A microphone inspection method includes the following steps. Firstly, a sound wave from a speaker is received by an under-test microphone and a reference microphone. Consequently, a first characteristic point distribution chart and a second characteristic point distribution chart are created, respectively. Each of the first characteristic point distribution chart and the second characteristic point distribution chart includes plural characteristic points corresponding to respective normalized frequency values. Then, a characteristic point number difference between a number of the characteristic points of the first characteristic point distribution chart and a number of the characteristic points of the second characteristic point distribution chart within a specified normalized frequency value range is calculated. Consequently, the quality of the under-test microphone is judged according to the characteristic point number difference.

With rapid development of video technologies, the application fields of the commercially available microphones become more expansive. For example, an electronic device such as a camcorder, a web camera or a headphone is usually equipped with a microphone for receiving sound.
For maintaining the product quality of the microphone, a quality control process is usually employed to inspect the quality of the microphone before the microphone is sold into the market. For example, an inspecting instrument is used to inspect the microphone to obtain the tested data and the tested waveform. Then, the tested data and the tested waveform are compared with the standard data and the standard waveform that are previously stored in the inspecting instrument.
However, since the microphone factory is an open place and the microphone is a sound-receiving device, the background noise resulting from the machinery operation or the noisy voice in the factory is inevitably received by the microphone. If the tested data and the tested waveform of the microphone are obtained in the factory, the tested data and the tested waveform may contain the tested data and the tested waveform of the background noise. In other words, it is not reasonable to compare the tested data and the tested waveform with the standard data and the standard waveform because the tested data and the tested waveform do not simply reflect the quality of the microphone itself but contain the background noise or other noise signals.
Furthermore, since the standard data and the standard waveform that are previously stored in the inspecting instrument, it is impossible to realize the extent of the influence of the current background noise on the inspected result of the microphone. In other words, it is not reasonable to compare the tested waveform with the standard waveform because the tested waveform does not accurately reflect the sound-receiving performance of the microphone. Under this circumstance, it is impossible to discriminate the difference between the qualified product and the unqualified product.
For solving the above drawbacks, the manufacturer of the microphone has to additionally build an anechoic chamber. The anechoic chamber is an independent soundproof testing area that is insulated from exterior sources of noise. The microphone to be inspected is disposed within the anechoic chamber to receive sound. By comparing the tested waveform of the microphone with the standard waveform, the unqualified microphone can be detected. However, since the transportation of the microphone from the factory to the anechoic chamber is labor-intensive and time-consuming, the way of inspecting the microphone in the anechoic chamber is not satisfied. Moreover, the cost of building the anechoic chamber is very high, and thus the cost associated with the microphone inspection is increased.
Therefore, there is a need of providing a microphone inspection method for accurately detecting the unqualified microphone even in the presence of background noise (e.g. in a factory) in order to increase the inspecting efficiency.


A chuck for securely holding a cutting tool while being rotated by a driving apparatus. The chuck includes a chuck body defining a tool bore into which the cutting tool may be inserted. A cam assembly is pivotally mounted to the chuck body and operably extends into the tool bore. An actuator cooperates with the chuck body and is positionable to operate the cam to secure or release the cutting tool, within the tool bore. In an alternative embodiment, a collet is used and the cam and actuator operate to secure or release the collet, and any cutting tool inserted into the collet, within the bore.

In power tools, such as a router, an internal motor has a rotating shaft. The shaft is coupled to a chuck for receiving a cutting tool at the exposed end. Cutting tools of varying characteristics are selectively installed in, or removed from, the chuck depending on the job being performed by the user.
Conventional high-speed power tools such as routers often employ collet-type chucks attached to the shaft of the power tool. Such collet-type chucks have flexible jaws which may be opened or closed through the use of a rotary nut. The disadvantage with such a chuck mechanism is that the shaft of the router, onto which the collet is coupled, must be held stationary while the rotary nut is loosened or tightened.
There are generally two types of prior art collet-type chucks used. The first requires the user to use two wrenches, one to hold the shaft stationary while the other is used to turn the rotary nut. For a general description of a router utilizing such a chuck, and its use, the reader is referred to The Art of Woodworking Portable Power Tools, at 69-73 (Time-Life Books 1992). In the second alternative, the power tool includes a locking device which will lock the shaft in place when it is desired to change cutting tools by loosening and tightening the rotary nut. An example of a router using a shaft locking device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,191,968 which issued on Mar. 9, 1993 to McCurry.
A disadvantage inherent in the conventional chucks described is the requirement that the shaft of the tool be locked before the cutting tool can be changed. Attempts have been made in the past to develop a chuck which would eliminate the need to lock the shaft of the driving apparatus in order to change cutting tools. However, in many cases, these prior art chucks do not adequately secure the cutting tool to the driving apparatus. This is especially true when such chucks are used in conjunction with high-speed power tools, such as modern day routers, which typically operate at speeds up to 25,000 rpm. Also, many of these prior art chucks require the user to apply a great amount of force in order to secure the cutting tool in the chuck. Furthermore, such prior art chucks are oftentimes complex in design and expensive to manufacture. Finally, none of these chucks suggest the mechanism disclosed and claimed in this specification, nor do they provide the same advantages. A couple of those patents are briefly reviewed here to show the state of the art.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,676,809 issued on Jun. 18, 1953 to Smith discloses a "Tool Holder Bushing." The mechanism disclosed incorporates two identical metal halves which are held together by a pair of spring rings to form a bushing which is then placed in a drill chuck. after a cutting tool shank is inserted into the bushing, a set screw threaded through the wall of the drill chuck forces the two halves of the bushing together, thereby clamping the cutting tool.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,096,212 issued on Mar. 17, 1992 to Walsh discloses a "Chuck For Power Tools." The mechanism disclosed includes a first tool bore into which a collet or a cutting tool shank is inserted and a second bore intersecting that first tool bore. Within the second bore are two clamping elements which may be drawn together into a clamping relationship upon the collet into which a cutting tool shank has been inserted, or upon the cutting tool shank directly, thereby securing the cutting tool shank within the chuck.
None of these prior art chucks employ a device which is not only easy to manufacture, but capable of securely retaining the shank of a cutting tool easily and without the exertion of undue force. More specifically, none of these prior art patents disclose a camming mechanism or any other mechanism designed to use leverage to increase the clamping forces upon the collet or cutting tool shank. Accordingly, there remains a need for a simple mechanism by which cutting tools may be easily, quickly and securely retained within a chuck.


According to one embodiment, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprises an ultrasonic probe, a scanning unit, an image data generating unit, a slice specifying unit, an image generating unit and a display unit. The scanning unit repeats three-dimensional scanning on a three-dimensional region in an object with an ultrasonic wave via the ultrasonic probe. The image data generating unit repeatedly generates three-dimensional image data based on an output from the scanning unit. The slice specifying unit specifies at least one slice from the three-dimensional image data concurrently with the three-dimensional scanning. The image generating unit generates at least one slice image associated with the specified slice from the three-dimensional image data. The display unit displays the generated slice image.

There is known an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus which three-dimensionally scans an ultrasonic wave applied to an object and displays a three-dimensional image in real time. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus acquires three-dimensional ultrasonic images of an object by three-dimensionally scanning an ultrasonic beam and images the object. This apparatus can also reconstruct a slice image from an arbitrary imaging region (view) of a target anatomical region based on acquired three-dimensional image data by arithmetic processing.
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is used to non-invasively examine an anatomical region in an object. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus can be suitably used for stress echo examination for cardiac function examination, in particular. In stress echo examination, first of all, this apparatus acquires ultrasonic images of a plurality of views of the heart under a predetermined protocol in a normal state of an object, i.e., a state before the application of stress (which will be referred to as a rest phase hereinafter). The apparatus then acquires ultrasonic images of a plurality of views of the heart again under the predetermined protocol in a state in which exercise stress or pharmacological stress is applied to the heart of the object to increase the heart rate, i.e., a state in which stress is applied to the heart (which will be referred to as a post phase hereinafter). Comparatively observing the images acquired in the different phases allows to evaluate the presence/absence of an ischemic region and a deterioration in cardiac function.
Stress echo examination, however, requires images from a plurality of views for the observation of the heart, and needs to quickly acquire data. In addition, since stress is applied to the heart of the object during examination, quick examination is required to minimize the load on the object.
According to existing techniques, first of all, an examiner (operator) acquires images of a plurality of views in a rest phase. The examiner then produces a state of a post phase by applying stress on the heart of the object, and acquires, in the post phase, images of the same views as those in the rest phase.
In such a procedure, however, the apparatus needs to acquire images of the same views as those in a rest phase before the heart rate decreases, with the heart rate being kept high. It is therefore not easy for the examiner to expertly display desired views. Such operation demands skill. That is, an unskilled examiner takes time and effort to perform such examination, resulting in a deterioration in operating efficiency. This leads to a great decrease in the number of examinations that can be performed per day.

Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, image processing apparatus and image processing method


The present disclosure relates to a concept for checking at least one solder joint between a printed circuit board and a current sensor, including: measuring, by means of the current sensor, an electric current through the solder joint; measuring at least one temperature of the current sensor as a function of the electric current; and ascertaining a quality of the solder joint based on the temperature and the electric current.

Electrification in the automotive sector and industrial automation are pushing current measurement increasingly into the foreground. Specifically, applications directed at high power density require current sensors that can easily be mounted on printed circuit boards. In a design in which a current sensor is soldered to a printed circuit board, the solder joint quality needs to be as good as possible in order to avoid power losses as a result of poor conductivity between for example a busbar and a current sensor.
A readily conductive, cavity-free solder joint is therefore important in order to ensure as low an additional resistance as possible. Poor solder joints containing cavities can influence the accuracy and sensitivity of the current sensor. A typical current range for low resistance current sensors on a printed circuit board is between 0 and 120 A. Especially in the case of high current applications such as 50 ARMS (RMS=root mean square), it is important for an insertion resistance arising as a result of a current sensor being inserted into a circuit to be kept low in order to avoid power losses in the system. For reasons of reliability too, it is necessary to ensure good solder joints containing fewer cavities and high conductivity between sensor pads and the sensor surface in the system. It is therefore recommended that the quality of the solder joint be confirmed.
For low-voltage logic pins, which are not as large as current-carrying power pins, solder point verification can be performed using function tests. However, the solder joint of the power pins or high current pins needs to be checked in order to ensure high conductivity and fewer solder cavities.
The quality of a solder joint for wireless sensors can be checked by means of x-rays (x-ray inspection) or by means of automated optical inspection (AOI), for example. X-ray inspection for every soldered part is not always feasible on account of the high level of complexity and the more acute effects of cost. AOI requires the device to be equipped with a lead tip inspection (LTI) function in order to allow partial or complete coating of a connection tip. The wettable coating of the connection tip allows AOI after soldering, but also increases production costs.
There is therefore a need for further options for checking a solder joint between a printed circuit board and a current sensor.

Apparatus and method for evaluating the quality of at least one solder joint between a printed circuit board and a current sensor


Disclosed embodiments relate to a data control system. In some embodiments, the data control system includes a transmission module configured to add synchronization signal information to data included in a first data stream to generate a second data stream, and a plurality of control modules configured to receive the second data stream from the transmission module. In some embodiments, the data includes power information.

The present disclosure relates to a data control system and particularly to a data control system capable of improving data reliability through synchronization.
A High voltage DC (HVDC) transmission scheme is a power transmission scheme in which alternating current (AC) power of a high voltage generated in a power plant is converted into direct current (DC) power and transmitted, and then the DC power is converted again into AC power in a power reception area. In a HVDC transmission system, data collected from a plurality of yards or fields is transmitted to a plurality of control modules in which controls are performed according to the received data.
However, in a typical HVDC transmission system, there are cases where the collected data is transmitted to each control module at different times. Accordingly, since controls are performed according to the received data at different times in each control module, errors or malfunctions may occur.
Synchronization is very important for a valve control in the HVDC transmission system, and when the valve control is performed in a state where synchronization is not performed, a considerable power loss may be led.


A solid-state imaging device includes a photoelectric conversion portion, a charge-receiving portion to which charges are transferred from the photoelectric conversion portion, and a light control film having a reverse tapered opening over the photoelectric conversion portion to reduce the intensity of diffracted light diffusing to regions other than the photoelectric conversion portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a solid-state imaging device and a method for manufacturing the same, and to an electronic apparatus including the solid-state imaging device, such as a camera, and to a camera module.
2. Description of the Related Art
Solid-state imaging devices (image sensors) include CCD image sensors that include a charge-coupled device (CCD) for read-out signal charges, and CMOS image sensors in which each pixel includes one photoelectric conversion portion and a plurality of pixel transistors. These are used in a variety of portable terminal apparatuses, such as digital still cameras, digital video cameras, and cellular phones with a camera.
A CCD image sensor includes two-dimensionally arranged light-receiving portions acting as photoelectric conversion portions (photodiodes) that convert input light into signal charges and store the signal charges, and the stored signal charges are transferred through a vertical CCD register portion and a horizontal CCD register portion. In this type of solid-state imaging device, incoming light is reflected from the surface of the silicon substrate due to a difference in refractive index between the silicon oxide-based material of the gate insulating film, surface protective layer or planarizing layer and the silicon substrate. Consequently, the amount of light reaching the light-receiving portion is reduced and the sensitivity is reduced. Accordingly, the solid-state imaging device is provided with a silicon nitride antireflection layer over the light-receiving portion, and the multiple reflection effect is used to reduce the reflection of incoming light, thereby enhancing the sensitivity.
As the number of pixels in the solid-state imaging device is increased, the light-receiving area is reduced, and the opening width of the light-shielding film is reduced to a size less than or equal to the wavelength of light entering the photodiodes or the light-receiving portions. Consequently, incoming light is diffused to regions other than the light-receiving portion by diffraction. This can be a cause of the decrease in sensitivity and the occurrence of smears.
If the opening width of the light-shielding film is smaller than the wavelength of incoming light, the incoming light is diffused to regions other than the light-receiving portion by Fresnel diffraction. Consequently, charges generated in regions other than the light-receiving portion flow into the vertical CCD register portion to generate smears resulting in noises. Also, since the incoming light is diffused to regions other than the light-receiving portion, the sensitivity is reduced.
This phenomenon occurs not only in CCD image sensors, but also in CMOS image sensors, particularly, in a CMOS image sensor in which the charge storage portion is disposed at a side of the light-receiving portion so as to achieve a global shutter function. In CMOS image sensors having a global shutter function, the charge storage portion temporarily storing charges may be defined by a floating diffusion portion, or a memory portion disposed between the light-receiving portion and a floating diffusion portion. In these CMOS image sensors, if the opening width of the light-receiving portion is reduced to a size smaller than or equal to the wavelength of incoming light, the incoming light is diffused to regions other than the light-receiving portion, as described above, by diffraction. This can be a cause of the decrease in sensitivity and the occurrence of noise.
A CCD image sensor has been proposed in which the diffraction effect of incoming light is reduced by reversing the phase of incoming light at an open end of the light-receiving portion, in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication Nos. 05-206425 and 2008-41847.
The structure for CMOS image sensors disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2007-95792 is well known, in which a forward tapered shape of a waveguide structure near the silicon substrate is changed into a reverse tapered shape for total reflection of light entering the light-receiving portion of the silicon substrate through the lower end of the waveguide so that the light collection efficiency is enhanced. Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2009-252949 discloses a structure for CMOS image sensors in which copper wiring and overlying wider diffusion-preventing metal wiring are formed by a damascene process as wiring over the semiconductor substrate with a photoelectric conversion portion acting as the light-receiving portion.

Solid-state imaging device and method for manufacturing the same, and electronic apparatus and camera module


A method for preparing a tubular article, such as a sock or the like, for automated pickup at the end of its forming on a double cylinder circular machine with at least one feed or drop, and to a double cylinder circular machine for the execution thereof. The method in question is executed on a machine with at least one feed or drop (100) and with the needle cylinders (4, 5) actuatable with a rotary motion about their own axes (3) with respect to needle actuation cams, to cams (34) for actuating the knockover sinkers (33) and to the feed or drop (100). The method comprises:                a first step, which consists in transferring or retaining all the needles (8) in the lower needle cylinder (4) with the loops of the last row of knitting of the article (80), formed previously in the upper head (9a) of the needles (8), hooked, tensioning the article (80) downward inside the lower needle cylinder (4);        a second step, which consists in pushing upward the portion of the article (80) engaged with the needles (8);        a third step, which consists in moving all the needles (8) to the tuck stitch position;        a fourth step, which consists in progressively disengaging the knockover sinkers (33) from the article (80), moving the knockover sinkers (33) away from the axis (3) of the lower needle cylinder (4) at the feed or drop (100) owing to the rotation of the lower needle cylinder (4) about its own axis (3) with respect to the feed or drop (100) and to the needle actuation cams so that the article (80), owing to the upward thrust, moves so that the loops of its last row of knitting (80a) lie above the beak (33b) of the knockover sinkers (33) toward the upper head (9a) of the needles (8);        a fifth step, which consists in moving all the needles (8) to an intermediate position that is comprised between the tuck stitch position and the drop stitch position;        a sixth step, which consists in pushing the portion of the article (80) that is engaged with the needles (8) further upward;        a seventh step, which consists in lifting the needles (8) at least to the drop stitch position, keeping the article (80) pushed upward in order to retain the loops of the last row of knitting (80a) in the upper head (9a) of the needles (8).

In the international patent application WO2009/112346 A1 of this same applicant, an apparatus and a method are described for executing the closure of a knitted tubular article at an axial end thereof, at the end of its production cycle on a circular machine for knitting, hosiery or the like.
Such method consists substantially of removing the article, at the end of its production, from the needles of the machine by way of a pickup device and of transferring the article to a region arranged laterally to the needle cylinder of the machine where there is a handling device, which receives the article from the pickup device and brings together the two flaps of the axial end of the article to be closed, and a sewing head, which performs the joining of these two flaps thus carrying out the closure of the axial end of the article.
The pickup device described in such international patent application and the subject matter of international patent application WO2009/112347 A1 comprises an annular body that can be arranged coaxially around the upper end of the needle cylinder of a single-cylinder circular machine for knitting or for hosiery and which supports, inside radial grooves, pickup elements that are moveable on command radially and are each engageable, by way of the end thereof directed toward the axis of the annular body, with the shank of a needle of the machine, below the latch, so as to receive in such end, which is barb-shaped with the point directed upward, the last loop of knitting of the article formed by such needle when this is pushed downward below the latch. The subsequent movement of the pickup device upward causes the closure of the latches on the head of the needles and the disengagement of the article from the needles of the machine.
In order to carry out the picking up of the article from the needles of the machine by way of the pickup device of the type described in the international patent applications cited above, it is necessary that the needles of the machine be lifted in the "drop stitch" position and that the last row of knitting formed be held in the heads of the needles without passing below the latches of the needles.
Theoretically, the pickup device described above can also be used for carrying out the picking up of the article from double-cylinder circular machines, by arranging the article inside the lower needle cylinder and bringing the loops of the last row of knitting in the upper head of the needles that are arranged in the lower needle cylinder and which are conveniently lifted so as to permit the engagement of the pickup elements with their shank below the upper latch of those same needles after the upper needle cylinder has been moved away from the lower needle cylinder.
Application of this pickup device to single-cylinder circular machines for hosiery, in order to carry out the automated closure of the toe of socks, has not raised problems, while its application to double-cylinder circular machines for hosiery has been more problematic, mainly owing to the difficulty of successfully positioning the article with the loops of the last row of knitting formed in the upper head of the needles arranged in the lower needle cylinder to the drop stitch position in order to allow a simple and exact coupling with the pickup elements of the pickup device described above below the upper latch of the needles.
In fact, in double-cylinder circular machines for hosiery, the presence of the knockover sinkers, typically curved, opposes the lifting of the article together with the lifting of the needles to the drop stitch position in order to safely prevent the loops of the last row of knitting from passing below the upper latch of the needles arranged in the lower needle cylinder.
In double-cylinder circular machines for hosiery, differently from single-cylinder circular machines for hosiery, the knockover sinkers are driven by actuation cams that are fixed to a supporting element that is arranged inside the lower needle cylinder and which is integral with the supporting structure of the machine as regards the rotation movement about the axis of the lower needle cylinder, not considering oscillations of reduced extent in order to anticipate or retard their intervention on the knockover sinkers. These actuation cams define a path within which a heel of the knockover sinkers, also referred to hereinbelow as "sinkers" for the sake of simplicity, engages, and such path is contoured so as to cyclically cause, by virtue of the rotation of the sinkers together with the lower needle cylinder about its own axis with respect to the supporting structure and therefore to the actuation cams of the sinkers, an approach and a distancing of the beak of each sinker with respect to the axis of the lower needle cylinder so as to cooperate with the contiguous needles in the forming of the knitting. The path defined by the actuation cams of the sinkers is such as to cause a distancing of the beak of the sinkers from the axis of the lower needle cylinder at each feed or drop of the machine and such as to cause an approach of the beak of the sinkers to the axis of the lower needle cylinder in the remaining part of the rotation of the lower needle cylinder about its own axis. For this reason, at the end of the forming of the last row of knitting of the article, the sinkers are engaged with the last row of knitting, except for the area at each feed or drop of the machine. This engagement of the sinkers with much of the last row of knitting of the article produced prevents the lifting of the article together with the needles of the machine in order to bring the needles of the machine to the drop stitch position and maintain or bring the loops of the last row of knitting formed to the upper head of the needles.
In international patent application WO2013/041268 A1 of this same applicant, a method is proposed which can solve this problem.
Such method, in the course of time, has been shown to be susceptible of improvements which are aimed mainly at simplifying the implementation of the machine.
The aim of the present invention is in fact to devise a method for preparing a tubular article of the type of a sock or the like for automated pickup at the end of its forming on a double cylinder circular machine with at least one feed or drop, which is capable of solving the above mentioned problem by using a double cylinder circular machine that is simpler, both to make and to operate, with respect to conventional machines, in particular simpler with respect to the machine illustrated in international patent application WO2013/041268 A1.
Within this aim, an object of the invention is to provide a double cylinder circular machine that is capable of executing the method according to the invention and which offers appreciable simplifications with respect to conventional machines, in particular with respect to the machine illustrated in international patent application WO2013/041268 A1.
Another object of the invention is to provide a method and a machine that make it possible to use, in order to carry out the automated removal of the article from the machine that produced it and transfer it to a station in which the closure is carried out of one axial end of that article, a pickup device provided with pickup elements which are engageable with the shank of the needles below the upper latch of the needles, in particular of the type described in international patent applications WO2009/112346 A1 and WO2009/112347 A1.
A further object of the invention is to provide a method and a machine that make it possible to perform the picking up of the article from the machine at the end of its production extremely precisely.
A further object of the invention is to provide a method and a machine that make it possible to perform the picking up of the article from the machine at the end of its production in a time that does not excessively penalize the production potential of the machine.

Method for preparing a tubular article, such as a sock or the like, for automated pickup at the end of its forming on a double cylinder circular machine with at least one feed or drop, and double cylinder circular machine for the execution thereof


A linking pin made of elastic plastic having linking pin halves is used to link segments in the longitudinal direction to assemble a rehabilitation pipe. The linking pin includes a tubular portion having on its outer periphery surface first and second protrusions separated by a distance of twice the thickness of the side plate of the segment and a rear protruding portion that enlarges in diameter due to elasticity. The linking pin is inserted into one segment and the other segment so that the side plates of both the segments come between the first and second protrusions. The linking pin is then enlarged in diameter due to elasticity to fit the side plates between the first and second protrusions and link both the segments in the longitudinal direction. The linking pin that is enlarged in diameter can be reduced in diameter to unlink both the segments.

In cases where pipelines such as sewage pipes buried underground have aged, rehabilitation methods have already been proposed which use segments each comprising an inner surface plate and outer wall plates provided upright on peripheral edges thereof, wherein the inner surface plate and the outer wall plates are integrally formed from a plastic material and the segments are linked in the circumferential and longitudinal directions to rehabilitate the pipelines.
In the rehabilitation method, nuts are fixed to one segment and long bolts are inserted in the longitudinal direction and screwed into the nuts from the other to link both the segments in the longitudinal direction (Patent Document 1 below).
A linking method has also been proposed (Patent Document 2 below) in which a linking pin comprising two pin halves attached to one segment is separated by a separating pin for fixation thereto and the other segment is fitted into the linking pin to link both the segments in the longitudinal direction.

Method for linking segments for rehabilitation pipe and linking tool


The invention provides a modified MoS2 nano material and a preparation method thereof. The modified MoS2 nanomaterial is comprised of a hydrophilic MoS2 nanosheet linked with hydrophobic alkyl amine chain, the hydrophobic alkyl amine chain is provided by an alkylamine compound. The modified MoS2 nano material provided by the invention can be formulated into a nanofluid i.e. oil-displacement agent at a lower concentration, and is applied to the tertiary recovery in oil recovery, thereby greatly reducing the environmental pollution in the tertiary recovery, reducing the cost and improving the oil recovery.

According to the forecast of the International Energy Agency, there will be intense demand of oil globally. The current upended oil prices lead to search for a potentially method to enhance the oil production in feasible and economical manner.
In general, oil recovery is done through three stages: primary, secondary and tertiary recovery. The primary recovery mainly relies on the energy of the formation itself to drive the oil flowing underground; as energy of the bottom layer is reduced, saline water (or gas and the like) needs to be injected into the oil layer from the ground surface to drive out the oil, it is called the secondary recovery and about 40% of oil is recovered; during the tertiary recovery, chemicals (such as polymers, CO2, and surfactants) are injected into the ground to drive out the remaining crude oil. The tertiary recovery is an important stage to slow down the aging rate of most oil fields, maintain crude oil production, and increase oil recovery rate. However, serious environmental and economic barriers are the major drawbacks during the tertiary recovery stage.
It is disclosed in the prior art that nanofluid or a gases such as CO2, N2 are injected into an oil reservoir as an EOR agent to recover residual oil. The nanofluid may be a surfactant, a polymer, a foam, a nanoparticle or a combination thereof depending on the reservoir conditions. Surfactants and polymers could recover residual oil by altering wettability, interfacial tension or viscosity of the oil. However, in order to obtain high oil recovery (for example, about 20%), these agents need to be used in a relatively high amount, and the adsorption of these agents on the rock after use could alter the reservoir properties, therefore, there are high cost and environmental pollution problems existing in the use of surfactant and polymer nano-fluids as EOR agent to recover the residual oil.
The technical solution of the use of metal oxide based nanoparticles for the recovery of residual oil in the tertiary recovery stage has also been disclosed in the prior art (Hendraningrat L, Li S, Torscter O A coreflood investigation of nanofluid enhanced oil recovery. J. Pet. Sci. Eng., 2013, 111: 128-138), however, its oil recovery is below 5%.
How to provide a material in the tertiary oil recovery stage to overcome the serious environmental and economic barriers in the tertiary recovery stage, and improve the oil recovery rate need to be solved.


A surgical robotic component comprising an articulated terminal portion, the terminal portion comprising: a distal segment having an attachment for a surgical tool; a basal segment for attaching the terminal portion to the remainder of the surgical robotic component; and an intermediate compound joint between the distal segment and the basal segment, the intermediate compound joint permitting relative rotation of the distal segment and the basal segment about first, second and third axes; the terminal portion being arranged such that, in at least one configuration of the intermediate compound joint: (i) the axial direction of the basal segment is parallel to the axial direction of the distal segment, and (ii) the first, second and third axes are transverse to the axial directions of the basal and distal segments.

FIG. 1 illustrates a typical surgical robot arm. A patient 1 is lying on a bed 2. The robot arm 3 extends from a base 4 towards the patient. The arm has a series of rigid links 5, 6, 7 which are connected to each other and to the base by articulations 8, 9, 10. The articulations provide a sufficient range of motion that the arm can approach the patient in different ways so as to perform a range of surgical procedures. The links can be made to move about the articulations by motors 11 which are under the control of a surgeon. The final link 7 of the arm terminates in a wrist articulation 12 to which a surgical instrument 13 is attached. The surgical instrument is designed for insertion into the patient and terminates in an end effector for performing or aiding the surgery, for example an endoscope or a cutting tool or pinching tool.
It is desirable for the wrist articulation 12 to be highly mobile, so that the end effector can be placed in a wide range of orientations relative to the final link of the arm. It is also desirable for the wrist joint 12 to be kinematically well-functioning, without there being any attitudes in the core of their range of motion that are difficult to reach or where there could be poor control over the motion of the end effector.
FIG. 2 illustrates a typical wrist articulation. This wrist comprises two different types of joints: a "roll" joint which permits rotation about an axis generally along the arm, and a "pitch" joint which permits rotation about an axis generally transverse to the arm. The roll joints are indicated as 21 and 23 and the pitch joint is indicated as 22. With the wrist in the configuration shown in FIG. 2, the axes of the joints 21, 22 and 23 are indicated as 24, 25 and 26 respectively. This wrist gives an instrument 27 the freedom of movement to occupy a hemisphere whose base is centred on axis 24. However, this wrist is not well suited for use in a surgical robotic component. One reason for this is that when the pitch joint 22 is offset by just a small angle from the straight position shown in FIG. 2 a large rotation of joint 21 is needed to produce some relatively small lateral movements of the tip of the instrument. In this condition, when the pitch joint is almost straight, in order to move the end effector smoothly in a reasonable period of time the drive to joint 21 must be capable of very fast operation. This requirement is not readily compatible with making the links small and lightweight because it calls for a relatively large drive motor and sufficiently stiff links and articulations that the motor can react against them without jolting the position of the robotic component.
There is a need for a surgical robot arm and also surgical instruments that can successfully perform a wider range of surgical procedures than existing ones.


A dual rack and pinion rotational inerter, configured to dampen the flutter of a flight control member of an aircraft, includes an inertial wheel and a brake member disposed on an inertial wheel. The brake member moves between a retracted position and a deployed position based on a rotational velocity of the inertial wheel. The brake member moves to the retracted position when the rotational velocity of the inertial wheel is slower than a predetermined threshold velocity to allow the rotation of the inertial wheel. When the rotational velocity of the inertial wheel is at least as fast as the predetermined threshold velocity, however, the brake member deploys to yieldingly resist the rotation of the inertial wheel. In either position, the inertial wheel causes the inerter to dampen the flutter.

Aircraft include one or more movable flight control members to permit pilots and/or on-board systems to adjust and control the attitude of the aircraft during flight. Some typical flight control members found on aircraft include, but are not limited to, ailerons on the wings for roll control, elevators on the horizontal tail of the empennage for pitch control, a rudder on the vertical tail of the empennage for yaw control, as well as various other movable control surfaces.
The movement of such flight control members is typically effected by one or more actuators mechanically coupled between a base on the aircraft (e.g., a wing spar) and the flight control member. In cases where a given flight control member is considered flutter critical, a regulatory authorities mandate the use of at least two actuators. In some cases, inerter systems are utilized to dampen movement of such flight control members thereby mitigating the criticality of such flutter critical flight control members and permitting the use of only a single actuator.

High-speed-deployed, drum-brake, inertia disk for rack and pinion rotational inerter


A lubricant contains a fire-resistant water/glycol mixture combined with polytetrafluoroethylene, and is useful in the hydraulic systems of die casting machines, for example. The addition of polytetrafluoroethylene enhances the lubricity of fire-resistant hydraulic fluids thereby reducing the associated equipment maintenance.

In many industrial forming processes, such as the molding, die casting, drawing, and forging of various metals or other similar materials, it is necessary to apply a lubricant to the working surfaces of such dies or other forming apparatus between machine-cycle operations. Further, the application of air and lubricants to the working surfaces tends to cool the dies between operational cycles thereby prolonging the life of the dies.
Industrial processes such as die casting often subject hydraulic systems to extremely high temperatures. In the past, many die casting operations used well-known hydraulic fluids as lubricants, despite their flammability. Given the safety considerations, conventional hydraulic fluids within high temperature hydraulic applications were replaced with nonflammable water/diethylene glycol or water/ethylene glycol mixtures. Although nonflammable, water glycol mixtures exhibit poor lubricity properties thereby resulting in equipment failure and escalating maintenance costs due to friction wear.
Conventional fixed and movable die casting molds are substantially formed from heat resistant metal. In a typical die casting process, a piston slidably moves within an injection sleeve causing molten metal contained therein to be injected and filled into a mold assembly. Over time, the hydraulic equipment and molds sustain repeated thermal shocks caused by heat transfer from the hot molten metal often ranging from about 600 to 1650 degrees Celsius. In the absence of an effective lubricant, the molds rapidly erode and fracture resulting in a complete crack or breakage. The hydraulic equipment is subject to the same stresses and will certainly require frequent maintenance in the absence of an effective lubricant. Properties such as the tensile strength and fatigue-resistance are detrimentally affected thereby reducing the life of the equipment.
The surfaces of the die cast molds typically require maintenance after several cycles since the surfaces gradually wear out through constant use. When maintenance is required, the entire die cast frame must be disassembled to facilitate removal of the molds. This is typically a very time-consuming operation resulting in an idle production line. The time spent to maintain the die therefore reduces the production time.
It would therefore be an improvement to provide a fire-resistant fluid having enhanced lubricating and cooling properties.

Water glycol treatment with polytetrafluoroethylene


A combustion engine has a fuel supply unit, an ignition unit and a controller controlling the amount of fuel and the ignition time. An adjustable throttle element controlling the amount of combustion air to the engine and an adjustable idling stop for the throttle element are provided. The controller includes a regulating unit regulating the rotational speed of the motor to a set-point rotational speed (nsoll) when idling. To adjust the idling stop, the regulating unit is switched off when idling. A diagnostic unit switches off the regulating unit. A method for adjusting a combustion engines provides that the regulating unit is switched off, the amount of fuel supplied is adjusted during idling and a rotational speed is evaluated, and that on the basis of the rotational speed value, it is determined how the idling stop is to be adjusted to reach a set-point rotational speed maximum (nsollmax).

It is known to control or regulate the ignition time and the amount of fuel supplied in combustion engines. The amount of combustion air supplied is typically added via a throttle element which is arranged in the intake channel and is activated by the operator via a throttle lever or is actuated by an actuator. During idling, the rotational speed of the engine is regulated to a set-point rotational speed. The set-point rotational speed can in this case be constant or vary in dependence on the temperature and/or air pressure.
Typically provided for the throttle element is an idling stop, which is settable and is set, for example, during the manufacture of the engine or during servicing. Setting takes place, for example, in the case of carburetors, in which the fuel is drawn in in dependence on the negative pressure in the intake channel, in such a manner that the idling adjusting screw is adjusted until the maximum rotational speed is reached and is adjusted from the rotational speed maximum by a predetermined amount in a predetermined direction. As a result, a defined operating point of the combustion engine is achieved. In the case of combustion engines, in which the rotational speed is regulated by the regulating unit to a fixed set-point rotational speed during idling, the rotational speed remains for the most part constant when adjusting the idling stop so that it is not possible to set the idling stop above a rotational speed maximum.

Combustion engine, diagnostic arrangement for a combustion engine and a method for setting a combustion engine


The present description provides methods, assays and reagents useful for sequencing proteins. Sequencing proteins in a broad sense involves observing the plausible identity and order of amino acids, which is useful for sequencing single polypeptide molecules or multiple molecules of a single polypeptide. In one aspect, the methods are useful for sequencing multiple polypeptides. The methods and reagents described herein can be useful for high resolution interrogation of the proteome and enabling ultrasensitive diagnostics critical for early detection of diseases.

Proteins serve critical structural and dynamic functional roles at the cellular level of all living organisms. Understanding protein contribution to biological function is critical and rests on having appropriate technologies for quantification and identification. The central dogma of molecular biology, information flow from DNA to RNA to protein, has been studied for decades as these molecules are critical to cell function and diversity. The advent of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of nucleic acid was pivotal in advancing the high-throughput molecular interrogation and analysis of DNA and RNA at the whole-genome and transcriptome level. In contrast, studying proteins has lagged technologically since there is no equivalent of PCR to amplify and detect low-copy number proteins. Instead, protein sequencing and identification methods have relied on ensemble measurements from many cells which masks cell-to-cell variations. While some researchers have turned to transcriptomics as a proxy to the protein composition within cells, it is critical to note that gene expression at the transcriptomic level weakly correlates with the proteomic profile due to variability in translational efficiency of different mRNAs, and the difference between mRNA and protein lifetimes. In addition, post-translational modifications also result in significant variability of protein abundance and their primary sequence with respect to the transcriptome. Vital biological processes such as synaptic plasticity, metabolic signaling pathways and stem cell differentiation, all depend on protein expression. Many diseases also originate from genetic mutations that are in turn translated to a single or set of aberrant proteins. Diseases such as cancer and neurodegeneration tend to have triggered mutations of unclear origins and polygenic interactions. They can be best understood and addressed at the proteomic level, since their pathology is directly related to disrupted proteostasis at the cellular level.
Advancements in proteomics have lagged behind while DNA sequencing has rapidly advanced the study of genomics primarily due to technologies that allow for high-throughput sequencing. Current methodologies for studying proteins include Mass Spectrometry, Edman sequencing and Immunohistochemistry (IHC).
Mass spectrometry enables protein identification and quantification based on the mass/charge ratio of peptide fragments, which can be bioinformatically mapped back to a genomic database. While this technique has made significant advancements, it has yet to quantify a complete set of proteins from a biological system. The technology exhibits attomole detection sensitivities for whole proteins and subattomole sensitivities after fractionation. The sensitivity of mass spectrometry is limiting since low copy-number proteins that make up about 10% of mammalian protein expression remain undetected and are functionally important despite low abundance.
The other method used for protein sequencing is the Edman degradation reaction. Edman degradation allows for sequential and selective removal of single N-terminal amino acids, subsequently identified via HPLC, High-Performance Liquid Chromatography. Edman protein sequencing is a proven method to selectively remove the first N-terminal amino acid for identification in which phenyl isothiocyanate (PITC) is used to conjugate to the N-terminal amino acid, then upon acid and heat treatment, the PITC-labeled N-terminal amino acid is removed. Although Edman sequencing can have 98% efficiency, a major drawback is that it is inherently low throughput, requiring a single highly purified protein and not applicable to systems-wide biology. Both Edman degradation and mass spectrometry can sequence proteins but lack single molecule sensitivity and do not provide spatial information of proteins in the context of cells.
In regards to spatial information, immunohistochemistry is a protein identification method that allows us to visualize cellular localization of proteins but does not provide sequence information. Immunohistochemistry involves the identification of proteins via recognition with fluorophore-conjugated antibodies. This approach excludes protein sequence information but can identify proteins and their respective localizations. A major limitation is the scalability, since even the perfect construction of specific antibodies for every protein in the proteome would require around 25,000 antibodies and, ˜6250 rounds of four-color imaging. Any 1-to-1 protein tagging scheme will likely fail to scale to the entire proteome.
A major obstacle in protein sequencing is the lack of natural enzymes and biomolecules that probe amino acids on a peptide. For example, there does not exist protein amplification processes analogous to PCR for nucleic acid, so the approach to sequencing via single-molecule strategies is appropriate, requiring the detection of individual amino acids.
Current proposed approaches to single molecule protein sequencing rely either on fluorescent read-out via covalent chemical modifications of peptide or protein residues, probing with N-terminal-specific amino-acid binders (NAABs), or translocating peptides through a nanopore with a voltage applied across the membrane. Chemical modifications of amino acids on the internal peptide chain may be vulnerable to low efficiencies due to steric hindrance caused by adjacent chemical labels, and there is also a limited number of available reactive amino acids and chemistries for labeling of all 20 amino acids. A major issue using nanopores for protein sequencing can be attributed to the non-uniform charge distribution of amino acid residues and the analytical challenge of deconvolving electric recordings to discriminate between amino acids.
In the case of N-terminal amino-acid binders, peptides are immobilized to substrates by the C-terminus so the N-terminus is accessible to binders and sequential Edman degradation. Engineering highly specific, strong N-terminal binders that are not affected by the presence of variable neighboring amino acids found across different peptides is challenging. Neighboring amino acids may affect N-terminal binding by introducing variation in charge, sterics and secondary structure. This can be referred to as the "local environment" problem. For example, when attempting to recognize the N-terminal amino acid of a peptide, the combinations of varying amino acids on the rest of the peptide results in many possible sequences that impose inconsistent interactions with an N-terminal binder.
The lack of technology for high-resolution protein-level analyses represents a significant gap in advancing important biological research.

Single-molecule protein and peptide sequencing


The invention relates to a disposable sensor device (51) for patient monitoring comprising a sensor (52) for providing an electric quantity based on a quantity to be detected, a first signal terminal (54) for providing a tap for the electric quantity, a first supply terminal (53) for supplying the sensor with an electrical supply quantity, a first connector for accommodating the first signal terminal (54) and the first supply terminal (53), a second signal terminal (56) for providing a further tap for the electric quantity, and a second connector for accommodating at least the second signal terminal (56). The invention further relates to a disposable sensor device for patient monitoring comprising a sensor (7) for providing an electric quantity based on a quantity to be detected; a first signal terminal (22) for providing a tap for the electric quantity; a first connector (A) for accommodating the first signal terminal, wherein the first connector (A) is provided with a trimming element (R2) which simulates the influence of a selectively attachable first monitoring device (1) on a measuring of the electric quantity, wherein the trimming element (R2) is electrically effective depending on a connector structure of a corresponding further connector (B, C) to be coupled with the first connector (A).

The present invention relates to disposable sensor devices for patient monitoring such as an arterial blood pressure sensor device, a pulse contour cardiac output device and the like. The present invention is further related to monitoring systems for such disposable sensor devices.
In patient monitoring there are situations wherein multiple monitoring devices are needed which are dealing with the same parameter. For example, there may be some need to receive the respective signal by a bedside monitor and by a portable device in parallel wherein both should be able to read the parameter of interest. So far, each monitoring device, e.g. the bedside monitoring device and the portable measurement device, uses a separate sensor device. The multiple sensor devices may be closely spaced to detect the same or at least similar results, as e.g. described in US 2006/0009699.
Mostly, the sensor device needs some kind of excitation voltage, i.e. a supply DC or AC voltage. Then, the sensor device delivers a detector signal which depends on the excitation voltage and the parameter which is to be analyzed in the monitoring system.
To provide two sensor devices of the same kind for being read out by two different monitoring devices leads to a bulky shape on the sensor's side. Furthermore, the increased space volume may cause a worse frequency response in case an AC excitation voltage is used. Even if the two sensor devices are closely spaced they are not located at the same heart level such that in case of pressure sensor devices different arterial pressure values would be obtained.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a disposable sensor device and a monitoring system which allows to monitor a measured parameter of patient by two or more monitoring devices thereby avoiding the drawbacks of the prior art.
This object has been achieved by the disposable sensor devices according to claims 1 and 7 and the monitoring systems according to further independent claims.
Further embodiments of the present invention are indicated in the depending subclaims.

Disposable sensor device and monitoring system with trimming element


An exemplary three-dimensional (3D) simulation system accesses a two-dimensional (2D) video image captured by a video capture device and that depicts a bounded real-world scene and a real-world object present within the bounded real-world scene. The 3D simulation system accesses respective 3D models of the bounded real-world scene and the real-world object. Based on the 2D video image, the 3D simulation system tracks a spatial characteristic of the real-world object relative to the bounded real-world scene. Based on the tracked spatial characteristic of the real-world object and the 3D models of the bounded real-world scene and the real-world object, the 3D simulation system generates a 3D simulation of the bounded real-world scene within which the real-world object is simulated in accordance with the tracked spatial characteristic of the real-world object. Corresponding methods and systems are also disclosed.

Various technologies are used to generate three-dimensional ("3D") content configured to be presented to users of the technologies. Examples of such technologies may include, for instance, extended reality technologies (e.g., virtual reality technologies, augmented reality technologies, etc.), 3D entertainment technologies (e.g., 3D television, 3D movies, 3D gaming, etc.), and other technologies used to provide entertainment, educational, vocational, and/or other types of value to users. While certain conventional technologies are well suited to serve certain applications and uses cases, convention 3D content generation technologies leave room for improvement in terms of quality, efficacy, efficiency, ease of implementation, and so forth.

Methods and systems for performing 3D simulation based on a 2D video image


The apparatus (20) includes electrically conductive contacts (44, 54) that are spaced apart a distance slightly less than the distance between the terminals (34, 36) formed on the components (24) to be tested. One contact (54) is held in position by a spring (112). The other contact (44) is stationary. The contacts (44, 54) slide against the terminal surfaces (52, 56) of the components (24) that are conveyed into a test location (26) between the contacts. The apparatus employs few moving parts and the sliding motion of the contacts (44, 54) against the terminal surfaces (52, 56) ensures that the contacts (44, 54) penetrate any oxide layer present on the terminal surfaces (52, 56). In an alternative embodiment (160), two sets of contacts (44L, 44T, 54L, 54T) are employed for testing components (24) in two adjacent test locations (26L, 26T). One configuration of a movable contact (304) is such that minimal force is applied to the terminal surfaces (52, 56) of the components (24) so that the components may be tested without marking or damaging the surfaces (52, 56).

Manufactured electronic components are usually tested prior to sale. Conventional devices for testing the components include test probes or contacts that are moved into engagement with the component terminals. The probes conduct electrical signals between the component and test equipment for measuring the performance characteristics of the component.
A capacitor is an example of an electronic component that is amenable to testing with the type of test device just mentioned. The capacitors of concern here are generally block-shaped and have a conductive terminal applied to each of two opposing ends. Each capacitor terminal has a generally flat outermost surface.
The test probes of typical test devices are controlled to travel toward and away from the terminal surfaces in a direction generally perpendicular to the planes of the terminal surfaces. After the testing is completed, the tested capacitors are replaced with untested capacitors, and the process is repeated.
Prior test devices that move test probes as just described are generally complex and, therefore, costly to manufacture and maintain. Further, prior test devices perform inadequately when testing components that have nickel terminals. In this regard, the use of nickel-plating techniques for forming electronic component terminals has become increasingly popular in recent years. As is known, the surfaces of nickel terminals develop thin oxide layers. Conventional test probes often fail to penetrate the oxide layer. Whenever the probes fail to penetrate the oxide layer, the test device will collect inaccurate test data. Further, the probes of prior devices must be cleaned frequently because the nickel oxide tends to accumulate on the probe tips.


The invention relates to a cement formulation with two liquid components. This alleviates the problems which result from dust generation where a powdered cement component is employed. Furthermore, the cement may be formed with conventional liquid handling and mixing equipment. The cement binder formulation includes a plasticizer. As the plasticizer is non-volatile, it remains an integral part of both the formulation and the final product obtained after application and drying of that formulation.

All persons who work in dusty environments are exposed to different types of health hazards such as fumes, gases and dust: these are known risk factors in the development of occupational diseases.
Cement dust exposure occurs commonly in the cement production and construction industries i.e. at both production mills and construction sites. Any regular contact of workers cement dust can cause skin and eye irritation, asthma and even allergic reactions; inhaled cement dust can causes lung function impairment, chronic obstructive lung disease, restrictive lung disease, pneumoconiosis and carcinoma of the lungs, stomach and colon; and, it has also been demonstrated that cement dust may enter into the systemic circulation and thereby impact upon organs and tissues of the body—such as the heart, liver, spleen, bone, muscles and hair—to ultimately affect their micro-structure and physiological performance.
Peters et al. "Personal Exposure to Inhalable Cement Dust among Construction Workers" Journal of Physics: Conference Series 151 (2009) 012054 documents the variable concentrations of inhalable dust to which workers are exposed depending on their role in cement production or use. Whilst plant workers are generally most exposed, persons involved in cement installation, recess milling and demolition are also certainly exposed at non-negligible levels. At the installation stage, powdered blends of cement, sand and different additives are mixed with water in situ, unfortunately causing a fine dust to infiltrate the ambient air.
This problematic effect at installation stage has been recognized in the art. For example, Ceresit Microgranulat Flex Plus (available from Cimsec) is a powdered, tile adhesive product in which finer, dust-forming cement particles are bound to form larger clusters or microgranules. Similarly, EP 0587383 (Halliburton Co.) describes a dry agglomerated cement material in which individual particles of cement are bonded together by a water-soluble binder material, typically a polyvinyl alcohol: this solid cement material is mixed with water to form a cement slurry, the water dissolving the binder to release the particles of cement which then hydrate.
EP 0432920 A2 (Rohm & Haas) describes a two-component (2K) coating composition for overlaying Portland cement concrete, the composition being a two component composition comprising: (1) a first, dry component which can be packaged and stored separately and which includes: a) at least one hydraulic cement, such as Type I or Type III Portland cement, and b) at least one epoxy resin; and, (2) a second, wet component including: (a) at least one synthetic film-forming, alkali-stable synthetic polymer latex, the latex polymer including ureido functional groups, and (b) at least on amine-functional epoxy curing agent, the curing agent being dispersible or soluble in water. The dry component including the epoxy resin can be mixed on site and in a predetermined ratio with the "wet" component including the amine-functional epoxy curing agent. The epoxy resin can bind the dust-forming, fine particles of the hydraulic binder but the author of this citation indicates that the contact of the epoxy resin with these fine particles should be minimized, where possible, to prevent over-sized clumps of binder from forming.


Systems, methods, and devices for noise profile determination for a voice-related feature of an electronic device are provided. In one example, an electronic device capable of such noise profile determination may include a microphone and data processing circuitry. When a voice-related feature of the electronic device is not in use, the microphone may obtain ambient sounds. The data processing circuitry may determine a noise profile based at least in part on the obtained ambient sounds. The noise profile may enable the data processing circuitry to at least partially filter other ambient sounds obtained when the voice-related feature of the electronic device is in use.

The present disclosure relates generally to techniques for noise cancellation and, more particularly, for preemptive noise convergence for noise cancellation.
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Many electronic devices employ voice-related features that involve recording and/or analyzing a user's voice. Voice recognition features, for example, may analyze a voice command spoken by a user to perform a task related to the command. Similarly, voice note recording features may record voice notes spoken by the user. However, when a user speaks into a microphone of an electronic device, ambient sounds, or background noise, may be obtained by the microphone at the same time. These ambient sounds may obscure the user's voice and, in some cases, may impede the proper functioning of a voice-related feature of the electronic device.

Noise profile determination for voice-related feature


In general, embodiments of the present invention relate to prescription-based travel route recommendation. In a typical embodiment, a prescription related to a medical condition of a patient is received (e.g., electronically in a computer memory medium or the like). Among other things, the prescription typically comprises a set of criteria (e.g., route specifics such as topography/incline, mode of travel such as walking, running, cycling, etc.) for a desired travel route for the patient. Then, using global positioning satellite (GPS) technology or the like, the system will access/receive information corresponding to a geographical area associated with the patient. Using this information, a set of possible travel routes between a starting point and a destination within the geographical area will be determined. Then, by comparing the set of criteria to the information, at least one travel route will be identified from the possible travel routes for treating the medical condition.

As technology continues to advance, electronic medical processes continue to evolve. For example, today prescriptions can be electronically viewed and/or transmitted for fulfillment (e.g., assuming proper access control is provided). Moreover, various ailments and/or injuries often have a prescribed course of physical activity as treatment. For example, for diabetic patients, cardiac patients, etc., a medical professional may recommend exercise such as walking or jogging. Further, for patients with knees problems, a medical professional might suggest a flat topography (as opposed to a road with an incline).
Unfortunately, challenges can exist in identifying a specific action/course of treatment that addresses a recommended treatment plan. For example, a medical professional might not be aware of locations (and/or specifics thereof) where a physical course of treatment that matches his/her recommendations can be followed. That is, a medical professional may not be able to readily identify a travel/exercise route that meets a recommended course of exercise.

Prescription-based travel route recommendation

International Business Machines Corporation


The invention contemplates a strainer based upon a four-way, two-position rotary cylindrical plug valve having a hollow plug. The normal entry port for the sealing plug of the plug valve is a circular radial hole passing from the exterior of the plug into the interior cavity of the plug. The normal exit port for the sealing plug is a regular array of small holes across from and coaxial with the normal entry hole. The ports for the valve body are in two pairs positioned at 90° from each other, with the axes of the ports lying in the same transverse plane as the ports of the valve plug.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the drilling and production of fluids from petroleum wells. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus for straining solid particulates from well fluids prior to their passage through a hydraulic choke.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hydraulic choke devices are commonly used in the oilfield when drilling or treating wells. Herein, the term "hydraulic choke" is taken to refer to the fact that the device is used with a variety of fluids, such as drilling mud, salt water, oil, gas, and other chemicals which may flow into or out from the well. "Hydraulic" does not herein refer to the choke actuation means. The hydraulic choke is utilized as a pressure-reducing valve for fluids flowing out of a well. The pressure of fluids emerging from a well flow control system must be reduced substantially in order to further process and store those fluids. A typical problem arising during operation of a hydraulic choke is a tendency for relatively large solid particulate matter to restrict or plug the choke, so that the choke's flow control becomes irregular. The particulate matter causing problems can be drill cuttings, spalled segments of the downhole geologic formations, or debris from the drilling equipment. Conventional chokes are run without any screening of the fluid or other filtering of the well fluids.
Strainer screens are routinely used to remove large particulates from the outflow stream of wells, but, except for small in-line screens, this screening is done at atmospheric pressure on vibrating screens termed shale shakers for drilling. If a significant amount of particulate matter is present or flow is sustained over a long period, then a fixed screen device will become plugged and reduce fluid flow. In such a case, the plugged screen itself can structurally fail and add to the particulate matter in the flow stream.
Hydrocyclones are also used to separate heavier components, such as rock cuttings and metallic debris, from the outflowing fluid stream. However, such particulate removal systems are used at very low system pressures. Furthermore, hydrocyclones typically will not separate particulates having relatively low specific gravities, such as rubber.
A system is needed to control the size of particles in the well fluid that passes through the piping upstream of the choke. There is also a need for a reliable means of removing particulate material from the outflow stream of a well so that strainer plugging by excessive particulate entrapment can be identified and remedied without interrupting the flow of the well. The means must be useable at very high pressures upstream of the hydraulic choke so that it can serve to protect the choke from clogging and flow damage accentuation resulting from particle entrapment in the choke.

Solids strainer system for a hydraulic choke


Medical packaging for the sterile storage of medical articles in a hermetically and sterile sealable packaging sleeve. The packing generally includes at least two parts, with a sealed, film-like outer packaging, which at least partially encloses the packaging sleeve in a form-fitting manner and provides a pressure that is reduced with respect to the atmosphere. At least one end face of the packaging sleeve may be designed to be flattened, wherein a length of the outer packaging is generally longer than a length of the packaging sleeve and projects beyond the end face region of the packaging sleeve. A sealing or welding seam may be arranged at least in the end face region of the packaging sleeve, wherein at least one of the end faces of the packaging sleeve, preferably both end faces, are designed so as to be flattened off. The end-sided transition from the packaging sleeve into the outer packaging is substantially wrinkle free.

The document DE 102009013947 A1 shows a packaging for packing pieces of packaged goods with a packaging sleeve that is formed to a multi-edged sleeve and which is surrounded by a shrink film. During thermal shrinkage of the shrink film, however, undesired wrinkles may form in the transition region between the shrink film and the end face of the multi-edge sleeve, so that if said wrinkles kink, the outer packaging may break open.
The documents EP 1870340 A1, U.S. Pat. No. 6,547,094 B1 and WO 200238360 A1 show a packaging sleeve in the manner of a hollow blown container having a lower end face that is flattened off. The flattening is due to the plastic tube being sealed off in order to close the container. The arrangement of an outer packaging is not provided.
The prior art also discloses cylindrical packaging sleeves, which usually consist of two sleeve parts, which, as a rule, can be inserted into one another and which accommodate any kind of article in the inner space. Such an article may be, for example, a drill, a milling machine, a sterile medical instrument or any other tool that is to be optimally protected against impact and shock.
It is known to design such a, typically two-piece, packaging sleeve such that it is designed so as to be approximately round cylindrical; and the ends of the two packaging sleeves, each facing in the opposite direction, are designed so as to be disk shaped. The result is that the packaging sleeves, which are part of the prior art, are flat and disk shaped on the end face. The plane of the disk-shaped, end-sided closure is perpendicular to the longitudinal center axis of the packaging sleeve.
Correspondingly it concerns blunt, end-sided ends of a known packaging sleeve. However, when said packaging sleeve is introduced into an outer packaging, which is then provided with a vacuum after the packaging sleeve has been introduced, said ends give rise to serious disadvantages.
When such a packaging sleeve is welded into an outer packaging while at the same time at least partially extracting the packaging air, wrinkles form in an undesired manner on the blunt-ended end faces in the outer packaging; and these wrinkles shorten the service life and reduce the tightness of the packaging.
It has been found that the undesired formation of wrinkles in the outer packaging results in the film material of the tubular film or the sheet film becoming brittle in the wrinkle region, when the said parts are bent, so that the formation of wrinkles causes predetermined breaking points to form in the film; and after prolonged use these predetermined breaking points result in the outer packaging breaking and, thus, lead to the loss of the protection and the sterilization of the packaging sleeve, received in the outer packaging.
The present invention is provided and is suitable preferably for the sterile packaging of medical surgical instruments, tools and implants. For this purpose there are particular requirements for the quality of the sealing, because air pockets in the area of the outer packaging at the packaging ends (also referred to as a "projecting length") have to be positively avoided. In contrast, when non-sterile foodstuffs or other articles of everyday use are packaged, such a formation of wrinkles is immaterial.
However, in the case of sterile packaging of surgical instruments and for articles that are necessary for the operation, such as screws, splints, artificial hip or knee joints or other implants and tools, it has been found that after a prolonged period of storage the undesired formation of wrinkles on the end faces of the packaging resulted in the sealing regions of the outer packaging, exhibiting the undesired wrinkles, becoming brittle.
In addition, it is customary to store the packagings, which have been produced in this way, in another outer packaging, such as, for example, a carton. However, the end-sided, sealed projecting lengths of the outer packaging are bent for purposes of better packaging.
This bending leads to the outer packaging being damaged in the region of the projecting lengths, if this region has undesired wrinkles, an aspect that in the event that medical articles are being packaged has to be avoided in any case.
At the same time it should be taken into account that such outer packagings and articles to be packaged have to be stable, according to the present invention, for a period of at least seven or eight years without incurring the risk that the packaging ends may break or separate unintentionally. However, the aforementioned formation of wrinkles leads to the material becoming brittle and, therefore, limits the service life of such a known packaging.
The subject matter of the document DE 10301449 A1 shows a sealed outer packaging for a medical article without the use of a packaging sleeve and with the depiction of the sealed end regions, which are to be avoided, according to the invention, and which show a significant formation of wrinkles.
The documents US 20120124943 A1 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,603,538 A1 show a packaging for medical articles. Said packaging consists of an outer, sealed packaging pouch having an inner space, in which there is disposed a second sealed packaging pouch, into which the medical article is inserted. However, there is no slightly bendable, mechanically stable packaging sleeve for both the storage of a medical article and for the air-free enclosure of the inner pouch by means of the outer pouch. The air-filled spaces, which are formed by the two packaging pouches, should be avoided. Such a packaging is not suitable for packaging articles with sharp edges. The packaged article is also not fixed in a positionally secure manner in such a packaging.
The document US 20080116106 A1 shows a deep-drawn packaging tray, which is made of a synthetic material and which is open upwards at one end. This packaging tray is intended for receiving medical articles in the manner of a packaging set having an opening that is sealed circumferentially with a cover film. As a result, said document does not show an individual packaging sleeve, which is present for each medical article and which is closed by an outer packaging that can be sealed. Upon opening the cover film, none of the packaged articles will be sterile any more. It is known to enclose such a packaging under vacuum in a sterile outer packaging pouch, as a result of which, double sterility is achieved. However, the drawback with this arrangement is that the inner packaging, which consists of the plastic tray with sharp edges, tends to push through the outer packaging pouch during transport, so that the sterility in the outer pouch is lost. There is an additional disadvantage that when a tubular outer pouch, which is closed and sealed under vacuum, is attached, an undesired formation of wrinkles is produced in the region of the packaging ends, because the contour of the packaging tray with edges is not adapted to the sealed projecting length.
The document EP 2 108 381 A1 shows in an analogous manner a deep-drawn packaging tray that is made of a synthetic material. This packaging tray is covered by two cover films, which are spaced the same distance apart from one another and accommodate a first medical article in their intermediate space, with the second article being placed in the packaging tray. The two cover films are sealed circumferentially onto the periphery of the rim of the carrier of the packaging tray. An individual packaging sleeve for an individual article, which is sterile packaged in said sleeve and which is protected against breakage in a positionally secured manner, is not apparent from this document. Therefore, such a packaging is suitable only for packaging soft medical articles, which do not have any edges, such as, for example, tubes. However, surgical tools, implants and tools, which have sharp edges and/or are heavy, cannot be sterile packaged in this way.
For this reason the goal of the present invention is to significantly extend the service life of packaging sleeves, which are packaged in a form-fitting manner with outer packagings, which can be sealed, and to avoid the formation of wrinkles in the region of the sealed end faces.
In particular, the objective is to significantly extend the service life of sterile packaged articles in a packaging sleeve that is surrounded in a form-fitting manner by a sealed outer packaging.

Medical packaging with a packaging sleeve and outer vacuum packaging


Excitation light beam is irradiated onto a test region while shifting the irradiation position thereof, when performing analysis of a target substance using an analysis chip having the test region within a flow channel through which a sample solution is caused to flow, for capturing the target substance within the sample solution. Fluorescence generated at the test region is detected as a plurality of adjustment fluorescence signals. The target substance is analyzed using fluorescence generated when the excitation light beam is irradiated at an irradiation position within the test region determined based on the plurality of adjustment fluorescence signals.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a fluorescence detecting apparatus and a fluorescence detecting method for quantitatively or qualitatively analyzing target substances within samples.
2. Description of the Related Art
Plasmon sensors that quantitatively analyze substances within samples using the principle of the surface plasmon resonance phenomenon employing evanescent waves are known (refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10 (1998)-239233, for example). Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10 (1998)-239233 discloses that a light beam is irradiated onto the interface between a prism and a metal film, formed on a surface of the prism, that contacts a sample at a total reflection angle. The reflection angle of the light beam which is totally reflected at the interface is detected, to quantitatively analyze a substance within the sample. Further, this patent document discloses that a light source and a light detecting unit are movable, such that samples contained in a plurality of sample containers can be quantitatively analyzed.
In addition, fluorescence detecting apparatus that utilize the aforementioned evanescent waves have also been proposed (refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2009-128152, for example). Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2009-128152 discloses that a detection target substance is quantitatively analyzed by detecting fluorescence which is generated when the detection target substance, which is labeled by fluorescent labels, within a sample container is excited by evanescent waves. Further, this patent document discloses that a light source is movable in order to enable adjustment of incident angles with respect to a metal film.
In the fluorescence detecting apparatus disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2009-128152, a micro flow channel, through which a sample is caused to flow, and the metal film are provided in an analysis chip. Different analysis chips are employed for different samples, and the analysis chips are discarded after use. The analysis chips are produced to be of a predetermined size. However, there are cases in which dimensional shifts occur due to manufacturing errors. There is a possibility that the irradiation position of an excitation light beam and the position of the metal film will be shifted due to these dimensional shifts, leading to variations in the intensities of detected fluorescence. As a result, there is a possibility that the accuracy of analysis will deteriorate. Similarly, there are individual differences among apparatuses in the irradiation position of the excitation light beam due to manufacturing errors. Thus, there is a problem that the accuracy of analysis will deteriorate.

Fluorescence detecting apparatus and fluorescence detecting method


A pivotal bone anchor assembly for securing an elongate rod to patient bone includes a shank having a head and an anchor portion, a receiver having an axial bore and a channel for receiving the elongate rod, a collet insert top loaded into a first position within the axial bore and having a collet pocket for receiving the shank head, and a pressure ring uploadable into the collet pocket prior to the shank head and having an upper surface for engaging the rod. After receiving the shank head within the collet pocket, the collet insert and pressure ring are downwardly deployable with the shank head into a second position to capture the shank head in the assembly, the pressure ring being operable to transfer pressure from the elongate rod in the channel to the shank head to lock an angular position of the shank relative to the receiver.

Bone screws are utilized in many types of spinal surgery in order to secure various implants to vertebrae along the spinal column for the purpose of stabilizing and/or adjusting spinal alignment. Although both closed-ended and open-ended bone screws are known, open-ended screws are particularly well suited for connections to rods and connector arms, because such rods or arms do not need to be passed through a closed bore, but rather can be laid or urged into an open channel within a receiver or head of such a screw.
Typical open-ended bone screws include a threaded shank with a pair of parallel projecting branches or arms which form a yoke defining slot or channel having different shapes, such as U-shaped and square shaped, for example, to receive a rod. Hooks and other types of connectors, as are used in spinal fixation techniques, may also include open ends for receiving rods or portions of other structure.
A common mechanism for providing vertebral support is to implant bone screws into certain bones which then in turn support a longitudinal structure such as an elongate rod, or are supported by such a rod. Bone screws of this type may have a fixed head or receiver relative to a shank thereof. In the fixed bone screws, the rod receiver head cannot be moved relative to the shank and the rod must be favorably positioned in order for it to be placed within the receiver head. This is sometimes very difficult or impossible to do. Therefore, pivotal or polyaxial bone screws are commonly preferred. Open-ended polyaxial bone screws typically allow for pivoting and rotation of the separate receiver about the shank in one or more planes until a desired rotational position of the receiver is achieved by fixing such position relative to the shank during a final stage of a medical procedure when an elongate rod or other longitudinal connecting member is inserted into the receiver, followed by a locking set screw or other closure.

Pivotal bone anchor assembly having a deployable collet insert with internal pressure ring


A vehicle charger includes two charge connectors configured to couple with DC charge ports of two vehicles each having a battery, a buck boost converter connected between the two charge connectors configured to convert a first DC voltage to a second DC voltage, and a controller. The controller is configured to wirelessly connect to a mobile device to obtain a charging instruction identifying a donor vehicle and a beneficiary vehicle among the two vehicles, and responsive to the two charger connectors being coupled with the DC charge ports of the donor vehicle and the beneficiary vehicle, output a request for charging permission to a digital device associated with at least one of the vehicles. The controller is further configured to, responsive to receiving the charging permission, start a charging session by transferring electric charge from the donor vehicle to the beneficiary vehicle via the buck boost converter.

Certain electric vehicles (EVs) have become increasingly popular because they do not consume conventional fuel. An EV uses a high-voltage direct current (DC) battery (traction battery) connected to an electric machine to provide propulsion power. The traction battery may be recharged at a high-voltage DC charging station. Alternatively, some EVs may be charged via an alternating current (AC) power outlet such as a home power outlet.


A high density electrical connector of the present invention comprises a dielectric housing having a pair of retaining walls rearwardly extending therefrom, a contact module assembly received between the retaining walls, a metallic shield covering a front side of the housing, a pair of grounding portions received in the housing and a pair of metallic attaching portions for electrically connecting the shield to the grounding portion and thence to ground. The attaching portions each have a block which forms a shoulder on a lateral end thereof and a tubular part forwardly depending from the block. In assembly, the shoulders press against joining plates of the grounding portions which are supported by the retaining walls thereby guiding the tubular part and correcting offset of the grounding portions. The shoulders press against the joining plates further preventing the attaching portions from relaxing out of position after assembly. Therefore, assembly efficiency is increased.

The present invention relates to a high density connector, and particularly to a high density connector with a grounding portion and an attaching portion.
With recent developments in communications, interference in an increasing range of signals is a more important problem. To guard against such interference, high density connectors are covered with conductive shields. An attaching means is generally used to connect a shield to ground.
Referring to FIG. 3, a previous high density connector as disclosed in the copending application Ser. No. 09/053,417 filed Apr. 1, 1998 having some common applicants with the invention, comprises a dielectric housing 82, a conductive shield 81 covering a front end of the housing 82, a pair of conductive grounding portions 83 and a pair of conductive attaching portions 84. The attaching portions 84 connect the shield 81 and the grounding portion 83 thereby locking the shield 81, the housing 82 and the grounding portion 83 together. A pair of retaining holes 821 is respectively disposed in lateral ends of the housing 82. A pair of holes 811 is respectively defined in lateral ends of the shield 81. A joining plate 833 of each grounding portion 83 joins an opening plate 834 thereof and a soldering body 832 thereof soldered to a PCB. The opening plates 834 each define an opening 831. The openings 831 are aligned with the retaining holes 821 and the holes 811. The attaching portion 84 includes a tubular part 841 and a block 842 at an end of the tubular part 841.
Further referring to FIG. 4, in assembly, the tubular parts 841 sequentially extend through the openings 831 of the grounding portions 83, the retaining holes 821 of the housing 82 and the holes 811 of the shield 81 and are then riveted against the shield 81. Thus, the attaching portions 84 electrically connect the shield 81 to ground with the grounding portions 83. However, the blocks 842 of the attaching portions 84 fail to abut against the joining plates 833 of the grounding portions 83 and to correct offsets of the joining plates 833 during assembly thereby adversely affecting coplanarity between the soldering bodies 832 of the grounding potions 83 and the PCB during soldering. Furthermore, when the attaching portion 84 is riveted without being firmly pre-positioned, it is possible that the attaching portion 84 will relax from the selected position thereby reducing assembly efficiency.

Reliably assembly for high density connector


Techniques related to efficient data retrieval based on aggregate characteristics of composite tables are provided. A join zone map includes entries that describe data from a join relationship between a first key column of a first table and a second key column of a second table. The first table includes a dimension column. Each entry of the join zone map corresponds to a respective zone. Each zone includes contiguous data blocks that correspond to one or more second key column values. Each entry also includes a respective dimension value range of one or more dimension column values. Each dimension value range includes a respective maximum dimension value and a respective minimum dimension value. Furthermore, each entry includes a respective anti-join attribute value that indicates whether any of the one or more second key column values in a particular zone are non-null and fail to match any first key column values.

The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.
Typically, data is maintained in a storage that is accessible to a server computing device. Referring to FIG. 1, storage 102 may be a data warehouse, a database, a repository, and/or any other data store. Storage 102 may include one or more disks, cards, and/or any other storage media. The data that is maintained in storage is typically organized as tables, such as table Prod 106 and table Sales 108.
Storage 102 is communicatively coupled to server computing device 100. Server computing device 100 may be a database server, a storage server, and/or any other computing device that processes queries. For example, server computing device 100 may receive, as input, a query from a client computing device (not shown). In response, server computing device 100 may transmit, to storage 102, an input/output (I/O) request related to the query.

Efficient data retrieval based on aggregate characteristics of composite tables