When a lens unit is to be mounted, the lens unit is moved downward along guide grooves, whereby an opening portion cover is also pushed down counter to an elongation force of coil springs, the lens unit is mounted to a camera body, and the opening portion cover is moved to an open position. When the lens unit is to be removed, the lens unit is moved along the guide grooves, whereby engagement with the guide grooves is released. Because the opening cover portion is urged from the open position to a closed position by the coil spring at this time, the opening portion cover is moved with the lens unit along the guide grooves and fixed at the closed position.

This application claims priority under 35 USC 119 from Japanese Patent Application Nos. 2002-213356 and 2003-99952, the disclosure of which are incorporated by reference herein.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging device, and in particular to an imaging device to which an imaging-use lens unit can be attached and from which the imaging-use lens unit can be detached.
2. Description of the Related Art
In imaging devices to which an imaging-use lens unit can be attached and from which the imaging-use lens unit can be detached, such as a lens-replaceable single lens reflex camera, it is preferable to configure the imaging device so that foreign matter, such as dirt or dust, does not enter the inside of the imaging device body, when the imaging-use lens unit has been removed, through an opening portion disposed in a portion at which the imaging device body and the imaging-use lens unit are joined. That necessity is particularly high for digital cameras that import images using an imaging element because, when dust or the like adheres to the imaging element, the imaging element of the portion to which dust adheres becomes unable to properly receive light, and problems always arise in images captured thereafter. When the imaging-use lens unit is disposed with an imaging element, it is also necessary to prevent dirt or the like from adhering to a connector portion between the imaging-use lens unit and the imaging device.
In order to prevent the ingress or adherence of foreign matter, a video camera has been proposed in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2-23170 in which an openable/closeable dustproof cover is disposed at the opening portion. However, in this technology, an interchangeable lens is fitted after the dustproof cover has been opened by the hand of a user. Therefore, sometimes foreign matter enters during the period of time from after the opening portion has been opened to until the interchangeable lens is fitted.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication (JP-A) No. 2000-241869, there is described an electronic camera device in which a transparent cover that constantly maintains air-tightness of the inside space is disposed at the opening portion of the camera body. According to this invention, foreign matter can be reliably prevented from entering the inside.
However, because the cover is also fitted at the time of shooting, there has been the problem that optical loss and reflection affect the captured image.
The present invention has been devised in order to eliminate the above-described problem, and it is an object thereof to provide an imaging device that deters foreign matter from entering or adhering to a predetermined portion of the imaging device, and in which there are few adverse optical affects, in a state in which an imaging-use lens unit has been removed.
In order to achieve this object, a imaging device according to a first aspect is an imaging device to which an imaging-use lens unit can be attached and from which the imaging-use lens unit can be detached, the imaging device including: a casing disposed with an opening portion for allowing light from the imaging-use lens unit to be made incident inside; and an opening portion cover that is disposed at the casing and is movable between a closed position that closes the opening portion and an open position that opens the opening portion, wherein, when the imaging-use lens unit is to be mounted, the opening portion cover is pushed by the imaging-use lens unit and is movable from the closed position to the open position.
A imaging device according to a second aspect includes: an imaging-use lens unit that can image light from a subject; a casing to which the imaging-use lens unit can be attached and from which the imaging-use lens unit can be detached, the casing being disposed with an opening portion for allowing light from the imaging-use lens unit to be made incident inside; and an opening portion cover that is disposed at the casing and is movable between a closed position that closes the opening portion and an open position that opens the opening portion, wherein, when the imaging-use lens unit is to be mounted, the opening portion cover is pushed by the imaging-use lens unit and is movable from the closed position to the open position.
In the imaging devices according to the first and second aspects, the opening portion cover is movable between the closed position that closes the opening portion and the open position that opens the opening portion. Thus, in a state in which the imaging-use lens unit is removed from the imaging device, the opening portion can be closed by moving the opening portion cover to the closed position. Thus, foreign matter can be deterred from entering the casing through the opening portion. Also, in a state in which the imaging-use lens unit is mounted to the imaging device, the opening portion cover is positioned at the open position so that it can open the opening portion. Thus, because light from the imaging-use lens unit passes through the opened opening portion and is directly made incident inside the imaging device, adverse optical affects such as optical loss and reflection can be reduced in comparison to devices in which transparent glass or the like is disposed at the opening portion. Moreover, because the opening portion cover is opened by the imaging-use lens unit being mounted, foreign matter can be deterred from entering the casing during the period of time from after the opening portion cover is opened until the imaging-use lens unit is mounted. It also becomes unnecessary to open the opening portion cover by an independent operation, whereby convenience is improved.
It should be noted that digital cameras, film cameras (silver cameras), video cameras, camera-attached mobile telephones, and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) are included in the imaging device.
The imaging devices according to the first and second aspects can further include a moving member that causes the opening portion cover to move from the open position to the closed position in conjunction with an operation by which the imaging-use lens unit is removed.
Here, a member that has an elastic force, such as a spring or rubber, that can urge the opening portion cover from the open position to the closed position can be used as the moving member.
According to the above-described configuration, because the opening portion cover is automatically moved from the open position to the closed position by the moving member in conjunction with an operation by which the imaging-use lens unit is removed, it becomes unnecessary to manually close the opening portion cover and convenience is improved.
The imaging devices according to the first and second aspects can further include a guide member that movably guides the opening portion cover along the casing between the open position and the closed position.
By disposing the guide member in this manner, the opening portion cover can be smoothly opened and closed.
In the imaging device according to the second aspect, the imaging-use lens unit can include deflecting means that deflects an optical axis of incident light.
According to the above-described configuration, because the light made incident at the imaging-use lens unit is deflected by the deflecting means, it is not necessary for the optical axis incident at the imaging-use lens unit and the optical axis of light made incident at the opening portion of the imaging device to match, the opening portion can be disposed at a free position, and the degree of freedom with which the imaging device is designed can be raised.
A imaging device according to a third aspect is an imaging device to which an imaging-use lens unit including an imaging element can be attached and from which the imaging-use lens unit can be detached, the imaging device including: a casing disposed with a connector for receiving image information imaged by the imaging-use lens unit; and a connector cover that is disposed at the casing and is movable between a cover position that covers the connector and an open position that opens the connector, wherein, when the imaging-use lens unit is to be mounted, the connector cover is pushed by the imaging-use lens unit and is movable from the cover position to the open position.
In the imaging device according to the third aspect, the connector cover is movable between the cover position that covers the connector and the open position that opens the connector. Thus, in a state in which the imaging-use lens unit is removed from the imaging device, the connector can be covered by moving the connector cover to the cover position. Thus, foreign matter can be deterred from adhering to the connector. Also, because the connector cover is opened by the imaging-use lens unit being mounted, foreign matter can be deterred from adhering to the connector during the period of time from after the connector cover is opened until the imaging-use lens unit is mounted. It also becomes unnecessary to open the connector cover by an independent operation, whereby convenience is improved.
It should be noted that digital cameras, film cameras (silver cameras), video cameras, camera-attached mobile telephones, and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) are also included in the third imaging device.
The imaging device according to the third aspect can further include a moving member that causes the connector cover to move from the open position to the cover position in conjunction with an operation by which the imaging-use lens unit is removed.
According to the above-described configuration, because the connector cover is automatically moved from the open position to the cover position by the moving member in conjunction with an operation by which the imaging-use lens unit is removed, it becomes unnecessary to manually close the connector cover and convenience is improved.
The imaging device according to the third aspect can further include a guide member that movably guides the connector cover along the casing between the open position and the cover position.
By disposing the guide member in this manner, the connector cover can be smoothly opened and closed.
The imaging devices according to the first, second and third aspects can further include transmitting means that can transmit imaged image information to an external device, whereby high convenience can be obtained.


Cardiac therapy systems include multiple electrodes respectively positionable at multiple left ventricular electrode sites. A pulse generator is coupled to the electrodes and configured to deliver a cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). A processor is configured to measure, for each left ventricular electrode site, a timing interval between first and second cardiac signal features associated with left ventricular depolarization. The timing interval is associated with a degree of responsiveness of each left ventricular electrode site to CRT. The processor is configured to determine a pacing output configuration that provides improved patient responsiveness to CRT based on the timing interval measurements and to select at least one left ventricular electrode site from the plurality of left ventricular electrode sites based on the timing interval measurements. The processor may be configured to monitor for a change in hemodynamic status of the patient based on a change in the timing interval.

When functioning normally, the heart produces rhythmic contractions and is capable of pumping blood throughout the body. The heart has specialized conduction pathways in both the atria and the ventricles that enable the rapid conduction of excitation impulses (i.e. depolarizations) from the SA node throughout the myocardium. These specialized conduction pathways conduct the depolarizations from the SA node to the atrial myocardium, to the atrio-ventricular node, and to the ventricular myocardium to produce a coordinated contraction of both atria and both ventricles.
The conduction pathways synchronize the contractions of the muscle fibers of each chamber as well as the contraction of each atrium or ventricle with the opposite atrium or ventricle. Without the synchronization afforded by the normally functioning specialized conduction pathways, the heart's pumping efficiency is greatly diminished. Patients who exhibit pathology of these conduction pathways can suffer compromised cardiac output.
Normally, the muscular walls of each chamber of the heart contract synchronously in a precise sequence to efficiently circulate blood through the heart. In particular, both the right and left atriums contract (e.g., atrial contractions) and relax synchronously. Shortly after the atrial contractions, both the right and left ventricles contract (e.g., ventricular contractions) and relax synchronously. Several disorders or arrhythmias of the heart can prevent the heart from operating normally, such as, blockage of the conduction system, heart disease (e.g., coronary artery disease), abnormal heart valve function, or heart failure.
Blockage in the conduction system can cause a slight or severe delay in the electrical impulses propagating through the atrioventricular node, causing inadequate ventricular contractions and filling. In situations where the blockage is in the ventricles (e.g., the right and left bundle branches), the right and/or left ventricles can only be excited through slow muscle tissue conduction. As a result, the muscular walls of the affected ventricle do not contract synchronously (e.g., asynchronous contraction), thereby, reducing the overall effectiveness of the heart to pump oxygen-rich blood throughout the body.
Cardiac rhythm management devices have been developed that provide pacing stimulation to one or more heart chambers in an attempt to improve the rhythm and coordination of atrial and/or ventricular contractions. Cardiac rhythm management devices typically include circuitry to sense signals from the heart and a pulse generator for providing electrical stimulation to the heart. Leads extending into the patient's heart chamber and/or into veins of the heart are coupled to electrodes that sense the heart's electrical signals and deliver electrical stimulation to the heart in accordance with various therapies for treating cardiac arrhythmias.
Pacemakers are cardiac rhythm management devices that deliver a series of low energy pace pulses timed to assist the heart in producing a contractile rhythm that maintains cardiac pumping efficiency. Pace pulses may be intermittent or continuous, depending on the needs of the patient. There exist a number of categories of pacemaker devices, with various modes for sensing and pacing one or more heart chambers.
Pacing therapy has been used in the treatment of heart failure (HF). Heart failure causes diminished pumping power of the heart, resulting in the inability to deliver enough blood to meet the demands of peripheral tissues. Heart failure may affect the left heart, right heart or both sides of the heart, and may cause weakness, loss of breath, and build up of fluids in the lungs and other body tissues. For example, HF may occur when deterioration of the muscles of the heart produce an enlargement of the heart and/or reduced contractility. The reduced contractility decreases the cardiac output of blood and may result in an increased heart rate. In some cases, HF is caused by unsynchronized contractions of the left and right heart chambers, denoted atrial or ventricular dysynchrony. Particularly when the left or right ventricles are affected, the unsynchronized contractions can significantly decrease the pumping efficiency of the heart.
Pacing therapy to promote synchronization of heart chamber contractions to improve cardiac function is generally referred to as cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). Some cardiac pacemakers are capable of delivering CRT by pacing multiple heart chambers. Pacing pulses are delivered to the heart chambers in a sequence that causes the heart chambers to contract in synchrony, increasing the pumping power of the heart and delivering more blood to the peripheral tissues of the body. In the case of dysynchrony of right and left ventricular contractions, a biventricular pacing therapy may pace one or both ventricles. Bi-atrial pacing or pacing of all four heart chambers may alternatively be used.

Pacing output configuration selection for cardiac resynchronization therapy patients


An method and apparatus for disbursing a pressurized liquid in the absence of electricity are disclosed. The method and apparatus for disbursing a pressurized liquid in the absence of electricity can include a gas source, a liquid source, a liquid pressurization system, and a liquid delivery system.

Many applications demand pressurization systems that provide pressurized liquid in the event of a power outage. As one example, buildings are provided with fire sprinkler systems that provide pressurized liquids on-demand, for instance, in the event of a fire.
The water to be supplied to a fire sprinkler system is provided from a source of pressurized water. In some buildings, the municipal water supply can provide a sufficient amount of water pressure to operate a fire sprinkler system. In other buildings, the municipal water supply may not provide sufficient water pressure, or the water supply may be provided from a tank or a well, so the water must be pumped to provide sufficient water pressure.
In buildings having a low-pressure municipal water supply, a tank supply, or a well water supply, conventional fire sprinkler systems can use electric pumps to either increase the pressure of the water supply and/or to deliver water from a well to the sprinkler system. However, in such conventional electric pump systems, if the source of electricity is interrupted, the pump will no longer function. Under these circumstances, in the event of a fire, the pump will be unable to supply water with adequate pressure to the fire sprinkler system. Therefore, the operation of a fire sprinkler system that depends entirely on electricity can be affected when the fires causes a power outage or occurs during a power outage.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved method and apparatus for providing a pressurized liquid in the absence of electricity.

Method and apparatus for providing a pressurized liquid in the absence of electricity


The voltage controlled oscillator in a phase-locked loop comprises a voltage-current converter (62) and a current frequency converter (34). The voltage-current converter (62) comprises a voltage differential-current converter (64), a current-current converter (66) and a current adder-subtracter (68). In the voltage differential-current converter (64), only the voltage fluctuation or difference .DELTA.V.sub.CN with respect to one half a power supply voltage V.sub.DD /2, and not the absolute value of a control voltage V.sub.CN, undergoes current conversion as a control current I.sub.CN. Therefore, the center frequency of the oscillation frequency is not a factor of control voltage V.sub.CN and is controlled only by an offset voltage V.sub.B2. Accordingly, the center frequency can be independently set by changing offset voltage VB.sub.2. This is particularly significant in zone bit recording, which requires a wide frequency band.

1. Field of the Invention The present invention generally relates to phase-locked loops (PLL) used for zone bit recording in hard disk systems, for example, and more particularly to improvement of the voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) portion of the phase-locked loop.
2. Related Technical Art
Currently, phase-locked loops widely used in magnetic disk devices and other types of data separators comprise a first phase-locked loop operating in synchronization with a data pulse and a second phase-locked loop operating in synchronization with a reference clock, as disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication 59-28209, which was configured to be locked in at a high speed or quickly regardless of whether the data transfer rate changed. This type of phase-locked loop had a configuration as shown in FIG. 4. That is, a first phase-locked loop 10 used a phase comparator (PC) 12 to compare the phases of a data pulse string S.sub.IN and an oscillator output V.sub.1, and outputs a phase difference detection signal, a charge pump 14 that provider current to be charged and discharged to a loop filter 16, acting as a low-pass filter (LPF), in a subsequent stage based on the phase difference detection signal, and a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO1) 18 in which an oscillation frequency f.sub.OS1 was controlled by a control voltage V.sub.F1, output by loop filter 16. A second phase-locked loop 20 used a phase comparator (PC) 22 to compare the phases of a reference clock CLK and an oscillator output V.sub.2 and output a phase detection signal. A charge pump 24 that provider the current to be charged and discharged to the loop filter 26, acting as a low-pass filter (LPF), in a subsequent stage based on the second phase detection signal, and a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO2) 28 in which an oscillation frequency f.sub.OS2 was controlled in response to a control voltage V.sub.F2, output by loop filter 26, were also used. The voltage-controlled oscillators 18 and 28 are each circuits with characteristic constants equal to each other, and each has a control input terminal a and an offset voltage (reference voltage) terminal b. Output VF.sub.1 Of loop filter 16 and output VF.sub.2 of loop filter 26 Of second phase-locked loop 20 are impressed on control input terminal a and offset voltage (reference voltage) terminal b, respectively, of voltage-controlled oscillator 18 of first phase-locked loop 10. An intermediate voltage V.sub.DD /2 (DC voltage) of a power source voltage V.sub.DD and output VF.sub.2 of loop filter 26 are impressed on control input terminal a and offset voltage terminal b, respectively, of voltage-controlled oscillator 28 of second phase-locked loop 20. Voltage-controlled oscillators 18 and 28 each use, as shown in FIG. 5, a voltage-current converter (V/I) 32 and a current frequency converter (I/F) 34. Voltage-current converter 32 comprises a parallel current path made using a MOS transistor Tr.sub.1 which is current-controlled by the voltage impressed on control input terminal a and a MOS transistor Tr.sub.2 which is current-controlled by the voltage impressed on offset voltage terminal b, a load MOS transistor Tr.sub.3 connected in series with this parallel current path, an output transistor Tr.sub.4, which acts as a current mirror circuit and uses load MOS transistor Tr.sub.3 as its input transistor, and a load MOS transistor Tr.sub.5 connected in series to transistor Tr.sub.4. Current frequency converter (I/F) 34 is a commonly used ring oscillator having three stages of inverters designated here as INV.sub.1 -INV.sub.3. In only the first phase-locked loop 10, locking occurs when input of a data pulse string starts, and a considerable amount of time is required until control voltage V.sub.F1, output by loop filter 16, reaches approximately V.sub.DD /2, but by adding a reference clock CLK to second phase-locked loop 20 in advance to preset it to a locked condition and supplying output VF.sub.2 of loop filter 26 to offset voltage terminal b of voltage-controlled oscillator 18 in first phase-locked loop 10, first phase-locked loop 10 is locked in at high speed regardless of whether the data transfer rate changes.
However, phase-locked loops having the above configuration present the following problems.
(1) If control voltage V.sub.F1, output by loop filter 16 in first phase-locked loop 10, is V.sub.DD /2 (locked condition of first phase-locked loop 10), the added current (combined current) I of the current (control current) I.sub.1 controlled by control voltage V.sub.F1 and flowing to transistor Tr.sub.1, and the current (offset current) I.sub.2 controlled by offset voltage VF.sub.2 and flowing, to transistor Tr.sub.2 are generated, and a current proportioned to added current I is supplied to current frequency converter 34. That is, an oscillation frequency f.sub.OS1 of voltage-controlled oscillator 18 is determined by the sum of control current I.sub.1 and offset current I.sub.2. Since control voltage VF.sub.1 oscillates up and down with one-half the power source voltage V.sub.DD as a reference, the center frequency is determined by the sum of control current I.sub.1, as determined by V.sub.DD /2, and offset current 12, even when there is no phase difference (locked condition). Therefore, the band of the center frequency expands very much even when the offset voltage is changed. This is due to the fact that even when the offset current is narrowed down in order to lower the center frequency, control current I.sub.1, as determined by V.sub.DD /2 in a locked condition, is already flowing.
In zone bit recording in hard disk systems, etc., a data pulse string S.sub.IN is generated at data transfer rates of four zones (f.sub.1 =8 MHz, f.sub.2 =10 MHz, f.sub.3 =12 MHz, f.sub.4 =14 MHz) and the data transfer rate is changed by switching among these four rates. Phase-locked loops such as that described above cannot be applied to systems requiring a wide range of data transfer rates such as this. This is due to the fact that the band width of the center frequency is too narrow, and it is not a control system that can freely vary the center frequency. Therefore, a phase-locked loop that can follow a wide range of data transfer rates for a data pulse string has been desired.
(2) Generally, when the loop filter is a lag-lead filter comprising a series circuit made up of a resistance R and a capacitor C, the following two equations are extremely important as equations that describe the basic characteristics of the phase-locked loop. EQU .omega..sub.n =(K.sub.v .multidot.K.sub.c /C).sup.1/2 ( 1) EQU .zeta.=CR.omega..sub.n /2 (2)
where, .omega..sub.n is the natural frequency (characteristic frequency) .zeta. is the damping coefficient (damping factor), K.sub.v is a voltage frequency conversion coefficient of the voltage-controlled oscillator, and K.sub.c is a conversion coefficient including the phase comparator and the charge pump. When a phase-locked loop is applied to a data separator circuit of a magnetic storage device, etc., it is necessary to change the natural frequency .omega..sub.n in proportion to the data transfer rate when the data transfer rate changes. The damping coefficient .zeta., on the other hand, must remain a fixed value regardless of the data transfer rate. This is important from the standpoint of the phase step response and peak shift margin characteristic of the phase-locked loop. Therefore, when the data transfer rate is low (when the center frequency is low), the voltage frequency conversion coefficient K.sub.v of the voltage-controlled oscillator 18 must be lowered, and when the data transfer rate is high (when the center frequency is high), the voltage frequency conversion coefficient K.sub.v must be raised. However, in the voltage-controlled oscillators 18 and 28 of the above phase-locked loop, the voltage frequency conversion coefficient K.sub.v is fixed due to the physical dimensional ratio of transistor Tr.sub.1 for the control current and transistor Tr.sub.2 for the offset current, and, therefore, the voltage frequency conversion coefficient K.sub.v cannot be linked to the data transfer rate.
(3) Since the above phase-locked loop is locked into high speed when input of the data pulse string starts, a configuration is employed that adds a second phase-locked loop 20, whereby, if control input voltage V.sub.F1 of voltage-controlled oscillator 18 of first phase-locked loop 10 is equal to control input voltage V.sub.DD /2 of voltage-controlled oscillator 28 of second phase-locked loop 20, the oscillation frequencies become equal to each other.
In zone bit recording, the frequency of the reference clock CLK input to phase comparator 22 of second phase-locked loop 20 must be changed according to the corresponding data transfer rate, in which case, the oscillation frequency of voltage-controlled oscillator 28 is synchronized to the frequency of reference clock CLK, and output voltage VF.sub.2 of loop filter 26, i.e., value of the offset input voltage of voltage-controlled oscillator 18, becomes different from previous zones. However, as shown in FIG. 6, offset input voltage VF.sub.2 has a waveform that superposes an AC voltage component (pulse) V.sub.C corresponding to the charge-discharge period on the DC voltage component V.sub.D corresponding to an integrating action of the loop filter, and, therefore, DC voltage component V.sub.D cannot be freely changed without restriction over the entire range (0-V.sub.DD) of the power source voltage. This is because since AC voltage component (pulse) V.sub.C generated by the charging and discharging of charge pump 24 corresponds to the phase difference detection signal, when DC voltage component V.sub.D approaches V.sub.DD or V.sub.SS (ground potential), which are far removed from V.sub.DD /2, the AC voltage component (pulse) V.sub.C is clipped at a top or bottom limit and the control information for phase locking is corrupted. Therefore, the area of change for DC component V.sub.D of the output of loop filter 26 is limited to a neighborhood range extending above and below the reference V.sub.DD /2, and for this reason it is impossible to accommodate a wide range of data transfer rates.
Furthermore, the output of loop filter 26 is not only used to accommodate differing data transfer rates, it is also supplied to offset input b of voltage-controlled oscillator 18 to compensate for fluctuations in the power source voltage and the ambient temperature, and to automatically correct for error factors such as production deviations. Therefore, it is necessary to allow for a margin in the variable range to automatically correct the output of loop filter 26, but since the variable range of DC voltage component V.sub.D is limited to the neighborhood of V.sub.DD /2, temperature compensation and correction of errors due to production deviations, etc., are not sufficient.
In view of these problems, the invention is intended to offer a voltage-controlled oscillator and phase-locked loop capable of locking the oscillation frequency by changing the reference clock to accommodate large changes in the data transfer rate.

VCO having voltage-to-current converter and PLL using same


A method is for the treatment of a condition in a subject, which arises from or is associated with CFTR dysfunction. The method includes administering to the subject an effective amount of a CFTR modulator together with an effective amount of an alginate oligomer. The condition can be cystic fibrosis (CF), non-compound CFTR gene mutation heterozygosity, abnormal mucus clearance in the respiratory tract and/or breathing difficulties resulting from chronic particulate inhalation, COPD, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, bronchiectasis, asthma or chronic sinusitis, or a complication of any of these.

The CFTR is a transmembrane protein found in the epithelial cells of mucosal surfaces. It is involved in the transport of chloride and bicarbonate ions across epithelial membranes where it functions as an ATP-gated ion channel and thereby also influences the balance of other ions such as sodium across such membranes. When an appropriate ionic balance is maintained, the mucus layer of the mucosal surface displays a normal structure and composition and therefore behaves and functions normally. Insufficient numbers of functional CFTR ion channels at the epithelial cell surface, e.g. as a consequence of mechanisms which cause reduced numbers of CFTR at the cell surface, and/or insufficient ion channel activity in the population of CFTR that are present at the cell surface, results in the pathological state referred to as CFTR (ion channel) dysfunction. The perturbations in ionic balance at mucosal surfaces caused by CFTR dysfunction manifest in stagnant mucus in all organs where mucus is formed, and thickened secretions from glands in the liver and the pancreas. The presence of this stagnant mucus in the lungs, paranasal sinuses, gastrointestinal (GI) tract, pancreas, liver and female and male reproductive systems leads to a plethora of clinical conditions associated not only with poor quality of life but also morbidity and mortality. Indeed, in cystic fibrosis, the most recognisable disease associated with CFTR dysfunction, sufferers typically succumb to a complication directly associated with this stagnant mucus.
CFTR dysfunction, or more specifically CFTR ion channel dysfunction (which terms are considered synonymous for the purposes of the invention and are therefore used interchangeably herein) typically arises from a defect in the CFTR which affects its activity and/or its cellular processing and delivery (trafficking) to the cell surface. Such defects may in many cases be due to mutations in the CFTR (i.e due to an underlying genetic defect), but can also arise due to extrinsic factors which may for example cause aberrant or impaired expression of the CFTR at the cell surface. Taking these various "defects" together, it can be seen that, broadly speaking, six classes of "mechanism" underlying defective CFTR function can be recognised, and CFTR dysfunction may arise from one or more of these. Class I mechanisms involve the presence of a premature stop codon in the CFTR mRNA transcript and give rise to truncated CFTR with reduced function and/or which are poorly transported to the cell membrane. Class II mechanisms involve impaired intracellular processing of full length CFTR translation products which interferes with the CFTR's route to the cell membrane (e.g. misfolding, defective post-translational modification, inappropriate intracellular protein sorting, degradation prior to reaching the cell membrane). Class III mechanisms involve disordered ion channel regulation (e.g. poor activation by ATP or cAMP, reduced channel open time). Class IV mechanisms involve reduced channel conductance. Class V mechanisms involve splicing defects in the transcription of CFTR mRNA or reduced CFTR mRNA transcription per se. Like Class I, Class V mechanisms can give rise to CFTR with reduced function and/or reduced quantities of CFTR in the cell membrane. Class VI mechanisms involve accelerated turnover of CFTR protein at the cell membrane which reduces the quantities of CFTR in the cell membrane.
CF is an autosomal recessive genetic disease of humans arising from mutations in the CFTR which result in CFTR dysfunction. CF-causing mutations may be classified within different "mechanistic" classes as set out above and thus the aetiology of CF is extremely diverse.
In the lungs of CF patients, the dense, attached and intractable mucus caused by the CFTR dysfunction is insufficiently cleared by the mucociliary clearance system, and accumulates in the airways. This makes patients susceptible to chronic lung infections and inflammation (pneumonia), which causes bacteria, bacterial biofilm, and cell debris to become intermixed with the mucus and leads to increased mucus viscosity. In turn this eventually leads to permanent lung damage and remodelling and further to pulmonary hypertension, heart failure, and respiratory failure. Infection by Staphylococcus aureus, Haemophilus influenzae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Mycobacterium avium complex and Aspergillus fumigatus are common. Abnormal mucus higher up in the respiratory tract (e.g. in the bronchi) can also be susceptible to infection which in turn may lead to inflammation of mucosal surfaces (e.g. bronchitis). Response to antibiotics is often poor.
In the paranasal sinuses the abnormal mucus results in frequent blockages leading to facial pain, headaches and abnormal nasal drainage. The sinuses are often exacerbated by infection, to which the abnormal mucus is highly susceptible and this may lead to acute, subacute and chronic sinusitis (also known as rhinosinusitis). Overgrowth of the nasal tissue (nasal polyps) may also result as a consequence of the chronic inflammatory state induced from chronic sinus infection. These polyps can block the nasal passages and increase breathing difficulties.
In the GI tract the attached and abnormal mucus is thought to result in intestinal pain and even full obstruction. In neonatal subjects mucus can combine with meconium to plug the ileum (meconium ileus). In older patients intestinal blockage by intussusception and distal intestinal obstruction syndrome (DIOS) of the distal ileum is often seen. Bacterial overgrowth and complications associated with the stagnant mucus may also occur.
In the pancreas, thickened and attached mucus in exocrine secretions often blocks the pancreatic duct and reduces the amount of digestive enzymes and bile entering the GI tract. This causes accumulation of digestive enzymes in the pancreas which in turn reduces the ability of a patient to retrieve dietary nutrients (nutrient malabsorption) and can cause inflammation, and irreversible damage to the pancreas. Such inflammation and damage results in pancreatitis (both acute and chronic) and ultimately atrophy of the exocrine glands and fibrosis. Damage of the pancreas can also lead to loss of the islet cells, leading to cystic fibrosis-related diabetes.
In the liver thickened bile secretions and mucus lining may block the bile ducts, causing gallstones, and lead to liver damage and ultimately cirrhosis.
Fertility of healthy females is regulated in part by the properties of the mucus in the reproductive system, especially the mucus of the cervix. The vas deferens of male mammals contains mucus that can obstruct the vas deferens if that mucus is abnormal. The abnormal mucus caused by mutation in the CFTR gene has therefore been connected with both female and male infertility.
There is currently no cure for the underlying genetic causes of CF, although the life-threatening lung and liver disease can sometimes be resolved with a successful lung or liver transplant. Lung transplants in CF patients are however not always successful because lung infection can recur shortly after transplantation. This is usually a consequence of the use of immunosuppressant drugs to promote establishment of the transplant making the transplant susceptible to the infections that remain in the patient's respiratory tract above the newly transplanted lungs.
Other conditions beyond CF may also be characterised by, or associated with, CFTR dysfunction. In recent years it has been recognised that even in subjects who do not suffer from classical or "overt" CF (that is who do not carry homozygous or compound heterozygous mutations in their CFTR alleles) CFTR dysfunction at epithelial cell layers can occur and give rise to the abnormal mucus and endocrine secretions that are like or similar to those that characterise CF. Thus, for example such subjects may carry one or more CFTR mutations, but the mutations do not result in CFTR dysfunction of sufficient severity to qualify as CF as such. This results in abnormal mucus clearance which in turn may lead to or at least contribute to, inter alia, breathing difficulties, CF-like symptoms and complications, and chronic inflammatory respiratory disorders including COPD (and its subtypes chronic bronchitis and emphysema), bronchiectasis, asthma and chronic sinusitis. Accordingly, diseases and disorders (or more generally a "condition") associated with CFTR dysfunction may include not only CF, but also other conditions involving respiratory dysfunction (more generally other respiratory disorders), and in particularly disorders involving pulmonary obstruction, including particularly asthma.
In some instances CFTR dysfunction is seen in subjects that have non-compound heterozygous mutant CFTR alleles. In such subjects the inherited dysfunction is mild and so is insufficient to manifest as overt CF, but is sufficient to result in mucus that is more dense, attached and intractable than normal, as well as secretions from glands in the liver and the pancreas that are thicker than normal. As discussed above in the context of overt CF, in the respiratory tract, such mucus is often insufficiently cleared by the mucociliary clearance system and so accumulates in the airways and may lead to further symptoms and complications. Similarly, the thickened mucus and exocrine secretions in the paranasal sinuses, gastrointestinal (GI) tract, pancreas, liver and female and male reproductive systems of these subjects may be sufficient to lead to mild forms of the plethora of clinical conditions associated with overt CF.
In other instances it has been shown that CFTR dysfunction may be acquired. It is now known that the chronic inhalation of particulate irritants, e.g. smoke particles (tobacco, wood etc.), pollution, dust (asbestos, cotton, coal, stone, animal droppings etc.) and spores, can result in reduced CFTR ion channel activity (e.g. reduction in gating and/or conductance) at epithelial cell surfaces carrying the receptor. It will be seen that in subjects who display mild CFTR dysfunction because of an inherited defect, these deleterious effects of environmental factors on CFTR may be more pronounced clinically. This acquired dysfunction and the effects on mucus are thought to contribute to the progression of chronic inflammatory disorders, e.g. COPD, CB, emphysema, bronchiectasis and chronic sinusitis in these subjects. It has also been recognised that the intracellular processing of CFTR can be interfered with and the turnover of CFTR at the cell membrane can be accelerated during chronic airway inflammation, e.g. as seen in COPD (and its subtypes chronic bronchitis and emphysema), bronchiectasis and chronic sinusitis.
In all of these contexts CFTR dysfunction in the respiratory tract may result in the dense, attached and intractable mucus characteristic of CF which is insufficiently cleared by the mucociliary clearance system and which accumulates in the airways. This makes patients with acquired CFTR dysfunction susceptible to the respiratory symptoms and complications experienced by CF patients, including those shared with COPD, CB, emphysema, asthma and chronic sinusitis.
Until recently, pharmaceutical intervention in CF and other conditions associated with CFTR dysfunction has been restricted to management of secondary symptoms and conditions and very few options are available to address the main underlying cause of those conditions: the abnormal mucus and in turn CFTR dysfunction. In addition to pharmaceutical interventions, patients with CFTR dysfunction, in particular CF patients, will typically undergo physiotherapy to the chest and/or abdomen designed to alleviate the lung and/or GI complications, particularly in relation to assisting the clearing of the lungs and/or breathing. Such physiotherapy techniques may include one or more of active cycle of breathing techniques (ACBT), postural drainage, manual percussion and vibration, autogenic drainage (AD), high frequency chest wall oscillation (HFCWO), positive expiratory pressure (PEP), and oscillating positive expiratory pressure devices (Oscillating PEP).
In patients with CFTR dysfunction, lung complications are typically managed through antibiotic, antifungal, antiinflammatory and bronchodilator treatment regimes, the nutrient malabsorption caused by pancreatic complications can be treated with digestive enzyme supplements and cystic fibrosis-related diabetes may be treated by a combination of oral antidiabetic drugs (e.g. the sulfonylureas, biguanides and thiazolidinediones) and i.v. insulin. Liver complications are typically tackled as for other patients with liver disease, but little can be done once damage has occurred to any of these organs.
A few approaches have been developed to address the abnormalities of the mucus, principally its elevated viscosity. These include dornase alfa (a DNase enzyme), hypertonic saline, mannitol, acetylcysteine, dextran and denufosol (an agonist of the P2Y2 subtype of purinergic receptors, an alternative chloride channel in the lung). However, these treatments only show limited efficacy and are limited to the lung. Alginate oligomers have also been shown to be capable of reducing the viscosity of sputum from COPD patients and cervical mucus (WO 2007/039754, WO 2007/039760; WO2008/125828) and the use of alginate oligomers to treat CF, female infertility and hyperviscous mucus in the gut has been proposed on this basis.
Alginates are naturally occurring polysaccharides that have been found to have a number of uses, both clinical (e.g. in wound dressings, as drug carriers and in anti-heartburn preparations) and non-clinical (e.g. in food preparation). They are linear polymers of (1-4) linked β-D-mannuronic acid (M) and/or its C-5 epimer α-L-guluronic acid (G). The primary structure of alginates can vary greatly. The M and G residues can be organised as homopolymeric blocks of contiguous M or G residues, as blocks of alternating M and G residues and single M or G residues can be found interspacing these block structures. An alginate molecule can comprise some or all of these structures and such structures might not be uniformly distributed throughout the polymer. In the extreme, there exists a homopolymer of guluronic acid (polyguluronate) or a homopolymer of mannuronic acid (polymannuronate).
Alginates have been isolated from marine brown algae (e.g. certain species of Durvillea, Lessonia and Laminaria) and bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Azotobacter vinelandii. Other pseudomonads (e.g. Pseudomonas fluorescens, Pseudomonas putida, and Pseudomonas mendocina) retain the genetic capacity to produce alginates but in the wild they do not produce detectable levels of alginate. By mutation these non-producing pseudomonads can be induced to produce stably large quantities of alginate.
Alginate is synthesised as polymannuronate and G residues are formed by the action of epimerases (specifically C-5 epimerases) on the M residues in the polymer. In the case of alginates extracted from algae, the G residues are predominantly organised as G blocks because the enzymes involved in alginate biosynthesis in algae preferentially introduce the G neighbouring another G, thus converting stretches of M residues into G-blocks. Elucidation of these biosynthetic systems has allowed the production of alginates with specific primary structures (WO 94/09124, Gimmestad, M et al, Journal of Bacteriology, 2003, Vol 185(12) 3515-3523 and WO 2004/011628).
Alginates are typically isolated from natural sources as large high molecular weight polymers (e.g. an average molecular weight in the range 300,000 to 500,000 Daltons). It is known, however, that such large alginate polymers may be degraded, or broken down, e.g. by chemical or enzymatic hydrolysis to produce alginate structures of lower molecular weight. Alginates that are used industrially typically have an average molecular weight in the range of 100,000 to 300,000 Daltons (such alginates are still considered to be large polymers) although alginates of an average molecular weight of approximately 35,000 Daltons have been used as excipients in pharmaceuticals.
In addition to a proposed use of alginate oligomers of smaller size (molecular mass) to reduce the viscosity of hyperviscous sputum such as occurs in sufferers of cystic fibrosis and other respiratory diseases (see WO 2007/039754 and WO 2008/125828), such oligomers have also been proposed for other clinical uses, to combat biofilm (WO 2009/068841) and multidrug resistant bacteria (WO 2010/13957).
More recently the new pharmaceutical class of "CFTR modulators" has emerged offering a pharmaceutical intervention at the level of CFTR dysfunction, in particular in the treatment of CF (Derichs, N., Eur. Respir. Rev., 2013, 22(127), 58-65; Petit, R. S. and Fellner, C., Pharmacy and Therapeutics, 2014, 39(7), 500-511). Also known as "CFTR modifiers", which terms are used interchangeably herein, CFTR modulators are small molecules which can redress, at least partially, a mechanism of CFTR dysfunction from one or more classes of CFTR dysfunction. Present CFTR modulators fall into three main groups: CFTR potentiators, CFTR correctors and read-through agents.
CFTR potentiators are CFTR modulators which increase the activity of the CFTR ion channel present on the epithelial cell surface (e.g. by increasing the open probability or conductance of the channel) and thus have utility in contexts in which a Class III or a Class IV dysfunction is present (i.e. a dysfunction caused by gating or conductance problems in the CFTR at the cell surface). Prototypical examples of CFTR potentiators are ivacaftor (VX-770; N-(2,4-di-tert-butyl-5-hydroxyphenyl)-1,4-dihydro-4-oxoquinoline-3-carboxamide) and VRT-532 (4-methyl-2-(5-phenyl-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)-phenol) of Vertex Pharmaceuticals).
CFTR correctors are CFTR modulators which increase the amount of CFTR protein delivered or retained at the epithelial cell surface. These molecules may achieve this effect in a variety of ways in view of the variety of defects in the processing of CFTR that can cause reduced quantities of CFTR at the epithelial cell surface. For instance, certain CFTR correctors can act as a chaperone facilitating proper folding and post-translational modification of CFTR, protecting CFTR from premature degradation, facilitating intracellular targeting of CFTR and reversing accelerated turnover of CFTR at the cell membrane. Correctors thus have utility in the context of Class II, Class V and Class VI dysfunctions. Prototypical examples of CFTR correctors include lumacaftor (VX-809) and tezacaftor (VX-661) of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and N6022 (3-[1-(4-carbamoyl-2-methylphenyl)-5-(4-imidazol-1-ylphenyl)pyrrol-2-yl]propanoic acid).
Read-through agents (also known as "premature stop codon suppressors" (PSC suppressors) or "premature termination codon suppressors" (PTC suppressors, which terms are used interchangeably herein) are CFTR modulators which cause the translation machinery of the cell to pass over any premature termination codon in the CFTR mRNA thereby increasing the amount of substantially full length and functional CFTR produced. Read-through agents thus have utility in the context of Class I dysfunctions. Prototypical examples of read-through agents include ataluren (PTC124) of PTC Therapeutics and gentamicin.
Further CFTR modulators are disclosed in WO2006/002421, WO2007/056341 WO2007134279, WO2009038683, WO2009064959, WO2009073757, WO2009076141, WO2009076142, WO2010019239, WO2010037066, WO2010048526, WO2010053471, WO2010054138, WO2010138484, WO2011019413, WO2011050325, WO2011072241, WO2011127241, WO2011127290, WO2011133751, WO2011133951, WO2011133953, WO2011133956, WO2011146901, Pedemonte, N., et al., J Clin Invest. 2005; 115(9):2564-2571, Van Goor, F. et al., Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 2006, 290: L1117-L1130, and Pedemonte, N., et al., Molecular Pharmacology, 2005 vol. 67 no. 5 1797-1807 the content of which is incorporated herein by reference, and FIG. 3.
Experience with CFTR modulators to date has been based on systemic administration via oral or injection routes, at least in part in order to avoid potential bioavailability complications arising from the possible "barrier effect" of the abnormal mucus which results from CFTR dysfunction, namely that the presence of the abnormal mucus may impede access of the modulator to the epithelial cells (especially in the respiratory system where bioburden is significantly greater than at other mucosal surfaces, but also in the GI tract where the mucus layer is comparatively thicker than at other mucosal surfaces). Moreover, it has been suggested that younger patients will respond better to this class of therapeutic agent because the younger a patient is, the less damage has accrued. More particularly, in younger patients there has been less time for a CFTR dysfunction phenotype (especially one including chronic infection, chronic inflammation and airway remodelling) to become established and to develop into a phenotype that can interfere with the action of CFTR modulators. Administration by inhalation, for instance, to a patient with a well-established CFTR dysfunction phenotype would, for example, be considered very challenging.
Although existing developments in this field show promise, there is a continuing need for improved pharmaceutical interventions, including treatment regimens, for conditions arising from or associated with CFTR dysfunction and, specifically, the abnormal mucus of patients with CFTR dysfunction (e.g. patients with CF, patients with abnormal mucus clearance in the respiratory tract and/or breathing difficulties resulting from chronic particulate inhalation, patients with chronic inflammatory respiratory disorders, e.g. COPD (and its subtypes chronic bronchitis and emphysema), bronchiectasis, asthma and chronic sinusitis, and/or patients with non-compound CFTR gene mutation) especially those conditions associated with the lung, the GI tract, the pancreas, the liver and the reproductive system.

Use of aliginate oligomers and CFTR modulators in treatment of conditions associated with CFTR dysfunction


A perfluorinated ion exchange membrane useful for membrane electrode assemblies and fuel cells and having improved ionic conductivity and water absorption characteristics.

This invention relates to perfluorinated ion exchange membranes for use in electrochemical devices, in particular fuel cells using either hydrogen gas or methanol as a fuel. Such membranes were previously made from extruded films of a precursor polymer, containing sulfonyl halide functional groups, by contacting the extruded films with a solution of alkali hydroxide, such as sodium or potassium hydroxide, followed by acid exchange with a strong acid such as hydrochloric or nitric acid. The precursor polymer is commonly made by the copolymerisation of tetrafluoroethylene with a comonomer containing a polymerizable vinyl group and one or more sulfonyl fluoride groups. Examples of such precursor polymers are those having the general formula:
wherein X is from 0 to 2. Products made from of these precursor polymers are commercially available under the tradenames NAFION AND FLEMION, from DuPont and Asahi, respectively. Other precursor polymers which have been used in the past are those prepared from short branch polymers of the same formula, but wherein X=0, having a repeating unit of the general formula:
For the purposes of the present invention, short branch polymers are preferred.
The composition of such polymers can be described in terms of the comonomer ratio n, or, more commonly, in terms of the equivalent weight (EW) of the final polymer in the sulfonic acid form, that is, after the acid exchange described above. Previously known fuel cell membranes, such as those described above, can exhibit excellent performance. However, continuing effort has been directed to achieving optimum EW from such membranes. From the standpoint of maximum ionic conductivity, it is desirable to choose the lowest possible EW, preferably lower than 900. However, when methanol is used as a fuel, membranes made of such low EW polymers exhibit excessive crossover of methanol. When either hydrogen or methanol is used as a fuel, the membranes exhibit excessive water absorption and resulting swelling and loss of mechanical strength under high humidity conditions. Accordingly, a continuing need exists for such membranes which exhibit minimum cross over of methanol, and more constant water uptake under variable humidity conditions than membranes of the prior art.
The present invention provides ion exchange membranes which exhibit excellent ionic conductivity and more uniform water absorption, particularly when used in fuel cells.
Specifically, the instant invention provides, in a perfluorinated polymeric ion exchange membrane comparing SO2F moieties, the improvement wherein about from 0.1 to 30 wt % of the SO2F moieties are converted to SO2NH2 moieties. The invention further provides membrane electrode assemblies and fuel cells incorporating these membranes.


A stacked solid electrolytic capacitor has a substrate, a capacitor element, and a metal cap. The substrate has electrical conductivity. The capacitor element is provided on the substrate. The metal cap is coupled to the substrate, covers the capacitor element and is electrically conducted to the substrate. A cathode of the capacitor element is electrically conducted to the substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to a stacked solid electrolytic capacitor.
2. Description of the Related Art
A solid electrolytic capacitor attracts attentions because the capacitor is superior in frequency property compared to other electrolytic capacitors. A roll-formed solid electrolytic capacitor, a stacked solid electrolytic capacitor and so on are used as the solid electrolytic capacitor. An exterior of the stacked solid electrolytic capacitor is, generally, molded with epoxy resin. There is, however, some defects with respect to the epoxy molding.
Transfer molding is, generally, used as an epoxy molding method. The epoxy resin is heated to more than 150 degrees C. and the epoxy resin is put into with a pressure of more than few atmospheres, in the method. Polymerized element is subjected to much stress. And it is possible that a leakage current is increased and electrical short circuit is generated. The epoxy resin of high temperature breaks into between electrode foils of the polymerized element. And the property is possibly degraded because of separation of a polymer.
And so, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-116713 (hereinafter referred to Document 1) discloses a molding method as a method other than the transfer molding. In the method, a thermocompression tape where a single liquid epoxy resin is impregnated is pasted to the polymerized element. And the epoxy resin dissolved with heat is molded.
It is, however, difficult to obtain humidity resistance because a molding material is epoxy resin, with respect to a solid electrolytic capacitor manufactured following the art of Document 1.


A method for granting access to secure information includes receiving from a caller a call for connection with one of a plurality of agents, distributing the call to the agent of the plurality of agents, initiating an active communication session between the caller and the agent for handling the call, and granting to the agent access to the secure caller information using a plurality of access authentication information that includes an active communication session between the caller and the agent.

Automatic call distributors (ACDs) and call centers or other contact centers typically include systems designed to match incoming requests for service, for example a telephone call or an e-mail, with a resource that is able to provide that service, such as a human call center agent. ACDs generally perform one or more of the following functions: (i) recognize and answer incoming calls; (ii) review database(s) for instructions on what to do with a particular call; (iii) using these instructions, identify an appropriate agent and queue the call, often times providing a prerecorded message; (iv) connect the call to an agent as soon as the agent is available; and (v) grant the available agent access to the customer information database(s) to complete the transaction.
Some customers fear that there may be an opportunity for fraud when secure customer information is made available to call centers. For example, identity theft could occur when a call center agent uses secure information from customer databases without customer's knowledge for a fraudulent use. Providing access to secure information in customer databases has become a growing concern of customers that reduces the willingness of customers to engage in commerce with contact centers. Security is of particular concern to customers as companies outsource call centers to third parties such as hosted call centers. In hosted call centers, a call from a customer may be answered by a hosting company with agents in foreign countries. The customer may provide personal, account, and other confidential information to an agent residing outside the country. In these cases, the agent may not be employed by the company that the customer is completing the transaction with. Call centers concerned about losing customers are attempting to address these security concerns.
Some banking systems require the presence of multiple physical keys before granting access to customer information (e.g. opening a safety deposit box). In this example, the customer has one key and the bank employee has another key. Both the customer and the bank employee must be present at the same time to open the safety deposit box.
Some ACD systems and call centers grant agents access to caller information based on caller identification (id) information. When a customer calls, the ACD system receives the caller id and gives the agent handling the call automatic access to the customer's information based on the caller id. Typically, the agent gets the information in the form of a screen popup. The customer is then transferred to the agent. If the customer is transferred to a third party, the third party automatically gets the information, and the agent's screen is blanked out. When the customer hangs up, the agent may keep the information to complete the transaction after the call.

Method and system for securing access to information in an automatic call distributor system


Data is efficiently read from a sequence without a read position being revealed. A secure reading apparatus 1 receives a secret text sequence and a secret text of a read position as input, and outputs an element at the read position of the secret text sequence. A vector creating part (12) creates a vector expressing the read position. A compression computing part (13) repeatedly generates a new secret text sequence in which an inner product of a vector based on the secret text sequence and a vector expressing the read position is set as an element. The reading part (14) outputs the new secret text sequence having the number of elements of one as the element at the read position of the secret text sequence.

As a method for obtaining a particular computation result without reconstructing an encrypted numerical value, there is a method called secure computation (see, for example, Non-patent literature 1). With the method disclosed in Non-patent literature 1, by encryption being performed so that fragments of numerical values are distributed to three secure computation apparatuses, and the three secure computation apparatuses performing cooperative computation, it is possible to maintain a state where results of addition and subtraction, constant addition, multiplication, constant multiplication, logical operation (NOT, AND, OR, EXCLUSIVE-OR) and data format conversion (integer, binary) are distributed to the three secure computation apparatuses, that is, encrypted without the numerical values being reconstructed.
In a case where the i-th data is read from a sequence without a read position i being revealed, commonly the i-th data is obtained by determining whether or not a position matches the read position i for all elements, and, in a case where the position does not match the read position i, replacing a value of the position with 0, and adding up values of all the elements (see, for example, Non-patent literature 2).
In a case where a value d is written in the i-th data of a sequence without a write position i being revealed, commonly, a new sequence having the same size as a size n of the sequence is prepared, d is set only for the i-th element, 0 is set for other elements, and the new sequence is added to a sequence of a write destination (see, for example, Non-patent literature 2).

Secure reading apparatus, secure writing apparatus, method thereof, and program for reading and writing data in a sequence without revealing an access position

NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE CORPORATION


Techniques for encoding N-binary symbol (NB) source data vectors into M-binary symbol (MB) encoded vectors, M>N>0, are provided. Techniques for decoding are also provided. Exemplary coding and decoding apparatuses are presented, as is an exemplary 8B/10B encoding scheme. Encoded vectors may be disparity dependent or disparity independent. In assigning encoded vectors that have one or more individual binary symbol changes compared with their source data vectors, preference can be given to encoded vectors that are balanced and disparity independent. Whole-vector complementation and individual changes of one or more binary symbols can advantageously be performed substantially in parallel.

Coding is employed in communications systems for a variety of purposes. Among these are the improvement of transmission reliability, DC balance, the detection of errors, and the correction of errors. U.S. Pat. No. 5,699,062 to Widmer discloses a transmission code having local parity. The '062 patent describes a method and apparatus for converting 8-bit bytes to a set of coded 10-bit bytes such that if an error accrues in a bit location of a particular coded byte, it generates an invalid coded byte. Further, the set of coded bytes includes a comma which is confined to a single byte. The bit sequence of the comma is singular, i.e., the sequence of bits corresponding to the comma cannot be found in any byte sequence with another alignment relative to the byte boundaries. Vertical parity is used to identify the bit location of errors within a byte known to be erroneous.
The '062 patent does not provide a specific assignment of source vectors to encoded vectors. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a coding implementation that can be efficiently implemented in hardware.

NB/MB coding apparatus and method using both disparity independent and disparity dependent encoded vectors

International Business Machines Corporation


A waveform equalizer for reducing distortion of a digital signal produced from a digital data recording and playback system or transmission system is formed of a neural network having fixed weighting coefficients. Respective values for the coefficients are established by generating a corresponding simulated neuron network, by software implementation using a computer, and by executing a neuron network learning operation using input values obtained from a distorted digital signal and teaching values obtained from an original digital signal which resulted in the distorted digital signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a waveform equalizer for removing signal distortion which arises when a digital signal is recorded and subsequently reproduced, or is transmitted and subsequently received, and to a method of designing such a waveform equalizer. In particular, the invention relates to a waveform equalizer which is formed as a neural network having fixed weighting coefficients.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, systems which utilize recording and playback or transmission/receiving of digital signals have come to be widely utilized. However in such a system, even if an original digital signal which is recorded or transmitted has a substantially ideal digital waveform, the resultant signal that is subsequently produced from a playback apparatus or a receiving apparatus will have a waveform that is very different from such an ideal digital signal waveform, and must be regarded as an analog signal for the purposes of signal processing. The following description will be directed to a digital signal recording and playback system, however similar considerations apply to a digital signal transmission and receiving system. The general term "digital signal transfer system" as used in the following description and in the appended claims is intended to designate a system such as a magnetic or optical recording and playback system, or a digital signal transmission system, in which an original signal is recorded and reproduced to obtain a corresponding distorted digital signal, or is transmitted and received, to obtain a corresponding distorted digital signal.
In the specific case of a digital data magnetic recording and playback system, a phenomenon known as "peak shift" occurs whereby portions of the playback digital signal waveform are shifted in time with respect to other portions of the waveform, as a result of the recording and playback process, thereby causing distortion of the signal and resulting in errors in judging the 0 and 1 logic level states of the playback signal data. In the case of an optical recording and playback system too, signal distortion (intersymbolic interference) arises due to such factors as lens aberration, etc. as described in detail hereinafter.
To overcome such problems, a type of waveform equalizer has been used in the prior art which is based on a transversal filter, as illustrated in the circuit diagram of FIG. 1. The waveform equalizer is assumed to receive as input signal a distorted digital signal produced from a recording and playback system. The output signal from the playback apparatus is delayed by successive identical amounts in delay lines 130a to 130d respectively. The directly supplied input signal and the delayed input signal outputs produced from the delay lines are amplified by amplifiers 131a to 131d respectively, which have predetermined respectively different amplification factors. The resultant amplified output signals are then summed by the adder circuit 132, to obtain a waveform-equalized output signal. However such a waveform equalizer apparatus does not provide satisfactory results.
The digital signal distortion which arises in a magnetic recording and playback system will be described in the following. Diagrams (A) to (E) of FIG. 2 are waveform diagrams for illustrating how such distortion occurs in a magnetic recording and playback system. It is assumed here that NRZ (Non Return to Zero) code is recorded and played back, and that the original recording current signal has an ideal digital waveform, i.e. with rapid transitions between fixed 0 and 1 state digital levels as illustrated in diagram (A). However the magnetic pattern that is actually recorded will be of the form shown in diagram (B). At the time of playback, assuming that such an ideal current waveform has been recorded, then since during playback (if there were no distortion in the record/playback process) the waveform of the output signal from the playback apparatus is differentiated, the resultant waveform would be as shown in diagram (C) of FIG. 2. In this case there is no waveform distortion, and no peak shift has occurred.
However in practice, as shown in diagram (D) of FIG. 2, the playback signal that is actually obtained in this case will be substantially distorted. When such a playback signal is differentiated, then it is found an amount of peak shift such as the amount .DELTA.t has occurred in the differentiated waveform, as shown in diagram (E). Here, a peak value in the differentiated playback signal which should correspond to a recording signal level transition at point t2 of the original recording signal has been displaced. That is to say, for some portions of the playback signal waveform, peak values of the differentiated playback signal will be time-displaced from the correct positions of these peak values. In the NRZ code, one bit is represented by a magnetic polarity inversion. However as a result of such distortion, the positions of inversions of the playback signal waveform will not be clear, so that satisfactory waveform reproduction cannot be achieved. That is to say, although polarity inversions have occurred at the time points t2 and t3, it will be judged (by a circuit which converts the differentiated playback signal of diagram (E) to a data stream) that magnetic polarity inversions have occurred at the time points t1 and t4, or (due to the fact that the signal level at these portions is low) it may be judged that no polarity inversions have occurred in the region from t1 to t4. Conversely, it may be erroneously judged that polarity inversions have occurred at some low-amplitude portions of the playback signal, for example it may be mistakenly judged that inversion has occurred at the time points t5 or t7.
Moreover in the case of an optical type of recording and playback apparatus, even greater degrees of signal distortion can arise. In an optical recording and playback system, defocussing or lens aberration may occur in the optical system of an optical pickup which focusses a small spot of light on the optical disk, and this is a source of overall signal distortion (intersymbolic interference). There are 5 basic types of aberration, and of these, astigmatism, spherical aberration, and coma aberration will result in distortion and intersymbolic interference in the digital signal. In addition, optical aberration can arise as a result of an optical disk being tilted, and this can also result in intersymbolic interference.
Diagrams (A) to (D) of FIG. 3 illustrate how signal distortion can arise in an optical recording and playback system. Here, Tmin designates a minimum duration for which the recorded data remains continuously at the digital 1 or 0 state. In a standard audio signal CD (compact disk) digital recording/playback system, the data that are actually recorded on the disk (i.e. as elongated surface pits, of varying length) represent data that are referred to as "channel bits", which are synchronized with a clock signal known as the channel clock signal, having a frequency of approximately 4.32 MHz. In the field of CD techology the period of that channel clock signal is commonly referred to simply as T, and that designation will be used in the following. The minimum interval between successive inversions of that recorded data will be designated as Tmin. In standard CD operation, the value of Tmin is three periods of the channel clock signal, i.e. 3 T, as illustrated by FIG. 4. However for the purposes of obtaining suitably distorted digital signals to be used in a neural network learning operation as described hereinafter, CDs may be utilized in which the recorded data has a value of Tmin that is less than 3 T.
In diagram (B) of FIG. 3, t1, t2, t3 and t4 denote respective time points which are defined by a the aforementioned channel clock signal. Looking first at the waveform of diagram (A), the data inversion point X in the original data, which occurs at a time point t2, is preceded by 1 Tmin period at the digital 0 state, and succeeded by 3 Tmin periods at the digital 1 state. Conversely, the data inversion point Y is preceded by 3 Tmin periods at the digital 1 state and is succeeded by one Tmin period at the digital 0 state.
Playback of an optical disk is based upon energy, and such playback operation does not include elements which are of mutually opposite kind, such as the N and S polarities of a magnetic recording and playback system. For that reason, when a lack of sharpness due to spherical aberration in the optical system arises, then as shown in diagram (B) of FIG. 3, the ends of the long code portion (3 Tmin of data) will become lengthened so that the portion of the waveform at time point t2 is shifted towards the time point t1 and the portion of the waveform at t3 is shifted towards t4. In addition, the distortion that results from coma aberration can cause even more serious effects. Diagram (C) of FIG. 3 shows a case in which coma aberration is produced which is oriented in the opposite direction to the direction of disk rotation, while diagram (D) shows a case in which coma aberration is produced which is oriented along the direction of disk rotation. It can be seen that the amount and shape of the waveform distortion of the playback signal will differ in accordance with these two types of coma aberration.
When reading data from an optical recording and playback system, e.g. from an optical disk (referred to in the following simply as a CD), there will generally be high levels of these different types of aberration in the lens and the optical system, and it is not possible to quantitatively determine the respective amounts of distortion that arise from the various types of aberration. Thus it has been almost impossible to achieve effective waveform equalization in the prior art. Taking for example the prior art waveform equalizer shown in FIG. 1, respectively different coefficient values would be required, i.e. different values of amplification factors for the amplifiers 131a to 131e, depending upon the degree of intersymbolic interference (i.e. degree of code distortion) and the causes of the distortion. Thus the coefficient values cannot be unconditionally defined, so that it has not been possible to achieve satisfactory results with the such prior art types of waveform equalizer, which have linear input/output characteristics.
In the case of the signal distortion conditions which arise in a magnetic recording and playback system, as illustrated in diagrams (D) and (E) of FIG. 2, it would be possible for an individual who is highly experienced in the characteristics of a magnetic recording and playback system and the NRZ code to make correct judgements concerning the playback signal, by examining such a static waveform diagram. That is to say, the polarity inversions always occur in pairs, so that each positive-going inversion of the playback signal should always be followed by a negative-going inversion, i.e. there should be a sequence of positive-negative, positive-negative, inversions. Hence, considering the time points t2 and t3, it can be judged that inversions occur in that portion of the waveform of diagram (D) of FIG. 2 within a short time interval, and since the period has been lengthened as a result of bit shifting in that portion, the inversion points could be correctly judged as being at the time points t2, t3, rather than at the points t1, t4 (which erroneous judgement might be made based on the results of differentiation, shown in diagram (E)). Similarly, since the playback signal waveform is positive at each of the time points t5, t6 and t7, i.e. positive-negative inversion pairs do not appear, it would be judged by an experienced individual that t6 is a data inversion point.
Furthermore, in the case of the signal distortion conditions in an optical recording and playback system that are illustrated in diagrams (B) to (D) of FIG. 3, it would be possible for an experienced individual who is very familiar with the characteristics of such an optical recording and playback system to make correct judgements of the playback signal waveform. Specifically, from the slope of the 3 Tmin data portion extending betweeen t2 and t4, it would be possible for such an individual to estimate the direction and the amount of coma aberration, and based on that knowledge, to correctly judge the transition points (t2, t3) of the playback signal.
However it is not practicable to execute real-time elimination of signal distortion that arises in a digital signal recording and playback system or transmission system, by a method which uses human experience and analysis as described above. Prior art types of waveform equalizer cannot provide satisfactory performance, and in addition the design of such a waveform equalizer (for example, to determine the amplification factors in accordance with the characteristics of a particular recording and playback system) is complex.
Recently, signal processing by neural networks has been proposed in various types of applications. A neural network consists of a plurality of neuron units, each having a non-linear input/output characteristic, and interconnected by linking elements which have respective mutually independent weighting coefficients. The weighting coefficients can be altered by a learning operation, which involves comparing an output value produced from the neural network (while a specific combination of input values are being inputted to the neural network) with a desired value (referred to as a teaching value), and modifying the values of the weighting coefficients such as to bring the output value from the neural network closer to the teaching value, by using a learning algorithm. The learning process is successively repeated for a number of different teaching values and corresponding input value combinations. The operation of a neural network is generally implemented by simulation using a computer. As a result, it has not been possible to achieve a sufficiently high performance with a neural network (due to the limited processing speed capabilities of the usual types of computer) to execute real-time signal processing for such a waveform equalizer type of application. Moreover, it is difficult to realize neuron units as practical hardware circuits which have non-linear input/output characteristics.
Due to the above factors, it has not been considered practicable to use a neural network to learn the characteristics of a magnetic recording and playback system or an optical recording and playback system and to thereby execute real-time equalization of a distorted digital signal that is produced from a transmission or playback system.

Waveform equalizer apparatus formed of neural network, and method of designing same


A safety mechanism for a turf aerator having a frame and an engine with a governor that generally prevents the turf aerator from operating at full power unless the safety mechanism is engaged. A blocking mechanism and a manual actuation device are mounted to the frame. The manual actuation device is in mechanical communication with the blocking mechanism. The blocking mechanism urges the governor toward a loaded position and the engine operates at a generally low power when the governor is in the loaded position.

The present application is directed to a turf aerator and more specifically to an aerator having three separate shafts in axial alignment with each other with the tine assemblies on the middle shaft being mounted for free wheel rotation and the tine assemblies on the left and right shafts being mounted for rotation with the left and tight shafts which may be selectively driven or simultaneously driven.
Core-type aerators are well known in the art and are generally comprised of a walk-behind unit having a main frame with an internal combustion engine mounted on the top thereof. A transverse shaft is rotatably mounted adjacent a lower rear portion of the frame and has plurality of discs secured thereto which in turn support a plurality of radially extending core tines. A suitable drive arrangement is provided between the output shaft of the motor and the tine carrying shaft. A pair of adjustable wheels are pivotally mounted on opposite sides of the frame adjacent the rear thereof which may be adjustable in height under the control of an operator walking behind the aerator. Suitable controls are provided on the handle for controlling the drive to the shaft carrying the care tines. In most models of turf aerators, all of the tine carrying discs are simultaneously rotated since they are mounted on a single transverse shaft to which the drive is imparted. At least one turf aerator model is provided wherein the outermost tine carrying discs are mounted on the shaft for a free wheeling operation
The aerator disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,102,129 is of the walk behind type and is provided with two independent tine carrying shafts which are axially aligned with each other for independent rotation relative to each other. Each shaft is selectively connected to an output shaft of a motor mounted on the frame of the aerator by two separate drive trains, each having a clutch arrangement therein. A pair of control levers is mounted on a handle assembly for operating the clutches in each drive train. Thus either or both of the tine carrying shafts may be rotated to facilitate a turning operation of the aerator or while traversing a sloping surface.
The aerator disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,680,903 is provided with a series of tine assemblies spaced along a driven shaft driven by a motor. Each tine assembly has a plurality of tines for aeration extending in a substantially radial pattern about the driven shaft. The inner tine assemblies along the middle portion of the driven shaft are secured to the driven shaft to drive the aerator along the lawn as the driven shaft rotates. The outer tine assemblies adjacent the ends of the driven shaft are rotatably mounted on the driven shaft. This permits the outer tine assemblies to free wheel independently and thereby make the aerator more maneuverable and easier to turn.


A measurement apparatus includes a horizontal plate. The horizontal plate includes a first plate end, a second plate end disposed away from the first plate end in a longitudinal direction, a first plate surface extending between the first plate end and the second plate end, and a second plate surface extending between the first plate end and the second plate end. The second plate surface is disposed away from the first plate surface in a normal direction. A first support member extends from the first plate end longitudinally toward the second plate end and protrudes in a direction normally away from the second plate surface. A second support member extends from the first plate end longitudinally toward the second plate end and protrudes in a direction normally away from the second plate surface. A measurement bar contacts the first support member and the second support member.

Popular smoking articles, such as cigarettes, have a substantially cylindrical rod shaped structure and include a charge, roll, or column of smokable material, such as shredded tobacco (e.g., in cut filler form), surrounded by a paper wrapper, thereby forming a so called "smokable rod", "tobacco rod" or "cigarette rod." Normally, a cigarette has a cylindrical filter element aligned in an end to end relationship with the tobacco rod. Preferably, a filter element comprises plasticized cellulose acetate tow circumscribed by a paper material known as "plug wrap." Preferably, the filter element is attached to one end of the tobacco rod using a circumscribing wrapping material known as "tipping paper." It also has become desirable to perforate the tipping material and plug wrap, in order to provide dilution of drawn mainstream smoke with ambient air. Descriptions of cigarettes and the various components thereof are set forth in Tobacco Production, Chemistry and Technology, Davis et al. (Eds.) (1999), U.S. Pat. No. 7,503,330 to Borschke et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,360,023 to Blakley et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,911,184 to Case et al., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/338,647 by Ademe et al., U.S. Pat. No. 9,247,770 to Barnes et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 8,574,141 to Barnes et al., which are incorporated herein by reference. A traditional type of cigarette is employed by a user by lighting one end thereof and burning the tobacco rod. The user then receives mainstream smoke into his/her mouth by drawing on the opposite end (e.g., the filter end or mouth end) of the cigarette. Through the years, efforts have been made to improve upon the components, construction, and performance of smoking articles. See, for example, the background art discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,753,056 to Borschke et al.
As an alternative to burning tobacco, other types of smoking articles have been developed that employ carbonaceous fuel elements to heat, but not burn substrates containing an aerosol former that is volatilized to form an inhalable aerosol in response to heat generated by the carbonaceous fuel element. These "heat-not-burn" smoking articles have been commercially marketed under the brand names "Premier," "Eclipse" and "Revo" by R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. See, for example, those types of cigarettes described in Chemical and Biological Studies on New Cigarette Prototypes that Heat Instead of Burn Tobacco, R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company Monograph (1988) and Inhalation Toxicology, 12:5, p. 1 58 (2000). Additionally, a similar type of cigarette has been marketed in Japan by Japan Tobacco Inc. under the brand name "Steam Hot One."
These heat-not-burn smoking articles, whether heated through a combustible heat source, electrical heating by a device, or other means, generally, like traditional combustible cigarettes, comprise a plurality of segments, such as one or more aerosol generating segments and/or one or more filter segments aligned in an end-to-end alignment. Various manners and methods for assembling smoking articles that possess a plurality of sequentially arranged segmented components have been proposed. See, for example, the various types of assembly techniques and methodologies set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,469,871 to Barnes et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 7,647,932 to Cantrell et al.; and U.S. Pat. App. Pub. Nos. 2010/0186757 to Crooks et al.; 2012/0042885 to Stone et al., and 2012/0067360 to Conner et al.; each of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
Among the techniques used to assemble segmented smoking articles, including the attachment of filter segments to other rod components is the use of circumscribing wrapping material, such as paper wrapping. One such example of this is so called tipping paper. These wrapping materials are generally supplied as material rolls, or "bobbins", that are then roll fed to equipment used in automated high speed manufacturing processes. When using roll fed material in this manner, it is important to ensure the position and alignment of the wrapping material is as intended. This is especially important with respect to some smoking articles that utilize a tipping paper with a reduced width compared to conventional tipping papers. As a result, the position of the tipping paper is important for formation of a uniform smoking article (e.g., a quality or user-preferred smoking article) as the overlap between the filter element and tipping paper is narrower. If the tipping paper is telescoped, rounded, or curved (e.g., not flat), use of the rounded tipping paper in the formation of the combustible smoking article increases the likelihood and incidence of manufacturing issues such as the filter element falling off of the tipping paper. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a device that can measure (e.g., quantify) the flatness and/or roundness of wrapping materials, such as tipping paper (e.g., before the tipping paper is used to attach the filter element to one end of the tobacco rod).


According to one example, a suction-based attachment system includes a body plate configured to be positioned against a pelvis of a person, and a suction docking protrusion coupled to the body plate. The body plate has a back surface configured to face the pelvis of the person, and a front surface configured to face away from the pelvis of the person. The suction docking protrusion includes a suction docking surface that is configured to operate as an attachment area for a suction cup included on a prosthetic phallic device, via an air vacuum formed in-between the suction docking surface and the suction cup included on the prosthetic phallic device.

The use of prosthetic phallic devices for sexual stimulation is well-known. These devices come in a variety of shapes, sizes and configurations and are constructed out of various formulations of plastic, synthetic rubber, and silicone. Furthermore, some of these devices can move or vibrate to enhance the stimulating experience of the device. Devices that include such a feature are often referred to as "vibrators" and those that do not are generally referred to as "dildos". These typical prosthetic phallic devices, however, may be deficient.

Suction-based attachment system for sexual stimulation


Systems, devices, and methods provide an augmented reality visualization of a real world accident scene. The system may comprise an augmented reality visualization device in communication with a display interface. The display interface may be configured to present a graphical user interface including an accident scene that corresponds to a real world location. The augmented reality visualization device (and/or system) may comprise one or more data stores configured to store accident scene information corresponding to the real world location, such as vehicles, motorcycles, trees, road objects, etc. Additionally, the one or more data stores may also store participant information corresponding to details about other multiple participants, such as witnesses, other drivers, and/or police officers.

Augmented reality systems may provide a user with a virtual environment based on a real world environment adding digital elements to the real world environment by using a camera or inputted information. Augmented reality systems may provide a user interface allowing a user to interact with the live and/or virtual environment. For example, the user may manipulate electronic representations of objects in the augmented environment. Augmented reality user interfaces may be displayed on display interfaces such as user computing devices and user mobile devices.
When an automobile accident occurs, owners may submit accident reports to police and/or claims under insurance policies that cover the accident. The owner may fill out a police report and a police officer may verify the police report. Additionally, the owner may fill out an insurance claim form listing the damaged areas and an insurer may evaluate the damage against the coverage of an insurance policy. The insurer may provide reimbursement in the form of a settlement, allowing the owner to repair the automobile.
Additionally, processing an insurance claim following a vehicle accident can be a complex and time-consuming process. Individuals involved in the accident must exchange insurance information and file insurance claims. Insurance companies for the individuals involved in the accident must determine the amount of damage caused to the vehicles, pay out on insurance claims, and recover damages from the liable party.
Current claims processing approaches may involve interaction with multiple insurance agents, claims adjusters, subrogation representatives, and the like. Accordingly, current approaches to claims processing may include the processing of paperwork, telephone calls, and face-to-face meetings. As a result, a significant amount of time can elapse between the time the claim is filed and final settlement of the claim. Therefore, a need exists for improved approaches to processing insurance claims in response to a vehicle accident.

Accident re-creation using augmented reality


A universal tie down assembly includes first and second longitudinal belts comprising reinforced webbing made from a flexible fabric material. Each belt includes a buckle end and an anchor end. The anchor end is a loop of the reinforced webbing. At least one longitudinal slot is woven into an edge of at least one of the belts. The length of the slot is at least as great as the width of the belts. The assembly includes a novel open under load buckle having a receiving part (female part) and an insertion part (male part). The buckle end of one of the belts is adjustably disposed in a belt opening of one of the insertion part and the receiving part and the buckle end of the other of the belts forms a sewn loop that loops through a belt opening of the other of the insertion part and the receiving part.

The invention relates in general to tie downs for attaching and securing equipment and in particular to tie downs for attaching and securing equipment to the interior or exterior of vehicles.
Various tie downs are known for securing equipment to the interior or exterior of a vehicle. Some tie down methods use cargo webbing with ratcheting buckles, netting, and elastic cord (bungee cord). The known tie downs vary in safety, adaptability to different vehicles, and ease of use. In some environments, stowage of equipment and gear is a critical issue because the available space is very limited. Furthermore, failure of the tie down can result in property damage, injury, or death. A particularly harsh environment is a military theater of operations. Storage space, particularly interior storage space, is at a premium in armored vehicles that transport personnel and/or cargo. In addition, the armored vehicle may be subject to extreme shocks, such as shocks from substandard roads, hostile fire, and rollovers caused by explosive devices such as improvised explosive devices (IEDs). In such a harsh environment, the reliability of the tie downs and ease of use of the tie downs in cramped areas are critical factors.
Some buckles used with tie downs may be opened only when the buckle is not under load. A buckle that is designed to not open under load is described in U.S. Patent Application Publication 2010/0071173 published on Mar. 25, 2010 in the name of Hortnagl. The entire contents of U.S. Patent Application Publication 2010/0071173 are expressly incorporated by reference herein. When buckles are used as part of a support for a human being, it is very important that the buckles not open under load. Otherwise, serious injury or death of the human may occur. On the other hand, in some cargo securing applications, it may be desirable to use a buckle that will open under load, for example, to save time in an emergency situation.
A need exists for a tie down that is safe, reliable, easy to use, readily adaptable to various configurations, and that includes an open under load buckle.

The United States of America as Represented by the Secretary of the Army