A pacifier having a nipple, a mouthplate, housing assembly and a pair of nasal cannula coupled to one another and extending out of the housing so that whenever the infant has the nipple in his or her mouth the nasal cannulae are automatically directed to each nostril of the infant. A provision is made for connection of the nasal cannulae to an external oxygen source. In one embodiment the bladder is interposed between the nasal cannulae and the external oxygen source to ensure that even distribution of oxygen from the external source is provided to each nostril. Another embodiment has the nasal cannulae coupled to one another by a "T" or "Y"--connection and that "T" or "Y"--connection directly coupled to the external oxygen source.

Providing oxygen assistance to an infant is difficult because the infant struggles whenever a face mask or nasal cannulae, the typical methods of providing oxygen assistance to a patient, are secured around the infant's face.
The following constitute examples of providing such assistance to a child without having to use a face mask found in the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,520,809 (de Greef et al.) and 4,669,461 (Battaglia et al.).
The apparatus disclosed by de Greef is a pacifier having a teat and shield that delivers anesthesia to an infant by providing a passageway, on the back of the pacifier shield, which is connected to an external anesthesia source. The passageway has an entrance that is connected to the external anesthesia source and also has an outlet that dispenses the anesthesia in the vicinity of the infant's nose. This passageway widens from its entrance to its outlet. However, delivery of anesthesia in specific amounts requires a more controlled method other than simply having an outlet "blow" anesthesia around the entrance of the infant's nostrils. In particular, there is no way of determining the precise amount of anesthesia being delivered at the outlet; administering anesthesia without knowing the precise amount delivered can be dangerous.
The apparatus disclosed by Battaglia is a device for providing oxygen to an infant during nursing. In particular, this device basically comprises an adjustable cuff that can be coupled to a baby bottle or directly to the mother's breast. The cuff has a port that is coupled to an external oxygen source and an outlet that permits the oxygen to be dispensed in the vicinity of the infant's nose. The cuff can pivot to vary the size of the outlet and direction of the oxygen flow. However, this device requires attachment to a bottle or to the nursing mother's breast to operate and it is not designed to provide oxygen to the infant in situations other than nursing.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,508,543 (Aulicono), there is disclosed a device for assisting mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to an adult, as well as a child or infant, who has stopped breathing. This device comprises a mouthpiece, a mouthshield and nostril tubes. One end of the mouthpiece is inserted into the non-breathing victim while the other end is inserted into the rescuer's mouth. The nostril tubes, which are coupled to the mouthpiece, are inserted into the victim's nostrils. The mouthshield, which surrounds the midsection of the mouthpiece, forms an air tight seal against the victim's mouth to prevent air from escaping when the mouthpiece is inserted into the victim's mouth. As the rescuer blows air through the mouthpiece, the air is forced down the mouthpiece and simultaneously up into the nostril tubes, thereby providing resuscitative air into the victim's airways. While such a device may be effective for assisting in reviving a victim who has stopped breathing, it appears to be less than effective for providing continuous oxygenation to an infant who is already breathing and conscious.
Although use of nasal cannulae in conjunction with a face mask has been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. Des. 262,322 (Mizerak) or nasal cannulae used alone in U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,446 (Timmons et. al) for oxygenating a patient, neither of these patents disclose the use of nasal cannulae used in conjunction with a pacifier for comfortably oxygenating an infant.


An applicator for delivering radioactive seeds to a prostate gland or other internal organ includes a disposable inner part formed by two mating parts that collectively define a longitudinally-extending throughbore when joined together. The disposable inner part is sandwiched between two applicator half shells secured to one another by a slide member. The throughbore is discontinuous at a cartridge-receiving chamber that accommodates a multiple seed-containing cartridge, completely shielded with a sliding inspection window. The trailing end of a transition tube is held within the throughbore on a leading side of the discontinuous throughbore and the leading end of the transition tube extends into the lumen of an elongate needle. Seeds are expelled by a push rod that extends sequentially through a seed discharge chamber in the cartridge, the transition tube, and the needle. In a first alternative embodiment the disposable inner part is one piece and in a second it is formed integrally with the half shells.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates, generally, to a surgical tool for implanting radioactive seeds into a prostate gland or other internal organ. More particularly, it relates to a tool having disposable parts.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Radioactive seeds are implanted into a cancerous prostate gland to kill the tumor or tumors therein. Such seeds may also be used to attack tumors in other internal organs of the body.
In use, an applicator comes into contact with a patient""s blood and other body fluids. Earlier applicators were therefore designed to be disposed of after use.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,213,932 to the present inventor discloses a disposable applicator having the general appearance of a hypodermic syringe. It includes a transparent plastic cartridge for holding a plurality of radioactive tumor-killing seeds. Since the entire device is disposable after use, materials used in its construction must be re-cycled to avoid wasting such materials.
Pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/829,190, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,561,967 also to the present inventor, improves upon the patented tool by providing an applicator having a plurality of cartridges that are stored on the body of the applicator so that a new cartridge is easily retrieved when all of the seeds have been discharged from an old cartridge. That patent application is incorporated herein by reference. The applicator of the pending patent application includes a disposable section from the needle to where the seeds are deployed from the cartridge. This represents an improvement over the earlier device because the entire applicator need not be discarded after use.
However, the patent pending applicator is not easily disassembled for cleaning.
It would therefore be advantageous if an applicator were provided that could be easily disassembled for cleaning. It would be even more advantageous if only the parts of an applicator that directly contact body fluids would be disposable while the rest of the applicator could be taken apart and cleaned easily for re-use.
Another drawback of earlier devices is that complete shielding of the cartridges precludes visual inspection of the seeds therewithin. A physician using an applicator would prefer to visually inspect the cartridges to see how many are remaining in a cartridge at any given time. If the cartridge is shielded (offers radiation protection), it is no longer transparent.
However, in view of the prior art considered as a whole at the time the present invention was made, it was not obvious to those of ordinary skill in the pertinent art how such need could be fulfilled.
The long-standing but heretofore unfulfilled need for an improved cartridge and applicator for implanting radioactive seeds in internal organs is now met by a new, useful, and nonobvious invention. The invention includes a disposable internal part that comes into contact with a patient""s blood and other body fluids. The disposable inner part is made of two elongate half parts and each half part has a longitudinally-extending groove formed therein. Moreover, each of the half parts has half of a cartridge housing formed therein as well. An elongate throughbore is formed by joining together the two half parts. Specifically, the elongate throughbore is formed by juxtaposition of the longitudinally-extending grooves.
A cartridge housing is also formed by joining together the two half parts. More particularly, the cartridge housing is formed by juxtaposition of the halves of the cartridge housing formed in said halves of said disposable inner part.
The elongate throughbore is discontinuous at the cartridge housing and has a trailing part on a trailing side of the cartridge housing and a leading part on a leading side of the cartridge housing.
The novel applicator further includes a polyimide transition tube having a trailing end captured by the leading part of the elongate throughbore. The transition tube has a leading end that extends from the elongate throughbore in leading relation thereto and the transition tube leading end is adapted to be positioned within a lumen of an elongate needle that has a sharp distal end for penetrating tissue.
The novel applicator outer shell is formed by two half shells. Each of the two outer half shells has a longitudinally-extending half-channel formed therein. An elongate channel is formed by joining together the two half shells in juxtaposition with one another.
A cartridge housing-receiving recess is formed in each of the half shells. Each half channel is discontinuous at the cartridge housing-receiving recess. The disposable inner part, including the cartridge housing, is disposed in sandwiched relation between the half shells when the half shells are in juxtaposition with one another.
A longitudinally-extending groove is formed in an external side wall of each of the half shells. A slide member has a generally xe2x80x9cUxe2x80x9d-shaped configuration that includes a pair of upstanding side walls projecting from a base wall in parallel relation to one another. A longitudinally-extending tongue is formed in each side wall of the pair of side walls. The longitudinally-extending tongues protrude toward one another so that the longitudinally-extending tongues respectively slideably engage the longitudinally-extending grooves formed in the exterior side walls of the applicator half shells.
The applicator half shells are held in juxtaposition to one another by the slide member to form the applicator shell. Removal of the slide member from the applicator half shells enables cleaning of the slide member and the applicator half shells.
An elongate rod is secured to and projects from the slide member in leading relation thereto. A xe2x80x9cUxe2x80x9d-shaped support member is secured to a leading end of the elongate rod.
A transversely disposed handle is secured to a trailing end of a preselected applicator half shell. The transversely disposed handle is centered with respect to the applicator shell when the applicator half shells are joined together.
The novel seed cartridge for holding radioactive seeds includes a seed housing adapted to hold a plurality of radioactive seeds. The seed housing includes a shielded front plate and a shielded door is formed in the front plate. The shielded door is adapted to be opened and closed so that seeds within the seed housing may be viewed when the shielded door is open and so that the seeds within the seed housing may not be viewed when the shielded door is closed. The shielded door and shielded front plate protect an ambient environment from radiation when the door is closed.
More particularly, a vertically extending opening is formed in the front plate and a vertically extending tongue is formed in opposite vertically extending edges of the vertically extending opening. A vertically extending groove is formed in each vertically extending edge of the shielded door and a door handle is secured to the shielded door so that a user may slide the door in the opening in a first direction to view seeds disposed in the housing and so that a user may slide the door in the opening in a second direction to close the door.
In a second embodiment of the invention, the disposable internal parts are integrally formed with one another.
In a third embodiment of the invention, the disposable internal parts are integrally formed with the two applicator half shells.
An important object of this invention is to provide an applicator having disposable internal parts that directly contact a patient""s blood and other body fluids.
Another important object is to provide an applicator that is easily disassembled so that the internal parts requiring disposal are easily separated from the rest of the applicator for such disposal.
Still another object is to provide an applicator where the parts thereof that do not require disposal are easily assembled and disassembled and easily cleaned for re-use.
Yet another object is to provide a cartridge having a sliding door so that a physician may slide the door open to view the seeds, and to slide the door closed to restore the shielding function of the door, thereby preventing radiation leakage in all directions.
These and other important objects, advantages, and features of the invention will become clear as this description proceeds.
The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of elements, and arrangement of parts that will be exemplified in the description set forth hereinafter and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.


An apparatus (A) for improving the performance of undercabinet lighting includes a housing (10) that receives a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) (28, 30, 32). The LEDs serve as the light source and an optical assembly focuses and disperses the LED output to a desired light contour. The undercabinet lighting assembly further includes a switch (44) formed from a variable resistor adapted to control the level of optical output. The switch is adapted to turn on and off any select number of LEDs. A battery pack (70) having a battery source is enclosed by the housing for providing back up power and emergency lighting. In a preferred embodiment, the battery source automatically provides power to the undercabinet lighting assembly upon primary power failure.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to an apparatus for improving the performance of undercabinet lighting by providing a longer lighting life and higher efficacy. More particularly, the invention relates to improving undercabinet lighting by replacing a standard fluorescent or incandescent lamp with a light emitting diode (LED) light source.
2. Discussion of the Art
Conventional undercabinet lighting utilizes fluorescent or incandescent lamps as a light source. Fluorescent and incandescent lamps generally require filaments and cathode tubes for operation. They are fragile and require careful handling and, in addition, filament lamps have a relatively short operating life. Furthermore, filament lamps are not the most economical. Fluorescent lamps have a relatively high start up power consumption. Accordingly, new ways to provide more efficient lighting are constantly under consideration.
Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) have made significant advances in providing a higher performing light source since their inception in the 1960""s. Red-emitting AlGaAs LEDs were developed with external quantum efficiencies greater than 10%, such devices being more energy efficient and longer lasting producers of red light than red-filtered incandescent bulbs. As a result, LEDs have become cost effective replacements for standard incandescent light sources in various applications, such as automotive brake lights. Moreover, high-efficiency LEDs have been developed and are commercially available in the blue and blue/green wavelength range based on the InGaN and AlGaN material systems. Most recently, LEDs have been developed in the green and yellow color range with an external quantum efficiency greater than 1%.
The advent of UV and blue LEDs allowed the possibility to generate white light from an LED by applying luminescent phosphor materials on top of the LED. This layer of phosphor partially transforms the UV or blue light into longer wavelengths, e.g. yellow light. Successful implementation of such a device is dependent upon the efficient conversion of UV/blue light into visible light of the desired wavelength and the subsequent efficient extraction of the generated visible light from the device. However, the first commercially available white light LED systems were not competitive with standard light sources with respect to performance since the phosphor layer only partially transformed the UV or blue light into longer wavelengths. Not until recently have devices and methods been developed for efficiently converting UV/Blue light into visible light.
White-light LED systems provide significant benefits over traditional fluorescent and incandescent lamps. As white light producing LED systems become more refined and efficient, a need exists to expand the use of such systems into other areas, such as undercabinet lighting. As already discussed, the current fluorescent and incandescent lamps used in undercabinet lighting have multiple components (increasing the cost to manufacture), are fragile, and have a relatively short operating life. Furthermore, conventional undercabinet lighting is subject to failure upon power outages. Constructing undercabinet lighting with an LED as its light source and a battery back-up system would alleviate most, if not all, of the foregoing problems. To date, no device exists which adequately utilizes an LED system in undercabinet lighting. Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide an LED light source for undercabinet lighting which replaces the traditional filament or fluorescent lamp with an LED light source.
A new and improved apparatus is provided for improving the performance of undercabinet lighting by replacing the fluorescent and incandescent lamps found in traditional undercabinet lighting assemblies with a light emitting diode.
An improved undercabinet lighting assembly includes a fixture or housing. A first plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) is mounted within the housing forming at least one array of LEDs. The array of LEDs serves as a light source and generates a light pattern. At least one optical assembly is operatively associated with the housing for focusing and dispersing the light pattern.
One advantage of the present invention is the provision of undercabinet lighting having a longer lighting life and increased reliability.
Another advantage of the present invention resides in the reduced cost of manufacturing undercabinet lighting due to the decreased number of required components.
Another advantage of the present invention is the provision of an undercabinet lighting assembly having a minimal cost of operation due to the inherently low power consumption of the device.
Another advantage of the present invention is provided by a battery back-up system which allows for emergency lighting in the case of primary power failure.
Another advantage of the present invention is provided by the ability to control the life of a battery source used for the battery back up system.
Yet another advantage of the present invention is the provision of undercabinet lighting capable of being manufactured having several different shapes.
Yet another advantage of the present invention is the provision of emergency powerfail lighting which is energized upon primary power failure.
Still another advantage of the present invention is the provision of a switch in the form of a variable resistor allowing control over the intensity of and the number of LEDs in operation.
Still other benefits and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading and understanding of the following detailed specification.

Undercabinet lighting with light emitting diode source


A fluid dynamic bearing device includes a resin member capable of suppressing the intrusion of a lubricating oil as much as possible even when carbon fibers are compounded. A housing part as the resin member can be obtained by injection-molding a resin composition in which PPS is a base resin, and carbon fibers are compounded. The housing part is in contact with an ester-based lubricating oil filled in the inside of the bearing. The plurality of carbon fibers bound with a binder material not containing an urethane resin are cut and the carbon fibers minced by cutting are compounded into PPS to thereby obtain the above-described resin composition.

A fluid dynamic bearing device rotatably supports a rotating member by a lubrication film of a fluid created in a bearing clearance between a fixed member and the rotating member. This type of bearing device has characteristics of high-speed rotation, high rotation accuracy, low noise and the like, and is preferably used as a bearing device for a motor mounted on various types of electric equipment including information equipment, more specifically, as a bearing device for a spindle motor of a disk drive in a magnetic disk device such as HDD, an optical disk device such as CD-ROM, CD-R/RW, DVD-ROM/RAM and the like, a magnetic optical disk device such as MD, MO and the like, or as a bearing device for a motor such as a polygon scanner motor of a laser beam printer (LBP), a color wheel motor of a projector and a fan motor.
For example, in a fluid dynamic bearing device incorporated in a spindle motor of a disk drive device such as HDD, there is known one in which both a radial bearing part supporting a shaft member in a radial direction and a thrust bearing part supporting in a thrust direction are made of dynamic pressure bearings. As the radial bearing part in this type of the fluid dynamic bearing device (dynamic pressure bearing device), there is known one in which dynamic pressure grooves as a dynamic pressure generating part that create a dynamic pressure action of a fluid in a bearing clearance are formed, for example, in either of an inner circumferential surface of a bearing sleeve making up the fixed member, and an outer circumferential surface of a shaft member making up the rotating member, and a radial bearing clearance is formed between both the surfaces (e.g., refer to Patent Document 1).
Moreover, since a disk drive device such as HDD is used in a relatively wide temperature range, a lubricant fluid having a low evaporation rate and a low viscosity is preferable for a fluid dynamic bearing device used in a spindle motor of the disk drive device. For example, an ester-based lubricating oil is used (e.g., refer to Patent Document 2).
This type of fluid dynamic bearing device is made up of a plurality of components including, for example, a shaft member, a bearing sleeve, a housing and a seal member, and, it is considered that among these, the components such as the housing and the sealing member are molded using a resin material in view of moldability and low cost (e.g., refer to Patent Documents 3 and 4). Moreover, there is proposed a resin molding in which carbon fibers are compounded into a resin material as a filler for enhancing reinforcement effects and dimensional stability of the resin molding (e.g., Patent Document 5)    [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-291648    [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-172336    [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-314534    [Patent Document 4] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-265119    [Patent Document 5] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-46431

Fluid dynamic bearing device and method of manufacturing the same


A spacer for laying tiles, bricks and the like with the interposition of gaps includes a plate-like body open internally with at least one spacing protrusion that protrudes outward from the body and defines the width of a respective gap. At least one first spacing protrusion protrudes outwardly and from at least one of the two opposite faces of the body along an arrangement that is perpendicular to the arrangement of the body.

In the laying of floor surfaces and coverings composed of tiles, bricks or slabs, a difficulty is typically encountered in spacing such elements apart equidistantly in order to create the gaps.
Nowadays leveling spacers are known for laying tiles, bricks and the like, which comprise:                a base, to be arranged below two laterally adjacent tiles and from which spacing protrusions extend to define the width of the gaps, and locator abutments for the edges of the tiles;        a threaded stem, which extends at right angles at the base and is connected to it in at least one facilitated breakage point;        a knob for fastening and removing the stem, which comprises a female threaded portion adapted to be screwed to the stem.
The knob is provided with a plate-like part which is designed to be pressed during clamping against the tiles in a first step of laying the tiles in order to immobilize the edges and corners of multiple tiles arranged on the base.
Once the fixing of the tiles to the underlying surface is completed, the stem is removed by way of further rotation by screwing the knob on the threaded stem. In fact, this further rotation of the knob in the same direction of screwing causes the traction in a direction perpendicular to the arrangement of the tiles of the threaded stem, until the breakage of the breaking points, with consequent removal of the stem and of its tabs from the base.
The base is embedded and hidden by the material with which the gaps between the tiles are made.
This and similar conventional spacers have a considerable drawback in that when laying the base, they remain, unrecoverable, inside the gaps, thus constituting a weak point for the correct adhesion of the adhesive and of the putty between the tiles, marble and/or any other material.
For the same reason, conventional spacers have a cost that influences the overall costs of laying tiles and the like.

Spacer for laying tiles, bricks and the like with the interposition of gaps


A system for video stabilization is provided. The system includes a media component, a transformation component, an offset component and a zoom component. The media component receives a video sequence including at least a first video frame and a second video frame. The transformation component calculates at least a first motion parameter associated with translational motion for the first video frame and at least a second motion parameter associated with the translational motion for the second video frame. The offset component subtracts an offset value generated as a function of a maximum motion parameter and a minimum motion parameter from the first motion parameter and the second motion parameter to generate a set of modified motion parameters. The zoom component determines a zoom value for the video sequence based at least in part on the set of modified motion parameters.

For video content recorded on a handheld device (e.g., a smart phone or a camera), video stabilization can be performed to remove unwanted video motion (e.g., unsteady or shaky video). Translational motion and/or rotational motion of unstabilized video can be estimated and removed using a translational model and/or a rotational model to generate transformed video frames. However, some or all of the transformed video frames can include black borders of unknown data as a result of the transformation.

Generating and/or modifying motion compensation parameters for video stabilization


A battery pack, comprising: a plurality of battery modules; a battery management system (BMS) controlling charging or discharging of the battery pack; a wake-up control unit controlling wake-up of the BMS; a protection circuit unit protecting the battery pack; and a main field-effect transistor (FET), one end being connected to the protection circuit unit, and another end being connected to a positive output terminal of the battery pack, to control an output of the battery pack in response to control by the BMS, the protection circuit unit comprising a blocking switch, one end being connected to a positive terminal of the plurality of battery modules, another end being connected to the BMS and the main FET, so that the blocking switch is set to an on state and then is turned off upon receiving a blocking signal from the BMS to block the output of the battery pack.

With an increased use of fossil fuel, the necessity of using alternative energy or clean energy is increasing, and relevant researches are being carried out most actively in the fields of generation of electricity and storage of electricity using electrochemistry. A representative example of an electrochemical device using electrochemical energy may be a battery at the present time, and battery application fields are gradually expanding.
Recently, with the development of technology related to mobile devices such as mobile computers, mobile phones, cameras, and the like and increased demand for such devices, the demand for batteries as energy sources are rapidly increasing. Meanwhile, a battery includes a battery management system. This battery management system may protect a battery by blocking the battery from being discharged when a remaining capacity of the battery has a predetermined value or less. However, the battery management system installed to protect a battery consumes power of the battery, and thus the battery may become unusable if the battery has been left unused for a long period of time.
To resolve such an issue, a technique has been developed, in which an additional power blocking switch is provided so as to prevent consumption of power of a battery by turning off the power blocking switch when the battery is not used for a long period of time and to activate a battery management system again by turning on the power blocking switch when the battery is used (Related Art 1).
That is, according to Related Art 1, a user is required to turn on or off the power blocking switch.
Recently, with the development of technology related to external devices, a technique has been developed, in which power of a battery is automatically blocked according to whether an external device is used in cases when the power of the battery can be controlled by the external device (Related Art 2).
However, the technique of turning on or off a power blocking switch by a user (Related Art 1) and the technique of controlling power of a battery from an external device (Related Art 2) have different circuits, and thus it is required to differently design a battery according to an external device in which a battery is used, causing an increase in the cost of battery design.
Meanwhile, conventional battery packs immediately block an output of the battery packs when the battery packs enter a state of any one of overcurrent, overvoltage, and low voltage, and thus it is not possible to monitor the battery packs after blocking the output.
Therefore, the present disclosure proposes a battery pack which is usable regardless of whether power of a battery can be controlled from an external device. Furthermore, the present disclosure proposes a battery pack which makes it possible to monitor the battery pack during a predetermined time even when the battery pack enters a state of any one of overcurrent, overvoltage, and low voltage.

Externally mode-switchable battery pack and method for externally switching mode of battery pack


A system and method for adapting a peripheral expansion card to a peripheral expansion slot are disclosed herein. A first board of an expansion card adapter is configured to mate with an expansion card connector. A second board of the expansion card adapter is configured to mate with peripheral expansion card that is incompatible with the expansion card adapter.

Over the years, various standards have been applied to permit connection of peripheral devices (i.e., peripheral expansion boards) to a computer mainboard. Peripheral expansion boards are available in a variety of form factors. Some peripheral expansion boards feature small form factors applicable to space constrained applications, such as notebook computers. Some peripheral expansion board form factors are targeted at desktop computers where more space is available to accommodate a larger form factor. A computer may include one or more peripheral expansion slots configured to accommodate a particular peripheral expansion board form factor.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


There is set forth herein an imaging terminal having a picture taking mode of operation. In the picture taking mode of operation the terminal can capture a frame of image data into a buffer memory prior to activation of a trigger signal. The terminal can be operative so that responsively to activation of a trigger signal, the terminal transmits one or more frames of the buffer memory to a storage memory. The terminal can further be operative so that responsively to activation of a trigger signal an operator is presented with indicators of frames captured both prior to and subsequent to the activation of the trigger signal. The terminal can be operative so that an operator can select for archiving one or more frame.

Imaging assemblies are finding use in an expanding range of commercially available terminals. Digital cameras have been available for many years and are commonly equipped with CMOS or CCD image sensors that incorporate Bayer pattern filters. Bar code readers are commercially available having imaging assemblies that are CMOS or CCD based. Portable data terminals as well as mobile telephones are now commercially available having imaging assemblies of a variety of different technologies, e.g., CMOS or CCD.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Terminal operative for storing frame of image data


An oven using one or more quartz tungsten light bulbs or quartz arc bulbs capable of producing 1.5 kW of radiant energy of which a significant portion is light energy in the 0.4 to 0.7 .mu.m wavelength range impinges high intensity visible light wave radiation directly onto a food item. Light sources can be positioned above and below the food item and the inner walls of the oven are preferably highly reflective to reflect light energy onto the food. The intensity of the visible light source is automatically controllable and can be varied throughout the cooking cycle.

Ovens for cooking and baking food have been known and used for thousands of years. Basically, oven types can be categorized in four different forms. The simplest and probably the oldest cooking resulted when man put some vegetable or grain products on a hot rock next to a fire, and cooked them essentially by the heat transfer method of conduction. With a little more refinement, an enclosure surrounding the heating element entrapped the heated air giving rise to cooking by convective heat transfer. This was the prototype for the modern gas or electric oven. In the past century, radiant energy from infra-red radiation sources has been used to heat and cook foodstuffs directly. Within the past few decades, microwave radiation has proved useful in allowing very short cooking times for many types of food.
There are subtle differences between cooking and baking. Cooking just requires the heating of the food. Baking of a product from a dough, such as bread, cake, crust, or pastry, requires not only heating of the product throughout but also a chemical reaction coupled with driving the water from the dough in a predetermined fashion to achieve the correct consistency of the final product and finally browning the outside. Following a recipe when baking is very important. An attempt to decrease the baking time in a conventional oven by increasing the temperature results in a damaged or destroyed product.
It has generally been believed that radiation with wavelengths much shorter than 1 .mu.m is not of much value in cooking or baking processes, partly because of the weaker interaction of the shorter wavelengths with the foodstuff molecules in terms of general heat transfer, and partly due to the inferior penetrating properties of such radiation. In particular, it has seemed that visible light, i.e., radiation with a wavelength in the range of 0.4 to 0.7 .mu.m, is not very useful in the cooking process. However, if one provides a sufficiently intense source of visible light radiation in conjunction with infra-red radiation, a novel and very effective cooking apparatus results. The combination of the deeply penetrating infra-red and the intense visible radiations establishes a temperature gradient within the interior of the foodstuff. This strong gradient created by the differential absorption of the infra-red and visible radiations ensures that the surface temperature of the foodstuff is hotter than the interior, and the products of the cooking, i.e., the water vapor and gases like CO.sub.2, are quickly driven to the surface and out of the foodstuff. This process results in a very rapid cooking of the foodstuff.
Using intense visible and infra-red radiation to cook food has a number of significant advantages. First of all, the cooking process is very fast. Bakery products, like pizza crust for example, can be baked 5 to 10 times faster than ovens that use only infra-red energy or rely on conventional convection and conduction processes. Secondly, the quality of the cooking process is enhanced for many foodstuffs. For example, crusts become fully cooked with crispy exteriors and moist, chewy interiors. Vegetables are cooked so fast that they are virtually steamed in their own water vapor, leaving them hot, but with very little loss of any of their nutritive values.
In general, this is a new mode of cooking. The potentialities of using this enhanced range of wavelengths for cooking and baking are just starting to be explored, and a whole new range of cooking techniques should result from the invention.

Visible light and infra-red cooking apparatus


A low range pressure sensor includes a base plate of brittle material, and a diaphragm plate mounted on the base plate and sealed around a periphery to the base plate. Pressures are introduced to cause the diaphragm to deflect toward the base plate, and the deflection of the diaphragm is sensed through strain gauges to provide an indication of the pressure. The diaphragm is provided with a plurality of individual support posts on a side facing the base plate, so that when the diaphragm is deflected toward the base plate under high overpressures the support posts will support the diaphragm against movement to avoid failure or breakage of the diaphragm. The number of support posts can be varied as desired. In a preferred form of the invention, the base plate is provided with a very thin layer of silicon dioxide, which is a good electrical insulator and which also serves to help accommodate slight movement of the support posts as they touch the surface of the base plate to reduce stress buildup in the diaphragm as the overpressure increases.

The present invention relates to a deflecting diaphragm utilizing a brittle material diaphragm that deflects under pressure relative to a base plate and which is supported against damage when under high overpressures relative to the normal sensor range.
Semiconductor pressure sensors, which utilize a backing plate and a diaphragm that deflects under pressure, are known in the prior art. The deflection is measured in such prior art sensors in a number of ways, including capacitive sensing, and using strain gauges that are mounted on the diaphragm. The use of brittle material such as silicon, glass and quartz for diaphragms has also been known.
The need for protection of brittle material diaphragms when subjected to overpressure has been recognized. In general, such support has been obtained by resting the diaphragm surface across a facing surface of the base plate, which may be configured to match the deflected diaphragm configuration, so that when the diaphragm slightly exceeds its maximum design pressure sensing range it will be supported on the base. Preferably a substantial portion of the diaphragm will rest on a facing surface of the base. Recesses have been used in base plates and on diaphragms to attempt to ensure a full, continuous overpressure support across the deflecting portion of the diaphragm.

High overpressure low range pressure sensor


A temperature detection circuit includes a sensor, an integrated circuit (IC) chip, and a resistor. The sensor is operable for sensing a temperature. The IC chip can compare a sense voltage indicative of the temperature with a threshold voltage indicative of a temperature threshold to determine a temperature condition. The IC chip has a substantially constant parameter. The resistor is externally coupled to the IC chip. The IC chip maintains a current ratio, including a ratio of a first current flowing through the sensor to a second current flowing through the resistor, equal to the substantially constant parameter.

Energy storage elements, such as batteries, may deteriorate under over-temperature conditions. FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a conventional over-temperature detection circuit 100. The conventional over-temperature detection circuit 100 includes an integrated circuit (IC) chip 110 and a negative temperature coefficient (NTC) thermistor 130 externally coupled to the chip 110 via a dedicated analog NTC pin. The chip 110 can include a comparator 120 and multiple internal resistors, e.g., a resistor 112, a resistor 114, a resistor 116 and a resistor 118. For example, the internal resistors are integrated onto the IC chip 110. The thermistor 130 can sense temperature of, e.g., a battery pack, and can vary resistance of the thermistor 130 when the temperature changes. A voltage divider constituted by the resistor 118, the resistor 112 and the thermistor 130 provides a temperature sense voltage at node 122. Another voltage divider constituted by the resistor 118, the resistor 114 and the resistor 116 provides a reference threshold voltage indicative of a temperature threshold at node 124. The comparator 120 compares the temperature sense voltage to the reference threshold voltage, and generates an over-temperature detection signal OTA if the temperature sense voltage drops below the reference threshold voltage. Thus, when the temperature reaches the temperature threshold, the resistance of the thermistor 130 depends on the resistance of internal resistors, e.g., the resistors 112, 114, 116.
The internal resistors can be fabricated by a doped region on a silicon chip. Therefore, resistance of the internal resistors varies in different chips or different doped regions of the same chip, which may affect the accuracy of the temperature detection circuit 100. In addition, resistance of the resistor 118 may be set relatively high to reduce the current consumption, which may increase the chip size and the cost of the over-temperature detection circuit 100.
FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of another conventional over-temperature detection circuit 200. Elements labeled the same as in FIG. 1 have similar functions. The over-temperature detection circuit 200 includes an external adjustable resistor 210 coupled to the thermistor 130 and to the IC chip 110 for adjusting errors caused by the resistance variation of the internal resistors. However, chip size remains an issue.
FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic diagram of another conventional over-temperature detection circuit 300. Elements labeled the same as in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 have similar functions. The over-temperature detection circuit 300 includes an external resistor 312 in series with the thermistor 130. As such, a temperature sense voltage at node 302 can be provided by a voltage divider including the external resistor 312 and the thermistor 130, and a reference threshold voltage at node 304 can be provided by a voltage divider including resistors 116 and 114. However, a leakage current can flow through the resistor 312 and the thermistor 130 even when the IC chip 310 is powered off, which may increase power consumption.
Resistance of the resistors involved in the conventional over-temperature detection circuits 100, 200, and 300, e.g., the internal resistor 118 and the external resistor 312, can be increased to reduce the power consumption. As a result, the current flowing through the thermistor 130 can be decreased. Thus, when the temperature varies, the corresponding voltage change of the temperature sense voltage at node 302 or 122 can be decreased. By way of example, the temperature may reach the temperature threshold. The temperature sense voltage is then equal to the threshold voltage. If the temperature is increased, the temperature sense voltage can be decreased to less than the threshold voltage. In some circumstances, the voltage change of the temperature sense voltage may be lower than an offset voltage of the comparator 120, or the relatively small voltage change of the temperature sense voltage may be affected by coupling noise of the comparator 120. Thus, the detection signal OTA, e.g., a high electric level, may not be generated to indicate the over-temperature condition. As such, the accuracy of the over-temperature detection circuits 100, 200, and 300 may be degraded.

Circuits and methods for temperature detection


A backlight module includes a light guide plate and at least two groups of light sources. The light guide plate includes at least two independent light guide modules optically isolated from each other. Each group of light sources is located corresponding to an independent light guide module and controlled independently. A liquid crystal display using the backlight module is also related.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a backlight module and liquid crystal display using the same.
2. Description of Related Art
Currently, because liquid crystal displays (LCDs) are thin, lightweight, long lasting, and consume little power, they are extensively used in a variety of electronic devices. However, liquid crystal displays are not self-luminescent, therefore, backlight modules are typically required.
Liquid crystal display, according to the prior art usually includes a liquid crystal panel and a backlight module. The backlight module includes a light guide plate, a reflective plate, and a light source such as light emitting diode (LED). The light guide plate has a light inputting surface and a light outputting surface opposite to the light inputting surface. The light source is located adjacent to the light inputting surface. The reflective plate is located on the side of the light inputting surface. During use, the light radiated from the light source enters the light guide plate from the light inputting surface and leaves the light guide plate through the light outputting surface to form uniform planar light. The planar light illuminates the liquid crystal panel so that the liquid crystal panel displays images. However, a power consumption of the liquid crystal display is high because the entire backlight source is kept in the illumination state and does not change according to the change of the image display.
What is needed, therefore, is to provide a backlight module and a liquid crystal display using the same that has low power consumption.

Backlight module comprising an integrally joined light guide plate structure having at least one groove dividing the light guide plate into a plurality of sub-light guide plates wherein the at least one groove is filled with a reflective material


An improved apparatus for generating a variable compression ratio within an ICE includes a piston-in-piston assembly having an inner piston that is slidably mounted within an outer piston and coupled to an actuator. The actuator is further coupled to a fluid source, and a volume of fluid is selectively channeled into and out of the actuator to move the inner piston to selected positions corresponding to desired compression ratios. At top dead center, a top face of the outer piston maintains a substantially constant distance from an engine head assembly to minimize squish area variations.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus for generating a variable compression ratio in an internal combustion engine, including an apparatus wherein an inner piston is selectively movable within an outer piston.
2. Description of the Related Art
In automotive powertrain designs that currently prevail, an internal combustion engine (ICE) is employed as the source of motive power. ICEs create mechanical work from fuel energy by combusting the fuel over a thermodynamic cycle. Although the demands of normal driving call for a wide range of power demands and speeds, the best energy conversion efficiency of an ICE is experienced over only a relatively narrow range of loads and speeds.
ICEs sized and calibrated to generate the high power levels required to meet intermittent demands (such as rapid acceleration, passing, and hill climbing) operate inefficiently at low to moderate power levels the vast majority of the time. This is largely because, with conventional technology, the compression ratio cannot be calibrated and is therefore pre-set to a level that will allow the ICE to meet intermittent power demands, as opposed to a level that will optimize engine efficiency during normal operating loads.
Compression ratio is the ratio of expanded cylinder volume to compressed cylinder volume in one cycle of a reciprocating piston within an ICE. According to thermodynamic laws, a greater degree of compression relative to the expanded volume corresponds to greater efficiency of the thermodynamic cycle and hence greater efficiency of the engine. An ICE with a higher compression ratio is therefore better able to convert fuel energy to mechanical work than an ICE with a lower compression ratio. Unfortunately, a high compression ratio may result in several undesirable side effects. An increased level of friction and higher peak cylinder pressures are two results of a high compression ratio. Under these conditions, if the fuel is introduced with a fresh charge of air, there is a potential for knocking or pre-ignition at high power output.
For this reason, with conventional engine hardware, if the compression ratio were simply pre-set to a high level in order to maximize engine efficiency at normal loads, the operation of the ICE at the maximum power demand levels would lead to severe knocking, reduced engine efficiency, and potential engine damage.
These problems could be avoided if the compression ratio of an ICE could be calibrated. Ideally, one would desire to employ a high compression ratio at normal loads, and shift to a lower compression ratio for intermittent high loads. In this way, the high efficiency associated with a high compression ratio could be achieved over normal ranges of operation, while higher power output could be achieved without fear of pre-ignition by invoking a lower compression ratio.
Various methods are currently known to vary the compression ratio of an ICE. However, as testified to by the lack of variable compression ratio engines in automotive applications, none of these known designs have proven to be sufficiently effective or practical to warrant widespread use in automotive applications. Applicant therefore believes it is desirable and possible to provide an improved system for generating a variable compression ratio engine. The present invention provides such a system.
Briefly, the present invention provides an improved system for generating a variable compression ratio within an ICE. The engine may therefore operate at more than one distinct compression ratio, selectable during engine operation. As a result, an engine provided in accordance with the present invention operates near its most efficient operating range during the majority of driving, while providing intermittent high power capability in a way that does not lead to undesirable side effects. (While the invention is described herein as used in an automotive ICE, it will be understood that the present invention may be used in any ICE.)
More particularly, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a piston assembly for an ICE has an inner piston slidably mounted within an outer piston. The outer piston is mounted in a cylinder of an ICE to reciprocate in a conventional manner. During operating conditions of low to moderate power demands, the top of the inner piston is flush with the top of the outer piston, defining a high compression ratio mode. The relatively high compression ratio in this mode provides improved thermodynamic efficiency in this operating range. When power demand increases to the point where this high compression ratio might cause performance problems such as pre-ignition or knocking, a command signal causes the inner piston to recede to a second position within the outer piston, thereby reducing the compression ratio. Good mixing and combustion is retained in both modes because the piston bowl resides within the receding inner piston and therefore does not change shape, only changing its relative distance from the top of the cylinder when at top dead center (TDC).
In a preferred embodiment, the inner piston is located in either the normal high compression ratio position or the intermittent low compression ratio position by the rotation of a rotary cam-like actuator which pivots about a wrist pin residing in the outer piston. (It will be understood that while the present invention has been described in the context of an application where a higher compression ratio is the predominant mode of operation and a low compression ratio is only used intermittently, the present invention may provide an engine where the default mode of operation is at a low compression ratio and a high compression ratio is used intermittently.) In one preferred embodiment, the actuator is comprised of a rotary hydraulic piston within a hydraulic chamber that is integrated with the wrist pin, and a cam which pivots around the wrist pin in reaction to movement of the hydraulic piston. Movement of the rotary hydraulic piston and cam assembly is caused by the presence or absence of pressurized fluid in the hydraulic chamber, in conjunction with inertial forces created by reciprocation of the piston assembly in an engine cylinder. The pressurized fluid is directed into and out of the hydraulic chamber by a control system that generates appropriate command signals. Additional embodiments vary the actuation means to include additional springs and/or hydraulic systems.

Piston-in-piston variable compression ratio engine

The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency


Light collector devices and methods of operating light collector devices are described herein. One or more embodiments include a plurality of apertures, and a detector coupled to each of the plurality of apertures.

Light collector devices can be used to collect, detect, and/or measure light in a number of different applications. For example, light collector devices may be used to collect, detect, and/or measure light in non-imaging applications, which may involve the collection, detection, and/or measurement of small (e.g., faint) amounts of light.
Previous light collector devices may include a single large area aperture to collect small amounts of light. However, because the length of the optical axis (e.g., optical track length) associated with the aperture may increase as the area of the aperture increases, such previous light collector devices having a single large area aperture may also have a long optical axis (e.g., a large optical track length). As an example, a light collector device that includes a single large area aperture having a diameter of six inches may have an optical track length of at least nine inches.
The long optical axis associated with the single large area aperture of such previous light collector devices may increase the size (e.g., the area and/or volume) of such previous light collector devices. Because such previous light collector devices may have a large size, they may not be amenable to small structure integration.


An ultra-broadband balun is provided. The balun comprises: a first unbalanced transmission line comprising a first ground trace and a signal trace; and a balanced transmission line comprising a first and second signal trace, wherein the first signal trace of the balanced transmission line is connected to the first ground trace of the first unbalanced transmission line and the second signal trace of the balanced transmission line is connected to the signal trace of the first unbalanced transmission line, wherein a first capacitor is disposed in series with one of the first ground trace of the first unbalanced transmission line and the first signal trace of the balanced transmission line.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to communications systems, and more particularly, to millimeter-wave transmission lines and hybrid couplers.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
A conventional balun is used to convert balanced or differential signals into unbalanced or single-ended signals. Baluns have found increasing use in circuits for millimeter-wave, radio frequency (RF), and high-speed wired applications. The integration of baluns with circuit elements has led to a reduction in power consumption, input/output ports, size and cost of balun-equipped circuits. Moreover, baluns for such circuit integration should be broadband and compact and have a low insertion loss and good return loss.
At low frequencies, for example, 1-5 GHz, integrated baluns are typically implemented using a spiral transformer. Spiral transformers work by exploiting magnetic coupling between inner wound coils of its spiral. The spiral transformer, however, is inherently narrow band due to its non-idealities. For example, the spiral transformer has a coupling factor of less than one, a finite self inductance on the primary and secondary coils and a parasitic capacitance. This leads to parasitics that have to be resonated out, thus limiting the operational bandwidth of the spiral transformer.
At millimeter-wave frequencies, a common way to realize the function of a balun is to use a "rat-race" or ring hybrid coupler. A ring hybrid coupler is typically implemented using three □/4 length transmission lines and one 3□/4 length transmission line all placed in a ring structure. The ring hybrid coupler has bandwidth limitations because the size of the ring structure is determined by the wavelength λ of the desired signal. The ring hybrid coupler does, however, provide common-mode and differential mode ports.
Recently, alternative topologies for baluns have been developed. One alternative topology for a balun is to use a transition from an unbalanced transmission line to a coupled or balanced transmission line. Examples of such back-to-back transitions are shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. As shown in FIG. 1, a balun 110 is connected to another balun 120 via a balanced stripline 130. The balun 110 consists of a portion of a microstrip (μS) transmission line 140, a transition 150 and a portion of the balanced stripline 130. The balun 120 consists of a portion of the balanced stripline 130, a transition 170 and a portion of another μS transmission line 160.
In another back-to-back transition shown in FIG. 2, a balun 205 is connected to a balun 210 via a coplanar stripline (CPS) 215. The balun 205 consists of a portion of a coplanar waveguide (CPW) 220, a transition 225 and a portion of the CPS 215. The balun 210 consists of a portion of the CPS 215, a transition 235 and a portion of another CPW 230. As further shown in FIG. 2, the CPW 220 includes a pair of ground traces 240a,b and a signal trace 245a, the CPS 215 includes a pair of signal traces 250a,b and the CPW 230 includes a pair of ground traces 240c,d and a signal trace 245b.
In either back-to-back transition of FIGS. 1 and 2, the ground traces, for example, the ground traces 240a-d, are connected to the signal trace 250a using either a tapered 225, 235 or direct connection. These transitions 225, 235 have been shown to exhibit very broadband behavior. However, in such configurations, a direct current (DC) ground potential is imposed on the signal trace 250a. Thus, a differential circuit connected to the CPS 215 would include a DC blocking capacitor inserted between the circuit and the signal trace 250a and a dummy capacitor inserted on the signal trace 250b to balance the amplitude and phase shifts between the two signal traces 250a,b. The inclusion of these capacitors would, however, lead to discontinuities such as an impedance mismatch or insertion loss within the signal traces 250a,b.

International Business Machines Corporation


The invention relates to a mechanism that attaches and releases a boat or personal watercraft or the like to a trailer or lift or the like and includes a trigger which can move between a secured and released condition by means of contact with the boat or manually and which is biased by an energy storage device. Said trigger in turn may restrict or release a securing member or members which releases or secures a boat's eyehook. Said securing member may be biased by a primary energy device that may be moved to a locked or released condition as desired to attach the boat to, or release the boat from, the trailer.

The present invention relates in general to latching mechanisms which are designed to securely connect one object to another object, such as a boat to a boat trailer. More specifically, the present invention is an automatic latching and releasing mechanism, which may be mounted on an appropriately equipped boat trailer, and latches or releases the securing eye of a boat.
Numerous attempts have been made in recent decades to solve the inconvenience and risk of injury associated with the present commonly used method of securing a boat to a trailer with a winch, strap and hook. This method usually entails the manual cranking of a winch to draw or release a strap that may be connected to a hook that may be hooked to the securing eye on the centerline of the bow of a boat. It typically requires an individual to access the point at which the boat and the trailer come in contact while the boat is in the water by wading in the water, leaning over the bow of the boat or climbing onto the tongue of the trailer. This current prevalent method is not only dangerous and inconvenient but is particularly difficult for one person to perform alone. It is also very difficult for an individual of limited strength to perform.
A few products are already on the market that are designed to solve the problems associated with trailering a boat.
A boat latch sold under the trademark SNAPPER, manufactured by EPCO Products, Inc., Fort Wayne, Ind. is an electronically controlled attachment device that entered the market within the last 2 years. The device is cumbersome to install due its design and electrical hook up necessity as well expensive and vulnerable due to the electronics near a water environment.
A boat latch sold under the trademark BOAT BUDDY, manufactured by ROECO, Inc. Fort Worth, Tex. is a simple and inexpensive device that attaches a boat to a trailer but does not offer an effective or convenient way to release the boat from the trailer. In effect, this device creates as much inconvenience in releasing a boat from a trailer as it creates convenience in connecting the two.
Another product on the market is the boat latch sold under the trademark LAUNCH AND RETRIEVE BOAT LATCH manufactured by Release & Retrieve Boat Latch Pty Ltd, Adelaide, Australia. This product incorporates a latch that is offset from a boat's centerline and utilizes a unique eyehook on a boat's bow. Incumbent to the product's design is the necessity to change the typical eye hook found on most modern boats which can be a cumbersome exercise. Also disadvantageous to this product is that its design forces a boat's bow off center in order to latch putting lateral pressure on the boat trailer's guides causing potential damage.
A wide variety of mechanisms have been designed using clasps, pins and hooks to automatically secure a boat to a trailer. Most are designed to eliminate the need for an individual to access the point of contact between boat and trailer while the boat is in the water when loading a boat onto a trailer. While one common element among most is their use of the securing eye that is standard equipment on most boats, other elements of prior designs vary widely.
One such earlier design for latching a boat to a trailer was a mechanism using a spring-loaded pin represented in U.S. Pat. No. 4,919,446 which was issued Apr. 24, 1990 to Higgins. This design, however, does not provide an automatic releasing mechanism and does not provide a secondary securing member to restrict movement of the boat's eyehook toward the tow vehicle.
Another earlier design for latching a boat to a trailer was a mechanism using a spring-loaded pin represented in U.S. Pat. No. 3,989,267 which was issued Nov. 2, 1976 to Robinson. This design, however, does not provide an automatic latching or release mechanism, is difficult to attach to a typical modern boat trailer, does not employ a bow guide, does not provide a secondary securing member to restrict movement of the boat's eyehook toward the tow vehicle, and eliminates the potential use of the traditional winch apparatus.
Another such earlier design is represented in U.S. Pat. No. 5,120,079 issued Jun. 9, 1992 to Boggs. The novelty of this design was in the bow guide used to protect the boat and invention. And while a locking pin mechanism was used, no automatic release mechanism was employed and no secondary securing member to restrict movement of the boat's eyehook toward the tow vehicle is described.
Another earlier design which used a spring loaded pin is represented in U.S. Pat. No. 4,114,920 issued Sep. 19, 1978 to Boettcher. While a spring loaded pin assembly was used in combination with a bow guide, neither a release mechanism nor the ability to use the winch and strap apparatus was possible and the trailer mounting design is complicated and adds numerous parts. Also, no secondary securing member to restrict movement of the boat's eyehook toward the tow vehicle is described.
Another earlier design which employs a spring loaded pin and a bow guide is U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,835 issued Mar. 16, 1993 to Sheets. This design, however, does not entail a simple to install, one piece designed apparatus that has an automatic release mechanism accompanying the securing mechanism nor a secondary securing member to restrict movement of the boat's eyehook toward the tow vehicle is described.
A more recent design which does not employ a pin mechanism but does have an automatic release mechanism is U.S. Pat. No. 6,923,138 issued Aug. 2, 2005 to Holbrook. The mechanism utilizes a motor driven rotating head on a shaft that protrudes from the bow of a boat and is captured and released by two steel plates. The mechanism is relatively complicated with numerous moving parts in various conditions. It also requires modification to the standard bow securing eye found on most boats and does not allow for the traditional winch, strap and hook method to be used as a back-up.
Referring to FIG. 1, a side elevational view of a boat 12 loaded on a boat trailer 38 which includes a prior art latching mechanism. The boat 12 may be pulled up onto the boat trailer 38 by a securing eye 16, such as an eyehook, by means of a hook attached to a strap 32 and retrieved by a winch 30. The winch 30 may be powered by hand by means of a winch handle 31 or by electric motor and may be attached to a winch housing 34 by a bolt 40. The centerline of the boat 12 may be guided by a roller 42 that may be mounted by means of a mounting bolt 66 at the end of a first winch arm extension 8a and a second winch arm extension 8b (not pictured) and keeps boat 12's bow centered on the boat trailer 38. The entirety of the prior art latching mechanism may be supported by a first winch pedestal 36a and a second winch pedestal 36b.

Hands-free trailer latching and releasing mechanism for a boat


Disclosed is a stacked gate electrically erasable programmable read only memory EEPROM cell which utilizes a floating region and a common pass transistor to provide a cell which is programmable at a relatively low drain voltage and which, in addition, by utilizing a pass transistor, overcomes the programming disturbance and false read problems associated with typical stacked gate memory cells. The cell is constructed such that programming and erasing functions take place at separate locations in the gate oxide. An EEPROM memory cell array, utilizing the above memory cell, is disclosed which provides the ability to achieve both byte erase and block erase as well as byte write capability. Also disclosed is a process for producing such a memory cell and memory array.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a high density electrically erasable and programmable nonvolatile memory cells and more particularly to a high density nonvolatile memory cell utilizing a stacked gate floating gate transistor, a pass transistor and a floating diffusion region, and a process for making such a cell.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In semiconductor memory devices which are nonvolatile, information that is stored is not lost when the power supply is removed. Memory devices of this type include the EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory) and the EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read-Only Memory). A typical EPROM uses single transistor cell which has two stacking polysilicon gates. The upper gate is a control gate and the bottom gate is a floating gate disposed between the control gate and the substrate. Programming or writing is accomplished by injection of hot electrons from the channel region through an oxide layer in response to high applied drain voltage and control gate voltage. The injected electrons are stored in the floating gate until an erasing action is taken. Erasure is accomplished by photoemission of the stored electrons from the floating gate to the control gate and the substrate. Practical EPROM cell programming requires high channel current, high programming voltages at the drain as well as at the control gate, and therefore cannot be programmed using a single standard five-volt power supply. For standard EPROM products, an additional power supply of higher voltage is required for programming.
Most conventional EEPROM products are made using dual element cells, which consist of two individual transistors, namely, a select transistor and a floating gate transistor. Programming and erasure are accomplished by means of Fowler-Nordheim effect which allows electrons to tunnel through an insulating layer between two electrodes. Information is stored by putting either positive charges or negative charges on a floating gate. During a read operation, the charge status of the EEPROM cell is detected by sensing the current that passes a select transistor. Conventional EEPROM cells require a select transistor and an area to situate a tunnel window, thus requiring a larger cell size as compared to an EPROM cell. Although the Fowler-Nordheim tunneling also requires high voltages, since they need not consume high current, the required high voltages can be provided by use of an on-chip voltage pump, which elevates the standard five-volt supply voltage to a higher level. Generally, an EPROM cell requires less area to implement than does an EEPROM cell, but the EPROM cell requires an external power supply for the programming operation.
It is highly desirable to produce a nonvolatile memory cell which has a small cell size and which can be programmed with the standard five-volt power supply. A prior art has attempted to achieve this by utilizing a short channel EPROM cell. As described in the article entitled "A Single Transistor EEPROM Cell and Its Implementation in A 512K CMOS EEPROM" by Satyen Mukherjee et al., which appeared in the IEEE Technical Digest of IEDM 1985, pages 616-619, a stacked gate cell is described which is said to be programmable with less than five volts on the drain. Programming may be achieved with the five volts by utilizing a relatively short channel length, however uncontrolled drain-to-source breakdown due to process related gate length variations renders the cell to have the disadvantage that when programming other bits sitting on the same bit line, the unintended cells may be deprogrammed, such phenomenon being known as programming disturbance. Accordingly, the challenge is to provide a nonvolatile memory cell which can be programmed with five volts and which will not suffer from programming disturbance. It is additionally desirable to provide an EEPROM memory cell which can tolerate the undesired overerased condition, in which positive charges are stored in the floating gate due to excessive tunneling. Without a select transistor, under a normal read mode operation, such a condition can cause current to leak through unaddressed cells along a selected bit line and therefore can be confused with the real cell current of a selected bit.
To overcome the programming disturbance and false read problems noted above, an attempt has been made by using two-transistor EEPROM cells utilizing a split gate. A typical split-gate flash EEPROM cell has been described in an article entitled "A 128K Flash EEPROM Using Double-Polysilicon Technology" by Gheorghe Samachisa et al. which appeared in the IEEE Journal of Solid State Circuits Vol SC-22, No. 5, October 1987. This type of split-gate cell has a disadvantage of needing high drain voltage for programming and it does not have the capability for byte erase.
The need for programming an EEPROM memory cell using lower voltages has been addressed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,698,787 to Mukherjee et al., issued Oct. 6, 1987. The Mukherjee et al patent discloses a cell in which cell programming can be achieved by hot electron injection by raising the drain to about 5 volts, while the control gate is pulsed at an amplitude of approximately 10 to 12 volts. Although this represents an improvement in programming voltage required, because of the construction of the cell in Mukherjee et al., arrays produced with such cells can only have the capability of providing either byte erase or block erase, but not both utilizing a single array structure. From their circuit of FIG. 5d and the partial view of the array layout illustrated in FIG. 5c, as shown in the patent, it appears that the resistive loading in each cell is high and would limit the low drain programming voltage operations.

High density EEPROM cell and process for making the cell


A method for manufacturing a ferrite magnet device including a ferrite body and first and second center electrodes arranged so as to intersect and be electrically insulated from each other and a permanent magnet arranged to apply a direct current magnetic field to the ferrite body and a method for manufacturing an isolator or a composite electronic component, which include the ferrite magnet device. A magnetic force of the permanent magnet is adjusted using a measurement jig and a magnetic force adjusting apparatus while the permanent magnet is fixed to a principal surface of the ferrite body.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a ferrite magnet device, a method for manufacturing a non-reciprocal circuit device including the ferrite magnet device, and a method for manufacturing a composite electronic component including the non-reciprocal circuit device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional non-reciprocal circuit devices, e.g., isolators and circulators, have a characteristic that signals are transmitted in a specific direction and are not transmitted in the reverse direction. For example, an isolator is used to transmit circuit portions of mobile communication equipment, e.g., automobile telephones and cellular phones, by utilizing this characteristic.
In general, this type of non-reciprocal circuit device includes a ferrite magnet device composed of a ferrite body provided with a center electrode and a permanent magnet arranged to apply a direct current magnetic field thereto and a predetermined matching circuit device including a resistance and a capacitor. Furthermore, a composite electronic component including a plurality of non-reciprocal circuit devices, or a composite electronic component including a non-reciprocal circuit device and a power amplifier device have been provided as modules.
In the above-described non-reciprocal circuit device and composite electronic component, electrical characteristics thereof must be measured and adjusted. Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-299914 discloses that the capacitance and the resistance are measured so as to have a predetermined capacitance value and resistance value or they are adjusted to predetermined values by trimming or other suitable methods before being connected to the center electrode, and the center electrode is subjected to a magnetic force adjustment after being assembled into a non-reciprocal circuit device. Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-117500 discloses that a non-reciprocal circuit device and a power amplifier are assembled into one unit and, thereafter, the magnetic flux density of a permanent magnet is adjusted.
However, in a non-reciprocal circuit device or the composite circuit device including the non-reciprocal circuit device, there are large fluctuations in characteristics due to variations in characteristics of the ferrite body provided with the center electrode or the permanent magnet, and in particular, variations in magnetic force of the permanent magnet. Consequently, the inductance of the center electrode deviates significantly from a predetermined value because of this factor, and non-adjustable devices may result. In the manufacturing method according to the related art, the magnetic force is adjusted at a stage in which the matching circuit device has been incorporated or the power amplifier has been combined. Therefore, if a non-adjustable device is found, the non-adjustable device has to be discarded, and there is a problem in that the matching circuit devices, power amplifiers, and other combined components are wasted.

Method for manufacturing ferrite magnet device, method for manufacturing non-reciprocal circuit device, and method for manufacturing composite electronic component


A shelf and support arm assembly is comprised of a wire shelf having two different embodiments, the support surface of the shelf being formed by a plurality of parallel, spatially arranged longitudinal wires where a given lateral spacing between the wires differentiates one embodiment of the shelf from another. A support arm is suspended from a forward end of the shelf to facilitate the assembly of the shelf and support arm to a vertical support surface. The support arm is specifically configured so that the same support arm may be employed in attaching both embodiments of the shelf to the vertical support surface.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wire shelf and support arm assembly. In particular, the present invention relates to a wire shelf having a support surface formed by a plurality of spatially arranged longitudinal wires, and a support arm designed to be suspended beneath the shelf member to facilitate the attachment of the shelf and support arm to a vertical surface, and designed to be attached to different embodiments of the shelf member having different spatial arrangements of their pluralities of longitudinal wires.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Various different types of wire shelf assemblies are known in the prior art. These prior art assemblies typically include a shelf member constructed of pluralities of crisscrossing wires. The typical shelf member is comprised of a first plurality of parallel, longitudinally extending wires each having opposite front and back ends and each being substantially the same length. The first plurality of wires are arranged side by side, with a set lateral spacing between adjacent wires. At least one back wire extends laterally beneath the back ends of the longitudinal wires and is secured to each of the plurality of wires. At least one front wire extends laterally beneath the front ends of the plurality of longitudinal wires and is also secured to each of the front ends of the plurality of wires. The connection between the laterally extending front and back wires and the plurality of longitudinally extending wires secures the longitudinally extending wires in their laterally spaced relationship.
In many different prior art wire shelf members, the lateral spacings between the adjacent longitudinally extending wires of the shelf members is different. Typically however, the plurality of longitudinally extending wires are spaced laterally from each other by one inch or one-half inch spacings.
The shelf support arms of prior art shelf assemblies are usually formed as elongate rods having one end configured to be attached to a vertical support surface, and an opposite end configured to be attached to a forward portion of the shelf member. In assembling a prior art shelf and support arm assembly to a vertical support surface, the rearward edge or back wire of the shelf member is usually first secured to the vertical support surface. The shelf member is then held horizontal while the support arm is connected between a forward portion of the shelf member and the vertical support surface. In the assembled relative positions of the shelf member and support arm, the shelf member is secured to the vertical support surface along its rearward edge or back wire and projects horizontally outward from the vertical support surface. The support arm is positioned at an angle relative to the underside of the shelf member, with a rearward end of the support arm being secured to the vertical support surface and a forward end of the support arm being secured in some manner to a forward portion of the shelf member.
Many prior art wire shelf and support arm assemblies are disadvantaged in that the component parts of the assemblies are not interchangeable with other assemblies. In many prior art shelf and support arm assemblies the lateral spacing between the plurality of longitudinal wires forming the support surface of the shelf requires that the specific support arm designed for use with the shelf be used in assembling the shelf and support arm to a vertical support surface. In many applications, the forward end of the support arm engages between a pair of the plurality of longitudinally extending wires and therefore is specifically dimensioned to be used with a shelf having a specific lateral spacing between the plurality of longitudinally extending wires. In these types of prior art-shelf assemblies, a support arm having a forward end dimensioned to engage between adjacent longitudinal wires of one shelf may not work with a shelf having a plurality of longitudinal wires spaced at a different lateral spacing. For a manufacturer who produces wire shelves of various sizes and with various lateral spacings between the longitudinal wires of the different shelves, the necessity of producing a specific support arm for each of the different shelves drives up the costs of producing the different shelf and support arm assemblies.
Many prior art wire shelf and support arm assemblies are also disadvantaged in that they are relatively difficult to assemble to a vertical support surface. Assembly of the shelf to the support surface requires that the rearward edge or the back wire of the wire shelf first be secured to the support surface. The shelf is then held in a horizontal orientation while the support arm is secured beneath the shelf between a forward portion of the shelf and the vertical support surface. This usually requires one person to hold the shelf in its horizontal orientation while a second person positions the support arm beneath the shelf, engaging a forward end of the support arm with a forward portion of the underside of the shelf and attaching the rearward end of the support arm to the vertical support surface.
What is needed to overcome the above set forth disadvantages of prior art wire shelf and support arm assemblies is a wire shelf and support arm assembly where the forward end of the support arm is specifically configured to be used with a variety of different wire shelves having different lateral spacings between the pluralities of longitudinal wires of the shelves. What is also needed is a support arm having a forward end that can be releasably attached to the forward portion of the wire shelf and suspended from the shelf as the rearward end of the support arm is pivoted back toward the vertical support surface and attached to the support surface, thereby facilitating the attachment of the shelf and support arm assembly to the support surface.


An endoscopic infusion needle device includes a catheter within which an injection tube having a distal injection needle is slideably disposed. A proximal actuating handle is coupled to the proximal ends of the catheter and the injection tube, and a distal stopping structure is provided on distal portions of the catheter and the injection tube. In one embodiment, the stopping structures include a rigid elongate skeletal structure occupying a portion of the annular space between the tube and the catheter, and an annular band on the tube which resides within the skeletal structure. The skeletal structure fits tightly within the cannula, allows irrigation fluid to pass through the annular space between the tube and the catheter to exit the distal end of the catheter, prevents the annular band from escaping through the proximal end or the distal end of the skeletal structure, and maintains the tube in substantial axial alignment with the catheter. The annular band is located such that when the tube is moved proximally, the distal end of the injection needle is safely housed within the skeletal structure when the annular band is stopped by the skeletal structure; and, when the tube is moved distally, the distal end of the needle extends approximately 4-6 mm beyond the distal end of the skeletal structure when the annular band is stopped by the skeletal structure.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to endoscopic medical devices. More particularly, the invention relates to an endoscopic infusion device having a needle which is movable within an outer tube from a first position to a second position.
2. State of the Art
Endoscopic infusion needle devices are used in the treatment of various digestive disorders to control bleeding or potential bleeding lesions in the esophagus, stomach, duodenum, and colon. The state of the art devices include a relatively long catheter, typically having an overall length of about 200 cm, within which an inner injection tube having a distal injection needle is slideably disposed. A proximal actuating handle is coupled to the catheter and the injection tube for moving one relative to the other. Fluid access to the injection tube is typically provided via a luer connector on the handle. In addition, a second luer connector is usually provided on the handle for introducing a saline irrigant into the annular space between the catheter and the injection tube.
Endoscopic infusion needle devices are typically delivered to an injection site through the lumen of an endoscope. In order to protect the lumen of the endoscope from damage, the handle of the infusion needle device is manipulated to withdraw the distal injection needle into the lumen of the catheter before inserting the device into the endoscope. This is important to prevent exposure of the sharp point of the injection needle as the device is moved through the lumen of the endoscope. When the distal end of the infusion needle device is located at the injection site, its handle is again manipulated to move the injection needle distally out of the lumen of the catheter. When advanced to the most distal position, the exposed portion of the injection needle should be approximately 4-6 mm in length. The injection procedure is often preceded by washing the site with saline in order to clear the field of view before piercing the injection site with the needle. The saline wash is delivered via the annular space between the catheter and the injection tube. After the injection site has been pierced, a sclerosing agent or vasoconstrictor composition is delivered through the injection tube and the needle into the injection site. The procedure may be performed at several injection sites before the injection needle device is removed from the endoscope. Between injections, however, the needle is withdrawn into the catheter to prevent inadvertent punctures or needle pricks.
The state of the art endoscopic infusion needle devices all suffer from similar design problems which are related to the movement of the needle into and out of the catheter. For example, it is difficult to assure that the injection needle will remain within the catheter when it is withdrawn, or to assure that the injection needle will not puncture the wall of the catheter during movement of the device through the endoscope. The reason for these problems is related to the dimensions of the device and the often tortuous path provided by the lumen of the endoscope. As mentioned above, the desired relative movement of the needle and the catheter is only on the order of 10 mm, whereas the overall length of the device is on the order of two hundred times that amount. Thus, the movement of the proximal ends of the catheter and the injection tube by an amount on the order of 10 mm cannot assure that the distal ends of the catheter and the injection tube will move exactly the same amount without requiring exacting tolerances. This issue is exacerbated by the tortuous path taken through the endoscope by the device. This tortuous path also causes the injection needle to be deflected relative to the axis of the catheter such that the sharp point of the needle touches the inner wall of the catheter. As the device is moved through the endoscope, it is thereby possible for the injection needle to puncture the catheter wall, rendering the device inoperative, and possibly damaging the lumen of the endoscope.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an endoscopic infusion needle device which assures that the distal ends of the catheter and the injection tube can be moved relative to each other between two well-defined positions.
It is also an object of the invention to provide an endoscopic infusion needle device which assures that the sharp end of the injection needle will not contact the inner wall of the catheter.
It is another object of the invention to provide an endoscopic infusion needle device which is inexpensive to manufacture.
It is still another object of the invention to provide an endoscopic infusion needle device which does not require exacting tolerances to assure the well-defined positions of the catheter and the injection tube.
In accord with these objects which will be discussed in detail below, the endoscopic infusion needle device of the present invention includes a relatively long catheter within which an inner injection tube having a distal injection needle is slideably disposed. A proximal actuating handle is coupled to the proximal ends of the catheter and the injection tube for moving one relative to the other, and distal stopping structures are provided on distal portions of the catheter and the injection tube. Fluid access to the injection tube is provided via a luer connector on the handle, and a second luer connector is provided on the handle for introducing a saline irrigant into the annular space between the catheter and the injection tube. According to one embodiment of the invention, the distal stopping structures include a rigid elongate skeletal structure which is inserted into the distal end of the catheter and which occupies a portion of the annular space between the injection tube and the catheter wall, and an annular band on a portion of the injection tube which resides within the skeletal structure. The skeletal structure is dimensioned such that it fits tightly within the cannula, allows irrigation fluid to pass through the annular space between the injection tube and the catheter and to exit the distal end of the catheter, and prevents the annular band from escaping through the proximal end or the distal end of the skeletal structure. In addition, the skeletal structure is dimensioned to maintain the injection needle in substantial axial alignment with the catheter. The annular band is located on the injection tube such that when the injection tube is moved proximally relative to the catheter, the distal end of the injection needle is safely housed within the skeletal structure when the annular band is stopped by the skeletal structure; and, when the injection tube is moved distally relative to the catheter, the distal end of the injection needle extends approximately 4-6 mm beyond the distal end of the skeletal structure when the annular band is stopped by the skeletal structure. According to other embodiments of the invention, two annular bands are provided on the injection tube and one or more stopping structures are provided within the cannula.
The distal stopping structure according to the invention provides a positive well-defined proximal stopping location and a positive well-defined distal stopping location for the injection needle. In addition, several embodiments of the stopping structure provide an axial alignment for the injection needle which prevents the needle from puncturing the catheter.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to the detailed description taken in conjunction with the provided figures.

Endoscopic needle having dual distal stops


A portable working machine comprising a tool unit (1) with a disc guard and a circular tool (3), and a machine unit (2) with a filter system (10), an internal combustion engine (11) with an engine cylinder (13) with bore (12) having a centre line (30), a crankshaft (14) and a crankcase (15), a fuel tank (17), a muffler (18) with an entrance port (46) provided in the rear side of the muffler and facing an exhaust port (47) of the cylinder, handles (19, 20) controls (21, 22) and supports (23, 24) on the underside of the machine unit for allowing upright positioning of the machine on a flat ground. The cylinder bore (12) is inclined forwards in a direction towards the tool unit, such that the centre line (30) of the cylinder bore forms a tilt angle larger than zero, in the direction, to a perpendicular to any or both of the following lines: (a) a base line (33) which is a line coinciding with a horizontal surface on which the machine is resting in an upright position, when the supports on the underside of the machine unit contact the surface, and (b) a tangential line (33′) extending from a peripheral point of the tool, on the lower part of the tool when the machine has an upright position, to the bottom side of a rear support of the machine unit.

Portable working machines of the above defined type are known since long. They are often used for cutting concrete and similar materials. The cutting creates a lot of abrasive dust. Without air filtration the engine will wear out in less than half an hour of operation. Efficient filters are therefore vital and are attained mainly through a big filter volume. An increased filter volume will increase the service life of the machine. For example, a machine of this type is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,438,965. This machine, its precursors and successors, belonging to the applicant's "Partner® K650-family", and variants of it, have been and are still widely used in the construction industry for cutting concrete and the like, and also by fire brigades for cutting holes in roofings or for penetrating vehicle wrecks, and similar tasks. It has a rear handle protruding backwards from the machine unit. This ensures a long distance between front and rear handles enabling a comfortable and precise control of the machine. This is an advantage compared to a similar type of machine that instead has its rear handle protruding upwards from the machine unit and therefore has a much shorter distance between the handles. However the machine described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,438,965 also has some shortcomings, which mainly have to do with a traditional thinking as far as the general layout of the machine unit is concerned. For example, the engine cylinder with its bore is conventionally inclined somewhat rearwards relative to a base line of the entire machine and/or to the bottom of the machine unit. This tends to limit the available space for other important components of the machine unit, such as an assembly which comprises members for supplying air and fuel to the engine, including a carburetor and a filter system for a given overall machine length. This in turn restricts the possibilities to give the said components an appropriate design and shape.