Abstract: A device having mechanisms for lifting and lowering the cover and the seat of a toilet (WC), including a structure fixed to the rear part of a WC and designed to house a first and second axle arranged co-linearly and fixed on the ends of the cover and the seat, respectively. The first and second axles include on the adjunct ends a first mechanism with a first and second gear designed to engage with a third actuating gear arranged below the aforementioned gears on a fixed axle, the fixed axle being engaged and driven by a toothed element with an ascending course of a first hydraulic piston powered by pressurised water. The device also includes a second mechanism with a hydraulic piston powered by pressurised water for rotating the axles in the opposite direction in order to automatically lower the cover and seat when the WC tank is emptied.

Abstract: Improvements to a hydraulic drive device for raising and lowering the lid and seat of toilettes, characterized by a left and right modules comprising a casing with a central transverse shaft whose ends protrude, each said casing is divided into three recesses; the left shaft end is attached to the lid and the right shaft end to the seat, the opposite end of each shaft being fixed to a drive plate of three flaps, one of each flap housed in each recess of the casing, with each recess also housing a cylindrical diaphragm, which when filled with water press simultaneously against the flaps to cause a partial rotation of the shafts, to raise or lower the lid and seat together or separately by rotary displacement; said diaphragms are fed through a check valve that allows the passage of feed water to fill the diaphragms and to discharge the water from the diaphragms through a duct into the toilet tank when the toilet flush button is actuated; the left and right floor actuation valves are connected to a general water

Abstract: A scrubber configuration for controlling carbon dioxide levels in a shipping container containing respiring produce is disclosed. The scrubber is made up of a curtain which includes a gas-selective membrane having a CO2/O2 selectivity ratio greater than 1:1, said curtain being positioned close to and parallel with the rear wall of said container which includes a door, said curtain forming an air-tight seal dividing the interior of the container into a plenum chamber between said membrane and the (rear wall) door, and the remainder of the container in which the produce is placed. The structure also includes an air intake means for conveying fresh air from outside the container into the plenum chamber; and an air output means for conveying air from the plenum chamber to the outside of the container. A method for controlling the carbon dioxide levels inside a shipping container is also disclosed.

Abstract: Improvements to a hydraulic drive device for raising and lowering the lid and seat of toilettes, characterized by a left and right modules comprising a casing with a central transverse shaft whose ends protrude, each said casing is divided into three recesses; the left shaft end is attached to the lid and the right shaft end to the seat, the opposite end of each shaft being fixed to a drive plate of three flaps, one of each flap housed in each recess of the casing, with each recess also housing a cylindrical diaphragm, which when filled with water press simultaneously against the flaps to cause a partial rotation of the shafts, to raise or lower the lid and seat together or separately by rotary displacement; said diaphragms are fed through a check valve that allows the passage of feed water to fill the diaphragms and to discharge the water from the diaphragms through a duct into the toilet tank when the toilet flush button is actuated; the left and right floor actuation valves are connected to a general water

Abstract: The present invention generally relates to means and devices used in toilets or lavatories; particularly relates to means used for automatically raise and lower the toilet covering lids and more specifically relates to a hydraulic drive device for raising and lowering the covering lid and seat of the toilet hole; characterized in that comprises a housing that comprises two adjoining hollow chambers, one left and one right, the chambers housing a left rotating shaft and a right rotating shaft, respectively; both shafts comprise a fixed counterweight that can rotate along with the shaft inside the chambers; each chamber also houses a left elastic diaphragm and a right one, adjoined and interacting with the counterweights; said diaphragms comprising at least one connecting pivot wherein a inlet and/or outlet working fluid duct is connected so as to drive-push the counterweights when are inflated with working fluid supplied by an automatic system or by a contact driving elements system, and causing the swinging o

Abstract: A system and method for solving the weak membership problem in a system of nodes that might include redundancies. Each node is given the same random seed. Each node uses a link state protocol to determine the current system topography, and then an optimization such as simulated annealing is run on the topography at each node, independently of the other nodes, to determine the optimum weak membership for use thereof in subsequent system operations. Since each node starts with the same random seed, the nodes all arrive at the same solution without having to communicate a common solution between nodes.

Abstract: The present invention discloses a method and related apparatus for determining a cardiac parameter from either the arterial blood pressure signal or the photoplethysmographic signal to quantify the degree of amplitude modulation due to respiration (pulse pressure variation) and predict fluid responsiveness. The method involves the application of Lempel-Ziv complexity to a filtered and segmented physiologic signal for direct determination of the fluid status of a patient. Real-time monitoring of fluid status involves the implementation of the disclosed method as part of a bedside monitoring apparatus.

Abstract: A mult-rib box-shaped aeronautical structure comprising upper and lower skins (19, 21) stiffened by span wise stringers (25, 25?, 25?), span wise front and rear spars (11, 13) and chord wise ribs (27, 27?, 27?), where at least one panel (31, 33) of any of said skins (19, 21) is non delimited by said ribs (27, 27?, 27?) and said stringers (25, 25?, 25?) and comprise an stiffening element (41, 43) arranged as a panel breaker to avoiding the need of increasing the panel thickness to withstand buckling loads.

Abstract: A state management system preserves a state for a cluster of file servers in a cluster file system in the presence of load balancing, failover, and fail-back events. The system provides a file and record locking solution for a clustered network attached storage system running on top of a cluster file system. The system employs a lock ownership scheme in which ownership identifiers are guaranteed to be unique across clustered servers and across various protocols the clustered servers may be exporting. The system supports multi-protocol clustered NAS gateways, NAS gateway server failover and fail-back, and load-balancing architectures. The system further eliminates a need for a lock migration protocol, resulting in improved efficiency and simplicity.

Abstract: The invention relates to a mobile structure which is intended for various different uses and purposes and which is of the type that comprises a flat floor chassis with wheels, towing means such that it can be towed by a vehicle and floor support means. The invention is characterized in that the structure comprises: an upper structural shell consisting of two outer frames and at least one intermediate frame, which are connected at the top by lateral and central longitudinal joists, and crossbars forming a plurality of upper cavities which are covered either by laminar sections or skylight elements; and a plurality of independent panels forming the walls of the structure, which are disposed around the structural shell and which can take the form of solid panels or panels comprising a window, a door or an air-conditioning system.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a computer-aided process for carrying out the structural design of a stiffened panel (9) made of a composite material, optimizing a target variable, comprising a first preparation phase (21) in which a Simulation Model (25) of the stiffened panel (9) with all the relevant information for the structural analysis thereof is obtained from a General Finite Element Model (23) and the modifiable variables and the restrictions (27) are defined, and a second simulation phase (51) in which the design variables are iteratively modified for the purpose of optimizing the target variable, taking into account in each iteration the load distribution changes resulting from the previous iteration, and verifying that the restrictive conditions and the safety margins associated to the pre-established failure modes are met using for that purpose simulation expert modules (55) of families of failure modes.

Abstract: The present invention discloses a method and related apparatus for determining a cardiac parameter from either the arterial blood pressure signal or the photoplethysmographic signal to quantify the degree of amplitude modulation due to respiration (pulse pressure variation) and predict fluid responsiveness. The method involves the application of Lempel-Ziv complexity to a filtered and segmented physiologic signal for direct determination of the fluid status of a patient. Real-time monitoring of fluid status involves the implementation of the disclosed method as part of a bedside monitoring apparatus.

Abstract: A cluster computer system capable of filtering stale messages resulting from changes in a cluster membership. The system has interconnected nodes each hosting one or more applications and having a node filter for filtering messages to and from other nodes based on a membership identification and information about source nodes and destination nodes of the messages. Each application of a hosting node includes multiple application filters corresponding to other nodes in the system for filtering messages to and from the application based on the membership identification and an application view of the cluster membership. Each node further includes a communication agent for detecting when another node is disconnected from the membership and for updating its filters with the membership identification that reflects the node disconnection.

Abstract: A lighting and/or signalling device, in particular for a motor vehicle, comprising at least one light source emitting light rays and at least one optical guide in which the light beam spreads, the at least one optical guide comprising at at least one of its ends an input face coupling the at least one optical guide and the at least one light source, a first surface forming an output face for the light beam, and a second surface, in particular remote from the output face, forming a face for reflection of the light rays, such that the at least one optical guide has at least one bend, the at least one optical guide in the region of the at least one bend having at least one corner protruding toward the outside of the at least one bend and bevelled by having two facets in order to send back the incident rays into the at least one optical guide.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a computer-aided process for carrying out the structural design of a stiffened panel (9) made of a composite material, optimizing a target variable, comprising a first preparation phase (21) in which a Simulation Model (25) of the stiffened panel (9) with all the relevant information for the structural analysis thereof is obtained from a General Finite Element Model (23) and the modifiable variables and the restrictions (27) are defined, and a second simulation phase (51) in which the design variables are iteratively modified for the purpose of optimizing the target variable, taking into account in each iteration the load distribution changes resulting from the previous iteration, and verifying that the restrictive conditions and the safety margins associated to the pre-established failure modes are met using for that purpose simulation expert modules (55) of families of failure modes.

Abstract: A lighting and/or signalling device, in particular for a motor vehicle, comprising at least one light source emitting light rays and at least one optical guide in which the light beam spreads, the at least one optical guide comprising at at least one of its ends an input face coupling the at least one optical guide and the at least one light source, a first surface forming an output face for the light beam, and a second surface, in particular remote from the output face, forming a face for reflection of the light rays, such that the at least one optical guide has at least one bend, the at least one optical guide in the region of the at least one bend having at least one corner protruding toward the outside of the at least one bend and bevelled by having two facets in order to send back the incident rays into the at least one optical guide.

Abstract: The invention relates to a mobile structure which is intended for various different uses and purposes and which is of the type that comprises a flat floor chassis with wheels, towing means such that it can be towed by a vehicle and floor support means. The invention is characterized in that the structure comprises: an upper structural shell consisting of two outer frames and at least one intermediate frame, which are connected at the top by lateral and central longitudinal joists, and crossbars forming a plurality of upper cavities which are covered either by laminar sections or skylight elements; and a plurality of independent panels forming the walls of the structure, which are disposed around the structural shell and which can take the form of solid panels or panels comprising a window, a door or an air-conditioning system.

Abstract: A combined tool includes a cutting tool that has a housing including a pair of conjoined shells. Each shell has a U-shaped notch formed at a distal end thereof that form a rectangular opening when the shells are abutted. Each shell has an interior groove formed therein that creates a storage chamber after the shells are abutted. A fastener is inserted through the shells. A plastic cap is connected to proximal ends of the shells. A measuring tape has a housing and an extendable and retractable body housed therein that has a rigid stop member coupled thereto. The stop member is vertically interfitted into the opening and remains spaced from the storage chamber so the user can maintain a continuous line of sight into the storage chamber while the body is engaged with the opening. The measuring tape and the cutting tool travel in sync during cutting procedures.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for selectively displaying data. The apparatus includes an aerial support mechanism, such as a helium balloon, adapted to be positioned at a desired location, which may be changed based on a user preference. The apparatus also includes a processor, coupled to the aerial support mechanism, which accesses, retrieves and stores display data. A projection module is coupled to the processing module. The projection module displays portions of the data, as a function of the processor. The projection module displays the portions of the data on a surface such as the ground, side of a building or screen. User-input commands determine the portions of the data displayed by the projection module and the projection module displays different data over a predetermined period of time. Also, a mobile display, mounted on a bus or taxi, can be used to display data based on the location of the mobile display.