Specific single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the human genome, and their association with deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and related pathologies, such as pulmonary embolism (PE).

Venous thrombosis is a serious medical condition that occurs when a blood clot (thrombus) forms in one or more veins of the body. One particular form of venous thrombosis is called deep vein thrombosis (DVT) when the blood clot occurs in deep veins. Such blood clots might travel through the bloodstream and lodge in lungs, where they can block blood flow, causing pulmonary embolism (PE).
Venous thrombosis is a complex multifactorial disease, several inherited or acquired conditions can increase coagulability of blood and thus the tendency to develop blood clots. The inherited conditions include mutations in the diverse well-known clotting anticoagulant or thrombolytic factors genes, such as the factor V Leiden gene, and the prothrombin factor II gene. Additional mutations can be present in genes coding for proteins C and S, although they increase risk of developing venous thrombosis significantly, they are rare and most of them are practically private. Other likely inherited causes include a possible increase in the expression of procoagulant factors such as factor VIII, von Willebrand factor, and factors IX and XI (Cushman M., (2005), Hematology Am Soc Hematol Educ Program: 452-457). In addition, non-O ABO blood groups, with exception of the A2 group, were demonstrated as increasing the risk of developing thrombosis, as well as some additional genetic variants in the genes such as FGG, GP6, KNG1, PROCR, SLC44A2, STXBP5 and TSPAN15 were associated to an increased risk of venous thrombosis (Morange P-E., Suchon P. and Trégouët D-A., (2015), Thrombosis and Haemostasis 114 (5): 910-919). The examples of the acquired conditions that can cause DVT are surgery and trauma, prolonged immobilization, cancer, myeloproliferative disorders, and even pregnancy and post-partum (Seligsohn U. and Lubetsky A., (2001) New Eng J Med 344(16): 1222-1231). Thus, DVT might occur as the result of a genetic mutation alone or in concert with behavioral and environmental factors, such as prolonged immobilization, smoking and hormonal treatments (e.g. use of hormonal contraceptives or hormone replacement therapy for menopause).
Venous thrombosis occurs in 1-2 per 1,000 individuals per year. The incidence increases with age, from 1 in 100,000 in children to 1 in 10,000 individuals in the reproductive age and 1 in 1,000 individuals at the age 50 to 60 (Rosendaal F. R., (2016), Thromb J 14(Suppl 1): 117-121). As mentioned, numerous hereditary and acquired conditions were demonstrated in relation with an increased risk of developing DVT, nonetheless widely-accepted evidence of haemostatic abnormalities associated with thrombophilia includes the following parameters: antithrombin deficiency, protein S deficiency, protein C deficiency, factor V Leiden mutation, prothrombin G20210A mutation, non-O ABO blood groups, high levels of factor VIII dysfibrinogenaemia and hyperhomocysteinaemia (Franchini M., Martinelli I. and Mannucci P. M., (2016), Thrombosis and Haemostasis 115: 25-30). These parameters are also included in the standard thrombophilia testing, which thus includes only few genetic markers (the factor V Leiden mutation, the prothrombin G20210A mutation and eventually non-O blood groups).
Over 100 million women worldwide use combined estroprogestative contraceptives (CC), due to their very high effectiveness in reducing the risk of unwanted pregnancy and their beneficial effect on diverse symptoms related to women's cycle. Nonetheless, these contraceptives also increase the risk of blood clotting substantially, which can ultimately lead to DVT and PE (Vinogradova Y., Coupland C. and Hippisley-Cox J., (2015) BMJ 350: h2135). Newer generations of the CC, the so-called 3rd and 4th generations CC, are usually better tolerated by women but importantly, they increase the risk of developing DVT even more than the older preparations of the so-called 2nd and 1st generations.
The incidence of thrombosis among CC users is around 1‰ or 10 times more than in population in general at the same age. In France alone, where over 3 M women aged 15-49 use CC, the National Agency for the Safety of Drugs and Health Products reports every year over 2,500 cases of DVT, 850 cases of PE, and 20 cases of death linked to contraceptive pills. According to recent estimates, in Europe, 22,000 DVT cases related to CC occur each year. Thus, one of the major challenges for healthcare professionals is to identify women at risk of developing blood clotting disease related to CC such as DVT and PE, and advise them on alternative contraception methods.
As the standard of care nowadays, prescribing physicians use a medical questionnaire to assess the risk of thrombosis, mostly focusing on age, body mass index and smoking habits that are known risk factors for disease development, as well as on the personal and familial history of DVT or related diseases. If the familial or personal history of thrombosis is positive, physicians might use the first-level laboratory test for thrombophilia screening that includes analysis of only 2 genetic risk factors: the factor V-Leiden and the prothrombin mutation; eventually, some laboratories, also include genetic tests allowing to assess for the ABO blood groups. Though these genetic factors are well-established risk factors for thrombosis development, they explain less then one third of the inherited risk to develop thrombosis. Preciseley, factor V-Leiden is present among 20% of patients that develop thrombosis, whereas only 6% of patients carry the prothrombin mutation (Rosendaal F. R. and Reitsma P. H., (2009); Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis 7(1): 301-304). Presence of the non-O ABO blood group, with exception of the A2 blood group, increases the risk of developing thrombosis but it was demonstrated as a particularly important risk factor when combined with factor V-Leiden mutation due to additive effect (Franchini M. and Mannucci P. M., (2014), Thrombosis and Haemostasis 112(6): 1103-1109).
Taking into account the currently registered number of thrombosis cases related to CC, as well as the small proportion of thrombosis patients that are carriers of the genetic variants included into the standard testing, this approach is a relatively low performing one, with suboptimal sensitivity and specificity. This observation is further confirmed through diverse studies that demonstrate that these informations, notably familial history, are insufficient to reliably estimate risk of DVT (de Haan H. G. et al., (2012), Blood 120: 656-663; Suchon P, et al., (2015), Thrombosis and Haemostasis 114(6)).
For women in the period of menopause, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) aims to prevent discomfort caused by diminished circulating estrogen and progesterone hormones in woman's body, or in the case of the surgically or prematurely menopaused women, it aims at prolonging life and reducing the occurrence of osteoporosis and dementia. It involves use of preparations that usually include estrogens and progesterone or progestins. As in the case of contraceptive treatments, these hormones and consequently the replacement treatments increase importantly the risk of developing DVT and PE. It is now well established that the presence of the factor V Leiden mutation and prothrombin mutation has a multiplicative effect on the overal risk of DVT related to homone replacement therapy (Douketis J. D. et al., (2011), Clin Appl Thromb Hemost. 17(6): E106-113; Botto N., et al., (2011), Climacteric. 14(1): 25-30).
Methods of genetic epidemiology estimate that heritability of DVT is around 50% (Morange P-E., Suchon P. and Trégouët D-A., (2015), Thrombosis and Haemostasis 114 (5): 910-919). Thus, considering the incidence of DVT and PE in human beings, there is a strong need to identify new genetic factors involved in the risk of developing blood clotting diseases.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and kit for predicting the risk of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism


Curable film-forming sol-gel compositions that are essentially free of inorganic oxide particles are provided. The compositions contain: a tetraalkoxysilane; a solvent component; and non-oxide particles, and further contain either i) a mineral acid or ii) an epoxy functional trialkoxysilane and a metal-containing catalyst. Coated articles demonstrating antiglare properties are also provided, comprising: (a) a substrate having at least one surface; and (b) a cured film-forming composition applied thereon, formed from a curable sol-gel composition comprising a silane and non-oxide particles. A method of forming an antiglare coating on a substrate is also provided. The method comprises: (a) applying a curable film-forming sol-gel composition on at least one surface of the substrate to form a coated substrate; and (b) subjecting the coated substrate to thermal conditions for a time sufficient to effect cure of the sol-gel composition and form a coated substrate with a sol-gel network layer having anti-glare properties.

Information displays such as touch screen displays appear more and more frequently on interactive electronic devices. Reducing glare of the screens, a brightness caused by the reflection of incident light, is desired to maximize visibility of the displays in different lighting environments. There are various known methods of reducing the glare of transparent substrate surfaces. An exemplary method involves depositing a light interference coating stack on the substrate that reduces reflection by exploiting the optical interference within adjacent thin films. Such films usually have a thickness of about one-quarter or one-half the nominal wavelength of visible light, depending on the relative indices of refraction of the coatings and substrate. Interference coatings reduce glare without reducing resolution. However, they are relatively expensive to deposit, requiring the use of vacuum deposition techniques such as sputtering and precise manufacturing conditions, or very precise alkoxide solution dip coating techniques, with subsequent drying and firing steps. Strict processing parameters must be observed to obtain the desired results.
Another method of reducing glare on displays involves forming a light scattering means at the surface of the substrate, such as by mechanically or chemically altering the outermost surface of the substrate or through use of a diffuser coating or a glare reducing film on the glass substrate.
Some antiglare coatings cause an undesirable visual side-effect called visual sparkling effect, resulting from the interaction of light from a regular display pixel matrix with irregular microstructures present in the antiglare coating surface. Most antiglare surfaces such as acid-etched antiglare surfaces have a sparkling issue on high pixel per inch (PPI) displays.
Another option is the use of fillers. Fillers are widely used in the coatings industry to affect gloss and they are known to provide glare reduction to substrates in many cases. Fillers control gloss by affecting the surface roughness of an applied coating.
Etching the outer surface of the substrate or otherwise chemically or mechanically modifying the outer surface of a coating deposited on the substrate has also been attempted in an effort to reduce glare by diffusive reflection of light. There are numerous drawbacks to such modification techniques. Etching by chemical means involves handling and storage of generally highly corrosive compounds (e.g. hydrofluoric acid). Such compounds create processing and disposal problems in view of increasingly stringent environmental laws. Etching by non-chemical means, such as by sandblasting, necessitates additional and costly processing operations.
For touch screens such as those used on smart phones and tablets, a durable, anti-smudge coating is desired to ensure the cleanness and clarity of the touch screen surface. The anti-smudge coating is also expected to have a very smooth, silky, and slippery feel. Various super-hydrophobic coatings have demonstrated different degrees of anti-smudge properties and slipperiness. However, it is very difficult to achieve a better wear durability as tested using #0000 steel wool after more than 6000 cycles, and a coefficient of friction (COF) of ≤0.03.
It would be desirable to provide compositions that form an antiglare coating on a substrate while avoiding the drawbacks of the prior art, and to provide coated articles such as touch screen displays that demonstrate superior properties, including anti-glare.

Curable film-forming sol-gel compositions and anti-glare coated articles formed from them


An auto stereoscopic frame system and the associated method of manufacturing is disclosed. The frame system generally comprises a frame defining an opening for housing a lens structure, said frame being operative for removable attachment to a display device which projects at least one image such that when the image is viewed through the lenticular sheet it is viewed in three dimensions. The frame is attached to the display device via a mounting mechanism. The lenticular sheet may be manufactured by providing a substantially transparent substrate material; forming a plurality of lenses on a first side of the substrate; and shaping the substrate to correspond to a display area of a display device, wherein the plurality of lenses are angled to correspond to the pixel size and pitch of the display area of a display device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates generally to a three dimensional display devices, and more particularly, to an autostereoscopic frame device having an incorporated lens structure for removable attachment to a display panel such that images viewable through the frame device are displayed in three dimensions.
2. Technical Background
Various methods and apparatus for forming a three dimensional image when viewed are known in the art, particularly as it relates to three dimensional video or television viewing. As is understood by those skilled in the art, the term "three dimensional," is an image of an object, or arrangement of objects, to have an appearance of height, width and depth. This contrasts with conventional photographs, videos and unmodified digital format conversions of the same, which display the dimensions of height and width but, for reasons including lack of parallax, do not display a true image of depth. Such images are known as two dimensional images.
There are at least two known methods for recording, arranging and re-formatting two-dimensional photographic images, or pluralities thereof (i.e, video content), onto a flat medium or display screen, such as a television, that when viewed create an impression of depth. One is commonly known as the "3-D glasses" method. In its simplest form, a scene is photographed with two cameras, one corresponding to a person's left eye and one corresponding to a person's right eye. The developed pictures, or sequence of pictures for a movie, taken by the two cameras are then projected, one image atop the other, onto a flat screen through two respective projector lenses. The projector lenses apply a different color or polarization to the left and right image, with respect to one another, before overlaying them on the viewing screen. The viewer then wears special glasses that filter, by color or polarization, the overlaid images such that his or her left eye sees only the image from the "left eye" camera, while his or her right eye sees only the image from the "right eye" camera. Because of the parallax between the image seen by the left eye and right eye, the viewer senses an apparent depth, i.e., three dimensions.
There are, however, problems with the "3-D glasses" method. One problem is that the viewer must wear the special glasses. Another is that many viewers become nauseated due to visual distortions when viewing the picture.
A second known method for recording and transforming a two dimensional image, photograph or video onto a different medium which displays it to have apparent depth is the autostereoscopic or lenticular lens method. The optical principles of lenticular screen imaging are well known to one of ordinary skill in the relevant art. The lenticular lens method typically interlaces different images or viewing angles of a single image, using a raster type interlacing, and then places a sheet formed of a plurality of elongated strip lenses, or lenticules, over the raster image. The overlay is such that each lenticule or lens overlays raster lines. The lenticules are formed such that one image is presented to the viewer's left eye and another image is presented to the viewer's right eye. The difference between the left image and the right image approximates the parallax that the viewer would have experienced if viewing the original image in person.
Increasingly, it has become desirable to produce a three dimensional images or videos on a display device such as a computer monitor, a handheld device, a smartphone, or a television screen. This increase in desirability is premised upon the desire to view television programs, games, movies or other video content in three dimensions (commonly referred to as "3D TV"). The increase in demand relates not only to entertainment means, but also to tools useful in the fields of medicine, manufacture, security, modeling and simulation, and service/repair.
Various methods, apparatus and systems are known in the art which overlay a lenticular lens on the display device such that a two dimensional image being displayed on the device will appear to have a three dimensional effect. Unfortunately, the known methods, apparatus and systems suffer several shortcomings. By way of example, known methods, apparatus and systems have heretofore not provided an aesthetically pleasing frame device configured for removable attachment to a display device and an adequate manner of interlacing the images to accommodate for the pixel size and pitch of the display device upon which it is being projected. By way of another example, known methods, apparatus and systems do not disclose a manner of producing a lenticular lens which produces a high clarity three dimensional image at the display device, with the lenticular lens being housed within an opening defined by a frame device that is configured to be removably connected to a display device.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a frame device incorporating a lenticular sheet such that the sheet, when the frame is removably attached to a display device, corresponds to the pixel size and pitch of the display device. For such devices, is would be desirable to provide an improved three dimensional display system which includes a display device for projecting at least one image and a removable frame device operable for attachment to the display device and having a high clarity lenticular sheet incorporated therein; wherein once the frame device is attached to the display device, the at least one image may be viewed in three dimensions.

Autostereoscopic frame device for removable attachment to display panel


A circuit for decoding a video, comprising: at least one entropy transcoder configured to perform at least one entropy transcoding on a received bit stream, to generate transcoded streams, wherein the entropy transcoding includes transcoding syntax for the bit stream; at least one main decoding unit configured to perform at least one transcoded stream decompression and pixel decodings on a frame of the transcoded streams.

In order to achieve high resolution video decoder throughput, for example, 4K@P60 (60 frames per second progressive scan, width 4096) or 8K@P60 (60 frames per second progressive scan, width 8192), conventionally a parallel processing with multiple hardware accelerators or multiple general purpose processors is needed. As for a multiple-hardware-accelerator solution, a frame level parallelization is used widely. As for a multiple-general-purpose-processor solution (CPU, GPU, DSP, etc.), various methods are used, including slice parallelization, tile parallelization, frame parallelization, basic wavefront parallelization, etc.

Circuit, method and video decoder for video decoding


One embodiment of a method of integrating software applications includes customizing properties of an InfoVista application to accept a format of login strings provided by a SiteMinder application; modifying authentication information in properties of the InfoVista application to match authentication information that is to be sent from the SiteMinder application; and customizing the SiteMinder application to pass authentication information needed by the InfoVista application for login of a user into the InfoVista application using a single sign-on interface provided by the SiteMinder application. Other methods and systems are also provided.

InfoVista® is a leader in Service-Centric Performance Management software and assures the optimal delivery of business-critical information technology (IT) services. InfoVista applications can be integrated with other management systems to leverage existing tools and processes, in order to resolve network service level issues.
SiteMinder® is another software application, and it enables operators and administrators to assign authentication schemes, define and manage authorization privileges to specific resources, and create rules and policies to implement these authorization permissions. With the SiteMinder application, companies can implement security policies to completely protect the content for an entire Web site. Integration of the SiteMinder application with the InfoVista application has proved troublesome.


An assembly includes an electrical connector, a cable unit, and adapter terminals. The electrical connector includes an insulator body and conductive terminals disposed at the insulator body. Each conductive terminal includes an insert arm positioned outside the insulator body. The cable unit includes a plug connector and cables connected to the plug connector. Each of the adapter terminals is connected to a core wire of a corresponding cable and is sleeved on the insert arm of a corresponding conductive terminal. Each adapter terminal is electrically connected between the core wire of the corresponding cable and the insert arm of the corresponding conductive terminal.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The disclosure relates to an assembly of an electrical connector and a cable unit, more particularly to an assembly of an electrical connector and a cable unit in which a plurality of conductive terminals of the electrical connector are electrically connected to a plurality of cables of the cable unit via a plurality of adapter terminals therebetween. The disclosure also relates to an electronic device including the assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIG. 1, a presently available electronic device 1, for example, a notebook computer or a tablet computer, includes a shell body 11, a mother board 12 disposed within the shell body 11, and an audio connector 13 disposed within the shell body 11. The audio connector 13 is proximate to a side wall 111 of the shell body 11 and positionally corresponds to an opening 112 in the side wall 111. Since the mother board 12 is influenced by the inner space limitations of the shell body 11, the mother board 12 cannot be disposed in a position proximate to the side wall 111. Therefore, a plurality of conductive terminals (not shown) of the audio connector 13 have to be soldered onto a circuit board 14, and an electric signal from the audio connector 13 is transmitted through a cable unit 15 electrically connected between the circuit board 14 and the mother board 12. The cable unit 15 includes two plug connectors 151 at two opposite ends thereof. The plug connectors 151 are respectively connected to a socket connector 121 of the mother board 12 and a socket connector 141 of the circuit board 14 so that the cable unit 15 is electrically connected between the mother board 12 and the circuit board 14.
Since the conductive terminals of the audio connector 13 have to be soldered onto the circuit board 14 so as to electrically connect the audio connector 13 to the mother board 12 through the circuit board 14 and the cable unit 15, the assembling procedure is relatively complicated and time-wasting.

Assembly of an electrical connector and a cable unit and electronic device including the assembly


A tunable equalizer with a tunable equalizer frequency response is provided. The tunable equalizer includes an amplifier circuit for amplifying input signals and a tunable circuit coupled to the amplifier circuit. The tunable circuit is arranged to provide a zero point in the equalizer frequency response and the zero point is adjusted according to a controllable value. When the controllable value varies according to a uniform offset, the corresponding zero point varies according to a non-uniform offset.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an equalizer, and more particularly to an equalizer capable of providing tunable zero points.
2. Description of the Related Art
As signals propagate along a communication channel, such as a transmission cable, the input signals may be attenuated due to channel loss. The phenomenon especially occurs when long transmission cables are used, wherein the input signals may be seriously distorted and therefore cause intersymbol interference (ISI). In order to compensate for channel loss, an equalizer (or a zero forcing equalizer) may be adopted at the front end of a receiver to balance the channel loss. The equalizer is designed to invert the frequency response of the channel so as to remove the effect of the channel. The equalizer usually provides a zero (or called a zero point) at its frequency response to start boosting. FIG. 1 shows an exemplary frequency response of a communication channel. As shown, the frequency response of the channel begins to drop dramatically at point 101. Thus, a zero point may be designed corresponding to the frequency at point 101 so as to provide a starting position at which the gain of the frequency response of the equalizer starts to raise.
However, because different cable lengths and different cable materials cause different channel loss, an equalizer that is capable of providing a zero point with tunable zero values for dealing with different kinds of channel conditions is highly desired.

Tunable equalizer and methods for adjusting the tunable equalizer


There is provided a burner to be used for a portable gas cooking stove, including (a) a mixture gas pipe having an open end through which a gas mixture of combustible gas and air is exhausted, (b) a burner head connected to the mixture gas pipe in a hermetically sealed condition and having at least one opening at a surface thereof, the gas mixture blowing out through the opening, and (c) an igniter igniting the gas mixture blowing out through the opening of the burner head, the igniter generating a spark in a direction perpendicular to a flow of the gas mixture blowing out through the opening of the burner head. The burner makes it possible for the spark to make contact with the gas mixture flow in a larger contact area than that of a conventional burner. Accordingly, it is possible to stably ignite the gas mixture, even if the gas mixture has a great flow velocity.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a so-called outdoor portable gas cooking stove, and more particularly, to a burner structure of a portable gas cooking stove.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 shows an example of a portable gas cooking stove known in the art.
Normally, the portable gas cooking stove 10 includes a gas cartridge 11 filled with compressed combustible gas, and a gas burner 12 mounted detachably on the gas cartridge 11. The gas cartridge 11 and the gas burner 12 are coupled to each other in a hermetically sealed condition through a gasket 13.
The gas burner 12 is comprised of a plug fitting 14 which is connected to the gas cartridge 11 and through which combustible gas supplied from the gas cartridge 11 passes, a gas flow adjusting spindle 15 which adjusts a degree of opening of a gas passage formed inside the plug fitting 14 to thereby adjust a flow of the combustible gas passing through the plug fitting 14, a burner head 16 with a number of openings 16a formed on a surface thereof, a mixing tube 17 connecting the plug fitting 14 to the burner head 16, kettle holders 18 that are fixed on the mixing tube 17 and extend over the burner head 16, and an igniter 19 mounted on a support 19a.
The combustible gas is filled in the gas cartridge 11 in a pressurized condition. Hence, when the gas passage is opened by the gas flow adjusting spindle 15, the combustible gas in a pressurized condition enters the mixing tube 17 from the gas cartridge 11 through the plug fitting 14. Thus, the combustible gas enters the mixing tube 17 with a gas flow thereof being adjusted by the gas flow adjusting spindle 15.
The mixing tube 17 is formed with a number of openings 17a (only one of them is illustrated in FIG. 1). External air is absorbed into the mixing tube 17 through the openings 17a by virtue of negative pressure produced when the combustible gas passes through the mixing tube 17. The combustible gas is mixed with air entering the mixing tube 17 through the openings 17a, into a gas mixture of the combustible gas and air.
After the gas mixture enters the burner head 16, the gas is discharged through the openings 16a, and is ignited by the electric igniter 19 located in the vicinity of the burner head 16.
The flame of the burning gas mixture heats an object to be heated such as a pan, kettle, food, etc., put on the kettle holders 18.
In general, outdoor appliances, not limited only to portable gas cooking stoves, are required to be small. Regarding a portable gas cooking stove, the gas cartridge 11 cannot be fabricated smaller in size than a practical limit determined to ensure a volume of gas to maintain a gas-burning time required for practical use. Consequently, in a portable gas cooking stove, miniaturization has been focused mainly on the gas burner 12, and more particularly, on the burner head 16.
However, if the burner head 16 is simply reduced in size, a flow of the gas mixture may exceed the proper gas burning rate, because a volume of the burner head 16 becomes smaller relative to a gas flow from the gas cartridge 11, resulting in a greater rate of the gas mixture discharged through the openings 16a of the burner head 16.
If the gas mixture is discharged at a great rate, the gas mixture is rarely ignited by the spark generated by the igniter 19, resulting in incomplete combustion of the gas mixture.
In addition, in the gas burner illustrated in FIG. 1, the igniter 19 is supported only by the support 19a, resulting in that the igniter 19 cannot be stably fixed relative to a gas flow of the gas mixture discharged through the openings 16a. This also causes incomplete combustion of the mixture gas.


The present invention comprises a distal rest pad for supporting a portion of a wafer seated on an end effector. In one embodiment, the rest pad includes a bottom support pad and an edge stop. Each element is mounted separately to the distal end of a support plate. The bottom support pad includes an inclined surface that transitions to a substantially horizontal surface at its distal end. The edge stop has a substantially vertical wafer contact surface that the peripheral edge of a wafer eventually contacts as the wafer is urged towards the distal rest pad. In another embodiment, the bottom support pad comprises an inclined surface. In yet another embodiment, the distal rest pad comprises a single structure. This distal rest pad includes a backstop portion and a bottom support separated by a particle collection groove. The bottom support may include an inclined lead-in surface that transitions into a flat contact surface or only comprise an inclined lead-in surface.

Conventional edge grip end effectors have wafer grip pads with included angles that create problems solved by this invention. Conventional distal rest pads often have an inside corner into which the edge of the wafer is urged by a rear pusher to mechanically retain the wafer on the end effector.
FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a spatula-shaped end effector 10 of this invention for transferring semiconductor wafers, such as a wafer 12 (shown transparent to reveal underlying structures), to and from a wafer cassette (not shown). End effector 10 is adapted to receive and securely hold wafer 12 and transfer it to and from a cassette for processing. Wafers having diameters of less than 150 mm are typically spaced apart at a 4.76 mm ( 3/16 inch) pitch distance; 200 mm diameter wafers are typically spaced apart at a 6.35 mm (¼ inch) pitch distance; and 300 mm wafers are typically spaced apart at a 10 mm (0.394 inch) pitch distance.
In general, the end effector 10 enters a wafer cassette to retrieve a wafer 12. The end effector 10 is then finely positioned and actuated to grip a periphery 14 of wafer 12, remove wafer 12 from the cassette (not shown), and transfer wafer 12 to a processing station (not shown) for processing. End effector 10 may then, if necessary, reinsert wafer 12 into the cassette, release wafer 12, and withdraw from the cassette.
End effector 10 is operably coupled to robot arm (not shown) at a proximal end 20 and extends to a distal end 22. End effector 10 receives wafer 12 between proximal end 20 and distal end 22 and includes at least two and, preferably, four rest pads upon which wafer 12 is initially loaded. Two distal rest pads are located at, or adjacent to, distal end 22 of end effector 10; and at least one, but preferably two proximal rest pads are located toward proximal end 20.
Semiconductor wafers have an annular exclusion zone, or inactive portion, that extends inwardly about 1 mm to about 5 mm from periphery 14 and completely surrounding wafer 12. Exclusion zone 30 is described as part of an industry standard wafer edge profile template in Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International ("SEMI") specification M10298, pages 18 and 19. As a general rule, no part of end effector 10 may contact wafer 12 beyond the inner boundary of exclusion zone 30. The distance between distal rest pads and the distance between proximal rest pads each have an angular extent greater than any feature on wafer 12 to guarantee that wafer 12 is gripped only within exclusion zone 30.
Conventional rest pad designs often use overhung or sloped tip pads having an included angle between them. An end effector must move forward while also moving down so that the drop off trajectory is sloped greater than the tip angle. Accordingly, the final resting position of the wafer on the end effector is effected by variations in the height of the wafer during drop off. The end effector must decelerate in a horizontal direction at the time of drop off that will result in the wafer skidding on the stationary wafer supports. If the wafer is dropped off quickly (as is desirable for high throughput), the end effector will bounce chaotically during drop off due to the cantilever and changes in acceleration over this short motion. Coordinating the vertical and horizontal motions of the end effector will therefore vary from wafer to wafer at the exact moment of contact between the wafer and the stationary supports. Requiring horizontal motion to pick up or drop off a wafer effects the repeatability of the final drop off and the speed at which the drop off can occur for a given repeatability requirement.
FIG. 3 shows a substantially flat embodiment of a conventional distal rest pad 24. In this embodiment, the distal rest pad 24 includes a pad portion 32 and a backstop portion 34. The pad portion 32 is substantially parallel to an imaginary plane 36 extending through wafer 12. The backstop portion 34 is inclined toward wafer 12 at a backstop angle 38 relative to a line perpendicular to plane 36. Pad portion 32 has a length 40 that is a function of the depth of exclusion zone 30. The wafer 12 typically has a substantially rounded peripheral edge and contacts rest pads 24 only within exclusion zone 30. The wafer 12 is gripped by urging it into the included: angle formed between pad portion 32 and backstop portion 34.
FIG. 4 shows an inclined embodiment of a conventional distal rest pad 24. The distal rest pad 24 includes an inclined pad portion 42 and a backstop portion 34. In this embodiment, the inclined pad portion 42 is inclined away from wafer 12 at a rest pad angle 44. The backstop portion 34 is inclined toward wafer 12 at backstop angle 38. The inclined pad portion 42 has a length 40 that is a function of the depth of exclusion zone 30. Similar to the FIG. 3 embodiment, the wafer 12 typically has a substantially rounded peripheral edge and contacts rest pads 24 only within exclusion zone 30. The wafer 12 is gripped by urging it into the included angle formed between pad portion 42 and backstop portion 34. In the inclined embodiment, there is substantially no contact between rest pad 24 and a bottom surface 46 of wafer 12. Both the flat and inclined embodiments of distal rest pads 24 have a height 48 that substantially reaches but does not extend beyond the top surface of wafer 12.
There are several problems with the conventional distal rest pad designs shown in FIGS. 3-4. Among other things, it is difficult to release and place the wafer precisely and cleanly on the end effector because the wafer must move horizontally (as opposed to purely vertically) relative to the grip pads to be released from the conventional distal rest pad. In addition, the included angles formed between the contact surfaces of the conventional distal rest pad create particle traps that could lead to wafer contamination. Further, the pads support a wafer in an indeterminate position due to variations in the edge shape of the wafer and difficulty in manufacturing consistent internal angles on the rest pads. Depending on the specific geometry and coefficient of friction of the distal rest pads, it may be impossible to fully grip certain "sticky" wafers regardless of the pusher force.
What is needed, therefore, is a low-profile distal rest pad that eliminates the particle trapping characteristics of conventional rest pads, reduces the overall height of the support plate and may be manufactured from more than one material. The present invention provides, among other things, all of these features.


A lighting system comprises a housing, an arrangement of UV-B LEDs in the housing and a fabric output screen which provides a UV-B exit surface. This provides UV-B light for an indoor application in order to replicate the health benefits of natural sunlight.

People spend approximately 90% of their time indoors, a substantial amount of this at work, in an office.
However, natural sunlight is essential for the human body, for example for vitamin D production. It would therefore be desirable to have times during the working day when exposed to natural sunlight. This exposure for example would help the prevention of osteomalacia in adults. Studies have found that 90% of the population worldwide is below sufficient levels of Vitamin D, because of too limited exposure to Sunlight (UV), especially in winter time. A correlation between low vitamin D levels and the incidence of a large number of health issues has been identified, for example mood, energy, muscle weakness, cardiovascular disease, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, obesity, depression, Alzheimer's, cancers, etc.
More and more people want a better work-life balance, and would therefore appreciate exposure to more healthy lighting during the working day. In addition, increasing numbers of people take vitamin D supplements for the prevention of osteomalacia, because of the problem that artificial lighting does not enable sufficient synthesis of vitamin D.
However, it is not easy to provide natural sunlight in an office environment. There is therefore a need for a lighting system which is able to replicate the benefits of natural sunlight, but which can be used in an indoor environment, such as an office environment.


There is provided an amorphous alloy thin strip having a chemical composition represented by a chemical formula: FexBySiz (x: 78-83 at %, y: 8-15 at % and z: 6-13 at %) capable of stably attaining a low iron loss even when shaped into a wound core, wherein a generation density of air pockets on a face contacting with a cooling roll is not more than 8 per 1 mm2 and an arithmetic mean height Sa on portions other than the air pockets is not more than 0.3 μm.

As an iron core for a distribution transformer or the like is mostly used a wound core made from an amorphous alloy thin strip. As the amorphous alloy thin strip used in the wound core is known an amorphous alloy thin strip having a thickness of several tens μm obtained by injecting a Fe—B—Si series molten alloy based on Fe and added with an element/s such as B, Si and the like onto a cooling roll rotating at a high speed to conduct rapid solidification.
For instance, Patent Literature 1 discloses a Fe—B—Si amorphous alloy containing 80-84 at % of Fe, 12-15 at % of B and 1-8 at % of Si, and Patent Literature 2 discloses an amorphous Fe—B—Si ternary alloy composed of 81-82 at % of Fe, 13-16 at % of B and 3-5 at % of Si, and Patent Literature 3 discloses an amorphous alloy strip having a thickness of not more than 0.003 inch and composed substantially of 77-80 at % of Fe, 12-16 at % of B and 5-10 at % of Si.
The above Fe—B—Si series amorphous alloy thin strips are small in the saturated magnetic flux density though the iron loss is low as compared to a conventional grain-oriented electrical steel sheet, and hence the design magnetic flux density has to be made small, so that it is pointed out that they have problems that the size of the transformer is made large and a large number of copper wires wound onto a coil is required.
Therefore, it is attempted to increase the magnetic flux density of the amorphous alloy thin strip to a certain level by increasing a ratio of Fe ingredient to increase the saturated magnetic flux density. However, the alloy having a high ratio of Fe ingredient has a problem that it is difficult to stably attain the low iron loss property because the amorphous stability is deteriorated. Also, there is a problem that an iron loss value measured in a state that the amorphous alloy thin strip is shaped into a wound core is larger than an iron loss value measured in a state of a raw material or a so-called "building factor" is large. It is because the amorphous alloy thin strip is subjected to an annealing at a relatively low temperature after shaped into the wound core for the purpose of removing strain in the thin strip, during which a part of the strip is crystallized.
As a technique of solving the above problems, Patent Literature 4 discloses a method of rationalizing surface properties of the amorphous alloy thin strip, concretely, decreasing a generation density of air pockets, i.e., the number of air pockets generated per unit area on the surface contacting with the cooling roll.


A statistical sampling apparatus is formed with a box-like enclosure having transparent top, front and bottom walls. A stationary ledge extends in a plane between the top and bottom wails and stops short of the front wall so that there is a space that communicates between the volume below the ledge and the volume above the ledge. A plurality of identically shaped beads are disposed within the enclosure. The upper surface of the ledge has a patterned array of identical recesses which receive certain of the beads when the enclosure is up-ended and the beads are allowed to wash over the ledge. The beads are of different colors in a known distribution, and the patterned array of recesses is divided into series of a smaller numbers of recesses for statistical sampling purposes.

This invention relates to a statistical sampling apparatus and more particularly to a device for demonstrating random sampling procedures.
Statisticians have long used a Shewart bowl for simulated sampling for experimentation and training. The bowl is used to demonstrate such things as the reject rate for very large quantities of manufactured goods. That is, a certain number of a large quantity of manufactured goods will be above or below acceptable range of deviation from the ideal. Since it is not generally necessary or desirable to test every one of the products, statistical sampling is used to determine how large a sample is required for finding rejects.
The early Shewart bowl used colored beads in a bowl with a paddle having recesses. The paddle was used to scoop beads out of the bowl with a portion of the beads settling into the recesses. This simulated sampling from the large quantity of beads in the bowl to those that were selected on the paddle. The use of an open bowl with the paddle was subject to spillage, particularly when used for training use, and the loss of beads changed the known reject (defect) rate thereby necessitating recounting of the beads.
In order to prevent spillage, it has been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,095,655 to Berglund, et al., issued Jul. 2, 1963 to use a closed box containing colored beads. The paddle of the Shewart bowl is replaced by two plates that have matching holes. One of the plates is shifted to an offset from the other by a spring. Pressing a lever on the outside of the box aligns the two plates and allows beads above the plates to enter the holes and pass through the shiftable plate into the fixed plate. The fixed plate has its top face directly against a transparent cover and the beads are held captive in the fixed plate when the shiftable plate is again moved out of alignment with the fixed plate. This approach uses the distribution of bead colors to set the expected reject rate, and in its commercial embodiment, uses patterns of drilled holes to facilitate a choice of sample size.
This approach does away with the problem of spillage attendant with the original Shewart bowl. However, the device has moving parts which can result in jamming of the unit by beads.
I have developed a much simpler approach which does away with the spillage problem while eliminating all moving parts.


When a boosting operation stops, it is ensured that a boosting switching regulator does not output an output voltage. When a high signal is applied to the gate of a PMOS transistor Q1 to turn off the transistor Q1, a higher voltage of an input voltage VDD and an output voltage VOUT is supplied to a buffer 171 as a supply voltage, and the higher voltage is applied to the gate of the transistor Q1 by the buffer 171. As a result, the transistor Q1 can be surely turned off. Hence, when the boosting operation by the boosting switching regulator stops, the transistor Q1 that outputs the output voltage VOUT can be surely turned off. Also because the voltage based on the input voltage VDD is applied to the back gate of the transistor Q1 by the switch 3, the parasitic bipolar transistor caused by the transistor Q1 is not turned on.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a chopper type boosting switching regulator.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional boosting switching regulator will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a conventional boosting switching regulator.
In the boosting switching regulator, a transistor Q11 that is controlled by a buffer 181 turns off, a transistor Q12 that is controlled by a buffer 182 turns on, and a current from an input power supply 35 flows into a ground through a coil L10 and the transistor Q12. In this stage, energy is accumulated in the coil L10. Thereafter, after the transistor Q12 turns off, the transistor Q11 turns on, and the energy that has been accumulated in the coil L10 is accumulated in a capacitor C10 that is connected to an output terminal through the transistor Q11. An output voltage VOUT of the output terminal is transmitted to a control circuit 18 through a resistor (not shown), and the control circuit 18 controls the transistor Q11 and the transistor Q12 so as to hold the output voltage VOUT at a constant voltage higher than an input voltage VDD of the input power supply 35 on the basis of the transmitted voltage (for example, refer to JP 2005-160198 A).
The buffer 181 outputs a voltage that swings between the input voltage VDD and the output voltage VOUT to the transistor Q11, and the buffer 182 outputs a voltage that swings between the input voltage VDD and a ground voltage to the transistor Q12.
Also, a back gate voltage of the transistor Q11 is the output voltage VOUT.
However, in the conventional boosting switching regulator, when the input voltage VDD is applied while boosting operation is stopped, there is a possibility that the output voltage VOUT based on the input voltage VDD is output by the aid of the coil L10 and a parasitic bipolar transistor of the transistor Q11 whose back gate voltage is indefinite.
Also, in the case where the output voltage VOUT is not output while the boosting operation is stopped, because the power is not supplied to the buffer 181, there is a possibility that the transistor Q11 turns on. When the input voltage VDD is applied, there is the possibility that the output voltage VOUT based on the input voltage VDD is output by the aid of the coil L10 and the transistor Q11.


A method for three-dimensionally bending a workpiece comprises feeding the workpiece by a feeding unit provided at an upstream side of the workpiece, supporting the workpiece by a supporting unit at a downstream side of the feeding unit, processing the workpiece by clamping the workpiece with a three-dimensionally movable unit that is provided downstream of the supporting unit, heating a local part of the workpiece in a temperature range which allows quenching to be performed, applying a bending moment to the heated local part of the workpiece by the three-dimensionally movable unit in association with the supporting position and/or the moving speed of the workpiece after the heating step, and rapidly quenching the heated portion. Even when a high-strength workpiece is bent, it is possible to effectively obtain a product having excellent shape fixability and uniform hardness distribution at low costs for wide application for bending sophisticated automobile parts.

In recent years, demands for structural metal materials having high strength and light weight have increased in consideration of global environment. For example, in an automobile industry, there are growing demands for the safety of car body, and high-strength and light-weight parts of an automobile are increasingly required, so that parts of an automobile have been developed in order to improve fuel efficiency and collision safety.
In order to meet these demands, a high strength steel sheet having a much higher strength than that in the prior art, for example, a material having high strength with a tensile strength of 780 MPa or more, preferably, 900 MPa or more, has come into widespread use.
Meanwhile, while improving the strength of the steel sheet, the conventional structures of parts of an automobile have been reexamined. Following the above, there is a strong demand for the development of an art for accurately bending a metal material in any of various shapes, such as an art for two-dimensionally or three-dimensionally bending a metal material in different directions, in order to apply to various types of parts of an automobile.
In order to meet the demands for the development of the bending technology, various processing techniques have been proposed. For example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 50-59263 and Japanese Patent No. 2816000 disclose a method for bending a metal tube or the like while performing a thermal treatment on the metal tube or the like. Specifically, the following methods are disclosed: a bending method for clamping a leading end of a metal tube or the like with a rotatable arm, heating the metal tube or the like by using a heating unit, appropriately moving the heated portion of the metal tube or the like to bend the heated portion, and cooling down the bent portion (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 50-59263); and a method for applying torsional and bending force to the heated portion of the metal tube or the like to bend the metal tube or the like while twisting the metal tube or the like (Japanese Patent No. 2816000).
However, the disclosed bending methods are so-called grab bending methods requiring a rotatable arm for clamping the leading end of a metal tube or the like, which makes it difficult to feed the metal tube or the like to be bent at high speed. In addition, the arm needs to make a return movement in order to repeatedly clamp the metal tube or the like, resulting in a remarkable variation in the feeding speed of the metal tube or the like. Therefore, a complicated control is required for a heating or cooling speed, which makes it difficult to ensure predetermined quenching accuracy.
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the grab bending method, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-158048 discloses a high-frequency heating bender based on push bending that supports a push bending roller so as to be movable in three dimensional directions. According to the high-frequency heating bender disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-158048, the push bending roller is swung around a workpiece to be bent toward the opposite side of the workpiece, and comes into contact with that, thereby bending the workpiece. Therefore, in a two-dimensional continuous bending operation in which a workpiece is two-dimensionally bent in different directions in, for example, an S shape, a procedure of turning the workpiece by 180 degrees is not needed.
However, in the high-frequency heating bender disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-158048, since there is no resort to clamp both side-faces of a workpiece to be bent, the workpiece is likely to be deviated from the intended shape due to the residual stress caused by a cooling operation after the high-frequency heating. Therefore, it is difficult to ensure predetermined dimensional accuracy, which makes it difficult to improve the accuracy of bending, while restricting the processing speed of the workpiece.

Method for three-dimensionally bending workpiece and bent product

Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation


Adsorbent media are prepared by contacting support material with iron containing solutions, followed by drying to coat the support material with iron. Support materials such as sand and olivine are described. The adsorbent material can be used to remove metal contaminants and natural organic matter from water.

There are many different iron oxide minerals, each with unique properties. Many of these minerals have properties that are useful for treating water contaminated with certain types of pollutants. Specifically, the minerals often have high specific surface area (area per gram of Fe) and surfaces that have a chemical attraction for a number of contaminants, including natural organic matter and many metals. As a result, contaminants that are initially dissolved in the water may adsorb onto (i.e., bind to the surface of) the minerals. The adsorption reactions tend to be quite pH-dependent, so that contaminants that are adsorbed at one pH can often be released when the solution is adjusted to a different pH. In general, anions (negatively-charged contaminants) are bound at lower pH values and released at higher pH values, while cations behave oppositely. This pH dependency is an important characteristic of the contaminant-surface interaction, because it means that, when the surface is saturated, the adsorbed contaminant can be easily desorbed so that the adsorption capacity can be reused to treat subsequent volumes of water. The exact pH range where contaminants are adsorbed or desorbed depends on the identity of the ion itself and the identity of the adsorbing surface. Thus, a generic statement that, e.g., `chromate is adsorbed at pH xx and desorbed at pH yy,` or that `iron oxide adsorbs cations at pH zz and releases them at pH ww` cannot be made. What can be said with some confidence is that under reasonable conditions, many iron oxides do adsorb many ionizable contaminants.
Even if contaminants of interest are adsorbed onto the particles, they still pose a potential hazard to the consumer of the water or to the environment unless the contaminant-laden particles are removed from the water. Unfortunately, the bulk properties of most iron oxides are not conducive to easy removal from the water. The particles that form when ferric ions are initially precipitated as ferric hydroxide solids tend to be small and highly hydrated, so their densities are only slightly greater than that of water. Accordingly, they settle very slowly. When packed in a small volume, they are virtually impermeable to water, so they cannot be used in a packed bed system (e.g., holding them in a confined space and passing water through them). For the same reason, it is very difficult to filter large quantities of these particles out of water, since the filter rapidly becomes clogged. Although the degree of hydration can be reduced, and the hydraulic conductivity can be increased by heating the particles, this significantly reduces the surface area available for adsorption and still yields small, difficult-to-handle particles.
Other adsorbents commonly used in water treatment include activated carbon and synthetic resins. Both of these are available in forms which can be packed in columns, so the water can be passed through the media without any need for subsequent solid/liquid separation steps. However, granular activated carbon cannot be regenerated on-site, and synthetic resins are often fouled by particulate matter.
In addition to dissolved contaminants, water also contains many contaminants that are not dissolved, but rather are in the form of suspended particles. These particles can be removed by some type of filtration process. Filtration through a bed packed with granular media (e.g., sand) is perhaps the most common technology used for this purpose. Desirable properties of media used for this purpose include high hydraulic conductivity, resistance to shear and abrasion (since the media are usually cleaned by fluidizing the packed bed), and negligible solubility under the conditions of use. Most filtration media do not have surface properties that are useful with respect to collecting dissolved contaminants from solution. Thus, there does not exist a convenient adsorbent/filter that is widely applicable for removing both soluble and particulate contaminants from water.
The potential advantages of having iron oxide (or other regenerable oxide adsorbents) available in a granular form have been recognized for many years, and a number of patents have been granted for processes to prepare such media. Several of these patents are discussed below. However, numerous forms of iron oxide exist, and neither their properties nor the transformations among them are well understood (except for transformations among a few, very pure forms). Furthermore, the factors that control the bond strength between an iron oxide surface layer and an underlying substrate are very unpredictable. As a result, while attempts to formulate such media might be guided by a rational set of hypotheses, the outcome is always uncertain.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,876,451 to Zall et al. describes a procedure for embedding a metal oxide in a matrix of activated carbon, for the purpose of removing phosphate anions from the water by the formation of an insoluble product containing the phosphate. In accordance with Zall et al., carbon is initially saturated with the metal by exposure to a solution of the metal chloride. Zall et al. notes that this can be achieved by exposing the carbon to the solution and then decanting the liquid, since the metal will be retained by the surface and in the pores of the activated carbon. After saturation, the material is dried and exposed to a solution containing an amount of sodium hydroxide in excess of the stoichiometric requirement. The material is then dried again and is ready for use.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,367,496 to Greentree describes the formation of an enhanced decolorizing agent which is made by incorporating iron into a hydrated magnesium silicate matrix. The first step described by Greentree is the exposure of magnesium silicate particles to an iron-containing solution, such that all the iron is adsorbed by the magnesium silicate. The direct use of this Fe-impregnated material, or the conversion of the impregnated Fe to Fe(OH).sub.3 by addition of a base, and, optionally, the heating of the Fe(OH).sub.3 -impregnated material to dryness, is described by Greentree.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,499,837 to Jaunarajs describes a process in which iron-oxide-coated media is used to collect phosphate from waste waters. The method for preparing the coated media involves exposure of a finely divided solid, such as diatomaceous silica filter aids, to a ferric sulfate solution, addition of a base to that solution to achieve near-neutral pH (e.g., pH 6.0 and 6.5), and drying of the resultant solid, either in air or at elevated temperatures.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,363,749 to Weiss et al. describes two methods for preparing adsorbent surfaces. The first involves "activating" the surface of an existing material. The second involves adding a solution containing iron (or other multivalent ion) to a suspension of the support material, and neutralizing with `an alkaline material.` In the examples of Weiss et al., the neutralization is to pH>7. Weiss et al. emphasizes the need to use very small particles (diameter<10 mm) and to avoid drying the material once the coating has been formed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,459,370 to van der Waal describes that an iron-containing solution must be added very slowly to a suspension of the support material, and that the base necessary to neutralize and precipitate the iron onto the surface of the support is generated by the hydrolysis of urea or cyanate, which are added to the solution. The reaction takes place at pH 4 to 7 and at elevated temperatures.
A list of the properties that would be displayed by an ideal media might include:
Media must adsorb contaminants PA1 Media must be easily regenerable, in situ PA1 Media must resist abrasion associated with bed fluidization PA1 Media must resist dissolution when exposed to chemical conditions for adsorption and regeneration.
While pure iron oxides are known that meet the first two criteria, and several minerals are known that meet the last two criteria, there is a need to find a way to combine all four into a single media.

Granular media for removing contaminants from water and methods for making the same


A bedside storage caddy includes a flexible panel attached to a rigid backplate, as well as a first flexible strap and a second flexible strap from which the flexible panel is suspended. Positioned on the flexible panel are a plurality of guide rings and a plurality of pockets. The plurality of pockets, formed from a base, a pocket wall, an interior lip, an upper lip, and an opening, allowing the bedside storage caddy to hold personal items, such as cell phones and glasses. The interior lip and the upper lip prevent these items from accidently slipping out of the pocket. The first flexible strap and the second flexible strap each have a plurality of eyelets and a stud, positioned on opposite ends of a strap body. The stud engages with an arbitrary eyelet, allowing the straps to be secured around the railing of a hospital bed.

For many years when a person has a medical condition which requires them to spend time in a hospital, skilled nursing facility, nursing home, convalescent facilities and the like, they frequently bring with them personal needed articles from home. There are only very few convenient places to put or store such items in a hospital room environment. When a small table next to the bed is provided, it is often cluttered with hospital food trays and other hospital related items which may be moved intentionally or unintentionally by any other hospital staff member at any time. Additionally, in today's hospital reality, a patient may move from one room to another with very short notice, in which case their personal belongings are liable to get misplaced during the move. Additionally, a person staying in the hospital may have items of personal value which they wish to have in close proximity to them. Although most hospitals have centrally located safes, there is no place for a patient confined to the bed to keep those articles safe and in immediate reach as they wish. In this situation usually the patient will use the nursing call light button, distract the CNA (certified nursing assistant), nurse or any other team member worker from doing other important medical duties which might be more crucial to the well being of other patients. Therefore, there has been a recognized need for many years, to provide convenient and safe bedside storage of those patient's necessities and amenities that is easy to reach or store while they are in the hospital.
For many years inventors and patients in the hospital have tried to come up with different solutions for this problem. Every generation has introduced different situations and conditions, using different type of beds and railings, different articles that appear as we move along with all the newer (and smaller) developed items. In recent years, our society uses certain items that have become not only convenient, but almost a necessity.
Today when a person has a medical problem which requires him or her to spend time in the hospital or a like, they frequently bring with them personal items such as cell phones, eye glasses, hearing aids, dentures, and the like. Today most of the patients have at least one of the above items, and most of the time more than one. These articles are a necessity for patients to be able to continue to function with their lives as normal as possible (to be able to chew and eat, hear, see, read and communicate with family, friends, doctors, and others). These things are not luxury items any more, but necessary for the daily activity of the patient. If any of these articles are lost during the patient's stay in the hospital, they can become very hard to replace in a timely manner. Any one of these items can easily cost a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars. If any of these articles are missing, this is going to be a devastating situation for the patient and the family.
The bed railing needs to have the ability to be at least in two positions: an up position when the patient lies down in the bed, and a down position when the patient gets in or out of the bed, or when the CNA or the nurse needs to change the linens or to have access to the upper body of the patient for a variety of needed treatments. When this happens, if all of the article caddy is inside the railing, close to the patient's reach as needed, it will be impossible to lower the rail in the way it was designed in the hospital beds today. None of the prior art have been able to address this issue.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved patient article caddy for hospital beds of the type which is suspended from a patient bed railing. The present invention provides convenient and secured storage for miscellaneous articles that a patient might need to bring from home when admitted to the hospital. The ability of the article caddy to be in a position inside or outside of the hospital bed railing (depending on configuration of the railing) will address the main issues of safely storing the patient's articles at any position of the railing and the ability to move the railing to an up or down position without the article caddy being in the way or falling off the railing.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an article caddy which is installed to the bed side railing in such a way that it does not slide away from the patient when the head end of the bed and the corresponding side railing of the hospital bed is raised.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an article caddy which can easily be removed from one bed side railing and reinstalled on another bed side railing for easy transfer along with the patient and provide a low cost, disposable article caddy.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an article caddy which can easily store articles such as cell phone, eyeglasses, or hearing aids, and allow the articles to be picked up with the use of only one hand.


A controller module for an implantable pump system which has a pump motor includes a processor, a motor controller electrically coupled to the processor and adapted to power the pump motor such that the pump motor operates at a desired speed. The motor controller outputs digital representations of the pump motor operating parameters to the processor. A first memory device is coupled to the processor for storing the digital signals representing the pump motor operating parameters. The controller module further includes a user interface. The controller module may be coupled to a data acquisition system, which provides power and exchanges data with the controller module. The controller module may alternately be coupled to a home support system which provides power for the controller module and storage for system components.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to pump control systems and, more specifically, to a pump control system for an implantable blood pump.
2. Description of Related Art
Implantable blood pump systems are generally employed either to completely replace a human heart that is not functioning properly, or to boost blood circulation in patients whose heart still functions but is not pumping blood at an adequate rate. Known implantable blood pump systems are primarily used as a "bridge to transplant." In other words, existing blood pump system applications are mainly temporary fixes, intended to keep a patient alive until a donor is available. However, the shortage of human organ donors, coupled with improvements in blood pump reliability make long-term, or even permanent blood pump implementations a reality. The estimated need for a relatively simple, long-term ventricle assist device (VAD) is presently projected at between 50,000 and 100,000 patients per year in the United States alone.
Despite this need, existing implantable pump systems have not been satisfactory for long term use. Known systems of the continuous flow type are designed primarily for use in a hospital setting. These systems typically include the implanted pump device, a power source such as a rechargeable battery, a motor controller for operating the pump motor, and an external operator console. While some existing implantable pump systems allow for operation while decoupled from the operator console, operating these systems "stand-alone" can be a risky endeavor. This is due, at least in part, to the lack of an adequate user interface when the system is decoupled from the console.
Prior art blood pump systems generally only include electronics for operating the pump when disconnected from the console. Often, the user interface is limited to a green light indicating that the system is operating, or a red light indicating that the system is not operating properly. There are no provisions for displaying system parameters, diagnostic messages, alarm messages, etc. Further, known systems typically lack memory capabilities. Hence, when a technician attempts to diagnose a prior art blood pump system after the red light indicated a system failure, there is no record of the system conditions related to the failure.
Further, even when an implantable continuous flow pump is coupled to an operator console, relevant system parameters are missing. For example, the operator consoles of known continuous flow pump systems may monitor pump parameters such as voltage level, current level, pump speed, etc. These parameters, however, do not provide all the necessary information to properly monitor a system that is as complicated as the human circulatory system. The system can be better assessed if pump parameters are analyzed in conjunction with other factors, such as blood flow rate, blood pressure or vibro-acoustic signatures. It is even more desirable to monitor all of these parameters together in real time. Unfortunately, known blood pump systems typically lack the ability to integrally analyze these data in real time.
Moreover, prior blood pump systems are not conducive to long-term use outside an institutional setting. As discussed above, known systems require a large, fixed operator console for the system to function. While prior art operator consoles may be cart mounted to be wheeled about the hospital, at home use of known systems is difficult at best.
Other problems of prior pump systems that have limited their mobility and use to relatively short times are related to motor controller size and shape limitations necessary for convenient mobility, weight limitations for implantation to avoid tearing of implant grafts due to inertia of sudden movement, high power consumption that requires a larger power supply, complex Hall Effect sensors/electronics for rotary control, the substantial desire for minimizing percutaneous (through the skin) insertions, including support lines and tubes, and high cost effectively.
Thus, there is a need for an implantable pump control system that addresses the shortcomings associated with the prior art.


A haptic feedback device to be worn on top of a user's hand comprises a plurality of loops configured to be circumscribed around the user's fingers and thumb, a plurality of anchoring finger caps configured to be circumscribed around extremities of the user's fingers and thumb, at least one haptic actuator housed within each of the anchoring finger caps, and a plurality of tendons coupled to the loops and the anchoring finger caps, the tendons configured to extend along the user's fingers and thumb. The tendons are configured to cause the loops to decrease in diameter to conform to the user's fingers and thumb.

The virtual reality experience industry has seen many changes over the years. As computing power has expanded, developers of virtual reality or spatial computing experiences have likewise created games and other software that take advantage of these increases in computing power. To this end, game developers have been coding experiences that incorporate sophisticated operations and mathematics to produce a realistic and immersive experience.
How users interact with objects in the virtual reality world is one of the most important factors in the immersive experience. A hand interface technology is an interface technology related to an interaction between the hands of a human and objects in a virtual space. The hand interface technology provides a deeper sense of immersion to a user by complementing visual and audio effects. In particular, a user can feel physically present in the non-physical, virtual world. The addition of the sense of touch, on top of accurately and precisely tracked hand and finger movements, contribute to a user feeling physically present in the virtual world.
One type of hand interface technology is a haptic glove or other wearable haptic device that a user may wear to control a virtual hand or other aspects of a virtual character in a virtual world. The user may then perform physical actions in the real world while wearing the device that may be mimicked by the virtual character in the virtual world. The haptic device may then create a haptic response that can be felt by the wearer of the haptic device based on the interactions that occur in the virtual world.
Such a haptic device is typically is worn around a user's hands and fingers. For example, a haptic device may be a glove that is worn on a user's hand. A haptic glove is typically made of some type of fabric and can be secured to a user's hand and arm by a wrist strap and/or a snug fit. Alternatively, a haptic device may be attached to a user's fingers via loops that circumscribe the user's fingertips and/or other portions of the user's fingers. These loops typically comprise Velcro or plastic loops that must be individually tightened to custom fit the user based on the user's hand size. However, each of these example haptic devices have significant drawbacks.
Wearable haptic gloves generally provide the user the best experience when they fit tightly around the user's hands. However, humans have a wide variety of hand sizes. Thus, it may be desirable to produce haptic gloves in a variety of sizes. However, it can be expensive to manufacture haptic gloves in a wide array of sizes.
In addition, haptic gloves may not be hygienic. As haptic gloves are worn by one or more users, they may acquire bacteria or other unsavory materials over time. Thus, it may be unhealthy to continue to use the same haptic glove over time, especially when it is shared by multiple users. Furthermore, because a haptic glove includes a mix of fabric and electronic hardware, it generally cannot be washed without damaging the electronic hardware. While it is possible to produce washable electronics, it would be quite expensive to produce a washable haptic glove.
A haptic device comprising a loop design may be more hygienic than a haptic glove since a user need only secure loops to their fingers rather than insert their entire hand in the device. However, in order to have an optimal experience, a user must properly secure each loop of the haptic device to their fingers each time the device is used. This can be time consuming and not desirable for the user. Furthermore, if any of the loops are not secure to the proper size, the user's experience may be sub-optimal. Therefore, there is a need for a wearable, loop-based haptic device that automatically adjusts to the proper size when it is worn by a user.

Tendon driven exoskeleton tightening mechanism


A porous metal mold for a wet pulp molding process is disclosed herein. The porous metal mold comprises a first surface where a paper-pulp-fiber layer is disposed for forming a finished paper-shape product or a semi-finished paper-shape product; a cavity, formed on the first surface, for shaping the finished paper-shape product or the semi-finished paper-shape product; and a second surface. The porous metal mold is made by integrally sintering a plurality of metal particles, and after the sintering at least one pore is formed between at least two of the metal particles so that at least one through hole between the first surface and the second surface of the porous metal mold, for exhausting water or moisture contained in the paper-pulp-fiber layer disposed on the first surface.

Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a porous metal mold for a wet pulp molding process and a method of using the same, and more particularly, to a porous metal mold which is made by powder metallurgy and is used for forming a wet paper-shape product/semi-finished product by thermo-compression.
Description of Prior Art
Recently, for environmental protection, paper-shape package material has been widely applied for various products, such as electronic devices or food containers. In a conventional wet pulp paper-shaping process which mainly comprises a dredging step and a compression-forming step, the implementations of the dredging step and compression-forming step must adopt a set of mold assembly (such as an upper mold and a lower mold) so as to form the finished paper-shape products. Conventionally, the mold assembly is applied with traditional aluminum-casted molds and a layer of metal mesh additionally overlapped on forming surfaces of the aluminum-casted molds. In the dredging step, the aluminum-casted molds are used to dredge up the paper fibers from a slurry tank containing a paper slurry, thereby keeping the paper fibers on the metal mesh. In the compression-forming step, a vacuum pump device liquid-communicated with the bottom of the aluminum-casted mold is used to absorb part of water off of the paper fibers on the metal mesh, in order to leave the paper fibers on the metal mesh to form the wet pulp.
However, the metal mesh is usually welded directly onto the forming surfaces of the aluminum-casted molds. During the compression-forming step, the metal mesh is continuously punched by the absorbing air flows and the compression applied between the molds, such that the metal mesh is easily drawn to thorns, cracked, broken, apart from the molds, or even deformed. This results in extremely shorting the life time of the aluminum-casted molds. After repeating the compression-forming step for several times, an artificial repair or a replacement of the metal mesh is necessary. Besides, grids and/or the welding point of the metal mesh are easily branded onto the surface of the wet paper-shape product made by the metal mesh, to form screen printings affecting the appearance and plainness of the products after.
Furthermore, the traditional metal mesh does not only need to manually weave the metal mesh in complication and wasting time to form a simple arc shape, but also limit the shape of other new products. Also, the aluminum-casted molds with the metal mesh need to form a plurality of through holes distributed around the outer surface of the molds, for exhausting the water and moisture contained in the paper fibers above the metal mesh to dry. In order to prevent machining process of forming the through holes on the aluminum-casted molds from being implemented difficult after the formation process of the whole molds, the aluminum-casted molds need to punch the through holes on the outer surfaces of the aluminum-casted molds by a mechanical drilling method, after the aluminum-casted molds has been casted, time and effort is needed. The distance between every two through holes would be limited by the mechanical drilling method so that the density of arranging the through holes is lower, and then by performing a machining process (cutting or milling), the finial-required contour of the aluminum-casted molds is shaped. This would invoke the mold development risk increased. During the operation of cutting or milling, the scraps can very easily choke the through holes, which is difficult to clean manually. Hence, how to create a new mold design and mold-manufacturing art which can lower the manufacturing cost and enhances the economical profit is required for development.

Porous metal mold for wet pulp molding process and method of using the same


Techniques, apparatuses, and systems for wireless communications comprising can include operating a wireless communication system that provides multiple guard time values for different deployment configurations, mapping the guard time values to cyclic prefix (CP) values to reduce an acquisition complexity and reduce an initial synchronization time of a mobile station, and communicating a selected guard time value to a mobile station by transmitting a signal using a cyclic prefix value corresponding to the selected guard time value.

This application relates to wireless communications.
Wireless communication systems can include a network of one or more base stations to communicate with mobile station (MS) such as a wireless device, a mobile device, cell phone, or wireless air card. A mobile station can be referred to as a user equipment (UE) or subscriber station (SS). In some implementations, a wireless communication system covers a certain geographic area by dividing the area into radio cells, each cell can include one or more sectors. A base station can provide wireless coverage in a radio cell. Further, a wireless communication system can include a core network to control the base stations.
A base station can transmit a signal on a forward link (FL), called a downlink signal, to one or more mobile stations. A mobile station can transmit a signal on a reverse link (RL), called an uplink signal, to one or more base stations. Types of wireless communication techniques used by base stations and mobile stations include Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD).
Wireless FDD systems support downlink and uplink transmissions on different frequency channels. For example, the FL and RL are assigned to different frequency channels with little or no interference between the channels. Therefore, a BS can transmit signals to mobile stations on the FL independently while a mobile station sends signals to a serving BS on the RL.
Wireless TDD systems support downlink and uplink transmissions on the same carrier frequency in separate non-overlapping time intervals. For example, the FL and RL are assigned to the same frequency channel. A wireless communication system can allocate downlink and uplink intervals to control downlink and uplink transmissions in one or more frames. When switching between downlink and uplink transmissions, TDD systems can use a guard period (GP) as a buffer between different transmissions. Wireless systems can use a frame structure to control downlink and uplink transmissions and guard periods. A frame structure can specify locations or intervals within a frame for downlink and uplink transmissions and guard periods.
In some implementations, a frame can include multiple FL slots and RL slots. In some implementations, a frame can include multiple PHY frames for data transmissions. A BS can transmit signals to MSs on FL slots while MSs are scheduled to receive signals in the FL slots. Likewise, a MS can transmit signals to a BS on RL slots while the BS is scheduled to receive signals in the RL slots. FL slots and RL slots can alternate in the time domain and can repeat every frame to allow both the BS and the MSs an opportunity to transmit and receive signals.
A wireless TDD system can combine a TDD technique with a multiple access technology such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) or Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM). Examples of wireless TDD systems include wireless communications networks based on 3GPP2 Radio Transmission Technologies (RTT), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB) TDD, Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA), Long Term Evolution (LTE) TDD mode, and IEEE 802.16 WiMAX TDD mode.

Configurable guard time for wireless networks


An efficient energy upconversion unit is optically coupled to a photomultiplier. The upconversion unit receives incident infrared electromagnetic energy of longer wavelengths and emits, in response, visible light of shorter wavelengths to which the photomultiplier is more responsive. Through such energy upconversion, the sensitivity of the photomultiplier is extended to much longer infrared wavelengths. The upconversion unit is a photoluminescent material specially formulated to have minimal phosphorescence so as to minimize noise.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to photomultipliers and, more particularly, to an upconverter which allows operation of photomultipliers beyond their normal wavelength cut-off, thereby making possible detection of infrared light.
2. Description of the Related Art
Sensitivity, that is, the ability to develop useful information from weak signals, is a desirable characteristic of photomultipliers. However, it is well known that photomultipliers display rapidly decreasing spectral sensitivity at longer wavelengths, culminating in a complete cut-off at wavelengths beyond 1 micron. On the other hand, the wavelength region of 1-2 microns represents an important application range, encompassing, for example: (1) the emission wavelength of numerous lasers; (2) the reflection and absorption characteristics observed through spectroscopy; (3) the fiber optic communication wavelengths (1.3 and 1.55 microns); and many others. Typically, solid state detectors, such as Ge, InGaAs and others, are used to detect these longer wavelengths. Unfortunately, such detectors have a relatively small active area and are quite noisy at low light levels as compared to photomultipliers.
Therefore, in terms of detection area and noise, it would be highly desirable to convert infrared wavelengths to be detected into visible light wavelengths within the sensitivity range of a photomultiplier. The present inventor has developed certain photoluminescent materials which perform such optical upconversion with an increased quantum efficiency and a notably brighter light output than prior art phosphors. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,806,772 and 4,879,186, the disclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference. However, these new photoluminescent materials exhibit a considerable phosphorescence which would constitute noise to the photomultiplier. Thus, up to now, it has not been utilize these materials for upconversion purposes to extend the sensitivity of the photomultiplier into the infrared region of the spectrum.

Photomultiplier with infrared sensitivity


A sheet transfer method for carrying a predetermined number of sheets from a destacking position to a restacking position by a vertically and horizontally movable transfer unit incorporating an entry-conveyor, a mid-conveyor, and an exit-conveyor. In this method, at the time of destacking a pile from the remaining stack, the advance of the transfer unit from one end to the other end of the stack, and the rotation of the pair of the entry-conveyor and mid-conveyors are concurrently effected substantially at the same speed, but in directions opposite to each other until the pile is progressively supported on the mid-conveyor. After the arrival of the transfer unit at the restacking position, the retraction of the transfer unit toward the destacking position, and the actuation of the pair of the mid-conveyor and exit-conveyor are concurrently effected substantially at the same speed, but in directions opposite to each other until the pile is clear of the transfer unit.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a sheet transfer method for transferring piled sheets in units of a predetermined number, and a system thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has been widely known a method in which piled sheets are deposited on a belt conveyor or a roller transfer unit for transferring purposes. However, such a conventional technique has a drawback in that the edges of the pile are tilted during the transfer. This problem is hereinafter referred to as unalignment. In order to obviate such unalignment, it is necessary to effect the realignment of the edges of the tilted pile at a subsequent step, and to have the realigned pile subjected to a process such as packaging, drilling, cutting or the like. As a much simpler and general method, sheets are transferred by hands.
In some applications where products include high quality surface decorative sheets, whose surfaces have undergone a special processing or coating, and presensitized printing plates to which a photosensitive resin has been applied, there has been a longstanding demand for a transfer system which is capable of transferring a pile from one process to the next process during the manufacture thereof with the edges of the products aligned.
During the transfer of piled sheets to a subsequent process, there has been a common practice, in order to prevent the unalignment of the pile, to attach tapes to a plurality of locations along the edge of the pile or to clamp the pile with a clamper. However, in view of the quality and appearance, the attachment of tapes is restricted to certain applications. Meanwhile, clamping the pile may cause the products to be deformed or damaged, and has a drawback in the time required for the mounting and dismounting of the clamps.
Alternatively, there may be considered other transfer techniques such as the dragging of a pile with a clamper or the deposition of a pile on a movable air table by introducing the table into a stack of sheets. These alternatives, however, involve the drawing of a pile which in turn may lead to the surface of a product being damaged.
In the field of products interested in this application, a protective sheet, called an interleaf, is usually inserted between sheets in order to protect the surface of the sheet from damage. During the transfer, however, the lowermost sheet of a pile is transferred without such an interleaf, so that the lowermost sheet is directly brought in contact with transfer rollers or an air table. This renders the quality of the lowermost sheet least ensured, and hence operators manually carry such products. With great care, the operators manually transfer the products so as not to disturb the integrity of each pile of sheets. As such, this manual operation results in muscular fatigue, known as CTD, or cumulative trauma disorder.
In addition to the above-mentioned alternatives, there is proposed a transfer system wherein operations are automated by robots, but this system requires a great amount of investment.
Examples of existing transfer techniques include U.S. Pat. No. 3,209,931, issued to Hawkes, wherein piles of flexible sheets are unstacked, trimmed and restacked by the use of a straddling type transfer table. This patent, however, discloses no teaching about the actuation of a transfer unit associated with the actuation of the loading and unloading subsections housed therein, substantially at the same speed in directions opposite to each other, to destack and restack a pile to be transferred without kinks in the pile or scratches on the topmost sheet of the remaining stack. Moreover, this method is disadvantageous in that the front end of the table is forcibly wedged into a stack overcoming friction, which causes the pile to be damaged or deformed.
In addition to the above, U.S. Pat. No. 4,055,258, issued to Schneider, discloses a sheet material destacking machine. This machine includes a hydraulically-driven gripping device which clamps a partial stack, preliminarily segregated by a separating roller, to complete the separation of the partial stack from the remaining stack. This machine inevitably suffers, when it is employed in the field of products interested in the present application, from the same drawbacks as already mentioned above, that is, the deformation or damaging of the products by the clamp.

Sheet transfer method and system thereof


A robotic wheel gripper unit that is configured for gripping and transporting a wheel to a predetermined position during an assembly operation with a tire is disclosed. The robotic wheel gripper unit comprises a selectively moveable arm that includes a gripper tool connected thereto. The gripper tool further includes a plurality of gripper fingers and at least one sensor. The gripper fingers are configured for selectively engaging a portion of a wheel. The sensor is configured to detect a predetermined element on the wheel, such as a TPMS valve stem, to assist in placement of the wheel during an assembly operation.

In one exemplary automated tire/wheel assembly system, wheels are transported via a first conveyor system, while the tires are delivered via a second conveyor system. An assembly conveyor is positioned between the first and second conveyor systems. A wheel load robot is configured to grip a wheel and move it to an assembly conveyor, while a tire load robot grips a tire and moves it to the assembly conveyor, so as to partially position the tire on the wheel at an angle to create a tire/wheel subassembly. The tire/wheel subassembly is then transported by the assembly conveyor to a mounting robot. The tire is then mounted on the wheel by the mounting robot so as to fully seat the tire on the wheel, prior to inflation of the tire.
However, one issue that remains problematic in such an automated assembly is that current wheels include valve stem TPM sensors that need to be positioned at a certain angle to properly mate with the tire, without damage the TPM sensors during the assembly operation. Indeed, the degree of precision required in locating the TPM valve stem sensor during assembly of the wheel/tire assembly is problematic because threads of the TPM valve stem can be irreparably damaged during assembly. Accordingly, what is needed is a system that can locate the TPM valve stem and position the wheel on the assembly conveyor so as to properly place the wheel on the tire before the wheel is fully seated so as to prevent damage to the TPM valve stem.