Systems and methods for improving operation of a hybrid vehicle driveline are presented. In one example, a margin torque for closing a torque converter clutch is adjusted responsive to a state of engine operation.

A hybrid vehicle driveline may include an engine and an electric machine that supply torque to the vehicle's wheels via a transmission. The transmission may be an automatic transmission that includes a torque converter. The torque converter multiplies engine torque and provides a fluidic coupling between propulsion devices and the wheels. However, the torque converter may increase driveline losses when torque converter input speed is different from torque converter output speed. Therefore, it may be desirable to close a torque converter clutch that mechanically couples the torque converter's impeller to the torque converter's turbine. By mechanically coupling the turbine to the impeller, torque converter losses may be reduced.
The torque converter clutch may be opened and closed by releasing and supplying transmission fluid to the torque converter clutch. Transmission fluid may be supplied to the torque converter clutch at different pressures to adjust the torque converter clutch torque capacity. The torque converter clutch capacity (e.g., the amount of torque the torque converter clutch is able to transfer) may be increased up to a rated torque capacity of the torque converter clutch, which may be referred to as a hard locking of the torque converter clutch. It may be desirable to slip the torque converter clutch to reduce driveline vibration when the engine is started by the electric machine; however, engine starting may have to be delayed because it takes a finite amount of time to reduce torque converter clutch pressure so that the torque converter clutch may be allowed to slip.
The inventors herein have recognized the above-mentioned disadvantages and have developed a driveline operating method, comprising: applying a first margin torque to a torque converter clutch when an engine and an electric machine are mechanically coupled; and applying a second margin torque to the torque converter clutch when the engine and electric machine are not mechanically coupled.
By applying different margin torques for different driveline operating conditions, it may be possible to provide the technical result of reducing engine starting delay during an engine restart. Specifically, if an engine is stopped and torque is provided to a driveline only via an electric machine, the torque converter clutch torque capacity may be reduced to a lesser torque than if the engine and motor were providing torque to a transmission. Reducing the torque converter clutch capacity may allow the torque converter clutch to operate at a lower pressure so that it take less time to drain transmission fluid from the torque converter clutch so that the torque converter clutch may slip and reduce driveline noise and vibration.
The present description may provide several advantages. Specifically, the approach may allow for shorter engine reactivation times. Further, the approach may reduce driveline losses. Further still, the approach may improve vehicle fuel economy.
The above advantages and other advantages, and features of the present description will be readily apparent from the following Detailed Description when taken alone or in connection with the accompanying drawings.
It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure.

Systems and methods for operating a torque converter clutch


A mix for forming a silicon nitride bonded magnesia refractory shape consisting essentially of; for each 100 wt. % thereof at least, about 3 to 20 wt. % of a high purity silicon powder containing no more than about 0.2 wt. % metallic impurities and, correspondingly, 97 to 80 wt. % of a high purity magnesite; and the resultant refractory shape formed after shaping of the mix and nitriding thereof and the method of making such shape.

The present invention relates to silicon nitride bonded magnesia brick particularly suited for use in the processing of molten aluminum and its alloys, particularly aluminum-lithium alloys which are used in aerospace applications. These alloys typically contain about 2-3 wt.% lithium which significantly increases the strength of aluminum and decreases weight.
A number of refractory compositions have been proposed for the processing of such molten aluminum materials. However, they are not entirely satisfactory, particularly in the processing of molten aluminum-lithium alloys which have a very corrosive and fluid character. These alloys have a very sharp melting point and above that point have a viscosity like that of water. Also, superheating of the alloys is necessary to prevent freezing of the metal before shape forming can be accomplished. At such superheating temperatures lithium tends to vaporize out of the alloy and because of its low surface tension tends to penetrate into most refractory linings. Because of lithium's corrosive nature most conventional refractories are readily destroyed. An additional deficiency with most refractories is that after reaction with such alloys the eroded refractory contaminates such alloys resulting in a severe loss in the strength of the metal. Common contaminants such as iron, silicon, calcium, sodium, and the like must not, in total, exceed 0.05 wt.% in these alloys in order not to adversely affect the strength.
For these reasons, only two refractories have been found which can provide a reasonable containment of these alloys. These are an oxide bonded magnesia and a silicon nitride bonded silicon carbide. However, even these are not entirely satisfactory. Both contaminate the alloy to an unacceptable degree. The oxide bonded magnesia refractories are also deeply penetrated by the molten alloys and the silicon nitride bonded refractories, while not deeply penetrated, are adversely weakened by attack on the silicon carbide grains.
In addition to these deficiencies processing of mixes to make the shapes; such as brick, by molding were not entirely satisfactory in that the brick showed weakness at the press in the formation of "pressure" cracks. Efforts to make a shape free of cracking even after many mix changes have not been satisfactory.

Silicon nitride bonded magnesia refractory and method


Iontophoretic devices for treating dentin hypersensitivity are provided. One device includes a housing, an electric current source, and a replaceable cartridge mounted to or in the housing. The cartridge includes (1) a container containing an iontophoretic solution and (2) an applicator assembly fixed to the container. The assembly has a tip portion that is in electrical and fluid communication with the solution. Also provided is an iontophoretic toothbrush that includes an applicator assembly that has a brush with improved bristles.

This invention relates to iontophoretic devices. More particularly, this invention relates to iontophoretic devices that use electric current to drive ionic species, such as fluoride ions, into hard or soft tissue, including teeth to relieve dentin sensitivity.
According to at least one estimate, as many as 40 million Americans suffer from dentin sensitivity (Cooley, R. L. xe2x80x9cEffectiveness of potassium oxilate treatment on dentin hypersensitivity,xe2x80x9d Gen Dent. at 330-333 (July-August 1989)). Moreover, the incidence of hypersensitive dentin is much higher among patients with dentin surfaces exposed by cervical erosion, gingival recession, hypoplasia, or periodontal surgery (Gendusa, N. J. xe2x80x9cSpecial Report, An Introduction To Fluoride Iontophoresis, How To Relieve Dentin Hypersensitivity In Seconds,xe2x80x9d Parkell Today (November 1999)).
According to Brannstron, dentin hypersensitivity may result when fluid movement in open tubules hydraulically stimulates the odontoblasts and nerve fibers at the dentin-pulp junction (Brannstron M, et al., xe2x80x9cThe Hydrodynamics Of The Dentinal Tubule And of Pulp Fluid, Caries Res, 1:310 (1967)).
Gendusa explains that fluoride iontophoresis therapy is known to provide relief from dentin hypersensitivity by driving ionic species into tissue with an electric current. Fendusa also explains that the therapy is based on the principle that similar electric charges repel each other. When sodium fluoride dissolves in an aqueous solution, negatively charged fluoride ions are formed. When a DC circuit is established in a patient""s mouth in the presence of such a fluoride solution, such that a cathode is placed in electrical contact with the hypersensitive tissue, the cathode will electrically repel the fluoride ions into the tooth surface. According to Souder, the fluoride ions react with the calcium in the hydroxyapatite of the dentin to form fluorapatite (CaF2), which is believed to block the tubules with an insoluble compound (Souder W, et al., xe2x80x9cExperimental Remineralization Of Dentin,xe2x80x9d J. Am. Dent. Assoc. 31:1579 (1944)).
A number of chair-side fluoride iontophoresis delivery systems are known, including one sold under model No. D643D, available from Parkell, Electronics Division, of Farmingdale, N.Y. The system includes: (1) a battery-operated dentist-held device, (2) a patient-held grounding device, and (3) an electrically conductive cord connecting the two devices.
The dentist-held device includes a cathodic probe, which is metal, through which electric current can be applied to a patient""s tooth. Before being operated, however, the metal probe is inserted with a cotton pledget into a disposable plastic tube. During operation, an aqueous sodium fluoride solution is applied to the cotton permitting electric current to flow inside the plastic tube from the metal probe to the tooth.
Although the plastic tube and the cotton pledget are disposable, the metal probe is not, which means that it must be sterilized between patients. Such cleaning is costly, time consuming, and introduces a risk of infection if the probe is not properly sterilized.
Iontophoretic toothbrushes are also known, but they are relatively inefficient. The problem is that during normal brushing, the entire mouth is wet by a mixture of toothpaste, water, and saliva. This wet condition normally causes a substantial portion of the electrical current to be directed away from the intended treatment area because the electric current flows along the path of least resistance. Moreover, the magnitude of the electric current applied during an iontophoresis treatment can be limited to the degree of dentin sensitivity.
It would therefore be desirable to provide an iontophoretic toothbrush that efficiently directs electric current toward an intended area, even when the mouth is wet.
It would also be desirable to provide an iontophoresis device that does not require sterilization between patients.
It would further be desirable to provide an iontophoresis device that reduces the amount of time required for an iontophoretic treatment.
It would be still more desirable to provide an iontophoresis device that permits relatively large electric currents to be used during an iontophoretic treatment.
It is an object of this invention to provide an iontophoretic toothbrush that efficiently directs electric current toward an intended area, even when the mouth is wet.
It is also an object of this invention to provide an iontophoresis device that does not require sterilization between patients.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an iontophoresis device that reduces the amount of time required for an iontophoretic treatment.
It is a still a further object of this invention to provide an iontophoresis device that permits a patient to withstand larger electric current during an iontophoretic treatment.
In accordance with this invention, there is provided an iontophoretic apparatus that includes a replaceable cartridge. The replaceable cartridge can be mounted to a handle of the iontophoretic apparatus and includes a container containing an iontophoretic solution, and an applicator assembly fixed to the container that is in electrical communication with said solution in the container.
The replaceable nature of the cartridge eliminates the need to sterilize the applicator assembly each time a patient is treated. Thus, the cartridge is preferably disposable, although, as described below, it can be constructed to be refillable. In any case, the applicator assembly is preferably disposable. The cartridge also supplies a sterile iontophoretic solution to the applicator portion of the applicator assembly during operation. Cartridges having solutions of different concentrations can be provided, as desired.
According to another aspect of this invention, an iontophoretic toothbrush is provided. The iontophoretic toothbrush includes a handle, an electric current source, and an applicator assembly. The handle has an outer surface that is electrically conductive. The electric current source preferably supplies a regulated electric current using, for example, a power source (e.g., a battery), a regulator circuit, and a fuse. The applicator assembly is fixed to the handle and includes a tip portion that includes a brush having a plurality of bristles. Each of the bristles includes (1) an electrically conductive core having a first electrical resistance, and (2) a sheath around the core having a second electrical resistance that is greater than the first electrical resistance. Methods for making and using these apparatus are also provided.


A plant micropropagation apparatus (100) and process is provided in which a support platform (110) for vessels (12) containing a liquid growth media are periodically pivoted which brings about an intermittent immersion of the plant tissue/growth substrate in the growth media. The motion of the support platform (110) may optionally be used to engage a piston operated dispenser (14) for supplying aseptic media to the sealed vessel (12). The intermittent immersion also provides for an improved method of separating viable embryos from culture materials using a separation matrix in conjunction with the intermittent wave motion of the plant media when suspended in a liquid culture.

This invention is directed to an improved method and apparatus for regenerating whole plants from calli or tissue. In particular, the invention is directed towards a novel process and apparatus for intermittently exposing the cultivated plant tissue to a growth medium. The invention is further directed to a novel method of separating cultured plant embryos on the basis of embryo size, shape, and density through the use of an intermittent rocking action in combination with a series of separation grids, sieves, and/or baffles.
For many plant species there are well known protocols for the regeneration of whole plants from the aseptic culturing of an originally undifferentiated tissue such as protoplast, callus, or meristimatic tissue. Often, the protoplast, callus or meristimatic tissue have been genetically transformed or the meristimatic tissue is selected from a desired patented stock. The resulting protoplast, calli or tissue can then be regenerated into whole plants, including whole fertile plants that can grow in soil.
Existing methods of aseptic plant culturing involved starting with a callus or other stock material which is subcultured on a periodic basis onto a suitable fresh medium so as to induce embryo formation. As embryos are formed, they are removed and plated onto a second medium containing suitable plant growth regulators designed to bring about embryo maturation. Through periodic transfers onto fresh mediums, embryos can be differentiated into plantlets which are then transferred to another solid growth medium where root systems can be grown.
Alternative methods of plant regeneration or micropropagation involve the use of liquid cultures which immerse the various stages of the regenerating plant. While liquid culturing may be used to bring about mature viable plants, the process is expensive, prone to contamination, and requires that special steps be undertaken to successfully transfer the plants from a liquid culture environment to a condition where the plants are viable in a freestanding soil environment. In particular, the use of liquid cultures on rotary shakers results in a high shear force in the culture media. As vessel size increases, the high shear force involved in aeration creates an environment unsuitable for the growth and development of embryos and delicate organs such as leaves and shoots.
In particular, the collection and transfer of propagated embryos continues to be a labor intensive, manual process in which individual embryos are manipulated using forceps. While more mechanized solutions have been proposed, none have met with commercial success given in part the expense and complexity of the handling equipment.
It is also known in the art to propagate plant tissue into small plantlets as is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,597,731, incorporated herein by reference. The above patent discloses a plant propagation system in which sealed membrane vessels are used as a container for a plant material therein. The translucent vessels are permeable to gas and liquids. They are suitable for cultivating plant tissue obtained from a parent plant and which is subsequently grown heterotrophically. Once the plant material has developed the capability to photosynthesize, the sealed vessels are transferred to a greenhouse environment for photoautotrophic growth. An appropriate amount of needed gases, water, and liquid nutrient solution can be supplied in a controlled manner to the vessel trays.
Other plant propagation systems are known which use a liquid nutrient solution as set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,558,984, incorporated herein by reference. While a liquid nutrient solution for propagation of plant tissue offers numerous advantages in the large scale and economical propagation of plants, there remains room for improvement and variation within the art.
The present invention recognizes and addresses various disadvantages and drawbacks of prior art constructions and methods.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a plant micropropagation system.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new method for propagating plant tissue.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a micropropagation system for automatically growing plant tissues which makes use of an intermittent exposure to a liquid nutrient solution.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a mechanized system and process for promoting the heterotrophic growth of plant tissue in an aseptic environment.
It is yet an additional object of the present invention to provide for an improved process for collecting culture-grown plant embryos.
It is a further object of the present invention to use the intermittent wave motion established within a culture vessel and in combination with a mechanical separator to separate plant embryos from non-embryonic tissues on the basis of the embryo size, shape, and density.
These and other objects are achieved by providing a mechanized micropropagation system and process in which a pivoting platform is used to periodically immerse the plant tissue maintained in a sealed vessel to the nutrient media. The pivoting movement of the platform facilitates the growth of the plant such that the majority of the time the plant is not immersed in the growth media. Furthermore, the movement of the platform engages the head of a piston-operated pumping mechanism which is used to release nutrients from a storage vessel into the plant containment vessel. As a result, the propagated plants are more suitable for release into a soil environment and the plants are cultivated in a process which limits the likelihood of widespread contamination or cross-contamination from single nutrient source.
Additional objects of the present invention are provided by a process of separating plant embryos and/or providing an embryo enriched fraction from culture media comprising the steps of separating embryos from propagated tissue cultures; providing a vessel adapted for receiving aseptic tissue and media; placing within an interior of said vessel a separation matrix consisting of an innermost layer of a substrate, a template positioned upon said substrate, said template defining a plurality of openings therethrough and providing communication with said substrate, and, a screen positioned above the substrate, said screen defining a plurality of openings; introducing into said vessel a supply of cultured tissue containing embryos and a separation medium; establishing an intermittent wave motion to said separation medium and said tissue culture; separating a plurality of individual embryos from said culture, said plurality of embryos passing through said openings of said screen and said openings of said template.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims.

Intermittent immersion vessel apparatus and process for plant propagation


A multifunction hydration container accessory system having a hydration container of generally cylindrical shape having a planar bottom surface with bottom edges and having a top for filling and dispensing hydration liquids and comprising an accessory system having a plurality molded cavities for holding a plurality of accessories such as a compass, safety signal reflective material, thermometer, barometer and a container storage module.

It is often times desirable to carry food, water and equipment while participating in outdoor activities such as running, biking and hiking. It is well known that consolidating and storing such items into convenient carrying cases is desirable. Some examples include bicycles, which are often equipped with racks and mounts to hold hydration containers and saddle bags, hikers often carry backpacks, and runners may carry a hand-held hydration bottle or use a hip pack, to name a few. It is also well known that water and hydration fluids are among the most desirable items to have readily accessible during recreation activities, wherein a hydration container is often configured for easy access and minimal impedance to the recreation activity, particularly during competition. Other desirable items considered useful include a compass, signal reflective material, cell phone, map or food items, where they are thought to be less desirable to have immediately accessible than hydrating fluids and are stowed in a carrying case. These carrying cases or cargo device are equipped with numerous zippers, straps and clips for opening and closing pockets and pouches, and when an item is desired for use, the user must access the carrying case by removing it from their back, waist or bicycle and search through the pack to locate the desired object. If the precise location of the desired item is not immediately known, the user must open numerous pockets and pouches until the item is located, causing delays and lending the user susceptible to inadvertently leaving one or more of the zippers, straps or clips open and unknowingly lose valuable contents within the carrying cases or carrying packs.
It is well know that endurance athletes today participate in several sporting categories in a single event. Specifically, an endurance event can include hiking, running, biking, kayaking and mountaineering over hundreds of miles over several days. Athletes are tested on their ability to race across great distances and difficult terrains, and their ability to negotiate a wilderness course using maps and compasses. In endurance events, efficiency is of paramount importance to placing a competitive finishing time, thus having desired items readily accessible for when they are needed is an important element for endurance athletes during training and competition. Specifically, it is desirable to have sporting accessories readily available for use, without having to remove and open packs and carrying cases to access desired objects.

Multifunction hydration container accessory system


The present invention discloses a foldable collapsible wheeled stretcher on wheels, having handles for pulling and steering. The device is provided with dependent suspensions allowing mobility in rough and bumpy terrain while maintaining the stability of stretcher surface, reducing tilt and vibration that reach the wounded person being transported upon the stretcher. It is provided with folding or telescopic means allowing it to be carried upon the back or stowed in a small volume. The device enables rescue of injured people in an improved manner from (for example) regions which are not passable by vehicles, and may be pulled by a single rescuer instead of being carried by two to four. The device may be further used to transport material.

In many situations such as military operations, rescue operations, climbing and caving expeditions, wilderness explorations and the like, it is common for the group to carry with it a stretcher for use in emergencies. It is common today for this stretcher to be collapsible or otherwise foldable, such that one member of the party can carry it on his back, and in case of need the stretcher can be unfolded and deployed. A wounded person can then be placed on the stretcher, which is then carried by two or four persons.
However, experience shows that carrying a stretcher bearing a wounded person for long distances and/or in rough terrain can be rather cumbersome and slows the progress of the party in reaching points where medical treatment may be administered. In some cases this endangers the life of the wounded person. In the case of military operations during combat, the slow progress caused by the stretcher, and requirement of multiple stretcher bearers to carry the stretcher, may endanger the other soldiers in the party and hamper the unit's ability to achieve its objectives.
Hence, an improved method for transporting wounded personnel is still a long felt need.


A semiconductor master oscillator generates light which seeds a pair of semiconductor power amplifiers which straddle the oscillator. The power amplifiers have slightly misaligned mirror facets which induce substantial resonator losses in the amplifiers and as a result, the amplifier gain is very high and the modulating speed of the oscillator is also very high.

The present invention relates to the field of solid state coherent light beam generating devices.
Historically, producing high speed and high power devices has required very different design rules. High speed semiconductor lasers are characterized by low threshold, low current drive levels and low resistance and capacitance. On the other hand, lasers that produce high power output are, by necessity, driven by high currents, exhibit high thresholds, and are difficult to modulate at high rates. As a result of these conflicting physical requirements, devices that produce both high speed modulation rates and high power have not become commonplace in the field.

Integrated semiconductor laser oscillator and off-axis amplifier

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Air Force


In a tennis-ball throwing device, tennis balls are conveyed by a feed device into a cavity between two rollers mounted so that their axes are parallel, the balls being subsequently ejected by rotation of the rollers. One roller is mounted on a rocking lever that can be pivoted against the restoring force of a spring. A spindle or axis of the rocking lever is mounted parallel to the axes of the rollers on a pivoting carrier for the rollers.

The invention relates to ball throwing device for tennis balls, which are conveyed by a feeder into the space between two rollers mounted on parallel axes and are ejected by rotating the rollers. Both rollers are disposed on a carrier which can be swivelled in the plane of the rollers, i.e. transverse to the axes, and the spacing of the axes of the rollers is variable.
To the extent that such devices have been described to date, e.g. in DE-A1-32 10 828, such description leaves totally open the manner by which the spacing of the axes of the rollers can be varied.


The invention relates to a honing tool for carrying out honing working of a work with high accuracy and super precision finishing method using the honing tool. The honing tool is mainly constituted by a pilot section (5), a rough grinding section (7), a finish grinding section (10) and a correction section (13). The honing tool is sent at rapid speed while being reciprocated little, and the machining working and correction finishing of the straightness are carried out thereby the honing working is carried out. According to the invention, the machining working efficiency and the working accuracy can be improved, and the honing finishing with high straightness becomes possible.

In the prior art, when honing working is to be carried out, a tool with several grindstones attached on its periphery is used, and while the tool is supplied with rotational motion, it is moved in reciprocating motion by a distance corresponding to working area of the work thereby the grinding working is carried out.
One example of such a honing tool is shown in FIG. 1.
The honing tool 61 comprises a hollow mandrel 62, and a plurality of grindstones 66 being provided on the outer circumference of the top end portion 63 of the mandrel 62 and movable in the radial direction. The grindstones 66 are rotated while being pushed to the outside through a bed plate 67 by moving a taper part 65 of a mandrel shaft 64 up and down, and are reciprocated up and down repeatedly by the distance corresponding to the working area thereby the grinding working of a prescribed diameter is carried out.
In the honing working by such a honing tool 61, however, when it is reciprocated up and down repeatedly along a circumferential surface of a hole 81 of a work 80 as shown in FIG. 2, edge of lands 81a is liable to be unsharpened. Moreover, when the lands 81a are different in length, there is a problem that the shorter land 81a is machined more and the finished diameter becomes larger.
If the reciprocating speed is made larger in order to raise the working efficiency, loading or crushing of the grindstone 66 occurs and the efficiency is further decreased.
Therefore some honing tool is provided with two sets of grinding sections in order to raise the working efficiency, and can perform rough machining and finish machining continuously.
FIG. 3 shows a honing tool 71 in such constitution. The honing tool 71 is constituted by a cylindrical body 72, a main machining grinding section 73 being installed at the top end portion of the body 72 and comprising a rough grindstone, and a finish grinding section 74 being installed at the center portion and comprising a finish grindstone. A tapered adjusting rod 75 is fitted to the inside of the main machining grinding section 73 so that the main machining diameter can be adjusted, and a tapered adjusting rod 77 is fitted to the inside of the finish grinding section 74 so that the finish grinding diameter can be adjusted.
The honing tool 71 with the main machining diameter and the finish machining diameter being adjusted is rotated and moved by a distance corresponding to the working area thereby the grinding finishing of the prescribed diameter is carried out.
In such a honing tool 71, however, there is a problem that the honing tool 71 is liable to be rolled laterally with respect to the work thereby the straightness of the hole subjected to the grinding finishing cannot be held. Also when the moving speed of the tool is made larger, there is a problem that loading or crushing of the main machining grindstone 73 and the finish grindstone 74 occurs.

Honing tool and super precision finishing method using the same


An interactive tool is described for modifying the behavior of a system, such as, but not limited to, the behavior of a classification system. The tool uses an interface mechanism to present a current global state of the system. The tool accepts one or more refinements to this global state, e.g., by accepting individual changes to parameter settings that are presented by the interface mechanism. Based on this input, the tool computes and displays the global implications of the updated parameter settings. The process of iterating over one or more cycles of user updates, followed by computation and display of the implications of the attempted refinements, has the effect of advancing the system towards a global state that exhibits desirable behavior.

A system that performs analysis, such as a classification system, may exhibit behavior that a user deems unsatisfactory for one or more reasons. In response, the user may attempt to modify various aspects of the system to improve its performance. Commonly, a user performs this task in an iterative and ad hoc manner. For instance, the user may change the value of an individual parameter of the system, observe the resultant performance of the system, and then make another change to the same parameter or another parameter, etc.
The above approach to modifying the behavior of a system is not fully satisfactory. First, the behavior of the system may be difficult to understand, even for users who are considered experts in the field to which the system pertains. For instance, the behavior of the system may depend on the configuration of numerous parameters. Further, there may be complex dependencies among various parameters. Thus, the user may have difficulty in determining: a) what parameters are good candidates to change; and b) how these parameters can be changed to achieve a desired effect. Second, the ad hoc approach to modifying the behavior of the system may pose a combinatorial space of design decisions; thus, this approach may be tedious and prone to error, generally providing poor user experience and user controls. These drawbacks are merely representative; existing techniques for modifying the behavior of systems may suffer from yet other potential shortcomings.

Interactive optimization of the behavior of a system


A medical image processing apparatus according to an embodiment includes setting circuitry, calculation circuitry, and recognition circuitry. The setting circuitry is configured to set a region of interest (ROI) of each of a plurality of sagittal plane images of medical images resulting from scanning an examinee. The calculation circuitry is configured to calculate an evaluation index based on a bipolarity feature of each block in the ROI related to change of pixel values and a similarity feature among the blocks. The recognition circuitry is configured to select the ROI according to the calculation result of the calculation circuitry and recognize a sagittal plane image in which the selected ROI is located as a target sagittal plane image of a median sagittal plane passing through a spine.

It is common to detect a target object from a medical image in the medical image processing field. For example, it is of important clinical significance to determine a sagittal plane image (also called a median sagittal plane image) in which a spine is located from a series of sagittal plane images of a human body, and to detect intervertebral disks from the determined sagittal plane image. Information of the detected intervertebral disks, such as the position and the direction thereof, can be used to guide the subsequent spine scanning performed in an image of higher quality.

Medical image processing apparatus, medical imaging apparatus and medical image processing method


In one embodiment, an apparatus comprises i) an audio transducer; ii) an audio driver plate having an ear-facing side and a non-ear-facing side; iii) a rigid housing substantially circumferentially surrounding the audio driver plate without substantially covering the ear-facing side and non-ear-facing side of the audio driver plate; iv) a front plate mounted on the ear-facing side of the audio driver plate and spaced apart from the audio driver plate; and v) a fixing gasket affixed to the non-ear-facing side of the audio driver plate. In addition, the front plate is adapted to be compressed against an ear-facing portion of an audio transducer holding device and the fixing gasket adapted to be compressed against a non-ear-facing portion of the audio transducer holding device, whereby the audio transducer is adapted to be held within the audio transducer holding device by compressive force on both the fixing gasket and the front plate.

In general, there are two kinds of standards to ensure the performance of an audio transducer and associated holding device (e.g., telephone handsets, telecommunication system handsets, etc.) on the audio receiving path. One such standard is based on acoustic performance, the conventional manner of using the handset by acoustic coupling to normal human ears. The other standard is the electromagnetic performance for a human who is hearing impaired or otherwise disabled, and that needs to use a hearing aid. Passing the compliance for both acoustic performance and electromagnetic performance simultaneously is very challenging. This is especially true for passing the acoustic compliance standards with an artificial ear (e.g., a "Type 3.3" standard), which is the closest representation to a human ear currently used that can reflect the way people use a listening device (e.g., handset, etc.).

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Audio transducer and associated holding device for enhanced acoustic and electromagnetic coupling


An FFT-like array architecture (500), for use on the Doppler filters of a radar system, includes a plurality of stages (505, 506) of weighted butterflies (501, 502, 503, 504), in which each butterfly is provided with four weighting multipliers (410-416). The weights (W1, W2, W3, W4) of the multipliers of the array are determined by an iterative process in which the input and output signals are selected, the input signals are applied to the array, and the actual output signals are compared with the desired output signals to produce error signals. The error signals are backpropagated through the array, to correct the weights. The input signals are again applied, and the corrected output signals are again compared with the desired output signals to produce new error signals, which are again backpropagated to correct the weights. This procedure is used iteratively until the array "learns" the weights which give the desired output signals. In a radar context, narrower Doppler filters and lower sidelobe result over a given range of frequencies.

FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional prior-art butterfly 10, including first and second input terminals 11 and 12, respectively, and first and second output terminals 21 and 22. Signals applied to first input terminal 11 are coupled to noninverting input ports of summing circuits (summers) 14 and 15. Signals applied to second input terminal 12 are weighted in a multiplier 13 with a weight W.sup.K, and the resulting weighted signal is applied to a further noninverting input port of summing circuit 14, and to an inverting input port of summing circuit 15. Summing circuit 14 sums the signal from first input terminal 11 with the weighted signal to produce an output signal on first output terminal 21. Summing circuit 15 subtracts the weighted signal from the signal applied to input terminal 11 to produce an output signal on second output terminal 22.
FIG. 2 illustrates a typical prior-art eight-point Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) architecture 30 in a conventional representation. In the representation of FIG. 2, each butterfly, corresponding to 10 of FIG. 1, is illustrated as a pair of crossed lines. One such pair of crossed lines 32, 34 is identified by a dash-line rectangular surround designated 10. Each butterfly of FIG. 2 bears a marking in the form W.sup.K adjacent to the lower left crossed line, where ##EQU1## The indicated value of W.sup.K is applied in FIG. 2 to the multiplier, corresponding to multiplier 13 of FIG. 1, which is associated with each butterfly.
The FFT structure of FIGS. 2 takes advantage of computational redundancies in the Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) to reduce the total number of computations required to produce the filtered output signal. In radar applications, one of the primary uses of the FFT is in pulse Doppler filtering, in which it effectively performs the function of a bank of narrow-band filters, each tuned to a different Doppler frequency, to thereby separate or sort radar returns or echoes according to the velocities of the targets. This ability to sort by the target velocity, in turn, is valuable in that it allows suppression of signals relating to stationary or slowly-moving targets (clutter), thereby making fast-moving targets such as aircraft more obvious. The input signals applied to the Pulse 1, Pulse 2; Pulse 3...Pulse 8 input ports of FFT architecture 30 of FIG. 2 are range traces from a succession of transmitted pulses; i.e. the echo occurring at a particular time
(corresponding to a particular range) after transmission of each of eight successive pulses. Thus, the signals applied to the FFT 30 input ports are "windowed", in that they represent a finite number (eight) sequential samples out of an indefinite number of samples. Those skilled in the art know that such windowing can result in undesirable sidelobes in the system output. These sidelobes, in the Doppler filter context, result in cross-coupling of signals among the filters. The cross-coupling means that the signal at the output of each filter, which ideally represents only those returns from targets moving at a particular velocity, will be contaminated by return signals "leaking" from other Doppler frequencies. When attempting to detect a moving target (an incoming missile) in the presence of large, slowly moving clutter (moving waves, in a maritime context), the sidelobes may allow the clutter to obscure the target. It is very important to detect missiles as early as possible, so that time remains after detection in which countermeasures may be taken. Conventional FFT Doppler filters, therefore, are designed with very low sidelobe levels, but the concomitants of low sidelobe levels are (a) a relatively wide frequency bandwidth, and (b) high losses compared with high sidelobe designs. The relatively wide bandwidth in turn means that mutually adjacent filters overlap each frequency, so that returns from a particular target appear in the outputs of plural filters, and the target velocities therefore can only be generally determined.
The sidelobe levels of the filters formed by the FFT structure of FIG. 2 using the butterflies of FIG. 1 can be controlled by applying a weighting function to the windowed data applied to input ports designated Pulse 1-Pulse 8; such weighting functions generally attenuate the signals at the ends of the windows (the Pulse 1 and Pulse 8 input ports) relative to the signals near the center of the window (the Pulse 4 and Pulse 5 input ports). For example, in high Clutter Improvement Factor (CIF) applications in which ultra-low sidelobes are required, an 85-dB Dolph-Chebychev window weighting function can be used. Such a weighting applied to an FFT structure similar to that of FIG. 2, but with 16 points instead of eight points, results in the response illustrated in FIG. 3, in which the sidelobes are uniformly 85 dB below the filter peak response. FIG. 3 plots amplitude-versus-normalized-frequency response from each of the sixteen output ports of a sixteen-point FFT structure, superposed upon each other. The illustrated plot has 33 separate peaks, two for each of the sixteen filters except the zero-frequency filter, which displays a peak at a normalized Doppler frequency of zero, and a peak at normalized frequencies of +1 and -1. Each filter, other than the zero-frequency filter, exhibits a peak in the positive Doppler frequency region and another in the negative region at a distance of 1 normalized doppler interval from the positive peak, e.g. the filter which peaks at 0.8 also peaks at -0.2. The filter responses illustrated in FIG. 3 are normalized to an amplitude of zero dB, which represents a filter loss of 2.5 dB at the peak of the response. The filter responses are also relatively broad, with a null to null bandwidth equal to 0.4 of Doppler space.
In many cases, clutter may be concentrated at particular frequencies, as for example clutter due to wind motion of vegetation and wave motion at sea tends to be at very low Doppler frequencies. It would be desirable to be able to provide the filters of an FFT Doppler filter bank with suppression at particular frequencies at which clutter is known to occur, while using low-loss, relatively narrow bandwidth filters at other frequencies.

Radar with individually optimized doppler filters


A refrigerant recycling system includes a recycled refrigerant tank for storing recycled refrigerant, and first and second valves connected in series between the recycled refrigerant tank and atmosphere. In purging non-condensables from the recycled refrigerant tank to atmosphere, a programmed microcontroller holds the first valve open for exposing the pressure transducer to the pressure in the recycled refrigerant tank, and opens the second valve when the measured pressure exceeds a predetermined pressure for purging non-condensables to atmosphere, holding the second valve open until the measured pressure drops below the predetermined pressure. The pressure checking and purging steps are repeated after a short period, as often as necessary until the measured pressure is less than or equal to the predetermined pressure while the second valve is closed and then, after a longer delay, the system goes through one more pressure check and, if necessary, purging operation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to refrigerant handling systems and, in particular, to systems for recovering and recycling refrigerant from a cooling system and recharging recycled refrigerant to the cooling system. The invention has particular application to techniques and apparatus for purging non-condensables from the recovered refrigerant.
As used herein "recover" means to remove used refrigerant from equipment and collect it in an appropriate external container. "Recycle" means to reduce the amount of contaminants in used refrigerant so that it can be reused.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore, when refrigerant-charged refrigeration systems, such as automotive air conditioning systems, were repaired, the refrigerant charge was simply vented to atmosphere to accomplish the repairs. More recently, it has become increasingly important to capture and reuse the refrigerant charge in such refrigeration systems, both to avoid pollution of the atmosphere and to minimize the increasing costs of disposal and replacement of the refrigerant charge.
Means are available for recycling impure, recovered refrigerant and for recharging the recycled refrigerant into the refrigeration system after service or repairs thereto have been completed. One type of impurity which must be removed from recovered refrigerant is non-condensable material, such as air, which can infiltrate the refrigeration system as a result of leaks or the like. The non-condensables can be vented to atmosphere, but care must be taken that, in the process, minimal refrigerant is vented, in order to assure compliance with governmental pollution control regulations. Prior refrigerant recycling systems have utilized manual vent valves, but manual venting of the non-condensables is time-consuming and inaccurate. Some prior systems have utilized automatic venting mechanisms, wherein diaphragm valves are cyclically opened and closed, but such systems are inaccurate, since the valve operation is not related to the amount of non-condensables in the recovered refrigerant.
It is known that refrigerants have characteristic saturation vapor pressures that vary as associated functions of temperature, as long as refrigerant is present in both liquid and vapor phases, such as in the refillable recycled refrigerant vessel of a refrigerant recycling system. If air or other non-condensables are present in the recycled refrigerant vessel, a differential pressure above the saturation pressure is created, which is proportional to the quantity of non-condensables. Certain prior systems have utilized this relationship for automatically venting the non-condensables. More specifically, the ideal saturated pressure of the refrigerant at a given temperature is determined, and when the actual measured pressure of the refrigerant exceeds that ideal by a predetermined amount, a venting valve is opened. One such arrangement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,189,889, in which the vent valve is opened for a predetermined short period of time, typically less than a second, and the process is repeated at varying intervals until the measured pressure drops below the critical level. This purging operation can be relatively time consuming, since the purge valve is open a very small percentage of the time.
Another difficulty with such prior systems is that the pressure sensors required to monitor the actual pressure of the recovered refrigerant are difficult to calibrate. Since calibration requires exposure of the pressure transducer to atmosphere, calibration typically requires disconnection of the pressure transducer from the remainder of the system, which is a time consuming and inconvenient operation.

Non-condensable purge control for refrigerant recycling system


A method, system and program product save state data in a multi-processor system. A problem in the multi-processor system is detected and a statesave thread is spawned for each processor in the system. Each statesave thread directs a processor, in parallel with the other processors to attempt to identify a component in the system having a status of “incomplete”, indicating that state data of the component remains to be offloaded. When a component having a status of “incomplete” is identified, the processor executes statesave code to offload state data from the identified component. Upon completion of the state data offload from the identified component, the processor changes the status of the component to “complete”. The foregoing processes are repeated until no components are identified in the system having a status of “incomplete”.

Data processing systems or subsystems typically include numerous software components managing different aspects of the operation of the system. For example, components in a storage controller subsystem may include an operating system, device drivers, device adapters, host adapters and cache management, to name just a few. During normal operations, each component maintains a continuous log of state data. When the system encounters a significant problem, such as an event requiring a warmstart, the state data can be offloaded to a central buffer and subsequently saved to a non-volatile memory for later analysis and debugging. As illustrated in FIG. 1, in a conventional offload process, the components are called sequentially to save and offload their state data. FIG. 1 assumes that component A requires 350 milliseconds (ms) to perform a statesave operation and component B requires 620 ms. When the offload process is performed in the conventional manner, a total of 970 ms are required. With many components and much state data to offload from each, it will be appreciated that the actual process may be time consuming, thereby delaying the system recovery.
Many types of systems or subsystems include units with multiple processors which are used to execute various functions during the normal operation of the unit. However, the conventional offload process summarized above is conducted by only a single processor, leaving the other processors idle.

Saving state data in parallel in a multi-processor system

International Business Machines Corporation


A sensor for sensing contamination in an application system is disclosed. In one aspect, the sensor comprises a capping layer. The sensor is adapted to cause a first reflectivity change upon initial formation of a first contamination layer on the capping layer when the sensor is provided in the system. The first reflectivity change is larger than an average reflectivity change upon formation of a thicker contamination layer on the capping layer and larger than an average reflectivity change upon formation of an equal contamination on the actual mirrors of the optics of the system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of lithographic processing. More particularly, the present invention relates to methods and systems for optimizing lithographic processing, e.g. extreme ultraviolet lithography, e.g. to methods and devices for measuring and/or studying contamination, like carbon contamination, in a lithographic processing system.
2. Description of the Related Technology
Optical lithography nowadays uses wavelengths of 248 nm or 193 nm. With 193 nm immersion lithography integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing is possible down to 45 nm or even down to 32 nm node. However for printing in sub-32 nm half pitch node, this wavelength is probably not satisfactory due to theoretical limitations, unless double patterning is used. Instead of using wavelengths of 193 nm, a more advanced technology has been introduced, also referred to as extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV lithography), which uses wavelengths of 10 nm to 14 nm, with as typical value 13.5 nm. This technique was in its earlier stages referred to as soft X-ray lithography, more specifically using wavelengths in the range of 2 nm to 50 nm, but then did not yet make use of reduction optics as typically used in optical lithography.
In optical lithography at some wavelengths in the deep ultra violet (DUV) range, the electromagnetic radiation is transmitted by most materials, including glass used for conventional lenses and masks.
At short wavelengths however, e.g. for extreme ultraviolet lithography and soft X-ray lithography, the electromagnetic radiation is absorbed by most materials, including glass used for conventional lenses and masks. Therefore a completely different tool is necessary for performing EUV lithography compared to conventional optical lithography. Instead of using lenses, such an imaging system presently relies on all-reflective optics and therefore is composed of reflective optical elements, also referred to as catoptric elements, for example mirrors. These reflective optical elements, e.g. mirrors preferably are coated with multi-layer structures designed to have a high reflectivity (up to about 70%) at the 13.5 nm wavelength. Furthermore, since air will also absorb EUV light, a vacuum environment is necessary.
Although EUV lithography is considered applicable using wavelengths less than about 32 nm, still a lot of problems need to be overcome to reach a mature technology. Major issues in EUVL are providing a reliable high power source and collector module, obtaining appropriate resist properties, obtaining a defect free mask, having an appropriate reticle protection and obtaining good projection and illuminator optics quality and lifetime. One of the issues relates to contamination of the optics by chemical components, also referred to as "contamination", which components are usually gaseous components originating from outgassing of the resist. This resist outgassing occurs due to the EUV irradiation of the EUV resist.
Such outgassing affects the reflectivity of the optical elements used, as contamination reduces the reflectivity of the reticle as well as of the imaging optics, and this results in a fast deterioration of the overall imaging quality. Following the international technology roadmap for semiconductors (ITRS) the organic material outgas sing rate for 2 minutes under the lens should be lower than about 5e13 molecules/cm2 per second.
In order to reduce the resist outgas sing rate, metrology tools are necessary which are able to measure the amount of resist outgassing for certain resists. One possibility for screening resist outgassing is also described in a publication of K. R. Dean et al in Proc. of SPIE 6153E, p. 1-9 (2006). An outgassing chamber is built on a synchrotron beam line. Together with the wafers, a Si3N4 witness plate is put in the chamber and exposed to EUV irradiation. This witness plate is then analyzed with electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA) to find evidence of the contamination build up. The contaminants are collected in thermal desorption (TD) tubes. The contaminants in these TD tubes are analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy (GC/MS) for chemical analysis. In order to obtain information regarding the real contamination on the different components, the witness plate is to be evaluated in a separate characterization system, thus resulting in a tedious and non-efficient task. Transporting the witness plate from the lithographic system to the characterization system may furthermore lead to further contamination of the witness plate resulting in an inaccurate determination of the contamination due to outgas sing.

Detection of contamination in EUV systems


A spinal screw assembly adapted to be secured to a vertebrae for providing securement across at least two vertebrae. The assembly includes a pedicle screw having a substantially spherical head portion, a threaded shaft portion, and an engagement surface in the head portion for driving said screw into the vertebrae, and a body member comprising a tower portion having an open top, a break-away section for manipulation of the screw upon implantation into the vertebrae, a base body at a proximal region of the body member and a break zone which acts as a transition between the base body and the tower portion. A resealably securable setscrew within the body member secures and fully contains the rod within said assembly. The break-away section remains completely outside a wound and is removed or broken off once the screw has been fully assembled inside the vertebrae.

The spinal column is a highly complex system of bones and connective tissues that provides support for the body and protects the delicate spinal column and nerves. The spinal column includes a series of vertebrae stacked one atop the other, whereby each vertebral body includes a relatively strong bone portion forming the outside surface of the body and a relatively weak bone portion from the center of the body. Situated between each vertebral body is an intervertebral disc formed from a non-bony, fibro-cartilage material that provides for cushioning and dampening of compressive forces applied to the spinal column. The vertebral canal containing the delicate spinal cords and nerves is located just posterior to the vertebral bodies.
Various types of spinal column disorders are known and include scoliosis (abnormal lateral curvature of the spine), kyphosis (abnormal forward curvature of the spine, usually in the thoracic spine), excess lordosis (abnormal backward curvature of the spine, usually in the lumbar spine), spondylolisthesis (forward displacement of the one vertebra over another, usually in a lumbar or cervical spine) and other disorders caused by abnormalities, disease or trauma, such as ruptured or slipped discs, degenerative disc disease, fractured vertebra, and the like. Patients suffering from such conditions usually experience extreme and debilitating pain as well as diminished nerve function.
Certain spinal conditions as mentioned above, including a fracture of a vertebrae and a herniated disc, indicate treatment by spinal immobilization. Several methods of spinal joint immobilization are known, including surgical fusion and the attachment of pins and bone plates to the affected vertebras.
In an attempt to effectively treat the above-described conditions and, in most cases to relieve pain suffered by the patient, there have been numerous spinal fixation techniques developed to remedy such issues. Nonetheless, as will be set forth in more detail below, there are some disadvantages associated with current fixation techniques and devices. U.S. Pat. No. 6,030,388 (granted Feb. 29, 2000 to Yoshimi, et al.) discusses prosthetic devices used in bone fixation systems, such as those used to treat degenerative and trauma related spinal deformities. This patent discusses a bone fixation element, a linking member and a coupling member having a first channel for receiving a portion of the bone fixation element and a second channel for receiving a portion of the linking member. The channels are oriented within the coupling member such that the central longitudinal axes of the first and second channels are offset with respect to one another. Furthermore, the first and second channels are configured within the coupling member so as to provide for communication of a securing force between the bone fixation element and the linking member such that the bone fixation element is rigidly secured with respect to the linking member.
U.S. Publication No. 2005/0131408 (granted on Jun. 16, 2005 to Sicvol, Christopher W., et al.) discusses delivery and implantation of bone anchors into bone, in particular, one or more vertebral bodies of the spine. This patent discusses a bone anchor having a distal bone engaging portion and a receiving member having a recess for receiving a spinal fixation element. The proximal end of the receiving member may have an arcuate groove formed on an exterior surface thereof to facilitate connection of an instrument to the receiving member.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,802,844 (granted on Oct. 12, 2004 to Ferree) discusses bodies which connect to vertebra to be aligned, and elongated elements that connect to the bodies, which are adjustable relative to the bodies in multiple dimensions. The patent further discusses locking mechanisms that allow the alignment to proceed in an orderly fashion until a desired degree of correction is achieved. Each elongated element has a shaped end terminating in the first portion of the lockable coupling mechanism. The vertebral connector bodies each include a feature for attaching the body to respective vertebrae, and the second portion of the lockable coupling mechanism.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,772,661 (granted on Jun. 30, 1998 to Michelson) discusses a method and instrumentation for performing spinal surgery, including discectomy, interbody fusion and rigid internal fixation of the spine, from the lateral aspect of the spine. This patent discusses a surgical procedure consisting of the removal of spinal material across the disc, fusion, and rigid internal stabilization via the implant may all be performed via the closed space within the extended outer sleeve.
Thus, it is desirable to provide improved systems for internal fixation of adjacent vertebral bodes of the spine. Accordingly, some embodiments of the present invention provide an extended range of motion (as compared to the prior art) for allowing a surgeon additional freedom in locating the screws and easing the assembly process by reducing the requirements for rod contouring. Such embodiments of the present invention minimizes, and in some aspects eliminates, the failures of the prior art, and other problems, by utilizing the structural features described herein. Thus, the result is a significantly improved system and method for manipulating and installing a pedicle screw.
The features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by the practice of the invention without undue experimentation. The features and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the drawings, subsequent detailed description and appended claims.

Systems and methods for manipulating and/or installing a pedicle screw


A batch mixer includes a mixing chamber in which polymeric material such as plastics and rubber is heated and mixed. The material is fed to the mixing chamber through a hopper. The hopper has a door which is swung open and closed by a fluid-actuated cylinder. A locking mechanism is provided to enable the door to be swung only slightly open by excessive pressure build-ups in order to vent the pressure without permitting an appreciable amount of molten material to escape through the door.

The present invention relates to batch mixers which mix polymeric materials such as plastics and rubber and, in particular, to a hopper door-locking mechanism for such mixers.
The mixing of raw materials, such as plastics and rubber, is often performed in batch mixers, such as a so-called "Banbury" mixer described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,818,113. Such a mixer 10, depicted herein in FIG. 1, includes a mixing body 12 and a feed hopper 14 for supplying the raw material to the mixing body. The mixing is performed by rotors 16 which are rotated at identical or different speeds within a mixing chamber 18 of the mixing body 12. A ram 20 is provided which can be lowered downwardly onto the mix within the mixing chamber to aid in the mixing operation. Heat is supplied to the mixing chamber by circulating hot oil or steam through passages 21 formed in the mixing body 12.
A hopper body of the feed hopper 14 has a door 22 which can be opened to enable raw material to be fed to into the hopper. A fluid-actuated cylinder 24 is utilized to open and close that door. The door 22 swings about a horizontal axle 26 disposed along a lower edge of the door and travels between a pair of guide projections 28 of the hopper body. A drop door 30 closes the bottom of the mixing chamber 18 and is latched by a piston rod 32.
During operation, raw materials and/or scrap materials are loaded into the mixing chamber from the hopper. The hopper door is closed, the ram is lowered, and the rotors are rotated until the proper temperature and mixing time have been achieved. Additional raw materials or scrap can be added as necessary. A problem can occur in the event that water enters the mixing chamber, e.g., if wet scrap is used. As the mix heats up, the water can suddenly turn become converted to steam. The resulting pressure increase may be great enough to force the ram 20 upwardly and overcome the pressure of cylinder 24 to push the hopper door 22 open, allowing molten material to blow out of the mixer in an uncontrolled manner. Serious harm to adjacent personnel and equipment can occur when such a blow-out occurs.
It would be desirable, therefore, to be able to eliminate dangerous blow-outs of that type.


A cleaning appliance of the canister type, including a separating apparatus for separating dirt from a dirt-bearing fluid flow, a support for supporting the separating apparatus on the appliance, a duct having a fluid inlet for receiving the fluid flow from a fluid outlet of the separating apparatus, and a handle connected to the duct. The duct is pivotable between a raised position in which the separating apparatus can be removed from the appliance and a lowered position in which the duct is connected to the separating apparatus. The handle may be used for moving the duct between the first and second positions and for carrying the appliance.

Cleaning appliances such as vacuum cleaners are well known. The majority of vacuum cleaners are either of the "upright" type or of the "cylinder" type (called canister or barrel machines in some countries). Cylinder vacuum cleaners generally comprise a main body which contains a motor-driven fan unit for drawing a dirt-bearing fluid flow into the vacuum cleaner, and separating apparatus, such as a cyclonic separator or a bag, for separating dirt and dust from the fluid flow. The dirt-bearing fluid flow is introduced to the main body through a suction hose and wand assembly which is connected to the main body. The main body of the vacuum cleaner is dragged along by the hose as a user moves around a room. A cleaning tool is attached to the remote end of the hose and wand assembly.
For example, WO 03/068042 describes a cylinder vacuum cleaner having a chassis which supports cyclonic separating apparatus. The vacuum cleaner has two main wheels, one on each side of a rear portion of the chassis, and a castor wheel located beneath the front portion of the chassis which allow the vacuum cleaner to be dragged across a surface. Such a castor wheel tends be mounted on a circular support which is, in turn, rotatably mounted on the chassis to allow the castor wheel to swivel in response to a change in the direction in which the vacuum cleaner is dragged over the surface.
The separating apparatus comprises a fluid inlet through which air can enter the separating apparatus in a tangential manner. The inlet is connectable to a hose of the hose assembly. The hose extends around the side of the separating apparatus and chassis, and passes through a cylindrical cuff located on the front of the chassis so that the majority of the hose can extend away from the front of the chassis. The separating apparatus further comprises a fluid outlet which is located on a rear wall of the separating apparatus for conveying fluid to a fan and motor housing.


A device and a method for managing a piezo inkjet head. The device includes: a piezo actuator connected to an inkjet head to generate pressure; a driver that controls driving of the piezo actuator; a sensing resistor connected between the driver and the piezo actuator, a signal amplifier connected across the sensing resistor to amplify the signal applied to the sensing resistor; a signal processor that removes noise of the signal output from the signal amplifier; a controller that determines a signal passing through the signal processor as a reference signal in a state in which bubbles are not introduced into the inkjet head; and a storage unit that stores the signal determined as the reference signal in the controller. The controller calculates a difference between the signal passing through the signal processor and the reference signal to generate a detection signal and determine a state of the inkjet head.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a device and a method for managing a piezo inkjet head.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a piezo inkjet head includes a pressure chamber, a nozzle, a passage, and a piezo actuator generating driving pressure. The piezo actuator is generally attached closely around the pressure chamber and may discharge an ink droplet from the nozzle by generating pressure according to a change in displacement in the piezo actuator.
In this configuration, the nozzle part of the inkjet head is exposed to air, such that air is easily introduced into the inkjet head at a contacting surface of ink and air. The introduced air significantly reduces the pressure generated from the deformation of the piezo actuator, thereby stopping the discharge of the droplet from the nozzle.
Meanwhile, the related art uses a method of confirming the state of the nozzle as described above using a CCD camera or a method of confirming the state of the nozzles by the naked eyes through simple printing.
However, when the CCD camera is used, there are problems in that additional components such as a CCD device, a lens, or the like, need to be attached to a printer and a considerable amount of time in determining whether all the nozzles are abnormal is consumed when there are a large number of heads.
Further, even when simple printing is used, there is a problem in that a printer operator needs to confirm the presence and absence of discharge.

Device and method for managing piezo inkjet head


The present invention relates to a method applied on displays for recognizing video signal timing of analog input. The present invention employs the horizontal-synchronized-signal interrupt value to distinguish among its inputted video signal timing, allowing to recognize its pixel and correctly display its corresponding video signal timing even when the inputted signal timings share the same horizontal frequency, vertical frequency, and polarity. In case when the display is displaying incorrect video signal timing, the present invention also allows inputting a switch signal to adjust its display mode accordingly, enabling the display to show the correct resolution of the video signal timing under normal operation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for recognizing signal timings and more particularly, to such a method for recognizing analog-inputted video signal timings, which is utilized on displays.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, display recognizes video signals of analog input according to their horizontal frequency, horizontal polarity, vertical frequency, and vertical polarity, yet some of the inputted signal timing still cannot be recognized by using the technology involved in conventional displays in which it is possible that the inputted signal timing may share both the same horizontal and vertical frequencies, or even the same polarities in some occasion, resulting in signal timing recognition failure.
Moreover, in the prior art technology of display, to display information such as resolution, horizontal and vertical frequencies, and polarities via on screen display (OSD) menu; under circumstances when signal timing cannot be recognized, errors would consequently be displayed and cause inconvenience to users during operations.

Method for recognizing video signal timing of analog input


A swing training and exercise apparatus used by a swinger for practicing and exercising swing motions. The swing training apparatus has a tubular, generally rectangular framework (10). A first handle (30) is on the inboard end (11a) of the upper member 11 of the framework (10), and an end of a second handle (40) is attached at an obtuse angle to framework (10) between the horizontal upper member (11) and a vertical inboard member (13) of framework (10). The area enclosed by the framework (10) is covered by an air resistant material (20) attached thereto for providing drag that opposes the swing motion. The amount of drag is dependent on the material chosen, the percentage of the enclosed area covered by air resistant material (20), and the aspect ratio of the plane of the framework (10) and material (20) to the path of the swing enabling the swinger to practice and build up muscles and muscle memory needed to effect a good, proper swing. The large size of the framework (10) and the visible portions of material (20) provide a strong visual cue to the proper positioning of the framework during the swing motion. The apparatus is foldable for easy storage.

1. Fields of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a device for swing training and exercise, and, more particularly, to a transportable, foldable golf swing device which presents visual positioning cues and provides muscle development during swing practice.
2. Discussion of Background And Prior Art
Many types of devices have been designed and made for training and exercising swing motions required in an athletic or sport activity. These devices help athletes or sportsmen to learn, practice, and improve their swings. These swing training devices help the user to train and build up muscles and muscle memory needed to effect a good, proper swing.
a. Visible Drag Swing Training Devices
Various sports require the swinging of a particular sports equipment (i.e. golf club, tennis racquet, baseball bat, etc.). The swing motion used in such sports generally includes: 1) the back-swing; 2) the down-swing or power-side area (i.e. hitting area); and 3) the up-swing or follow-through area. While mastering all aspects of the swing are critical to a stellar performance, the main part of a swing is the down-swing or power stroke since it unleashes the hitting power and develops the greatest speed in the swing motion. The least amount of air-resistant force or aerodynamic drag and required muscle strength and coordination is generally experienced during the back-swing and the follow-through. Therefore, it is generally desired that a swing training device be designed so that a user experiences the most amount of drag during a down-swing and the least amount of drag during a back-swing or up-swing thereby more closely simulating the forces felt and required in an actual swing. During training and exercise with any device, a user would want to experience this larger amount of resistance during the down-swing in order to develop and build up those muscles needed for an effective swing.
One such prior art device to Beutler (U.S. Pat. No. 5,165,683) teaches a method and apparatus for training a swinger to develop the proper motions and muscles needed to effect a good golf swing. The apparatus has a set of foldable blades mounted to a shaft handle. The blades are folded closed (hanging down) at the start of the back-swing, unfold open at the top of the back-swing, and purport to remain in that position throughout the down-swing and follow-through providing constant drag throughout the entire swing. This device fails to accurately simulate a golf swing which does not require constant muscle forces throughout the swing. Moreover, among other deficiencies, due to the cumbersome rotational means in the shaft and grip, this device is not likely to maintain the open blades perpendicular to the path of the swing even if the blades open as described and, therefore, could not provide accurate visual cues to enable the swinger to adjust a defective swing.
Thus, there is a long felt need for an effective variable drag golf swing training device, and, moreover, for a golf swing muscle building device that will readily accommodate different levels of drag suited to the different strength levels of people, i.e., providing high drag versions for men and low drag embodiments for women and children.
b. Visual Cues During A Sports Swing
Another problem faced by most sportsmen, such as golfers, in training and exercising swing motions for various sports is that they lack the ability to visualize and see themselves when they are swinging a particular sports equipment. Without this visualization, sportsmen cannot easily identify the problems and errors encountered in their swings and swing motions by themselves and they, therefore, are not able to make appropriate adjustments that would enable them to effect a good, proper swing.
Typical prior art swing training devices, particularly golf swing devices, do not provide any means, much less an effective means, for visualizing the problems encountered during the swing which would guide the sportsman in making corrections to develop an effective, proper swing. Most prior swing training devices that do attempt to provide some visual cue to the swinger are too small to provide an effective cue. Those prior devices that are large enough to provide a good visual cue are subject to a variety of problems including too cumbersome, too expensive, having to attach to a golf club itself and becoming easily misaligned, and not being readily transportable for use, such as, in a suitcase during an overnight business trip to be used for practice in the hotel room.
Therefore, there is a long felt need for a swing training device providing the sportsman with a visual aid for guiding and training himself to position and swing a particular sports equipment effectively and which is easily handled, inexpensive and transportable.
Therefore, in overcoming the problems and limitations of the prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus used for swing training and exercising which provides a maximum amount of air resistance during a down-swing and a minimal amount of air resistance during the back-swing and up-swing of a swing motion to realistically simulate the muscle forces felt in an actual golf swing.
It is another object of this invention to provide a swing training device that provides a strong visual aid to a sportsman especially during the down-swing or proper stroke for guiding and training himself to effect a good, proper swing motion.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a swing training device that trains and builds up a swinger's muscles needed for a good, proper swing motion.
It is still a further object of this invention to provide a swing training device that is easily handled, inexpensive, foldable and readily transportable.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a swing training device that may be readily available in a variety of forms which vary in the amount of drag provided by the swing training device to accommodate different physical requirements of various users.

Golf swing training and exercise apparatus


A method for enhancing the dielectric properties of a new or in-service electrical cable is disclosed, the method comprising supplying the interstitial void space of the cable's conductor with a fluid mixture comprising. (A) an antitreeing agent; and PA0 (B) a water-reactive compound,. wherein (B) has a diffusion coefficient of at least 1.times.10.sup.-7 cm.sup.2 /second at 50.degree. C. in the insulation of the cable and the mixture has an initial viscosity of .ltoreq.100 cP at 25.degree. C. The instant method provides a more symmetrical distribution of dielectric enhancing fluid in the insulation than prior art fluids and results in a significant reduction in cable treatment time.

A major problem associated with electrical distribution cable is its tendency, over a period of time, to fail due to the progressive degradation of its insulation. The degradative processes involved in the failure of cables are correlated with two "treeing" phenomena. "Electrical treeing" is the product of numerous electrical discharges in the presence of strong electrical fields which eventually lead to the formation of chnnels within the insulation material. These channels resemble the trunk and branches of a tree in profile under microscopic observation, from which the descriptive terminology derives.
The second type of treeing, known as "water treeing," is observed when the insulation material is simultaneously exposed to moisture and an electric field. This mechanism is much more gradual than electrical treeing, requiring an extended period of time to cause the degree of damage that affects the insulation characteristics of the distribution cable. However, since water treeing occurs at considerably lower electrical fields than required for the formation of electrical trees, this phenomenon is thought to be a leading cause of reduced service life of cables.
It is known that water treeing can be arrested to a degree by the incorporation of an anti-tree additive (e.g., various organosilanes) directly into the insulation composition of the cable at time of manufacture. Unfortunately, this approach only addresses the issue of how to inhibit the formation of trees and the associated deterioration of insulation integrity. It will, however, be recognized that a vast network of underground cable is already in place wherein the cable either has not been treated according to one of these procedures or it has degenerated significantly despite such efforts and is therefore subject to premature failure.
As a partial answer to industry's desire to extend the useful life of existing underground cables, it has been found that certain tree retardants can be introduced into the cable's interior to partially restore the insulation performance. An example of such a cable reclamation technique is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,372,988 to Bahder. This patent teaches a method for reclaiming electrical distribution cable which comprises: purging the cable with a desiccant gas; then supplying, in a continuous fashion, a liquid, such as polydimethylsiloxane fluid, to the interior of the cable. This disclosure suffers from the disadvantage that the fluid can exude or leak from the cable. This reference addresses the potential loss of fluid by providing reservoirs which can maintain a constant fluid level, further adding to the complexity of this system. A similar method was proposed by Vincent et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,766,011, wherein the tree retardant fluid was selected from a particular class of aromatic alkoxysilanes. Again, the tree retardant fluid was supplied to the interstices of the conductor of the cable. However, fluid of this prior art disclosure could be polymerized within the water tree voids in the insulation and therefore would either not leak out of the cable or would only exude therefrom at a low rate.
As a variation on the method of Vincent et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,200,234 to Bertini, assigned to the assignee of the present invention, discloses a method for the restoration of in-service electrical cable, which is positioned within a surrounding conduit, comprising filling the space between the cable and the conduit with a homogeneous mixture of a silane antitreeing agent and a dielectric oil, said dielectric oil being completely miscible with said antitreeing agent and having a solubility in the polymeric insulation of the cable of less than 5 weight percent.
The cable reclamation method disclosed by Vincent et al. is effective but typically requires a long exposure time to obtain a fully treated cable. As a consequence, a contractor might find it economically equivalent, or even advantageous, to completely replace a cable once it has deteriorated rather than avail himself of this restorative method.

Method for enhancing the dielectrical strength of cable using a fluid mixture


An imaging system includes a microscope to generate magnified images of regions of interest of a tissue sample, a camera to capture and store the magnified images, and a controller. The controller is configured to, for each magnification level in a sequence of increasing magnification levels, image one or more regions of interest of the tissue sample at the current magnification level. For each region of interest, data is generated defining one or more refined regions of interest based on the magnified image of the region of interest of the tissue sample at the current magnification level. Each refined region of interest corresponds to a proper subset of the tissue sample, and the refined regions of interest of the tissue sample provide the regions of interest to be imaged at a next magnification level from the sequence of increasing magnification levels.

This specification relates to capturing and storing magnified images generated by a microscope.
A microscope can generate magnified images of a sample at any of a variety of magnification levels. The "magnification level" of an image refers to a measure of how large entities (e.g., cells) depicted in the image appear compared to their actual size. At higher magnification levels, a higher resolution image or a larger number of discrete images may be required to capture the same area of the sample as a single image at a lower magnification level, thus requiring more space in a memory during storage.
Magnified images of a tissue sample can be analyzed by a pathologist to determine if portions (or all) or the tissue sample are abnormal (e.g., cancerous). A pathologist can analyze magnified images of a tissue sample by viewing portions of the tissue sample which appear to be abnormal at higher magnification levels.


A travel and storage bag includes two side sections releasably fastened to an intermediate center section to form the bag into a travel bag. Unfastening the side sections from the center section allows the center section to be folded and stored, reveals pockets and compartments, and allows the bag to be used as a hanging bag and organizer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to luggage or bags used for storage and travel, and more particularly relates to an innovation which facilitates the conversion of such a bag for use as a hanging organizer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Previously, travel bags have generally exhibited a box style and their use, especially regarding access to articles within, has been accordingly limited. However, when traveling it is often desirable to organize one's belongings and to present them in an accessible manner, yet no item of luggage, and particularly a box style travel bag, has successfully achieved a design which readily converts to an effective organizer.


A receiver for a telecommunications system, wherein the receiver is capable of using a plurality of available alternative receiver sub-systems and the receiver comprises selection means for selecting one of the plurality of receiver sub-systems for use in processing a received signal according to conditions of the propagation channel through which the received signal was received.

In communications systems such as Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), the propagation channel through which a signal is transmitted affects the quality of the signal received by a receiver such as a mobile telephone or similar mobile communications device. Various different receiver architectures, such as rake receivers and equalisers, are known and are used to negate the detrimental effects of the propagation channel on signals. The different receiver architectures each have their own strengths and weaknesses. For example, a rake-based receiver typically provides higher quality signal reception than an equaliser-based receiver when there is an almost perfect (line of sight) propagation channel, whilst in a propagation channel which gives rise to several multipath components, an equaliser-based receiver typically provides higher quality signal reception than a rake-based receiver.
Typically a receiver used in a mobile communications device such as a mobile telephone is based on a single receiver architecture, and thus the device suffers from the weaknesses of the receiver architecture on which it is based, in that it is most effective in certain propagation channel conditions, and becomes less effective in channel conditions which differ from these conditions. As users of such devices tend not to remain stationary, the conditions of the propagation channel through which signals are received by the receiver tend to change, sometimes rapidly, and this can lead to a marked decrease in the quality of the received signal, which is manifested as a degradation in the performance of the device, for example in reduced speech quality.

Receiver comprising selectable signal processing sub-systems


There is disclosed a novel method for the syntheses of chiral pyrrolidines and piperidines by the intramolecular ring closure of anomeric mixtures of 4-amino- and 5-amino-2-trifluoromethanesulfonates of methyl furanosides. The novel method preferably provides for the efficient syntheses from diacetone glucose of 1,4-dideoxy-1,4-imino-D-arabinitol--known as DAB1, (2S,3R,4R)-3,4-dihydroxyproline, fagomine [1,5-imino-1,2,5-trideoxy-D-arabino-hexitol], and (2S,3R,4R)-3,4-dihydroxypipecolic acid by intramolecular nucleophilic displacement by an amino function of 2-O-trifluoromethanesulphonates of anomeric mixtures of methyl furanosides.

This invention relates to a method for the syntheses of chiral pyrrolidines and piperidines by the intramolecular ring closure of anomeric mixtures of 4-amino-and 5-amino-2-trifluoromethanesulfonates of methyl furanosides. More particularly, the invention relates to the efficient syntheses from diacetone glucose of 1,4-dideoxy-1,4-imino-D-arabinitol -known as DAB1- (1), (2S,3R,4R)-3,4-dihydroxyproline (2), fagomine [1,5-imino-1,2,5-trideoxy-D-arabino-hexitol](3), and (2S,3R,4R)-3,4-dihydroxypipecolic acid (4) by intramolecular nucleophilic displacement by an amino function of 2-O-trifluoromethanesulphonates of anomeric mixtures of methyl furanosides. All four of these compounds previously have been screened as potential inhibitors of HIV replication [Tyms et al., Lancet, pp. 1025-1026 (1987); Fleet et al., FEBS Lett. 237, 128-132 (1988)]as part of a project investigating the potential of amino sugar derivatives in dissecting glycoprotein biosynthesis. 1,4-dideoxy-1,4-imino-L-arabinitol, LAB1, the enantiomer of (1), is a powerful inhibitor of cytopathic effect of HIV at concentrations which were not cytotoxic. ##STR1##
Naturally occurring and synthetic polyhydroxylated pyrrolidines and piperidines constitute a powerful class of glycosidase inhibitors. See, respectively, Fellows and Fleet, Alkaloidal Glycosidase Inhibitors from Plants, Chap. 13 in Natural Product Isolation, (ed. G. H. Wagman and R. Cooper), p. 540-560, Elsevier, (1988), and Fleet, Amino Sugar Derivatives and Related Compounds as Glycosidase Inhibitors Topics in Medicinal Chemistry, 4th SCI-RSC Med. Chem. Symp. Cambridge, Sept. 1987, (Ed. P. R. Leeming), p. 149-162, Royal Society of Chemistry, London, (1988). Both the natural product DAB1 (1), isolated from Anglyocalyx boutiqueanus [Nash et al., Phytochemistry, 24, 1620 (1985); Jones et al., Tetrahedron Lett. 26, 3127 (1985)]and Arachniodes standishii, [Furukawa et al., Phytochemistry 24, 593 (1985)]and its enantiomer LAB1 are powerful inhibitors of a range of .alpha.-glucosidases [Fleet et al., Tetrahedron Lett. 26, 3127 (1985); Scofield et al., Life Sci. 39, 645 (1986)].
DAB1 (1) has been synthesized previously from D-xylose [Fleet et al., Tetrahedron Lett. 26, 3127-3130 (1985); Fleet and Smith, Tetrahedron42, 5685-5692 (1986)]and from (S)-glutamic acid [Ikota and Hanaki Chem. Pharm. Bull., 35, 2140 (1987)]; LAB1has been prepared from D-xylose [Fleet et al., Tetrahedron, 42, 5685-5692 (1986); Naleway et al., Carbohydr. Res., 179, 199 (1988)]and L-arabinose [Jones, supra.].
The structurally related fungal metabolite FR 900483, an anhydro form of 4-amino-4-deoxy-D-arabinose, has been shown to be an immunomodulator [Kayakira et al., Tetrahedron Lett. 29, 1725 (1988) and Shibata et al., J. Antibiot., 41, 296 (1988)]; other hydroxylated pyrrolidines also may have promise as immunoregulator agents [Ikota and Hanaki, Chem. Pharm. Bull., 36, 1143 (1988)].
Fagomine (3) isolated from Fagopyrum esculentum [Koyama and Sakamura, Agric. Biol. Chem., 38, 1111 (1974); Koyama et al., Agric. Biol. Chem., 38, 1467 (1974)]and as the 4-O-.beta.-glucoside from Xanthocercis zambesiaca [Evans et al., Tetrahedron Lett., 26, 1465 (1985)], is a moderate inhibitor of isomaltase [Scofield, supra.]. Fagomine has previously been prepared from glucose [Fleet et al., Tetrahedron, 43, 979-990 (1987)].
Both DAB1 (1) and fagomine have also been prepared by sequences involving aldolases [Ziegler et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl., 27, 716 (1988); Pederson and Wong, Heterocycles, 28, 477 (1989); and von der Osten et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 111, 3924-3927 (1989)]. ##STR2##
There is considerable interest in the synthesis of optically pure .beta.- and .gamma.-hydroxy-.alpha.-amino acids. Although a few good non-enzymic methods for their asymmetric synthesis have been devised [Jung and Jung, Tetrahedron Lett., 30, 6637 (1989) and references cited therein], carbohydrates have long been established as homochiral starting meterials for the synthesis of non-protein amino acids [Hanessian, Total Synthesis of Natural Products: The Chiron Approach, Pergamon, Oxford, 1983; Shenbagamurthi et al., J. Med. Chem. 29, 802 (1986) and references cited therein]. The value of simply protected sugar lactones--in which azide is easily introduced at the carbon .alpha. to the lactone carbonyl--in short and efficient syntheses of highly functionalized amino acids such as hydroxylated prolines and pipecolic acids has been recognized. Thus, introduction of an azide function with retention of configuration at C-2 of D-ribonolactone [Dho et al., Tetrahedron Lett., 27, 3203 to 3204 to 3208 (1986)] provides a powerful intermediate for the synthesis of homochiral D-amino acids such as 2R,3 S,4R-dihydroxyproline [Baird et al., J. Chem. Soc. Perkin Trans. 1, 1785 (1987)]. Introduction of azide .alpha. to the carbonyl group of glucuronolactone [Bashyal et al., Tetrahedron Lett., 27, 3205 (1986)] allowed short syntheses of the D-amino acids 2R,3R,4R-dihydroxyproline and 2R,3R,4R,5S-trihydroxypipecolic acids and of the L-amino acids 2S,3R,4R,5S-trihydroxypipecolic acid (BR1), 2S,4S,5S-dihydroxypipecolic acid and bulgecinine [Bashyal et al., Tetrahedron 43, 415-422 (1987); Bashyal et al., Tetrahedron, 43, 423 to 430 (1987)]. More lengthy syntheses derived by introduction of nitrogen at C-2 of glucose have been reported for the synthesis of 2S,3R,4R,5R-trihydroxypipecolic acid [Fleet et al., Tetrahedron, 43, 979-990 (1987)], BR1 [Bernotas and Ganem, Tetrahedron Lett., 26 4981 (1985)] and bulgecinine [Wakamiya et al., Tetrahedron Lett., 26 4759 (1985)]. 2S,3S,4R-Dihydroxyproline has been prepared by initial introduction of nitrogen at C-3 of glucose [Fleet et al., Tetrahedron, 43, 3095-3108 (1987)]; a similar approach has been used for the synthesis of other .beta.-hydroxy-.alpha.-amino acids [Rao et al., Tetrahedron Lett., 30, 6769 (1989)].

Synthesis of chiral pyrrolidine and piperidine glycosidase inhibitors