A textile for providing traditional Chinese medicine therapy to a wearer using electronic stimulation includes at least two conductive paths that are made from conductive textile material, the conductive paths are separated by nonconductive textile material, at least one pair of electrodes attach to the conductive paths corresponding to specific part of body or acupoints according to traditional Chinese medicine theory, and an electronic stimulation signal controller configured to conduct electronic stimulation signals to the electrodes via the conductive paths.

A method of influencing combustion dynamics, including measuring a combustion dynamics parameter, and controlling a diluent flow (26) delivered to a fuel flow (32) upstream of a pilot burner fuel outlet (40) in response to the measured combustion dynamics parameter.

A method of tilting liquid crystal molecules is presented. The method entails providing a substrate including a photoalignment layer on top of a layer of liquid crystal molecules. The photoalignment layer is exposed to patterned light that is incident on the substrate at a substantially normal angle. The patterned light is polarized in a polarization direction that is non-parallel to an incident surface of the substrate.

A continuously variable transmission for a vehicle comprises a primary pulley, a secondary pulley, and a belt entrained around both pulleys in an opposite manner between the fixed and movable sheaves thereof. One pulley carries a selectively deployable stop that may be placed into position to mechanically limit the range of motion between the fixed and movable sheaves. This establishes an actual maximum transmission ratio that is larger than the nominal minimum transmission ratio but smaller than the nominal maximum transmission ratio achievable by the transmission during normal operation thereof. When such a transmission is used on a utility vehicle attached to a substance dispensing applicator operatively driven by the vehicle's engine, the application rate stays substantially constant despite changes in engine speed when the user keeps the transmission upshifted to the actual maximum transmission ratio set by the position of the deployed stop.

In the course of a machining of a workpiece with a tool, a drive spindle with a tilt table secured thereto of a tilt device provided on a work table of a machining center is rotated by a direct drive motor to control the relative angular position between the tool and the workpiece, and within a predetermined period of time in the course of a machining, the direct drive motor is rotated at a high speed with a spindle head and the work table of the machining center kept away to rotate the drive spindle and hence, the tilt table at a high speed, so that chips and cutting lubricant can be shaken from the workpiece and the tilt table.

The present invention relates to a ventilator autoclave comprising a chamber (1) with a space (5) for receiving goods (18) to be sterilized, at least one fan arrangement (2) for circulating steam and/or air in said chamber, and at least one first heat exchanger arrangement (11) for cooling and/or heating said steam and/or air, wherein said fan arrangement is arranged and configured to circulate said steam and/or air in said chamber (1), wherein said chamber (1) is configured such that said steam and/or air that is circulated in said chamber (1) follows a flow path passing at least a part of said first heat exchanger arrangement (11) before reaching said goods (18) to be sterilized, wherein said autoclave further comprises at least one second heat exchanger arrangement (19) that is provided upstream of said first heat exchanger arrangement (11) in said flow path, and wherein said second heat exchanger arrangement (19) is provided at such a distance from the periphery of said fan arrangement (2) that said flow of steam and/or air being circulated by said fan arrangement has a tangential velocity component, as seen in relation to the fan arrangement, when it passes said second heat exchanger arrangement (19).

According to one embodiment, a multilayer optical recording medium including a substrate, a guide layer group that is provided on the substrate and has guide layers in which positional information in a radial direction is recorded, and a recording layer group that is provided on the substrate and has recording layers in which information can be recorded. In the recording layer group, positional information of the recording layers associated with the positional information recorded in the guide layers and control information of the optical device where reflected light volumes of the laser beams on the guide layers and the recording layers become maximum at the positions in the radial direction are recorded at the positions in the radial direction of the recording layers.

A surgical tourniquet cuff that includes a stabilizer component that facilitates application of an overlapping cuff around the limb of a patient. The stabilizer is fixed to the cuff, and requires no tying or similar user manipulation to secure the overlapping cuff in alignment with the underlying cuff. The stabilizer improves the stability of the inflated cuff to prevent sideways shifting motion of overlapping cuff portions as the cuff is applied to the limb. The stabilizer also provides a handle mechanism to enable the user to snugly apply the overlapping cuff around the patient's limb while the overlapping portions remain properly aligned along their long axes. The stabilizer is designed to also facilitate attaching together two tourniquet cuffs end-to-end, with respective bladders overlapping and in proper alignment so that those attached cuffs can be used as a single, extended surgical cuff applied around a patient's limb.

An orthopedic cast removal tool and method uses an unmodified, typically cordless, rotary impact driver and a embedded wire to cut through an orthopedic cast for removal. By merging it with a slotted spacer block specifically for this cast removal purpose, an ergonomic tool is provided which allays fears of orthopedic patients. When rotating and encountering high resistance of the plaster or fiberglass material of the cast, the cordless rotary impact driver does not bog down; since it seamlessly engages impact action, which offers an order of magnitude or more torque multiplication via short frequent pulses (several per second) to overcome this torque resistance. Thus a high amount of torque with very little reaction force is made available to cut through a cast while affording the technician good control. The cast is cut very rapidly with little dust creation and no jostling of the patient.

Certain embodiments of the present invention provide robotic control modules for use in a robotic control system of a vehicle, including structures, systems and methods, that can provide (i) a robotic control module that has multiple functional circuits, such as a processor and accompanying circuits, an actuator controller, an actuator amplifier, a packet network switch, and a power supply integrated into a mountable and/or stackable package/housing; (ii) a robotic control module with the noted complement of circuits that is configured to reduce heat, reduce space, shield sensitive components from electro-magnetic noise; (iii) a robotic control system utilizing robotic control modules that include the sufficiently interchangeable functionality allowing for interchangeability of modules; and (iv) a robotic control system that distributes the functionality and processing among a plurality of robotic control modules in a vehicle.

Sag in ceiling tiles is reduced by the present coated ceiling tile and method which decreases sag in the coated ceiling tiles. Calcined gypsum and water are combined to form a coating which is applied to the back side of a base ceiling tile in a thin layer of about 100 micrometer to about 1000 micrometers. The coating optionally includes a set time modifier. This method makes a coated ceiling tile from a base ceiling tile having a front side and a back side opposing the front side. The coating is applied to the back side of the base ceiling tile, the coating comprising an interlocking matrix of calcium sulfate dihydrate. Optionally, remnants of the set time modifier are present within interstices in the gypsum matrix. The remnants of the set time molecule include ions, molecules, particles or combinations thereof.

A multilayer armor is provided that includes a first rigid layer, a second rigid layer, and an interlayer securing the first and second rigid layers to one another. At least one of the first and second rigid layers can include a plurality of regions with a physical or material property that varies between the regions. The interlayer can have a force-extension ratio of 5,600 psi/in or less. The interlayer can have a physical or material property that varies within the interlayer.

A method of treating a disease or condition in which up-regulating GAGs is therapeutically beneficial is disclosed, in particular osteoarthritis and skin diseases. The method comprises locally administering to a subject a therapeutically effective amount of an agent capable of down-regulating activity or expression of a component of the renin-angiotensin system.

Disclosed are sets of ink components, and ink compositions, useful for printing markings, on security documents, that are relatively resistant to counterfeiting. Also disclosed are the security documents formed, a method of printing and a method of authenticating the printed material. The markings, formed of the ink compositions have a spectral response that deviates from a predicted spectral response when linearly additively combining spectral responses of components of the ink composition, so that it becomes difficult to reverse-engineer the ink composition from the markings. Use of plural different markings, with each marking being a microdot, increases difficulty in counterfeiting. By forming a template of spectral responses of the original pattern, spectral responses of a pattern on an unknown document can be compared to the spectral responses on the template for determining whether the unknown document is authentic. Formation of the markings is facilitated using an inkjet printer.

A dual-stack read sensor is utilized in a storage device having an actuator arm that positions the read sensor over a rotating storage medium. The dual-stacked read sensor includes a primary read sensor having a first set of read sensor characteristics and a secondary read sensor having a second set of read sensor characteristics that differ from the first set of read sensor characteristics, wherein the secondary read sensor is positioned relative to the primary read sensor to be radially offset from the primary read sensor relative to a data track being read.

A method for communication between computing devices includes identifying the parameters of a data transfer between a source computing device and a target computing device and identifying communication paths between a source computing device and target computing device, in which at least one of the communications paths is a physical network. A communication path is selected for the data transfer. When a data transfer over the physical network is selected as a communication path, a nonvolatile memory (NVM) unit is removed from the source computing device and placed in a cartridge and the cartridge is programmed with transfer information. The NVM unit and cartridge are transported through the physical network to the target computing device according to the transfer information and the NVM unit is electrically connected to the target computing device.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, interfacing between a plurality of applications for display on a mobile device includes receiving, by an interface, a request to open a plurality of applications. The plurality of applications are associated with a plurality of business units and comprise one or more native applications and one or more web applications. A processor opens the plurality of applications in a container according to a configuration file. The processor is communicatively coupled to the interface. The container is operable to be displayed on a user interface of the mobile device.

A method for repairing an aged or damaged asphalt pavement is provided. The method involves preparing a surface of the aged or damaged asphalt pavement by filling in deviations from a uniform surface plane with dry aggregate and compacting the dry aggregate; applying a reactive asphalt emulsion to the prepared surface; and passing an emitter over the prepared pavement, wherein the emitter generates electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength of from 2-5 mm that penetrates into the pavement to a depth of at least 2 inches. The asphalt pavement is repaired by disturbing voids and interstices in the damaged pavement without dehydrogenation of the asphalt, such that oligomers present in the aged asphalt are linked together into longer polymer chains to improve ductility of the aged asphalt.

This invention provides a modular ducting section and a networked utilities ducting system and rain and road water management system formed from two or more modular ducting sections laying end-to-end. Each modular ducting section comprises open-topped utility channels for carrying utility service supply lines such as electricity, gas, water, or communications, an open-topped catchment channel for carrying rain water captured from a building structure or garden, and a supply channel for supplying an end user with utility services via a supply line, while also allowing the end user to feed an end-user generated utility supply back into the corresponding utility service supply line via a return line. Each modular ducting section further comprises a road water runoff flange and a main channel cover, which when combined, form a curb-side structure that functions to keep any contaminated road water from the reusable rain water collected in the catchment channel.

The present invention relates to an ADA compliant detectable warning or guidance tile for pedestrian platforms, walkways, and sidewalks and the like having a detectable warning surface containing raised truncated domes detectable by the visually impaired in accordance with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and Facilities and being provided with one or more additional means on the top surface of the tile to provide visual or tactile information to sighted and visually impaired pedestrians.

A system for ventilating an explosion hazard region of an aircraft includes a ram-air channel, which has an air inlet for feeding ambient air into the ram-air channel as well as an air outlet. The ram-air channel is devised to feed air to a device that is to be cooled on board the aircraft. A ventilation line has an air inlet for feeding air flowing through the ram-air channel into the ventilation line as well as an air outlet. The ventilation line is devised to feed air to a region of the aircraft that is to be ventilated. An accumulator is disposed between the ram-air channel and the air inlet of the ventilation line and is devised to convert the dynamic pressure of the air flow conveyed through the ram-air channel at least partially into static pressure for regulating flow through the explosion hazard region.

A tractor cab HVAC system has a blower (22) which draws air into the system via air intake means (13) in the roof (14) of the cab (10). Ducting (15) in the roof of the cab directs air drawn in via the intake means down the center of one or more hollow adjacent pillars (16) of the cab to an air filter (18) contained in a housing (20) located between the adjacent pillars. Further ducting (19) extends from the air filter housing to an HVAC unit (11), the HVAC unit processing the air drawn into the system prior to discharging the processed air into the cab. The filter housing (20) is of generally rectangular form and is connected at opposite ends to the two hollow adjacent pillars (16) of the cab via inlet openings (20a) in the housing to allow the passage of intake air from the pillars to the filter (18).

This application relates to ventilation systems, more particularly to roof ventilation systems that help to protect buildings against fires. The roof vent has an ember impedance structure that impedes the entry of flames and embers or other floating burning materials while still permitting sufficient air flow to adequately ventilate a building. Several configurations of vents employing baffle members and fire-resistant mesh material are described, which can substantially prevent the ingress of floating embers and flames.

A ventilated roof features an elongated vent having a vent opening and an elongated vent shingle supporting surface. The vent opening is in fluid communication with a slot defined by the top surface of a roof deck and communicating through the roof deck. An end cap has an end cap shingle supporting surface and is located adjacent to an end of the elongated vent. The vent and the end cap adjacent to the vent are supported in an equivalent spaced-apart relation to the top surface of the roof deck. The elongated vent shingle supporting surface, the end cap shingle supporting surface and the top surface of the roof deck provide a substantially continuous support to a shingle overlapping any two of those elements.

An electronic device may determine to present a video frame still image sequence version of a video instead of the video. The electronic device may derive a plurality of still images from the video. The electronic device may generate the video frame still image sequence by associating the plurality of still images. The electronic device may present the video frame still image sequence. The video frame still image sequence may be displayed according to timing information to resemble play of the video. In some cases, audio may also be derived from the video. In such cases, display of the video frame still image sequence may be performed along with play of the audio.

A piezoresistive sensor device and a method for making a piezoresistive device are disclosed. The sensor device comprises a silicon wafer having piezoresistive elements and contacts in electrical communication with the elements. The sensor device further comprises a contact glass coupled to the silicon wafer and having apertures aligned with the contacts. The sensor device also comprises a non-conductive frit for mounting the contact glass to a header glass, and a conductive non-lead glass frit disposed in the apertures and in electrical communication with the contacts. The method for making a piezoresistive sensor device, comprises bonding a contact glass to a silicon wafer such that apertures in the glass line up with contacts on the wafer, and filling the apertures with a non-lead glass frit such that the frit is in electrical communication with the contacts. The use of a lead free glass frit prevents catastrophic failure of the piezoresistive sensor and associated transducer in ultra high temperature applications.

An electric-hydraulic antilock braking system (ABS) installed in a trailer is coupled with a tow vehicle to facilitate controlled braking of the trailer. A trailer in-cab controller (TIC) monitors vehicle networks for diagnostic information used in determining appropriate braking actions to be taken. A communication network can interconnect the TIC, a trailer actuator controller (TAC), and an ABS controller. The ABS controller receives current tow vehicle speeds and current trailer wheel speeds, and dynamically adjusts the brakes based on the differences in the speeds. A three-way solenoid valve or an equivalent valve structure thereto allows for the ABS system to be quickly activated and deactivated.

When a trailer is pulled by a tow vehicle where the trailer begins to sway to the left and right of the tow vehicle a large sway can result in loss of control of the trailer and or tow vehicle. The field of the present invention is a system and method of controlling a trailer sway which comprises determining the sway of the trailer utilizing an electronic sensor and independently applying the left and or right trailer brakes at varying levels to reduce trailer sway the traditional single braking signal power from the tow vehicle is separated into two independent braking signals for each of the left and right brakes. All brakes are applied whenever the traditional braking signal goes active where trailer battery power is utilized to independently activate the left and or right brakes during trailer sway.

An electric driving type utility vehicle having a regenerative brake force distribution control function, and a regenerative brake force distribution control method thereof are provided. The utility vehicle includes: a controller for controlling an output and a recovery of a motor; recovery sensing means for sensing a recovery braking state when the motor is driven; a power measurement unit for measuring the amount of recovery power generated in the recovery braking state; and a power switching unit for automatically switching a drive mode from a two-wheel drive mode to a four-wheel drive mode or vice versa according to the load condition. The present invention can switch the present mode to the four-wheel drive mode by operating the power switching unit according to the control of the controller when sensing the recovery brake through the recovery sensing means in the driving state.

A control system (128) for controlling a switched reluctance (SR) machine (110) having a rotor (116) and a stator (118) is provided. The control system (128) may include a converter circuit (122) operatively coupled to the stator (118) and including a plurality of switches (132) in selective communication with each phase of the stator (118) and a controller (130) in communication with each of the stator (118) and the converter circuit (122). The controller (130) may be configured to determine a position of the rotor (116) relative to the stator (118), and generate a modulated switching frequency (152) based on the rotor position.

An improved rearward-hinged and forward-hinged, rotatable and tiltable receiving table for a agricultural bale transport vehicle that selectively tilts and rotates a layer of bales resting thereupon 90 degrees relative to a preceding bale layer on the transport vehicle to criss-cross tie a load of bales (a plurality of layers of bales) together in a load stack offloaded from the transport vehicle to the field for later pickup and movement or deposit in a bale storage area. Preferably, the bale transport vehicle is a mid-size or big bale stack wagon having a Mil-Stak® bale loader previously installed or concurrently being installed. The invention enables the lifting, tilting, rotating, and depositing of one mid-size or big bale or a plurality of mid-size or big bales from a rearward-hinged and forward-hinged bale receiving table of the bale transport vehicle onto a rear-hinged stack load table for consolation into a load with other layers of bales for transport from the field. The invention allows selective 90 degree rotation of a layer of bales relative to a preceding layer of bales of the bale stack on the rear-hinged stack load table.

A biosensor and method of making are disclosed. The biosensor is configured to detect a target and may include a peptide immobilized on a sensing component, the sensing component having an anode and a cathode. The immobilized peptide may comprise an antimicrobial peptide binding motif for the target. The sensing component has an electrical conductivity that changes in response to binding of the immobilized peptide to the target. The immobilized peptide may bind one or more targets selected from the list consisting of: bacteria, Gram-negative bacteria, Gram-positive bacteria, pathogens, protozoa, fungi, viruses, and cancerous cells. The biosensor may have a display with a readout that is responsive to changes in electrical conductivity of the sensing component. The display unit may be wirelessly coupled to the sensing component. A resonant circuit with an inductive coil may be electrically coupled to the sensing component. A planar coil antenna may be disposed in proximity to the resonant circuit, the planar coil antenna being configured to provide power to the sensing component.

A tilt anvil assembly is disclosed which includes a center rod and a head assembly pivotally mounted to the center rod. The head assembly includes a housing, a post and an anvil plate. The head assembly is pivotally secured to the center rod and pivotal in relation to the center rod in discrete steps between a non-tilted position and a fully tilted position via a plurality of partially tilted positions. The head assembly is configured to maintain a partially tilted position.

In a ventilation fan of inner rotor type in which a shaft is fixed to a motor supporting portion, the shaft is held by a shaft holding portion preferably provided by, for example, a metal member. The shaft holding portion includes a cylindrical portion which is fixed to a resin of the motor supporting portion preferably by being embedded through insert molding and into which the shaft is inserted, and a shaft holding flange portion extending outwards in the radial direction from either one of an upper end or a lower end of the cylindrical portion.

A hybrid drive system for a utility vehicle (1) which operates with an internal combustion engine (12) and an electrical generator (80), motor (86) and storage means (84). Auxiliary hydraulic functions (93,94) may be powered by the electric motor (86). An output of the engine (12) is mechanically coupled to a multi-ratio transmission (10) which has a hydrostatic driveline (24) and an output which is mechanically coupled to propulsion means. With the engine switched off, the electric motor powers a hydraulic pump (91) which generates pressurized fluid to operate auxiliary functions. In addition, the pressurized fluid may be exploited in a secondary propulsion mode to drive a hydraulic motor (92) in the hydrostatic transmission to propel the vehicle in a low emission, low noise output mode.

A ventilating fan comprises a ventilating fan body, a ventilating fan mounting member, and a power supply case. A power supply wire disposed in the ventilating fan body to be connected to a blower is provided with an internal terminal at a leading end of the power supply wire. The power supply case projects from the power supply opening to be located outside the cylinder of the ventilating fan mounting member, and is fixed to the ventilating fan mounting member from the indoor side. An external terminal is mounted on an indoor side of the power supply case. An external electric wire for supplying electric power to the ventilating fan is connected with the external terminal in the power supply case, and the internal terminal is connected with the external terminal, so that the connection operation becomes simpler.

A toy projectile launching system including at least one launchable toy projectile, including at least one RFID tag, and a toy projectile launching apparatus, including a housing, a projectile launching mechanism, a projectile receptacle, and an RFID writer adapted to write tag data to the at least one RFID tag, wherein the toy projectile is adapted to be loaded into the projectile receptacle and launched by the projectile launching mechanism.

A female thread member capable of preventing seizing caused by inclined insertion, and being smoothly fastened from any directions in which a bolt is inserted, and a fastening member using the female thread member. A non-thread portion is formed on an inner peripheral surface of a female thread member body having a female thread for a length corresponding to at least one pitch from an end surface on a bolt-inserting side, and a projection which comes into contact with a flank surface of a male thread of an inserted bolt is formed on a line extending from a helical line of the female thread. The female thread member is used in combination with the bolt having no incomplete thread portion, and there is no adverse possibility of seizing regardless of any directions in which the bolt is inserted.

A counter in a non-volatile memory including at least two sub-counters, each counting with a different modulo, an increment of the counter being transferred on a single one of the sub-counters and the sub-counters being incremented sequentially.

Magnetoelectronic (ME) logic circuits and methods of operating the same are disclosed. Microsystems of different circuits made from different types of ME devices can be constructed and employed in applications such as sensors, smart dust, etc.

The present invention involves, in some embodiments, systems and methods involving fluid handling apparatus for pumping fluid to and from a patient, which may include a reusable component and a disposable pumping cartridge. The reusable component may comprise a control chamber and a pressure transducer configured to measure a gas pressure associated with the control chamber, as well as a processor. The processor may be configured to supply the control chamber with a gas at a predetermined pressure, monitor the gas pressure associated within the control chamber with the pressure transducer over a predetermined period of time, and determine if the change in gas pressure associated within the control chamber exceeds a maximum allowable predetermined limit.

The present invention relates to a camera module including: a lens unit mounted with at least one or more lenses; an image sensor mounted with an image pickup device for converting a light converged through the lenses to an electric signal; a PCB (Printed Circuit Board) mounted with the image sensor; and a holder accommodated inside the lens unit for supporting the lens unit, wherein the lens unit is bonded and fixed at an inner surface of the holder, whereby the lens unit mounted with a plurality of lenses is bonded to a lateral surface of a holder to prevent generation of vertical tilting phenomenon at the lens unit caused by a conventional improper coating of epoxy, and particularly, the coating of epoxy on the lateral surface of the holder advantageously enhances adhesive power to increase a bonded area.

A multilayered cell culture apparatus for the culturing of cells is disclosed. The cell culture apparatus is defined as an integral structure having a plurality of cell culture chambers in combination with tracheal space(s). The body of the apparatus has imparted therein gas permeable membranes in combination with tracheal spaces that will allow the free flow of gases between the cell culture chambers and the external environment. The flask body also includes an aperture that will allow access to the cell growth chambers by means of a needle or cannula. The size of the apparatus, and location of an optional neck and cap section, allows for its manipulation by standard automated assay equipment, further making the apparatus ideal for high throughput applications.

Methods and apparatus for computing the carrier frequency of a transmitter using frequency modulated digital data to compensate for frequency shifting of the transmitter and the receiver local oscillators and for bandwidth adjustment of the receiver's filter. In particular, methods and apparatus are disclosed for binary systems transmitting “1” and “0” data using decoded or undecoded received signals.

A printing device includes at least one printing engine that has actuators and sensors. At least one engine controller is operatively connected to the printing engine, the engine controller uses software to control operations of the printing engine. At least one non-volatile memory is operatively connected to the engine controller. The non-volatile memory stores values used by the engine controller to control operations of the printing engine. Further, at least one adapter card is operatively connected to the non-volatile memory and to the actuators and sensors. The adapter card stores data and receives sensor feedback from the sensors. The adapter card uses the data and the sensor feedback to control the actuators by bypassing the engine controller when communicating with the actuators. The adapter card provides adapter card feedback to the non-volatile memory.

A tool for lifting a tile from the bore of a chimney or other vertical opening has pivotably connected arms. Jaws at the lower ends of the arms are offset from a lifting point of the tool and optionally, from the pivot point. An actuating mechanism closes the jaws. One mechanism comprises a screw that moves a nut and one or more toggle elements connected thereto. Another mechanism comprises toggle elements which connect to the upper ends of arms and pull on them when upward force is applied at a lifting point. A releasable latch keeps the arms of tool spaced apart while a tile wall is being engaged. At least one jaw is a thin plate; preferably the opposing jaw is pivotable. Both jaws may be angled relative to the principal axis of the tool.

A board game incorporating binary conversions to entertain and educate players, comprising a multi-tiered playing field, a plurality of counters, of control pads, and playing cards. The playing field comprises a plurality of rooms, doors, roof hatches, and lights. Players enter the values from the playing cards into the control pads. The control pads electronically communicate with the counters to display the binary conversions. Based on the binary conversions, the lights on the playing field indicate which doors and roof hatches are opened or closed allowing players to navigate through the playing field. The winning player wins by being the first player to exit the playing field. It is contemplated that the board game can extend to computer games, video games, smart phone and tablet applications, theme parks or other similar gaming opportunities wherein players can compete to navigate through and be the first to exit the playing field.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a projectile target is disclosed comprising a target having a substantially sealed chamber having a front face and a rear face with an enclosing side wall disposed intermediate. The front and rear faces are formed by membranes configured to allow a projectile to pass therethrough and then substantially seal to maintain the substantially sealed chamber. Pressure wave sensors are disposed within the chamber and are configured to detect pressure waves created by the projectile. A target controller receives signals from the pressure sensors indicative of the pressure sensed by the sensors and determines an impact point of the projectile on the front face of the target.

Shooters must presently take their firearms out of their hands to then manually actuate a new target into shooting position. This Target Apparatus will allow the shooter to shine his laser light, infrared light, flashlight, or multi-spectrum light onto a Target Apparatus-mounted sensor that engages a drive means mounted upon the target frame that then forwards a new target into position without removing the firearm from its' shooting position. The unit also uses a unique target backing material that does not require targets to be made of rolls of coated or heavy material stock. The system can utilize rolls of cash register paper, cut sections of gift wrapping paper, hand towel rolls, or even paper towels as target materials without snagging and preventing the next target from being presented.

Provided is a method of producing a carbon catalyst having an improved activity. The method of producing carbon catalyst including a carbonization step of carbonizing raw materials containing an organic compound as a carbon source, a metal, and an electrically conductive carbon material to produce a carbonized material; a metal impregnation step of impregnating the carbonized material with a metal; and a heat treatment step of subjecting the carbonized material impregnated with the metal to a heat treatment.