A handling apparatus comprises a holding member for holding an object to be handled, a driving member for driving the holding member, a locus detection section provided in a fixed position which is not driven by the driving member, the locus detection section representing a locus along which the holding member is to move, and a sensor, provided on said holding member, for detecting the locus. The locus of the holding member is constantly detected by the sensor during the operation of the holding member, and, when the holding member is displaced from a predetermined locus, the operation of the handling apparatus is suddenly stopped. Then, the holding member is moved to a position where the locus detection section can be detected by the sensor, and the holding member is restored to an initial position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a handling apparatus for lifting, moving, mounting, etc., an object in a two-dimensional region, and, in particular, to a safety mechanism for such an apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a handling apparatus having two degrees of freedom, there is a case wherein the movement of a holding member for holding an object need be controlled so that the holding member can move along a predetermined locus. For example, there is a handling apparatus wherein a hand arm is attached, via rotational moving means, to an elevation mechanism movable along vertical moving means, and a carrier holding member for holding a wafer carrier containing a plurality of semiconductor wafers is attached to an end portion of this hand arm. In the case where the wafer is moved between a loading/unloading table and a stock section within a clean stocker by using this handling apparatus, it is necessary, in order to reduce to a minimum the space where the wafer carrier is moved, to synchronize the movement of the vertical moving means and that of the rotational moving means and vertically move and rotate the carrier holding member, thereby to move the wafer carrier in the horizontal direction.
In general, as means for satisfying this demand, a control system is employed wherein an increment from the initial positions of vertical moving means and rotational moving means is detected by encoders provided on both moving means and the synchronous movement of the vertical moving means and rotational moving means is controlled based on the detected increment.
However, in this type of conventional handling apparatus, since the synchronous movement of the vertical moving means and rotational moving means is controlled by the encoders, it is highly possible that, when the movement of the carrier holding member deviates from a predetermined locus owing to an abnormality of the hardware or software, the handling apparatus may contact or collide other peripheral devices.
In addition, in this conventional apparatus, the moving means are controlled based on the increment from the initial positions thereof. Thus, when it becomes impossible to identify the current positions of the moving means, for example, because the apparatus is stopped in the course of operation, the operation of the apparatus becomes impossible thereafter.


A method and a device for defibrillation. When a shock is generated, energy is transmitted from the low-voltage range to a high-voltage range, at least one current surge being generated in the low-voltage range, stepped up to the high-voltage range and guided to electrodes. An energy supply, power electronics and an energy storage device are used in the low-voltage range.

The invention relates to a method for defibrillation, in which energy is transformed from a low-voltage range into a high-voltage range and in which at least one current surge is generated and guided to electrodes.
The invention additionally relates to a device for defibrillation which has a low-voltage range and a high-voltage range and in which the low-voltage range is coupled to the high-voltage range and in which electrodes are arranged in the high-voltage range.
Methods and devices for defibrillation have long been part of the prior art. For example, corresponding methods and devices are described in DE 1006087 B and in GB 864362 A.
According to the prior art, in a defibrillator one or more capacitors are typically charged up to a high voltage of around 2,500 V. In the application of the defibrillator to a patient, by using a strong current surge delivered by the electrodes, the normal heart activity is then restored. The energy required for the current surge is stored in capacitors which, in view of the high voltage, have an appropriate breakdown strength and, consequently, are expensive and difficult to obtain.
Although defibrillators are also already known in which both a multi-voltage range and a high-voltage range is used, this functional principle has not yet gained wide acceptance, however. In a similar way to ignition coils for motor vehicles, in accordance with this principle a DC voltage pulse is generated in the low-voltage range, which is passed through a transformer and due to the abrupt current change, generates a high-voltage pulse in the high-voltage range.
In the defibrillators currently in use, the components used for their control are arranged in the high-voltage range so that only a few suppliers are available, which causes high production prices.

WEINMANN EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY GMBH + CO. KG


Methods are provided for enabling an enterprise to run as a zero latency enterprise (ZLE) and for running an enterprise as a ZLE. Such methods allow the enterprise to integrate its services, applications and data in real time. Namely, an enterprise equipped to run as a ZLE is capable of integrating, in real time, its enterprise-wide data, applications, business transactions, operations and values. Consequently, an enterprise conducting its business as a ZLE exhibits superior management of its resources, operations and customer care.

1. Field of the Invention
This application relates to an information technology (IT) infrastructure of an enterprise, and specifically, an IT infrastructure that enables a zero latency enterprise (ZLE). The present invention enables the enterprise to integrate its services, applications and data in real time, hence the ZLE.
2. Background Art
Information technology (IT) allows valuable information to be distributed across organizations to groups of information consumers including remote employees, business partners and customers. However, organizations have large amounts of information located on disparate systems and platforms. For maintaining the desired comprehensive view of their operations, organizations need to integrate theirs systems. Then again, independent configuration for disparate industry standards and technologies makes systems integration requirements difficult to meet. Moreover, as the various business applications have diverse features and are tailored to suit the requirements of a particular domain, their integration requirements may be also difficult to meet. For example, there are significant integration requirements to make it work when integrating a customer relationship management (CRM) application to an existing system with other applications such as SAP""s enterprise resource planning (ERP) software package, as the CRM is uniquely tailored to the customer care domain.
Notwithstanding, when addressing their critical information needs, organizations often resort to new best-of-the-breed applications (or solutions). To leverage their existing applications, organizations integrate their legacy applications with the new solutions, a practice known as enterprise application integration (EAI). To this end, software vendors have responded by building tools, known as EAI products, alas different tools by different vendors, to automate the integration process.
Deficiencies in integration and data sharing are indeed a difficult problem of IT environments for any enterprise. The inability of organizations to operate as one-organ, rather than separate parts, creates a challenge in information exchange and electronic commerce and results in economic inefficiencies.
With conventional solutions, organizations have been using some form of the EAI platform to integrate their application. And, they have been using a different platform for integrating their data into data warehouses. Data warehouses integrate data across an organization for reporting and data mining using business intelligence tools like SAS Institute tools.
The problems with these schemes are that there is no real-time connection and interaction between the EAI and data warehousing. Moreover, with relatively static data warehouses the data warehousing cloud is used for analysis but could not participate in the current transaction or events that are happening in the organization in real time. The organization still will end up with two disjointed infrastructures that cannot leverage each other in real-time (See: FIG. 1). Accordingly the present invention addresses these and related issues.
In accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the invention relates to methods for enabling an enterprise to run as a zero latency enterprise (ZLE) and for running an enterprise as a ZLE. The present invention allows the enterprise to integrate its services, applications and data in real time. Namely, an enterprise equipped to run as a ZLE is capable of integrating, in real time, its enterprise-wide data, applications, business transactions, operations and values. Consequently, an enterprise conducting its business as a ZLE exhibits superior management of its resources, operations, supply chain and customer care.
Underpinning the superior characteristics of ZLE is an information technology (IT) infrastructure that is equipped with and using the hybrid functionality of a ZLE framework. This framework is not a single product or middle ware. Rather, it defines architecture with collection of products, tools, and services that enables, among others, the reduction of operational latencies in the enterprise. With such hybrid functionality, an enterprise running as a ZLE can route information across various enterprise applications using enterprise application integration technologies. Clearly, the ZLE framework is not just an enterprise integration platform as it can accomplish application and data integration across the enterprise. Using database extractors, database loaders and application adapters technologies, the ZLE can integrate data related to the real-time operations of an enterprise into a storage cache, also known as operational data store (ODS), and synchronize information across the enterprise using enterprise application integration (EAI) tools. Also, with rules and synchronization policies implemented in a ZLE hub with the ODS, any updates communicated to the ZLE hub from any application across the enterprise can, via the ZLE hub, bring about information synchronization in all other applications across the enterprise, including its legacy applications. Information and updates thereof are communicated from the applications to the ZLE hub by way of adapters. Furthermore, the ZLE can provide data to business intelligence applications for analysis, and it supports decision support systems (DSS) and data mart operations as well as transactional access to up to the minute data by multiple add-on new and legacy enterprise applications.
As noted, one embodiment of the present invention is a method for running an enterprise as a ZLE. In conducting its business, the enterprise is experiencing a plurality of events occurring in association with its business transactions. Its business is conducted at a plurality of sites across the enterprise. To reduce the unintended latency in enterprise operations to zero, all organs of the enterprise need to be made aware of business events as they occur, i.e., in real time. Thus, the method for running a ZLE includes integrating, in real time, its enterprise-wide data, applications, business transactions, operations and values. This is done by performing a combination of actions, one of which is capturing, in real time, an indicia of each of the plurality of events. Each indicia is associated with information related to its respective event. The actions also include aggregating, in real-time, the information related to the plurality of events in a central repository database (ODS) where the aggregated information can, in real-time, be accessible and available for loads, extractions, updates, queries and analysis from across the enterprise. As a consequence, a coherent view of the aggregated information is obtained, in real time, from across the enterprise, As a further consequence, the enterprise can achieve enterprise-wide coherent and zero latency business transactions. The actions further include initiating, in real time, a process responsive to each event of the plurality of events which is founded on the coherent view of the aggregated information.
The process includes one or any combination of: a rule-based analysis, in real-time, of the information related to that event; narrowcasting, in real time, a notification associated with that event if the rule-based analysis of its information creates a notable-event that prompts the notification; creating feedback to that event, in real time; creating a new event or cascade of events, and producing a value associated with that event unless, in real-time response to that event, the rule-based analysis of its information precludes production of the associated value. The process of creating the feedback includes offering, in real time based on any part of or the entire information, to provide an additional value, if not precluded by the real-time rule-based analysis. In a case where the aggregated information in the central repository includes a customer profile, the process further can include offering, in real time based on the customer profile, to provide an additional value. The offer is made if not precluded by a result of the real-time rule-based analysis.
As previously noted, another embodiment of the present invention is method for enabling an enterprise to run as ZLE. This method includes creating the ZLE framework that enables the enterprise to integrate its services, applications and data in real time. So enabled, the enterprise can achieve enterprise-wide coherent and zero latency business transactions. Moreover, the ZLE is extensible and available, and the ZLE framework, itself, is extensible and available.
The ZLE framework is formed by merging: enterprise application integration (EAI) functionality; dynamic operational data store (ODS) functionality; transaction processing and monitoring functionality, and data mining and analysis functionality and a feedback mechanism. Together, these functions fashion a hybrid functionality of the ZLE framework. The method further includes integrating ZLE core services, tightly coupling clip-on application to the ZLE core services, and loosely coupling enterprise applications to the ZLE core services. In the case of a ZLE with unified customer relationship management (CRM), the clip-on applications include an interaction manager, a narrowcaster, a campaign manager and a customer data manager. The enterprise applications are operatively interfaced via the EAI functionality and share access to information made available by the ODS functionality. The enterprise applications include one or any combination of: CRM facilitating real-time services including customer care, business intelligence and marketing campaign; operations and resource management supporting the real-time services and creating values that can be offered to one or more customers; and third-party solutions management supporting the ZLE operations and resource management.
The enterprise conducting its business is experiencing in association therewith a plurality of events. Accordingly, the information is related to the enterprise, its business and the plurality of events. The information is being dynamically aggregated via the ODS functionality. As a result, the aggregated information can, in real time, be accessible and available from across the enterprise for the transaction processing and monitoring functionality and for the data mining and analysis functionality. As a further result, there is a coherent view, in real time, of the aggregated information from across the enterprise. What is more, by enabling the enterprise to run as a ZLE, the enterprise is capable of eliminating operational inconsistencies.
There are many ways for implementing these methods in commerce, military, medical, government and other businesses. A number of simple examples of implementation in commerce are hereafter provided.
In one implementation of this method, by means of the hybrid functionality, ZLE core services, clip-on applications and enterprise applications the enterprise can conduct retail business. In relation to its retail business the enterprise can perform business intelligence via real-time fraud management, marketing campaign and profitability management via real-time supply chain and customer care management, profitability forecasting via real-time supply chain management, and customer relationship via real-time integration of business modes, including retail and e-business modes, and customer service support.
In another implementation of this method, by means of the hybrid functionality, ZLE core services, clip-on applications and enterprise applications the enterprise can conduct financial services business. In relation to its financial services business, the enterprise can perform risk management and business intelligence including via real-time client account and fraud management, marketing campaign and profitability management via real-time supply chain and customer care management; profitability forecasting via real-time supply chain management, portfolio assessment via real-time enterprise-wide account balance and asset value evaluation, asset management via intraday borrowing; valuation and transaction processing by real-time dynamic updating of customer accounts and assets, and customer relationship via real-time integration of business modes, including retail and e-business modes, and customer service support.
In yet another implementation of this method, by means of the hybrid functionality, ZLE core services, clip-on applications and enterprise applications the enterprise can conduct transportation and shipping business. In relation to its transportation and shipping business, the enterprise can perform business intelligence via real-time fraud management, marketing campaign and profitability management via real-time supply chain and customer care management, profitability forecasting via real-time supply chain management, and customer relationship via real-time integration of value delivery scheduling, transportation and shipping modes and customer service support.
In yet another implementation of this method, by means of the hybrid functionality, ZLE core services, clip-on applications and enterprise applications the enterprise can conduct manufacturing business. In relation to its manufacturing business, the enterprise can perform risk management and business intelligence via real-time fraud management, marketing campaign and profitability management via real-time supply chain and customer care management, profitability forecasting via real-time supply chain management, and customer relationship via real-time integration of manufacturing scheduling, inventory and manufacturing resources management, and customer service support.
In yet another implementation of this method, by means of the hybrid functionality, ZLE core services, clip-on applications and enterprise applications the enterprise can conduct telecommunications business. In relation to its telecommunications business, the enterprise can perform business intelligence via real-time customer service response, profitability forecasting and risk management via real-time fraud pattern detection and management, campaign and customer relationship via real-time chum management and customer service support management, profitability management and cross-selling of bundled services via real-time profitability analysis by evaluation of route, product and call margins for every customer.
Advantages of the invention will be understood by those skilled in the art, in part, from the description that follows. Advantages of the invention will be further realized and attained from practice of the invention disclosed herein.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A sunlight coupler is provided, the sunlight coupler may include a beam integrator configured to concentrate beams of sunlight, which may be incident from a plurality of optical fibers, in the form of a single beam, a triplet lens focusing the concentrated beam on a specific position, and an optical fiber provided for transmission of the focused sunlight. The optical fiber may be a thermally-diffusion expand core fiber.

Example embodiments of the inventive concept relate to a sunlight system, and in particular, to a sunlight coupler configured to transmit solar light concentrated through an optical fiber without loss.
Due to recent rising oil prices, economical and eco-friendly renewable energy has been actively developed. Especially, a solar daylighting technology is being actively researched to realize a natural lighting.
The solar daylighting technology can be realized using a reflective mirror system, a prism system, an optical pipe system, a heliostat system, or an optical fiber daylighting system. However, the reflective mirror system, the optical pipe system, and the heliostat system can be utilized, only when they have been provided in design and construction stages of a building, and further, they may suffer from high maintenance cost.
The optical fiber daylighting system may be configured to transmit concentrated solar light to a desired position using optical fibers. Due to the use of the optical cables, the optical fiber daylighting system does not have a limitation in terms of a transmission distance and installation. Accordingly, the optical fiber daylighting system does not need to be designed before its construction.
For all that, the more the optical fiber in an optical cable, the higher the construction cost of the system, because the optical cable to be used in the optical fiber daylighting system is expensive.

Sunlight coupler and sunlight system comprising thereof

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


The invention discloses a safety mechanical system by which emergency oxygen is delivered to motor vehicle occupants during an accidental water submersion of the vehicle. The system utilizes an oxygen filled tank located in the trunk, or another concealed area. The tank is connected to a manifold system with an automatic valve. The valve is activated and opened when a series of sensors detects that the vehicle is partially or fully submerged. Upon such detection, the valve is opened and oxygen is delivered through the manifold, then to a series of flexible tubes to a set of drop down masks that automatically deploy from an overhead console in the vehicle's headliner. The drop down assembly is of an adequate length of coiled hose similar to that found on a commercial airliner for oxygen use during sudden decompression. With such an installed system, vehicle occupants are provided with a mask and oxygen until they can be rescued or escape on their own.

Various types of emergency breathing apparatuses are used in emergency situations. Typically these breathing apparatuses are used in modern mass transit systems, emergency vehicles, and by emergency first responders and are intended to protect a user from harmful airborne particles or supplement a lack of breathable oxygen. Some examples are U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,279,571, issued in the name of Meckes, which describes an emergency breathing apparatus comprising a hood that is worn by a user in an environment where there is a fire or other contamination and 5,809,999, issued in the name of Lang, which describes a method and apparatus for supplying breathable gas in emergency oxygen systems, especially in an aircraft. Various other attempts to provide breathable oxygen for emergency uses include: U.S. Pat. No. 4,428,372, issued in the name of Beysel et al., which describes a process and apparatus for providing breathing gas; 4,508,700, issued in the name of Hoshiko, which describes a method of generating oxygen for emergency use; and 6,701,923, issued in the name of Cazenave et al., which describes a process and installation for the distribution of air enriched in oxygen to passengers of an aircraft. These attempts however have certain disadvantages, including the chance of combustion due to the use of enriched oxygen and the complexity of installation and utilization which often restricts the versatility of the solution to use with pressurized environments and other more common emergency situations are not addressed.
All too often we hear or read about a motor vehicle that travels off of a roadway and ends up submerged in a lake, stream, pond, or the like. Most times, such accidents occur from general confusion, poor visibility, unknown surroundings and the like. As such, most drivers are awake, not injured, and in control of an operational vehicle when all of a sudden they find themselves in rapidly rising water. However, doors may become stuck, windows may become non-operational and people die quickly even if a rescue team is immediately dispatched due to the simple matter of the vehicle occupants drowning. A few minutes of air make all the difference for a rescue team or even the vehicle occupants themselves who may now have time to get a door open or a window broken out. While various vehicle air purification and recirculation systems exist, they do not address use in emergency situations. U.S. Pat. No. 6,712,886, issued in the name of Kim, describes an air purification device for an automobile with oxygen-supplying function which air is collected, purified, and enriched with oxygen before being resupplied to the vehicle.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives, each of these references suffers from one (1) or more of the aforementioned disadvantages. Accordingly, a need exists for a means by which occupants of a submerged vehicle can be provided with a source of oxygen during an accidental submersion to allow for rescue. The development of the present invention substantially departs from the conventional solutions and in doing so fulfills this need.

Oxygen delivery system for motor vehicles


Unmanned autonomous vehicles UAV (e.g., drones) are described that include an insect carrier for transporting and/or capturing mosquitoes or other insects and/or their larvae. The insect carrier may include a programmable opening for delivering the insects/larvae to a select location and/or capture the insects from the select location. Target locations include underground sewers, and the UAV includes sonar sensors to assess spatial surroundings and adjust positioning to avoid any collisions.

The following description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
No one is exempt from the bite of a mosquito, and if that mosquito carries a disease, then the insect will pass along the disease and infect a person. The cycle starts with mosquitoes ingesting microorganisms while feeding on an infected person or animal. Later, the pathogens are transmitted into a different person or animal when the female mosquito uses its proboscis to inject saliva before sucking blood from its next victim. Mosquitoes are vectors, or carriers, of many deadly diseases, including Malaria, Dengue and Yellow Fever, West Nile Virus, Chickungunya and Zika virus.
In the past, Zika virus became a widespread epidemic, infecting approximately 3-4 million people and resulting in microcephaly and other central nervous system malformations in its victims' offspring. This mosquito-dependent virus impacted the Olympic Games in Brazil as pregnant women were unable to attend due to the risk of infection. As recently as November 2017, Texas experienced its first case of Zika virus infection spread by local mosquitoes.
Unfortunately, mosquito populations are difficult to test, as they are often in remote locations or in confined spaces. This increases the difficult in trapping the mosquitoes due to the terrain, location, and spatial restrictions. Traditional traps require physical placement and close monitoring, which can be difficult in less populated and/or confined areas.
The testing of mosquitoes for viruses has become important for one main reason: viruses carrying mosquitoes have become common in our world, sickening hundreds of millions of people annually and killing several million people each year. Currently, the U.S. faces difficulty in efficiently catching the insects responsible for the spread of such viruses. In Orange County, California alone, there are 24 species of mosquitoes, a handful of which transmit disease. Two new invasive mosquitoes to the Orange County area include the Asian tiger (Aedes albopticus) which transmits Zika and Dengue and Yellow Fever, and Aedes aegypti which mainly transmits Yellow Fever, but can also transmit Zika. Two other dangerous mosquito species are Culex, which transmits West Nile Virus, and Anopheles, which carries the parasite that transmits malaria. With an improved ability to trap mosquitoes for testing, the U.S. would be better able to alert the public of new risky mosquito populations and mosquitoes that might be carrying viruses before they arrive into the local area or before there is a major health threat. This early detection is critical to prevent mosquitoes from spreading viruses.
Specific to the Los Angeles, Calif. area, there is reportedly about 1,500 miles of storm drains underground through which approximately 100 million gallons of water passes through each day. These enclosed waterways harbor many mosquito populations.
Some companies have begun to develop prototypes to locate and trap mosquitoes using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly referred to as drones. For example, Microsoft has created a UAV to identify areas where mosquitoes may be present, and where a physical trap could be placed. However, this trap is not mobile, and therefore, it is only useful for identifying a specific sampling location.
More recent gene editing technologies have enabled the breeding of all male sterile progeny, genetically modified mosquitoes/larvae that are not capable of breeding live progeny or are capable of passing on disease-fighting (e.g., anti-malaria) genes to its progeny. Notably, these genetically modified mosquitoes must be distributed to the relevant mosquito populations. Accordingly, there is a need for a cost-effective carrier for disseminating and/or trapping insects such as mosquitoes to select locations, and, to and from locations in underground waterways and sewers.
All publications identified herein are incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application were specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. Where a definition or use of a term in an incorporated reference is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.


A protective device is provided for protecting a turbo molecular pump having a rotor mounted for undergoing rotation, an intake port for sucking gas by rotation of the rotor, and an exhaust port for exhausting the gas sucked from the intake port. The protective device has a detecting device for detecting the occurrence of an abnormal phenomenon in the turbo molecular pump. An abnormal phenomenon inference device infers a type of the abnormal phenomenon detected by the detecting device. A value obtaining device infers a magnitude of damage given to the turbo molecular pump by the abnormal phenomenon inferred by the abnormal phenomenon inference device and obtains a value weighted based on the inferred magnitude of the damage. A value accumulation device accumulates the value obtained by the value obtaining device. A sum obtaining device obtains a sum of the values accumulated in the value accumulation device. A protecting device protects the turbo molecular pump in a case where the sum obtained by the sum obtaining device exceeds a predetermined value.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a protective device for a turbo molecular pump and a method of protecting a turbo molecular pump, and to, for example, a protective device for a turbo molecular pump and a method of protecting a turbo molecular pump when an abnormal phenomenon such as injection of atmospheric air to the turbo molecular pump during the operation occurs.
2. Description of the Related Art
A turbo molecular pump is mounted in, for example, a vacuum tank (chamber) of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus and is used to discharge process gas within the vacuum tank or used in the case where a high vacuum condition is realized like evacuating a chamber in which an observation sample of an electronic microscope is installed.
In some cases, the interior of the vacuum tank is rapidly exposed in the atmospheric pressure like a case where a leak valve of the vacuum tank is erroneously opened by the operator during the operation of the turbo molecular pump or a measurement equipment or an observation window mounted on a vacuum portion is broken down.
In the interior of the turbo molecular pump, rotor blades are rotated at a high speed of, for example, about 30,000 rpm together with a rotor. For this reason, when such atmospheric air is introduced into the turbo molecular pump that works under such a high vacuum condition, there is a fear that a load the turbo molecular pump receives is rapidly increased and constituents such as a bearing or rotor blades constituting the turbo molecular pump or a joint portion of the constituents would be damaged.
In order to protect the turbo molecular pump when such an abnormal phenomenon occurs, in the conventional turbo molecular pump, the abnormal phenomenon is detected as in a case where, for instance, a vibration of the rotor in a radial direction or a thrust direction is detected or a change in rpm of the rotor is detected and a protective device like stopping the turbo molecular pump is provided.
However, the kinds of the abnormal phenomena against which the turbo molecular pump should be protected are various like an occurrence of a damage of bearing portion, an entrainment of a foreign matter into the pump interior, a damage of revolving bodies such as rotor blades or the like, an external turbulence such as an earthquake, a power shortage or the like in addition to the above-described accidental injection of the atmospheric air.
However, when the abnormal phenomenon occurs, the conventional protective device for the turbo molecular pump does not well cope with the abnormal phenomena according to the kind thereof.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a protective device for a turbo molecular pump and a method of protecting a turbo molecular pump that may cope with abnormality according to the kind thereof when the abnormal phenomenon occurs.
In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, according to the present invention, there is provided a protective device for a turbo molecular pump having a rotor for undergoing rotation, an intake port for sucking gas by rotation of the rotor, and an exhaust port for exhausting the gas sucked from the intake port. The protective device comprises detecting means for detecting that an abnormal phenomenon occurs in the turbo molecular pump, abnormal phenomenon inference means for inferring a type of the abnormal phenomenon detected by the detecting means, value obtaining means for inferring a magnitude of damage given to the turbo molecular pump by the abnormal phenomenon inferred by the abnormal phenomenon inference means and obtaining a value weighted based on the inferred magnitude of the damage, value accumulation means for accumulating the value obtained by the value obtaining means, sum obtaining means for obtaining a sum of the values accumulated in the value accumulation means, and protecting means for protecting the tubo molecular pump in the case where the sum obtained by the sum obtaining means exceeds a predetermined value (first structure).
In the first structure of the present invention, there may be constructed a protective device further comprising a change rate obtaining means for obtaining a change rate in a rotating speed of the rotor, in which the abnormal phenomenon inference means infers a kind of the abnormal phenomenon from a change rate in rpm of the rotor obtained by the change rate obtaining means (second structure).
Also, in the first structure of the present invention, there may be constructed a protective device, further comprising a load detecting means for detecting a load to be applied to the rotor in an axial direction of the rotor, in which the abnormal phenomenon inference means infers a kind of the abnormal phenomenon from a load detected by the load detecting means (third structure).
Further, in any one of the first to third structures of the present invention, there may be constructed a protective device, further comprising an rpm obtaining means for obtaining an rpm of the rotor, in which the value obtaining means infers a magnitude of the damage according to the rotating speed of the rotor obtained at least by the rpm obtaining means when the abnormal phenomenon is detected by the detecting means (fourth structure).
Further, in any one of the first to fourth structures of the present invention, there may be constructed a protective device, in which the protective means is provided with at least one of a stopping means for stopping the turbo molecular pump, a restart disabling means for disabling a restart instruction for restarting the turbo molecular pump, and an alarm means for giving an alarm to an operator of the turbo molecular pump (fifth structure).
Further, in any one of the first to fifth structures of the present invention, there may be constructed a protective device, in which the abnormal phenomenon inferred by the abnormal phenomenon inference means is the fact that the atmospheric air is injected from the intake port during the operation of the turbo molecular pump.
Further, there may be constructed a protective device, in which a kind of the abnormal phenomenon inferred by the abnormal phenomenon inference means includes, in addition to the injection of the atmospheric air, at least one of a touchdown of the rotor to a protective bearing for protecting the rotor in the case where the rotor is held by a magnetic bearing, a mixture of foreign matters to the bearing for holding the rotor, a power outage of a power to be fed to the turbo molecular pump, and an external turbulence of the turbo molecular pump by an external force.
In another aspect, in order to achieve the above-mentioned object, there is provided a method of protecting a turbo molecular pump according to the present invention. A turbo molecular pump having a rotor for undergoing rotation, an intake port for sucking gas by rotation of the rotor, and an exhaust port for exhausting the gas sucked from the intake port is provided. A fact that an abnormal phenomenon is generated in the turbo molecular pump is then detected and a type of the abnormal phenomenon is inferred. A magnitude of damage given to the turbo molecular pump by the inferred abnormal phenomenon is then inferred and a value weighted based on the inferred magnitude of the damage is obtained. The value obtained based on the inferred magnitude of the damage is then accumulated. A sum of the accumulated values is then obtained. A protecting means for protecting the turbo molecular pump is then operated in a case where the sum of the accumulated values obtained exceeds a predetermined value.

Protective device for a turbo molecular pump and method of protecting a turbo molecular pump


A support device for a trolling motor is attachable to an arm of the trolling motor to provide a cushion between the arm and a deck surface of a boat. This cushion inhibits bouncing of the arm of the trolling motor in response to a boat traveling over rough water or being trailered from one location to another over roads. The support device is attachable to the arm of the trolling motor without additional fasteners, such as screws or clips. It is also movable to different positions along the length of the arm of the trolling motor, thus allowing more than one support device to be attached to the trolling motor mount.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally related to a support device for a trolling motor and, more particularly, to a support device that can be easily attached to an extendable arm of a trolling motor to provide support between the arm and the deck of a boat when the trolling motor is in a retracted or stowed position.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many different types of trolling motor devices are well known to those skilled in the art. Typically, a trolling motor is configured so that it can easily be deployed for use and, alternatively, retracted for storage when not in use.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,861,628, which issued to Krieger on Jan. 21, 1975, describes a folding accessory bracket assembly that is particularly adapted for mounting a trolling motor so as to automatically position the accessory vertically in the water in an extended position and parallel to and on top of the boat deck in a retracted position. The bracket assembly generally comprises a mounting means attached to the boat deck and an accessory bracket for mounting to the accessory. Arm means are pivotally mounted between the mounting means and the accessory bracket for automatically positioning the accessory bracket as the arm means are pivoted, to thereby properly position the accessory in the extreme positions.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,999,500, which issued to Friedel et al. on Dec. 28, 1976, describes a pivotal support lock apparatus for trolling motor apparatus. The mount for a trolling motor includes a deck bracket having a housing arm pivotally mounted at one end. A gear mechanism within the arm has a fixed bevel gear on the pivot arm axis meshing with a bevel gear in a rotatable torque tube. A drive bevel gear is secured to the opposite end and meshes with a gear sector on a coupling head pivotally mounted in the outer end of the arm.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,008,680, which issued to Alexander on Feb. 22, 1977, discloses a pivotal mount assembly for trolling motors. The mount includes a deck bracket having a housing arm pivotally mounted at one end. A gear mechanism within the arm has a fixed bevel gear on the pivot arm axis meshing with a bevel gear on a rotatable torque tube. A drive bevel gear is secured to the opposite end and meshes with a gear sector on a coupling head pivotally mounted in the outer end of the arm. The head includes a swivel support within which a trolling motor unit is rotatably mounted.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,819,905, which issued to McCain on Apr. 11, 1989, describes a trolling motor mount for pleasure boats. An adjustable bracket mounting support for mounting an electric trolling motor on the forward end of a is pleasure boat is described. It includes a base member supported by two adjustable length arms which are attached to slidable clamps mounted on the bow rails of the boat and a downwardly extending support leg which attaches to the bow eye of the boat. A motor mount plate is rotatably mounted on the base plate and is adapted for receiving the mounting bracket assembly of a remotely controlled electric trolling motor.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,875,656, which issued to Boede on Oct. 24, 1989, discloses a stowable pull handle for electric trolling motor support apparatus. A manual operating cord for a deck-mounted electric trolling motor includes a handle which is demountably attachable to an arm of the pivotal motor support apparatus when the motor is in the operative or stowed position. The demountable handle assures that the operating cord will always be readily accessible to the operator in the boat to either raise the motor from its operative position or lower it thereto from its stowed position on the deck. The handle is demountably secured to one of the pivot arms of the motor support apparatus by frictional engagement between the legs of an elongated U-shaped slot in the handle and the lateral faces of the pivot arm.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,509, which issued to Uroszek on Mar. 26, 1991, describes a trolling motor mount. The mount is for use in mounting an outboard trolling motor on the outboard drive unit of a boat equipped with an inboard/outboard type power unit. The motor mount includes a mounting block for supporting an outboard trolling motor and a support structure attachable to the outboard drive unit through the drive unit's top cover for supporting the mounting block to one side of the drive unit at a location behind the boat's transom.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,116,267, which issued to Olson on May 26, 1992, describes a yieldable protective mount for trolling motors. The mounting mechanism incorporates a mounting base that is fixed to the deck structure or the stern structure of a small boat such as is typically used for recreational activities such as fishing. A motor support element is pivotally connected by hinge structure to the base and is continuously urged by tension springs to an operating position where the trolling motor is positioned for its normal operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,340,077, which issued to Tyler on Aug. 23, 1994, discloses a trolling motor anti-bounce mechanism. It allows fisherman to easily stow the trolling motor and control housing while assuring that damage to the mounting bracket, the trolling motor, and the control housing is minimized. The lower arm of the mounting bracket is secured to the boat. The upper arm of the mounting bracket forms a cantilever that projects from a pivot point. Stress forces will most likely cause metal fatigue to occur on the flange called the "positive stow lock feature" near the pivot point. Shock to the positive stow lock feature is minimized by provision of a rubber-based leg to stabilize the upper arm of the mounting bracket. The suspension of the trolling motor and the control housing limits their downward travel.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,224,437, which issued to Griffith et al. on May 1, 2001, describes a trolling motor mount stabilizer. The assembly includes a bracket adapted to support the trolling motor. A pivoting member, such as a link or an arm, has a first end pivotally coupled to the bracket. The pivoting member is also pivotally coupled to an abutment adjacent a boat deck or gunwale at its second end. A support member is rigidly affixed to a surface of the bracket such that the support member sustains the overhung load of the trolling motor while it is in the stowed position on the boat deck or gunwale. The support member is flat and unobtrusive when the motor is in its run position.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,254,441, which issued to Knight et al. on Jul. 3, 2001, describes a trolling motor propulsion unit support shaft. The system includes a lower propulsion unit, a mounting mechanism adapted to be coupled to the boat and a first shaft fitting at least partially between the mounting mechanism and the lower propulsion unit. The first shaft has a non-circular cross-sectional shape. In one embodiment, the mounting mechanism is configured to mount to a boat having a longitudinal axis extending from a bow to a stern of the boat, wherein the first shaft has a longitudinal length and smaller transverse width.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,394,408, which issued to Henderson et al. on May 28, 2002, discloses a trolling motor column mounting system. The trolling motor column is supported in a support frame by virtue of the ball and socket connection. The column passes through the ball. The ball has a bore through which the column extends. The column may be secured in different positions to the bore or a tube which extends from the bore in the ball.
U.S. Pat. D461,480, which issued to Knight et al. on Aug. 13, 2002, describes a trolling motor propulsion unit support shaft.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,808,431, which issued to Neely on Oct. 26, 2004, describes a trolling motor mount tool. The tool is intended to assist in the moving of a trolling motor support mount between a lowered position and a raised position. The trolling motor mount tool includes a main member having a first cutout and a second cutout, a first arm pivotally attached to the main member, wherein the first arm includes an engaging tube, and a second arm pivotally attached to the main member having an arm cutout. The user utilizes the first cutout and an arm cutout to engage the locking pin of a motor mount for a trolling motor. The user utilizes the second cutout and the engaging tube of the first arm to engage the locking pin of the motor mount.
The patents described above are hereby expressly incorporated by reference in the description of the present invention.
When a trolling motor is in a stowed position, the extendable arm is typically supported, in a cantilever condition, slightly above the deck of the boat. As the boat moves in response to waves, or while on a trailer being towed by an automobile, impulses can cause the cantilever arm to move upwardly and downwardly relative to the surface of the boat deck. This can induce stress on the components of the trolling motor and, in certain instances, can cause annoying impact noises if the cantilevered arm of the trolling motor repeatedly strikes the deck surface. It would therefore be beneficial if a component could be provided that cushions and supports the extended retractable arm of the trolling motor in relation to the deck surface of a boat.


A blind system uses a typical door or window frame that has a hermetically sealed double glazing within an opening of its main frame. A blind assembly is removably received within a rabbet of the main frame while a secondary frame is removably attached to the main frame by passing screws through the secondary frame, the screws being received within bosses located in the rabbet of the main frame, the secondary frame overlying the blind assembly. A single glazing is sealably attached to the secondary frame. The blind assembly is bordered by a spacer that holds a desiccant therein.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed a door or window that has built-in blinds and more specifically to a blind that is easily removably attachable to the remainder of the frame of the door or window.
2. Background of the Prior Art
Doors and windows incorporating built-in blinds have gained in popularity in the last several years. In these types of systems, a blind is placed between the two panes of glass making up the door or window, the blind capable of being raised and lowered in the usual way. To achieve this construction, two sections of framing, each section holding one pane of glass, are brought together in order to capture the blind therebetween. Typically, the two sections are bolted to one another, often with the bolts visible on an exterior surface of the door or window. Control of the blinds is either manual via pull cords or control rods that pass through the frame so as to be accessible by a user or automatic via an electric motor which is tied into the building's electrical system.
The benefits of such systems lie in the fact that the blind is between the panes and thereby protected. The blinds do not accumulate dust in the manner that blinds attached separate from the window or door so accumulate. Additionally, the blinds are not subject to tearing or crushing from wayward kids and other hazards.
These benefits, are however, tempered with certain drawbacks. In a typical double pane door or window design, the double panes of glass are built as a single unit with the two panes being located in spaced apart relationship to one another with a spacer positioned therebetween around the entire outer periphery of the panes. The spacer is often made from aluminum or vinyl and also has a rubber gasket (often butadiene) along its entire length. In addition to spacing the panes from one another, the spacer acts as a thermal break and the gasket hermetically seals the two panes to one another so as to create dead air space in the cavity between the two panes. This dead space helps the overall door or window achieve greater thermal insulation. The cavity is often filled with a desiccant such as silica sand and an insulating gas such as Argon. The hermetically sealed double pane unit is secured within the remainder of the frame. In a built-in blind door or window, such a hermetic seal cannot be achieved due to the fact that either a manual blind control operator or an electric cord must protrude out from the cavity between the panes, thereby preventing the seal described above. Although the exit point of the control operator or electric cord is provided with appropriate seals, such seals can become less effective over time. In the case of a manual control operator passing through this sealed exit point, the manual control operator passes a physical force through the seal. This physical force acts on the seals which can become less effective over time. In an automatic control configuration, the vibration from the motor acts on the seals that seal the exiting electric cord. Once the seals become sufficiently loose, the Argon gas escapes, not only robbing the door or window of some of its insulating properties, but also allowing a bellowing effect on the panes to increase thereby further reducing the thermal insulating properties of the structure. In the case of interior doors, this tends not to be a problem. However, many of these types of doors and windows are used on the exterior of the building where thermal insulation is a concern.
Another shortcoming of the present double pane built-in blind systems is that in order to change a blind, such as during remodeling, the door or window bearing the blind must be disassembled in order to swap out the blind and thereafter reassembled in order to seal the structure. In order to achieve the maximum thermal insulating capability, including the replacement of the Argon gas into the cavity between the panes, a trained professional using specialized equipment is often needed to accomplish this swap out, which can be very expensive.
What is needed is a built-in blind system for a door or window that allows the panes forming the structure to be hermetically sealed in the usual way in order to achieve a high level of thermal insulation yet allow a building owner to be able to quickly and easily replace blinds without the need to summon a professional window installer. Similarly, a break in a pane should be a relatively easy fix. Ideally, such a system should be of relatively simple design and construction so as to be readily affordable to a large segment of building owners.

Attachable built-in blinds for doors and windows


This invention pertains to fused ring compounds of Formula (I), as further detailed herein, which are used for the inhibition of Ras proteins, as well as compositions comprising these compounds and methods of treatment by their administration.

Ras is a small GTP-binding protein that functions as a nucleotide-dependent switch for central growth signaling pathways. In response to extracellular signals, Ras is converted from a GDP-bound (RasGDP) to a GTP-bound (RasGDP) state, as catalyzed by guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs), notably the SOS1 protein. Active RasGDP mediates its diverse growth-stimulating functions through its direct interactions with effectors including Raf, PI3K, and Ral guanine nucleotide dissociation stimulator. The intrinsic GTPase activity of Ras then hydrolyzes GTP to GDP to terminate Ras signaling. The Ras GTPase activity can be further accelerated by its interactions with GTPase-activating proteins (GAPs), including the neurofibromin tumor suppressor.
Mutant Ras has a reduced GTPase activity, which prolongs its activated conformation, thereby promoting Ras-dependent signaling and cancer cell survival or growth. Mutation in Ras which affects its ability to interact with GAP or to convert GTP back to GDP will result in a prolonged activation of the protein and consequently a prolonged signal to the cell telling it to continue to grow and divide. Because these signals result in cell growth and division, overactive RAS signaling may ultimately lead to cancer. Mutations in any one of the three main isoforms of RAS (H-Ras, N-Ras, or K-Ras) genes are common events in human tumorigenesis. Among the three Ras isoforms (K, N, and H), K-Ras is most frequently mutated.
The most common K-Ras mutations are found at residue G12 and G13 in the P-loop and at residue Q61. G12C is a frequent mutation of K-Ras gene (glycine-12 to cysteine). G12D and G13D are other frequent mutations. Mutations of Ras in cancer are associated with poor prognosis. Inactivation of oncogenic Ras in mice results in tumor shrinkage. Thus, Ras is widely considered an oncology target of exceptional importance.


A cooling fan of the present invention includes: a bottomed cylindrical boss portion; and a plurality of blades provided on an outer circumferential surface of the boss portion, the blades radiating in a radial direction, in which a ring member for connecting the blades with each other is provided on a side radially inner from tips of the blades. According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a cooling fan capable of preventing the worsening of the noise characteristic and also of enhancing the versatility even if the blades are made thinner.

Conventionally, cooling fans for use in an automobile radiator and the like are often axial fans and diagonal fans. The cooling fans of these types are made of: a bottomed cylindrical boss portion that is rotated by a drive source such as an engine or an electric motor; and a plurality of blades provided on an outer circumferential surface of the boss portion, the blades radiating in a radial direction.
By the way, there is known a cooling fan in which the tips of the blades are connected with each other by means of an annular ring member, to thereby improve the strength of the blades. In such a cooling fan with a ring member provided on the tips of the blades, the blades become heavy. Therefore, the blades are made thinner, to thereby make the blades lighter (for example, see Patent Document 1).
Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication, First Publication No. 2004-218513
However, in the aforementioned conventional technique, since the blades are made thinner, when the cooling fan is rotated, the thinned blades flap. This poses a problem of worsening the noise characteristic.
In addition, with a ring member provided on the tips of the blades, the cooling fan has a large diameter, which results in the requirement of a dedicated shroud. This poses a problem in which the versatility of the cooling fan is decreased.


A hydrogen purification process is provided. This process includes separating hydrogen from a hydrogen containing stream in at least two sequential palladium membrane purification zones, wherein each purification zone has a permeate side, wherein the permeate side pressure of purification zones are not the same.

Hydrogen is very important feedstock for many chemical and petrochemical processes. It is commonly produced using Steam Methane Reforming, Partial Oxidation, Auto thermal Reforming, and Gasification etc. Carbonaceous feedstock like natural gas, coal, biomass etc. along with oxidizing agent like steam or oxygen undergoes reforming reaction to produce synthesis gas (syngas). Syngas is a mixture of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, water and un-reacted methane. Reforming reaction is highly endothermic occurring at very high temperatures of 800-1300 C and high pressures of 20-80 bar. The reforming reaction can be catalytic or non-catalytic process. Excess steam is produced in the process of cooling down syngas and flue gas. The heat required for the highly endothermic reforming reaction is provided by combustion of the carbonaceous feedstock and carbon containing off-gas. The combustion process is associated with generating greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Syngas from reformer is further sent to water gas shift reactor to produce additional hydrogen from carbon monoxide. Water gas shift reaction produce additional carbon dioxide during the reaction. Syngas rich in hydrogen from water gas shift is further purified in a Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) process to produce pure hydrogen and PSA off-gas which is further used as fuel. Hydrogen production is associated with large amounts of carbon dioxide emissions. With current advancement in greenhouse gas regulations, research is underway to capture carbon dioxide from conventional hydrogen plants or reduce emissions from hydrogen plants.
Methane can be converted to hydrogen using conventional hydrogen production methods at equilibrium conditions. However, very high temperatures >900° C. and low pressures <30 bar are needed in order to achieve high methane conversions >85%. In order to provide high temperatures required for the reaction the amount of fuel consumed is very high emitting large amounts of carbon dioxide. The use of membrane reactor includes reaction and separation in the same unit allowing methane conversion higher than equilibrium conversion rate at much lower temperatures.
Membrane reactors have been used beneficially to produce hydrogen with higher methane conversion at low temperatures and simultaneously produce carbon dioxide rich stream on the retentate side with ease of CO2 capture. Membranes addition inside the reactor enables the reforming and water gas shift reaction to proceed at rates higher than equilibrium. However, one of the main disadvantages of using membrane reactors is hydrogen production at low pressure <3 bar. The cost associated with compressing hydrogen product is very high and increases the overall cost of membrane reactor.

Staged membrane process for high pressure hydrogen production

L'Air Liquide Société Anonyme Pour LÉtude Et L'Exploitation Des Procedes Georges Claude


A sensorless position measurement method may be used to determine the position of a solenoid-based actuator which controls some substance. The sensorless position measurement method of the present invention eliminates the need for a dedicated sensor in the actuator device, as well as the associated electrical connections between this sensor and the system controller.

The present invention generally relates to position measurement of an actuation device and, more specifically, to methods and apparatus for sensorless position measurement of an actuation device using inductance variation.
There is a broad range of solenoid-based actuation devices used in the aerospace industry. The prime purpose of these devices is either to deliver motion or to use the mechanical stroke for controlling secondary electric, gas or fluid substances. The motion results from energizing the coil of the solenoid with current. One class of these devices has the relatively simple task associated with only two end positions. Other devices have to maintain accurate position at any point between the end positions. Regardless of the system implementation in most of the cases, the actual position of the actuation device is required to be known and fed back to the controller. In many applications, this information is vital to proper system operation. Furthermore, the knowledge of the position is often a matter of safety concerns.
There are numerous applications in which the exact position of an actuation device is required for control or protection. Conventional measurement methods use position-sensing devices that have different levels of complexity and cost. These conventional devices require additional hardware, such as interface cables for signal transfer to the controller and supply lines for sensor excitation. Additional signal condition and interface connectors are also required. This additional hardware increases the cost of the systems, reduces reliability and limits the applicability of these devices due to environmental constraints on the sensors.
There are a broad range of solenoid-based actuation devices. Linear actuators are used for linear positioning or transfer of linear force. Rotary actuators are used for rotary positioning or transfer of force. Contactors are used for control and protection purposes of high-power electric substances. Relays are used for control and protection of low-power electric substances. Valves are used for control and protection of gasses and fluids. Electromechanical brakes are used for many applications, including airplane brakes. Electromechanical clutches are devices used for mechanical engagement and disengagement of rotating shafts. The above list of solenoid-based actuation devices covers the commonly used devices.
Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a schematic diagram of a conventional control system for a solenoid-based actuation system 10 for positioning a controlled substance 26. The actuation system 10 includes a controller 12 and an actuation device 14. A solenoid 16 may be part of the actuation device 10 and may be controlled by a solenoid driver 18, such as a PWM converter, via a solenoid control feeder 28. Positional information may be measured by a position sensor 20 and transferred back to the controller 12 via a sensor cable 22. A sensor conditioner 24 may then condition the signal as necessary for processing by the controller 12. Sensor cable 22 may contain supply or excitation lines required for operation of the position sensor 20. The position sensor 20, the conditioner 24 and the interface hardware imposes a penalty on overall system cost, reliability and applicability of the actuation device for various applications that operate in a more challenging environment.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,583,434, issued to Moyers et al., discloses methods and apparatus for monitoring armature position in direct current solenoids. A special device and circuit are used in order to generate and introduce alternating current required for the measurement. Moreover, the method of the '434 patent uses sinusoidal measurements, thereby requiring two sensors to measure current and voltage. Furthermore, in order to get the desired data, complex calculations are required of the measured values.
As can be seen, there is a need for an improved position measurement method and apparatus for actuation devices. Furthermore, there is a need for an improved actuation device position measurement method and apparatus that eliminates the need for a dedicated sensor and the associated interfaces within the controller.

Sensorless position measurement method for solenoid-based actuation devices using inductance variation


Method for acquiring and evaluating geometry of a well includes deploying at least one grid of geophysical sensors, wherein the at least one grid of the sensors is deployed in a 2D or 3D configuration; acquiring an initial geophysical survey of geophysical parameters of the well; fracturing the well creating a fracture while simultaneously; injecting an electrically active proppant into the fracture, wherein the electrically active proppant is injected into the fracture during fracturing, after fracturing or during and after fracturing; continuously acquiring a geophysical survey of geophysical parameters of the well during the fracturing; and acquiring a final geophysical survey of geophysical parameters of the fracture upon completion of the fracturing.

Retrieving hydrocarbons from subterranean reservoirs is becoming more difficult, as existing reserves are depleted and production becomes more expensive. It has been estimated that mature fields account for up to 70% of the world's production or more. In order to increase production, reservoirs are often hydraulically fractured to stimulate production of hydrocarbons from the wellbore. Hydraulic fractures are created in subterranean formations by hydraulically injecting water or high viscosity fluid (also referred to as fracturing fluid) containing a proppant at a high flow rate into a wellbore and forcing the fracturing fluid against the formation strata by pressure. The formation strata or rock is forced to crack, creating or enlarging one or more fractures. The proppant subsequently prevents the fracture from closing completely and thus provides improved flow of recoverable fluid, i.e., oil, gas or water.
Because aging wells often produce from multiple intervals, some very thin, the ability to locate these stimulation treatments with pinpoint accuracy is a key to more effective remediation and increased ultimate recovery. Also in more "non-conventional" plays like the fractured shales, the quality and extent of the fracture job is paramount to the financial success of the well and the play. However, few methods exist for accurately visualizing fracture length, proppant penetration, and estimated flow in the new fracture are required in order to accurately assess production capabilities and the need for further remediation before production is initiated.
Numerous techniques exist for detecting the fracture geometry of a well using various imaging techniques. For example, Hocking et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,330,914, provides a method for monitoring a propagating vertical fracture in a formation by injecting conductive fracture fluid into the formation to initiate and propagate the fracture; energizing the fracture fluid via an electrical voltage while the fracture propagates; and measuring the inducted electromagnetic field parameters to judge about the fracture development and geometry. Further, McCarthy, et al., WO2007013883, provides introducing a target proppant; transmitting electromagnetic radiation from about 300 megahertz-100 gigahertz; and analyzing a reflected signal from the target particle to determine fracture geometry. Lastly, Nguyen et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,073,581, describes electro-conductive proppant compositions and related methods of obtaining data from a portion of a subterranean formation. These techniques focus on detecting data utilizing a series of geophones connected to conventional seismic equipment, which converts ground movement, i.e., displacement, into voltage.
Additionally, fractures can be monitored and approximately mapped three-dimensionally during the fracturing process by a micro-seismic technique. The micro-seismic technique detects sonic signatures from rocks cracking during the fracturing process. The setup of this technique is prohibitively expensive to do routinely, and the data that is generated tends to be relatively inaccurate due to high background noise. Further, the process can only be performed during the fracturing process and cannot be repeated thereafter.
Although these techniques yield useful information, its usefulness is limited to fracture locations near the wellbore and yields little if any useful information relating to the dimensions of the fracture as it extends into the formation. Therefore, a need exists for monitoring and mapping fractures as they extend away from the oil or gas well.

Electrical methods fracture detection via 4D techniques


Techniques are described for providing, in a gate driver circuit, a compensation current to compensate for parasitic displacement current induced during the rising edge of an output voltage at an output gate of the gate driver circuit. In one example, the techniques of the disclosure include activating, by a bridge driver circuit for a direct-current (DC) motor, a driver of the bridge driver circuit and measuring, by the bridge driver circuit, a parasitic current of the driver during a rise time of an output gate voltage of the driver. In response to the measured parasitic current, generating, by the bridge driver circuit, a compensation current; and outputting, by the bridge driver circuit and to the output gate of the of the driver, the compensation current.

A gate driver is a power amplifier that accepts a low-power input from a controller IC and produces a high-current drive input for the gate of a high-power transistor such as an Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) or power metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET). A gate driver typically includes a level shifter circuit in combination with an amplifier. A level shifter is an electrical component that converts digital signals from a low-side voltage domain to into a high-side voltage domain. The input signals are provided in reference to the low-side domain, while the output signals provided in reference to the high-side domain. Both the low-side and high-side are separate and electrically isolated from each other.
Gate drivers are typically used to drive inductive loads. For example, a motor bridge driver can be used to drive H-bridge or three-phase brushless direct current (DC) motors. One issue with current-controlled high-side gate drivers is that, in a motor driver application, the output current of the gate driver may be sensitive to rapidly changing common mode voltage transients. This sensitivity is caused by parasitic capacitance, especially the gate-drain capacitance of the driver's output transistors. Because of current consumption and settling time limitations, a typical current-controlled gate driver circuit cannot maintain a constant output current during a short common mode voltage rise time (e.g. 50 ns). As a result, a current dip (or at least a current reduction) occurs during the rising edge of the common mode voltage.

Gate-driver circuit with improved common-mode transient immunity


A receiver (100) for receiving a carrier signal to produce a recovered signal provides increased battery savings. The receiver (100) includes a detector (10) for detecting the absence of the carrier signal and a detector for detecting the presence of a valid coded squelch signal (87). The receiver (100)is placed in a first battery saver mode (41) having a duty cycle of a first ON time period and a first OFF time period, in response to the detected absence of the carrier signal. On the other hand, if the presence of the carrier signal is detected, without the presence of a valid coded squelch signal, the receiver (100) is placed in a second battery saver mode (42). The second battery saver mode has the same duty cycle as the first battery saver mode, but the second battery saver mode has longer ON and OFF time periods than the first time periods.

Battery saving circuits are used to minimize power consumption, or average current drained, by periodically, rather than continuously, supplying power to a receiver. Presently known circuits operating in radio receivers, search for the presence of an RF (radio frequency) carrier, as seen in waveform 21 of FIG. 2 during a clear channel operation. If a carrier is found, the receive or search time is extended, from 60 milliseconds to 300 milliseconds, to permit a further search for a valid coded squelch signal (CSS), as seen in waveform 22. Examples of coded squelch signals are the tone-coded squelch (TPL) and digital-coded squelch (DPL) in Motorola products. (TPL and DPL are both Motorola trademarks.) Coded voice transmissions enable the unsquelching (or unmuting of the speaker) of only the radios having a code matching (or validating) the received CSS signal to provide private conversations with selected users on the same RF channel.
Such coded squelch operated battery savers have a significant disadvantage in that every receiver within a system is switched ON longer to enable detection of the CSS, whenever any transmission of a carrier signal occurs, regardless of which individual receiver is intended to be reached. In addition, even if the correct CSS signal is not detected, the OFF period for these coded conventional squelch operated battery savers remains the same, at 60 milliseconds, as the OFF period during receiver sampling for the carrier signal. Since the ON time has increased while the OFF time is unchanged, the duty cycle proportionately decreases, from 1-to-1 (50%) to 5-to-1 (17%). Hence, when there is such co-channel activity, demonstrated by the presence of a carrier signal, with the wrong CSS signal detected, current saving is decreased because of the smaller duty cycle.

Receiver with constant battery saving duty cycle


A process and an assembly for simultaneously evaluating a plurality of catalysts is provided wherein the flow rate of a reactive fluid to each of a plurality of reactors is automatically adjusted based on the measured amount of catalyst sample in each reactor to concurrently obtain a substantially identical fluid space velocity in each of the reactors.

When formulating new catalysts, a large number of candidate catalyst compositions are typically synthesized. It then becomes important to evaluate the various candidate catalysts to determine and identify those formulations that are the most successful in catalyzing a particularly desired reaction under a selected set of reaction conditions. Activity and selectivity are two key characteristics of a catalyst that are commonly determinative of the success or desirability of the catalyst. The term "activity" commonly refers to the rate of conversion of reactants by a given amount of catalyst under specified conditions. The term "selectivity" commonly refers to the degree to which a given catalyst favors one reaction compared with other possible reactions. From the activity and selectivity values for a given catalyst, yields may be calculated. Thus, it is typically advantageous to evaluate or compare the performance of various catalyst materials based on the activity, selectivity and/or yield achieved with the various catalyst materials.
Traditionally, the activity, selectivity, and yield performance of a catalyst have been evaluated using a sequential approach. In such an approach, each catalyst sample or candidate is typically independently serially tested in a selected reactor at one or more sets of specified reaction conditions. In practice, suitable test reactors for particular applications may take various forms such as micro, pilot, bench-top and lab-scale reactors, for example. In most cases, such a test reactor is operated in a fixed bed mode. Alternatively, when the ultimate envisioned end use of a catalyst is in a fluidized bed application, catalyst samples may be tested using a test reactor operated in a fluidized bed mode. After completion of the tests at one or more sets of conditions, the tested catalyst sample is typically removed from the test reactor and the next catalyst sample is loaded into the respective reactor. The testing is then repeated on the freshly loaded catalyst sample. The process is repeated sequentially for each of the desired catalyst formulations. As will be appreciated, the application of such a process to the testing of numerous various catalyst formulations can be undesirably time-consuming.
Developments in combinatorial chemistry were at first largely concentrated on the synthesis of chemical compounds. Recently, combinatorial approaches have been applied to the testing of catalysts in an effort to expedite the catalyst evaluation process. The use of combinatorial approaches to catalyst evaluation has, however, been generally limited or restricted such as due to difficulties or an inability of ensuring the generation of a self-consistent combinatorial data set. In particular, combinatorial testing in which library members are evaluated at different space velocities typically results in data sets which are not self-consistent, e.g., performance differences may be at least in part attributable to differences in space velocities rather than to differences in the formulation of the various catalyst samples. For example, because a combinatorial approach commonly involves the loading of many samples for each run, the process of individually measuring out a specified weight for each sample can become extremely burdensome. Moreover, because combinatorial synthesis generally produces or results in a wide variety of materials such as may have widely varying properties, such as density, even reactors wherein materials have been loaded in a constant volume manner may contain significantly varying weights of material.
In view thereof, there is a need and a demand for procedural developments in combinatorial catalyst evaluation such as to better ensure self-consistent data sets such as by permitting or facilitating evaluation or comparison of each of multiple catalyst samples at a substantially identical space velocity. Further, there is a need and a demand for an assembly which facilitates and permits the generation of a self-consistent catalyst evaluation data set such as wherein each of multiple catalyst samples is concurrently evaluated at a substantially identical space velocity.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Process and assembly for simultaneously evaluating a plurality of catalysts


The present invention discloses a composition for promoting regeneration of hard tissues comprising an extract of Cortex Eucommiae. It can be applied to prevent and treat hard tissue disorders such as osteoporosis and periodontal disease followed by alveolar bone destruction. It can also be used to stimulate growth of children.

Hard tissues in humans are largely classified as bones and teeth. The representative diseases caused by hard tissue disorders are osteoporosis and periodontal diseases. Bones are essential for locomotion and play an important role in calcium metabolism. With age, incidences of bone fracture, osteoporosis, and severe periodontal disease accompanied by alveolar bone destruction increase significantly.
Teeth, as major components of the digestive system, are essential for mastication. Maintaining teeth in good condition is essential for satisfaction in eating and enjoying the taste of food, thereby especially increasing the quality of life for the elderly. Thus, the prevention and treatment of these aging-related diseases draw tremendous attention from societies with high percentages of elderly people.
Hard tissues undergo constant remodeling through bone formation (via osteoblast) and bone resorption (via osteoclast) and maintain homeostasis. Such metabolism is regulated by systemic hormones as well as local factors. When bone resorption rates surpass bone formation rates by a variety of factors and bone mass decreases below a critical level, bone-related diseases such as osteoporosis and periodontal disease occur.
As a biochemical index of osteoblast activity, alkaline phosphatase, Type 1 collagen, and osteocalcin are used clinically. Alkaline phosphatase is a initial index of osteoblast activity and starts to decrease as mineralization of matrix begins. Collagen is a bone matrix protein and represents approximately 90% of bone organic molecules (Schonau and Rauch, Horm. Res., 49 (suppl 5): 50-59, 1997). The majority of collagens is type 1 collagen made from a same gene present in the skin and type 5 collagen is present in a small quantity.
Collagen has a number of other functions other than as a structural protein. More specifically, it may (1) provide a place for mineral to precipitate, (2) be involved in the growth and differentiation of osteoblast, and/or (3) play an important role in mineralization and bone remodeling. Hydroxyproline represents approximately 14% of collagen contents and this formulation is relatively constant. Moreover, osteocalcin is a calcium binding protein which is expressed during the mineralization of matrix and is typically used as an index of osteoblast activity in its later stages.
In the osteoblast cells, ERK2 (Extracellular signal-regulated kinase 2) is induced by bone-active agents such as PDGF-BB, EGF, Insulin, IGF-1, Phorbol ester, and Estrogen. ERK is known to play an important role in the growth of osteoblast cells (Hipskind, B. A., Bilbe, G., Frontiers in Bioscience, 3, d804-816, 1998).
Cortex Eucommiae is the dried stem bark of Eucommia ulmoides Oliv. Its known components are mainly lignans and iridoids. In addition, erythro-/threoguaiacylglycerol, ulmoprenol, nonacosane, β-sitosterol, betulin, betulinic acid, ursolic acid and vanillic acid are also present as its components. It is known to have a variety of actions such as hypotensive, anti-hyperlipidemic, sedative and analgesic, anti-inflammatory, reticular phagocytic and diuretic effects (Chinese Materia Medica 1998). Extracts of Cortex Eucommiae are known to be very safe since their oral administrations of 15-25 g/kg to mouses did not cause death. However, their actions in the bone cells are not yet determined.

Composition for promoting regeneration of hard tissues comprising an extract of cortex eucommiae


An adder-subtractor includes a first XOR circuit that inverts or non-inverts data from a second input line; first and second operand registers that hold outputs of first and second input selector; a result register that holds the operation result in response to the clock; and an adder that outputs an operation result of first and second input data in the first and second operand registers to the result register and also to inputs of the first and second input selectors via the first bypass line. The adder includes a second XOR circuit for the first and second input data, a carry calculation unit that calculates carry data of the first and second input data, a fourth XOR circuit that inverts or not an output of the second XOR circuit, and a third XOR circuit for outputs of the carry calculation unit and outputs the operation result.

An arithmetic unit has two operand registers that latch input data, a result register that latches operation result data, and an arithmetic circuit provided between the operand registers and the result register. In addition, the arithmetic unit has a plurality of the arithmetic circuits disposed in parallel with each other between the operand registers and the result register, and selects the operation result data of the plurality of the arithmetic circuits using a selector; then, the selected operation result data is latched by the result register. Further, the arithmetic unit has a bypass route that supplies the data latched by the result register, to the operand register. A subsequent operation is executed within a shorter time period in the case where the operand register directly latches the operation result data by using the bypass route, as compared to the case where: the operation result data of the result register is written in a register file; the operand register then latches the data written in the register file; and the arithmetic circuit performs the operation.
An adder-subtractor, which is a type of arithmetic unit, has a first XOR circuit (XOR: Exclusive OR) and an adder between operand registers and a result register, the first XOR circuit inverting or non-inverting input data of one of the operand registers. The first XOR circuit inverts the input data in the case where the adder-subtractor executes subtraction, and does not invert the input data in the case where the adder-subtractor executes addition. The adder has a second XOR circuit that performs an XOR operation of the input data of the operand registers, a carry calculation unit that generates carry data from input data, and a third XOR circuit that performs the XOR operation of the output of the second XOR circuit and the output of the carry calculation unit. In addition, the adder-subtractor has a result register that latches the output of the third XOR circuit and a first bypass route that transfers the output of the third XOR circuit to the operand registers.
An adder is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2000-89937. And, an adder-subtractor is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,313,586B2.
In the adder-subtractor, a delay time from the operand registers to the output of the third XOR circuit corresponds to the limit of a clock cycle (shortest cycle) that is supplied to the operand registers and the result register. That is, a critical path that determines the limit of the clock cycle is a path from the operand registers to the third XOR circuit in the arithmetic circuit.
It has in the prior art been proposed to improve the critical path of the adder-subtractor so as to reduce the delay time described above. For example, such a proposal is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,313,586B2 described below. This adder-subtractor has the first XOR circuit provided at a stage previous to the operand registers, has, in a second bypass route, a fourth XOR circuit that inverts or non-inverts the output of the second XOR circuit and an additional third XOR circuit that performs the XOR operation of the output of the fourth XOR circuit and the carry output, and supplies the output of the additional third XOR circuit to the operand register via the second bypass route.

Adder-subtractor and control method thereof


A test apparatus for a power supply unit is provided, which includes a body unit configured to define a space to receive a light emitting diode (LED) and to provide a test environment to test a supply state of power applied to the LED; and a test unit mounted in the body unit to face the LED and configured to detect flicker of the LED occurring when a power supply is abnormal. According to the foregoing structure, power supply with respect to the LED may be regularly detected and analyzed, thereby increasing quality of power supply with respect to the LED.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a test apparatus for a power supply unit, the test apparatus for testing quality of a light emitting diode (LED), and more particularly, to a test apparatus for a power supply unit, capable of testing a power supply state of the power supply unit through a flicker of an LED.
2. Description of the Related Art
A light emitting diode (LED) refers to a light source that emits light by converting electrical energy to optical energy. The LED exhibits a high response rate and low power consumption. Moreover, the LED has a long lifespan and therefore is environmental-friendly. Accordingly, the LED is widely applied to various fields such as a backlight source of a display device or a light source of lighting.
The LED emits light by being supplied with power through a predetermined power supply unit. When power supplied by the power supply unit is unstable, the light emitted from the LED may flicker as an indicator of a malfunction. That is, a flicker of the LED occurs when a current waveform of the power supplied to the LED is imbalanced.
Generally, a flicker showing a power supply state of a manufactured LED is checked by naked eyes of an operator. However, when the flicker is inspected by an operator, it is difficult to obtain objective data due to individual differences among operators. Accordingly, there is a desire for a method of accurately detecting the flicker of the LED so as to increase a quality of a power supply with respect to the LED.

Apparatus for testing power supply units based on light emitting diode flickers


Methods for achieving suppression of blood pool signal to image contrast-enhanced organs and vascular walls using magnetic resonance (MR) imaging technology. MRI data is then acquired with phase sensitive reconstruction so that blood pool signal is suppressed compared with the tissues of interest.

In Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), contrast agents are often used to improve depiction of diseased from normal tissue. For instance, contrast agents may improve the sensitivity of MRI to identify myocardial infarction, stroke, tumors, atherosclerosis, tissue necrosis, and other diseased states. However, contrast agents may also increase blood pool signal. This may confound detection of abnormal tissue adjacent to blood. One example of this problem is in the setting of a myocardial infarction. Contrast-enhanced MRI is very useful in detecting myocardial infarction, and allows delineation of infarcted from non-infarcted regions by virtue of the fact that infarcted regions accumulate contrast media to a greater degree (see, e.g., Kim R. J. et al. (1999) Circulation 100:1992-2002). Thus, on a T1-weighted MRI image after administration of a contrast agent with high R1 relaxivity, infarcted myocardium is usually bright (high image intensity) compared with non-infarcted myocardium. Unfortunately, the administration of contrast media also leads to high levels of contrast in the blood, and often it is difficult to delineate the border of infarcted myocardium from the blood in the heart chamber cavity. This may render the infarct undetectable, if small, or at a minimum make it difficult to accurately size the infarct. Another example is in the setting of vascular disease. Differences in contrast uptake within separate components of an atherosclerotic plaque is important to identify but may be difficult to detect since the blood within the lumen is immediately adjacent. These examples concern the cardiovascular system, however, the present disclosure may improve the depiction of diseased tissue from any organ system by suppressing blood pool signal.
Traditional "black-blood" MRI techniques have been in clinical use for several years, and are valued parts of the MRI armamentarium (see, e.g., Edelman, R. R. et al. (1991) Radiology 181:655-660; Simonetti, O. P. et al. (1996) Radiology 199:49-57). Moreover, these techniques have been improved to increase efficiency (see, e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,498,946 and 7,315,756). However, these techniques were not designed to image with the use of contrast media and the pulse sequence timing is usually based on the T1 of native blood without contrast media. Thus, these techniques were not intended to provide contrast-enhanced images of tissues, and not surprisingly, work poorly after the administration of contrast.
More recently, there have been several attempts to perform contrast-enhanced MRI with the suppression of blood pool signal. These include: (1) an MRI method and apparatus to improve myocardial infarction detection with blood pool signal suppression where the pulse sequence involves the use of a "notched" inversion RF pulse (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,526,307); (2) an MRI method to improve imaging of atherosclerotic plaque with suppression of blood signal where the pulse sequence employs a quadruple inversion-recovery (QIR) preparative pulse (see, e.g., Yarnykh, V. L. et al. (2002) Magn. Reson. Med. 48:899-905); (3) techniques for black-blood imaging of myocardial infarction (see, e.g., Rehwald, W. G. et al. (2007) Proc. Intl. Soc. Magn. Reson. Med. and Salerno, M. et al. (2007) Proc. Intl. Soc. Magn. Reson. Med; see also US 20090005673); and (4) MRI methods for black-blood delayed enhancement of myocardial imaging where the pulse sequence involves a stimulated-echo acquisition mode (STEAM) (see, e.g., Ibrahim, el S. H. et al. (2008) J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 27:229-238).
Of the above-enumerated methods, nos. 1-3 work by affecting the longitudinal magnetization of blood in regions outside of the imaged slice in a manner such that at the time when MR data is acquired, signal from blood outside of the imaged slice that flows into the specific region-of-interest is suppressed. Method 4 works in a different manner and behaves similar to spin-echo imaging with respect to blood flow. Irrespective of the specific mechanism, all of these methods are dependent on the speed of blood flow, and blood may be mistaken as part of the anatomy.
There have also been attempts to perform contrast-enhanced MRI with improved contrast between tissue and blood pool and yet in a manner that is independent of blood flow velocity. For example, Kellman et al. describe a multi-contrast MRI technique to improve contrast between myocardial infarction and blood pool by acquiring two separate images: a T2-weighted and a T1-weighted image (see, e.g., Kellman, P. et al. (2005) J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 22:605-613). Liu et al. describe a technique that is similar to that described by Kellman et al., but combines the weighting of T2 and T1 in a single image (see, e.g., Liu et al. (2008) J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 28: 1280-1286). Moreover, Foo et al. describe a dual inversion time subtraction method which utilizes two acquisitions at a long and short inversion time to improve delineation between the endocardial borders of an infarct from the ventricular blood pool (see, e.g., Liu, C. Y. et al. supra).
Although contrast between tissue and blood pool may be improved by some of the methods described in the paragraph above, the level of blood suppression may be minimal, and none of these methods are considered black-blood techniques. Specifically, these methods may result in images in which the signal of blood pool is higher than that of normal myocardium.

Blood signal suppressed contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging