads to aggregation of the protein and formation of protein fibrils. Chemical degradation of proteins entails a change in the pattern of covalent bonds between atoms, such as breakage or interchange of disulfide bridges, deamination or transamination of the protein. The present invention concerns the prevention of fibrillation and chemical degradation.
Administration of insulin has long been established as a treatment for diabetes mellitus. Insulin is a small globular protein that plays a central role in metabolism in vertebrates. Insulin contains two chains, an A chain, containing 21 residues and a B chain containing 30 residues. The hormone is stored in the pancreatic β-cell as a Zn2+-stabilized hexamer, but functions as a Zn2+-free monomer in the bloodstream. Insulin is the product of a single-chain precursor, proinsulin, in which a connecting region (35 residues) links the C-terminal residue of B chain (residue B30) to the N-terminal residue of the A chain (FIG. 1A). Although the structure of proinsulin has not been determined, a variety of evidence indicates that it consists of an insulin-like core and disordered connecting peptide (FIG. 1B). Formation of three specific disulfide bridges (A6-A11, A7-B7, and A20-B19; FIG. 1B) is thought to be coupled to oxidative folding of proinsulin in the rough endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Proinsulin assembles to form soluble Zn2+-coordinated hexamers shortly after export from ER to the Golgi apparatus. Endoproteolytic digestion and conversion to insulin occurs in immature secretory granules followed by morphological condensation. Crystalline arrays of zinc insulin hexamers within mature storage granules have been visualized by electron microscopy (EM). Assembly and disassembly of native oligomers is thus intrinsic to the pathway of insulin biosynthesis, storage, secretion, and action (FIG. 2).
Insulin readily misfolds in vitro to form a prototypical amyloid. Unrelated to native assembly, fibrillation is believed to occur via an amyloidogenic partial fold (FIG. 1C). Factors that accelerate or hinder fibrillation have been extensively investigated in relation to pharmaceutical formulations. Zinc-free insulin is susceptible to fibrillation under a broad range of conditions and is promoted by factors that impair native dimerization and higher-order self-assembly. A storage form of insulin in the pancreatic β-cell and in the majority of pharmaceutical formulations is believed to be stabilized by axial zinc ions coordinated by the side chains of insulin amino acids, specifically the HisB10 residues. Formulation of insulin or insulin analogues as a zinc-stabilized hexamer retards but does not prevent fibrillation, especially above room temperature and on agitation.
Amino-acid substitutions in the A- and/or B chains of insulin have widely been investigated for possible favorable effects on the pharmacokinetics of insulin action following subcutaneous injection. Examples are known in the art of substitutions that accelerate or delay the time course of absorption. Such substitutions (such as AspB28 in the insulin analogue sold under the trademark NOVALOG® and [LysB28, ProB29] in the insulin analogue sold under the trademark HUMALOG®) can be and often are associated with more rapid fibrillation and poorer physical stability. Indeed, a series of ten analogues of human insulin for susceptibility to fibrillation, including AspB28-insulin and AspB10-insulin have been tested. All ten were found to be more susceptible to fibrillation at pH 7.4 and 37° C. than is human insulin. The ten substitutions were located at diverse sites in the insulin molecule and are likely to be associated with a wide variation of changes in classical thermodynamic stability. These results suggest that substitutions that protect an insulin analogue from fibrillation under pharmaceutical conditions are rare; no structural criteria or rules are apparent for their design. The present theory of protein fibrillation posits that the mechanism of fibrillation proceeds via a partially folded intermediate state, which in turn aggregates to form an amyloidogenic nucleus. In this theory, it is possible that amino-acid substitutions that stabilize the native state may or may not stabilize the partially folded intermediate state and may or may not increase (or decrease) the free-energy barrier between the native state and the intermediate state. Therefore, the current theory indicates that the tendency of a given amino-acid substitution in the insulin molecule to increase or decrease the risk of fibrillation is highly unpredictable.
Fibrillation, which is a serious concern in the manufacture, storage and use of insulin and insulin analogues for diabetes treatment, is enhanced with higher temperature, lower pH, agitation, or the presence of urea, guanidine, ethanol co-solvent, or hydrophobic surfaces. Current US drug regulations demand that insulin be discarded if fibrillation occurs at a level of one percent or more. Because fibrillation is enhanced at higher temperatures, diabetic individuals optimally must keep insulin refrigerated prior to use. Fibrillation of insulin or an insulin analogue can be a particular concern for diabetic patients utilizing an external insulin pump, in which small amounts of insulin or insulin analogue are injected into the patient's body at regular intervals. In such a usage, the insulin or insulin analogue is not kept refrigerated within the pump apparatus and fibrillation of insulin can result in blockage of the catheter used to inject insulin or insulin analogue into the body, potentially resulting in unpredictable blood glucose level fluctuations or even dangerous hyperglycemia. At least one recent report has indicated that lispro insulin (an analogue in which residues B28 and B29 are interchanged relative to their positions in wild-type human insulin; the product sold under the trademark HUMALOG®) may be particularly susceptible to fibrillation and resulting obstruction of insulin pump catheters.
Insulin fibrillation is an even greater concern in implantable insulin pumps, where the insulin would be contained within the implant for 1-3 months at high concentration and at physiological temperature (i.e. 37° C.), rather than at ambient temperature as with an external pump. Additionally, the agitation caused by normal movement would also tend to accelerate fibrillation of insulin. In spite of the increased potential for insulin fibrillation, implantable insulin pumps are still the subject of research efforts, due to the potential advantages of such systems. These advantages include intraperitoneal delivery of insulin to the portal circulatory system, which mimics normal physiological delivery of insulin more closely than subcutaneous injection, which provides insulin to the patient via the systemic circulatory system. Intraperitoneal delivery provides more rapid and consistent absorption of insulin compared to subcutaneous injection, which can provide variable absorption and degradation from one injection site to another. Administration of insulin via an implantable pump also potentially provides increased patient convenience. Whereas efforts to prevent fibrillation, such as by addition of a surfactant to the reservoir, have provided some improvement, these improvements have heretofore been considered insufficient to allow reliable usage of an implanted insulin pump in diabetic patients outside of strictly monitored clinical trials.
Resistance to fibrillation caused by heat or other causes would be particularly advantageous for insulin and insulin analogues in tropical and sub-tropical regions of the developing world. The major barrier to the storage and practical use of presently available pharmaceutical formulations of insulin and insulin analogues at temperatures above 30° C. is accelerated fibrillation of the protein. The major reason for limitations to the shelf life of presently available pharmaceutical formulations of insulin and insulin analogues at temperatures above 10° C. is due to fibrillation of the protein. As noted above, fibrillation is of special concern for fast-acting or “mealtime” insulin analogues (such as the products sold under the trademarks HUMALOG® and NOVALOG®), particularly when these formulations are diluted by the patient and stored at room temperature for more than 15 days.
Modifications of proteins such as insulin are known to increase resistance to fibrillation but impair biological activity. For example, “mini-proinsulin,” is used to describe a variety of proinsulin analogues containing shortened linker regions such as a dipeptide linker between the A and B chains of insulin. Additional substitutions may also be present such as AlaB30 found in porcine insulin instead of ThrB30 as found in human insulin. This analogue is sometimes referred to as Porcine Insulin Precursor, or PIP. Mini-proinsulin analogues are frequently resistant to fibrillation but are impaired in their activity. In general, connecting peptides of length <4 residues block insulin fibrillation at the expense of biological activity; affinities for the insulin receptor are reported to be reduced by at least 10,000-fold. While such analogues are useful as intermediates in the manufacture of recombinant insulin, they are not useful per se in the treatment of diabetes mellitus. Therefore, a need exists for insulin analogues and other protein analogues that are resistant to fibrillation and that maintain at least a portion of their biological activity.
Development of fibrillation-resistant insulin analogues would not be expected to lead to proteins of indefinite shelf life due to eventual degradation of the protein by chemical modification. Whereas fibrillation represents a change in the structure and spatial relationships between insulin molecules by means of altered non-covalent interactions, chemical modification alters the pattern of covalent bonding between atoms in the insulin molecule. Examples of chemical degradation are breakage of disulfide bridges, formation of non-native disulfide bridges between insulin molecules to form covalent dimers and higher-order polymers, deamination of an asparagine side chain to form an aspartic-acid side chain, and rearrangement of aspartic acid to form iso-aspartic acid within the insulin molecule. Although the propensity of an insulin analogue to form fibrils is not correlated with its global thermodynamic stability, enhancing the thermodynamic stability of the insulin molecule has been established to protect the protein from chemical degradation. Therefore, among fibrillation-resistant analogues, a desirable property would also be enhanced thermodynamic stability to confer simultaneous protection from chemical degradation. The combination of resistance to fibrillation and resistance to chemical degradation would be expected to optimize the safe and effective use of an insulin analogue within the reservoir of an implantable insulin pump, the shelf life of an insulin analogue formulation at or above room temperature, and the routine use of an injectable insulin formulation by patients with diabetes mellitus in sub-tropical and tropical regions of the world.
Amino-acid substitutions in insulin have been investigated for effects on thermodynamic stability and biological activity. No consistent relationship has been observed between stability and activity. Whereas some substitutions that enhance thermodynamic stability also enhance binding to the insulin receptor, other substitutions that enhance stability impede such binding.
A traditional approach to protecting insulin or insulin analogues from physical and chemical degradation is based on self-assembly of the protein in its native state to form dimers or higher-order oligomers. Because the process of fibrillation proceeds via a conformationally altered insulin monomer, sequestration of the monomer within a native assembly reduces the concentration of the susceptible monomer. Such assembly also enhances thermodynamic stability, retarding chemical degradation. In addition, insulin assembly damps conformational fluctuations, reducing the rates of both physical and chemical degradation. Because of these advantages, a common method of formulation is to form zinc-stabilized insulin hexamers, the predominant form of the protein in the products sold under the trademarks HUMALIN™ (Eli Lilly and Co.), HUMALOG™ (Eli Lilly and Co.), NOVALIN™ (Novo-Nordisk), and NOVALOG™ (Novo-Nordisk). Use of insulin hexamers complicates the treatment of diabetes mellitus by delaying absorption of the protein after subcutaneous injection.
Glycemic control by insulin replacement therapy, whether administered by external pump, intraperitoneal pump, or manual subcutaneous injection, is enhanced by rapidly absorbed insulin analogues. Rapid absorption enables the time course of insulin action at target tissues to more nearly coincide with the time course of absorption of nutrients after a meal, hence more closely approximating the physiological control of blood glucose concentration and metabolism in a healthy (non-diabetic) person. Absorption of insulin is delayed by its self-assembly as in conventional formulations of human insulin and animal insulins as zinc-stabilized insulin hexamers. A partial solution to this problem has been provided by the meal-time insulin analogues in which the hexameric formulation is destabilized by amino-acid substitutions in the insulin molecule (see above). This approach is not optimal as the substitutions impair the physical stability and thermodynamic stability of the insulin analogue, leading to elevated rates of fibrillation and chemical degradation. Such decreased stability requires continued formulation as a zinc hexamer, leading in turn to a delay in absorption relative to injection of a monomeric insulin analogue. To date, no monomeric analogues have been developed that exhibit sufficient physical stability and thermodynamic stability to allow their formulation and therapeutic use. Therefore, a need exists for insulin analogues that combine the favorable properties of retaining at least partial biological activity, remaining monomeric in solution at millimolar protein concentrations in buffers compatible with pharmaceutical formulations, resisting fibrillation and other forms of non-native protein aggregation, and exhibiting enhanced thermodynamic stability to delay chemical degradation.
Insulin analogues with affinities too low or too high for the insulin receptor may have unfavorable biological properties in the treatment of diabetes mellitus. Because clearance of insulin from the bloodstream is mediated primarily by interactions with the insulin receptor on target tissues, receptor-binding activities less than 25% would be expected to exhibit prolonged lifetimes in the bloodstream. Such delayed clearance would be undesirable in a fast-acting insulin analogue administered in coordination with food intake for the tight control of glycemia. Such reduced affinities would also decrease the potency of the insulin analogue, requiring injection of either a larger volume of protein solution or use of a more highly concentrated protein solution.
Conversely, insulin analogues with affinities for the insulin receptor higher than that of wild-type insulin may be associated with altered signaling properties and altered cellular processing of the hormone-receptor complex. A prolonged residence time of the complex between the super-active insulin analogue and the insulin receptor on the surface of a target cell or on the surface of an intracellular vescicle may lead to elevated mitogenic signaling. Enhanced mitiogenicity can occur if the amino-acid substitutions not only augment binding of the analogue to the insulin receptor, but also to the Type I IGF receptor. For these reasons, among fibrillation-resistant insulin analogues, it is desirable to have analogues whose affinities for the insulin receptor and IGF receptor are similar to those of wild-type human insulin.
A modification of insulin (substitution of HisB10 by Asp) has been described that enhances the thermodynamic stability of insulin and also augments its affinity for the insulin receptor by twofold. Because this substitution blocks the binding of zinc and prevents the assembly of insulin dimers into hexamers, it was investigated as a candidate fast-acting analog. Clinical development was stopped, however, when AspB10-insulin was found to exhibit increased mitogenicity, increased cross-binding to the insulin receptor, and elevated rates of mammary tumor formation on chronic administration to Sprague-Dawley rats. Because the otherwise favorable properties of AspB10-insulin and possibly other insulin analogues are confounded by these adverse properties, it would be desirable to have a design method to retain the favorable properties conferred by such substitutions while at the same time avoiding the adverse properties. A particular example would be re-design of the insulin molecule to retain the enhanced thermodynamic stability and receptor-binding properties associated with substitution of HisB10 by Asp without incurring increased cross-binding to the Type I IGF receptor or increased mitogenicity. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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In the processing of substrates such as semiconductor wafers and displays, a substrate is placed in a process chamber and exposed to an energized gas to deposit or etch material on the substrate. During such processing, process residues are generated and can deposit on internal surfaces in the chamber. For example, in sputter deposition processes, material sputtered from a target for deposition on a substrate also deposits on other component surfaces in the chamber, such as on deposition rings, shadow rings, wall liners, and focus rings. In subsequent process cycles, the deposited process residues can “flake off” of the chamber surfaces to fall upon and contaminate the substrate. To reduce the contamination of the substrates by process residues, the surfaces of components in the chamber can be textured. Process residues adhere to the textured surface and inhibit the process residues from falling off and contaminating the substrates in the chamber.
In one version, the textured component surface is formed by directing an electromagnetic energy beam onto a component surface to form depressions and protrusions to which process deposits adhere. An example of such a surface is a “Lavacoat™” surface, as described for example in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/099,307 to Popiolkowski et al, filed on Mar. 13, 2002 and published as U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003-0173526 on Sep. 18, 2003, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/622,178 to Popiolkowski et al, filed on Jul. 17, 2003 and published as U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004-0056211 on Mar. 25, 2004, both commonly assigned to Applied Materials, Inc, and both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. However, a problem that can arise with such surfaces is that the process to create the surfaces can be prohibitively expensive, due to for example the requirements of the electromagnetic energy beam source, and can require a degree of accuracy in the scanning of the beam that can be difficult to achieve.
In another version, the textured component surfaces can comprise raised horizontal surfaces formed by providing a patterned photoresist mask on a surface and etching through the openings in the pattern, as described for example in U.S. Pat. No. 6,506,312 to Bottomfield, issued Jan. 14, 2003, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. The raised horizontal surfaces formed by this method have inner angles that trap and secure loose process deposits. For example, the raised horizontal surfaces can comprise a star pattern that provides relatively sharp angles to accumulate process deposits. The horizontal raised surfaces can also have sharp angles at top corners formed between the top of the raised surfaces and the surface sidewalls. However, a problem with such textured surfaces is that a build-up of process residues can cause stresses in the angled surfaces, which can result in cracking and erosion of the textured surface, including cracking of the edges of the horizontal raised surfaces.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have a component comprising a textured surface that provides reliable processing results substantially without contaminating substrates. It is further desirable to have a method of fabricating a component having a textured surface that is substantially repeatable to provide consistent processing results. It is also desirable to have a component having a textured surface that is resistant to erosion and stresses caused by deposited process residues, and a method of fabricating such a component. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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This invention relates to electrochromic display devices.
Electrochromic display devices have been used to display data in various formats. When the display device incorporates a number of electrochromic elements in a two-dimensional matrix configuration, the individual electrochromic elements typically are arranged in a manner suitable for multiplex addressing. However, alternate current paths are created which result in undesired coloration or bleaching of electrochromic elements adjacent to an electrochromic element sought to be colored or bleached, an effect commonly referred to as cross-talk. Attempts have been made to deal with the cross talk problem. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,129,861 discloses the use of diode elements to increase the threshold voltage of each electrochromic element. However, in order to use multiplex addressing in such an arrangement, each electrochromic element must be provided with such a diode means, which of course, increases the cost and complexity of the device.
Other attempts to deal with the cross-talk problem require separate and distinct electrochromic layers and electrolyte layers. Additionally, discrete pixels are created by separating one electrochromic material and/or one electrolyte in a discontinuous series of confined units within a device. U.S. Pat. No. 4,488,781 addresses the problem of cross-talk by depositing an electrochromic inorganic layer on top of a glass sheet. The glass sheet contains a transparent electrical conductor. Both the electrochromic layer and the glass sheet are patterned into rows. The rows are spaced apart from one another. Columns of an ionically conductive material are criss-crossed with the rows. The columns are spaced apart from one another at a uniform distance. In that invention, the electrolyte is thus present in a discontinuous manner.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,189,549 describes an array having a sandwich configuration. Electrodes are patterned onto substrates to create rows and columns. An electrochromic material is deposited on the electrodes. This creates discrete blocks or lines of electrochromic material. The electrochromic material is distinct from a separate electrolyte layer. The electrolyte layer is preferably identified as a solid electrolyte sandwiched between the electrodes. The electrolyte preferably is also discrete blocks or lines but may be continuous. The authors also teach coating the entire length of the electrode strips with the electrochromic material. While coating the entire strip provides greater simplicity in manufacture, the authors note that some immunity to cross-talk is lost.
The use of two separate layers for the electrochromic material and the electrolyte along with the requirement of confined electrochromic units complicates the manufacture of these devices. Additionally, use of a solid electrolyte reduces switching speed. That is because ions move relatively slowly through solid electrolytes. Moreover, use of separate electrochromic and electrolyte layers also decreases switching speed. The separate electrochromic layer acts as a capacitor that is in series with the resistive, ion conductive layer, as modelled in Nishikitani, Y. et. al., Electrochemical Acta, 44 (1999) 3211-3217. Thus, a configuration using separate layers requires that an ion must be injected from the conductive electrolyte layer into a capacative electrochromic layer. Accordingly, there is a need for matrix addressable electrochromic devices with fast switching speeds, that are easily manufactured and have minimal or no problems with cross-talk.
The present invention is directed at devices that satisfy the identified deficiencies. Applicants have developed a class of matrix addressable electrochromic devices to display images using a single transparent conducting substrate and a continuous active layer comprising both an electrolyte and an electrochromic material. The resistance of the active layer is greater than the resistance of the transparent substrate. The devices of this invention possess one or more of the following benefits: use of optically transparent electrically conductive; ionically isolative top electrodes; faster switching times; use of electrochromic materials that are formulated directly into an ionically conductive active layer and which can be applied in a single, continuous layer; and non-linear optoelectric response to current over time which further reduces cross-talk.
According to one embodiment, the invention is a matrix addressable electrochromic display device comprising
a top electrode structure comprising at least one transparent or semi-transparent and electrically conductive electrode,
a bottom electrode structure comprising at least one, electrically conductive electrode,
wherein at least one of the top or bottom electrode structures comprises two or more of said electrodes and the top and bottom electrode structures are positioned to form at least two separate regions where the top electrodes are positioned above the bottom electrodes and
between the top electrode structure and the bottom electrode structure is positioned an active layer comprising an electrolyte and an electrochromic material.
In a second embodiment, the invention is the device of the first embodiment wherein the active layer further comprises (a) a non-aqueous compound that undergoes an electron transfer reaction with a subsequent change in its protic state resulting in a pH gradient in the device, (b) at least one indicator dye, and (c) a charge transport material. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Certain cells in the body respond not only to chemical signals, but also to ions such as extracellular calcium ions (Ca.sup.2+). Changes in the concentration of extracellular Ca.sup.2+ (referred to herein as "[Ca.sup.2+ ]") alter the functional responses of these cells. One such specialized cell is the parathyroid cell which secretes parathyroid hormone (PTH). PTH is the principal endocrine factor regulating Ca.sup.2+ homeostasis in the blood and extracellular fluids.
PTH, by acting on bone and kidney cells, increases the level of Ca.sup.2+ in the blood. This increase in [Ca.sup.2+ ] then acts as a negative feedback signal, depressing PTH secretion. The reciprocal relationship between [Ca.sup.2+ ] and PTH secretion forms the essential mechanism maintaining bodily Ca.sup.2+ homeostasis.
Extracellular Ca.sup.2+ acts directly on parathyroid cells to regulate PTH secretion. The existence of a parathyroid cell surface protein which detects changes in [Ca.sup.2+ ] has been confirmed. Brown et al., 366 Nature 574, 1993. In parathyroid cells, this protein acts as a receptor for extracellular Ca.sup.2+ ("the calcium receptor"), and detects changes in [Ca.sup.2+ ] and to initiate a functional cellular response, PTH secretion.
Extracellular Ca.sup.2+ can exert effects on different cell functions, reviewed in Nemeth et al., 11 Cell Calcium 319, 1990. The role of extracellular Ca.sup.2+ in parafollicular (C-cells) and parathyroid cells is discussed in Nemeth, 11 Cell Calcium 323, 1990. These cells have been shown to express similar Ca.sup.2+ receptor. Brown et al., 366 Nature 574, 1993; Mithal et al., 9 Suppl. 1 J. Bone and Mineral Res. s282, 1994; Rogers et al., 9 Suppl. 1 J. Bone and Mineral Res. s409, 1994; Garrett et al., 9 Suppl. 1 J. Bone and Mineral Res. s409, 1994. The role of extracellular Ca.sup.2+ on bone osteoclasts is discussed by Zaidi, 10 Bioscience Reports 493, 1990. In addition keratinocytes, juxtaglomerular cells, trophoblasts, pancreatic beta cells and fat/adipose cells all respond to increases in extracellular calcium which likely reflects activation of calcium receptors of these cells.
The ability of various compounds to mimic extra-cellular Ca.sup.2+ in vitro is discussed by Nemeth et al., (spermine and spermidine) in "Calcium-Binding Proteins in Health and Disease," 1987, Academic Press, Inc., pp. 33-35; Brown et al., (e.g., neomycin) 128 Endocrinolocy 3047, 1991; Chen et al., (diltiazem and its analog, TA-3090) 5 J. Bone and Mineral Res. 581, 1990; and Zaidi et al., (verapamil) 167 Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 807, 1990. Nemeth et al., PCT/US93/01642, International Publication Number WO 94/18959, and Nemeth et al., PCT/US92/07175, International Publication Number WO 93/04373, describe various compounds which can modulate the effect of an inorganic ion on a cell having an inorganic ion receptor.
The references provided in the background are not admitted to be prior art. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention relates to dental implants which are surgically placed in the bone of the jaw to provide an anchoring means for an artificial tooth. Specifically, the present invention is a dental implant which employs shape memory material in the lower portions of the implant to provide self expanding legs, resulting in instantaneous implant stability.
Numerous dental implants found are found in the prior art. Pertinent prior patents are summarized as follows:
U.S. Pat. No. 2,721,387 to Ashuckian discloses an implant having multiple expandable legs. The legs are expanded relative to a spring action apex which is located at the lowermost edge of the implant. Aushuckian also discloses a second embodiment wherein the leg portions are mechanically spread apart using a spreading means between the legs.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,708,883 to Flander discloses an implant having two legs which are mechanically spread apart using wedging means between the legs. Flander does not disclose the use of temperature dependent material to change the relative positions of the legs. Flander also employs the use of exterior projections on the outer surfaces of the legs which are intended to engage the bone. If not completely engaged with the bone, these projections provide gaps between the bone and the legs, allowing encapsulation of the legs by fibrous tissue and preventing osseointegration.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,609,354 to Koch discloses an implant for securing a tooth replacement which uses a shaft implanted in the jaw bone. The shaft has a bore which receives a peg, the peg being the structure which supports an artificial tooth. The diameter of the peg is temperature dependent so that at body temperature the peg diameter is maximized, thus maintaining the peg within the bore. By cooling the peg, the peg can be removed from the shaft. Koch uses a temperature-dependent material to attach different structural portions of the implant to each other. The temperature dependent material is not related to anchoring the dental implant within the jaw.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,832,601 to Linden discloses an implant comprising an upper portion which is pivotably adjustable. The lower portion of the implant is secured within the jaw bone using multiple shingle-shaped members which project into the jaw bone. The projecting members extend from a single shaft and do not appear to be adjustable. Further, Linden does not disclose the use of temperature dependent materials to anchor the implant within the jaw bone.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,219,287 to Nishihara discloses an artificial dental root formed of a shape memory alloy. The implant changes shape upon contact with body heat to engage the jaw bone. There are two disadvantages to using this implant. First, the entire implant is made from the shape memory alloy. Thus, the portion of the implant which extends above the jaw to receive the artificial tooth will be affected and changed each time the patient consumes something hot or cold. Secondly, the curved and branched shape of the root portion provides gaps and spaces between the root and jaw bone. Such spaces provide opportunity for encapsulation by fibrous tissue, preventing osseointegration. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The first corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) was isolated from ovine hypothalami and identified as a 41-amino acid peptide (Vale et al., Science 213:1394-1397, 1981). Subsequently, sequences of human and rat CRF were isolated and determined to be identical, but different from ovine CRF in 7 of the 41 amino acid residues (Rivier et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 80:4851, 1983; Shibahara et al., EMBO J. 2:775, 1983).
CRF has been found to produce profound alterations in endocrine, nervous and immune system function. CRF is believed to be the major physiological regulator of the basal and stress-release of adrenocorticotropic hormone (“ACTH”), β-endorphin, and other pro-opiomelanocortin (“POMC”)-derived peptides from the anterior pituitary (Vale et al., Science 213:1394-1397, 1981). Briefly, CRF is believed to initiate its biological effects by binding to a plasma membrane receptor which has been found to be distributed throughout the brain (DeSouza et al., Science 224:1449-1451, 1984), pituitary (DeSouza et al., Methods Enzymol. 124:560, 1986; Wynn et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. 110:602-608, 1983), adrenals (Udelsman et al., Nature 319:147-150, 1986) and spleen (Webster, E. L., and E. S. DeSouza, Endocrinology 122:609-617, 1988) The CRF receptor is coupled to a GTP-binding protein (Perrin et al., Endocrinology 118:1171-1179, 1986) which mediates CRF-stimulated increase in intracellular production of cAMP (Bilezikjian, L. M., and W. W. Vale, Endocrinology 113:657-662, 1983). The receptor for CRF has now been cloned from rat (Perrin et al., Endo 133(6):3058-3061, 1993), and human brain (Chen et al., PNAS 90(19):8967-8971, 1993; Vita et al., FEBS 335(1):1-5, 1993). This receptor is a 415 amino acid protein comprising seven membrane spanning domains. A comparison of identity between rat and human sequences shows a high degree of homology (97%) at the amino acid level.
In addition to its role in stimulating the production of ACTH and POMC, CRF is also believed to coordinate many of the endocrine, autonomic, and behavioral responses to stress, and may be involved in the pathophysiology of affective disorders. Moreover, CRF is believed to be a key intermediary in communication between the immune, central nervous, endocrine and cardiovascular systems (Crofford et al., J. Clin. Invest. 90:2555-2564, 1992; Sapolsky et al., Science 238:522-524, 1987; Tilders et al., Regul. Peptides 5:77-84, 1982). Overall, CRF appears to be one of the pivotal central nervous system neurotransmitters and plays a crucial role in integrating the body's overall response to stress.
Administration of CRF directly to the brain elicits behavioral, physiological, and endocrine responses identical to those observed for an animal exposed to a stressful environment. For example, intracerebroventricular injection of CRF results in behavioral activation (Sutton et al., Nature 297:331, 1982), persistent activation of the electroencephalogram (Ehlers et al., Brain Res. 278:332, 1983), stimulation of the sympathoadrenomedullary pathway (Brown et al., Endocrinology 110:928, 1982), an increase of heart rate and blood pressure (Fisher et al., Endocrinology 110:2222, 1982), an increase in oxygen consumption (Brown et al., Life Sciences 30:207, 1982), alteration of gastrointestinal activity (Williams et al., Am. J. Physiol. 253:G582, 1987), suppression of food consumption (Levine et al., Neuropharmacology 22:337, 1983), modification of sexual behavior (Sirinathsinghji et al., Nature 305:232, 1983), and immune function compromise (Irwin et al., Am. J. Physiol. 255:R744, 1988).
Furthermore, clinical data suggests that CRF may be hypersecreted in the brain in depression, anxiety-related disorders, and anorexia nervosa. (DeSouza, Ann. Reports in Med. Chem. 25:215-223, 1990). Accordingly, clinical data suggests that CRF receptor antagonists may represent novel antidepressant and/or anxiolytic drugs that may be useful in the treatment of the neuropsychiatric disorders manifesting hypersecretion of CRF.
The first CRF receptor antagonists were peptides (see, e.g., Rivier et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,605,642; Rivier et al., Science 224:889, 1984). While these peptides established that CRF receptor antagonists can attenuate the pharmacological responses to CRF, peptide CRF receptor antagonists suffer from the usual drawbacks of peptide therapeutics including lack of stability and limited oral activity. More recently, small molecule CRF receptor antagonists have been reported. For example, substituted 4-thio-5-oxo-3-pyrazoline derivatives (Abreu et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,063,245) and substituted 2-aminothiazole derivatives (Courtemanche et al., Australian Patent No. AU-A-41399/93) have been reported as CRF receptor antagonists. These particular derivatives were found to be effective in inhibiting the binding of CRF to its receptor in the 1-10 μM range and 0.1-10 μM range, respectively.
Due to the physiological significance of CRF, the development of biologically-active small molecules having significant CRF receptor binding activity and which are capable of antagonizing the CRF receptor remains a desirable goal. Such CRF receptor antagonists would be useful in the treatment of endocrine, psychiatric and neurologic conditions or illnesses, including stress-related disorders in general.
While significant strides have been made toward achieving CRF regulation through administration of CRF receptor antagonists, there remains a need in the art for effective small molecule CRF receptor antagonists. There is also a need for pharmaceutical compositions containing such CRF receptor antagonists, as well as methods relating to the use thereof to treat, for example, stress-related disorders. The present invention fulfills these needs, and provides other related advantages. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Whirling spray nozzles of various types have been known for many years wherein a vortex motion is imparted to a liquid passing through the nozzle to produce a conical spray. It has been the general practice to utilize vanes of various construction within such nozzles to impart a vortical component of motion to the liquid. Nozzles of this type have been used for spraying a slurry or liquid containing a solid or particulate phase. Prior patents relating to these types of nozzles include the following: U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,309,597, 1,503,438, 2,747,936, 2,751,252, 3,275,248, 3,567,116 and 3,666,183. In general, while these patents disclose the use of vanes which impart a whirling motion to the liquid, they are not suitable for spraying a slurry in which the solid phase is composed of relatively larger particles and especially long, rough fibers as in the case of cellulose fibers used in the papermaking process. Such fibers have a great tendency to snag on the edges of the whirl vanes and to agglomerate because of their length and rough outer surface characteristics. Consequently, nozzle clogging readily occurs requiring relatively frequent equipment shutdowns.
It is the principal object of this invention to provide an improved vortex spray nozzle for a fibrous slurry which provides for uniform particle dispersion while overcoming the clogging tendency of spray nozzles heretofore available.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a nozzle of the above type which has maximum free passage or opening through the swirl imparting vanes whereby it is uniquely adapted for use in the papermaking industry where fibrous slurries are sprayed. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention relates to an authentication device and an authentication method of executing authentication based on an image, and a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium.
In recent years, there has been increasing progress in the high-functionality and multi-functionality functions of portable devices such as a portable telephone, a mobile computer, a portable game device, and a music reproducing device. Following the progress in such high-functionalization and multi-functionalization functions, a security measure for preventing improper use of a portable device has become important.
For a security measure, a face recognition technique of using a camera which is becoming a standard installation in a portable device is the focus of attention. Personal authentication (face authentication) to which the face recognition technique is applied can confirm an owner by photographing a face from among natural movements, and is, therefore, valid as a security measure which is also highly convenient.
On the other hand, as a task of a face recognition technique, there is a countermeasure against “impersonation” that uses a photograph or the like. The “impersonation” is a behavior that a person other than an eligible person attempts to receive authentication by using a photograph or the like of the eligible person. Particularly, recent portable devices include a megapixel-class camera and have a focus function and a close-up photography function. Therefore, there is a risk that impersonation can be easily done by using a snap photograph or a small photograph such as a photograph for a driving license.
Therefore, techniques of preventing impersonation are being developed. For example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 3562970 discloses a technique of preventing impersonation by deciding whether a visual line of a user is directed to a light source that guides the visual line of the user. Further, Japanese Patent Publication No. 4470663 discloses a technique of preventing impersonation by deciding whether a visual line movement of a user coincides with a track of a mark displayed on a display by moving the mark at random. Japanese Patent Publication No. 4807167 discloses a technique of preventing impersonation by deciding whether a visual line of a user is directed to a display unit. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-220376 discloses a technique of executing an authentication process by deciding whether a track of a pointer indicating a visual line direction of a user coincides with a predetermined movement pattern, by displaying the pointer and moving the pointer according to an iris position of the user. Further, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-149326 discloses a technique of executing authentication by deciding whether an image that a user gazes at is a registered image, by detecting a visual line of the user.
However, in conventional techniques as described above, since input candidates (a type of a visual line direction, a guidance mark, an image as a selection alternative, and the like that can be input) are displayed at the time of impersonation prevention decision, another person may easily know the authentication method. Therefore, the conventional techniques have a problem in that there is a case that the impersonation prevention decision for preventing improper authentication does not validly function. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ophthalmic image sensing apparatus including an examination optical system for examining an eye to be examined and an image pickup optical system for picking up an image of the eye to be examined.
2. Related Background Art
In an eye fundus examination, a color image is acquired for diagnosis using an ophthalmic image sensing apparatus such as an eye fundus camera. When ocular circulation of blood vessels on retina and pigment epithelium of the retina are to be examined in detail because of, for example, diabetic retinopathy, visible fluorescent image sensing (hereinafter referred to as Fluo image sensing) is performed. When choroid is to be examined because of macular degeneration, near-infrared fluorescent image sensing (hereinafter referred to as ICG image sensing) is performed.
Of those image sensings, the ICG image sensing has an advantage in that a fluorescent agent is more quickly circulated, a dynamic range of a change in fluorescent intensity and a variation in time are very large.
Therefore, in order to obtain a preferable image based on a wide dynamic range of the fluorescent intensity, it is necessary that an examiner change a gain of an image pickup element according to an output signal therefrom or frequently adjust a strobe scope light intensity.
The following method has been disclosed (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H04-189341). When an image sensing mode such as a color image sensing mode is shifted to an ICG image sensing mode, because the fluorescent intensity of the ICG is high in the early stage thereof, image sensing is performed while strobe scope emission is inhibited without any condition. In the later stage, when the examiner determines that the strobe scope emission is necessary, strobe scope image sensing is performed by the operation of a light emission inhibition releasing means.
There has been disclosed a method of detecting output values from respective pixels of an image pickup element on a scanning line and calculating a strobe scope emission intensity based on the result to control an emission intensity of an image sensing light source (see JP-B 3056287).
In the above-mentioned conventional example, when a preferable image sensing condition is to be set, the examiner requires skill to simultaneously adjust and set a strobe scope light intensity and a gain.
In the case of the control for inhibiting the strobe scope emission when the image sensing mode is shifted to the ICG image sensing mode, there is an advantage to the non-emission of strobe scope light in the early stage. However, in the later stage of the image sensing, the strobe scope light image sensing is required in the relation with the sensitivity of the image pickup element.
At this time, it is necessary to allow the strobe scope emission using the strobe scope emission releasing means by the examiner.
An image sensing condition is controlled depending only on whether the strobe scope light is emitted or not and the emission intensity.
In the method of detecting the output values from the respective pixels of the image pickup element to control the strobe scope emission intensity, the strobe scope light intensity is changed depending on a level of an observation light intensity during the examination performed by the examiner. In addition, the strobe scope light intensity is changed depending on the selection of a target scanning line on the image pickup element in some cases, so the learning of the image sensing technique is required. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The field of invention related to drying apparatus, and more particularly pertains to a new and improved plastic bag drying rack wherein the same is arranged to maintain a plurality of bags in an opened configuration to permit their drying and sanitizing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Drying apparatus of various types are utilized throughout the prior art to support structure in a drying procedure. Such apparatus has heretofore been typically of a rack structure of generic construction to support a variety of various components thereon. The instant invention attempts to overcome deficiencies of the prior art by providing for a rack structure specifically directed to the support of bag members, and particularly plastic bag members of polyethelene film to support the bags in an opened configuration to permit their drying and in this respect, the present invention substantially fulfills this need. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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There are types of educational or instructional materials that use a main book that the student uses and a separate guide book or "teacher's manual" that the teacher uses which explains or interrelates with the subject matter of the main book. Frequently, these guide books can be used in several ways, including: instructing the teacher how to teach the subject matter; providing instructions for implementing a given lesson; giving additional ideas on activities for the lesson, and the like. They are typically designed for a classroom situation where one teacher will be interacting with many students. One of the problems with these types of guide books is that they are not adequately interactive with the student's book. It is difficult for a teacher and student to sit together on a one-to-one basis and interact because the teacher must use a different book than the student, causing coordination problems and the need for two books. Additionally, these types of teacher/student books are not effectively coordinated to make use of important words or phrases in the student's text and to ask questions, discuss or otherwise teach on such an individualistic basis. The same is true for parents since no interactive guide exists.
In the context of the present specification the invention discussed herein is primarily designed for use by a parent and child so that the child can use it alone or with a parent or other adult. The terms parent and child will be used to describe a relationship between a developmentally older person and a younger person, and is intended to include terms such as teacher and student.
It would be desirable to have a unified book that would facilitate one-on-one skill development such that the teacher would be able to interact with the student using the same materials, such as where language-based skills are being taught. Such a unified book would be desirable for parents while reading to and teaching their children.
It would also be desirable to have a unified interactive text and workbook combined in one book or kit with directions and activities adjacent to the text and reverse-indexed to the text. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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This invention pertains to the compound 4-Chloro-2-[[(4-methoxy-6-methyl-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl)-aminocarbonyl]aminosu lfonyl]benzoic acid, (1-methylethyl)ester, its agriculturally suitable salts, agricultural compositions containing the compound, and its method-of-use as a selective preemergent and/or postemergent herbicide.
The compound of the instant invention is generically disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,383,113 which discloses herbicidal benzenesulfonamides of the following formula: ##STR1##
There is no specific teaching to the compound of the instant invention and its use on blackgrass although, as mentioned above, it is generically disclosed. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Latency is a measure of time delay experienced in a system. Network latency in a packet-switched network is measured either one-way (the time from the source sending a packet to the destination receiving it), or two-way (the one-way latency from source to destination plus the one-way latency from the destination back to the source). Where precision is important, one-way latency for a link can be more strictly defined as the time from the start of packet transmission to the start of packet reception.
There are many possible techniques to synchronize time between a source and a destination. It is possible to achieve time synchronization by using synchronized clocks that use Global Positioning System (GPS) technology. GPS considers a satellite environment as reference time for the synchronization of the source and the destination. The synchronization accuracy depends on the precision with which the source and destination hosts are able to synchronize their internal clock to the GPS signal. Using GPS for synchronizing has several drawbacks: the synchronization of several devices, each of which is equipped with a GPS receiver, can be expensive the GPS antenna has to be located within a specific distance from the receiver, limiting the positioning of monitoring devices
Another synchronization system that can be used is Network Time Protocol (NTP) servers. The synchronization is obtained through the time reference offered by public NTP servers located across the Internet. This is the cheapest synchronization technique, but it does not provide as accurate results as GPS does; the accuracy depends on the characteristics of the paths followed by the NTP synchronization messages and on the distance between the NTP server and the source and destination that must be synchronized.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,283,568, with the title “Methods, systems and computer program products for synchronizing clocks of nodes on a computer network”, discloses an algorithm for clock synchronization between two nodes using virtual clocks, a generalization of the clock synchronization for many nodes, and using many round-trip-delays to compute an average one-trip delay. A key feature of the embodiment described is that each node manages a virtual clock relying on average measurements for every other node it synchronizes with. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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In the automotive repair industry, several tools are used to assist the repair technician in identifying the correct color for a vehicle repair. Currently, paint manufacturers assist the paint technician with color books that show paint chips representing the array of original equipment (OE) colors per model year and those colors that carry over from previous years. These color books show both body and non-body colors and include information organized by the original equipment manufacturer and are printed once a year and organized by domestic and import brand vehicle manufacturers. The color selection is done by flipping pages in a book to find the chip that best represents the vehicle color. Key color information can then be used with a color software program to begin searching for a color formula in the correct paint system to use for the repair.
Additional information is used to narrow the color search in the color book—typically the original equipment manufacturer (OEM), vehicle model, model year and color code. Once the correct paint chip for the vehicle body color and corresponding information is determined, there is additional compatible information about that vehicle color that may need to be found—accent, interior, underhood and wheel color data, for example. When the correct color identification is made, the correct paint formulas can be found using the key color information and a software program can be used to retrieve a paint formula for the vehicle repair.
Since color books are printed only once per year, key vehicle data may be missing, which will delay the search by the end user. In addition, not all users have access to this information due to limited circulation of the color books and therefore, information cannot be referenced immediately.
Improved methods and apparatus for selecting color are desired. Moving the color selection and identification process to a web-based application will allow for more current and updated information available to the repair technician. The web application can reach a broader end user population. Digital color images can be viewed to confirm that the correct vehicle color has been selected. Current digital color image displays have been presented with either a white or black background color. This approach will not provide an adequate perception of the color, therefore, an improved background viewing color scheme is needed. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Meltblowing technology is used in many different applications and industries including, for example, in adhesive dispensing and nonwoven material manufacturing. This technology generally involves extruding fine diameter filaments of thermoplastic material from a row of discharge outlets and impinging the extruded filaments with pressurized air immediately upon discharge. The pressurized air may be discharged as continuous sheets or curtains on opposite sides of the discharged filaments or as individual streams associated with the filament discharge outlets. The pressurized air is often referred to as process or primary air. This air draws down or attenuates the filament diameter while the filaments are airborne. The filaments are then randomly dispersed onto a substrate or a carrier.
For certain applications, it is desirable to utilize multiple types of thermoplastic liquid materials to form individual cross-sectional portions of each filament. Often, these multi-component filaments comprise two components and, therefore, are referred to as bicomponent filaments. For example, when manufacturing nonwoven materials for use in the garment industry, it may be desirable to produce bicomponent filaments having a sheath-core construction. The sheath may be formed from a softer material which is comfortable to the skin of an individual and the core may be formed from a stronger, but perhaps less comfortable material having greater tensile strength to provide durability to the garment. Another important consideration involves cost of the material. For example, a core of inexpensive material may be combined with a sheath of more expensive material. For example, the core may be formed from polypropylene or nylon and the sheath may be formed from a polyester or co-polyester. Many other multi-component fiber configurations exist, including side-by-side, tipped, and microdenier configurations, each having its own special applications. Various material properties can be controlled using one or more of the component liquids. These include, as examples, thermal, chemical, electrical, optical, fragrance, and anti-microbial properties. Likewise, many types of die tips exist for combining the multiple liquid components just prior to discharge to produce filaments of the desired cross-sectional configuration.
One problem associated with multi-component meltblowing apparatus involves the cost and complexity of the manifolds used to transmit each of the separate component liquids to the multi-component die tip. Typical manifolds must be machined with many different passages leading to the die tip to ensure that the proper flow of each component liquid reaches the die tip under the proper pressure and temperature conditions. These manifolds are therefore relatively complex and expensive components of the multi-component meltblowing apparatus.
For these reasons, it would be desirable to provide a meltblowing apparatus having a manifold system which may be easily manufactured and yet fulfils the requirement of effectively transmitting each of the component liquids to the multi-component die tip. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Atmospheric gas burners are known that are made reciprocally coupling the head and the cup of the same burner so that to define both a mixing chamber for mixing primary air and gas, in order to obtain a fuel mixture, and a distribution chamber for supplying a circumferential flame spreader with said fuel mixture. In addition, it is known to obtain, using a substantially flat separating element disposed between the head and the cup of the burner, at least two overlapped ducts, one of them being intended for allowing the primary air inflow into the burner cup, and the other for allowing the air transferring from the mixing chamber to the distribution chamber of the burner. That causes the mould shape for realizing the head and cup of the burner to be extremely geometrically simple.
It has to be observed that, herein and after, with the term “duct” it has to be intended not only substantially cylindrical tubular ducts, opened at the two bases, but further any other channeling type, having any shape or any characteristic, being able to contain and allow the fluid or fluid mixture passing therethrough.
For example, the Patent Application EP-A-1297281 in the name of the Applicant, describes a gas burner of the type comprising a burner cup being able to accommodate an injector for the fuel gas, a burner head coupled to said cup and comprising a distribution chamber for a first circumferential flame spreader, and a mixing chamber for mixing primary air and fuel gas to set up a fuel mixture. In addition, said burner comprises a plurality of ducts for transferring the fuel mixture from said mixing chamber to said distribution chamber, an equal number of inflow ducts of the primary air from the outer environment into said burner cup, as well as a flat separating element, having a cross shape, disposed between the afore mentioned transferring and primary air inflow ducts. Such a separating element is blocked between the head and cup of the burner, once the head is rested and fixed on the cup, thereby allowing the functioning thereof for separating the burner inner space and as a result for obtaining one or more primary air inflow ducts and an equal number of reciprocally overlapped ducts for transferring the fuel mixture.
This solution, as afore mentioned, although allows to simplify the mould shapes for obtaining the head and cup of the burner, together with the fact also to ensure the realization of the separating element by simple shearing, it is not free of drawbacks.
As the Applicant has been able to verify, the efficiency of such a burner is somewhat reduced because of the turbulences that are created along the path followed by the fuel mixture inside the burner. This is also a consequence of the fact that the flows of air and fuel gas generated within the ducts for transferring the fuel mixture of the burner suffer from light leakages, which inevitably occur in burner itself.
Further, such leakages of fuel mixture, in the particular structure of the burner above described having the ducts for transferring the mixture overlapping the primary air flow ducts and kept apart from them by the afore said separating plane, involve as well the fact that the mixture eventually leaking from such transferring ducts is drawn, but only slightly, with the primary air towards the mixing chamber of the burner, where it results in an incomplete mixture of gas coming from the injector with the primary air, and then, again, in a reduced efficiency of the burner.
Object of the present invention is then to increase the afore described burner efficiency, thereby minimizing the turbulence of the fuel mixture and anyway maintaining unchanged the geometrical characteristics of the burner head and cup.
Further object of the present invention is also to obtain a burner being structurally simple and easy to assembly. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Picosulphate, 4,4'-(2-pyridylmethylene)-bisphenol-bis(hydrogen sulfate) (ester) disodium salt, is disclosed in the Merck Index , 11th ed. (1989), S. Budavari, ed., No. 7377, p.1175. Picosulphate is a known active ingredient for use as a laxative. Picosulphate is an inactive prodrug that is hydrolyzed by colonic bacteria to bis-(p-hydroxyphenyl)-pyridyl-2-methane (commonly known as "desacetyl bisacodyl") which is the active species). Contact of the desacetyl bisacodyl with the mucosa stimulates sensory nerve endings to produce increased propulsive peristaltic contractions of the colon which accelerate movement of contents through the colon. Administration of picosulphate has also been shown to promote fluid and ion accumulation in the colon, which increases its laxative effect. Since desacetyl bisacodyl acts upon contact with lumenal mucosa of the large intestine, its laxative effect is dependent upon generation of sufficient levels of the drug in the lumen of the colon.
Commercially available picosulphate laxatives are designed to deliver the picosulphate to the small intestine. Although these dose forms provide effective laxative activity, doses which produce maximal laxation also evoke undesirable side effects such as secondary episodes of diarrhea or repeat bowel movements.
It has been surprisingly discovered that delivery of picosulphate to the colon as a rapidly dissolving matrix, or in a solubilized form, produces maximal laxation at doses which do not evoke secondary episodes of diarrhea.
An advantage of providing picosulphate to patients using the compositions of this invention is that laxation benefits are generally achieved without the secondary diarrhea commonly associated with conventional picosulphate compositions. Another advantage is that such laxation benefits are often achieved more quickly than with conventional picosulphate compositions. Another advantage is that a lesser dosage amount of picosulphate is needed to achieve laxation than is needed with conventional picosulphate compositions. Another advantage is that due to the lesser dosage amount and the more prompt onset of laxation activity, the side effects of cramping and pain are lessened. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention relates to a negative electrode for lithium secondary battery, the negative electrode comprising a current collector and an active material layer carried on the current collector, the active material layer comprising particles grown like columns (columnar particles), and the columnar particles including silicon as a constituent element.
With the development of portable devices such as a mobile phone and a personal computer in these days, a demand for a battery as a power source for such devices is increasing. In a battery for such devices, the usage at ordinary temperatures is demanded, as well as a high energy density and excellent cycle characteristics.
For such demands, a new active material with a higher capacity has been developed for a positive electrode and for a negative electrode, respectively. Among these newly developed active materials, the simple substance, an oxide, or an alloy of silicon (Si) or tin (Sn), which enables a far higher capacity, has been expected as a potential negative electrode active material.
The problem in using silicon as a negative electrode active material is deformations of the negative electrode. When charging and discharging, the negative electrode active material greatly expands and contracts by absorption and desorption of lithium (Li), to greatly deform or distort the negative electrode, and to cause an undulation or winding (wrinkling). Thus, a gap is created between the negative electrode and a separator, causing non-homogeneous charge and discharge reactions, leaving a concern for a decline in cycle characteristic.
For such problems, there has been proposed to suppress the decline in cycle characteristics by providing a space to alleviate the stress from the expansion of the active material in the negative electrode to avoid deformation and winding. For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2003-303586 proposes to form columnar particles of silicon on the current collector. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-127561 proposes the pattern formation in which an active material capable of forming an alloy with lithium is regularly aligned on the current collector.
In both Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2003-303586 and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-127561, a negative electrode active material is formed as a columnar structure standing upright along the normal direction of the sheet-like current collector. Thus, a part of the positive electrode active material faces the exposed surface of the negative electrode current collector, not facing the negative electrode active material. Therefore, lithium supplied from the positive electrode active material at the time of charging tends to deposit on the exposed part of the negative electrode current collector, without being absorbed by the negative electrode active material. As a result, lithium cannot be released from the negative electrode effectively at the time of discharging, thereby declining charge and discharge efficiency.
Additionally, at the time of discharging, only the positive electrode active material facing the negative electrode active material is more likely to react. This may cause a partial over-discharge in the positive electrode active material, while declining substantial discharge capacity. When the repetitive charge and discharge cycle further advances the non-homogeneous reactions, the positive electrode active material that could not be discharged will easily be in the over-charged state, while increasing the positive electrode active material under the over-discharged state. Thus, side reaction increases, discharge capacity decreases, and deterioration of battery advances. Especially, when a high-rate charge and discharge is carried out at a large current value, cycle characteristics decline drastically. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a system for providing output signals representative of color corrected color densities of coloring agents used in reproducing a colored original image. More particularly, the present invention automatically provides the output signals representative of the color corrected color densities in response to input signals representative of the primary color readings of the original image.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The art of color reproduction strives to faithfully reproduce the colors of the original image. More particularly, color reproduction strives to create a reproduced image which reflects the same spectral colors, typically measured in terms of red, green and blue, as the original. Instruments such as a densitometer allow quantified readings of the primary spectral colors and thereby enable the quality of the reproduction to be quanified in numerical terms. A densitometer produces the three primary color readings of red, green, and blue by separately sensing the light transmitted through separate red, green, and blue filters. That is to say, a red reading corresponds to the amount of standardized light passing through a standarized red filter after being reflected from a particular portion of the original image. Similarly, green and blue readings are produced by sensing the light transmitted through respective green and blue filters. The red, green, and blue filters are designed to respectively absorb one-third of the spectrum reflected from the image centered about the three primary colors red, green, and blue. As a result, primary color readings are a subtractive process which readings represent the remaining light transmitted through red, green, and blue filters.
In principle, the objective of color reproduction is to impress transparent coloring agents on white paper such that the coloring agents act as ideal primary color filters. Color agents are typically identified by their process colors of cyan, magenta and yellow corresponding respectively to red, green, and blue. Ideally these process colors act as perfect red, green, and blue filters which absorb only their designated portion of the spectrum and reflect or transmit the rest.
Unfortunately, practically available commercial coloring agents do not act as perfect red, green, and blue filters. That is to say, typical coloring agents are not strongly absorbing in one-third of the spectrum and strongly reflecting or transmitting in the other two-thirds of the spectrum For example, a typical cyan coloring agent which ideally would absorb light only in the red third of the spectrum, also absorbs light in the green portion and blue portion. Similarly, typical magenta coloring agents, while predominately absorbing light in the green part of the spectrum, also absorb in the red and blue portions, and yellow coloring agents absorb not only the blue portion of the spectrum but also in the green portion and the red portion. Hence, coloring agents are said to contain so-called "dirt" in reference to the fact that coloring agents do not perform as ideal red, green, and blue filters.
In order to quantify the non-ideal characteristics of coloring agents, each process color for a particular type of coloring agent can be quantified as having a certain proportion or percentage of the other two colors For example, cyan ink at a given density can be said to include a density level or percentage of magenta and yellow. That is to say, the green filtering action in the cyan ink can be characterized as a certain percentage of magenta in the cyan and the blue filtering action can be characterized as a certain percentage of yellow. Analogously, a magenta ink at a given density level can be said to include a certain percentages of cyan and of yellow, and the yellow ink can be said to have a certain percentages of magenta and cyan therein at a given density. Thus, when used in combination, each coloring agent contributes color to the other agent colors and the amount of contribution is different at different densities. This contribution effect must be taken into account in the color correction process.
The color correction process is additionally complicated by the fact that typical coloring agents experience so-called "linearity" failures such as "proportionality" failure and "additivity" failure. Proportionality failure refers to the fact that the color density of an agent color as measured by a densitometer does not increase linearly as the printing density of the coloring agent increases. That is, when the printing or coverage density of a cyan ink is increased, the measured cyan color density does not increase linearly therewith. Additionally, as the cyan ink density increases the magenta and yellow contributions also do not increase linearly.
Additivity failure refers to the fact that when two or more coloring agents are combined, the contribution one makes to the other does not increase or add linearly. For example, a cyan ink at a given density level has a certain cyan color density. A magenta ink at a given density level also contains a certain cyan density. If the cyan from the cyan ink and the cyan from the magenta ink combined linearly, the total cyan density reading of the combination would be a simple sum of the cyan density from the cyan ink and the cyan density contributed by the magenta ink. However, the resulting combination typically produces a net cyan density reading less than the sum of the two cyan sources. Thus, the cyan densities fail to add linearly.
As can be appreciated from the discussion above, the problems of color correction are substantial. In lithography, color correction is typically achieved by masking techniques in which the lithographer produces color separation masks used for producing printing plates which are designed to produce the desired color correction. The masking techniques, while generally effective, are also time consuming and expensive and may be prohibitively expensive for short runs of printing material.
Another color correction technique concerns the use of a microcomputer and associated electronic memory in which primary color reading data is stored therein corresponding to color charts of the coloring agents to be used in the reproduction process. The color agent charts for a given type of coloring agents are composed of patches of various combinations of the three colors of coloring agents at various color densities. If fifteen density steps of the three agent colors are used to make the charts, 3,375 combinations are possible with each producing corresponding red, green, and blue readings This data is typically arranged in the form of a table and the patch is selected having red, green, and blue readings which correspond most closely with the desired red, green, and blue readings.
As those skilled in the art will appreciate, a lookup table so constructed is limited in its color correction accuracy. For example, fifteen density steps for each process color produces increments of 6.67% for each step. With this large a gap between steps, the color correction may be inaccurate by at least this amount. If a minimum 3% accuracy is required, data must be produced for about 33 steps of density for each process color. This increases the number of color patches to almost 36,000. If accuracy of 1% is desired, data corresponding to nearly 1,000,000 patches must be stored.
Thus, to increase the color correction accuracy using such tables, the amount of memory space increases by the cube of the number of density steps. Additionally, six bytes of data must be stored for each patch corresponding to a byte of data for each process color in the combination and a byte of data for each primary color reading produced by that color patch. Thus, for 1% accuracy, at least 8,000,000 bytes of data must be stored. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, this volume of data becomes unwieldy to produce and enter, expensive to store, and time consuming to retrieve Furthermore, this data is usable only for a particular set of inks and must be re-entered for different inks. That is to say, a new look-up table is required if the inks are changed. As a result of these problems, electronic color correction is not in widespread use. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly, to an electrical connector with an improved contact which has a low insertion force in mating with a complementary connector.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Power jacks/plugs are widely used in the electrical industry to connect power supplies with electrical devices, such as mobile phone, note book. The power jack generally comprises a dielectric housing, an inner contact and an outer contact respectively served as a positive pole and a negative pole of a power supply for providing voltage to electrical device connecting to the power connector, and a signal contact provided for signal transmission. However, the contacts sustain a large insertion force when mating with a complementary connector, so abrasion loss of the contacts is heavy after some time.
Hence, an improved electrical connector is desired to overcome the above problem. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Currently, electronic item identification systems are in widespread use today to identify a variety of items. A first type of electronic item identification system commonly used in industry is one in which bar code labels are used to identify items. These types of electronic item identification systems are typically used by supermarkets, distributors, shipping services and clothing retailers to scan the bar code labels for quick retrieval of an item's price or other information.
The way conventional bar code identification systems work is as follows. Bar codes labels are made up of a series of lines of varying widths or thicknesses to establish a code which can be read by a scanner. A bar code label is usually read by a laser scanner. The data from the scanner is electronically fed to a receiver which determines the identification code or number associated with the bar code label. The identification code or number is then sent to a central processing unit or computer where each code or number is matched to data stored on a master list such as item price or other information. The central processing unit or computer then electronically sends the stored data associated with the identification code or number to the cash register or other tabulator to arrive at a final total or tabulated result.
Another system of electronic item identification uses radio frequency (RF) identification tags to identify items. Radio frequency (RF) identification tags can be used to identify a variety of items to which the tags are attached or otherwise associated. In particular, radio frequency (RF) identification tags are currently used to identify passengers, luggage, library books, inventory items and other articles. Radio frequency (RF) identification tags will allow electronic identification of people or objects, moving or stationary, at distances of several feet.
In recent years, radio frequency identification tags have been manufactured using silicon chips. The silicon chips have been revolutionary because in the area of the size of the head of a pin, a silicon chip can hold a myriad of components and information. The problem with silicon chip radio frequency item identification tags is that silicon is very expensive and cannot be produced in the quantities necessary in industries such as the airline industry to make the tags feasible. Furthermore, the silicon chip identification tags are disadvantageous in having a limited range of approximately two feet and using a scanner that sends out only one signal which the chip alters by means of a phase shift. It would be desirable to develop a radio frequency identification tag that could be manufactured in mass quantities on a less expensive material than silicon such as paper or plastic and that could be used without having to alter the circuits on the tags in any way.
Other types of currently available radio frequency (RF) identification tags have the disadvantage that only recognition and surveillance functions can be performed. The radio frequency (RF) identification cards presently available in these types of systems do not to have the electronic properties necessary to allow for interrogation and identification functions.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,694,283 to Reeb and U.S. Pat. No. 4,910,499 to Benge et al. both teach electronic identification systems which use multilayered radio frequency (RF) identification tags. The tags taught by the Reeb and Benge et al. patents each have conductive layers separated by a layer of di-electric material in order to form a resonant circuit. However, the Reeb patent teaches an electronic surveillance device and the Benge et al. patent teaches an anti-theft device, both of which are only usable for recognition and do not have the electronic properties necessary to allow for identification.
This is because the recognition function requires only one possibility, i.e., either resonant or not resonant. The identification function requires that the resonant frequency of the tag be read and then compared to another frequency to which it will match to achieve identification. It would be desirable for a radio frequency (RF) identification card to have the proper electronic properties to allow both recognition and identification functions to be performed with the card on an inexpensive material.
Some presently available radio frequency (RF) identification cards operate on the principle of establishing a code through the use of a pattern of binary numbers such as "ones" and "zeros". These type of electronic item identification systems have the disadvantage that the radio frequency (RF) identification tag includes a circuitry for initially establishing a resonant circuit having a first resonating frequency which tag is activated by changing the resonating frequency of the resonant circuit to a second resonating frequency.
For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,218,189 to Hutchinson discloses a binary encoded multiple frequency RF identification tag and U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,210 to Rode et al. discloses an activatable/deactivatable security tag. The tags of both patents are used for identifying an item to which the tag is attached or with which the tag is associated. The tags both include an inductance connected in parallel with a capacitance wherein the capacitance is made up of a plurality of individual capacitors. The Hutchinson patent teaches individual capacitors which each have a predetermined different capacitance and which are connected in series and the Rode et al. patent teaches two capacitance branches which each have a predetermined different capacitance wherein the individual capacitors of each branch are connected in series.
In other words, according to the teachings of the Hutchinson and Rode et al. patents, the binary number generated from the circuit needs to be detected by varying the circuit's total capacitance in order to check for resonance at a predetermined frequency. It would be desirable to develop an electronic item identification system using a radio frequency (RF) identification tag wherein each circuit on the tag has a constant inductance and capacitance and thus the circuit itself does not have to be changed to check for the resonating frequency.
The devices of the Hutchinson and Rode et al. patents short out capacitors during interrogation and thus the circuit can never be restored to its original frequency to be read over again. It would be desirable to develop an electronic item identification system in which the radio frequency (RF) identification tag can be read any number of times while still generating the same binary number as was read the first time and in this manner the tag can be reused.
The Hutchinson and Rode et al. patents teach a device where the binary number to be obtained from the tag must be predetermined. This is because the device teaches the "dimpling" of capacitors which to be accurate must be done with expensive, precision equipment. It would be desirable to develop an electronic item identification system in which a radio frequency (RF) identification tag having numerous circuits made up of capacitor/inductor coil pairs at evenly spaced intervals on the surface of the tag so that the presence or absence of a circuit or the circuit's functionability could be programmed at the point of use with inexpensive equipment. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention relates generally to the field of strip treatment equipment, and more particularly, is directed to a method and apparatus for straightening a portion of the strip relative to the remaining portion of the strip.
It is common practice to store elongate webs of strip material in coiled form for both convenience in handling, compactness in storage and for allowing the material to be played out from the roll in a regulated manner without fear of bending, twisting, crimping or other damage. Such elongate webs are commonly employed in the photographic industry and film both in undeveloped and in developed form is commonly stored in coiled or rolled condition. In the case of photographic film, both for still cameras and for motion picture cameras, film in coiled condition is by far the most popular method of storage.
In the case of the photographic industry, the film is first packed in a roll prior to use. After the rolled film has been exposed in the camera, during the picture taking process, the film is again rolled into some type of container and is then transported to a photographic developing laboratory to develop the exposed film. It has been found that due to the long period of storage of the film in rolled condition, both before exposure and after exposure, a permanent set or coil develops in the film and accordingly, even after the film is removed from its container in the darkroom, it still possesses a natural memory to curl or coil to assume the tightly rolled condition as within the container itself.
It is now common practice to employ automatic film developing equipment in the laboratories in the interest of savings, both in time and in money, during the development process. Most presently available film developing equipment comprises a plurality of juxtaposed liquid containing tanks for storing the developing, fixing and washing liquids through which the exposed film is passed prior to drying. In order to lead the film automatically through the various liquid containing tanks and the drying system, improved film propelling mechanisms have been developed which generally comprise pluralities of rollers designed to automatically lead the film through the apparatus for the complete developing process. It is necessary that the leading edge of the film be straight so that the film can follow the desired path of travel through the various rollers and guides provided to automatically propel and guide the film through the equipment.
Due to the tightly coiled nature of the film as it is applied to the developing machinery, prior workers in the art have found it desirable to provide a straight strip of material at the leading edge of the film to act as a leader to facilitate initial threading through the apparatus. In order to affix the leader to the leading edge of the film, it has been previously necessary to find some suitable method of joining the two strips together such as by employing an adhesive, plastic tape, staples, heat sealing or other mechanical means. Of course, such joining operations must be performed by hand and these operations thereby increase the cost of the developing process due to the manual handling required to affix the leader and the additional cost represented by the material of the leader itself.
Prior workers in the art have encountered difficulties when employing a separate leader in that it was necessary to spend considerable time and effort to train employees to properly affix the leader. Even with such training, due to the fact that the operations had to be performed in the dark room, sometimes the leader was not securely attached or was connected out of longitudinal alignment. Such defects often caused the leader to break or to otherwise disconnect from the film, thereby causing irreparable damage to the film being processed. The separate leaders previously universally in use created other problems in that chemicals had a tendency to collect in the overlap portion between the film and the leader. This caused increased contamination as the film was directed from tank to tank. The prior art methods further resulted in increased costs due to the time required to remove the leader following the film processing operation. When staples were employed, the staples had to be fabricated of special chemical resistant materials, all at increased cost. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to combination fan and heater and more particularly to a cooling fan having a detachable heater.
2. Description of Related Art
A cooling fan is used to create airflow. The fan is comprised of a rotating arrangement of blades which act on the air.
A fan heater is a heater that works by using a fan to pass air over a heating element. This heats the air, which then leaves the heater, warming up the surrounding room. They can heat an enclosed space such as a room faster than a heater without fan.
There is a combination fan and heater capable of providing a cooling or heated flow of air at various desired temperatures and airflow speeds. However, the fan and the heater are an integral unit. Thus, a selective use of one of the fan and the heater is not possible.
For the sake of saving space, it is desirable to have a device which can be used as a cooling fan during summer months and can be detachably fastened with a heater to be used during winter months.
Thus, the need for improvement still exists. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
This invention relates to a process for desulfurizing fossil fuels such as coal or oil by reacting such fuels with a non-volatile agent which removes much of the sulfur and produces a compound which can be recycled after its decomposition into non-polluting sulfur and the reconstituted original agent, and by reduction of the sulfur content of fossil fuels prior to their combustion by means of alkali metal sulfides in either melt conditions or in aqueous solution followed by thermal decomposition of the resulting higher sulfur content polysulfide into non-polluting sulfur and a lower sulfur content polysulfide.
Environmental considerations have led to a legislation requiring the removal of sulfur from fuels prior to their combustion. Such removal heretofore has been accomplished by several methods which add appreciably to the cost of the fuels and present problems in disposal of the reagents produced in this desulfurization. Such costs and disposal problems are reduced when desulfurization is practiced by means of easily recycled reagents.
The main object of this invention therefore is to provide a process for desulfurizing fossil fuels by means of such reagents. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a general process for regenerating corn and to plants produced by the process. More particularly, the present invention relates to the use of tissue and cell culture for the regeneration of corn plantlets from many varieties of corn.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Plant regeneration from cells in culture is essential for the application of somatic hybridization, for the production of new varieties through somoclonal variation and for the use of genetic engineering in producing new varieties. Although plants can be regenerated from tissue culture of several varieties of corn, there are many varieties for which this has not been accomplished using similar techniques.
In recent years, plant cell culture successes have had a considerable influence on the respective roles of cell and organism in control of plant growth and development. This concept was supported when isolated plant cells were shown to be amenable to in vitro cultivation and complete plants could be regenerated from cultures derived from somatic tissues, either directly via somatic embryogenesis or indirectly via organogenesis. Generally the regeneration pathway of choice is determined empirically by the manipulation of extrinsic factors, especially growth regulators. Early investigations of certain plant species have suggested that exogenous auxin concentration is a major factor controlling somatic embryogenesis, such that its reduction leads to the initiation of embryoid formation. In other species, exposure to a definite balance of auxin and cytokinin leads to the occurrance of organogenesis (shoots, then roots). Although several genotypes of corn have been regenerated using these techniques, no process is generally applicable to most genotypes of corn. Many genotypes remain extremely difficult if not impossible to culture using the prior processes.
The process which has become the standard system for corn tissue culture is described by Green et al., Crop Science 15, 417 (1975). In this process, immature embryos were plated onto a callus induction medium which comprises the MS mineral salts, Straus vitamins and amino acids (glycine, asparagine, niacin, thiamine, pyridoxine and pantothenic acid), 2% sucrose, 0.8% agar and a hormone selected from 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), p-chlorophenoxyacetic acid (PCA), alpha-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), 2-isopentyladedine (2-ip) or mixtures thereof. Plantlets were regenerated by subculturing the callus on medium containing reduced hormone concentrations. Hormone concentrations which were useful were 2 mg/l 2,4-D and a mixture of 1 mg/l 2,4-D, 4 mg/l NAA and 0.05 mg/l 2-ip. Regeneration was then accomplished on medium containing 0.25 mg/l 2,4-D or a mixture of 1 mg/l NAA and 0.05 mg/l 2-ip respectively. All culturing was conducted in a 16 hour light/8 hour dark cycle for 3-4 week intervals before transfer. This reference reports that callus induction did not occur in one of five genotypes tested.
Similar results have been reported by others. Freeling et al., Maydica 21, 97 (1976) obtained regeneration of corn by utilizing a sequence of callus induction on a RM medium containing 2 or 5 mg/l 2,4-D, 2% sucrose and no myo-inositol followed by regeneration on the same medium with 0-0.1 mg/l 2,4-D. Lu et al., Theor. Appl. Genet. 66, 285 (1983) obtained callus formation and shoot formation after 3 weeks of culturing when utilizing a MS medium containing 3-12% sucrose and 0.25-2.0 mg/l 2,4-D. High sucrose concentration was most favorable for embryogenic callus. Root formation was accomplished after transfer to (a) MS medium with 3% sucrose with or without 1 mg/l giberellic acid (GA.sub.3) or (b) 1/2 MS medium with 2% sucrose.
Edallo et al., Maydica 26, 39 (1981) obtained callus induction from immature corn embryos using the medium of Green et al., supra, with 2 mg/l 2,4-D. The culture could be maintained on the same medium with 30 day transfers. Regeneration was accomplished by using medium with no 2,4-D. Shoots were transferred to medium having a 1 mm overlayer of 5 mg/l NAA for root formation. Prior to transferring the plantlets to soil, they were cycled through media having 20%, 10% and finally 0% sucrose. Regeneration of corn plants using a similar sequence of callus induction with 2,4-D and regeneration with no or low 2,4-D has been shown by Lu et al., Theor. Appl. Genet. 62, 109 (1982); Hibberd et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 79, 559 (1982); Gegenbach et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 74, 5113 (1977); and Green at al., Crop Science 14, 54 (1974). The latter reference also demonstrates genotype affects on callus induction.
The prior art does not describe a process for the regeneration of most genotypes of corn Zea mays from tissue and cell culture. Examples of cultivars that cannot be regenerated or can only be regenerated with great difficulty at low frequency by prior art processes include B73, A632, A619, CM105, B37, B84, B14, Mo17 and R168. The present invention is the first instance of a broadly and generally applicable procedure for regenerating cultivars of corn with a high frequency and with a high growth rate.
Corn plants and seeds are produced by this process. The corn plants resulting from this process may differ from the starting plant material as a result of somaclonal variation. The pathway is also useful in that it will enable the use of various selection processes to provide further variation. The plants which are produced can be used in conventional breeding programs. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
There has long existed a basic need for rendering old, expired, or sensitive data unreadable by forensic methodologies. Businesses routinely reformat and/or carry out other actions, such that externally attached disk drives and other storage media such that sensitive data can not be read by persons who should not have access to that data. Over the years several schemes have been designed to thwart attempts to recover data from storage devices where the files have been deleted and in some cases where the storage device itself has been reformatted. However, it is believed that it is still possible to recover sensitive classified and business data from such a hard drive.
Typical methods of rendering data residing on storage devices unreadable involve writing different patterns over the old data. While this would seem to render the older data unrecoverable, it often is not the case. Different physical media types often do not completely switch the magnetic state of bits of the old data when written over. Sophisticated recovery techniques, therefore, can still obtain the data that has been “deleted” in this way.
Generally the types of utilities that attempt to render data unrecoverable require the user to explicitly execute the program and to name the file to be security wiped or erased. Other utilities are launched on a scheduled basis and are driven by script files. Still other methodologies are in place to allow IT departments and administrators to decide when and what behavior the security erase programs are to exhibit. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The present invention relates to characterization, quantification and visualization of electrical properties of the heart, and more particularly to estimating electrical properties of the heart based on an electrophysiological model of a patient from medical images and body surface potentials of the patient.
Heart failure is a major cause of death in the western world. Due to insufficient heart function, heart failure causes dyspnea and fatigue, and can also lead to cardiac arrest. Among the wide variety of cardiac rhythm disturbances, left bundle branch block (LBBB) affects approximately 25% of heart failure patients. LBBB is due to an obstruction in the cardiac conduction pathway, which decreases the speed of the electrical wave and potentially leads to dyssynchronous heart beats. For patients with a prolonged QRS-complex (e.g., QRS≥120 ms) and low left-ventricular ejection fraction, cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is a well-established treatment. CRT consists of implanting electrodes in the heart to pace the muscle artificially and “resynchronize” cardiac contraction. However, 30-50% of patients do not respond to CRT despite being eligible. Hence, better patient selection for CRT is desirable. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to weight lifting equipment and more particularly pertains to devices used for weight lifting and weight training, such as barbells and dumbbells. The present invention also relates to weights for weight lifting equipment.
2. Description of Related Art
Prior art dumbbells and barbells consisting of a handle with a weight at either end are well known in the art. In the current popular form, dumbbells and barbells are made by the attachment of discs to either end of the handle. The disks may be permanently attached, unitarily formed to the handle, or they may be attached by locking collars. By using locking collars, a dumbbell becomes unnecessarily wide and difficult to balance.
A tight tolerance between the weights and the handle is preferred in manufacturing and using dumbbells. Without a tight tolerance, the weights can wear out. They will wobble and eventually rotate around the handle. The wobble and rotation will continue to worsen over time. Eventually the weights may even fall apart and injure the user. Even if the weights are not an actual danger, they may cause apprehension or otherwise distract the user. Thus, the user cannot focus solely on lifting the resistance weight and the user will not be able to obtain the full benefit of a weightlifting regimen.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,484,367 to Martinez illustrates a toy barbell set with a polycarbonate material bar that simulates the bending characteristics of steel. A key extends from the bar, and the weights and locking collars have a corresponding hole formed therein. U.S. Pat. No. 4,529,197 to Gogarty describes a dumbbell wherein the weights on either end of the handle have corresponding grooves so additional weights may be added outside of weights already attached to the dumbbell. U.S. Pat. No. 6,120,420 to Pearson et al. discloses a unitary exercise device with a light shell surrounding a denser core.
A dumbbell or barbell with a tight tolerance between the weight and the handle might be made if a weight were made entirely out of a tough, rigid material, such as steel. However, such a weight would be very expensive to manufacture. Metal casting is a simple manufacturing process which is inexpensive for forming weights. However, cast weights generally wear out. In addition, metal weights without a protective coating can mar flooring if they are dropped.
None of the prior art references teaches a weight or an exercise device that combines the benefits of a tight tolerance fit between the tough, rigid materials in the handle and in the weight, with the ease of manufacture and low cost of casting. Consequently, there is a need for taking advantage of the cost benefits of using casting in manufacturing weights. There is also a need for a weight that is well-secured to the handle and has a tight tolerance fit with a handle. There is also a need for a weight for a barbell or dumbbell that will not wear down and wobble and rotate around the handle. In addition, there is a need for exercise devices such as these that do not require locking collars. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Myocardial cells stop their proliferation upon the maturation of a host. Accordingly, restoration of myocardial cells could not be expected in a heart that has been once afflicted with myocardial infarction, and the heart was considered to be a nonregenerative organ. In recent years, however, the existence of myocardial precursor/stem cells was discovered in the heart, and division thereof or differentiation thereof into myocardial cells was occasionally observed (Beltrami A. P., et al., “Adult Cardiac Stem Cells Are Multipotent and Support Myocardial Regeneration,” Cell, Vol. 114, pp. 763-776, 2003). The development of a technique for inducing ectopic cells, which can be differentiated into myocardial cells, to differentiate into myocardial cells enables the treatment of myocardial infarction, which was difficult in the past.
Master cells of the fetal period, i.e., embryonic stem cells (ES cells), can be easily differentiated into myocardial cells. However, preparation of ES cells for each patient is ethically problematic, and myocardial cells differentiated from the randomly prepared ES cells cause immunological rejection. Thus, ES cells cannot be applied to actual medical practice at present.
The bone marrow stroma comprises multipotent mesenchymal stem cells, and many reports have been heretofore made concerning tissue regeneration techniques utilizing such mesenchymal stem cells. Examples of such techniques include: the regeneration of skeletal muscles utilizing bone marrow-derived myocytes (Ferrari G. et al., “Muscle regeneration by bone marrow-derived myogenic progenitors,” Science 1998, 279 (5356), pp. 1528-30); the improvement in cardiac functions via administration of c-kit-positive bone marrow stem cells to the heart (Orlic D, et al., “Bone marrow cells regenerate infracted myocardium,” Nature, Vol. 410, No. 5, 2001, pp. 701-705); and the regeneration of cardiac muscles mediated by bone marrow-derived cells (JP Patent Publication (Kohyo) No. 2002-511094 A, WO 01/048151, and JP Patent Publication (Kohyo) No. 2002-521493 A). It is also reported that the mesenchymal stem cells can be differentiated into myocardial cells by adding a demethylating enzyme to the mesenchymal stem cells to reset them (Makino S. et al., “Cardiomyocytes can be generated from marrow stromal cells in vitro,” The Journal of Clinical Investigation 103: pp. 697-705, 1999). The myocardial cells prepared via such method have been subjected to demethylation, and thus, they may cause anomalies in the future. Accordingly, clinical application of such myocardial cells would involve considerable difficulties.
Tissue regeneration utilizing mesenchymal stem cells involves the issue of quantitative limitations of the bone marrow to be used, and more extensive resources have been expected for materials for tissue regeneration. Fat tissues are easily obtainable. Multipotent cells have been isolated from human fat tissues, and differentiation thereof into nerve cells was recently observed (Zuk P. A. et al., “Multilineage Cells from Human Adipose Tissue: Implications for Cell-Based Therapies,” Tissue Engineering, Vol. 7, No. 2, 2001, pp. 211-228; Zuk P. A. et al., “Human Adipose Tissue Is a Source of Multipotent Stem Cells,” Molecular Biology of the Cell, Vol. 13, pp. 4279-4295, 2002). Also, mouse cell strains derived from sarcoblasts that can be differentiated into myocardial cells have also been isolated (JP Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2003-325169 A and 2003-259863 A). Use of such cells is not practical because of their particularity and the need for a complicated step of culture in order to induce cell differentiation. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to semiconductor processing, and more particularly to methods and apparatus for testing semiconductor chips.
2. Description of the Related Art
Soft defect isolation techniques are critical to the development and manufacture of large-scale integrated circuits such as processors. Examples of such techniques include those methodologies which exploit induced voltage alterations, such as Thermally Induced Voltage Alteration (“TIVA”), Light Induced Voltage Alteration (“LIVA”) and Charge Induced Voltage Alteration (“CIVA”). The basic setup for these techniques uses a constant current source for biasing the device under test (“DUT”) and a detector to sense the change in the voltage demand due to the localized heating, light stimulation by the laser or charge stimulation by an e-beam.
Another soft defect testing variant uses a scanning laser microscope to scan over the entire surface of a die on a pixel-by-pixel basis. While the laser spot dwells on a given pixel, a test computer causes the die to execute a test pattern or script. The laser radiation causes a local perturbation to the circuit. If a soft defect coincides with the location of the laser spot, then the test pattern will register an anomaly and the pixel location on the die in question will be flagged for further fault analysis.
Testing time is a limitation associated with the pixel-by-pixel approach. The test pattern must be run at least once for each pixel. The number of pixels that must be scanned individually for a given die will depend on the die size and the field of view of the laser microscope. A typical field of view is 512×512 pixels at a 5× magnification. Under such conditions, a 1 cm×1 cm die will require the field of view to be moved twenty-five times to fully cover the die. Even though current test patterns require perhaps a few microseconds to a few milliseconds to run, the time for each test pattern multiplied by the shear number of pixels can lead to hours or even days of testing time to locate just one soft defect. Care must also be takento account for the potential for the scanning technique to produce a discontinuity between the length of time that the incident radiation beam strikes a given pixel and the response time of the signal detection circuitry. If the illumination time per pixel is less than the response time of the signal detection circuitry, then the sensed signal will tend to smear into adjacent pixels and produce a characteristic tail pattern that can obscure the behavior of adjacent structures.
One conventional technique to address the issue of testing time involves test pattern construction. Long and complex test patterns have the benefit of more fully exercising the circuits of the die and thus revealing more types of soft defects, particularly those that present very subtle characteristics. However, as a time saver, conventional test patterns are deliberately written to be relatively short, which limits the number and complexity of critical timing paths or soft defects that may be analyzed.
The present invention is directed to overcoming or reducing the effects of one or more of the foregoing disadvantages. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Lighting systems in the prior art are typically formed by interconnecting, via a communications system, a plurality of lighting fixtures and providing for operator control of the plurality of lighting fixtures from a central controller. Such lighting systems may contain multiparameter light fixtures, which illustratively are light fixtures having two or more individually remotely adjustable parameters such as focus, color, image, position, or other light characteristics. Multiparameter lighting fixtures are widely used in the lighting industry because they facilitate significant reductions in overall lighting system size and permit dynamic changes to the final lighting effect. Applications and events in which multiparameter lighting fixtures are used to great advantage include showrooms, television lighting, stage lighting, architectural lighting, live concerts, and theme parks. Illustrative multi-parameter light devices are described in the product brochure entitled “The High End Systems Product Line 2001” and are available from High End Systems, Inc. of Austin, Tex.
A variety of different types of multiparameter light fixtures are available. One type of advanced multiparameter lighting fixture is an image projection lighting device (“IPLD”). Image projection lighting devices of the prior art typically use a light valve or light valves to project images onto a stage or other projection surface. A light valve, which is also known as an image gate, is a device for example such as a digital micro-mirror (“DMD”) or a liquid crystal display (“LCD”) that forms the image that is projected. Either a transmissive or a reflective type light valve may be used. U.S. Pat. No. 6,057,958, issued May 2, 2000 to Hunt, incorporated herein by reference, discloses a pixel based gobo record control format for storing gobo images in the memory of a light fixture. The gobo images can be recalled and modified from commands sent by a control console. A pixel based gobo image is a gobo (or a projection pattern) created by a light valve like a video projection of sorts. U.S. Pat. No. 5,829,868, issued Nov. 3, 1998 to Hutton, incorporated by reference herein, discloses storing video frames as cues locally in a lamp, and supplying them as directed to an image gate to produce animated and real-time imaging. A single frame can also be manipulated through processing to produce multiple variations. Alternatively, a video communication link can be employed to supply continuous video from a remote source.
IPLDs of the prior art use light from a projection lamp that is sent through a light valve and focused by an output lens to project images on a stage or a projection surface. The control of the various parameters of the IPLDs is affected by an operator using a central controller. In a given application, a plurality of IPLDs are used to illuminate the projection surface, with each IPLD having many parameters that may be adjusted by a central controller to create a scene.
IPLDs used in an entertainment lighting system can produce many colorful images upon the stage or projection surface. IPLDs may project images onto the projection surface such as still images, video images and graphic images. The term “content” is a general term that refers to various types of creative works, including image-type works and audio works. Content is typically comprised of still images, video images or loops and computer graphical images.
The Catalyst (trademarked) DL1 image projection lighting device manufactured by High End Systems of Austin Tex. incorporates a video projector into an environmentally protective housing that can be remotely positioned to projected images to different locations upon the stage or projection surface. A personal computer is used as a server that provides the images to the DL1. A lighting controller sends command signals over a communication system to control the selection of images from the server to the projector as well as control the various functions of the DL1 and the position of the image on the projection surface.
The content or video images may reside as image data stored at the central controller or the content or images may reside as data stored in the memory of the IPLD. The content (also can be referred to as video or still images herein referred to as just images) can be created by a graphics artist on a personal computer. The graphics artist may use programs such as Adobe Photoshop (trademarked) manufactured by Adobe Systems of San Jose, Calif. of Final Cut Pro (trademarked) manufactured by Apple Computer of Cupertino, Calif. to create images.
A central control system for controlling a plurality of IPLDs is described in U.S. patent application titled: “Method and apparatus for controlling images with image projection lighting devices” filed Jul. 29, 2002 by inventor Richard S Belliveau, Ser. No. 10/206,162 and is incorporated herein for reference.
It has been found that when a graphics artist creates images that can be used as content for many applications, the artist is not always concerned with the optimal performance of the images as projected by an IPLD. Often times the graphics artist may not have advanced knowledge of how the images need to be produced for optimum performance when projected by an IPLD. For example the images created by the graphics artist may look fine on the artist's CRT or LCD screen but the images may not reach the maximum brightness capability of the IPLD when projecting onto the projection surface.
The images that were created by the graphics artist when projected by an IPLD onto a projection surface may not reach the full brightness potential of the IPLD. It's also possible that the darkest part of the images may not reach the best black level potential of the IPLD. When images projected by an IPLD fail to reach the full brightness level or best black level the visual performance of the IPLD suffers in the eyes of the audience.
There is a need to create a system for optimizing the images that are projected by IPLDS onto the projection surface. The system should optimize the images projected by an IPLD to be projected at maximum brightness levels. The system may also insure that the darkest components of the images that are projected by an IPLD obtain the best black level. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a valve positioning handle and, more specifically, to such a handle which is designed to prevent the application of excessive forces to the valve during valve positioning which might cause damage or destruction to thevalve or the piping in which it is installed.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There is an increasing demand for plastic valves to be utilized in association with plastic pipe in the gas distribution field. It is of continuing concern that these valves be designed to ensure that the system integrity will be maintained under adverse operating conditions. Federal operating standards, for example, require plastic pipe to be able to withstand pressures up to about 100 p.s.i. under operating temperatures ranging from 20.degree. F to +100.degree. F. Valves utilized with this pipe should satisfy similar requirements. Throughout this range of temperatures and pressures there is created a change in the characteristics of the plastic which complicates the basic problem of system reliability.
Specifically, it has been recognized that if the valve became jammed during efforts to open or close it, a situation could develop whereby a loss of system integrity might follow. Customarily, these valves are located underground and are operated by field service personnel with a variety of metal, torque applying tools. It is felt that if a valve became jammed, these rugged tools could be utilized to apply an excessive force to the isolation member and the body which could destroy the plastic valve or pipe. A crack or fracture in the isolation member, body or pipe could allow an uncontrolled escape of gas which would endanger personnel and property in the area. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Switches or routers may receive packets and send the packets out of ports. The ports may consume power when they are not transmitting packets. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Flaccid articles (socks for example) are not easily handled in an automated process. After such articles are manufactured (usually knitted), they are put through a dyeing process, from which they emerge spunned dry (slightly wet) and in a crumpled heap. Thereafter, they are dried, formed and stacked in a laid out manner in preparation for rider attachment and ultimate packaging. It is towards the threefold problem associated with automating the drying, forming and stacking process that the present invention is directed.
The prior art has addressed this threefold problem, the most notable which are Coulston et al, U.S. Pat. No. 1,126,619; Griffin, U.S. Pat. No. 2,136,902 and Annas, Sr., U.S. Pat. No. 4,166,556. Exemplary of the prior art teachings is Annas which employs a plurality of upstanding internally heated forms to form and dry the socks as they come from the dyeing process. Annas uses a hexagonal shaped table with three upstanding heated forms affixed along side the terminal free edges of each of the six hexagonal sides. Such a structure mandates a complicated slip ring electrical circuit to supply heating current to the interior of each form as the forms are indexed (three at a time) into a position for stripping where socks are grasped by a grasping means (three at a time), stripped by a vertical upstanding frame to which the grasping means are affixed, thence moved in an upward and then afterwards in a downward and pivoting lateral fashion so that the frame comes to a halt in a horizontal position. At this instance, the grippers open, causing the articles to be deposited on a carrier.
There are two major drawbacks to this kind of apparatus: (1) the amount of electrical energy it consumes and (2) only tube socks (not socks having a heel and toe) may be processed. Because the machine operator must hand load the machine (put the socks on the form), the indexing table with its electrically heated forms are exposed to ambient conditions. Heat is wasted because the electrical forms are exposed. There is no way to solve this energy wasteful problem because the operator must have access to the forms in order to load them. It would be desirable if the waste heat coming off this machine could be recycled within an enclosed chamber.
In the Annas apparatus, the dried tube sock (tube sock only) is stripped from the upright form by grasping the sock (while it is still on the form) at opposite ends of the article, namely the welt and the toe regions. While in the thus grasped mode, the socks are traversed upward (to strip the article from the form) then laterally and simultaneously downwardly to a horizontal position and upon attaining this position, the grasping means are opened and the socks are deposited on a carrier means, a stacking operation. If for any reason, any one of the grasping means do not grasp and hold the socks as intended, the stacking operation is compromised. Experience has shown that even with the proper initial grasping, if one or more graspers fail to continuously hold the socks as it moves from its on form status to the horizontal pre-released state, stacking is compromised. This difficulty usually occurs after stripping but before deposition on the carrier.
In contrast to Annas, the present invention provides apparatus whereby a chamber is employed to simultaneously contain heat, dry, set and form socks (either tube or heel and toe type) disposed on a sock form. Throughout this disclosure, the term ("flaccid articles") is used interchangeably with the word "sock(s)." Each sock or flaccid article form is removably connected to a separate form carrier that carries a sock on which the sock is traversed into and out of the heating chamber. The form carrier along with its individual sock form is transported out of the heating chamber to a stripping station, to a loading station and back into the heating chamber by means of series of interfacing tracks.
Instead of employing a plurality of graspers to simultaneously remove a plurality of socks from a like number of forms by grasping such socks at their opposite ends as does Annas, the present invention, strips socks (either tube or heel-toe type) from the forms one at a time, transports them to a tray, deposits them on the tray and then deposits the sock on a flat receiver in a stack until the flat receiver is covered with a layer of stacks of socks. Subsequently, the flat receiver is indexed 90.degree., lowered a predetermined distance (the height of a stack of socks) and then a second and like layer of sock stacks are deposited, at which time the flat receiver with its stacks of laid out socks is removed and then another flat receiver is provided and the process is repeated. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Waterproof, breathable garments are typically formed of laminates incorporating a waterproof, water-vapor permeable functional material that is arranged as a layer in a textile laminate within a garment. As used herein, the term “garment” is intended to include articles for covering the upper and/or lower torso of a wearer, such as seamless gloves, hats, shirts, jackets, vests, pants, leggings, leg coverings, arm coverings, garment inserts from these materials, and the like. Materials which are both waterproof and water vapor permeable are commonly referred to as “functional” materials. The functional layer may be made of an expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) material available from W. L. Gore and Associates, Inc., Elkton, Md., under the tradename GORE-TEX®. The expanded PTFE is characterized as having a density less than 2.0 g/cm3. Other functional materials, such as polyurethanes, have also been developed and are known in the art.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,256,030 describes waterproof, breathable non-textile seamed articles which exhibit high levels of durability and allow wearers a high level of flexibility and article strength. Two non-textile materials, such as ePTFE, are joined around the desired periphery by a suitable sealing means to form a seam. US Pub. No. 2011/0179549 also shows a seamed glove.
It can be challenging to sew together the garment component panels, incorporating the laminate of textile(s) and functional layer(s), to form a waterproof and water vapor permeable garment, as the functional layer becomes permeable to water when it is pierced during the sewing process. It is therefore necessary that the laminate panels are assembled and joined by a waterproof joining process whereby the seams are sealed with a superimposed adhesive or sealing tape that is applied to the seam by a bonding or welding process.
Challenges that often results when forming such waterproof, breathable garments include limitations on garments design to allow for effective seam taping during manufacture, issues with the seam sealing depending on the types of laminates being joined, stiffness of seams, unattractive appearance, and the like. A further problem is that sealing the seamed portions of the garment to make the garment waterproof may compromise the breathability and flexibility of the garment and contribute to poor fit or comfort.
Thus, there remains a need in the art for waterproof and breathable garments that are easy to manufacture and comfortable to wear. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a musical instrument carrier that supports a musical instrument at the front of a performer.
Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-188368, filed Sep. 25, 2015, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Description of Related Art
A musical instrument carrier that supports a musical instrument such as a marching drum in front of a performer is conventionally used in parades, shows and the like.
As disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No. 2003-5745 (JP-A 2003-5754), this kind of musical instrument carrier has an abdomen rest member that is abutted on the abdominal area of the performer, a pair of rod clamps that are fixed to the front side of the abdomen rest member, and a pair of rods.
The rods are fixed to the inside of the rod clamps by the fastening of screws. Also, by fastening the screws, the heights of the rods and their positions in the rotation direction can be regulated.
In the case of supporting a musical instrument using the aforementioned musical instrument carrier, a rod mounting mechanism is mounted on the musical instrument, and by respectively inserting the rods in the pair of rod insertion holes provided in the rod mounting mechanism, the musical instrument is supported.
When supporting a musical instrument using the musical instrument carrier, the following process is performed.
First, the screws are loosened to put the rods in a movable state with respect to the respective rod clamps. Then, the height and/or position in the rotation direction (in other words, the opening degree) of the pair of rods are/is adjusted so as to be insertable in the rod insertion holes provided in the rod mounting mechanism. Subsequently, by tightening the screws, the positions of the rods with respect to the rod clamps are regulated.
Supporting a musical instrument using the musical instrument carrier in this way has been extremely cumbersome since it is necessary to perform the above process each time prior to playing the musical instrument. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a container assembly having a lid threadably securable to an open head container member. More particularly, the present invention relates to a seal located between the lid and the container member which is gradually compressed as the lid is threadably attached to the container member. A horizontally pivotable locking member is provided on the lid which engages a plurality of teeth on the container member to prevent the lid from loosening during shipment.
2. Description of the Background Art
Various open head container and lid assemblies are known in the art. For example, applicant's prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,967,926, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference, discloses a container member having a lid securable thereto with a pair of locking members pivotable about a vertical axis for engaging teeth located on the interior side wall of the container member. Further, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,494,674 and 3,897,874 each disclose a seal located between a container member and a lid which is compressed between adjacent horizontal surfaces.
While these arrangements are useful for providing a seal between a lid and an open head container, and a latch mechanism for preventing unintentional rotation of the lid, the amount of sealing is limited to the strength of the user, and manipulation of the latching mechanism can be difficult. There exists a need in the industry to provide an open head container and lid assembly having a seal located between the lid and the container member which is gradually compressed as the lid is rotatably threaded onto the container member such that the strength necessary to properly apply the lid and compress the seal is reduced, while still providing the necessary sealing ability to prevent liquids from leaking past the seal. Further, there exists a need in the industry to provide a latching mechanism which may be easily manipulated by simply depressing a locking member located on the lid to allow rotation of the lid with respect to the container member. | {
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For the past several decades, the scaling of features in integrated circuits has been a driving force behind an ever-growing semiconductor industry. Scaling to smaller and smaller features enables increased densities of functional units on the limited real estate of semiconductor chips. For example, shrinking transistor size allows for the incorporation of an increased number of memory devices on a chip, lending to the fabrication of products with increased capacity. The drive for ever-more capacity, however, is not without issue. Optimization of the performance of each device becomes increasingly significant. Furthermore, space constraint considerations may also impact efficiency with respect to the real estate of semiconductor die. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to model vehicles and, more particularly, to an electronic system for stabilizing the steering of the model vehicle.
Description of the Related Art
For a Radio Controlled (RC) Model Vehicle, the RC Driver controls the vehicle remotely. The RC Driver can only detect the vehicle's motion visually. The RC Driver cannot feel the vehicle's disturbances such as hitting a raised area of earth. The time constants for scaled vehicles are much smaller than the time constants for full sized vehicles. The smaller vehicle responds to disturbances and steering inputs much faster than full sized vehicle.
Different model vehicles may have different physical and dynamic parameters, such as wheelbase (distance separating front and rear wheels), track (distance separating left and right wheels), roll center locations, weight distribution, maximum steering angle, and total mass or weight among the physical parameters, and total engine power, torque, and gear ratios among the dynamic parameters. Because of the physical and dynamic differences between different model vehicles, the electronic steering stability system may operate differently in one vehicle as opposed to another vehicle. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to data transmission networks and, in particular, to asynchronous priority select logic that insures that all stations of a token ring network have equal time for transmission of data by allowing individual stations to hold the token for asynchronous transmissions only for a specified maximum time period.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Communications between stations in a data transmission network occurs through the transmission of a series, or "frame", of information characters, with adjacent frames being separated by explicit or implicit start-stop patterns. The use of a unique start pattern ("start delimiter") and a unique stop pattern ("end delimiter") allows the receiving station to identify the exact beginning and the exact end of each frame.
One type of network that has been enjoying increasing popularity is the token ring. A basic token ring network consists of a number of repeater nodes, each of which is connected by unidirectional transmission links to form a closed-loop ring. Information frames are transferred serially, bit by bit, around the ring from one repeater to the next, with each repeater regenerating and retransmitting each bit.
In addition to functioning as a retransmission element, each repeater on the ring also serves as a station attachment point for insertion and retrieval of information by the attached station. As an information frame circulates on the ring past a repeater, the frame's destination address field is compared to that of the attached station. If the station recognizes the destination address as its own, then it copies the entire frame.
A particular type of token ring network is defined by the Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) protocol. The FDDI protocol is an American National Standard Institute (ANS) data transmission format which applies to a 100 Mbit/sec. token ring network that utilizes an optical fiber transmission medium. The FDDI protocol is intended as a high performance interconnection between a number of computers as well as between the computers and their associated mass storage subsystems and other peripheral equipment.
As described by William Stallings, Handbook of Computer-Communication Standards, Volume 2, Howard W. Sims & Company, 1987, pp. 177-179, the FDDI token ring technique is based on the use of a small token frame that circulates around the ring when all stations are idle. A station wishing to transmit must wait until it detects a token passing by. It then captures the token by aborting token transmission as soon as the usable token is identified. After the token has been captured, the station is granted control of the transmission medium for up to a specified maximum time period during which it may transmit one or more information frames onto the ring.
Information is transmitted on an FDDI ring in frames that consist of a sequence of 5-bit characters or "symbols", each symbol representing 4 data bits or control code. Information is typically transmitted in symbol pairs or "bytes".
FIG. 1 shows the fields which are used within the FDDI frame and token formats. A preamble field (PA), which consists of a sequence of Idle line-state symbols, precedes every transmission. The Start Delimiter field (SD) consists of a two control symbol start delimiter pair which is uniquely recognizable independent of symbol boundaries. As stated above, the Start Delimiter byte establishes the boundaries for the information that follows. The Frame Control field (FC) defines the type of frame and its characteristics; it distinguishes synchronous from asynchronous transmission, specifies the length of the address and identifies the type of frame. The Frame Control field uniquely distinguishes a token. The Ending Delimiter field (ED) of a token consists of two end delimiter control symbols and completes a token. The Destination Address (DA) and Source Address (SA) fields contain the destination and source addresses of the transmitted frame. The Destination Address field and the Source Address field are both either two bytes long or six bytes long, as determined by the Frame Control field. The Destination Address may be either an individual address or a group address. The Frame Check Sequence field (FCS), which is four bytes long, contains a cyclic redundancy check using the ANS standard polynomial. The INFORMATION field, as is the case for all fields covered by the Frame Check Sequence field, consists only of data symbols. The End Delimiter of a frame is one end delimiter symbol (T), which is followed by the Frame Status field (FS) which consists of three control indicator symbols which indicate whether the addressed station has recognized its address, whether the frame has been copied, or whether any station has detected an error in the frame. The "T" followed by three control indicators represents the minimum end delimiter required by the FDDI protocol for a non-token frame. The protocol allows for additional pairs of control symbols in the End Delimiter or an additional odd number of control symbols followed by one last "T" symbol. All conforming implementations must be able to process these extended end delimiters without truncating them. The end delimiter "T" and the two control symbols "R" and "S" are uniquely encoded and distinguishable from either normal data or Idle symbols.
FIG. 2 shows the component entities necessary for a station to be in compliance with the FDDI protocol. The required components include a Station Management function (SMT) which resides in each station on the network to control the overall action of the station to ensure proper operation as a member of the ring. A Physical Layer Medium Dependent (PMD) function provides the fiber-optic links between adjacent stations on the ring. A Physical Layer Protocol function provides the encoding, decoding, (PHY) clocking and synchronization functions. A Media Access Control function (MAC) controls access to the transmission medium, transmitting frames to and receiving frames from the Media Access Control functions of other stations.
The PHY function simultaneously receives and transmits. The PHY function's transmit logic accepts symbols from the Media Access Control function, converts these symbols to 5-bit code groups and transmits the encoded serial stream, using the capabilities of the PMD, on the medium. The PHY function's receive logic receives the encoded serial stream through the PMD from the medium, establishes symbol boundaries based on the recognition of a start delimiter symbol pair and forwards decoded symbols to its associated Media Access Control function.
Additional information regarding the FDDI protocol is presented by Floyd E. Ross, "FDDI--an Overview", Digest of Papers, Computer Soc. Intl. Conf., Compcon '87, pp. 434-444, which is hereby incorporated by reference to provide additional background information relating to the present invention.
As further described by Stallings, the FDDI protocol defines two types of transmissions: synchronous and asynchronous. A "synchronous" transmission is defined as a class of data transmission service whereby each station is allocated a minimum bandwidth and guaranteed a response time not to exceed a specific delay. An "asynchronous" transmission is defined as a class of data transmission service whereby all stations contend for a pool of dynamically allocated ring bandwidth and response time.
In setting up an FDDI network, the user defines a target token rotation time (TTRT). Each station on the ring stores the same value for TTRT. Some or all of the stations on the ring are given a synchronous allocation time (SA.sub.i), which may vary among stations. The synchronous allocation must be set such that EQU .SIGMA.SA.sub.i +D.Max+F.Max+Token.T.ltoreq.TTRT
where
SA.sub.i =synchronous allocation for station i; PA0 D.Max=propagation time for one complete circuit of the ring; PA0 F.Max=time required to transmit a maximum length FDDI frame; and PA0 Token.T=time required to transmit a token.
When a station receives the FDDI token, it measures the time since it last received a token, which is counted in a token rotation timer (TRT). This value is stored in a token-holding timer (THT). The token rotation timer TRT is reset to zero and begins counting again. The station can then transmit according to the following two rules. First, it may transmit synchronous frames for a time SA.sub.i, as defined above. After transmitting synchronous frames, or if it has no synchronous frames to transmit, then the token-holding timer THT is enabled and begins to run from its set value. The station may transmit asynchronous data only so long as THT<TTRT. | {
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Pipe joints are already known which comprise a pair of tubular joint members each having a gasket holding annular protuberance on an abutting end face thereof, an annular gasket interposed between the abutting end faces of the respective joint members, and a nut for joining the joint members together. The joint members, annular protuberances and gasket are equal in inside diameter, and each annular protuberance is adapted to contact the inner edge portion of the gasket over the entire circumference thereof.
With reference to FIGS. 6 and 7 showing the conventional pipe joint, indicated at 42 is the joint member, at 44 the gasket holding annular protuberance and at 45 the annular gasket.
With the conventional pipe joint described, each annular protuberance 44 is adapted to come into contact with the inner peripheral edge portion of the gasket 45 over the entire circumference thereof to make the protuberance 44 flush with the gasket 45 when the nut has been tightened up and to eliminate any liquid trapping recess from the pipe joint.
In the case of the conventional pipe joint described, the force acting on the gasket holding annular protuberance 44 when the nut is tightened has not only an axial (i.e., rightward in FIG. 6) component but also an inward (downward in FIG. 6) component as seen in FIG. 6, so that the protuberance 44 deforms inward. On the other hand, the gasket 45 deforms most markedly at the inner edge portion thereof with which each protuberance 44 comes into contact first. Consequently, there arises the problem that the protuberance 45 and the inner edge portion of the gasket 44 become separated, forming a liquid trapping annular recess S between the protuberance 44 and the gasket 45 when the pipe joint is tightened up as shown in FIG. 7. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for producing croissants, and particularly to an apparatus and method for rolling up the forward end of a dough piece to produce croissants.
2. Description of Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 3,704,664 teaches an apparatus for forming Swiss rolls, in which apparatus a dough sheet is fed forwardly on a lower conveyor, and the rear end of the dough sheet is lifted upwardly by an upper segment 38 of a lifting means 36, and the lifted rear end of the dough sheet is contacted by a forwardly moving upper conveyor to be curled. The lifting of the rear end of the dough sheet and the winding up of it, however, have not satisfactorily been accomplished, because the rear end of the dough, lifted by the lifting means 36, is caused to contact the belt of an upper or curling conveyor 44 to curl at a high position so that the beginning of the rolling up becomes unstable, and because a relatively wider gap between the upper conveyor and the lower conveyor at their upstream end is arranged to allow the forward moving of the dough sheet while being wound up, resulting in loosely rolled products. Accordingly, there have been produced somewhat inferior products in that they are not tightly wound up or are readily unwound. | {
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The invention relates to a process and an apparatus of the type wherein a fluid such as a gas or vapor is used to react with or treat a particulate type of contact material such as a catalyst, which is in a fixed bed or which is in a bed which is passing by gravity from one reaction or treating zone to another. Examples of processes carried out in such an apparatus include various hydroprocessing techniques such as catalytic reforming, catalyst regeneration, hydrotreating, dehydrogenation of butane and dehydrocyclodimerization, to name a few. A specific example of a catalyst regeneration appararus in which a catalyst whose surface has been covered with coke during a catalytic reforming operation, moves downward through a carbon burn-off section, through a halogenation section and into a drying section is shown and described in Greenwood et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,652,231, the subject matter of which is herein incorporated by reference. In the embodiment of FIG. 3 of the referenced patent, the catalyst moves downwardly in the annular space between a pair of spaced concentric perforated screens and is subjected initially to a first radially flowing recycle flue gas having a relatively low oxygen content and secondly, to a radially flowing second gas containing air, a halogen and steam. The catalyst continues to move from the aforesaid annular space as a descending bed into a generally cylindrical drying section wherein it is contacted by a hot and dry air stream, or other suitable drying medium before it exits the bottom of the apparatus. The drying medium is typically distributed by an arrangement of perforated distributor members including a central trunk with a plurality of laterally extending branches positioned generally uniformly in a horizontal plane near the bottom of the drying section. In order to minimize plugging of the distributor members by the catalyst particles, the distributor members usually have their flow openings located only in their downwardly facing portions. However, even when the distributor members are intricately fabricated so as to include spaced apart wedge wire screen portions which form slots in their bottom surfaces and internal baffles to help distribute the flow uniformly through all of the slots, it appears that plugging of the distributors is still possible. Also, since plugging of a few slots produces higher velocities at the other slots, the plugging becomes progressively greater since the higher velocities can produce unwanted fluidization and consequent catalyst attrition which can cause additional plugging. The placing of a large number of branch pipes or laterals on a distributor pipe can permit lower flow velocities, and thus less chance of damaging fluidization, than where fewer branches are present. However, the mere presence of any pipes in the catalyst bed produces an obstruction in the downward flow path of the catalyst bed which can accelerate attrition and, of course, a greater number of pipes would increase the problem. In addition to the attrition caused to the catalyst when gas velocities become too large due to screen plugging, the use of perforated distributor members is also very costly, especially when such members must be fabricated from sections of slotted screens. | {
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Impurities remaining in partially refined copper manufactured by typical metallurgical processes make it unacceptable for certain uses. Electrorefining, the purification of metals by electrolysis, has been used to remove remaining impurities such as bismuth, tellurium, arsenic and antimony and to recover any gold or silver sometimes associated with the copper.
In electrorefining, the metal sought to be refined is used as the anode, or positive electrode of the electrochemical process. Placed in an appropriate electrolyte solution and subjected to a weak electric current, the copper anode is gradually consumed. The copper ions go into solution, migrate through the electrolyte, and collect at the negative electrode or cathode where they are deposited as essentially pure copper, called electrolytic cathode copper.
One problem with the electrorefining process is that impurities associated with the partially refined copper anode may become dissolved or suspended in the electrolyte and collect at the cathode to contaminate the desired pure copper. If the copper used to form the anode is too impure, the electrorefined copper will still contain too many contaminants. Even very small amounts of impurities on the order of several ppm or less make the electrorefined cathode copper unacceptable for certain applications. The problem caused by the impurities carried along with the copper cathode may necessitate the costly and time consuming recycling through the anode casting and electrolysis process in order to achieve a copper product of acceptable purity.
Copper anodes used in electrorefining are ordinarily rapidly cooled after being cast. Fire refined copper, or a similar partially refined copper, is cast into anode molds and immediately flooded with water after solidification. The anode is then immersed in water for final quenching. U.S. Pat. No. 3,227,644 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,050,961 disclose rapid cooling methods for preparing metal anodes. Anodes prepared by the usual rapid cooling processes have a rather homogeneous structure, i.e. they contain impurities as discrete particles highly dispersed in the matrix of the dominant metal or as a solid solution in the dominant metal. It is thought that rapid cooling from the liquid to solid state does not permit time for the impurities to migrate within the molten mass and segregate from the copper. Further, rapid cooling in the solid state prevents precipitation and coalescing of impurities in solid solution. When such an anode is used in the electrorefining process, the finely divided impurities contained within it are more easily dissolved and suspended in the electrolyte solution increasing the likelihood of their deposition and entrainment at the cathode to contaminate the copper being refined.
It is thus one object of the instant invention to prepare a copper anode from which a smaller amount of the impurities dissolve and/or become suspended in the electrolyte to cause contamination of the cathode.
Another object of the invention is to formulate an anode which can utilize copper containing more than the usual allowable amount of impurities and yet yield an acceptable electrorefined copper product. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Most physical processes sought to be controlled through modeling require a fast solution to a set of manipulated variables based upon a measured condition. The variables are frequently interdependent, and are subject to a constraint set that defines physical limitations of the physical actuators. Implementation of a desired control move therefore requires a fast solution that does not violate the constraints. Because of the complexities of the large number of constrained and potentially interdependent variables, typical optimal solutions to implement a control move are too computationally expensive.
These problems are encountered, for example, in the model predictive control of sheet and film processes. Sheet and film processes are prevalent in the chemical and pulp and paper industries, and include paper coating, polymer film extrusion, and papermaking. In this process, a sheet or film is moved via a web and is processed as it moves. The multivariable control of sheet and film processes is challenging due to their large dimensionality, model inaccuracies, and actuator limitations. On-line computation time for the control algorithm is limited by the scale and speed of the processes. This additional limitation has yet to be solved by the ever increasing processing speeds achieved by control hardware. Uncertainty is introduced into the model by low signal-to-noise ratios, sideways movement of the web, and imprecise actuator movements. An additional difficulty is the need to avoid excessive actuator movements that may compromise the integrity of the sheet/film and the actuating mechanism.
Conventional industrial control algorithms for sheet and film processes are kept relatively simple to handle the process dimensionality within the computational constraints. The simplicity is often achieved by choosing a sampling time for the control algorithm that is 100-1000 times longer than the time between individual sensor readings. An alternative or additional simplification strategy is the grouping of sensors into sensor blocks to reduce dimensionality. Model inaccuracies are addressed through excessive detuning. This simplicity results in reduced product quality and a loss of flexibility.
Some additional methods have been proposed for designing controllers for sheet and film processes which are robust to model inaccuracies but do not directly address actuator limitations. Other approaches have been proposed that directly address actuator limitations, but do not directly address model inaccuracies. Either of these approaches require significant computation for implementation on large scale machines rendering them inefficient or impractical to implement with much existing control hardware.
An improved control method was recently proposed by the inventors which: (i) directly addresses actuator limitations, (ii) has minimal on-line computational requirements, and (iii) has a controller structure proven to be robust to model inaccuracies. R. D. Braatz and J. G. VanAntwerp, "Model Predictive Control of Large Scale Processes", In AIChE Spring National Meeting, New Orleans, La., Feb. 27, 1996, Paper 81c; R. D. Braatz and J. G. VanAntwerp, "Advanced Cross-Directional Control", Control Systems '96Preprints, pp 15-18, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, April 30-May 2, 1996. However, the method was only applicable to sheet and film processes in which all manipulated variable directions are controllable and the dynamics are adequately described by a pure time delay. These assumptions do not always hold in practice.
Thus, there is a need for an improved model predictive control process which addresses problems encountered in previous processes. It is an object of the invention to provide such an improved process. The improved process of the invention uses an ellipsoid constraint set approximation as part of an improved high speed control solution implementation. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention relates to a magnetic drinking vessel holding device and more particularly pertains to adhering to a magnetic surface for holding water or the like for easy access by a user.
People that consume beverages, such as water, during activities are frequently in need of a place to store the container that holds the beverage during non-use periods. Activities such as exercising on a treadmill or stationary bicycle and mowing the lawn often cause the performer of these activities to work up a sweat thereby creating a thirst. The performers are sometimes forced to carry a beverage container with them while they are involved in these tasks. What is needed is a portable holding device that can be simply attached to a piece of equipment that is capable of holding the beverage container at times when the performer is not drinking from it.
The present invention seeks to solve the above mentioned problem by providing a portable drinking vessel container holding device that can be simply attached to a magnetic surface by means of a magnetic surface.
The use of bottle holding devices is known in the prior art. More specifically, bottle holding devices heretofore devised and utilized for the purpose of holding beverages for convenient use are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,191,350 to Ormond discloses a holder for a container such as a bottle with a magnetic base for attracting and storing the support rings while not in use. U.S. Pat. No. 4,063,701 to Wray discloses a use of a net type suspension beverage support device for attachment to a chair. U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,652 to Champagne discloses a clamp for attaching water bottles to various metal devices such as bicycles.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objective and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe a magnetic drinking vessel holding device for adhering to a magnetic surface for holding water or the like for easy access by a user.
In this respect, the magnetic drinking vessel holding device according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of adhering to a magnetic surface for holding water or the like for easy access by a user.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for a new and improved magnetic drinking vessel holding device which can be used for adhering to a magnetic surface for holding water or the like for easy access by a user. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Slipform pavers capable of inserting dowel bars as a strip of concrete is being laid down are well-known and are produced and widely distributed, for example, by the applicant and assignee of this patent application.
Such well-known slipform pavers are typically used for laying down long strips of concrete, used in the context of projects for forming highways, airport runways, and the like. The pavers are continuously supplied with fresh concrete as they travel in the direction of the strip. The pavers form the freshly supplied concrete into a rectangular, cross-sectional shape, and then properly finish the top surface of the strip, after which the strip of concrete is allowed to set and harden. After the concrete has hardened, contraction joints are normally sawed across the width of the strip to control the cracking. In order to maintain the integrity of the strip at such contraction joints, dowel bars are inserted into the fresh concrete at the location of the joint for the purposes of load transfer. Generally, the dowel bars are arranged parallel to the length of the strip and typically have diameters that range from about one to two inches (1-2 in.) and lengths from twelve to twenty-four inches (12-24 in.).
Dowel bar inserters place a line of dowel bars across the slab and parallel to the slab as the slab is being formed at the location of the transverse contraction joint at mid slab length and, in general, simultaneously insert from about twelve to thirty-six (12-36) or more dowel bars depending upon the width of the strip being paved. Center-to-center spacing between the dowel bars typically varies between about twelve to eighteen inches (12-18 in.). As will be further described below, the mechanism that simultaneously inserts the dowel bars must remain stationary with respect to the strip of concrete being laid down while the dowel bars are inserted. The dowel bar inserter must therefore be able to move relative to the remainder of the paver during the dowel bar insertion.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,579,037 discloses a paver with a widely used dowel bar inserter, relevant portions of which are reproduced herein to facilitate the reading and understanding of the present invention. U.S. Pat. No. 6,579,037, owned by the applicant and assignee of the present patent application, is herein incorporated by reference. For further background and understanding of dowel bar inserters, U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,382,396, 9,039,322, and 9,359,726, each also owned by the applicant and assignee of this patent application, are all herein incorporated by reference.
Known dowel bar inserter machines and modules have a maximum width of about thirty-four feet (34 ft.). This structural limitation prevents practical use of dowel bar inserters with various slipform pavers that have the capability to lay down concrete at widths wider than thirty-four feet, leading to a limitation in throughput and a time bottleneck for construction.
Other attempts at constructing dowel bar inserters with widths substantially greater than known machines in the industry have employed excessively complicated and bulky superstructures, trusses, beam connections, or exoskeletons built up on top of known dowel bar inserters or portions thereof to allow them to handle the increased span and to support the DBI confining pan in the middle of the span. Besides the additional complexity of secondary attachment, there are problems due to mismatches between existing machine components and structure and the added-on supplement. The additional bulk makes these structures harder to change width and transport. These structures also tend to add excessive weight, adding stress to the machine, increase the ground pressure of the machine's supporting crawler tracks, and potentially affecting underlying paved concrete strips. The added weight and complexity of such solutions also increases the amount of time required to actually change the width of the machine. With all of these problems, there is also scant (if any) evidence that such attempts are technically or commercially viable, let alone successful.
A further limitation of previously known dowel bar inserters is that many such machines are unable to account for the curvature or crown of the ground or underneath the vehicle. In such cases, the location and orientation of a dowel bar by the inserter module may be offset, misaligned, or otherwise flawed in insertion, reducing the quality of the concrete and road being laid down.
Moreover, prior dowel bar inserter vehicles that attempted to change widths were limited by the effect on insertion height by the width change, in that the structures lowering dowel bars would not have the capability to account for any resulting changes in height, underlying ground shape, or the like resulting from the broader vehicle base.
This operational width limitation of such known dowel bar inserters, and the corresponding specific limitation to wide-width paving applications, affects the entire slipform paver because of its limited use. This is highly undesirable because it increases overall concrete laying costs because of the cost of this very specialized equipment. | {
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With respect to the first invention, there is heretofore known a tracking and surveillance system which uses a computer for applying image processing to images picked up by a plurality of cameras to thereby track and supervise (surveille) an object such as a human figure or the like. In such a tracking and surveillance system, when characteristics, lighting environments, installation conditions, etc. of the cameras are different from one another, images of one and the same object (e.g. human figure or the like) picked up by the cameras respectively, especially colors of the object, are different in appearance in accordance with the cameras. Accordingly, in order to track an object with a plurality of cameras, it is necessary to associate one and the same object with colors which appears to be different in accordance with the plurality of cameras, that is, it is necessary to keep color constancy. In the tracking and surveillance system according to the background art, color information of an object is used for calibrating the color of the object between the plurality of cameras to thereby obtain consistency of one and the same object picked up by the plurality of cameras. Accordingly, accuracy in consistency of the object between the plurality of cameras is improved so that accuracy in tracking the object between the plurality of cameras is improved.
In such a tracking and surveillance system, when, for example, there is a change of lighting environment, it is necessary to update color information of the object in accordance with the change of lighting environment. As a method of detecting a change of lighting environment, there is heretofore known a method in which a deviation between corresponding pixels of two image regions is detected in order to detect an image change. For example, this method has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,779,095. As another method of detecting a change of lighting environment, there is also known a method in which video is stored to detect the beginning of a new scene so that detection of a scene change is achieved by use of a representative value of a video signal. For example, this method has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,823,184. As an another method of detecting a change of lighting environment, there is further known a method in which feature vectors of many images are generated on the basis of characteristics of the images respectively so that a scene change is detected when a value obtained by calculation of a difference between the vectors (a value having a feature of the object) varies in accordance with each image. For example, this method has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,912,770.
However, in the tracking and surveillance system according to the background art, when, for example, an object to be tracked is added, color information of the object is added correspondingly. In this case, even when color information of the same object as the newly added object has been already held, the color information of the object is added as the object is added. When the color information of the object unnecessary for color correction is added in this manner, the amount of color information of the object increases excessively. That is, since the amount of information used for color correction increases as the amount of color information of the object increases, the time required for color correction becomes so long that the operation of color correction becomes unstable.
Moreover, when lighting environment changes, the color information of the object which has been used up to now cannot be used so that the amount of unnecessary color information increases correspondingly. Moreover, when lighting environment changes, it is necessary to obtain new color information in accordance with the change of lighting environment. The background-art method of detecting a change of lighting environment is however unsuitable for real-time processing because the load imposed on calculation is very large.
With respect to the second invention, a device using color information of a human figure or an object is often used as a background-art device of tracking and searching for a human figure or an object by using a camera. When color information is used, there is a method in which a specific color pattern such as a color chart is once photographed by an installed camera in order to correct the individual difference between cameras and the influence of lighting environment so that a camera pattern is introduced individually. For example, such a technique has been described in JP-A-11-186487.
However, a surveillance system is frequently installed in any place regardless of indoor installation or outdoor installation. Particularly in outdoor installation, appearance of the color of an object to be supervised varies every moment in accordance with time, weather, etc. because of a dynamic change of sunlight, etc. For this reason, it is necessary to update dynamically the camera parameter which has been once introduced into the installed camera. Moreover, automatic update of the camera parameter is requisite in consideration of the number of installed cameras and the diversification of sunlight environment. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
This invention relates to a turn-off control cirucit for a gate turn-off thyristor (hereinbelow abbreviated to GTO) and in particular to a turn-off control circuit of a GTO, with which an inductive load is connected on the cathode side.
A GTO is a thyristor, which is turned-off by making electric current flow-in through its P gate (which is in contact with its P base layer) or by making electric current flow-out through its N gate (which is in contact with its N base layer) similarly to a usual thyristor, but can be turned-off also by making electric current flow-out through the P gate, differently from a usual thyristor. A turn-on control circuit of a GTO is constructed similarly to a usual thyristor and a turn-off control circuit thereof is so constructed that a transistor is connected between the P gate and the cathode of the GTO, as described in JP-A-59-14355.
In this type of the turn-off control circuit there are two connection positions of the transistor, depending on the selection between the GTO and the load, as indicated in FIG. 1a and FIG. 1b. A turn-on control circuit is omitted in these circuits.
In FIG. 1a, a load 3 is connected between the positive electrode of a power source 70 for load and an anode 11 disposed on a P emitter layer P.sub.E of GTO 1 and a cathode 12 disposed on an N emitter layer N.sub.E of the GTO 1 and the negative electrode of the power source 70 for load are connected with a ground potential line 10. Further, the collector and the emitter of the turning off transistor Q.sub.30 are connected between the P gate 13 disposed on the P base layer P.sub.E of the GTO 1 and the ground potential line 10, in parallel with a gate resistor 5, and a turning-off power source 8 is connected between the base of the turning-off transistor Q.sub.30 and the ground potential line 10.
The passage of the GTO 1 from its on state to its off state is performed by turning-on the turning-off transistor Q.sub.30 disposed between the P gate 13 disposed on the P base layer P.sub.B and the cathode 12 by means of a pulse from the turning-off power source 8. If the collector-emitter voltage V.sub.CE in the on state of the turning-off transistor Q.sub.30 satisfies EQU V.sub.CE <V.sub.GK .apprxeq.0.6 [V] (1)
with respect to the potential between the P gate 13 and the cathode 12 in the on state of the GTO 1, it is possible to make electric current flow-out through the P gate 13. For this reason it is necessary that the turning-off transistor Q.sub.30 operates at its saturation. On the other hand, electric current through the anode 11, when the GTO 1 is in the on state, being I.sub.A, the maximum gate current I.sub.G flowing-out through the P gate 13 being I.sub.G, the following relation is valid; EQU turn-off gain.ident.I.sub.A /I.sub.G .apprxeq.3 to 5 (2)
The value of the formula (2) varies, depending on the construction of the GTO and process parameters. Since the gate current I.sub.G determined by the formula (2) is the collector current I.sub.C of the turning-off transistor Q.sub.30 and the turning-off transistor Q.sub.30 operates at its saturation, the collector-emitter saturation voltage V.sub.CES of the turning-off transistor Q.sub.30, when the gate current I.sub.G given by the formula (2) flows therethrough, should satisfy the following relation EQU V.sub.CES <0.6 [V] (1a)
In the case where the turning-off transistor Q.sub.30 is fed with a sufficient base current, the collector-emitter saturation voltage V.sub.CES of the turning-off transistor Q.sub.30 is determined almost wholly by the collector resistance R.sub.C. Since the collector resistance R.sub.C is inversely proportional to the geometrical dimension of the transistor, in the case where the GTO 1 and its turning-on or turning-off driving circuit are integrated on a silicon substrate (chip), enlargement of the turning-off transistor Q.sub.30 causes increase in size of the chip.
For this reason, as disclosed in JP-A-59-14355, the cathode potential V.sub.K may be raised by inserting a diode or a resistor between the cathode 12 and the ground potential. In this case, since the collector-emitter saturation voltage V.sub.CES of the turning off transistor Q.sub.30 is given by; EQU V.sub.CES <V.sub.GK+ V.sub.K .apprxeq.0.6+V.sub.K ( 3)
the turning-off transistor Q.sub.30 can be made smaller, corresponding to the rise of V.sub.K, by disposing the diode or the resistor.
In the circuit indicated in FIG. 1b, the load 3 is inserted between the cathode 22 of the GTO 2 and the ground potential line 10 and the gate resistor 5' is connected between the P gate 23 and the cathode 22. When the GTO 2 is in the off state, the cathode potential V.sub.K is nearly equal to the ground potential and when the GTO 2 is in the on state, the cathode potential V.sub.K is nearly equal to the voltage V.sub.CC of the power source 70 for load. When the GTO 2 is switched-over from the on state to the off state, the turning-off transistor Q.sub.40 is turned-on. At this time, the emitter-collector voltage V.sub.EC of the turning-off transistor Q.sub.40 varies approximately from the voltage V.sub.CC of the power source 70 for load to the saturation voltage V.sub.CES and the operation of this turning-off transistor Q.sub.40 varies from the active state to the saturation state.
In this example, too, owing to the fact that the turn-off gain given by Formula (2) remains same, when the GTO 2 begins to vary from the on state to the off state, since the turning-off transistor Q.sub.40 is in the active state, it is possible to take-out a sufficient gate current I.sub.G. However, as the GTO 2 approaches the off state, since the collector potential of the turning-off transistor Q.sub.40 approaches zero, the operation to take-out the gate current becomes same as that indicated in FIG. 1a. That is, the base bias current of the turning-off transistor Q.sub.40 being I.sub.B, the grounded emitter current amplification factor being h.sub.EF, the following inequality should be valid; EQU I.sub.G <h.sub.EF .multidot.I.sub.E ( 5)
However, unless the load 3 is a constant current load, the anode current I.sub.A also decreases as the result of decrease of the potantial of the cathode 22 as the GTO 2 passes to the off state. Thus, it is not necessary that the collector internal resistance R.sub.C of the turning-off transistor Q.sub.40 is as high as that required in the case indicated in FIG. 1a and the geometrical size of the turning-off transistor Q.sub.40 can be made smaller correspondingly.
However, in the case where the load is an inductor, which is a winding of a motor, as indicated in FIG. 2, the GTOs 1 and 2 are connected with the winding L of the motor on both sides thereof. The winding L is connected with the anode 11 of the GTO 1 and a current detection resistor 7 is connected between the cathode 12 and the ground potential line 10. The collector and the emitter of the turning-off transistor Q.sub.30 are connected between the P gate 13 and the ground potential line 10 in parallel with a gate resistor 51 and a turning power source 81 is connected between the base and the ground potential line 10. On the other hand, the winding L is connected with the cathode 22 of the GTO 2 and a gate resistor 52 is connected between the P gate 23 and the cathode 22. The collector and the emitter of the turning-on transistor Q.sub.40 are connected between the P gate 23 and the ground potential line 10 and a turning off power source 82 is connected between the base and the ground potential line 10. The anode 21 of the GTO 2 is connected with the positive electrode of the power source 70 for load and the cathode 12 of the GTO 1 is connected with the negative electrode of the power source 70 for load through the ground potential line 10. A return diode 61 is connected between the cathode 22 of the GTO 2 and the ground potential line 10 and a return diode 62 is connected between the anode 11 of the GTO 1 and the positive electrode of the power source 70 for load through a Zener diode 63. The current detection resister 7 controls the pulse signal of the turning-off power source 82, the high voltage side of the current detection resistor 7 being connected with a chopper control circuit not shown in the figure. The turning-on control circuit is omitted in the figure.
In the construction described above the current control of the motor winding L is effected by on-off controlling the GTO 2, keeping the GTO 1 in the on state. At this time the turning-off power source 82 controls the GTO 2 through the turning-off transistor Q.sub.40, referring to the detection signal obtained by the current detection resistor 7, so that the current flowing through the motor winding L has a predetermined value.
When the GTO 2 is switched-off, current due to a voltage induced by the electro-magnetic energy stored in the motor winding L flows through a low voltage side terminal L-1 of the motor winding L.fwdarw.GTO 1.fwdarw.the current detection resistor 7.fwdarw.the ground potential line 10.fwdarw.the return diode 61.fwdarw.the high voltage side terminal L-2 of the motor winding L. When both the GTOs 1 and 2 are switched-off, the current due to the electro-magnetic energy stored in the motor winding L flows through the low voltage side terminal L-1 of the motor winding L.fwdarw.the return diode 62.fwdarw.the Zener diode 63.fwdarw.the power source 70.fwdarw.the ground potential line 10.fwdarw.the return diode 61.fwdarw.the high voltage side terminal of the motor winding L.
Now the behavior of the circuit, when the GTO 1 is in the on state and the GTO 2 passes from the on state to the off state, will be explained. At this time the turning-off power source 82 generates a turning-off pulse signal in order to keep the turning-off transistor Q.sub.40 in the on state and electric current is taken-out through the P gate 23 of the GTO 2. When the GTO 2 has been turned completely to the off state, the current due to the electro-magnetic energy stored in the motor winding L returns through the GTO 1. Thus, the current detection resister 7 and the return diode 61, the potential of the cathode 22 of the GTO 2 is -V.sub.BE with respect to the ground potential line 10, where V.sub.BE representes the forward voltage of the return diode 61. This voltage is transmitted to the collector of the turning-off transistor Q.sub.40 through two current paths, one being the gate resistor 52, the other being the P-N junction between the P gate 23 and the cathode 22 of the GTO 2. While a turning-off pulse signal is applied to the base of the turning-off transistor Q.sub.40, when the forward voltage -V.sub.BE described above is given to the collector of the turning-off transistor Q.sub.40, this works a as an inverted transistor and current flows from the emitter to the collector. Since this current flows in the direction to flow-in to the P gate 23 of the GTO 2, in this way the GTO 2 tends to be switched-over to the on state. However, when the GTO 2 has been switched-over to the on state, since the potential of the cathode 22 is raised in the positive direction and thus the turning-off transistor Q.sub.40 begins to take-out again current through the P gate 23, the GTO 2 cannot be switched-over to the on state. As the result, when the turning-off transistor Q.sub.40 works as an inverted transistor and current flows in the P gate 23 of the GTO 2, since the GTO 2 operates as an NPN transistor, whose collector is the N base layer N.sub.B, current flows through the motor winding L by this work of the GTO 2 as an NPN transistor, which produces unnecessary electric power consumption.
When the GTO 1 is switched-over to the off state, since such decrease in the cathode potential is not produced, there is not such inconvenience.
As explained above, in a prior art GTO driving circuit there was a problem that the operation of the turning-off transistor and the GTO is made unstable by influences of the voltage induced by the electromagnetic energy stored in the inductive load, when the GTO is turned-off by switching the turning-off transistor connected with the ground potential line and the P gate of the GTO, to which the inductive load is connected on the cathode side, to the on state, which causes unnecessary current flowing through the load. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The use of monomeric triazene compounds having organic radicals as heat- and/or photosensitive free radical initiators for free radical polymerization is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,137,226. Furthermore, the use of bistriazenes as crosslinking agents for fluorine-containing polyimides and aromatic polymers is described in A. Lau, L. Vo, Macromolecules 25, 7294 (1992).
It is advantageous if free radical initiators for silane and organosiloxane compositions are physically compatible with these compositions i.e. miscible or can be dissolved therein. Silyltriazenes which indeed have organosilicon groups but are very unstable and in some cases explosive and therefore not suitable as initiators for industrial applications are known from N. Wiberg et al., Z. Anorg. Allg. Chem. 562, 91 (1988). They are furthermore distinguished by a covalent Si--N bond.
The object of the present invention was to provide silanes and organosiloxanes which can be employed as heat- and/or photosensitive free radical initiators. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
This invention relates to electrical connecting devices and, more particularly, to electrical connectors which are inserted into cigar lighter sockets in automobiles.
Generally, a cigar lighter plug is inserted into a cigar lighter socket mounted in a motor vehicle (hereinafter called "Socket") wherein the plug permits tapping off electrical power from the electrical terminals in the Socket in order to supply electrical power to accessories in the motor vehicle, such as lighting devices, calculators, shavers and the like.
Such plugs are in various forms such as shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,322,122 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,988,315. The plugs in these patents are adapted to fit into a single diameter socket. Different countries have adopted different standardized socket sizes for cars manufactured therein. Therefore, cigar lighter plugs (hereinafter called "Plug") must be designed to fit the Sockets in which they are to be inserted.
Sockets in European cars are larger in diameter than those in U.S. and Japanese cars. If one attempts to insert a large size Plug adapted for European cars into a small size Socket of a U.S. or Japanese car, an arcuate spring contact projecting from the periphery of the Plug body is deformed. If a plug with spring contacts thus deformed is inserted into a large diameter Socket, the poor mechanical fit results in high electrical contact resistance. If a small size Plug is inserted into a large size Socket, inadequate retention is produced, and high electrical contact resistance results.
For the above reasons, Plugs designed for some countries, cannot be used Sockets in from another country. Thus, in view of the foregoing, a need exists for a universal cigar lighter plug which can be used in vehicles from any country in the world.
Japanese Utility Model Examined Publication 4-46387, laid open Nov. 22, 1989, discloses a cigar lighter plug having an arcuate leaf spring held on the plug by a bolt. After loosening the bolt, the leaf spring can be rotated into one of two positions. Once the leaf spring is in the selected position, the bolt is tightened to retain the leaf spring in that position. In one position, the leaf spring extends into the cigar lighter socket, thereby increasing the effective diameter of the plug for fitting a large size socket. In the second position, the leaf spring is rotated to face outward from the contact end, whereby the leaf spring remains outside the socket, thereby permitting fitting the plug into a small size socket. It is considered inconvenient for a user to find tools, loosen a bolt, rotate the leaf spring and then tighten the bolt to adapt the cigar lighter plug to small and large size sockets.
The above problem is far from trivial since such a cigar lighter plug is generally used to power portable equipment which is generally designed to be carried from vehicle to vehicle. Thus, adjustment on a daily basis, perhaps oftener, may be required. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention pertains to equipment for providing temperature conditioning of a space and, more particularly to such equipment that includes both heating and cooling modes of operation.
The heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment used to regulate, or condition, the temperature of a room or other space typically includes a separate heating source such as a furnace and a cooling source such as an air conditioner. Separate controls for each type of equipment are usually provided to control turning the respective equipment on or off and setting each equipment""s operating parameters. A consolidated control interface may be provided (e.g., a wall thermostat unit) but usually requires manual switching between the two types of equipment as well as separately setting the operating parameters for each equipment type.
Other HVAC equipment is used in some environments which include both a heating mode and a cooling mode in a single piece of equipment. In such a piece of equipment, either the heating elements or the cooling elements are selected for operation depending on whether the conditioned space is hotter or colder than desired. The control interface for this type of HVAC equipment is just as confusing and cumbersome as that for the separate HVAC equipment described above. In particular, a room occupant typically is required to manually switch the operating modes between heating and cooling as desired. Furthermore, for each of the different operating modes, the occupant must also set thermostat controls to set the operating parameters of the equipment.
Such an interface to control HVAC equipment is very cumbersome, especially during periods of moderate indoor or outdoor temperature variation in which the HVAC equipment would need to be switched between modes and adjusted often to consistently regulate the conditioned space. For example, such periods of temperature variations could include: seasonal transitional periods where cooling is desired in the day and heating in the evenings; the passing of a cold front during relatively warm periods; and where operation of devices (e.g., ovens, stoves, etc.) drive the room temperature out of a comfortable zone.
There is an unmet need, therefore, for a simple control interface to implement heat/cool mode switching and temperature regulation in HVAC equipment that can regulate room temperature by selecting one of a heating mode or cooling mode of operation.
The present invention meets these, and other, needs by combining hardware and software to provide HVAC equipment with a mode switching algorithm, a heating algorithm, and a cooling algorithm that requires a room occupant to merely enter a setpoint temperature to control equipment that conditions a physical space. In particular, one aspect of the present invention relates to a method for controlling equipment having a heating mode of operation and a cooling mode of operation to condition a physical space. According to this aspect, a setpoint temperature is obtained for the space, the temperature for the space is sensed and the length of time since the mode of the equipment last changed is maintained. The equipment is switched to a cooling mode if the sensed temperature remains above a first threshold temperature for at least a first period of time and the mode of the equipment has not changed within a second period of time. Alternatively, the equipment is switched to a heating mode if the sensed temperature remains below a second threshold temperature for at least a first period of time and the equipment has not changed modes of operation within a second period of time.
Another aspect of the present invention relates to a device for controlling equipment having a heating mode of operation and a cooling mode of operation to condition a physical space. According to this aspect of the invention, the device includes a microcontroller, inputs for receiving a setpoint temperature and the sensed temperature of the space, and a timer that is indicative of the length of time since the equipment last changed operating modes. The device also includes a comparator that compares the sensed temperature with a first threshold value if the equipment is the heating mode or compares the sensed temperature with a second threshold value if the equipment is in the cooling mode. Device outputs provide respective signals to the equipment to switch modes of operation depending on certain criteria. If the sensed temperature has remained above the first threshold value for at least a first time period and the timer indicates that an appropriate length of time has transpired since the last mode switch-over, then the equipment is signaled to switch from the heating mode to the cooling mode. If the sensed temperature has remained below the second threshold value for at least the first time period and the timer indicates that an appropriate length of time has transpired since the last mode switch-over, then the equipment is signaled to switch from the cooling mode to the heating mode.
A still further aspect of the present invention relates to a method for maintaining a room""s temperature about a setpoint utilizing equipment having a cooling mode and a heating mode of operation. According to this aspect of the invention, the room temperature is sensed and a value is maintained indicative of when the equipment last changed operating modes. If the equipment is in the heating mode, then the equipment is switched to the cooling mode if (a) the room temperature remains above a first value for a sufficient length of time and (b) there has been an appropriately long period of time since the equipment last changed operating modes. If the equipment is in the cooling mode, then the equipment is switched to the heating mode if (a) the room temperature remains below a second value for a sufficient length of time and (b) there has been an appropriately long period of time since the equipment last changed operating modes.
Still other objects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description, simply by way of illustration of the best mode contemplated of carrying out the invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of other and different embodiments and its several details are capable of modifications in various obvious respects, all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to control of engine idle speed, and more particularly to a method for controlling engine idle speed due to changing load conditions especially as related to the engagement and/or disengagement of the air conditioning system. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The art is replete with caddies having sockets for receiving the scrubbing end portions of cleaning implements (e.g., brushes) when the cleaning implements are being stored, particularly including such caddies for storing the types of cleaning implements with long handles used for cleaning toilet bowls or the like that are commonly used and stored in bathrooms. U.S. Design Pat. Nos. 345,271; 297,292; 329,775; 276,291; 298,712; 315,269; 400,748; and 291,039; U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,456; and International Publication No. WO 01/60200 A1 provide illustrative examples. Typically, such caddies store the cleaning implement with the handle of the cleaning implement projecting generally vertically upwardly which is convenient for retrieving the cleaning implement when it is to be used, but which, because of the length of the handle and overall length of the cleaning implement (e.g., 16+ inches or 40+ centimeters), makes the caddy and cleaning implement combination inconvenient to store in storage cabinets of the type typically found in bathrooms. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic process or an electrostatic recording process and in particular to an image forming apparatus in which an amount of toner formed on an image bearing member is controlled.
2. Related Background Art
FIG. 22 shows a color image forming apparatus of the electrophotographic process. The image forming process will be outlined. First, on a photosensitive drum 101, a toner image based on image information is formed. Then, the toner image on the photosensitive drum 101 is transferred to a transfer material adsorbed on a transfer drum 108. This transfer step is repeated by the times needed to form a desired image on the transfer material. Thereafter, the transfer material is separated from the transfer drum 108 and the toner image is fixed on the transfer material by a fixing device 107 and discharged from the apparatus outward.
Besides, as alternative example, FIG. 23 shows a color image forming apparatus.
This image forming apparatus comprises a charging roller 202, an unshown exposure device, a developing device 204 having developing units 204a, 204b, 204c and 204d, a cleaner 207a of the photosensitive drum 201 and an intermediate transfer drum 205 provided around the photosensitive drum 201, a cleaner 207b and a transfer roller 208 provided around the intermediate transfer drum 205 and a fixing unit 209 disposed a little apart from the intermediate transfer drum 205. Connected to the intermediate transfer drum 205 and the transfer roller 208 is a high-voltage power supply 210a.
In forming a color image, first a photosensitive drum 201 is rotationally driven at a predetermined peripheral speed in the direction of the arrowhead, the surface of the photosensitive drum 201 is primarily charged by the charging roller 202, a laser beam 203 is scanning exposed by the unshown exposure device and a first color electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 201 and developed by the developing device 204.
The developing device 204 is equipped with a first, a second, a third and a fourth developing units 204a, 204b, 204c and 204d connectable and disconnectable from the photosensitive drum 201, in which a yellow toner, a magenta toner, a cyan toner and a black toner, for example, are contained respectively. The first latent image is developed by the first developing unit 204a and visualized as yellow toner image.
By applying a voltage of the polarity opposite to the charged polarity of the toner from the high-voltage power supply 210a to the intermediate transfer drum 205 in a first transfer position 206a where the intermediate transfer drum 205 and the photosensitive drum 201 contact with each other, the obtained yellow toner image is electrostatically transferred to the surface of the intermediate transfer drum 205 (primary transfer). The photosensitive drum 201 after the completion of primary transfer is subjected to the next color image forming after the removal of the toner remaining on the surface with the cleaner 207a.
Similarly, after the primary charging of the photosensitive drum 201 by the charging roller 202, exposure with a laser beam 203 is made to form a second color electrostatic latent image and the latent image is developed by the second developing unit 204b to form a magenta toner image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 201. This magenta toner image is superposed and transferred over the yellow toner image on the intermediate transfer drum 205.
The above step is also repeated similarly concerning cyan and black color images, while the cyan and black toner images respectively obtained by the development of the third developing unit 204c and the fourth developing unit 204d are subsequently superposed over and transferred to the surface of the intermediate transfer drum 205. Thereby, a color image with four color toner images of yellow, magenta, cyan and black stacked is formed on the surface of the intermediate transfer drum 205.
Thereafter, the transfer roller 208 disconnected is brought into contact with the surface of the intermediate transfer drum 205 and a voltage of the polarity opposite the charged polarity of the toner is applied from the high-voltage power supply 210a to the transfer roller 208, so that at a second transfer position 206b, the four color toner image on the intermediate transfer drum 205 is collectively transferred to the surface of a transfer material P to be conveyed at a predetermined timing to the second transfer position 206b where the intermediate transfer drum 205 and the transfer roller 208 contact each other (secondary transfer).
The transfer material P onto which the four color toner image is transferred is conveyed from the intermediate transfer drum 205 to the fixing unit 209, subjected to fixation with a heat roller or the like to make a permanent image of full color, then discharged from the image forming apparatus outward. The intermediate transfer drum 205 after the completion of the secondary transfer is made ready for the next image forming, a certain amount of toner remaining on the surface is removed by the cleaner 207b to be set into action on the intermediate transfer drum 205 at a predetermined timing.
Besides, both of the image forming apparatuses mentioned above are so arranged as capable of forming images on both faces of a transfer material.
Especially in an image forming apparatus as shown in FIG. 22, however, since a transfer of superposing a toner image onto the transfer material is repeated, a so-called counter-transfer may occur in which the toner image transferred already is much apt to be transferred again to the photosensitive drum at the next transfer step.
In the case of forming a blue image, for example, first, a solid magenta image (image of maximum density set in the image forming apparatus) is formed on the transfer material, then a solid cyan image is multiply transferred on the solid magenta image and at a later transfer step, e.g., a transfer step of yellow or black, there takes place a situation that no toner to be transferred is present on the photosensitive drum. Under this situation, when a toner image on the transfer material comes near or contacts the surface of the photosensitive drum, a phenomenon may occur in which part of toner image (here, mainly cyan toner image) on the transfer material is very apt to be counter-transferred onto the photosensitive drum.
In this case, at the portion of cyan toner counter-transferred to the photosensitive drum, the density of the cyan toner image lowers and the color of magenta forming the image under the layer of the cyan toner image appears, thus resulting in a significant deterioration of image quality. Furthermore, this phenomenon is also a factor for making the stability of a multiple transfer difficult because of being dependent on a change in the toner charge amount or in the resistance value of a transfer material accompanying a change in temperature and humidity.
Besides, in recent years, since the particle diameter of toner has become smaller with a higher image quality, the toner charge amount per particle decreases but the total amount of charges tends to increase. Thus, the amount of transfer electric current or the transfer voltage required for the transfer of a solid image has increased. This rise in transfer electric current or transfer voltage is found to also adversely affect the above phenomenon of counter-transfer.
Besides, if the water content of a transfer material is small on occasions, an image fault (poor transfer) like marks of an abnormal discharge occurs during the progress of transfer.
Besides, in an image forming apparatus using an intermediate transfer member as shown in FIG. 23, a great amount of toner for four colors stacked on the intermediate transfer drum 205 ought to be transferred to the transfer material P at one stretch in the secondary transfer step as mentioned above. At this time, if the absolute charge amount of transferred toner is relatively small, the secondary transfer proceeds well.
As significantly noticeable in some used atmospheres of an image forming apparatus, especially under environments of low temperatures and low humidity, however, there was a problem that an image fault like marks of an abnormal discharge is very apt to occur when an attempt is made to transfer a full amount of toner from the intermediate transfer drum 205 to the transfer material P under a very large situation of absolute value of toner charge amount.
Since the toner charge amount for at least one color among the four colors of toner used in image forming is smaller than those of the other colors, after the toner for four colors is stacked on the intermediate transfer drum 205 to make the degree of transfer of the toner for four colors even, the toner on the intermediate transfer drum 205 is often subjected to recharging by means such as corona charging unit to equate the toner charge amounts for four colors, thus making the degree of each transfer even, but there were cases where the absolute value of toner charge amount became greater than before in this manner, thereby resulting in occurrence of an image fault like marks of an abnormal discharge during the progress of the secondary transfer as with the above.
Besides, in both of the image forming apparatuses mentioned above, image forming was made on the second face subsequent to image forming on the first face of a transfer material and at that time there were cases where a point-shaped loss of transfer occurred on the image transferred onto the second face, thus leading to the deterioration of image quality.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus capable of preventing the image quality from deteriorating due to the occurrence of poor transferring at the transfer of an image to a transfer material.
The other objects of the present invention would be clarified by reading the following detailed description. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to devices for immobilizing the human head, neck and torso and relates more particularly to such devices for use in emergency situations to immobilize the body to prevent further injury to the potentially injured cervical spine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous devices have been proposed in the past to perform the function of immobilizing or stabilizing the human head and neck for emergency purposes. Such devices are extremely important, particularly in emergency situations, in the handling of possible fractures of the cervical spine. In the cases of industrial injuries, automobile accidents and battlefield injuries. It is usually necessary to remove the patient from the injury scene, often under conditions of stress or time pressure, for transportation to medical facilities. This removal is almost always accomplished by personnel who are not medical doctors, although they may have had varying amounts of education and training in the handling of injured patients.
In the handling and moving, there is a high risk of aggravation of injuries to the cervical spine if the patient's head and neck are not properly immobilized or stabilized.
Many prior art U.S. patents disclose devices comprising a rigid board member having straps attached thereto for attachment to a patient to immobilize the head and neck. These devices provide a rigid structure for completely preventing lateral motion and rotation of the patient's head but are expensive, bulky and complicated to use. Because of their cost, emergency personnel can usually afford to have only one device with them. This not only makes proper immobilization impossible of other injured patients in the same accident but also prevents the emergency personnel from returning to duty until their board is returned. Further the board may not be removed until x-rays have ruled out neck or back injuries. The wood or metal devices presently used allows only very poor quality films when x-rays are shot through them.
There is a need, therefore, for a disposable, inexpensive readily stackable, more radiolucent C-spine immobilizer that can be employed easily by non-physician personnel.
It is another object to provide a cervical spine immobilizer that is easily and quickly applied to injured persons.
Still another object is to provide a spine board that can be stored in large quantities in very little space.
Yet another object is to provide a light weight spine board that is suitable for disaster situations which can be purchased in large quantities at modest expense.
These and other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.
The invention accordingly comprises the product possessing the features, properties and the relation of elements which are exemplified in the following detailed disclosure and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the claims.
For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to certain new and useful improvements in a modified form of half duplex voice communication system having a pair of speaker-microphone combinations and which control over the generation of sounds in a link between the two microphone-speaker combinations is dedicated to a party using one such combination and not the other.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Private telephone links between a secured area or an enclosed environment and an unsecured area or external environment, or so-called "exterior environment", have been widely used in recent years for purposes of security and the like. For example, in controlled access apartment buildings or homes, someone wishing to gain access to the grounds of that apartment building or home must first call an occupant of the apartment building or home through a telephone link. A telephone handset may be located in the external environment or outside of the building and a telephone handset in the apartment or home can be switched into communication over a telephone line, which may be a private intercom line A conventional dialer and buzzer arrangement is typically employed in these systems.
In recent years, due to the tendancy of handset theft and other forms of vandalism, many security buildings and limited access buildings and other security and limited access environments have attempted to replace the handset, at least in the external environment with a combination speaker- microphone arrangement. This speaker-microphone arrangement is typically mounted behind a shield or screen within a wall in order to reduce a potential for theft or vandalism.
There are many attendant problems to the use of the speakermicrophone arrangement. These systems are typically operated on the full duplex principle, that is, the microphone receiving the noise, which may be spoken communication, will exercise control over the line. Thus, for example, if the party in the relatively quiet environment, such as the apartment or home, is generating sounds over the voice communication link, that party will maintain control over the voice communication link until such time that he or she stops talking. In like manner, if the party in the relatively noisy environment, who may wish to gain access to the building or controlled area, for example, is speaking over the voice communication link then that party will generally maintain control over the link until such time as he or she has completed talking. The telephone handset or other speakermicrophone combination in the external or exterior environment is generally in a relatively noisy environment. The noise background in the external environment is variable and can range from being slightly relatively quiet to excessively noisy in a relatively short time period. The telephone handset or other speaker-microphone in generally a relatively noise free environment.
A significant problem arises in conventional voice communication systems if there is any substantial background noise. When the user is not speaking into a handset and substantial noise is in the background, there is effectively no discrimination between the users voice and the background noise. Consequently, background noise can interfere to a point where the outside or external telephone will maintain complete control over the line to the exclusion of the party at the other end on the inside of the apartment or in some other relatively noise free environment. Thus, these systems have been relatively ineffective in certain areas.
In telephone communication links, the speaker in the handset is sufficiently distant from the microphone so as to eliminate any significant feedback problems. Even with the so-called "telephone speaker system" or so-called "squawk box", when the speaker is located a sufficient distance from the microphone, there is still little or no feedback problem. However, in the conventional hands-off telephone access line, which utilizes a speaker-microphone combination, generally mounted in very close relationship, the feedback problems become quite acute.
Recently, the half-duplex system has been used to obviate the aforesaid problem on the theory that both parties do not talk at the same point in time. In the half-duplex system, the circuit is designed to monitor the line and determine the source of a sound signal which may be a voice signal. Thus, if the party in the interior or relatively noise free environment is speaking, that party will have transmit control over the line until he or she stops talking, In like manner, once the party in the external or relatively noisy environment starts talking, that party will transmit until he or she stops talking. Again, the problem arises where there is a source of background noise in the external environment. This source of noise in the background could constantly keep the external phone in the transmit mode thereby precluding the party in the interior environment from speaking at all.
The present invention obviates these and other problems in the provision of a voice communication system in which a microprocessor circuit monitors the telephone line to determine the existence of signals on that telephone line. The microprocessor is designed to provide transmit control to the party in the generally interior or relatively noise free environment and thereby only permits transmit control to the party in the external or relatively noisy environment when the party in the interior environment is not transmitting voice signals. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Most processing technology today relies on electricity. For example, in a typical semiconductor processor, electrons move within transistors for the processor to function. Such processors, when appropriately configured, are the current mainstay in digital technology, which represents information as discrete one or zero bits. However, optical processing technology has slowly been advancing. Optical processing technology relies on light with an adjunct of electronics. In optical processors, photons move within optical and electro-optical devices, causing the processor to function. Optical processors are usually analog technology, in which information can be represented on a continuous (i.e., grayscale) basis.
One type of analog optical processor is a matrix-vector (M-V) processor, which computes the product of an input vector and a matrix. Such processors are useful in artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, such as neural networks. M-V multiplication for a vector c, equal to (c1, . . . , ci, . . . , cN), is computed as shown in equation (1) for each ith-component of vector c. c i = ∑ j = 1 N a ij b j ( 1 ) Components aij and bj can be represented in analog by two optical devices exhibiting grayscale. The components are analog in optical transmittance that is normalized to the maximum transmittance possible. For example, let aij and bj values be 0.5-grayscale for both devices with 1.0-grayscale as the normalized maximum transmittance. Light passing through both devices will have a value of 0.25-grayscale. For the calculation of two numbers, however, each device could be representing a number from 0 to 100. Thus, the output of both devices represents numbers from 0 to 10,000 (i.e., 02 to 1002). Because each device is at 0.5-grayscale, each device represents the number 50 (0.5 times 100). The output of both devices is representing the number 2,500 (0.25 times 10,000). Thus, the output has performed a multiplication, because 50 times 50 is 2,500.
Thus, when light passes through both devices representing the aij and bj values, the transmittance of the light is the product, or aijbj. The summation of the aijbj values for ci is accomplished by combining the relevant individual light beams with a cylindrical lens, and imaging the beams on the ith-detector of a detector array. N light beams for each of the N components of vector c are imaged in parallel on the detector array. Each detector in the array has an analog response to the light beams, so that each detector has a component of vector c in an analog form. The components are then converted to digital by an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter.
A limitation in using analog optical M-V processors, and other types of analog optical multiplication processors, is that non-uniformities in the optical devices representing the components to be multiplied cause errors in the resulting product. This limits the bit-width of these processors. The non-uniformities make it difficult to accurately represent the values for the components aij and bj in grayscale, because the grayscale responses for each component commonly differ from each other. A single A/D converter is used to convert the analog to the digital in the optical M-V processor. The A/D converter is designed by the characteristics of all of the optical devices in the processor. Non-uniformity implies a range of different characteristics. Thus, an A/D converter cannot be well design to accurately make the numerical conversions from grayscale. Since the uniformities, and lack thereof, determine the bit-width of the answers generated by analog optical processors, compensating for non-uniformities is important to achieving a high bit-width, which is necessary to have high-precision optical processors.
The grayscale response for the components aij and bj are specifically not entirely accurate. Rather, they represent the quantities aij+Δaij and bj+Δbj, where Δaij and Δbj are error values resulting from the non-uniformities of the optical devices. An M-V processor therefore computes the ith-component in vector c as shown in equation (2). χ i = ∑ j = 1 N ( a ij + Δ a ij ) ( b j + Δ b j ) = ∑ j = 1 N a ij b j + a ij Δ b j + Δ a ij b j + Δ a ij Δ b j ( 2 ) The error for a component of the vector c, Δci, is given by equation (3). χ i - c i = Δ c i = ∑ j = 1 N a ij Δ b j + Δ a ij b j + Δ a ij Δ b j = ∑ j = 1 N Δ c ij ( 3 )
As an example, the jth-error for Δci, Δcij, can be determined by assuming that the two components for aij and bj exhibit the following grayscale characteristics. The aij's off state is 0.02-grayscale and on state is 0.95-grayscale. The bj's off state is 0.03-grayscale and on state is 1.05-grayscale. Using the numerical numbers from the earlier example, the input for aij and bj is from 0 to 1000. If the number 50 is input to both aij and bj, the aij component has a grayscale response of 0.485 that represents the number 48.5, and the bj component has a grayscale response of 0.54 that represents the number 54, assuming linearity and ideal control. Therefore, the aij grayscale error, Δaij, is −1.5, and the bj grayscale error, Δbj, is 4. Using equation (3), Δcij=119, which is also (48.5×54)−(50×50)=2619−2500. Thus, the corresponding numerical error is 119.
Therefore, this error must be subtracted in order for the M-V processor to correctly multiply input vectors with matrices. One approach is to subtract Δaij and Δbj within the system. If these error quantities are known, they can be subtracted. Assuming that the two optical devices in the M-V processor representing aij and bj are well characterized, the grayscale responses for all the components can be computed, and their responses compensated. For example, if the number for aij is set to 50, as above, then aij converts to 48.5 as a result of the Δaij error. This error can be adjusted, assuming linearity and ideal control. If 51.6129 is instead input, the aij component converts to 50, the desired value. The conversion to obtain 50 is shown in equation (4). 0.50 - 0.02 0.95 - 0.02 × 100 = 51.6129 ( 4 )
In principle, such error compensation could be performed by using digital electrical processing prior to the optical analog processing. However, a large amount of processing is necessary to compensate for all of the components in a modern optical M-V processor to increase the bit-width of the answer. Such an amount of digital electrical processing defeats the performance advantage of the optical processor. Thus, what is needed is a method for improving the bit-width (i.e., the precision) of the optical processor without increasing the overall processing time. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The invention relates to nondestructive test methods for determining stiffness properties of plate structures. The invention relates more particularly to such methods employing propagation of acoustic waves through a plate structure of homogeneous or composite laminate form for determining Young""s modulus of the plate structure.
In a variety of mechanical or structural devices or assemblies, it is frequently desired to be able to determine changes in material properties of a given part, because such changes can be indicative of degradation of the part. For example, material stiffness is an important parameter affecting the performance of a structure. While structures are typically designed based on a known initial stiffness of the materials making up the structure, various factors can cause the materials to lose stiffness. Stress, fatigue, and environmental attack such as thermal and/or oxidation processes are just a few of the mechanisms by which a material can be degraded in terms of material stiffnes. Fiber/matrix composite materials are particularly susceptible to stiffness degradation, chiefly through a process known as micro-cracking in which microscopic cracks develop in the matrix material that binds the fibers together. Such micro-cracking can cause deleterious changes in mechanical properties, stress concentration, and redistribution within the composite material, which in turn can lead to performance degradation, delamination, and fiber damage. It is difficult, however, to detect micro-cracking using the types of nondestructive testing methods that heretofore have been available.
Prior to the present invention, there was no known nondestructive testing device suitable for use in the field, such as a hand-held device, for quantitatively determining changes in stiffness of a plate such as a composite laminate plate along an in-plane direction of the plate. The prior art teaches various methods for determining stiffness of isotropic materials using ultrasonic wave propagation through the material. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,741,971 to Lacy discloses a method for nondestructively measuring a Young""s modulus of a bulk isotropic material, such as cements or completion gels used in the petroleum industry for interzone isolation and fracture containment in drilling operations. The method involves using the through-transmission technique in which an ultrasonic transducer is disposed adjacent one end of a sample slug of the bulk material and another ultrasonic transducer is disposed adjacent an opposite end of the sample. The length of the sample between the two transducers is known. An ultrasonic pulse is generated by one of the transducers so as to cause an ultrasonic compression or longitudinal wave to be propagated beginning at one end of the sample, and the other transducer detects the wave when it arrives at the opposite end of the sample. The elapsed time between initiation of the wave at one end of the sample and arrival of the wave at the other end of the sample is measured. Based on this time and the known length of the sample, a velocity of the wave through the sample is calculated. A Young""s modulus for the material is then calculated based on the wave velocity and the known density and Poisson""s ratio of the material. The method of Lacy and the theory behind it are applicable only to isotropic materials. Lacy""s method requires placing transducers on two opposite sides of the sample, and thus would be difficult to apply to in-situ testing of a structure where it may be difficult or impossible to access both sides of the structure. Even if both sides of the structure could be accessed, the through-transmission technique of Lacy still cannot give a measurement of Young""s modulus in an in-plane direction, but can only provide an indication of stiffness in the thickness direction, which is the less interesting of the two directions.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,154,081 to Thompson et al. discloses a method for ultrasonic measurement of material properties for metal plates, involving using two transducers and a receiver arranged non-colinearly on one side of the plate. The two transducers generate Lamb waves that propagate along two different directions to the receiver. Based on differences in calculated velocities of the two Lamb waves, Thompson deduces material properties such as grain orientation and stress. The method is applicable only to metals, and does not provide a material stiffness measurement.
There has been a need, therefore, for a nondestructive method for measuring in-plane stiffness properties of plates including homogeneous isotropic plates and composite laminate plates. Additionally, there has been a need for such a method that can be used for in-situ examination of a plate where it may not be possible to access both sides of the plate.
The above needs are met and other advantages are achieved by the present invention, which provides a method for quantitatively evaluating in-plane stiffness properties of a plate in a nondestructive manner that is applicable to in-situ use, necessitating access to only one side of the plate. The method broadly comprises imparting energy to the plate at a first point located on a first of the major surfaces of the plate so as to cause an elastic wave to originate at the first point and propagate along the plate as a plate wave or guided wave. The plate wave generally consists of two wave modes, i.e., extensional and flexural wave modes. At a second point on the same surface of the plate and spaced from the first point along an in-plane direction, the extensional-mode wave, which travels faster than the flexural wave, is detected when it arrives. A velocity of the extensional wave along the in-plane direction of the plate is determined. Based on this velocity, a material stiffness of the plate along the in-plane direction is calculated.
The wave velocity can be determined by measuring the distance d between the first and second points and the elapsed time t required for the extensional-mode wave to travel the distance d from the first point to the second point, and dividing the distance d by the time t. Based on the velocity, a stiffness parameter for the plate along the in-plane direction is determined. The determination of the stiffness parameter is based on elastic wave propagation. The method can be applied to both homogeneous isotropic plates and composite laminate plate structures.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention applicable particularly to homogeneous isotropic plates, the stiffness parameter calculation in accordance with the invention comprises calculating the Young""s modulus based on the distance d and the time t. More particularly, the Young""s modulus E is calculated based on the equation
E=(1xe2x88x92xcexd2)xcfx81(d/t)2,
where xcexd is a predetermined Poisson""s ratio for the material of the plate and xcfx81 is a predetermined density of the material of the plate.
Preferably, the elastic wave is generated by applying acoustic energy to the plate. For example, a device for emitting acoustic pulses can be disposed against the plate surface and activated to create an acoustic pulse. An ultrasonic transducer or acoustic emission sensor can be used for this purpose. The extensional wave mode is detected with a second sensor placed a known distance from the first sensor against the same surface of the plate. It will thus be appreciated that unlike prior art methods employing the through-transmission technique in which a longitudinal wave is propagated from one side of a material to the other, the method of the invention is suitable for in-situ applications where it may not be possible or practical to locate sensors on both sides of the structure.
The methods described above are applicable primarily to isotropic plates and to quasi-isotropic composite laminate plates in which the plies are arranged in a lay-up such that the resulting laminate exhibits isotropic elastic behavior in the plane of the plate. The invention also provides a method for determining Young""s moduli of a composite laminate plate in the more general case of anisotropic laminates. This method involves solving a set of simultaneous equations to determine Young""s moduli for the plate along two orthogonal in-plane x- and y-directions corresponding to the zero-degree and 90-degree fiber directions of the laminate. The equations relate the Young""s moduli to the extensional wave velocities along these directions and to Poisson""s ratios and in-plane stiffness parameters for the plate. More specifically, one embodiment of the invention entails determining extensional wave velocities Cx and Cy along the x- and y-directions of a composite laminate plate, and solving the set of equations:
Cx={square root over (A11/xcfx81h)}xe2x80x83xe2x80x83Eq. (1)
Cy={square root over (A22/xcfx81h)}xe2x80x83xe2x80x83Eq. (2)
E xx = σ xx ε xx xc2x0 = A 11 A 22 - A 12 2 hA 22 Eq. (3) v xy = - ε yy xc2x0 ε xx xc2x0 = A 12 A 22 Eq. (4) E yy = A 11 A 22 - A 12 2 hA 11 Eq. (5) v yx = A 12 A 11 Eq. (6)
where h is the plate thickness, Aij (i, j=1 and 2) are the in-plane stiffnesses of the plate as defined in the composite laminate theory, xcfx81 is the plate density, and xcexdxy, and xcexdxy are Poisson""s ratios for the plate along the x- and y-directions. The plate density and Poisson""s ratios will generally be known or can readily be determined. Thus, these equations can be solved for the Young""s moduli. It can be shown, for quasi-isotropic composite plates, that this set of equations can be greatly simplified and reduced to the equation
E=(1xe2x88x92xcexd2)xcfx81(d/t)2
set forth above.
The invention also provides a method for quantitatively determining a change in Young""s modulus for a plate. The method comprises performing a first test in which energy is imparted to the plate at a first point located on the plate surface and detecting when the extensional-mode wave reaches a second point located on the same surface and spaced a predetermined distance from the first point, and measuring a first-elapsed time t1 required for the extensional-mode wave to travel from the first point to the second point. A second test is then performed in the same manner, making sure that the distance between the two points is the same as for the first test. A second elapsed time t2 required for the extensional-mode wave to travel between the two points is measured. A change in Young""s modulus for the plate is calculated based on a degree of difference, of the times t1 and t2. More particularly, it is assumed that the density and Poisson""s ratio for the material of the plate are constant or its change is negligible between the first test and the second test. A ratio of Young""s moduli for the first and second tests is calculated based on a ratio of the times t1 and t2. Advantageously, the ratio of Young""s moduli is calculated by the equation
E2/E1=(t1/t2)2,
where E1 is Young""s modulus for the first test and E2 is Young""s modulus for the second test. The first and second tests may be performed at two different times, in which case the change in Young""s modulus represents a change in material stiffness over time. Thus, the method of the invention can be used for periodic inspection as a way of monitoring the health of a structure. The information regarding changes in material stiffness can be used for prediction of remaining life of the structure or other purposes. | {
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The present invention relates to systems and methods for authenticating transactions conducted by parties over open electronic networks such as the Internet. In particular, the invention relates to authentication of Internet transactions in which customers charge payments to payment cards, including credit cards.
E-commerce is now popular. Conducting transactions over electronic networks such as the Internet has the now oft-stated advantages of convenience, lower costs, market reach and choice, for both merchants and customers. However, the anonymity of the Internet brings to a commercial or retail sale the issues of fraud and misuse. A transacting merchant has a desire to authenticate the sale, certify the sale, confirm the sale, ensure non-repudiation of the sale, ensure payment, and control anonymity. Similarly, a buyer has a desire to control authentication of the sale, integrity of the sale, recourse of a bad sale, confirmation of the sale, privacy, and anonymity.
Commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/096,271 filed Mar. 11, 2002, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety herein, describes a system and method for conducting secure payment transactions utilizing user software at a customer terminal to receive a set of Web page data to be used for displaying a Web page, which may include one or more hidden fields. The Web page with transaction and cardholder data is sent to the merchant as the purchase data. The merchant may submit this web page data electronically, for example, to an issuer, for authentication or authorization of the payment transaction.
Card issuers and other financial institutions now offer or use standardized Internet transaction protocols to improve on-line transaction performance and to accelerate the growth of electronic commerce. Under some standardized protocols (e.g., 3-D Secure™ Protocol developed by Visa International) card issuers or issuing banks may authenticate transactions thereby reducing the likelihood of fraud and associated chargebacks attributed to cardholder not-authorized transactions. The presence of an authenticated transaction may result in an issuer assuming liability for fraud should it occur despite efforts to authenticate the cardholder during an online purchase. Card issuers or issuing banks may assure merchants that they will be paid for issuer-authenticated transactions. The 3-D Secure™ protocol is consistent with and underlies the authentication programs offered by card issuers (e.g., Verified by Visa or MasterCard SecureCode™) to authenticate customers for merchants during remote transactions such as those associated with the Internet. The 3-D Secure™ Protocol leverages existing Secure Sockets layer (SSL) encryption functionality and provides enhanced security through issuer authentication of the cardholder during the online shopping session. A piece of software called the Merchant Plug In (MPI) is used by participating merchants to exchange messages, pass information and query participants in order to establish an authentication session between the cardholder and their card issuer during an online purchase.
The 3-D Secure Protocol services are based on a three-domain model—the issuer domain, the acquirer and the interoperability domain. The issuer is responsible for managing the enrollment of cardholders in the service, and for authenticating cardholders during on-line transactions. The acquirer is responsible for defining procedures so that merchants participating in Internet transactions operate under an agreement with the acquirer, and for providing back end processing for authenticated transactions. The interoperability domain facilitates the transaction exchange between the other two domains with a common protocol and shared services. Cardholders and their banks may come under “issuer domain”, merchants and their banks may come under the “acquirer domain”. Communication between issuing and acquiring banks or financial institutions and card issuer infrastructure may come under “Interoperability Domain”. While transacting with 3-D Secure compliant banks and merchants, a consumer may have the same Internet shopping experience as previously, except that there is a separate authentication window or pop-up screen from the cardholder's bank to determine if the transacting party is indeed the cardholder of record. The transaction flow for an on-line Internet purchase transaction under the protocol may be as follows:
(1) Customers fill in payment data at Merchant web sites in the usual fashion, via an encrypted Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) connection.
(2) The Merchant then sends a message through an MPI to a Directory, which in turn queries the card issuer, to find out whether the customer is enrolled in the 3-D Secure program.
(3) The card issuer responds to the Directory with a message indicating whether the cardholder is enrolled and, if so, provides a Web address for the bank that issued the card. This message is then processed and a response forwarded to the Merchant.
(4) The Merchant then sends a message to the issuing bank, through the cardholder device, to initiate and authentication session between the cardholder and the card issuer in which transaction details such as Merchant name and transaction amount may also be presented to the cardholder for confirmation.
(5) The issuing bank will then populate an authentication window to the cardholder detailing information related to the transaction such as merchant name and amount, a personal security message, and a response area where authentication details can be entered by the cardholder.
(6) The customer approves the transaction in one of a variety of ways, depending on how the issuing bank chooses to implement the system. Options may range from entering a static password or PIN to utilizing a smart card and a Personal Card Reader (PCR) to generate an authentication token.
(7) The issuer may process the transaction and cardholder data for authentication. If the authentication is valid, the issuer sends a message to the merchant indicating the authentication was successful. The issuer also notifies the merchant if the authentication failed or was unable to be completed. The message may include an Accountholder Authorization Value (AAV) encoding the authentication process results.
Consideration is now being given to ways of enhancing the systems and methods for authenticating customers, who use credit or debit cards for payment in electronic transactions. Attention is directed to the data and the algorithms that are used to securely authenticate the customer or card for payment to the merchant. The solutions should preferably be compatible with industry implementations of common protocols like 3-D Secure and other industry standards such as the EMV standard for smart cards. | {
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Top feed systems that include a top feed dog and/or a feed belt for feeding work pieces through a sewing station are known. In such systems, the fabric material will be engaged between the top feed dog and a bottom feed dog, so as to pull the fabric material therebetween for feeding the fabric material through the sewing station. Such top feed systems generally are used for feeding heavier gauged fabric materials by compressing the fabric material against the bottom feed dogs and pulling the material forward in a walking motion as the material is sewn. However, with especially thick, heavy gauge fabric materials such as foamed pads and/or border materials for mattresses, the thickness of such textile materials can create a problem during sewing when the presser foot of the sewing station must apply added pressure to compress the fabric material to an amount sufficient to enable the needle to penetrate far enough so that the stroke of the loopers engages the threads of the sewing needle. Without such compression, the needle will not penetrate fully through the fabric and thus the threads being sewn by the needle accordingly will not be engaged by the loopers, resulting in an improperly sewn work piece that must be discarded or resewn. The problem with applying such added pressure to the presser foot is, however, that the resulting tighter engagement of the presser foot with the material work piece tends to create friction or drag that can hinder the movement of the material and resist the clamping engagement between the top and bottom feed dogs. As a result, as the top feed dog engages and bears against the fabric, instead of moving the fabric under the presser foot, the top feed dog can tend to pick or tear the fabric material as it moves thereover, resulting in an unacceptable work piece.
In an effort to address this problem, prior art devices have included systems that apply pressure to the presser foot, such as through springs or cylinders, during the penetration of the needle and engagement of the loopers therewith. Thereafter, as the needle stroke or cycle is completed and the needle is raised, a mechanical linkage tied to the feed dogs causes the presser foot to be raised as the top feed dog is lowered into engagement with the material in its stepping or walking motion. As the feed dogs complete the pulling cycle and the top feed dog begins to be raised, the mechanical linkage thereafter allows the presser foot to be lowered back down into compressive engagement with the upper surface of the fabric. A problem that exists with such a rigid, structured mechanical linkage is that it tends to significantly limit the speed of operation of the sewing machine, thus limiting the production rates of such sewing systems. In addition, these mechanical linkages are hard to lubricate because they cannot be sealed and thus typically are subject to significant friction and vibration. Further, the lubrication of such systems must be limited to avoid soiling or contaminating the fabrics being sewn with excess oil or other applied lubricants.
Accordingly, it can be seen that a need exists for a system that controls the application of pressure to a presser foot during the sewing of thicker or heavier gauge fabrics that enables greater production rates and speeds and addresses the foregoing related and unrelated problems in the art. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The field of invention relates to beach apparatus, and more particularly pertains to a new and improved beach blanket anchor apparatus wherein the same is arranged for the positioning and mounting of beach blanket structure relative to a beach surface.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Beach blankets and the like are typically anchored by positioning various convenient items thereon such as sandals, sandwich bags, and the like to anchor the structure relative to an associated beach organization. Prior art apparatus has been utilized to anchor a beach blanket structure and is exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 4,699,165 to Barzana wherein a stake includes a resilient loop to secure a beach blanket web thereto that provides for a projection of various corners that may impart injury in their use.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,654,906 to Roberts sets forth a beach blanket that is formed with pockets for receiving sand for positioning the beach blanket relative to a beach surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,634,618 to Greer sets forth a towel formed with a weighted perimeter to anchor the towel structure to a beach surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,709,430 to Nicoll sets forth a further example of a beach blanket formed with a weighted perimeter.
As such, it may be appreciated that there continues to be a need for a new and improved beach blanket anchor apparatus as set forth by the instant invention which addresses both the problems of ease of use as well as effectiveness in construction in providing anchoring structure conveniently mounted to a beach blanket web and in this respect, the present invention substantially fulfills this need. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The invention herein described was made in the course of or under a contract thereunder with the United States Air Force Systems Command.
This invention relates to the preparation of Binor-S. More particularly, the invention relates to the preparation of Binor-S. from norbornadiene. Still more particularly, the invention relates to the catalytic dimerization of norbornadiene to Binor-S using a three-component catalyst system.
Binor-S, upon further processing, can be converted into a component of a high energy fuel which can be used in either jet or rocket propulsion. Jet propulsion includes a jet engine which can be used for a missile plane and others and includes the three basic types, i.e., ramjet, turbo-jet and pulse jet. The term rocket generally refers to a device containing its own oxygen or oxidizing agent.
Binor-S is known by the systematic chemical name of endo-cis-endo-heptacyclo(5.3.1.1.sup.2,6.1.sup.4,12.1.sup.9,11.0.sup.3,5.0 .sup.8,10)-tetradecane. Its melting point is about 65.degree. C. It has a net volumetric heat of combustion of about 178,570 BTU/gallon.
Preparation of Binor-S is disclosed in an article in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, [88:21] Nov. 5, 1966, pages 4890-4894. The article is titled ".pi.-Complex Multicenter Reactions Promoted by Binuclear Catalysts Systems. "Binor-S", a New Heptacyclotetradecane via Stereospecific Dimerization of Bicycloheptadiene", by G. N. Schrauzer, et al. Disclosed is the dimerization of bicycloheptadiene (also known as norbornadiene) to Binor-S using metal salts of cobalt carbonyl hydrides (e.g., Zn(Co(C0).sub.4).sub.2). A Lewis acid, such as AlBr.sub.3, can be used as a cocatalyst with the transition metal carbonyl catalyst. Another related article appears in Tetrahedron Letters, No. 8, 1970, pages 543-545 titled "New Catalysts of Stereospecific Norbornadiene Dimerization to "Binor-S", by G. N. Schrauzer et al. This second article discloses the use of RhCl[P(C.sub.6 H.sub.5).sub.3 ].sub.3 as a catalyst with BF.sub.3 0(C.sub.2 H.sub.5).sub.2 as a cocatalyst for the dimerization of nobornadiene to Binor-S. The former two form a heterogenous catalyst system.
A metal-cobalt carbonyl complex useful as a catalyst in the polymerization of norbornadiene is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,679,722. Also, U.S. Pat. No. 3,676,474 discloses a multinuclear .pi.-complex having at least two metal cobalt bonds which can be used as a catalyst in the dimerization of norbornadiene.
Catalytic dimerization of norbornadiene to Binor-S using a two component catalytic system of tris(triphenylphosphine) rhodium chloride and diethylaluminum chloride or ethylaluminum dichloride or aluminum ethylsesquichloride is disclosed in a related application, Ser. No. 631,978, filed Nov. 14, 1975, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,031,150.
Norbornadiene is also known as bicyclo(2.2.1)heptadiene-2,5. A method of preparation is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,875,256 issued February 24, 1959. Norbornadiene will be referred to as NBD hereinafter. NBD can be represented by either one of the following structural formulas: ##STR1##
During the dimerization of NBD more than one dimer is possible. G. N. Schrauzer, in his review "On Transition Metal-Catalyzed Reaction of Norbornadiene and the Concept of a Complex Multicenter Processes" in Advances on Catalysis 18, 373 (1968) Acad. Press, describes the fourteen theoretically possible dimers of NBD. And any and each of the dimers described therein have different physical and chemical properties.
Thus, a specific synthesis problem in the dimerization of NBD, as can be visualized from the fourteen theoretically possible isomers, is to obtain both excellent selectivity and conversion to the desired isomer at as low an economic cost as possible. | {
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