The design method of the optical system according to the present invention comprises a step (S1) for setting an optical parameter in a design state in which a production error has not been taken into consideration, a step (S2) for making/renewing a production state where an optical parameter in a production state is made by adding the production error to the optical parameter in the design state, or the production error of the optical parameter in an existing production state is renewed, a step (S3) for making an evaluation function which makes the evaluation function and a step (S4) for performing optimization which determines an optimal optical parameter by optimizing the evaluation function.

Conventionally, as a design method of an optical system, the steepest descent method, the conjugate gradient method, the least-squares method, etc. have been used. Each of these methods is called an optimization technique, and an evaluation function having two or more variables is used.
When these optimization techniques are used for a design of an optical system, what is equivalent to a variable of an evaluation function is an evaluation parameter (or an evaluation criteria), for example, such as aberrations and the like. This evaluation parameter is computed based on the value of the optical parameter (or composition) of optical systems, such as a radius of curvature of an optical action surface, a surface interval, and a refractive index. Therefore, if a value of the optical parameter of an optical system is changed, a value of an evaluation parameter changes, and change of the value of an evaluation parameter changes a value of an evaluation function.
Then, by changing gradually a value of an optical parameter of an optical system, processing for calculating the optimal value (for example, the minimum value and the minimal value) of an evaluation function is carried out.
Thus, when an optimal value of an evaluation function is obtained, an optical system having the optimal combination of a value of each optical parameter of the optical system at that time will be expressed. As a result, a value of an optical parameter of the optical system nearest to an intention of a designer is obtained. In addition, in case that an optimal value of an evaluation function is calculated, processing which an evaluation parameter also brings close to desired targeted value simultaneously is carried out.
In this way, in a design of an optical system, an optical parameter of the optical system that an evaluation function serves as the optimal value, and an evaluation parameter reaches in target tolerance level is determined.
For example, in order to reduce change of performance of an optical system by a production error adding some correction to a design value, and applying a limitation to the number of variables for optimization, etc. have been made. Such correction and limitation are carried out by a designer's own handwork. This handwork is carried out based on know-how and the like such as a design value obtained by computer, knowledge and experience of thea designer.
However, in recent years new design methods of an optical system have been proposed by, for example, Japanese published unexamined patent application Toku Kai Hei 11-30746, Japanese published unexamined patent application Toku Kai Hei 11-223764, Japanese published unexamined patent application Toku Kai Hei 11-223769, Patent No. 3006611, Japanese published unexamined patent application Toku Kai 2002-267926,etc.


A simulating electronic candle, includes a first light body and a second light body, wherein the first light body and the second light body are light-guiding bodies or light-emitting bodies, and a surface portion of the second light body is provided with a light-blocking body; and there is a preset angle between the first light body and the second light body, so that light from the first light body and light from the second light body cooperate with each other to produce an effect of a real flame being divided into three layers. With this simulating electronic candle, it is possible to simulate a situation when a real flame is burning.

The existing candles are mainly ignition-burning candles with low cost, but there are potential safety hazards in use, and they are not environmentally friendly.
Electronic candles have the advantages of being environmentally friendly, energy-saving, safe, and convenient, so they are being liked by more and more people.
The inventor of the present application has found, in a long-term study, that a flame of an ignition-burning candle is generally divided into three layers when burning, which are respectively a flame core, an inner flame and an outer flame, while the electronic candle cannot make this possible, so that the simulation effect is not strong.

Nantong Ya Tai Candle Arts & Crafts Co., Ltd.


The present invention relates to a semiconductor package, comprising a carrier, a semiconductor device, a first wire and a second wire. The carrier has a first electrically connecting portion and a second electrically connecting portion. The semiconductor device has a plurality of pads. The first wire electrically connects one of the pads of the semiconductor device and the first electrically connecting portion of the carrier, and the first wire has a first length. The second wire electrically connects one of the pads of the semiconductor device and the second electrically connecting portion of the carrier, and the second wire has a second length. The second length is larger than the first length, and the diameter of the second wire is larger than that of the first wire. Thus, the material usage for the wire is reduced, and the manufacturing cost is reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor package, and more particularly to a semiconductor package having wires with different diameters.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 shows a top view of a conventional semiconductor package without a molding compound. FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the conventional semiconductor package. The conventional semiconductor package 1 comprises a substrate 11, a die 12, a plurality of wires 13 and a molding compound 14.
The upper surface of the substrate 11 has a plurality of fingers 111, a ground ring 112 and a power ring 113. The fingers 111, the ground ring 112 and the power ring 113 surround the die 12. The lower surface of the die 12 is adhered to the upper surface of the substrate 11 by an adhesive 15. The upper surface of the die 12 has a plurality of first-row pads 121 and a plurality of second-row pads 122. The first-row pads 121 are connected to the ground ring 112 or the power ring 113 via the wires 13. The second-row pads 122 are connected to the fingers 111 via the wires 13. The molding compound 14 encapsulates the upper surface of the substrate 11, the die 12 and the wires 13.
The conventional semiconductor package 1 has the following disadvantages. The diameters of the wires 13 are the same, causing a waste of material. In particular, the material of the conventional wires is almost always gold, and this increases the manufacturing cost. Moreover, the sizes of the first-row pads 121 and the second-row pads 122 are the same, and so the amount of the pads cannot increase, and the semiconductor device has less flexibility in layout.
Therefore, it is necessary to provide an innovative and advanced semiconductor package to solve the above problems.

Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Inc.


The invention relates to an implantable blood filter comprising a self-expanding external structure made from a zigzagged thread wound on itself in order to exhibit a closed configuration. A central strainer section is connected to the said thread at various points for the retention of possible blood clots. This strainer section may be made from a biologically absorbable material. Applications include the production of medical blood filters, which are self-centering and absorbable.

In general, these filters are in the shape of a small frustoconical basket which is attached to the inside of the vessel in which it is implanted, downstream of the course which it is desired to filter; this is in general the vena cava arriving at the heart.
It is thus possible to stop, before they enter the heart, possible blood clots which can form and risk causing in particular embolisms.
One difficulty characteristic to this type of operation consists in positioning the filter correctly. In general, in order to introduce such a filter into the vessel, it is pushed therein by means of a tube which passes through the said vessel and whose diameter is less than that of the latter. When the filter reaches the end of the introduction tube, it is then released into the vessel and the expansion of its feet, which are often fitted with hooks, anchors it.
Such a "release" is in practice very tricky to control, and it has been shown in numerous cases that the basket filter in fact occupied, inside the vessel, a position other than the most favourable position with its axis substantially parallel to the axis of the vessel.
The invention which is the subject of Patent EP-A-188,927 provided a first solution to this centering problem, by providing for the feet of the filter to be provided, towards their free end, with appendages oriented substantially parallel to the cylindrical wall generated by a generator line parallel to the axis of the conical corolla of the filter.
Obviously, since the invention of this filter, research has continued.
During this research, it has in particular been shown that it could be advantageous to be able, in certain cases and if necessary, to make at least the actually filtering part of the filter (that is to say its part extending as far as the centre of the vessel) absorbable, while possibly keeping the most external part for attachment to the vessel unabsorbable, while still ensuring the best possible centering of the filter.
Known filters in the shape of a frustoconical basket have been shown to exhibit certain drawbacks linked in particular with the fact that if it was desired to make the central filtering part absorbable, the peripheral parts used for attachment risked becoming, after absorption of this central part, mutually disconnected, with, as a consequence, significant risks of detachment, with the obvious problems.


A releasable corner structure for a heddle frame includes a projection carried by a side support, wherein the projection is received in a hollow space of a frame stave and is clamped in position by a clamping screw. The clamped projection is in the form of a flat body formed in one piece with the side support, and defines an outer frame having an opening within which flexible vibration dampers are positioned to lie between the outer frame of the projection and a metallic member that fits within and is spaced from the sides of the frame opening. The metallic member is riveted to a U-shaped sheet-metal casing that is adapted to surround the outer frame with a slight clearance space. Into the open top of the U-shaped sheet metal casing is riveted a rigid ledge member, against which the clamping screw acts. The side support projection is received within the frame stave and is separated therefrom by the vibration dampers, and therefore vibrations between the side support and the frame stave are damped and heddle frame breakage is prevented, especially when the machine in which the heddle frame is installed is operated at high speeds.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a heddle frame with detachable edge connections between the side supports and the frame staves consisting of hollow profiles, where at each edge joint a projection formed at the side support engages peg-like into a hollow space thereof and is clamped down by means of a screw.
2. Description of the Related Art
As is generally known, preferably light metal is nowadays used due to weight reasons, for the production of heddle frames. Such light metal, however, has the property that the alternating bending strength of this material, drawn as curve over the number of load changes, decreases continuously, unlike the case with steel after having reached a certain limit value. In the of light metal, due to the continuously dropping curve, a rupture of the material due to higher loading can happen at any time. The higher loading is caused to technical improvements that results in continuously increased speed of the weaving machines, in which the heddle frames are moved upwards and downwards. As a consequence load changes are produced on the heddle frames. At the current speeds of over 1000 movements per minute it is possible that ruptures can occur at the side supports, specifically below the peg-like projection that extends from a heddle frame side support.

Heddle frame with detachable edge connections


The present invention relates to a method for improving an organism through the profiling of flux sum of metabolites, and more particularly to a method for screening key metabolites, the method comprises: plotting a profile between objective functions based on useful substance formation rate as a main function through an algorithm perturbing other functions influencing the production of useful substance; determining the utilization (flux sum (Φ)) of all metabolites from the profile; and screening key metabolites, which show an increase in flux sum (Φ) with an increase in useful substance formation rate. The present invention also relates to a method for improving an organism producing a useful substance, the method comprises introducing and/or amplifying genes associated with the screened key metabolites or introducing the genes from the outside into the organism. According to the disclosed invention, the metabolic utilization (flux sum; Φ) of specific metabolites according to an increase in useful substance formation rate can be predicted, so that key metabolites in increasing the production of a useful substance can be screened. Also, it is possible to increase the production of a useful substance through the method of improving a target organism by introducing and/or amplifying genes associated with the screened metabolites or through the method of supplying the metabolites during the culture of the organism.

There have been many efforts to alter the metabolic characteristics of cells or strains in the desired direction by introducing new metabolic pathways or deleting, amplifying or modifying the existing metabolic pathways using molecular biological technology related to genetic recombination technology. With the aid of bioinformatics, which has been newly developed and increasingly used, the construction of each metabolic network model became possible, and thus it became possible to improve organisms to have various characteristics, including the overproduction of existing metabolites, the production of novel metabolites, inhibition of production of unfavorable metabolites, utilization of various substrates, degradation of non-biodegradable compounds.
However, currently, improvement of strains is performed mainly by methods, such as the over-expression of one or two enzymes or the introduction or deletion of simple metabolic pathways, but in many cases, the results was not as good as desired. In addition, metabolically improved strains can hardly be used in the production of substances that require changes in complex metabolic fluxes. It is known that one reason is because strains themselves generally tend to grow rather than to produce desired useful substances. Specifically, because strains have evolved that they would synthesize substances required for the growth of the strains themselves in the most optimized way, efforts to produce specific useful substances inevitably compete with these strains having a tendency to grow.
Another reason why the theoretical yield is not achieved is that complex metabolic pathways could not be correctly understood. Specifically, genetic recombination technology for the manipulation of metabolic pathways and the introduction of metabolic pathways has been significantly developed, whereas techniques for analysis and prediction through metabolic pathways have just recently showed the possibility with rapidly increasing genomic information. In particular, the metabolic pathway model of each of microorganisms is combined with mathematical models and optimization technology, and thus it is becoming possible to predict metabolic pathway reactions occurring after the deletion or addition of genes (Lee et al., Trends Biotechnol., 23:349, 2005).
It is known that metabolic flux analysis techniques show the ideal metabolic fluxes of cells and allow exact simulation and prediction of the behavior of cells, even though they do not require dynamic information (Papin, J. et al., Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, 6:99, 2005). Metabolic flux analysis aims to determine an ideal metabolic flux space that cells can reach using only mass balance of biochemical reactions and information on cell composition, and to maximize or minimize specific objective functions through an optimization method (e.g., the maximization of biomass formation rate or the minimization of metabolic regulation by specific perturbation). In addition, metabolic flux analysis can be generally used to calculate the maximum production yield of the desired metabolite through strain improvement and the determined value can be used to understand the characteristics of metabolic pathways in strains. Also, various studies, which utilize the metabolic flux analysis technique to predict metabolic flux changes occurring after the deletion or addition of genes, have been reported.
In view of this, there is an urgent need to develop a method, which can explain the complex metabolism of microorganisms using the metabolic flux analysis technique from an overall point of view other than strain manipulation that uses partial metabolic information, which can provide an understanding of the effects of manipulation of a specific gene on the overall metabolic flux, and which can scientifically test and accurately predict the optimal microbial metabolic fluxes required for the mass production of target useful substances.
Accordingly, the present inventors have made many efforts to find a method for efficiently increasing the production of target useful substances, and as a result, found that specific key metabolites involved in the production of the useful substances can be identified by plotting a profile of an objective function through an algorithm that perturbs functions involved in the formation rate and production of the useful substances, determining the utilization (defined as flux sum (Φ)) of each metabolite from the profile, and screening key metabolites, from the profile. The key metabolites that show an increase in flux sum (Φ) value according to an increase in the formation rate of the useful substances, thereby complete the present invention.

Method of improvement of organisms using profiling the flux sum of metabolites

Korea Advanced Institute of Sciecnce and Technology


A submerged combustion melting system (90) includes a submerged combustion melter (100) having a housing with one or more side walls (104), a floor (106), and a ceiling (108) which at least partially define a melt chamber (110). The melter has one or more main burners (128) positioned along the floor of the housing and an oxygen/gas burner in a preheat burner system (300) removably attached to one of the sidewalls or the ceiling, the oxygen/gas burner arranged such that a flame from the oxygen/gas burner is directed downward into the melt chamber.

In the manufacture of continuous glass filaments, batch is loaded into a melter to create a glass composition. The batch is melted in a furnace and the glass flows through a refining process to one or more bushings in a filament forming apparatus. Typically, each bushing includes many nozzles or tips through which streams of molten glass flow. The quenched glass streams are mechanically pulled from the nozzles by a winding apparatus to form continuous glass filaments.
Regarding the melter portion of this process, a conventional melter is constructed as a large single tank. The environment within the melter is maintained to be relatively calm, especially during a controlled start-up. The melter takes a relatively long time to set-up and then bring to an operating temperature. For operation efficiency, the cycle of each type of glass composition is relatively long. Any undesired or unexpected stoppage in the process can be extremely expensive, as large amounts of glass material may be wasted. Further, an unexpected stoppage can also be dangerous since the process involves extreme heat, molten glass and combustible gases in a confined space.
Various new melter designs have been developed to overcome the negative qualities of a conventional melter. One type of new design is a submerged combustion melter. The heat sources for this type of melter are positioned within and at the bottom of the furnace, that is to say, in a submerged position below the pool of molten glass. In this submerged position, the environment within the melter is much more intense and violent than a conventional melter. The time to bring the melter to an operating temperature is much shorter than a conventional melter. For example, the melt and refine process time associated with a submerged combustion melter may be less than 4 hours.
One advantage of the submerged combustion melter is the ability of the operator to start and stop the melting process as needed. As such, the glass composition can be changed more readily, and the operator can respond to unexpected problems downstream in a much more prompt and inexpensive manner. Starting and stopping the melting process, however, requires a controlled start-up, including a preheating cycle, every time the melter is restarted.

Glass melter with oxygen/gas heat-up burner system


A percutaneous delivery system with a high degree of flexibility is provided. In one embodiment, the system includes a catheter having a portion comprising multiple segments, linked in series by at least one connecting wire. Joints between the multiple segments provide a high degree of flexibility. In some embodiments, only a distal portion is made up of segments. In other embodiments, the whole length of the catheter is made up of segments. Manipulation of the at least one connecting wire enables manipulation of the segments to flex a portion of the catheter. In one aspect, the invention provides a delivery system that reduces the impact of the delivery system on the final release position of the implant delivered. The delivery system can be used to deploy and/or retrieve implantable medical devices, for example, patent foramen ovale (PFO) occluder.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to catheter systems for delivery and/or retrieval of medical devices.
2. Description of Related Art
In many minimally invasive medical procedures, an introducer sheath or catheter is inserted in a blood vessel to gain access to a site within a patient's body for a diagnostic or therapeutic procedure, and used to deliver medical devices, including medical implants. Medical technology has produced a number of medical devices which are designed to be compressed into a first configuration, such as through a small diameter tube or catheter, in order to facilitate introduction through the vascular system, and to subsequently expand into an expanded configuration at a desired site in the body. For example, such devices can be intended to occlude defects or holes in the heart, such as intracardiac occluders, or to contact the walls of a passageway or blood vessel, in the case of vena cava filter or stents.
Among these devices, intracardiac occluders present special challenges for a delivery system. First, the occluder must be very carefully and precisely deployed at the treatment site to assure proper closure. Second, the tortuous anatomy of the cardiovascular system necessitates a delivery system capable of traversing the small radii of curvature of the vasculature and the confines of the heart chamber for delivery of the occluder to the deployment site.
Numerous systems for percutaneous catheter delivery of medical devices have been devised over the years in order to assist physicians in delivering and positioning medical devices within the human body in a minimally invasive manner. A common problem with many of these percutaneous delivery systems is that they can often adversely and unpredictably affect the position of the device upon deployment. For example, the released position of a medical implant may be different from its final position while still attached to the delivery system. In such case, the physician is forced to estimate the effect of this difference, compensate for this effect in positioning the implant, and take such effect into consideration when assessing final implant position prior to its release. Additionally, the movement of the implant that occurs following release from its delivery system can be unpredictable. Thus, the resulting improper positioning of such an implant can lead to unfavorable outcomes, such as a residual leak in the case of intracardiac occluders, or, in some extreme case, embolization of the implant.


A computer-readable media may store instructions for receiving text-based technical computing code from a first technical computing environment running on a remote computer, where the first technical computing environment includes a set of functions. The media may store instructions for processing data captured using an instrument, where the data is processed using the received technical computing code in a second technical computing environment that includes a subset of the functions, where the captured data processed in non-real-time, and where the processing produces a result. The media may store instructions for translating the technical computing code from a first format compatible with the second technical computing environment into a second format adapted for parallel execution by a field programmable gate array (FPGA), the translating performed by a code generator when the result is satisfactory. The media may store instructions for processing input data in real-time using the FPGA.

In certain technical disciplines, such as engineering, instruments may be used to acquire and process data. For example, an engineer may be designing a system to minimize vehicle vibrations. The engineer may need to acquire and analyze vibration measurement data from sensors attached to a chassis of a vehicle in order to validate his design. For example, the engineer may capture data from the sensors using an instrument, such as a spectrum analyzer or oscilloscope. The engineer may wish to process this data in real-time using algorithms that will be run in the vibration canceling system installed in the vehicle, since the vibration canceling system will need to operate in real-time when canceling vibrations in an operational vehicle.
The engineer may ask a software developer to design vibration cancelling algorithms in software. The software developer may determine that algorithms should be written in a non-real-time high level language that runs on desktop computers since the high level language is more intuitive for the software developer to use than low level real-time languages (e.g., assembly code). For example, the developer may prefer to write code for the algorithms using a high level language like C, C++, or Java.
After the algorithms are written, the software developer may wish to test the debugged algorithms using continuous, or real-time, data to determine whether the algorithms will work in a real-time application running in the vehicle. For example, the software developer may know that processing real-time data may realistically identify how a deployed vibration canceling system will operate in the vehicle.
The software developer may be unable to process real-time data on the desktop computer because the computer may not support real-time processing. For example, an operating system (e.g., Windows) on the computer may only handle 32-bit information and real-time processing may require, for example, 64-bit information because of the large number of samples needed for real-time processing of vibration data.
The software developer may need to get help from the engineer to test his algorithms in a real-time environment because the instrument operated by the engineer may be the only device that can process real-time vibration data. The software developer may ask the engineer to encode the algorithms developed in the high level language into a real-time portion of the instrument so that real-time vibration data can be processed using the developed algorithms.
Porting the developed algorithms into a real-time format for use in the instrument may require that the engineer manually translate the algorithms from the high level language to a lower level language, such as a hardware description language (HDL), that runs in the real-time portion of the instrument. The engineer may need to hand code the HDL implementation of the algorithms into the instrument. The engineer may then need to debug the HDL algorithms before he can process real-time vibration data with the HDL algorithms.
This manual process of translating algorithms from high level, non-real-time environments into a format compatible with real-time instruments can be tedious, time consuming, require two or more people, and can be prone to error. As a result, developers and/or engineers may be disinclined to write algorithms for execution in an instrument.


An outdoor sound sensing system ideal for homes and buildings equipped with windows called the sound sensing system. The sound sensing system consists of a two-sided printed circuit board with a microphone module, a lightweight sticker, and a cable system that connects the printed circuit board to a sound recording and processing module. The printed circuit board has an aperture aligned to an acoustic shield to provide protection from the environment for the microphone module. The lightweight sticker has an aperture that is also aligned to the acoustic shield.

Advancements in technology for the common home has drastically changed the way we monitor our surroundings. One manner in which users monitor their home's surroundings is through outdoor sensing devices. Current devices are complex, costly, and suffer from ineffective protection in outdoor environment. Industry standard outdoor sound sensing devices typically consist of a microphone, amplifier, recording system, power supply or battery module, data collection module, data processing unit, and either a wireless or wired data communication module. These modules are typically contained in a water resistant and fire resistant container or box designed to withstand harsh environmental conditions. There are a number of issues with such industry standard systems. The modules may be inside a container, yet still be exposed to an outdoor environment. Installing the containers outdoors securely is complicated, costly, and oftentimes dangerous. Furthermore, the modules inside the container can be costly, sensitive, and prone to damage and theft even for systems with the sturdiest containers. The majority of modules for any long-term sensing situations require a power supply and/or communication lines and in turn, complications in determining wiring setup. If the system is wireless, the module relies on an intermittent battery solution. Regardless of the approach, by being exposed to the environment, maintenance of these systems are difficult and costly. There is a need for a system that is simple, inexpensive, and stable.


A cock (10) that receives and discharges the carbonated water from a nozzle (70) includes: a first flow path (4S); and a second flow path (46). A flow path transverse Closs-section has an annular shape. The second flow path has an outer diameter larger than that of the first flow path and having a flow path cross-sectional area smaller than that of the first flow path; and a shaft (50) which forms the inner circumferential surface of the second flow path. the shaft having a ring-shaped groove (52) formed over the outer circumference of the shaft in a part of the second flow path that is connected to the first flow path, wherein a longitudinal center axis line (C1) of the first flow path is nonparallel to and does not intersect with a longitudinal center axis line (C2) of the second flow path.

Carbonated water servers mixing carbonated water with vodka, whiskey, or other distilled spirits or syrups or colas to provide carbonated alcoholic beverages or carbonated soft drinks are being widely used in restaurants etc. Carbonated water servers are usually provided with carbonated gas tanks, carbonation tanks storing carbonated water under pressure, bottles of distilled spirits or syrups etc. (below, referred to as "beverage base"), beverage base pumps, and carbonated water cocks which mix the carbonated water with the beverage base and dispense the beverage into glasses. The carbonation tank is supplied with relatively high pressure CO2 gas for dissolving CO2 gas in water to produce carbonated water. The CO2 gas volume of the carbonated water is adjusted by the CO2 gas pressure acting on the carbonation tank. The CO2 gas volume of the carbonated water is highest at the carbonation tank and falls while passing through the carbonated water cock etc. and is lowest in the glass.
PTL 1 describes a hand draft type beverage dispenser for mixing carbonated water and a plurality of types of beverage bases to provide carbonated soft drinks at restaurants etc.


Modular building blocks for building a robotic system, and the method of building the robotic system using the building blocks, are presented. The building block includes a chassis having a first end and a second end, a first connector positioned closer to the second end than the first end of the chassis, either a second connector or a rotational actuator positioned closer to the first end than the second end of the chassis and configured to couple with the first connector, a signal interface on a surface of the chassis, the signal interface including hardware and circuitry for transferring and receiving signals from and to the building block, and a power and control interface on the chassis for receiving power for the building block.

Robotic systems are often designed for specific tasks or processes, thus often requiring custom and complicated designs for long processes or tasks that involve many different movements. However, the custom designing of robots has certain drawbacks. For example, each design is often unique, and requires significant time, effort, and resources. Also, the control processes for each must be laboriously determined on an individual basis.

Modular robotic system and associated method of automatically determining configuration and control therefor

INSIGHT SCIENTIFIC INTERNATIONAL (SHANGHAI) LTD.


A heat sink apparatus that utilizes a pivot couple and support with anchor-spring mounts to enable exertion of a uniform amount of force over the mounting surface of the apparatus that is thermally/physically coupled to a heat load. The apparatus can include a heat sink base that has a bottom side defining the mounting surface, and a top side to which a support is pivotally coupled by a pivot couple. The apparatus can include a first and second anchor that each have a first end connected to an anchor point and a second end coupled to a load surface on the support by a spring. The load surfaces can be symmetrically disposed on opposite sides of the pivot couple, which is centrally located relative to the mounting surface so that the force imparted by spring loads of the springs is evenly distributed over the mounting surface.

A heat dissipating apparatus is generally mounted on a heat load, such that a portion of the surface of the heat dissipating apparatus is mounted on, and thus in thermal and mechanical contact with, the heat load. The portion of the surface of the heat dissipating apparatus that is mounted on the heat load is referred to in this specification as the mounting surface.
To achieve good thermal and/or mechanical contact between the heat dissipating apparatus and the heat load, some implementations utilize anchor-spring mounts. Each anchor of an anchor-spring mount has two ends: a first end that connects to an anchor point, which is typically the surface where the anchor connects to, e.g., a printed circuit board, and a second end that is coupled to the heat dissipating apparatus. The forces exerted by the springs on the heat dissipating apparatus allows the mounting surface of the heat dissipating apparatus to maintain a desired contact pressure over the heat load.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Tying arrangement comprising a strip, which is serrated at least on one side, and a lock, which is intended for receiving two ends of a portion of the strip and contains at least one blocking device, which is serrated in such a way as to match the serration of the strip. In order to preserve the tips of the teeth, the teeth tips of the teeth provided on the blocking device and the teeth bases of the strip are rounded off or beveled at least on their sides lying against one another in the tightened state. Such an arrangement is used in tying methods in which the free strip end is led back into the lock after wrapping around the item to be tied.

Strips for tying cable harnesses and other items are known, said strips being used in the form of portions of a long supply of strip. Both ends of a strip loop wrapped around the item to be tied and tightened are secured by means of a lock. Provided within the lock are two serrated blocking devices, which act together in a blocking manner with a serration of a respective end of the strip loop (U.S. Pat. No. 4,680,834, GB-A 2055218, EP-A-488 051, EP-B-297 337).
At the beginning of the tying operation by means of a tool, a portion of the strip is pushed forward through a lock, its teeth being kept away from the oppositely directed teeth of the blocking devices. The strip is passed around the item in the form of a loop, the length of which is greater than the circumference of the item to be tied. Its leading, free end is then led back into the lock and secured there by means of one of the blocking devices, while the other end of the strip, joined to the supply of strip, is pulled back for the purpose of tightening. As this happens, its teeth slide along the teeth of the other blocking device, which may cause them to damage one another. The smaller the circumference of the items to be tied in comparison with the length of the loop initially formed, the greater the distance over which the end of the strip has to be pulled back during tightening. If items of a very small circumference are to be tied, it may happen that several teeth of the strip run past the teeth of the locks during a number of successive tightening operations and, as a result, are repeatedly stressed and possibly damaged before they are finally themselves used for the blocking function in a later tying operation. The instances of damage may then have the effect of reducing the blocking force. The teeth of the lock may also be damaged in the process. The probability of damage is all the greater the sharper the edges of the teeth in the locks. This sharpness of the edges has previously being considered to be necessary in order for the teeth of the lock to engage reliably in the teeth of the strip. This is even the case if the tips of the teeth of the strip are rounded off (U.S. Pat. No. 4,680,834, GB-A 2065218). Therefore, they are kept apart from one another during this operation. This must take place with a certain safety margin.
Apart from the reliability of the blocking engagement, there is a further reason why the teeth tips of known blocking devices are formed with sharp edges. This is that it is endeavored to make the engagement of the teeth of the blocking device into the teeth of the strip take place as close as possible to the tooth base, that is to say at the connection of the tooth to the continuous strand cross section of the strip, because otherwise there is the risk of the tooth of the strip bending and the tooth of the lock sliding off it.

Array and method for tying cable trees and the like and method for the production of strips


A transconnector for coupling first and second spinal fixation rods or other elongate fixation elements includes a male member, a female member, and a locking member. The male member has a body with a linking element (such as a hook) associated with the lateral end for receiving one of the fixation elements, and a projection on the medial end. The projection includes a recess defined by lateral and medial walls. The female member has a body with a linking element associated with the lateral end for receiving the other fixation element, and a cavity with an opening on the medial end for receiving a portion of the male member projection. The locking member secures the position and orientation of the male member projection portion in the cavity in order to accommodate different separation distances and orientations between the first and second fixation elements. The locking member cooperates with the medial wall of the recess of the projection to prevent uncoupling of the male and female members. The male member may be made as a two component assembly in which the two components can rotate relative to one another for accommodating rod convergence or divergence.

The present invention relates to a device for spinal fixation, and in particular to a transconnector for coupling spinal rods, plates, or other elongate members.
It is often necessary to surgically treat spinal disorders such as scoliosis. Numerous systems for use in spinal correction and fixation have been disclosed. These systems usually include a pair of elongate members, typically either rods or plates, placed along the vertebral column. For the sake of simplicity, the term xe2x80x9crodxe2x80x9d is used throughout to refer to any elongate member. Each rod is attached to the spine with various attachment devices. These attachment devices may include, but are not limited to, pedicle screws, plates, transverse process hooks, sublaminar hooks, pedicle hooks, and other similar devices.
It is also well known that the strength and stability of the dual rod assembly can be increased by coupling the two rods with a cross-brace or transconnector which extends substantially horizontal to the longitudinal axes of the rods across the spine. The simplest situation in which a transconnector could be used occurs when the two rods are geometrically aligned. Specifically, the two rods are parallel to each other, i.e. there is no rod convergence or divergence in the medial-lateral direction; the two rods have the same orientation with respect to the coronal plane (viewed in the anterior-posterior direction), i.e. the rods are coplanar from a lateral view; and the two rods are located a uniform distance from each other.
Due to a wide variety of factors, the two rods are rarely three dimensionally geometrically aligned in clinical situations. There are several ways to address the variations of geometrical alignment. First, one or both of the rods can be bent to accommodate the transconnector. However, any bending in either of the rods can adversely affect the fixation to the spine and comprise clinical outcome. Furthermore, the bending can also adversely affect the mechanical properties of the rods. The transconnector can also be bent so that the disturbance to the rod positioning is minimized. As is the case with bending of the rods, the mechanical properties of the transconnector could be compromised.
Transconnectors with some adjustability have been designed to adapt for variations from geometrical alignment. However, most are multi-piece systems that can be difficult to assemble and use in the surgical environment. U.S. Pat. No. 5,980,523 discloses a multi-piece transverse connector for spinal rods that can accommodate converging or diverging rods. However, accidental disassembly of the connector by the surgeon is possible. Even those that are one-piece designs do not allow for adjustments to compensate for all three modes in which there may be variation from geometrical alignment: convergence or divergence, non-coplanar rods, and variability in rod separation distances. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,947,966 discloses a device for linking adjacent spinal rods. In one embodiment, the device includes two members that are movable with respect to one another to accommodate different rod separation distances. A pin on one member engages a groove on the other member to provisionally couple the two members, thereby preventing a surgeon from separating the two members. Because the pin is sized to exactly fit the groove, no movement of the pin transverse to the longitudinal axis of the groove is possible. As a result, the device disclosed in the ""966 patent cannot accommodate non-coplanar rods or adjust for rod convergence or divergence.
Thus, there exists a need for an improved transconnector for coupling spinal rods.
The present invention relates to a transconnector for coupling first and second elongate spinal fixation elements that have different three dimensional orientations. The transconnector includes a male member, a female member and a locking member and can be made of any suitable material such as titanium, a titanium alloy, or stainless steel. The male member comprises a body with lateral and medial ends, a linking element associated with the lateral end and being configured and dimensioned to receive one of the fixation elements, and a projection on the medial end. The projection includes a body with a recess defined by lateral and medial walls. The female member comprises a body with lateral and medial ends, a linking element associated with the lateral end and being configured and dimensioned to receive one of the fixation elements, and a cavity with an opening on the medial end which is configured and dimensioned to receive a portion of the male member projection. The locking member secures the position and orientation of the male member projection portion in the cavity in order to accommodate different separation distances and orientations between the first and second fixation elements. The locking member interacts with the medial wall of the recess to limit travel of the male member projection portion in the cavity, thereby preventing uncoupling of the male and female members.
Preferably, the locking member comprises a threaded hole in the body of the female member and a set screw threadably received in the threaded hole. The set screw has a first end for receiving a tool to turn the set screw and a second end contactable with the projection for pressing the projection against the cavity. The recess may have a width wider than a width of the second end of the set screw for the rotation of the projection in the cavity. In an exemplary embodiment, the projection has a substantially cylindrical shape with a first radius and the recess has a curved upper surface with a second radius. The first radius is larger than the second radius and the second end of the set screw extends into the recess to limit the rotation of the projection in the cavity. The set screw can be a threaded cylindrical body transitioning to a tip at the second end of the set screw.
The male member body may comprise a link terminal having a lateral end with the male member linking element, an intermediate link having a medial end with the projection of the male member and a lateral end engaging the medial end of the link terminal, and a locking element for securing the link terminal to the intermediate link. Preferably, the medial end of the link terminal includes a first textured surface and the lateral end of the intermediate link includes a second textured surface mating with the first textured surface. The first textured surface is rotatable with respect to the second textured surface for accommodating convergence or divergence between the first and second rods. An example of suitable first and second textured surfaces includes a radial or star-grind pattern.
The locking element preferably comprises a first hole through the medial end of the link terminal, a second hole through the lateral end of the intermediate link aligned with the first hole, and a cap screw insertable in the first and second holes. The cap screw may have a second end with a retaining ring for preventing removal of the cap screw from the second hole. The retaining ring may include a resilient member which flexes inward upon insertion of the cap screw through the second hole and flexes outward once the resilient member is past a collar in the second hole. Preferably, the resilient member includes an end of the cap screw with a lip and a plurality of slits.
If rods are used for the elongate fixation elements, then the male member linking element preferably comprises a hook and the female member linking element preferably comprises a hook. The lateral ends of the male and female members each may include a threaded hole and a clamping screw threadably received in the respective threaded hole for securing the fixation elements to the respective hook. The fixation elements are preferably clamped between a conical second body portion of the respective clamping screw and a region near the tip portion of the respective hook when the transconnector is secured to the fixation elements.


A detergent and formulations thereof for cleaning equipment and processing materials of oil, dirt, heavy metals, road film, and the like and separating of such materials from waste water comprises a mixture of sodium polyacrylate, monoethanolamine, potassium dimethyldithiocarbamate, surfactants and dipropylene glycol methyl ether in deionized water. The detergent acts as a water softener and flocculates dirt, heavy metals and sludge.

1. Field of the Invention.
This invention pertains to the use of cleanser or detergent formulations and solutions as waste water and water recycling treating solutions for reducing solids, heavy metals and oils in waste water. The invention particularly relates to a detergent formulation the, when properly used, cleans equipment and materials while simultaneously cleaning waste waters before discharge and increasing the efficiency of water recycling systems.
2. Description of the Prior Art.
Increasing restrictions on waste water effluents are forcing producers of such effluents to find ways either to recycle or clean such waters. These restrictions affect not only food processing and industrial plants, but also the cleaning of equipment within such plants. Particularly, the amount of effluent wash water produced during the clean up of equipment such as trucks which require the use of cleaning compounds for proper cleaning are restricted. Manufacturing processes which use water are limited to recycled effluent waters used in such processing.
In the past, processing and wash waters were dumped directly into the sewers or storm drains. Increasing concentrations of pollutants are being found in ground and fresh water systems. Some of these pollutants can be traced to processing plants and equipment clean up.
In order to limit such pollutants, industries have initiated plans for recycling and cleaning waste water effluents. Clean up of processing waste water mainly consists of filtration, flocculation and neutralization. These programs have met with limited success.
Neutralization of waste water is perhaps the most successful form of water discharge. However, neutralization is limited to balancing the pH of waste water for discharge and doesn't eliminate pollutants. Filtration can eliminate undissolved particles but will not remove pollutants which are dissolved in the water. Flocculation will eliminate some, but not all, pollutants, and requires space and time. Also, many flocculants are equally or more hazardous to the environment as the eliminated pollutants.
Recycled waste water is becoming more attractive to industry. Subsequently, waste water recycling equipment is increasingly important, particularly in the reuse of washing and processing equipment. However, water used for processing and equipment wash-downs needs to be treated. Industry generally uses soaps or detergents to wash equipment. The waste water from such processes and washes then is treated both mechanically and chemically through recycling equipment.
Theoretically, such waste water goes through a recycler. Chemicals and mechanical action cause the dirt and undissolved particles to deposit as a sludge and to float oils to be skimmed. The subsequent water should be clean enough to be reused in the same process or to be discharged into the environment. Sludge and oils are removed periodically from the water recycling equipment. In a non-recycling scheme, the chemically and mechanically treated water should be clean enough for discharge.
However, water used with soap or detergent alone, does not clean or recycle well. Most detergents and soaps use a caustic soda base for cleaning which ties up oils and heavy metals. Detergent and soap formulations emulsify oil and suspend it so well that it is difficult to separate the waste components from the water to be recycled or discharged. This can result in the physical blockage of any mechanical actions that would have aided in waste water clean up. Additionally, such soaps and detergents increase the microbial growth in the waste water or waste water recycling equipment, causing blockage of baffles and filters and creating odor emissions. Microbial growth is a major factor in the failure of waste water recycling units. Most soaps, detergents and cleaners contribute to microbial growth in waste water treating systems.
Recycled or discharged Industrial cleaners are made of the following basic components:
______________________________________ Cleaner component Purpose ______________________________________ Sodium Hydroxide Cleaning agent Sodium Metasilicate Pentahydrate Alkalinity builder and cleaning agent Glycol Ether Oil emulsifier Phosphates Water softener EDTA and/or NTA Water softener Carboxymethylcellulose Clinging and thickening agent Surfactants Surface tension reduction and penetrating agent Hydrotrope Phosphate Ester Formula stratification inhibitor ______________________________________
These components, however, present special problems in water recycling equipment. Sodium hydroxide increases the pH of the water and emulsifies the oils so well that the oils will not separate from the water in the recycling equipment. Sodium hydroxide also contributes to scaling (calcium build-up) of equipment and water spots upon drying.
Sodium metasilicate pentahydrate builds alkalinity, which acts as a buffer, and contains sodium hydroxide, which increases oil emulsification. A glycol ether further causes oil emulsification making oil separation more difficult.
To counteract the negative effect of such cleaners on waste water treating systems, users must treat the waste water with some or all of the following types of chemicals: polymers, pH adjusting chemicals and bleach.
Cationic and anionic polymers are charged such that dissolved and undissolved particles precipitate or "floc" out of the water. Such precipitation of "dirt" collects as a sludge for later removal. However, polymers can cause microbial growth and leave a hazardous residue in the "cleaned" water. Finally, a polymer's efficiency can be limited, depending on the content of the waste water.
PH adjusting chemicals, such as caustic soda, aid in the precipitation of heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, chrome, and nickel. Yet, heavy metals precipitate over a narrow specific pH range for each specific metal thereby requiring constant pH adjustment. Typical pH adjusting chemicals also tie up oils, making oil-water separation more difficult.
EDTA is also used for heavy metal collection. However, harmful residues may emerge from the waste water treatment equipment and be found in the discharge water.
Bleach is often used as a last resort to kill unwanted microbial growth in waste water treating systems. This method is inefficient and causes chlorine residues in the recycled or discharged water.

Detergent with cleaning and waste water treating capabilities containing polyacrylate and dimethylthiocarbamate


Several gas-tight enclosures share a common optical cavity. The enclosures may be filled with neat gases or mixtures of gasses. The same gas or mixture, at the same or a different pressure, may occur in more than one enclosure. The gas or gasses in the various enclosures may be pulsed to lase in any desired sequence, simultaneously, or in any combination.

This invention is in the field of pulsed gas laser, and is particularly concerned with lasers capable of providing pulses of laser light at different wavelengths, and/or pulse shapes and power levels from a single laser cavity. Presently, in order to obtain multiple laser wavelengths and/or pulse characteristics, it is necessary to either use multiple lasers, or some means to tune a single laser discharge section. Unfortunately, both of these techniques have disadvantages. Multiple lasers require various beam-combining means to obtain an output beam on a particular path; these means are both costly and use space. A laser consisting of a discharge section with a tuning mechanism has severe limitations of interpulse time, spectral range, and discharge characteristics, since only a single gas mixture can be used at one time and recovery or recirculation time is needed between pulses. The instant invention overcomes these disadvantages.


A detachable pendant mounting for providing interchangeability of the pendant includes a hollow clasp housing held on a pendant chain, the clasp housing open at the rear and the bottom end. A clasp element is mounted within the clasp element accessible through the open rear. A pendant securement to the clasp element is accomplished through the bottom opening. The clasp element may take various forms including a deflectable hook, a fixed pin, a slotted clevis, etc., with a catch engagement keeping the pendant securement on the clasp element until released.

This invention concerns body worn ornamentation and particularly pendant ornaments attached to a chain. Most ornaments require detachment of the chain ends to replace an ornament, and often the pendant is permanently attached to the chain to require the services of a jeweler to detach. It would be desirable to be able to more easily change the ornament than with the prior art arrangements. It is critical that any detachable mounting be very secure even after long use to insure that precious stones are not lost due to a failure of the means for attaching the pendant.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a pendant ornament which has a self contained detachable mounting for providing interchangeability of the pendant which very securely retains the pendant even after many pendant changes have been made.
The above object and others which will become understood upon a reading of the following specification and claims are achieved by a jewelry piece having an ornamental pendant and a pendant mounting including an ornamental hollow clasp housing from which the pendant is suspended.
Openings on either side of the top of the housing are provided to allow stringing the housing onto a supporting chain. A deflectable or hinged clasp element is mounted within the clasp housing and extends down to an open end of the clasp housing. The clasp housing is open at the back to allow the clasp element to be accessed to be released from a catch and to allow a loop or other pendant securement affixed to the pendant to be slid onto the clasp element which is then reengaged with the catch.
The pendant is then secured to the bottom end of the clasp housing, ready for convenient interchangeability with other pendants at any time.
The clasp element can take various forms including that of a resiliently deflectable or hinged hook receiving a loop fixed on the pendant, a slotted clevis which receives a mating pendant stem, or a headed pin fixed to the clasp housing.


An orthopaedic reamer driver includes a tubular housing having at least one first positioning feature. A driveshaft within the housing has a drive end. A variable angle cap is pivotally coupled with the housing adjacent the drive end. The variable angle cap includes at least one leg extending along a side of the housing. Each leg has a second positioning feature selectively engaging and disengaging with a corresponding first positioning feature at a selected one of a plurality of angular positions. Each second positioning feature maintains the variable angle cap at the selected angular position when engaged with the corresponding first positioning feature. A variable angle joint is coupled to the drive end, and a reamer drive head is coupled to the variable angle joint.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains generally to surgical instruments and, more particularly, to surgical instruments such as surgical tool drivers particularly suited for use in orthopaedic surgical procedures.
2. Description of the Related Art
An orthopaedic reamer assembly is used to cut a bone and thereby form the bone with a predetermined shape for receiving an orthopaedic implant. For example, an intramedullary reamer may be placed into the intramedullary canal of the bone and used to ream the interior of the bone to receive the stem of an orthopaedic implant. Such a reamer includes a radial, peripheral surface which generally includes a plurality of radially extending teeth for cutting the bone in a radial direction as the reamer proceeds in an axial direction into the bone. The size of the opening formed in the bone is determined by the outside diameter of the reamer.
An orthopaedic reamer assembly may also be used to shape an exterior surface of a bone. A rotary tool provides the motive force and is connected to a driver which is connected to the reamer. The driver generally has a shaft and a drive end. Reamers are typically hemispherical in shape and attach to the drive end at the base of the hemisphere. The distal face has a shape which corresponds to the shape of an orthopaedic implant to be received within the bone, and includes a plurality of cutting teeth extending from the distal face. The reamer is placed against the bone surface to be cut, such as an acetabulum or glenoid, and is plunge cut into the bone. Such reamers are effective for removing a portion of the bone so that the bone is shaped to receive the implant.
Minimally invasive surgery reduces the size of the incision site to in turn reduce trauma and recovery time for a patient. Orthopaedic reamers have been designed for minimally invasive surgery, e.g., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/659,812, assigned to the assignee of the present invention. A challenge with minimally invasive and certain other orthopaedic procedures is that it may be difficult to position the reamer at a desired angle relative to the bone surface to be cut. Orthopaedic reamer drivers are known which have a flexible shaft. The flexible shaft allows the reamer to travel along the path of a non-linear passage, such as an intramedullary canal, and thereby ream a non-linear opening. However, such a known driver having a flexible shaft cannot be held with the reamer positioned at a fixed acute angular orientation relative to the drive shaft since there is nothing to hold the reamer at that orientation during rotation.
What is needed in the art is an orthopaedic reamer driver which holds the reamer at a selected one of a plurality of angular orientations relative to the drive shaft while still allowing rotation of the reamer.

Variable angle orthopaedic reamer driver


Generally, the invention provides the capability to store and use web application status information for each web page dynamically generated and transmitted to a web browser in a communications session. The status information is stored so that it may be later retrieved and used to reset the status of the web application each time requests are generated by action taken while the page is displayed. Resetting the status each time action is taken from the web page ensures that the corresponding request produces the same results every time that it is submitted, as is expected by the user.

The Internet is an international collection of interconnected networks of computer systems. The World Wide Web is a portion of the Internet that allows a user of one computer system to access electronic documents or pages that are stored on another computer system. The World Wide Web also may be referred to as the WWW, web, or W3, and the accessible electronic pages may be referred to as web pages or, more simply, pages. Often a web page includes text, graphics, sounds other types of multimedia information, and data fields. A web page also may include links, called hyperlinks, to files and documents accessible on other web pages. The computer systems on which the accessible web pages are stored may be referred to as web sites or web servers.
Computer system users can access, download and display web pages from web sites using a graphical user interface (GUI) produced by executing client software called a browser application. A browser application also may be referred to as a web browser or simply, a browser. Examples of commercially available web browsers include Netscape® available from AOL/Netscape Communications of Mountain View, Calif.; Internet Explorer™ available from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash.; and Safari available from Apple Computer of Cuppertino, Calif. Web browsers may use a variety of protocols for accessing and communicating with web sites. One example of such a protocol is the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP).
To access a web page at a web server, a user enters the address associated with the web page in the web browser. The web browser retrieves the web page for display on the user's computer system by submitting a request for a web page to a web server. The web server retrieves a static page or creates a dynamic page for transfer to the web browser. The web browser receives and displays the web page on the user's computer system. A computer system user may use navigation buttons in the web browser to control the display of web pages. Typically, a web browser includes "back" and "forward" navigation buttons that enable a user of the web browser to navigate through a sequence of web pages. A computer system user also may use a hyperlink to display a web page or a button to execute a computer program on the web server that is used to create and transmit a web page for display by the web browser.
A web application is a computer program running on a web server. Some web applications are capable of dynamically building web pages upon receiving requests from a web browser. A web browser running on the client system displays the web pages created by the web application. The web application creates the web pages based on the request and an internal state or condition of the web application at the time that the web page is created. The process of creating a web page may change the internal state of the web application.
One challenge facing developers of web applications is in creating a web application in which a user is able to navigate through a series of dynamically generated web pages. This is generally not a problem when a user navigates forward through linked web pages or uses hyperlinks to navigate to a specified web page. However, under some conditions, the web application may fail to return a web page or may return a web page that is different than the user was expecting. This may be because a dynamically generated web page is generated based on the internal state of the web application at the time the web page is generated. If the internal state of the web application is different, an action on a web page may produce different results, which may surprise or frustrate a user.
In one example, a user may navigate back to a previously viewed web page and then navigate forward following the same sequence of actions that the user previously performed. In such a case, the user typically expects to see the same web pages that the user previously viewed when following the same navigation path. However, if the internal state of the web application has changed from what the internal state was when the user first traversed the navigation path, different web pages may be displayed in the user's subsequent traversal of the same navigation path. By way of example, when a user of the web browser uses the web browser's "back" button to go back to a web page that was generated based on an earlier search request, the same search request is resubmitted to the web application. The user typically expects the web page returned in response to the resubmission of the search request to be exactly the same as the web page that was returned and viewed as a result of the first search request. However, the web page created by the web application in response to the resubmission of the search request may be different because the internal state of the web application at the time of the resubmission was different than the internal state of the web application at the time that the first search was submitted.
One approach to managing application state information is to store, on a web server, state data in association with a reference handle. The application state information is stored and retrieved in response to a web server request.

Managing application status information for a computer application


A system that includes a plurality of RFID tags affixed to medical items, and a plurality of data collection engine devices, client devices and backend devices. The backend devices include trained machine learning models, business logic, and attributes of a plurality of patient events. A plurality of data collection engines and hospital information systems send attributes of new patient events to the backend devices. The backend devices can predict particular outcomes of new events based upon the attributes of the new events utilizing the trained machine learning models. Using business logic and the trained machine learning models, the backend devices can also make recommendations to optimize the patient flow in healthcare provider organizations.

A Radio-frequency Identification (RFID) chip can transmit information to a reader in response to an interrogation signal or polling request from the reader. The RFID chip can be incorporated in a tag (RFID tag) which is placed on a medical consumable item so that information can be passively captured. An RFID tag can be an active-type with its own power source, or a passive-type or battery-assisted passive type with no or limited power source. Both the passive-type and battery-assisted passive type will be referred to here as passive-type for sake of brevity. Placing an active-type RFID tag on some medical consumable items may not be feasible do to financial considerations, weight, etc. On the other hand, placing a passive-type RFID tag on medical consumable items may be more feasible; however, a power source will be needed to passively obtain information. Therefore, a device that can provide power to the RFID tag on the medical consumable item as well as obtain the information from the RFID tag would be beneficial for activity based costing and to ensure proper charging.
During medical procedures such as surgery, it is very important to avoid errors such as retaining the medical consumable item in the patient after conclusion, performing surgery on the wrong section of the body, performing the wrong surgical procedure or even performing surgery on the wrong patient. Such errors are commonly referred to as "surgical never events". In order to avoid surgical never events, the position of a medical consumable item, a patient with respect to the medical consumable item, as well as the medical consumable items consumed are desirable information.

System, medical item including RFID chip, server and method for capturing medical data


A method for determining the task load in real-time. The method takes a difference in real-time between a first count value from a free running counter prior to a task executing, and a second count value after the task stops running. The task load may then be determined by using an accumulator to accumulate the difference between the first count value and the second count value over a reference interval and dividing the sum by a configurable reference interval. The individual task load computed in real-time may be used in scheduling an audio task.

FIG. 1 generally describes prior art of a real time computing system. A real time computing system controls the execution of application programs and interfaces to the system hardware and utilities. A real time computing system 103 may be hosted on electronic hardware 101 such as a processor, or a digital signal processor. As an example, hardware may be hardware on a mobile phone or hardware on any device having embedded software or firmware. The utilities 105 are commonly programs that assist the computing system in control of input/output devices, and management of files.
In such applications, it is useful knowing the load on real time computing system from one or more individual tasks for system design considerations or as an input parameter to other applications 107 that may utilize the task load information. A prior art approach to determine the loading of a task is to capture the task execution data using a logic analyzer and count the instructions executed on the particular individual task. This approach is not real-time and therefore does not allow the task load to be used as input to another application that may effectively use the information. For example, a Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) application may use the real-time task load to determine whether to reduce the MIDI voices processed for a future frame.

Method and system for measuring task load


An encrusting machine is revealed. The encrusting machine mainly includes a power source disposed on a power unit of a machine body. A force output end of the power source is disposed with a first drive belt for driving a cut unit and a second drive belt for driving a food receiving unit. A plurality of cutting blades is mounted in a cutting opening on a middle part of a cut-off base of the cut unit. The blades are controlled by the power unit and vertical movement of the cut-off base is also controlled by the power unit. In the food receiving unit, a toggle set on a cam is used to control vertical movement of a catch basin on top of a push set. The structure is simplified so that the machine is with reduced cost, easy assembly, reduced failure rate reduced, convenient maintenance and high practicality.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an encrusting machine, especially to an encrusting machine with simple structure so that the cost is reduced, the assembly is fast, the failure rate is reduced dramatically and the maintenance is more convenient. Thus the practicality of the machine with novel design is enhanced.
2. Description of Related Art
While producing steamed stuffing buns or stuffing cakes, encrusting machines are used to fill the stuffing. A common encrusting machine, as revealed in Taiwanese Pub. No. 589146, drive mechanism for food shaping machine published on Jun. 1, 2004, inside a machine, there is a plurality of parts. A main shaft driven by a single motor drives a driving member connected on top thereof, a transverse drive shaft engaged horizontally, and a cam connected to the transverse drive shaft. A cutting device consists of a plate and a plurality of knives sliding inside a sliding slot of the plate. The above drive members are used to drive the knives to slide in the sliding slot so that an insertion hole formed by the surrounding the knives is closed and opened. Blades of the knives cut off cylinder passing the insertion hole. Two ends of a rocker are joined loosely between a base of the cutting device and the transverse drive shaft for control of the vertical movement of the cutting device. A top connection part includes a top plate located under the insertion hole and connected with a sliding plate on the bottom end thereof and the sliding plate has a connection end on its bottom end. A rocker set driven by the cam is composed of an upper link with one end joined loosely to a fixed axis so as to rotate around the fixed axis. The other end of the upper link is joined loosely with one end of a vertical link. A small pulley is arranged at one side of the upper link so as to make the upper link become an elastic element. A spring includes one end fixed on the machine to form a fixed end while the other end is connected to the upper link. A lower link has one end joined loosed to the bottom end of the vertical link while the other end thereof is connected to the connection end of the sliding plate. The small pulley is driven by a projecting end of the cam so as to drive the sliding plate moving vertically. A distance adjusting device is formed by a rocker set and having a lower link whose one end is connected moveably to the fixed axis so as to rotate around the fixed axis while the other end is connected moveably to the bottom end of a vertical link. The top of this vertical link is connected moveably to one end of an upper link while the other end of the upper link is joined loosely to an inner link and the bottom end of the inner link is connected to a worm gear. A long rod extended out of the machine includes a worm engaged with the worm gear. The two lower links are connected by a connection axis so as to form a reference point. By the engagement between the worm and the worm gear, the upper position and the lower position of the reference point are controlled so as to further control the upper dead-center position and the lower dead-center position of the top plate.
Although the above drive mechanism food shaping machines uses only a single motor to control the whole driving movement. In practice, the completed structure and multiple components cause the increasing of the manufacturing cost. The assembly is quite slow, inconvenient and time-consuming. Moreover, the failure rate is high and the maintenance is difficult. Thus there is a need to improve the structure of the machine.


A radio frequency (RF) energy harvesting device including a scalable metamaterial resonator antenna and a rectifying circuit formed on a flexible plastic substrate. The metamaterial resonator antenna includes a metal (e.g., silver) structure that is conformally fixedly disposed (i.e., either printed or deposited/etched) on the flexible substrate and configured to resonate at RF frequencies using primary and secondary antenna segments connected by linking segments such that captured RF signals are generated at two antenna end points that are 180° out-of-phase with each other. The rectifying circuit including additional metal structures that are also printed or otherwise formed on the flexible substrate, and one or more circuit elements that are configured to pass positive voltage pulses from the captured RF signals to an output node. Various metamaterial resonator antenna configurations are disclosed.

A rectenna (rectifying antenna) is a special type of antenna that is used to convert radio wave energy into direct current electricity. Rectennas are used in wireless power transmission systems that transmit power by radio waves. A typical rectenna element consists of a dipole antenna with a diode connected across the dipole elements. The diode rectifies the alternating current (AC) induced in the antenna by the radio waves to produce direct current (DC) power, which is then used to power a load connected across the diode. Schottky diodes are usually used because they have the lowest voltage drop and highest speed and therefore have the lowest power losses due to conduction and switching. Large rectennas consist of an array of many such dipole elements.
There exists a significant motivation to develop rectennas that efficiently capture RF energy. Due to the increasing use of radio frequency (RF) signals to transmit information, the presence of RF energy is almost ubiquitous. Moreover, the unused portions of transmitted RF signals (i.e., portions that are not captured and converted by a receiver) are essentially "wasted" in that the energy transmitted in unused RF signals is absorbed in ambient matter and thus lost. As such, in addition to providing power sources for remote/portable devices, a suitable rectenna capable of efficiently re-converting unused ambient RF energy would reduce overall energy demand by replacing batteries and other remote power sources.
Conventional rectennas capable of converting RF energy to DC power are unable to harvest most ambient RF energy. Existing RF rectennas can only produce usable DC voltages in the presence of high RF power density levels (typically above 1 W/m2), and are therefore typically used in wireless power transmission systems where dedicated high-power transmitters generate RF energy at sufficiently high energies. Ambient RF energy is typically very low (from mW down to μW), and thus the use of conventional RF rectennas for energy harvesting has proven to be insufficient in remote locations. Also, conventional rectenna devices utilize antennas are single band (i.e., harvest narrow-band RF signals) and rectifying circuits are bulky, and therefore not scalable.
What is needed is a low-cost, high-conversion-efficiency and electrically-small RF rectenna that is capable of reliably harvesting ambient RF energy. In particular, what is needed is an RF energy harvesting device capable of harvesting multiband RF signal energy having low energy levels (i.e., tens of mW and below) including an antenna that can be scaled to accommodate different RF frequencies, thereby facilitating energy generation for remote devices (e.g., sensors) using a wide range of RF signal sources.

Multiband radio frequency (RF) energy harvesting with scalable antenna


Disclosed biopsy markers are adapted to serve as localization markers during a surgical procedure. Adaptation includes incorporation of materials detectable under ultrasound during surgery, as well as features for co-registration with image guidance or other real-time imaging technologies during surgery. Such biopsy markers, when used as localization markers, improve patient comfort and reduce challenges in surgical coordination and surgery time. Additional disclosed biopsy markers are adapted to serve as monitoring and/or detection apparatuses. Localization of an implanted marker may be done with ultrasound technology. Ultrasound image data is analyzed to identify the implanted marker. A distance to the marker or a lesion may be determined and displayed. The determined distance may be a distance between the ultrasound probe and the marker or lesion, a distance between the marker or lesion and an incision instrument, and/or a distance between the ultrasound probe and the incision instrument.

In the diagnosis of breast cancer, a suspicious mass may be discovered during a preliminary examination involving visual examination, palpation, ultrasonic imaging, x-ray, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or other detection means. Thereafter, a biopsy procedure may be performed to determine whether the suspicious mass is malignant or benign. To minimize surgical intrusion, the biopsy procedure may involve inserting a small biopsy needle into the breast to extract one or more samples (e.g., five samples) from locations around the mass and from the center of the mass. In one biopsy procedure, an ultrasound transducer is positioned on the breast, typically with one hand and used to provide visual guidance to the medical professional performing the biopsy. A biopsy needle held in the other hand of the medical professional is inserted it to the lesion location.
Regardless of the imaging modality or instrument used to perform the biopsy procedure, subsequent examination of the biopsy site may be necessary, either in a follow up screening examination or for treatment of a cancerous lesion. In order to mark the location of the lesion for subsequent examination or treatment, a "biopsy site marker" may be surgically inserted during the biopsy procedure.
In its simplest form, a biopsy site marker serves as a landmark for future identification of a position of the lesion for treatment or further examination and is the standard of care for breast biopsy. However, due to limited advances in materials technology selection, manufacturing and deployment, paired with the high skill needed to identify markers under different imaging modalities, traditional biopsy site markers suffer from a number of deficiencies, including poor detection under ultrasound or other visualization modalities, inability to co-register with surgical imaging modalities (e.g., an in-room image guidance system, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), etc.), lack of on-going lesion monitoring capabilities, and lack of differentiation between the biopsy site marker and anatomical features of the patient.
If the biopsied site is cancerous, treatments may include mastectomy, lumpectomy, radiation therapy, or chemotherapy procedure that require the surgeon or radiologist to direct surgical or radiation treatment to the precise location of the lesion. Surgical resection is the gold standard, with more than 50% of cancer patients having surgical procedures. There are few successful technologies, and these are primarily conducted ex vivo outside of the cavity, for determining the margin of a tumor (which happens mostly ex vivo outside of the cavity), which includes a rim of normal tissue surrounding the tumor. Ideally during resection, the surgeon intends to have 'clear' margins, i.e., the complete tumor surrounded by healthy tissue. Even so, upon removal, the surgeon stains the resected tumor and sends it for frozen section to be assessed by a pathologist regarding whether the margins are actually clear or whether more tissue should be removed in a specific orientation. In aspects, such resection may occur days or weeks after the biopsy procedure, by which time the original features of the tissue may have been removed or altered by the biopsy or may have changed due to growth or progress of the lesion.
In order to mark the location of the lesion for resection, an additional localization procedure is performed prior to resection. With respect to localization, the patient must undergo an additional procedure, prior to surgery, to insert a breast lesion localization wire at the biopsy site. The surgeon then uses the localization wire to advance to the cutting instrument to the site of the lesion to remove the lesion. Generally, an interventional radiologist is required to deploy the wire under an imaging modality just prior to surgery, for example x-ray. However, localization wires are not only uncomfortable but can also dislodge or move as the stainless steel wire is protruding from the patient prior the procedure. In addition, the use of a wire causes significant logistical issues for the medical facility. For instance, a radiologist must be available at a time slot directly prior to when a surgeon is available to perform the surgery. Such scheduling requirements are often difficult to achieve, and radiologists and surgeons may also be located in different buildings of a medical campus. In addition to the above deficiencies, traditional biopsy site markers are ill-equipped to monitor the progression or regression of a lesion before, during or after a surgical procedure or other treatment.
Wireless localization systems, such as radio frequency guided localization, electromagnetic reflectors, magnetic tracers, and radioactive seed, are known, but suffer from a number of drawbacks. All of which although may reduce patient discomfort, suffer the drawback of having an additional step in the surgical workflow.
If the breast radiologist feels there is a chance that a finding on diagnostic breast imaging is cancer, an image-guided breast biopsy will be suggested. The current standard of care at the completion of a biopsy recommends placement of a biopsy marker into the biopsied site. There are different types of biopsy markers but some are made of materials that have greater visibility under ultrasound than others. The marker serves multiple purposes. First, the marker serves to mark where the tissue was sampled in the breast. If the original area of interest is no longer visible by imaging after the biopsy, the marker is a guide to know where the diseased tissue was sampled. Second, if surgery is recommended, the marker can be used as a target for the radiologist to place the localization wire to the location of the marker. Third, the cancerous mass including the marker (and wire) removed during surgery may then be imaged to ensure that the correct to show the mass was accurately removed from the breast.
It is with respect to these and other general considerations that the aspects disclosed herein have been made. Also, although relatively specific problems may be discussed, it should be understood that the examples should not be limited to solving the specific problems identified in the background or elsewhere in this disclosure.

Ultrasound localization system with advanced biopsy site markers


The present application relates to a porous body quality inspection apparatus and a method for inspecting quality of a porous body, and according to one aspect of the present application, there is provided a porous body quality inspection apparatus comprising a contact resistance measuring part of a porous body with a gas diffusion layer, a pressurizing part for pressurizing a pressure-sensitive discoloration base material on the porous body, an image mapping part for calculating a contact area between the pressure-sensitive discoloration base material and the porous body, a transporting part for transporting the porous body and the pressure-sensitive discoloration base material, and an operation part for performing an operation of an interfacial contact resistance between the porous body and the gas diffusion layer.

Generally, a fuel cell is an energy conversion device that generates electrical energy through an electrochemical reaction between a fuel and an oxidizer and has an advantage that power can be consistently generated as long as the fuel is continuously supplied.
A polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) using a polymer membrane capable of permeating hydrogen ions as an electrolyte, has a low operating temperature of about 100° C. as compared to other types of fuel cells, and has advantages of high energy conversion efficiency, high output density and fast response characteristics. Besides, since it can be miniaturized, it can be provided as portable, vehicle and household power supplies.
The polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell stack may comprise a membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) having an electrode layer formed by applying an anode and a cathode around an electrolyte membrane composed of a polymer material, a gas diffusion layer (GDL) for serving to distribute reaction gases evenly and to transfer generated electric energy, a separating plate (bipolar plate) for supplying the reaction gases to the gas diffusion layer and discharging generated water, and a gasket for preventing leakage of the reaction gases and cooling water between the electrolyte membrane and the separating plate.
Conventional separators each provided with reaction gas channels and cooling water channels on both sides have technical problems of water transfer imbalance in the fuel cell and high mass transfer resistance (usually diffusion resistance) of the reaction gas in the reaction surface, in the high power zone.
Recently, a separator (hereinafter also referred to as a 'porous body'), to which a metal foam or a metal mesh and the like is applied, is proposed to improve performance of a fuel cell through reduction of diffusion resistance in a high power operation zone. The porous body equipped on the surface of the separator in contact with the gas diffusion layer serves to lower the diffusion resistance by allowing the gas diffusion layer and the separator to be partially spaced apart from each other and causing convection and diffusion actions in the spaced space.
However, since the spaced space between the porous body and the gas diffusion layer has a problem that it is difficult to predict interfacial contact resistance between the porous body and the gas diffusion layer, it is necessary to study a method of easily determining the interfacial contact resistance before applying the porous body to the fuel cell stack.

Porous body quality inspection apparatus and method for inspecting quality of porous body