In moving picture coding processing, in general, the amount of information is reduced by utilizing redundancy in the spatial direction and the temporal direction which moving pictures have. Here, in general, transform to a frequency domain is used as a method utilizing redundancy in the spatial direction. Further, inter-picture prediction (hereinafter, referred to as “inter prediction”) coding processing is used as a method utilizing redundancy in the temporal direction. In inter prediction coding processing, when a picture is coded, a coded picture that appears before or after a current picture to be coded in the display time order is used as a reference picture. A motion vector is derived by performing motion detection on the current picture relative to the reference picture. Then, redundancy in the temporal direction is eliminated by calculating a difference between image data of the current picture and predicted image data obtained by motion compensation based on the derived motion vector.


1. Field of the Disclosure
The disclosure relates to a sense amplifier used in a semiconductor device, and particularly relates to a suitable sense amplifier in a semiconductor device that has a variable resistance memory cell, and to a data processing system.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventional memory cells are known that store information based on the size of a resistance value or the “on” current of a transistor. This type of memory cell generally has relatively high resistance values ranging from 10 kΩ to several hundred kilohms (or kilo-ohm) even in a low memory state, and sense amplification is therefore usually performed using a highly sensitive differential current sense amplifier (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-39231).


In general, a golf club includes a club face with grooves in order to increase the frictional force at impact between the club face and the ball. The United States Golf Association (USGA) publishes and maintains the Rules of Golf, which govern professional golf in the United States. Appendix II to the USGA Rules provides several limitations on the grooves for golf clubs, including limitations on symmetry, width, depth, edge radius, and relative distance between grooves. The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, which is the governing authority for the rules of professional golf outside the United States, provides similar limitations to golf club design.
Moreover, an accurate hitting stoke is accomplished through a variety of subjective, as well as objective, golf club features. For example, many people subjectively associate smaller grooves with decreased ball spin at impact and with shorter distances after impact.
For simplicity and clarity of illustration, the drawing figures illustrate the general manner of construction, and descriptions and details of well-known features and techniques may be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the invention. Additionally, elements in the drawing figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention. The same reference numerals in different figures denote the same elements.
The terms “first,” “second,” “third,” “fourth,” and the like in the description and in the claims, if any, are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments described herein are, for example, capable of operation in sequences other than those illustrated or otherwise described herein. Furthermore, the terms “include,” and “have,” and any variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, system, article, device, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is not necessarily limited to those elements, but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, system, article, device, or apparatus.
The terms “left,” “right,” “front,” “back,” “top,” “bottom,” “over,” “under,” and the like in the description and in the claims, if any, are used for descriptive purposes and not necessarily for describing permanent relative positions. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the invention described herein are, for example, capable of operation in other orientations than those illustrated or otherwise described herein.
The terms “couple,” “coupled,” “couples,” “coupling,” and the like should be broadly understood and refer to connecting two or more elements or signals, electrically, mechanically and/or otherwise.


Recently, non-volatile semiconductor flash memories have come into wide use as data storage memories with excellent portability. The per-bit price of those flash memories has been rapidly dropping just from their miniaturization. This per-bit price reduction has actually been achieved by the element structure improvement or employment of multi-bit storage systems with respect to those flash memories.
Typical methods for forming memory arrays of large capacity flash memories used for files are NAND type and AND type. In the NAND type memory, memory cells are connected serially. In the AND type memory, memory cells are connected in parallel. The AND type memory in which memory cells are disposed in parallel is usually considered to be suitable for multi-bit storage operations, since it enables controlling of the number of electrons stored in a floating gate. Additionally, the AND type memory employs a hot electron writing method, so that its writing is fast. The NAND type is disclosed in “IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting” (pp. 775-778, 2000)” by F. Arai et al., while the AND type is disclosed in “IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (pp. 29-32, 2001)” by T. Kobayashi et al.
The official gazette of JP-A 156275/2001 illustrates a non-volatile memory technique that achieves both requirements of an array configuration in which memory cells are connected in parallel and a small memory cell region. This gazette further illustrates how to use each inversion layer formed on a semiconductor substrate located under an assist gate as a line. Also illustrated by the official gazette of JP-A No.2001-326288 is a technique for configuring a memory cell array at narrow word line pitches to achieve high density disposition of memory cells.
As described above, the AND type flash memory, which employs the hot electron writing technique, is fast in writing. Because the hot electron writing method employs source side injection, the method is also considered to be suitable for simultaneous writing in many memory cells. Additionally, because memory cells in an array are connected in parallel, each memory cell is not affected by the information stored in other adjacent memory cells so easily. This is why the AND type flash memory is also considered to be suitable for multi-bit storage per cell.
In spite of such advantages, the AND type flash memory continues to present difficulties. Because the AND type flash memory has an array structure in which diffusion layers are disposed in parallel, it is difficult to reduce the line pitches that are parallel to data lines due to the spread of the diffusion layers or existence of isolation regions. To solve this problem, a method for using inversion layers formed under the electrodes disposed in parallel to the data lines as local data lines may enable the subject AND type flash memory to operate without diffusion layers to be formed by impurity injection. This method is illustrated in the official gazette of JP-A No. 156275/2001.
However, each inversion layer usually has a resistance higher than that of the diffusion layer formed by means of high density impurity injection into the object semiconductor substrate. This is why the local data line resistance is different among places in the memory array, so that as the voltage falls, the potential to be applied to each target memory cell changes and the writing characteristic differs among memory cells significantly. This problem is accentuated as local data lines become longer. Another problem to arise from the employment of the above described memory structure is that if the flash memory is structured so that local data lines are connected to a global data line at a short distance through a switch simply, the number of memory cells per local data line is reduced and the area penalty of a selected transistor portion increases.


1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an applicator assembly including an applicator roll and a secondary or supplementary applicator element both mounted on a housing and extending outwardly from an open face thereof when the applicator roll is designed to paint a relatively large surface area such as walls or surfaces and the secondary applicator is designed to apply paint to the junctions of such wall or ceiling surfaces.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous devices have been introduced into the prior art for the purpose of transferring or spreading paint or like material unto a given surface. In addition to the wide variety of designs of simple or basic paint brushes, paint applicator designs include relatively complex structures.
Prior art paint applicators include an applicator roll which can rapidly and effectively apply a paint over relatively large surface areas in an efficient manner. Such rolling of paint unto a surface has been found to be much quicker than "stroking" with a conventional paint brush. Where such applicator rolls are allowed to be used such as on large, relatively flat planar surfaces the rolls have been found to be more efficient than a brush and much less costly especially when considering the man or labor hours involved.
However, certain disadvantages have become associated with the use of applicator rolls. The overall painting with this type of applicator roll structure has frequently been found to be messy, often times resulting in the waste and loss of paint. In the prior art, applying paint to the roller surface usually includes a roll tray having an inclined base at least partially filled with paint in which the applicator roll is reciprocally moved. Paint is transferred on to the outer surface of the roll and then the roll is of course movably applied over the surface being painted. In addition to the loss of paint through waste, there is of course the requirement for relatively additional, specifically constructed containers in the form of a tray requiring the applicator roll to be constantly "dipped" into the tray. The applicator roll has received wide acceptance primarily due to its rapid even spreading of paint onto a given surface. However, the industry is desires of overcoming recognized disadvantages by providing a more efficient structure which accomplishes the overall result of painting in the same accepted manner but which is more efficient, less messy but yet is easy to operate and maintain. The following U.S. and foreign patents are representative of prior art attempts to overcome the problems set forth above and long recognized as existing in the prior art. Such patents include U.S. Pat. Nos. to Boyle; 375,919 Peterson, 356,695; Fernandez, 1,376,195; Sporer, 1,461,947; Rufo, 2,307,858; Tucker, 2,538,542; 2,548,,653; Leverock, 2,583,432; Ballard et al 3,403,960; Chrun, 2,746,071; Pedro, 2,928,1113; Cassidy, 3,193,868; Clark et al, 3,231,151: Schultz, 3,274,637; Ellis, 3,690,779; Ogenibene, 3,721,502; Bradshaw, 3,809,484; Hansen, 3,825,970; Linton, 3,925,927; Spransy, 4,012,151; Rearai, 4,059,358; Gamacher, 4,129,391; Garcia, 4,140,410; Miller, 4,222,678; British Patent Nos. 14,024, 887,294 and 480,837; Swiss Patent No. 421,769; and German Patent No. 2,447,848.


The present invention relates to electronic circuits, and more particularly to storage elements used in sequential logic circuits.
Flip-flops are widely used in electronics circuits to store data. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a flip-flop 10 commonly referred to as master-slave flip-flop. Master-slave flip-flop 10 includes a master D-latch 12, a slave D-latch 14, and an inverter 16. When clock signal CLK is at a high logic level (high), slave latch 14 is enabled, i.e., samples the data, and its output Q is the same as the master latch 12 output Y. When clock signal CLK is high, master latch 12 is disabled, i.e., latches (holds) its data. When signal CLK is at a low logic level (low), master latch 12 is enabled and the data in the external D input is transferred to the master latch 12 output Y. When signal CLK is low, slave latch 14 is disabled, holds its data, and thus any changes in the external D input changes the master latch output Y and cannot change the slave output Y. When signal CLK returns to high, master latch 12 is in the latched mode and is isolated from the D input. At the same time, slave latch 14 is enabled and the value of Y is transferred to the output Q.
A D-latch may be formed using transmission gates and inverters, as shown in FIG. 2. Input CLK controls the two transmission gates 22, 24. When CLK is low, transmission gate 22 has a closed path and transmission gate 24 has an open path, therefore, D-latch 20 is in a sampling mode. This cause output Q to be the inverse of input D and output Q to be the same as input D. When CLK is high, transmission gate 24 has a closed path and transmission gate 22 has an open path, therefore, D-latch 20 is in a holding mode; this causes outputs Q and Q to hold their previous values.
A need continues to exist for a flip-flop that can operate at higher data rates for any given clock frequency.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector engagement detecting apparatus which has a means to determine whether or not a pair of mating connectors used for connection of automotive wiring harnesses are normally joined together.
2. Prior Art
Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, one of mating connector housings a is formed with a contact accommodating chamber d in which a pair of electric contacts b, c are inserted in non-contacting condition. The other mating connector housing e has a drive piece f, formed as a resilient cantilever, whose free end f.sub.1 forces the lower contact c upward into contact with the upper contact b. The connector housing a also has an interfering projection g in front of the electric contact c, which, when the paired connector housings fail to be connected normally, abuts against the free end f.sub.1 of the drive piece f, deflecting it to block the electric contacts b, c from coming into forced contact with each other. When the mating connector housings are completely connected together, the interfering projection g is received into a recess f.sub.2 allowing the drive piece f to move from a position indicated by a broken line in FIG. 7b to a position of a solid line, which in turn causes the contact c to engage with the contact b to complete a detection circuit.
In the above-mentioned prior art, since the dedicated chamber d for accommodating the detecting electric contacts b, c is necessary, the connector housing becomes complex in shape, making the resin molding process correspondingly more difficult. Moreover, the drive piece f made of resin material may undergo thermal deformation from ambient heat generated during service. In that case, the driving force acting on the electric contact c decreases, degrading the reliability of electric conduction through the electric contacts b and c.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a server system, and in particular, to a server rack system.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, a computer server gradually develops from a conventional single server to a rack server, where several servers are placed in a rack. Since a large number of servers in the rack server exist, management and control for the servers become the critical technology for the rack server. However, in the existing rack server, due to lack of a solution for efficiently managing and controlling the servers, the development of the rack server is seriously hindered.


1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a photomultiplier. This invention particularly relates to a long photomultiplier having a cylindrical main body with an elongated light receiving face that extends along the longitudinal direction of the main body.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When certain kinds of phosphors are exposed to radiation such as X-rays, .alpha.-rays, .beta.-rays, .gamma.-rays, cathode rays or ultraviolet rays, they store part of the energy of the radiation. Then, when the phosphor which has been exposed to the radiation is exposed to stimulating rays such as visible light, light is emitted by the phosphor in proportion to the amount of energy stored during exposure to the radiation. A phosphor exhibiting such properties is referred to as a stimulable phosphor.
As disclosed in U.S. Pat Nos. 4,258,264, 4,276,473, 4,315,318 and 4,387,428 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 56(1981)-11395, it has been proposed to use stimulable phosphors in radiation image recording and reproducing systems. Specifically, a sheet provided with a layer of the stimulable phosphor (hereinafter referred to as a stimulable phosphor sheet) is first exposed to radiation which has passed through an object such as the human body in order to store a radiation image of the object thereon, and is then exposed to stimulating rays, such as a laser beam, which cause it to emit light in proportion to the amount of energy stored during exposure to the radiation. The light emitted by the stimulable phosphor sheet upon stimulation thereof is photoelectrically detected and converted to an electric image signal, which is processed as desired to reproduce a visible image having an improved image quality, which allows the visible image to be used in making efficient and accurate diagnoses of illnesses.
In general, radiation image read-out apparatuses used in the aforesaid radiation image recording and reproducing systems are constituted of a main scanning means for scanning a stimulable phosphor sheet, on which a radiation image has been stored, with stimulating rays in a main scanning direction, i.e. along main scanning line, a sub-scanning means for moving the stimulable phosphor sheet with respect to the stimulating rays in a sub-scanning direction approximately normal to the main scanning direction, and a photo detecting means for detecting light emitted by the stimulable phosphor sheet in proportion to the amount of energy stored during exposure to radiation.
Recently, a novel photo detecting means which utilizes a long photomultiplier was proposed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 62(1987)-16666. The disclosed long photo-multiplier is provided with a cylindrical main body having a light receiving face which extends along the main scanning line on the stimulable phosphor sheet. A photocathode is provided on an inner surface of the main body along the light receiving face. Also, in general, a light guide member is located so that it is in close contact with the light receiving face and so that it extends along the light receiving face and guides the light emitted by the stimulable phosphor sheet toward the photocathode. With the long photomultiplier, non-directional light emitted by the stimulable phosphor sheet is guided by the light guide member toward the photocathode. When exposed to light emitted by the stimulable phosphor sheet, the photocathode generates photoelectrons, which are sequentially multiplied by the secondary electron emission effects of dynodes.
With the aforesaid long photomultiplier, light emitted by every portion of the stimulable phosphor sheet in the main scanning direction can be detected efficiently. Also, radiation image read-out apparatuses using the long photomultiplier can be made smaller than apparatuses using a photomultiplier in which a light guide member having a complicated shape is located so that it is in close contact with a small light receiving face, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 54(1979)-87808.
However, the aforesaid long photomultiplier has a drawback in that a large number of photoelectrons cannot readily be emanated from the photocathode. Specifically, in order to generate a large number of photoelectrons in the photocathode, it is necessary to increase the light absorption efficiency of the photocathode. For this purpose, the photocathode should be made thicker. However, photoelectrons generated at positions deep within the width of the photocathode cannot readily be emanated out of the photocathode. From this viewpoint, the photocathode should be made thinner. These two incompatible requirements make it difficult for a large number of photoelectrons to emanate from the photocathode.
The problems described above with regard to the detection of light emitted by a stimulable phosphor sheet by using a long photomultiplier also arise when other types of light are detected with the long photomultiplier.


When applications attempt to play more than one media stream on current devices, all the applications are allowed access to the presentation devices of the device, for example a display device and/or an audio device. The media streams are played by corresponding applications without regard for other media streams being played. Watching a video or listening to a song with interference from other audio streams and video streams is a common experience.
When listening to a song and browsing the web, many web sites include audio in their web pages. The web page audio plays despite the fact that a song is already playing. This often leads to an unpleasant listening experience. If a user locates multiple videos and accesses them in multiple browser windows and/or tabs, the videos play as if a user is able to watch all of them at the same time. Videos in windows that are obscured by other windows or that are minimized continue to play as if there was someone watching. Some web pages do wait to detect they have input focus before beginning to play a stream, but these pages play their streams without regard for other media players playing and/or otherwise accessing a display or speakers to play one or more media streams.
Accordingly, there exists a need for methods, systems, and computer program products for coordinating playing of media streams.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally directed to computer animation. Specifically, the present invention is directed to customizing a computer animation wireframe with three-dimensional range and color data or with a two-dimensional representation and a depth map.
2. Introduction
Known systems can provide generic computer animations that integrate audio and visual information. For example, these generic computer animations typically display a talking head of a human or of a cartoon animal. These generic computer animations can be used for a number of applications.
For example, some known systems display the computer animation on a computer video monitor to interface with a human user. Other known systems can convert ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) text into synthetic speech and synchronized talking-head video with realistic lip and jaw movements.
These known computer animations are based on generic animation wireframe models. Although these generic animation wireframe models are generic in the sense that the animations doe not represent a specific person; these generic models can be deformed according to a predefined set of parameters to vary the presentation from the one generic version. Deforming a generic animation wireframe model can be used to more closely resemble realistic and natural interactions, for example, human-to-human interactions. Deforming the generic model using a predefined set of parameters, however, cannot sufficiently modify the generic model to present actual people recognized by the viewer.
To produce more realistic and natural displays for human interactions, animation wireframe models should incorporate real measurements of the structure of the desired face, as well as color, shape and size. Such information can be obtained by a three-dimensional laser scanner system that scan a person's head to produce very dense range data and color data of the head.
Some known systems that incorporate measured three-dimensional information into generic animation wireframe models, however, suffer from several shortcomings. In general, accurately modifying generic animation wireframe models with measured three-dimensional range data requires extensive and expensive manual adjustments or automated computer-based adjustments. Manual adjustments of generic animation wireframe models can be time consuming and/or can require expensive human personal with specialized training. Automated adjustments of generic animation wireframe models can require expensive computer equipment that is generally cost-prohibitive for mass distribution and may require extensive maintenance performed by human personnel with specialized training.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an information processing apparatus of an on-vehicle type such as an audio apparatus of the on-vehicle type, and more particularly to an information processing apparatus of an on-vehicle type, which is mounted on a vehicle and which has a fan for cooling and/or removing dust.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, it is general that an audio apparatus such as a so-called car-radio, a cassette deck, a CD (Compact Disc) player or the like is mounted in a room or cabin of the vehicle, so as to serve music etc., to the users or passengers on the vehicle by the audio apparatus.
Recently, a so-called navigation apparatus is also generalized, which has a display device such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) device or the like in the cabin of the vehicle and helps a movement of the vehicle by displaying a necessary map etc., on the display device.
In such an audio apparatus or a navigation apparatus, a device which generates heat during the operation thereof (e.g., a CPU, an amplifier or the like) and a device which should not be heated up to a certain high temperature during the operation thereof (e.g., an MD (Mini Disc) drive or the like) may be commonly built-in. Thus, a fan for cooling is often built-in so as to restrain the temperature increase by heat from the device generating the heat.
When the supply of the electric power with respect to the audio apparatus or the navigation apparatus is started, the rotation of the fan is started at the same time so as to perform the cooling operation while the rotation speed of the fan (which is defined as a rotation number per unit time, hereinbelow) is constant.
There is recently such a tendency that the silence within the cabin is regarded as an important factor.
However, even if the cabin is designed to attach importance onto the silence, since the audio apparatus or the navigation apparatus is mounted in the cabin of the vehicle, the silence cannot be preserved because of the blowing sound due to the rotation of the fan within the audio apparatus or the navigation apparatus, which is a problem.
On the other hand, if the rotation speed of the fan is reduced since too much importance is attached onto the silence within the cabin, the cooling function of the fan cannot be fulfilled, so that the audio apparatus or the navigation apparatus may be failed due to the heat, which is another problem.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an information processing apparatus of an on-vehicle type, which can operate a fan for cooling or removing dust while preserving the silence in a cabin of the vehicle and at the same time preserving the rotation speed necessary for the fan, which is high enough to appropriately function.
The above object of the present invention can be achieved by a first information processing apparatus of an on-vehicle type provided with: a fan; a detecting device for detecting an operation status of a vehicle; and a controlling device, such as a CPU or the like, for controlling a rotation speed of the fan in accordance with the detected operation status.
According to the first information processing apparatus of the present invention, since the rotation speed of the fan is controlled in accordance with the operation status of the vehicle, it is possible to preserve the silence in the cabin of the vehicle as the unnecessary blowing sound of the fan is restrained by decreasing the rotation speed in case that the priority is given to the silence, for example. It is also possible to preserve the necessary rotation speed of the fan to fulfill the cooling function, the dust sucking function or the like, by increasing the rotation speed in case that the priority is not given to the silence (but to the prevention against a failure of the information processing apparatus, for example).
In this manner, it is possible to preserve both of the silence in the cabin and the necessary rotation speed of the fan, depending upon the operation status of the vehicle.
In one aspect of the first information processing apparatus of the present invention, the detecting device comprises a silence degree detecting device, such as a voice microphone or the like, for detecting a degree of silence within a cabin of the vehicle, and the controlling device sets the rotation speed to a low speed or stops a rotation of the fan if the detected degree of silence is higher than a threshold degree of silence, which may be set in advance or may be changed in operation, and sets the rotation speed to a high speed, which is higher than the low speed, if the detected degree of silence is not higher than the threshold degree of silence.
According to this aspect, since the fan is rotated at the low speed or the rotation of the fan is stopped in case that it is silent in the cabin, and since the fan is rotated at the high speed in case that it is not silent in the cabin, it is possible to preserve both of the silence in the cabin by restraining the blowing sound of the fan and the necessary rotation speed of the fan.
In another aspect of the first information processing apparatus of the present invention, the detecting device comprises a vehicle speed detecting device, such as a travel distance sensor or the like, for detecting a moving speed of the vehicle on the basis of a vehicle speed pulse signal outputted in response to the moving speed, and the controlling device sets the rotation speed to a low speed, which is lower than a reference rotation speed, or stops a rotation of the fan if the detected moving speed is not higher than a threshold moving speed, which may be set in advance or may be changed in operation.
According to this aspect, since the fan is rotated at the low speed or the rotation of the fan is stopped in case that the vehicle is moving slowly, it is possible to preserve the silence in the cabin more surely.
In another aspect of the first information processing apparatus of the present invention, the detecting device comprises a vehicle speed detecting device, such as a travel distance sensor or the like, for detecting a moving speed of the vehicle on the basis of a vehicle speed pulse signal outputted in response to the moving speed, and the controlling device sets the rotation speed to a high speed, which is higher than a reference rotation speed, if the detected moving speed is higher than a threshold moving speed, which may be set in advance or may be changed in operation.
According to this aspect, since the fan is rotated at the high speed in case that the vehicle is moving fast, it is possible to preserve the necessary rotation speed of the fan if it can be assumed that it is not necessary to preserve the silence in the cabin as the vehicle is moving fast.
In another aspect of the first information processing apparatus of the present invention, the detecting device comprises a vibration detecting device, such as an angular velocity sensor or the like, for detecting a vibration of the vehicle, and the controlling device sets the rotation speed to a low speed, which is lower than a reference rotation speed, or stops a rotation of the fan if the detected vibration indicates the operation status that the vehicle is not moving.
According to this aspect, since the fan is rotated at the low speed or the rotation of the fan is stopped in case that the vehicle is not moving, it is possible to preserve the silence in the cabin more surely.
In another aspect of the first information processing apparatus of the present invention, the detecting device comprises a vibration detecting device, such as an angular velocity sensor or the like, for detecting a vibration of the vehicle, and the controlling device sets the rotation speed to a high speed, which is higher than a reference rotation speed, if the detected vibration indicates the operation status that the vehicle is vibrating by a certain magnitude.
According to this aspect, since the fan is rotated at the high speed in case that the vehicle is vibrating, it is possible to preserve the necessary rotation speed of the fan if it can be assumed that it is not necessary to preserve the silence in the cabin as the vehicle is vibrating.
In another aspect of the first information processing apparatus of the present invention, the information processing apparatus further comprises a sound detecting unit, such as a voice microphone or the like, for detecting a sound in a cabin of the vehicle, and the controlling device sets the rotation speed to a high speed, which is higher than a reference rotation speed, if a sound volume of the detected sound is not smaller than a threshold volume, which may be set in advance or may be changed in operation, regardless of a detection result of the detecting device.
According to this aspect, it is possible to preserve the necessary rotation speed of the fan in case that it is not actually silent in the cabin regardless of the operation status of the vehicle.
In another aspect of the first information processing apparatus of the present invention, the information processing apparatus further comprises a sound detecting unit, such as a voice microphone or the like, for detecting a sound in a cabin of the vehicle, and the controlling device sets the rotation speed to a low speed, which is lower than a reference rotation speed, or stops a rotation of the fan if a sound volume of the detected sound is not larger than a threshold volume, which may be set in advance or may be changed in operation, regardless of a detection result of the detecting device.
According to this aspect, it is possible to restrain the generation of the blowing sound of the fan, which disturbs the silence in the cabin, in case that it is actually silent in the cabin regardless of the operation status of the vehicle.
In another aspect of the first information processing apparatus of the present invention, the information processing apparatus further comprises a temperature detecting unit, such as a thermistor or the like, for detecting a temperature within the information processing apparatus, and the controlling device sets the rotation speed to a high speed, which is higher than a reference rotation speed, if the detected temperature is not lower than a threshold temperature, which may be set in advance or may be changed in operation, regardless of a detection result of the detecting device.
According to this aspect, it is possible to cool the information processing apparatus by rotating the fan at the high speed, in case that the temperature in the information processing apparatus is actually high, regardless of the operation status of the vehicle.
In another aspect of the first information processing apparatus of the present invention, the information processing apparatus further comprises a temperature detecting unit, such as a thermistor or the like, for detecting a temperature within the information processing apparatus, and the controlling device sets the rotation speed to a low speed, which is lower than a reference rotation speed, or stops a rotation of the fan if the detected temperature is not higher than a threshold temperature, which may be set in advance or may be changed in operation, regardless of a detection result of the detecting device.
According to this aspect, it is possible to preserve the silence in the cabin, by restraining the unnecessary blowing sound of the fan, in case that the temperature in the information processing apparatus is actually low, regardless of the operation status of the vehicle.
The above object of the present invention can be also achieved by a second information processing apparatus of an on-vehicle type provided with: a fan; a sound volume detecting device, such as a noise microphone or the like, for detecting a sound volume of a sound generated in a cabin of a vehicle; and a controlling device, such as a CPU or the like, for controlling a rotation speed of the fan in accordance with the detected sound volume.
According to the second information processing apparatus of the present invention, since the rotation speed of the fan is controlled in accordance with the sound volume of the sound in the cabin, it is possible to preserve the silence in the cabin of the vehicle as the unnecessary blowing sound of the fan is restrained by decreasing the rotation speed in case that the priority is given to the silence, for example. It is also possible to preserve the necessary rotation speed of the fan to fulfill the cooling function, the dust sucking function or the like, by increasing the rotation speed in case that the priority is not given to the silence (but to the prevention against a failure of the information processing apparatus, for example).
In this manner, it is possible to preserve both of the silence in the cabin and the necessary rotation speed of the fan, depending upon the operation status of the vehicle.
In one aspect of the second information processing apparatus of the present invention, the controlling device sets the rotation speed to a low speed, which is lower than a reference rotation speed, or stops a rotation of the fan if the detected sound volume is not larger than a threshold volume, which may be set in advance or may be changed in operation.
According to this aspect, since the fan is rotated at the low speed or the rotation of the fan is stopped in case that it is silent in the cabin, it is possible to preserve the silence in the cabin by restraining the unnecessary blowing sound of the fan.
In another aspect of the second information processing apparatus of the present invention, the controlling device sets the rotation speed to a high speed, which is higher than a reference rotation speed, if the detected sound volume is larger than a threshold volume, which may be set in advance or may be changed in operation.
According to this aspect, since the fan is rotated at the high speed in case that it is not silent in the cabin, it is possible to preserve the necessary rotation speed of the fan in case that it is not actually silent in the cabin.
In another aspect of the second information processing apparatus of the present invention, the information processing apparatus further comprises a temperature detecting unit, such as a thermistor or the like, for detecting a temperature within the information processing apparatus, and the controlling device sets the rotation speed to a high speed, which is higher than a reference rotation speed, if the detected temperature is not lower than a threshold temperature, which may be set in advance or may be changed in operation, regardless of a detection result of the sound volume detecting device.
According to this aspect, it is possible to cool the information processing apparatus by rotating the fan at the high speed in case that the temperature in the information processing apparatus is actually high, regardless of the sound volume of the sound in the cabin.
In another aspect of the second information processing apparatus of the present invention, the information processing apparatus further comprises a temperature detecting unit, such as a thermistor or the like, for detecting a temperature within the information processing apparatus, and the controlling device sets the rotation speed to a low speed, which is lower than a reference rotation speed, or stops a rotation of the fan if the detected temperature is not higher than a threshold temperature, which may be set in advance or may be changed in operation, regardless of a detection result of the sound volume detecting device.
According to this aspect, it is possible to preserve the silence in the cabin as the unnecessary blowing sound of the fan is restrained by rotating the fan at the low speed in case that the temperature in the information processing apparatus is actually low, regardless of the sound volume of the sound in the cabin.
The above object of the present invention can be also achieved by a third information processing apparatus of an on-vehicle type provided with: a fan; at least two of an operation status detecting device, such as a noise microphone or the like, for detecting an operation status of a vehicle, a sound detecting unit, such as a voice microphone or the like, for detecting a sound in a cabin of the vehicle and a temperature detecting unit, such as a thermistor or the like, for detecting a temperature within the information processing apparatus; and a controlling device, such as a CPU or the like, for setting a rotation speed of the fan to a high speed, which is higher than a reference rotation speed, if a detected value of at least one of the operation status detecting device, the sound detecting unit and the temperature detecting unit is higher than a threshold value, which is set in advance for each of the operation status detecting device, the sound detecting unit and the temperature detecting unit.
According to the third information processing apparatus of the present invention, since the rotation speed of the fan is set to the high speed in case that the detected value of either one of the detecting device is not less than the threshold value thereof, i.e., in case that the generation of the blowing sound of the fan is admitted, it is possible to preserve the necessary rotation speed of the fan, as the occasion demands.
In another aspect of the first information processing apparatus of the present invention, in another aspect of the second information processing apparatus of the present invention or in one aspect of the third information processing apparatus of the present invention, the information processing apparatus reproduces information supplied from a plurality of kinds of sources.
According to this aspect, in case that the information is reproduced in the cabin, it is possible to preserve both of the silence in the cabin and the necessary rotation speed of the fan, by controlling the rotation speed of the fan as the occasion demands.
The nature, utility, and further features of this invention will be more clearly apparent from the following detailed description with respect to preferred embodiments of the invention when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings briefly described below.


This invention relates to a steering torque detecting apparatus, and more particularly to a steering torque detecting apparatus which is simplified in structure, readily assembled and exhibits high reliability.
Now, a conventional steering torque detecting apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG. 1 shows a conventional steering system for an outboard motor. A steering handle 101 is provided so as to be rotatably operated in any desired direction. The rotation of the steering handle 101 is transmitted through a steering wire 102, a slide member 105, a steering rod 107 and an oscillation lever 109 to an outboard motor 111.
Steering force input to the steering wire 102, as shown in FIG. 2, is also transmitted through an interlocking element 113 and a transmission rod 115 to a torque sensor 117. The torque sensor 117 includes a sensor body 121 slidably arranged in a housing 119 as shown in FIG. 3. The sensor body 121 is normally held at a neutral position by means of a spring 123. The sensor body 121 is formed at a part thereof into a reduced diameter, resulting in providing a reduced diameter section 125, on which a strain sensor 127 is mounted. The sensor body 121 is also connected to the transmission rod 115. To the strain sensor 127 is connected a signal cable 129, which is arranged so as to externally extend through a through-hole 131 formed at the housing 119.
When the sensor body 121 which is connected to the transmission rod 115 as described above is forced in the longitudinal direction thereof against the spring 123, strain occurs on the reduced diameter section 125 of the sensor body 121. The so-produced strain is detected by the strain sensor 127 and then input to a controller 133 shown in FIG. 1. The controller 133 serves to calculate power assisting force depending upon a detection signal supplied from the strain sensor 127 to generate a control signal, which is then supplied to a drive motor 135, leading to rotation of the drive motor 135. The rotation of the drive motor 135 causes a pinion 137 (FIG. 2) to be rotated, so that a rack 139 is moved in a suitable direction.
Such movement of the rack 139 results in the power assisting force being applied through the steering rod 107 to the oscillation lever 109.
Unfortunately, it was found that the conventional steering torque detecting apparatus constructed as described above has the following problems.
First, the operation of mounting the strain sensor 127 on the torque sensor 117 is highly troublesome, because it must be carried out in a narrow space in the housing 119.
Another problem of the conventional steering torque detecting apparatus is that the strain sensor 127 is readily subject to a radio trouble or fault. This adversely decreases the level of output of the strain sensor to a degree sufficient to cause the apparatus to require an amplifier, resulting in the apparatus being highly large-sized and costly.


Within the United States of America and many other areas of the world, one of the most popular game balls is that known as an American football. The ball used in the American version of football is similar to the earlier ball used in the European game of Rugby but has evolved to a smaller size having generally more pointed end portions. Through tradition and a number of competitive league rules, footballs are generally fabricated in accordance with rigidly and precisely defined physical construction. While some variety of footballs exist in different footballs leagues, most include a spheroidal outer skin formed of leather or plastic within which an inflatable rubber bladder is supported. The bladder is inserted into the outer skin through an elongated slot which is thereafter closed with a plurality of laces similar to a shoelace. In later developments, footballs have been formed having a continuous outer rubber skin manufactured through the use of molding processes. When so made, however, most such footballs retain the outer characteristic and appearance of a more conventional traditional football including the presence of simulated raised laces. The laces on the football have become important in that they provide a portion of the gripping mechanism used by a football passer in throwing a football.
In attempts to find more interesting and exciting types of footballs for use by players of all ages, practitioners in the art have produced a variety of football designs which are "nonstandard" and which depart from the above-mentioned traditional shapes and thus are used more for amusement and entertainment outside of organized traditional football competition. Among the objectives in providing such a variety of football shapes has been the need for different flight characteristics, different gripping patterns, as well as the general ever present desire for variety among consumers. In attempting to meet and satisfy this need for variety, practitioners have provided a virtually endless array of football shapes and configurations.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,887,814 and U.S. Pat. No. Des. 294,844 both issued to Winter set forth a GAME BALL for sport and recreational activities having a football-shaped body formed of a resilient elastically deformable material having channels associated therewith. The channels are generally helically wound about the ball from one end to the other and are intended to receive the user's individual fingers within the channel when the ball is gripped.
U.S. Pat. Re. 33,449 issued to Martin sets forth a HELICALLY GROOVED FOAM FOOTBALL in which an elastic foam football defines an outer surface within which lengthwise spiral grooves having increasing width and depth toward the middle portion of the ball are formed for improved handling. The helical pattern of the grooves is selected to permit the user to insert the user's finger end portions into a single groove when the football is gripped.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,194,674 issued to Riddel sets forth a FOOTBALL in which a conventional shaped football is formed of a plurality of rigid outer segments joined at a plurality of helical seams, each joint seam forming upwardly extending ridges upon the football surface. An inflatable bladder is received within the football and inflated to pressurize the ball.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 235,794 issued to Kroener sets forth a FOOTBALL WITH SPIRAL SEAMS in which a conventionally shaped football defines a plurality of spiral seams extending from one end of the ball to the other. The seams form inwardly extending grooves.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,859,040 issued to Gow, et al. sets forth a FOOTBALL HAVING A SECURELY GRIPABLE LACELESS SURFACE in which a football defines a pressurized interior cavity having a pneumatic bladder therein and an outer surface characterized by a plurality of gripping ridges. The center one-third of the football defines a plurality of straight ridges extending along the football's major axis while the remaining end portions of the football surface define concentric circular ridges extending transversely to the football major axis.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,736,948 issued to Thomas sets forth a FOOTBALL having an oblate spheroid body defining a passageway along its longitudinal axis. A pair of wind fins are mounted internally of the body so as to protrude into the passageway. An alternate embodiment is set forth in which a plurality of inwardly extending grooves are defined in the outer surface of the football.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,884,466 issued to MacDonald, et al. sets forth a GAME BALL having a football shape which defines an air passage extending through its longitudinal axis. The diameter of the air passage tapers from opposite ends of the football to a constricted opening in the center thereof. A plurality of relatively heavy weights are supported by the football encircling the constricted passage.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,931,429 issued to Buckner, et al. sets forth a FOOTBALL having a conventional inflated football further defining a plurality of helical grooves in the outer surface thereof. An abrasive material is deposited within the helical grooves to enhance the gripping characteristics of the football.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,919,422 issued to Ma sets forth a CURVE BALL having a generally spherical shape and balance and defining an axis therethrough. First and second convex surfaces are defined about the axis at opposite poles thereof and at least one groove having a non-uniform depth defined in the surface of the ball between the first and second convex surfaces. The groove is arranged to extend through the equatorial region of the ball between the first and second convex surface. The spherical-shaped ball is thrown so as to impart spin thereto at different angles to the axis to create various curving actions.
While the foregoing described prior art devices have provided increased variety and different aerodynamic characteristics for football shaped game balls, there remains a continuing need in the art for evermore interesting and varied game balls to meet consumer appetites for improvement and variety.


This invention relates to an automatic slack adjuster of the type used for commercial vehicle braking systems.
Commercial vehicle braking systems typically incorporate a slack adjuster in each brake assembly to adjust the clearance between the brake linings and the rotating brake element, such as a brake drum or rotor. The brake assembly includes an actuator, such as an air chamber, that urges the brake linings into engagement with the brake element. As the linings wear, the clearance between the brake linings and brake element increases requiring the air chamber push rod to move a greater distance to apply the brakes. It is desirable to maintain a relatively constant clearance throughout the life of the brake linings to provide consistent braking performance. Slack adjusters are employed to keep the distance that the air chamber push rod must move within a specified range as the linings wear to maintain a consistent clearance.
Automatic slack adjusters have been developed to adjust for the clearance between the brake linings and brake element during normal vehicle operation. One automatic slack adjuster available from the Assignee of the present invention incorporates a worm gear in engagement with a gear. The gear is connected to a camshaft that moves the brake lining into engagement with the brake element upon actuation of the air chamber. When excess clearance occurs, the worm gear is rotated by an adjustment assembly connected between the worm gear and the push rod. Rotating the worm gear adjusts the rotational position of the slack adjuster relative to the camshaft, which adjusts the push rod travel.
The worm gear is disposed within a bore in the housing. An end portion of the worm gear has longitudinally extending teeth. A cylinder-shaped actuator is disposed within the bore and includes an inner diameter having longitudinally extending teeth engaging the teeth of the worm. An actuator piston is disposed within an internal actuator cavity and is retained therein by a piston retaining ring. An end of the actuator rod is pinned to the actuator piston. A spring loaded pawl assembly is supported by the slack adjuster housing and includes an end having teeth that engage the outer diameter of the actuator. The outer diameter of the actuator has helical teeth that cooperate with the teeth on the pawl assembly.
The actuator rod moves the piston along a length defined by the actuator cavity in response to the brake being applied and released. The actuator fits loosely within the bore to permit lateral movement of the actuator within the bore. When excess clearance has developed, the actuator rod will pull the actuator in a direction away from the worm gear with the actuator piston. As a result, the actuator will “jump” a tooth relative to the pawl assembly teeth such that on the brake release the worm will rotate the gear relative to the slack adjuster for the next brake apply thereby taking up the clearance.
As can be appreciated for the above description of prior art slack adjusters, the slack adjuster utilizes numerous components adding cost and complexity to the assembly of the slack adjuster. For example, the actuator requires machining on both the inner and outer diameters, and the spring loaded pawl requires numerous parts. Therefore, what is needed is a simplified slack adjuster that reduces the cost of the assembly.


This invention relates generally to computed tomography (CT) imaging and more particularly, to quantification of a selected attribute of an image volume and monitoring changes of the selected attribute in a patient.
Visualization of anatomical data acquired by imaging devices generating 3D data is typically handled by volume rendering of its intensity and/or density values (Hounsfield Units (HU) in the case of Computed Tomography for instance). Many clinical applications are based on 3D visualization of the volumetric data that may include, but are not limited to, detection and sizing of lung nodules, quantification of vessel curvature, diameter and tone, cardiac vascular and function applications, and navigation of the colon for detection of polyps. These applications rely on the absolute values of the image data (intensity, density (HU), uptake (standard uptake values (SUV)), and other material properties associated with medical imaging to differentiate multi-dimensional anatomies from background tissue. Some clinical imaging applications are designed for routine screening of early cancers in the form of, for example, tumors, nodules, and polyps.
Many cancers commonly metastasize or move from their primary organ or location to involve another organ or location. The most common location for tumors to metastasize to is lymph nodes followed by lung, liver, and then bone. Frequently, metastatic disease presents as a distribution of small lesions (2-10 mm) throughout the anatomy of the body. Most common locations for metastatic lesions are in the lung and liver. The visual contrast of liver lesions on CT images is limiting to the human eye. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging have proven superior to CT for visualizing liver tumors, but contrast remains limited.
There are many treatment options for primary and secondary cancers. These may include radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone treatment, immune therapy, surgery and others.
To date, physicians rely significantly on the apparent anatomical size and shape of the tumor under treatment when assessing the patients response to a chosen therapy. This can be problematic in patients with “bulky disease” (meaning that the tumor burden is an overestimate of the actual presence of cancer cells) if the cancer remises, but the relative size of the tissue mass does not change. Since the inception of PET and CT/PET imaging, the size of the active portion of the tumor can be when assessed to determine patient response to therapy. The physician may desire to measure the size of the lesion(s) before and after subsequent treatments to quantify the response. In many cases of a primary cancer, it may be straightforward to quantify the volume of anatomy occupied by a lesion. Under some circumstances, a tumor can have limited contrast and/or be ill-defined, meaning that the boundaries of the tumor are difficult to identify. In the case of multiple lesions and metastatic disease, there may be hundreds of small lesions distributed throughout the body or within individual organs. However, when there are multiple lesions, it is extremely time consuming to identify and track each individual lesion. Additionally, physicians may choose to represent the sum total of the volume occupied by all of the lesions in terms of a single number called “Total Tumor Burden” (TTB). As such, when any of the tumors respond to a chosen treatment plan, the TTB will change. However, even tracking TTB over the course of a treatment regime may also require a difficult and time consuming procedure.


In the fields of molecular and cellular biology, particularly in a laboratory setting, it is of vital importance that the correct reagents and media are used in every instance, including use on the bench or in a sterile hood, and when selecting, ordering or re-ordering supplies. There are various factors that exist in a laboratory setting that can make this more difficult and less efficient. For example, bottles of media and sera are often stored in refrigerators where condensation may cause labels to be hard to read, and the important information may be small print that is easily obscured by moisture, user writing to label and identify additions, or other information about a particular bottle such as the user's initials, date opened, etc. Another difficulty is the manual dexterity required for sterile transfer of materials from a reagent or media bottle. Laboratory workers routinely wear protective gloves and must hold a pipette in one hand while also holding and opening a bottle, all while maintaining the sterility of the pipette, the cover and the contents of the bottle. Prior to the present disclosure, it has been difficult to quickly identify with assurance the contents of a particular bottle. This concern is of particular importance in the context of cell culture media bottles where mixing culture media types or solutions can have disastrous effects on research projects, greatly increasing the cost and time associated. Often, different types of media are indistinguishable by merely looking at the contents, requiring reading of small print, or re-orienting a bottle in order to positively identify the contents.
Although conventional labels often include the name of the product family in large type on the front of the bottle, it may be difficult to distinguish exactly what product is in the bottle, particularly if there are user annotations covering part of the label. For example, a certain label may identify the contents as a certain media, such as a basal media, but it may not be as clear that the content is basal media+glucose. Extra time and extra steps are needed, therefore, to determine exactly which product is being used, and to find a catalog number for re-ordering. Although a particular instance of wasted time might be small, they can collectively consume excessive amounts of time when one considers that within a single laboratory these actions may take place tens or even hundreds of times within a day.
In addition to difficulty in identifying the contents of a bottle, conventional bottles typically do not offer both storage efficiency and versatility. As all storage devices, refrigerators, incubators, freezers, shakers, stirrers, hoods, culture rooms, etc., do not have the same layout and dimensions, adaptability and versatility in the storage capabilities of bottles can be a significant problem. One type of conventional bottle is the round bottle shown in FIG. 1. This bottle shape results in inefficient use of space when stored, due to dead space between bottles and the inability to stably stack bottles on top of each other. Another type of conventional media bottle is a square bottle as shown in FIG. 2. Although these bottles can more efficiently abut other bottles both from the side and the front, they cannot be stored on a side and stacked on top of one another without the contents of the bottle coming in contact with the lid. Content contact with the lid can potentially cause leakage or contamination resulting in increased costs, lost research time, and a lack of supplies. Another disadvantage is that when the bottles are stored side by side in rows, only the labels of the front row can be seen without lifting the bottles to reveal a label. Furthermore, the caps are not easily accessible and the tops of the caps cannot be seen without lifting the bottle or looking directly down from above, which is not possible in many storage situations such as in a refrigerator. As all storage devices, refrigerators, incubators, freezers, shakers, stirrers, hoods, culture rooms, etc., do not have the same layout and dimensions, adaptability and versatility in the storage capabilities of bottles can be a major source of inefficiency.
Prior to this disclosure, there have been few or no attempts to solve these problems, especially in the fields of microbiology and cellular biology where conventional round and square media bottles are almost universally used. A mixing station for chemicals used in cleaning and maintenance supplies using a color coded system has been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,322,242. This patent discloses the use of various color coded elements, including caps, labels, valve members, and liquid outlet lines, to identify how the components should be assembled with respect to one another. This does not teach, however, a system of providing solid or liquid products that are appropriate or useful for microbiological or other research media, particularly to be used with sterile technique, and utilizing color coded covers or caps, corresponding color coded labels, or specially designed bottles to facilitate ease of identification of the contents of a bottle during storage, use, and re-supplying.


The evolution of saddles has recently started to gather pace. From the very early saddles, designed purely to provide a more secure seat for the rider, through the development of stirrups, leaving aside pack saddles, there have been three main strands of design: the military, designed to secure the rider firmly and provide a degree of protection; the working or western saddle, also designed to provide a degree of security for the rider; and the English or close contact style where security for the rider is subservient to need for close contact with the animal. All three styles have a solid backbone or “tree”, traditionally made of wood (more recently materials have included fiberglass, metal and plastic), round which the leather (or synthetic equivalent) is mounted. Inevitably such a rigid structure placed on a moving surface raises difficulties with the fit of the saddle to the horse. In the case of the military and western saddles this is partially addressed by using a thick saddle blanket. However with close contact saddles the issue is addressed by attention to fit, either by having a bespoke saddle made for the horse (which is very expensive), or by careful selection from a range of off the peg designs. It is estimated that a saddlery wishing to carry a basic range of off the peg saddles, covering the three main saddle styles (dressage, jumping, general purpose), in one single colour option, and to fit most sizes of horse and rider, would have to stock in excess of 72 different saddles.
Even when a rider invests in a bespoke saddle, the traditional, static design based on a rigid tree does not allow for the changes in a horse's shape that occur as it moves, or as there are variations in its fitness. Even the best fitting saddle cannot distribute the pressure evenly throughout the range of a horse's movement, and even a well fitting treed saddle will inevitably create pressure points on the horse's back, especially when turning tightly, where the saddle tree acts somewhat as a splint longitudinally on the spine, or when riding up or down hill or jumping, where the load is focused by the tree towards the front or back of the saddle. This can cause pain and restrict movement, and can potentially leading to a range of physiological and behavioural problems such as bucking, rearing, lameness, bruising of the muscles, muscular atrophy and in more severe cases, tissue necrosis.
Over the last thirty years several new designs of saddle have been developed, both to try to address the problems enumerated above, and to facilitate newly evolved riding disciplines such as endurance and vaulting. All still use a static method of mounting the saddle on the horse. Many of these new designs are described as “treeless”, but in practice most are semi-treed, in that they have a rigid internal fitting at either the pommel or the cantle of the saddle. This can lead to weight being distributed over fewer points than a standard tree, which, in some circumstances, can exacerbate the problem. Saddles that have no tree at all do nothing to spread the pressure of the girth and the stirrups, the full force of which is therefore concentrated immediately over the mounting points. There is also a perception that such saddles are not as secure on the horse, as many treeless designs do not include a gullet, which has the effect of reducing lateral stability. A further disadvantage of many such saddles is that it is difficult to design them to look like the traditional English saddle, a look that is very popular in the market.
An additional issue with traditional close contact saddle design is that the mounting position of the stirrups can be quite critical to the ability of the rider to effectively balance on their horse. Many buyers' choice of saddle is primarily based on this factor, in an attempt to ensure that they are able to sit in the ideal position “over” the stirrups. There is little or no allowance in most saddles for any adjustment of the stirrup bar mounting position, so that this factor can quite severely restrict the choice of saddle, and associated ability to ensure a good fit.
In the following discussion, the invention will be generally described in relation to equestrian uses of the invention. However, the invention is broadly applicable to pack animals as well as mounts for personal transport.
An object of the invention is to obviate or mitigate at least some of the aforesaid problems by providing improvements in saddle design.


1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to methods and an apparatus for producing decabromodiphenyl alkanes. More specifically, the field of the invention is that of producing decabromodiphenyl ethane.
2. Description of the Related Art
Halogenated aromatic compounds are often employed as flame retardant agents. Flame retardants are substances applied to or incorporated into a combustible material to reduce or eliminate its tendency to ignite when exposed to a low-energy flame, e.g., a match or a cigarette. The incorporation of flame retardants into the manufacture of electronic equipment, upholstered furniture, construction materials, textiles and numerous other products is well known.
Brominated aromatic compounds are often utilized as flame retardant agents in polymer compositions such as the outer housing of computers, television sets, and other electronic appliances. One group of halogenated flame retardants are decabromodiphenyl alkanes. The manufacture of decabromodiphenyl alkanes is known. Conventionally, decabromodiphenyl alkanes are prepared by reacting a diphenyl alkane with bromine in the presence of a bromination catalyst, such as AlCl3 or FeCl3.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,030,778 to Ransford discloses a process for producing decabromodiphenyl alkanes in which bromine and a bromination catalyst are charged to a reaction vessel. Liquid diphenyl alkane is fed by a dip tube into the reaction vessel at a point which is beneath the level of the charged liquid bromine and catalyst. The stated advantages of this sub-surface addition method are that (1) a product with a high average bromine number is obtained faster when the diphenyl alkane is fed below the surface of the charged liquid bromine and catalyst; and (2) splattering of the reaction mass associated with the addition of the diphenyl alkane into the vessel is reduced.
One disadvantage to adding the diphenyl alkane to the vessel at a location below the surface of the charged bromine and catalyst is that the dip tubes used for adding the diphenyl alkane to the vessel are prone to plugging. It is believed that the sub-surface addition dip tubes become plugged when a small amount of diphenyl alkane remains at the tip of the tube and reacts in place, thereby forming insoluble, high melting point material. It is believed that this is more likely to occur at the end of the addition or if the diphenyl alkane addition is interrupted. This susceptibility to plugging prevents the manufacturer from being able to stop and start the diphenyl alkane addition, which is sometimes desirable for controlling the evolution HBr gas.
It is also believed that the agitation of the reaction mass may create a vortex within the tip of the sub-surface addition dip tube. This vortex may pull solids from the reaction mass into the tube, thereby creating a blockage. Additionally, because some diphenyl alkanes, such diphenylethane (“DPE”), are solids at room temperature and are fed to the reaction vessel as liquids, they may begin to crystallize in an unheated dip tube if the feed is interrupted for any reason. In the event that the sub-surface dip tube does become plugged, regardless of the reason, the diphenyl alkane feed must be stopped and the tube must be pulled out of the reactor in order to remove the blockage. It is desirable to avoid the need to remove the dip tube, as the vapor space of the reaction vessel is filled with toxic and corrosive bromine vapors which may escape during removal.
The above-surface diphenyl alkane addition technique of the present invention reduces dip tube plugging, thereby providing a more efficient method of adding diphenyl alkane to a reactor charged with bromine and catalyst.


In conventional chair structure, the chair cushion is usually parallel with the floor, and the angle between the cushion and a backrest is usually less than 90 degrees, so the user may easily feel physically/physiologically uncomfortable, and the user may not sit on the chair for a long period of time. Furthermore, the user may suffer from pain or sickness if sitting on the chair on a regular basis. Therefore, there remains a need for a new and improved chair structure to overcome the problems stated above.


Entrepreneurs engaged in a variety of business endeavors have found considerable utility in the use of motor vehicles generally referred to as "pick-up" trucks. These trucks are relatively light as compared to typical heavy haulage vehicles, having capacities ranging from about 1/2 to 3/4 ton. To enhance the appeal of the pick-up trucks, manufacturers have developed pleasing, streamlined body styles, for example, the lines of the bed portion of the trucks generally are integrated in flowing fashion with the lines and design of the cab and hood structure and ornamentation thereupon.
For many uses, the pick-up truck operators have developed a need for power dumping capability. However, while the beds of the trucks are readily removable by unbolting the floor thereof from the truck undercarriage, dump hoist installations heretofore have required the remounting of the dump bed at a higher level above the undercarriage in order to provide hoist access space. For example, the differential gear housing often is found to interfere with hoist installations. In addition to the readily apparent degredation to the design lines and aspects of the vehicle, such elevation of the bed derogates from vehicle stability under load. Vehicle safety further is compromised, inasmuch as the bed is only coupled to the truck body at rearward disposed hinges. In the event of a rearend accident or the like, the hinges tend to be torn from the body frame and the bed is thrust toward the cab. Degredation to body styling additionally is encountered in the repositioning of the rear bumper of the trucks following conversion. As is apparent, the dump bed cannot clear a bumper mounted to the termini of the frame side rail. Consequently, various schemes have been employed for remounting the bumper upon the frame at a lower level to provide dump clearance. Since bumpers are styled and contribute to the overall pleasing appearance of the trucks, this repositioning detracts from the looks of the converted truck.
Conversion heretofore carried out additionally have encountered problems relating to the structural integrity of the hoist equipment. In view of the relatively smaller size of the trucks, the hoist equipment itself remains small and the price of its installation must be low enough as to be commensurate with the lower cost of the trucks themselves. In consequence, the mere scaling down of conventional hoist structures to meet the needs of a smaller vehicle generally has been found to evolve structurally inadequate hoists. For example, extensive stressing has been determined to be present at the coupling between hydraulic motor piston rods and hoist components.


1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains particularly to a drawing mixture which is suitable for rigorous utilizations involving maximum reductions and pass speeds, and also to an improved drawing procedure and utilization of drawing lubricants. A phase of the invention deals with a dry lubricating type of drawing mixture that has a proportioned content in a mixed relation and whose ingredients serve in a complementary highly improved manner to protect the surface of a metal workpiece being drawn under strenuous conditions.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various types of dry and wet lubricating compounds and mixtures have been used in the drawing of metal workpieces, such as steel, and in drawing high carbon and specialty steel material into wire or rod lengths. There has been a somewhat general adoption of a method which involves the application of a dip-applied lead coating to the workpiece to which is applied ordinary soap powder at the entrance to each draw die. In this connection, a cleaned rod, for example, is dipped to provide the lead coating and is then passed through a requisite number of dies to produce the desired final or semi-final product. In utilizing such a coating, it is important to control the speed so as to prevent a rise of temperature to near the melting point of the coating which in the case of lead is around 621.degree. F. Also, as the drawing progresses, the coating tends to become thinner and less effective thus limiting the percentage of reduction during continuation of the operation. For a less stringent type of operation, where the workpiece is not quite so hard or brittle a material, a modified form of coating is provided which utilizes an acid salt and may include a drawing compound in the nature of a sodium resin silicate.
It has been my experience that the present types of drawing or lubricating methods have all been of a production limiting nature, and although rejects have been reduced from about 50% to possibly 30% at the present time, the percentage is so great as to make the resultant product relatively expensive. Also, restrictions on the speed of operation, as well as the percentage reduction, have been limitations which have increased the cost of a product and made it relatively expensive. Also, restrictions on the speed of operation, as well as the percentage reduction, have been limitations which have increased the cost of a product such as welding rod, rope and bridge wire, music spring and valve spring wire, binding wire, etc.


Locks are used in distributed software to control access to shared resources. In some cases, a distributed lock manager (DLM) provides distributed applications with a mechanism for synchronizing their accesses to shared resources. For example, DLMs are used in some clustered file systems for file locking and for coordination of other disk accesses. The resources that are accessed under locks granted by a DLM may be files, records, areas of shared memory, peripherals, databases or portions of a database, and/or other items that are shared (or potentially shared) by different software processes.
A lock may provide different kinds of access to a given resource, depending on the accesses already granted and the operations desired, for example. Different kinds of access are sometimes indicated as lock modes. For example, a lock request specifying a concurrent read mode could be used to indicate a desire to read a resource identified in the request without updating (writing) the resource. As another example, an exclusive mode indicates a desired for exclusive access which allows both reads and updates to the locked resource and prevents other software processes from having any access to the resource until the exclusive lock is released. Other lock modes may also be available in a given implementation of a DLM.


Scanning machines are often used to scan objects for the purpose of inspecting the scanned objects. Known scanning machines, such as the one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,020,346, include a conveyor to lead an object to be inspected into a scanning chamber where the object is subjected to radiation. A lead curtain is provided at an entrance and at an exit of the scanning chamber to contain the radiation within the chamber while allowing the passage of the object when it is conveyed in or out of the chamber.
Known to the Applicant are United States patent applications having Publication Nos. 2007/0133742, 2008/0025470, 2013/0114788 and 2013/0336447. Also known to the Applicant is U.S. Pat. No. 7,706,507 and Japan Patent No. 3,946,612. Each of the mentioned patents and patent applications disclose systems for containing radiation within the scanning chamber while allowing the passage of an object when it is conveyed in or out of the chamber.
Moreover, a known process for the detection of explosive material involves manually taking a sample of fine particles from an object in order to subject the sample to a detection process. Typically such fine particles are collected with a cloth, which is then analyzed by an analyzing system which may include, for example, a heating chamber where the temperature is raised to gasify the particles containing explosive chemicals, from which the resulting gases are then analyzed with a spectrometer in order to detect the presence of such explosive chemicals.
However, the teachings of the aforementioned suffer from drawbacks. For example, the inspection of an object involves the separate processes of scanning the object and detecting explosives, which can be both complicated and time consuming. Preferably, these processes should be simplified in order to make the inspection of objects more efficient.
Hence, in light of the aforementioned, there is a need for an improved system which, by virtue of its design and components, would be able to overcome or at least minimize some of the drawbacks of the prior art.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the Vello process and draw-down process for making glass products from a glass melt and, more particularly, to a sleeve-type agitator for the glass melt for preventing schlieren formation and for homogenizing the glass melt in the Vello process and draw-down process. The invention also relates to a method and apparatus for feeding a glass melt in order to make glass products, especially glass tubes or pipes, from the glass melt without schlieren formation in the glass melt.
2. Description of the Related Art
The Vello tube drawing process is a vertical drawing process for glass tube or pipe, in which the tube or pipe is drawn down from a circular nozzle. The glass melt flows through a nozzle with a cylindrical opening which is located at the bottom of a feed channel and over a funnel-shaped conical body which is adjustable in its height and which widens downward. The conical body is hollow and connected with a longitudinally extended pipe to a blower for air. The glass mass located around this valve body is held open when air is supplied through this pipe. The freely suspended glass is then drawn downward as a glass tube into a temperature regulated compartment or guided with the help of guide members into a horizontal orientation and drawn from the drawing machine.
The draw-down process operates exactly the same way that the Vello process does, except that the glass tube is not guided into a horizontal orientation, but instead is removed vertically from the drawing machine.
In the Vello head and draw-down head used in these glass product manufacturing processes schlieren are produced on the side facing away from the channel, which currently can be reduced only by connecting a head overflow. It is necessary to draw off the schlieren extending around the product with a head overflow duct in conventional feed heads. Faulty products would otherwise be produced with the schlieren extending around the product. Drawing the product with the schlieren thus causes glass losses.


1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method of transferring data between computer systems with specific application in teleconferencing software programs. More particularly, it involves a method for transferring large amounts of data among interconnected computer systems according to the designated priority of the data, and for allowing the priority of the data to be changed before the data is completely transferred to a remote computer and for causing the remaining data to be subsequently transferred according to its new priority.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Whenever two or more people are involved in the preparation of a document, whether it be a financial spread sheet, a CAD design, a circuit schematic layout, an organization report, a bit map image, etc., succeeding drafts of the document are prepared, circulated, and modified in the process. Each person annotates his or her remarks on the document and forwards it to the next person. Typically, several drafts of the document will be circulated before a final draft is produced. This is a very time consuming process.
In the case where a person involved in the document preparation process is at a different geographical location, getting the document from one location to another location and back becomes another tedious and time-consuming task. The document will either have to be mailed or faxed to that person, further complicating the entire process.
One standard method of alleviating this process is to hold meetings where everyone gathers and comments on the document with the hope of reducing the number of drafts needed before a final draft is produced. The shortcoming of this method is that there may be significant travel time and travel cost in getting all of the people to the same location. In addition, the final draft of the document is usually again circulated for final comments.
One solution to this problem is to use a teleconferencing software program, an aspect of which may contain an embodiment of the present invention. By using computer network connections or modem connected phone lines, everyone can be connected via his or her computer. By using the teleconferencing software program, everyone's computer screen displays the same data. In addition to using the software program and network or modem connections, conference calling over the voice phone lines or through the software program creates a dynamic and live atmosphere where everyone can participate in the discussion and refer to the document displayed on the screen.
A very important capability of such teleconferencing software must be the ability to allow transfer of data from one computer user to other computer users. For example, in making a presentation using a number of frames of prepared graphs, charts, outlines, etc., each frame of data that is used must be quickly transferred to other users in the conference in order to have a common reference point for simultaneous discussion of the data presented. In addition, the presenter in the presentation may wish to skip among several frames of data or skip a few frames of data entirely. The teleconferencing software must allow this type of flexibility and still maintain a high efficiency in transferring data. At the same time, each frame of data must be organized in a manner that allows quick access by the users.
Additionally, the presenter may wish to transmit a private message to one particular user. The teleconferencing software will have to be able to distinguish between data for all interconnected computer systems (public data), and data for a particular user (private data), and properly transfer the data to the designated user or users.
Another problem in teleconferencing software is that the presenter may scroll through frames of data without allowing adequate time for the data to be transferred to all the computer systems. The presenter will eventually display one frame of data for discussion. At this time, this frame of data has the highest priority and must be immediately transferred to all other computer systems even though there may be several preceding frames of data that have not been completely transferred.
Nevertheless, all public frames of data scrolled through or loaded for the presentation must be transferred to all the connected users, because the presenter may eventually go back to previous frames of data in making his or her presentation. Thus, it is important to have the ability to organize the different frames of data and transfer the frames of data currently being used first, while establishing a system where other frames of data can be prioritized and transferred.
Another problem the present invention must deal with is the problem of transferring data between interconnected computer systems. The computer systems may be interconnected via modem, network, cellular links, or any other available connections. In connecting computer systems or nodes to computer systems, one computer may not be directly connected to all other computers involved in the teleconference. For example, referring to FIG. 1, there are four computer systems involved in this session of teleconferencing: computer A (10), computer B (12), computer C (14), and computer D (16). Computer A is only connected to computer B, computer B is connected to computer A and computer C, computer C is connected to computer B and computer D, and computer D is only connected to computer C. Computer A is connected to computer D only through computer B and computer C. In order for computer A to transfer data to computer D, the data must pass through computer B and computer C. Thus, if the user at computer A is making a presentation by using frames of data, these frames of data must travel through computer B and computer C to reach computer D. However, the data has to be transferred in such a manner so that there will not be a significant time lag between the time computer B receives the data, computer C receives the data, and computer D receives the data, so that all the users can follow the discussion or presentation in real-time or near real-time.


Frequently, homes, offices and industrial plant facilities experience many types of emergency situations involving power failures where an interior or exterior area is rendered without light. Such power failures may result from electrical short circuits, brownouts, fire, accidents, natural disasters (e.g., floods, hurricanes, tornados, etc.) or a planned shutdown of electricity within a facility or dwelling. Automotive commuters also frequently find themselves without power following accidents, vehicle break downs, and the like.
In each of the circumstances above, it would be desirable for person to possess a portable light device that is adapted to provide a source of local illumination and electrical power. However, the preferred type or mode of illumination may change depending upon the specific power outage circumstance. For example, it is generally preferable to have a broadly ranging flood-light type of illumination to reveal a person's path as they attempt to transit a darkened room or corridor. Alternatively, it is generally preferable to have a compact spot-light type of illumination to reveal a person's work area as they attempt to fix a flat-tire along a darkened road side.
In view of the above, a need exists to provide a portable light device that is capable of activation in response to a disruption of power. It would be desirable for the device to be compact and lightweight such that it can be moved simply and quickly from location to location. It is further desirable for the device to be efficiently powered by a battery pack such that it is capable of constant illumination lasting for several days or even weeks. It is further desirable that the portable light device be readily adapted to provide a spot-light mode of illumination, a flood-light mode of illumination, or a combination thereof. Finally, the device should provide real-time battery life information to a user such that the performance of the device may be tailored to extend or shorten expected battery life as needed.


1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a light-emitting diode (LED) manufacturing method, and particularly to a manufacturing method of LED with a phosphor layer which does not easily come off.
2. Description of Related Art
Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are popular recently. LEDs have advantages such as energy saving, electricity saving, high efficiency, short response time, extensive life span, mercury-free, and environmental protection benefits. Therefore, LEDs are considered as the best light source of new generation illumination. At the present, the phosphor glue of a LED is formed by the processes of forming a reflective cup on the substrate and deposing a LED chip in the reflective cup, and then the reflective cup is filled with phosphor glue via dispensing. However, the connections between phosphor layer and substrate and reflective cup are unstable, whereby the phosphor layer has the problem of easily coming off from the substrate and the reflective cup.
In view of the above-mentioned problem, it is necessary to provide a light-emitting diode manufacturing method which the phosphor layer of the light-emitting diode does not easily come off.


Traffic accidents worldwide cause over one million deaths per year, and over 30,000 deaths per year in the U.S. alone. Despite steadily increasing safety standards for automobiles and road construction, distracted driving, intoxicated driving, driver incompetence or inability, dangerous roads and weather conditions, high traffic roads, and extensive road commutes remain as perpetual factors in the lack of a perspicuous decline in traffic-related deaths and injuries. The advent of autonomous vehicle technology—along with the persistent increases in machine learning and artificial intelligence technology—may prove to circumvent many of the unfortunate factors that lead to traffic accidents.
Widespread concerns regarding autonomous vehicles on public roads typically relate to the ability of such vehicles to make safe and trustworthy decisions when confronted with complex situations. On a typical journey, an autonomous vehicle may encounter countless decision-making instances where loss of life is possible—however unlikely. Road intersections include traffic signaling systems that can range from simple three-bulb faces to complex directional and yielding signals. Safe, reliable, skillful, and responsible decision-making by autonomous vehicles at any intersection is necessary in order to advance the public use of autonomous vehicles and eventually prevent the vast majority of traffic accident types occurring in present road environments.


1. Field of the Disclosure
Embodiments described herein relate generally to amine solvent solutions that absorb acid gases and more particularly to additives that decrease the presence of amine-derived contaminants in- and/or degradation of such amine solvent solutions.
2. Description of the Related Art
Plants such as refineries, processing plants, industrial plants and the like, may include an amine treating system to treat liquid and/or gas feed streams. Generally, such feed stream treatment includes an amine solvent solution to absorb acid gases from the feed stream. Acid gases include gases such as hydrogen sulfide (H2S), carbon disulfide (CS2) carbonyl sulfide (COS), and carbon dioxide (CO2). Acid gases may later be removed from the amine solvent solution to regenerated and recycle the amine solvent solution for additional use.
Amine-derived contaminants, however, can accumulate in the amine solvent solution. If left unchecked, these contaminants can have an adverse effect on the amine treating system. For instance, amine-derived contaminants are associated with a decrease in the amine solvent solution's ability to absorb acid gases and an increase in corrosion within the amine treating system.
Generally, amine-derived contaminants result from a reaction or association between the amine in the amine solvent solution with another molecule resulting in another contaminant or a reaction intermediate involving a contaminant. These other contaminants/intermediates include acid gases, oxygen, strong anions, carboxylic acids, and others. Contaminants such as acid gases may come from the feed stream being treated, but contaminants may come from any source such as the make-up water for the amine solvent solution or any other source.
One type of amine-derived contaminant is heat-stable salts. Heat-stable salts form when a strong anion, such as chloride, formate, or acetate, reacts with or binds an amine cation. The resultant salts are heat-stable because the addition of heat does not readily regenerate the amine solvent solution.
Another type of amine-derived contaminant is amine-derived degradation products. Generally, amine-derived degradation products result from the breakdown of amine molecules into a different chemical species. The chemistry of degradation product formation is complex, and in many cases, the reactions are irreversible. A simplified example included the reaction of oxygen or an acid gas with the amine eventually to form an amine-derived degradation product. Alternatively or additionally, oxygen or an acid gas may react with another contaminant to form an intermediate that reacts with the amine to form the amine-derived degradation product. Of course, formation of amine-derived degradation products is not limited to the forgoing, much simplified, examples.
Since there are many ways in which heat-stable salts and amine-derived degradation products can be produced, they can, and usually are, both be present in an amine treating system at the same time. Furthermore, amine treating systems can tolerate only so much accumulation of such amine-derived contaminants before it must be addressed. There are many different ways to clean an amine treating system once the contaminants are produced, but there remains a need for ways to avoid or to decrease amine-derived contaminants from forming in the first place.