A device for curling and shredding ribbon includes a handle having a recess for receiving the end of a thumb of a person grasping the device. A support member extends from the handle and supports a plurality of flat, planar blade members extending perpendicularly from the surface of the support member. A diagonal surface forms a sharp edge on one side of the support member, and a second diagonal surface forms a sharp edge on the opposite side of the support member. A plurality of blades are disposed side-by-side spaced apart and parallel to one another along the length of the support member. Each blade is oriented to extend in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of the sharp edges formed by the diagonal surfaces. Each blade has a cutting edge formed around the free edges thereof and formed by opposed convex surfaces having the same radius of curvature. A shield is provided between the handle and the support member carrying the blades.

The present invention relates to devices used in wrapping packages and more particularly to ribbon shredding devices and ribbon curling devices.
Everyone has used ribbon formed of polypropylene or other materials to wrap a gift at one time or another. Department stores and smaller gift shops use ribbon in their gift wrapping services.
One manner of curling a ribbon involves holding it against one of the cutting edges of a scissor and pulling it over this edge to abrade the flat surface of the ribbon.
One device used to shred ribbon relies upon two flat plastic members disposed one above the other to form a sandwich. The bottom member has four vertical posts extending therefrom in a perpendicular direction from its flat surface. A biasing spring is placed over each post, which extends through one of four holes formed through the top member. Accordingly, the springs bias the upper member away from contact with the lower member. The end of each post is formed into a cap that is larger than the holes in the top member and forms a stop to prevent the springs from pushing the top member off the posts. On the underside surface of the top member, a plurality of pins project therefrom in a direction normal to this surface. The free ends of the pins are sharpened into points. The pins are arranged next to one another in a straight line extending for a majority of the length of the upper member. Immediately beneath the pins, a slot is formed beneath the surface of the bottom member. The top member is pressed toward the bottom member against the biasing of the springs until the points of the pins rest against the bottom of the slot formed in the bottom member. In operation, a ribbon is placed beneath the pins and above the slot. The top member is pressed down toward the bottom member so that the pins penetrate through the ribbon. As the end of the ribbon is pulled through the space between the upper and lower members, the pins shred the ribbon being pulled through the device.
Once the ribbon is shredded using the above device, it is difficult to curl it without the shredded portions becoming entangled or breaking. Similarly, once a ribbon is curled, such as in the manner using a scissor as described above, it is difficult for the shredder described above to shred the curled ribbon. Moreover, the curling and shredding of the ribbon requires two operations and two separate mechanisms.


In a storage device, such as a magnetic rigid disk drive, data is stored at varying linear densities in the user data storage portions to increase the effective storage capacity of the device as a function of the differences in soft error rate tolerance associated with the various types of data being stored and the ability of non-alphanumeric data to be enhanced by reconstruction or smoothing rather than by an error correction code. A data type signal included with incoming data dictates the recording frequency and a control signal associated with the recorded data block is read when data is addressed to appropriately adjust the clock frequency for reading such addressed stored data.

Disk drive data storage capabilities are being continuously enhanced by both the ability to store data more compactly at higher densities and by progressively lowering the cost per megabyte. Demand for storage continues to grow with the introduction of computer applications with more substantial storage requirements and can be expected to experience an acceleration of growth as cost effectiveness increases permit the use for further applications with high storage requirements.
Among the recording techniques used to enhance the utilization of the media storage surface, the most common is zone recording wherein data is stored in bands of concentric tracks with recording occurring at a constant frequency. The innermost track of a band or track with the smallest diameter is recorded at the maximum density and all other tracks on the surface or within the band are recorded at less than the optimum linear density. Zone recording allows a linear density defined by the innermost track of the band or zone which reduces the disparity between the recording density of the tracks and enhances the the usable storage capacity of the disk or the disk drive of which it is a part.
The zone recording may be further fine tuned by optimizing the frequency or recording density for each head disk interface with respect to each zone. Such a technique is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,087,992 wherein the frequency is set within each zone to the maximum error rate that does not exceed a selected value. Another approach is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,799,112 wherein the frequency is optimized for each track of the disk in accordance with the characteristics of the head disk interface. U.S. Pat. No. 4,604,748 teaches the recording of different types of data which have differing error tolerances. For that data which is more sensitive to errors, dual recording is used and also a higher level of error recovery is applied.

Data storage device having different storage densities for differing types of data

International Business Machines Corporation


Method and apparatus to provide supplemental media content are presented. In a particular embodiment, a method of providing supplemental content in a Video-On-Demand (VOD) system is provided. The method includes receiving a selection of a first supplemental content title selected from a plurality of supplemental content titles provided by a selectable menu, where each of the plurality of supplemental content titles is associated with a particular VOD offering. The selectable menu provided is to be displayed upon detection of discontinued transmission of the particular VOD offering. The method also includes providing first supplemental content associated with the first supplemental content title. The first supplemental content is accessible by a subscriber when the particular VOD offering is not being presented and wherein the first supplemental content is not accessible by the subscriber when the particular VOD offering is being presented.

Media content presented via Video-On-Demand (VOD) may have associated supplemental media content such as a movie trailer or interview with the director. The supplemental media content may be offered to a subscriber prior to, or subsequent to presentation of the media content. The supplemental media content may be offered individually in serial fashion, so that the subscriber chooses to download or not to download a particular supplemental content offering, but the subscriber may not be aware of available choices of supplemental content before downloading the particular supplemental content offering.


A method for managing a fracturing operation. In one implementation, the method may include positioning a seismic source and at least one seismic receiver near a hydrocarbon reservoir; pumping a fracturing fluid into a well bore of the hydrocarbon reservoir such that the fracturing fluid may include an additive that enhances acoustic impedance between the fracturing fluid and subsurface formations in which the hydrocarbon reservoir is located and that produces a foam; performing a seismic survey with the seismic source and the at least one seismic receiver during the fracturing operation; and identifying locations of the fracturing fluid within subsurface formations in which the hydrocarbon reservoir is located.

1. Field of the Invention
Implementations of various technologies described herein generally relate to methods and systems for hydraulic fracturing operations.
2. Description of the Related Art
The following descriptions and examples are not admitted to be prior art by virtue of their inclusion within this section.
In the recovery of hydrocarbons from subterranean formations it is common practice, particularly in formations of low permeability, to fracture the hydrocarbon-bearing formation to provide flow channels. These flow channels facilitate movement of the hydrocarbons to the well bore so that the hydrocarbons may be pumped from the well.
In such fracturing operations, a fracturing fluid is hydraulically injected into a well bore penetrating the subterranean formation and is forced against the formation strata by pressure. The formation strata or rock is forced to crack and fracture, and a proppant is placed in the fracture by movement of a viscous-fluid containing proppant into the crack in the rock. The resulting fracture, with proppant in place, provides improved flow of the recoverable fluid, i.e., oil, gas or water, into the well bore.
Fracturing fluids customarily comprise a thickened or gelled aqueous solution which has suspended therein "proppant" particles that are substantially insoluble in the fluids of the formation. Proppant particles carried by the fracturing fluid remain in the fracture created, thus propping open the fracture when the fracturing pressure is released and the well is put into production. Suitable proppant materials include sand, walnut shells, sintered bauxite or similar materials. The "propped" fracture provides a larger flow channel to the well bore through which an increased quantity of hydrocarbons can flow, thereby increasing the production rate of a well.
A problem common to many hydraulic fracturing operations is the loss of fracturing fluid into the porous matrix of the formation. Fracturing fluid loss is a major problem. Hundreds of thousands (or even millions) of gallons of fracturing fluid must be pumped down the well bore to fracture such wells, and pumping such large quantities of fluid is very costly. The lost fluid also causes problems with the fracturing operation. For example, the undesirable loss of fluid into the formation limits the fracture size and geometry which can be created during the hydraulic fracturing pressure pumping operation. Thus, the total volume of the fracture, or crack, is limited by the lost fluid volume that is lost into the rock, because such lost fluid is unavailable to apply volume and pressure to the rock face.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Active seismic monitoring of fracturing operations


A display substrate and a fabrication method thereof, a display panel and a display system are provided. The display substrate includes: a substrate, having a display region; and infrared light detectors, provided on a first surface of the substrate and located within the display region of the substrate. The infrared light detectors are configured to receive an infrared light signal irradiated onto the display substrate and convert the infrared light signal into a current signal; and an irradiation position of the infrared light signal on the display substrate is determined according to the current signal.

At present, most of touch screens used in daily life are capacitive touch screens, and the capacitive touch screens are widely used by users due to their high sensitivity. The capacitive touch screen determines a position of a touch point in a mode of capacitive sensing, the user operates the touch screen by approaching or touching the capacitive touch screen, and thereby the user cannot operate the touch screen at a distance. In addition, touching the capacitive touch screen directly with a hand or a stylus may easily leave scratches on a surface of the touch screen, which, thus, is apt to reduce touch sensitivity and affects life of the touch screen.

Display substrate and fabrication method thereof, display panel and display system

HEFEI BOE OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD


The class D amplifier comprises a differential signal output unit for outputting differential signals from voice signals which are input from the input terminal, and the P-side and the N-side charge balanced type class D amplifiers to which the differential signals are output. Each charge balanced type class D amplifier comprises a PWM waveform generation circuit which is comprised of an integrating amplifier and a Schmitt trigger circuit, a level shift circuit for shifting the level of the PWM signals, an output buffer for amplifying the level-shifted signals, and a feedback circuit for feeding back the output of the output buffer negatively to the integrating amplifier. The feedback circuit is constructed such that the feedback amount is variable depending on HIGH or LOW of the output of the output buffer by selecting a predetermined resistance depending on HIGH or LOW.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a class D amplifier to be installed in a portable telephone, for example, and more particularly to the class D amplifier of which the power consumption is decreased.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally a digital amplifier comprises a comparator receiving an audio signal and a triangular wave carrier wave, putting out a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) signal, and a class D output stage which amplifies the output of the comparator.
In such a digital amplifier, the comparator compares the audio signal and the triangular wave, and generates the PWM signal. The output stage switch is controlled by this PWM signal, and the load unit, such as a speaker, is driven by the output of the class D output stage. The high frequency component is removed by the output LPF (Low Pass Filter) during driving the load unit.
Practically, however, in the digital amplifier, non-linear distortion is generated due to the curvature of the triangular wave, pulse width distortion and power supply voltage variations, so negative feedback is used to improve non-linear distortion. One of such methods negatively feeds back the output of the output stage to the integrating amplifier installed as an integrating circuit in a previous stage of the comparator. The integrating amplifier extracts and amplifies the low frequency component included in the feedback signal of the square wave (PWM wave).
While this separately-excited oscillation type PWM system operates with such incoming triangular waves, there is a self-excited oscillation type PWM digital amplifier which oscillates by itself without incoming external triangular waves so that the output of the integrating amplifier is a triangular wave (e.g. Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-115730 (hereafter referred to as "related art")). In the self-excited oscillation type PWM system, the triangular wave oscillation circuit is unnecessary, and a Schmitt trigger circuit, for example, is used instead of a comparator.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram depicting a conventional self-excited oscillation type class D amplifier. As FIG. 5 shows, the class D amplifier 101 with a differential output (Bridge—Tied Load: BTL) is comprised of a differential signal output unit 102 consisting of the resistors R101-R104 for converting voice signals from the input terminal Sin into differential signals, and the full differential amplifier A101, and each charge balanced class D amplifier at the P-side and N-side receiving the differential signals.
The N-side charge balanced class D amplifier comprises a PWM waveform generation circuit and a feedback circuit. The PWM waveform generation circuit consists of an integrating amplifier 103N consisting of an operation amplifier A102 and a capacitor C101, and a Schmitt trigger circuit 104N consisting of resistors R107-R109 and a comparator COMP 101. The feedback circuit comprises an output buffer B101 and a resistor R111 for negatively feeding back the output of the output buffer B101 to the integrating amplifier 103N. The PWM waveform generation circuit consisting of the integrating amplifier 103N and the Schmitt trigger circuit 104N, is a self-excited oscillation type oscillation circuit which oscillates automatically without providing triangular waves, and the output of the integrating amplifier 103N is a triangular wave.
The Schmitt trigger circuit 104N, at the power supply level is VDD1, has the following two threshold values according to the output LOW or HIGH for determining LOW and HIGH of the input voltage (output of integrating amplifier 103N).VH=Vcom((R107+R109)/R109)VL=(Vcom(R107+R109)−VDD1×R107)/R109The P-side charge balanced class D amplifier is also configured similar to the N-side, and in the Schmitt trigger circuit 104P, has the following two threshold values according to the output LOW or HIGH for determining LOW and HIGH of the input voltage (output of the integrating amplifier 103P).VH=Vcom((R108+R110)/R110)VL=(Vcom(R108+R110)−VDD1×R108)/R110
Now the operation of the conventional class D amplifier will be described. FIG. 6 is a diagram depicting the signal waveform of each node in the class D amplifier 101, where S1 is a voice signal (analog signal) which comes from the input terminal Sin, S2 is an output waveform of the output buffer B102 when the voice signal is a silent signal, S3 is the P-side output waveform when the voice signal of S1 is presented from Sin, S4 is the N-side output waveform when the voice signal of S1 is provided from the input terminal Sin, and S5 is an amplitude applied to the load to be connected to the subsequent stage of the class D amplifier. FIG. 7 shows the relationship of the output voltage of the integrating amplifier (input voltage of the comparator) and the output voltage (Vout) of the output terminal OUTP where the abscissa is time and the ordinate is voltage.
First the case when voice signals are not provided from the input terminal Sin (voice signal=silent signal) will be described. The non-inverting input terminals of the integrating amplifiers 103N and 103P are connected to the reference potential Vcom respectively, and the non-inverting input terminals of the comparators COMP 101 and 102 are connected to the reference potential Vcom respectively. Each charge balanced class D amplifier at the P-side and the N-side operates similarly, so the operation of only the P-side charge balanced class D amplifier will be described below.
In the case when the voice signal is the silent signal, the voltage Vsin of the non-inverting input terminal of the integrating amplifier 103P is Vsin=Vcom. As FIG. 7A shows, if the output voltage Vout of the output terminal OUTP is HIGH (power supply level) (time T1), the output voltage VA of the integrating amplifier 103P drops since the current flows into the capacitor C102 of the integrating amplifier 103P through the resistor R112. If the output VA of the integrating amplifier 103P goes below the threshold level VL of the comparator COMP 102, the output voltage Vout of the output terminal OUTP goes LOW, and current flows out of the integrating amplifier 103P, so the output voltage VA of the integrating amplifier 103P increases. If the output voltage VA of the integrating amplifier 103P exceeds the threshold level VH of the comparator COMP 102, the comparator COMP 102 puts out HIGH, and the output terminal OUTP goes HIGH. Repeating the operations results in oscillation. At this time, the charge amount that flows into the integrating amplifier 103P from the output terminal OUTP via the feedback circuit and the charge amount which flows out from the integrating amplifier 103P to the OUTP side are equal, so the average output level is equal to the non-inverting input level (Vcom) of the integrating amplifier 103P (S2 in FIG. 6).
Now the case when the voice signal is input from the input terminal Sin will be described. According to the voice signal amplitude from the input terminal Sin shown in FIG. 5, the output level (Aop) of the differential amplifier A101 becomes as follows.Aop=(Vsin−Vcom)×R104/(2×R101)
When the level of Aop is higher than the non-inversing level Vcom of the integrating amplifier A103, current flows into the integrating amplifier A103 from Aop. If the output terminal OUTP is HIGH at this time, the current that flows into the integrating amplifier 103P is the sum of the current from Aop and the current from the feedback circuit, thus as time T1 in FIG. 7B shows, the output voltage reaches the threshold level VL of the comparator COMP 102 and the output terminal OUTP goes LOW sooner compared with the case of the silent signal, that is time T1 in FIG. 7A. This means that the width of HIGH has become shorter. If the output terminal OUTP is LOW, on the other hand, the current that flows into the integrating amplifier 103P is the current from the feedback circuit from which the current from Aop is subtracted, therefore compared with the case of the silent signal, the time to reach the threshold level LH of the comparator COMP2 (time T2) becomes longer. This means that the time period of LOW becomes longer.
This is the same for the case when the level of Aop is at the lower level than Vcom, and as FIG. 7C shows, when the output terminal OUTP is HIGH, time T1 is longer since the current that flows into the integrating amplifier 103P is subtracted, and when the output terminal OUTP is LOW, the time T2 is shorter since the current that flows into the integrating amplifier A103 is added. In this way, PWM waveforms, where the duty of the output pulse changes according to the level of Aop, can be generated as shown in S3 and S4 in FIG. 6.
The output waveform which is acquired by filtering this output is as follows.Vout=(Vsin−Vcom)×R104×R112/(2×R101×R106)+Vcom
In other words, the loop from the integrating amplifier 103P at the P-side to the output buffer B102 has inversing amplifiers connected in a series. This is the same for the loop from the integrating amplifier 103N at the N-side to the output buffer B101.
However in the class D amplifier 101 shown in FIG. 5, the power supply voltage of the switching circuit in the output buffers B101 and B102 may fluctuate, and if this power supply voltage fluctuates, the gain fluctuates, therefore in some cases the system becomes unstable. To avoid this, the above mentioned the related art discloses a power amplifier (hereafter class D amplifier), where voltages, after the positive power supply voltage and negative power supply voltage of the switching circuit of the output stage are divided at a predetermined voltage dividing ratio, are switched according to the output of the comparator, and are input to the input end of the comparator.
FIG. 8 is a diagram depicting a major section of the class D amplifier described in the related art. As FIG. 8 shows, the conventional class D amplifier comprises a PWM modulation circuit 133a and a switching circuit 134 for amplifying the PWM signals which are output from the PWM modulation circuit 133a, wherein the PWM signals amplified by the switching circuit 134 are output to the speaker (not illustrated) via the LC filter (not illustrated). The switching circuit 134 comprises an N-type FET (Field Effect Transistor) 145 and a P-type FET 146, which are connected in series.
The PWM modulation circuit 133a comprises an integrating amplifier 139 consisting of a capacitor 136 and an operational amplifier 137, a comparator 140, a resistor 142 disposed between the output of the integrating amplifier 139 and non-inverting input terminal of the comparator 140, and an inverter 186 for inverting the output of the comparator 140. The PWM modulation circuit 133a further comprises a switch 182 for the positive side power supply voltage VPX to be connected to the common terminal via the resistor 181, and the switch 182 switches the two contacts so that the GND or the node P between the non-inverting input terminal of the comparator 140 and the resistor 142 is selected according to the output of the comparator 140. The PWM modulation circuit 133a also comprises a switch 184 for the negative side power supply voltage VMX to be connected to the common terminal via the resistor 183, so that the common terminal switches the two contacts so that the GND or the node P is selected according to the inverting output of the comparator 140.
The switch 182 controls such that the common terminal and the node P are connected when the output of the comparator 140 is HIGH level, and the common terminal and the GND are connected when the output is LOW level. The switch 184 controls such that the common terminal and the node P are connected when the output of the comparator 140 is LOW level, and the common terminal and the GND are connected when the output is HIGH level.
In the conventional class D amplifier configured in this way, the maximum value VP and the minimum value VM of the integrating output (triangular wave), which is input to the input end P of the comparator 140, are in proportion to the power supply voltages VPX and VMX of the switching circuit 134 respectively. As a result, the gain from the node P at the input end side of the comparator 140 to the output end Q of the switching circuit 134 is a constant, as shown in the following Expression (1), which is no relation to the power supply voltage VPX and VMX, therefore the fluctuation of the circuit gain based on the power supply voltages VPX and VMX can be prevented.G=(VPX−VMX)/(VP−VM)  (1)
However as described above, the charge balanced type class D amplifier shown in FIG. 5 has resistance feedback, assuming that the PWM conversion unit comprised of the full differential amplifier 102, integrating amplifiers 103N and 103P and Schmitt trigger circuits 104N and 104P, and the output unit (output buffers B101, B102) are constructed under the same level of the power supply. For a circuit for which low power consumption is demanded, such as a circuit for a portable telephone, only the power supply level for the output buffers B101 and B102 may be increased, while decreasing the power supply level for the other signal conversion sections, so that power consumption is decreased and high amplitude is acquired. In this case, if the configuration based on resistance feedback is used, the average level of output at the silent signal is determined by the non-inverting input level of the integrating amplifiers 103N and 103P, so the GND side clamps and amplitude cannot be sufficient.
Also in the class D amplifier shown in FIG. 8, the gain of the input signal and output signal can be determined by the ratio of the resistance 132 and the resistance 187, but the output at silent signal becomes the same as the non-inverting input level of the integrating amplifier 139, so if the power supply level of the PWM modulation circuit 133a is VDD1 and the power supply level of the switching circuit 134 is VDD2, then the output of the switching circuit 134 cannot be amplified fully to the power supply level with VDD2/2 at the center, and a sufficiently high amplitude cannot be acquired.


Protective eyewear including an elongated strap member, at least a portion of the strap member being elastic, a pair of lens members, the pair of lens members being attached to the strap member adjacent opposite ends thereof, and an attachment mechanism for attaching the opposite ends of the strap member together, the attachment mechanism including: a first interlocking member disposed on a first end of the strap member, and a second interlocking member disposed on a second end of the strap member, the first and second interlocking members being releasably attachable to one another. Preferably, the length of the strap member is adjustable.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of protective eyewear, particularly eyewear designed to reduce or eliminate the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation.
Recent scientific studies have shown that protecting the eyes from harmful ultraviolet radiation is important in helping to prevent the formation of cataracts. From the earliest stages of life, eye protection is an essential part of healthy development. Most high quality sunglasses, however, are not designed for those who may require UV shielding the most, namely, infants and very young children. In order for sunglasses to be an economically feasible prospect for children, they would have to incorporate and adjustable feature to allow for the child's rapid growth rate. The present invention is directed toward addressing and overcoming these obstacles.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 4,976,530 relates to a pair of plastic sunglasses having a removable visor snap fit to the upper edge thereof, the removable visor extending inward toward the forehead of the wearer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,934,807 discloses a pair of sunglasses having a foam absorber strip removably attached to the frame portion over the wearer's eyes, and interchangeable lenses and temple members.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,869,586 relates to sunglasses designed to be secured to the visor of a cap and having an adjuster mechanism for regulating the angle of the sunglasses.
Finally, U.S. Des. Pats. Nos. 320,608 and 272,865 disclose various designs for sunglasses.

Adjustable ultraviolet shielding sunglasses particularly for children and infants


A communication control system 1 according to the present invention is provided with a home agent apparatus 10, a plurality of firewall devices 20-40, and a mobile station 50. When the mobile station 50 is connected, for example, to the firewall device 20, the firewall device 20 receives identification information and a configuration file of the mobile station 50 from the home agent apparatus 10 and constructs a firewall for the mobile station 50, using the configuration file. When the firewall device 20 receives an IP packet, it selects a firewall suitable for the mobile station 50 being a destination of the packet and determines the propriety of passage thereof according to a filtering condition set in this firewall.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication control apparatus, a firewall apparatus, a communication control system, and a data communication method.
2. Related Background Art
Mobile IPv6, which is the conventional technology of permitting a mobile station such as a cell phone or the like to use the same IP (Internet Protocol) address, regardless of its movement, is under investigation by IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force). Mobile IPv6 is implemented by mobile IP terminals as mobile stations and a home agent. A packet with the destination address being a permanent IP address (home address) of a mobile IP terminal is transmitted according to the normal IP procedure and thereafter arrives at a link of the home agent. This causes the home agent to receive the packet addressed to the home address.
The mobile IP terminal, as moving, is connected to a new node after movement and acquires a care-of (c/o) address being a temporary IP address, using the existing stateless address autoconfiguration (RFC2462) or stateful address autoconfiguration (DHCP: Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol). The mobile IP terminal registers this c/o address with the home agent.
There are two methods for the mobile IP terminal to communicate with another terminal: a bidirectional tunnel mode and a route optimization mode. In the bidirectional tunnel mode, a tunnel is generated between the mobile IP terminal and the home agent. The tunnel is a technique of putting an original IP packet in another IP packet and transmitting it, thereby carrying the packet in an arbitrary route, regardless of the source IP address and destination IP address of the original IP packet, as disclosed in RFC2473.
When the mobile IP terminal transmits an IP packet to another terminal, this IP packet is first transmitted via the tunnel to the home agent. The home agent takes the IP packet out of the tunnel and thereafter sends the IP packet to the other terminal according to the normal IP procedure. This allows the IP packet to reach the other terminal. Conversely, when the other terminal transmits an IP packet to the mobile IP terminal, the IP packet arrives at the home agent according to the normal IP procedure. Thereafter, the home agent puts this IP packet into a tunnel and sends it to the mobile IP terminal.
In contrast to it, in the route optimization mode the mobile IP terminal notifies the other terminal of its IP address, prior to transmission of an IP packet. If the other terminal transmits an IP packet to the mobile IP terminal in the bidirectional tunnel mode, the mobile IP terminal will transmit a c/o address of its own to the other terminal, in order to switch the mode into the route optimization mode.
In the route optimization mode, when the mobile IP terminal transmits an IP packet to another terminal, this IP packet is transmitted directly (without intermediation of a tunnel) from the mobile IP terminal to the other terminal. At this time, the c/o address is set in the source address of the IP packet, and the home address in the home address option in the IP packet.
On the other hand, when the other terminal transmits an IP packet to the mobile IP terminal, the IP packet is provided with a routing header, and the IP packet is transmitted directly (without intermediation of a tunnel) from the other terminal to the mobile IP terminal. The routing header is defined by RFC2460 and is information for transmitting a packet via an arbitrary relay point. The c/o address is set as a first destination (relay point) of the IP packet, and the home address as a second destination.
In the internal networks such as LANs, a firewall, which determines the propriety of passage of data arriving at a boundary between networks, in accordance with a predetermined filtering condition, is located in order to detect and interrupt unauthorized accesses from the external networks such as the Internet. The firewalls are often provided in the software form and used as installed in routers, proxy servers, etc., and in certain cases dedicated hardware devices are also used because of demands for higher performance (e.g., cf. Patent Document 1).    [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-70576

Communication control apparatus, firewall apparatus, and data communication method


A solar trough including a reflective surface formed parabolic along an axis and a parabolic trough structure composed of at least one cementitious material. The trough structure is made strong and light by the addition of a filler material within the cement, such as a bale of straw or other fibers.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to solar energy collection, and, more particularly, to cementitious trough structures that collect radiant energy from the sun and methods for making such structures.
2. Description of the Related Art
Photovoltaic (PV) cells have been used to convert solar radiant energy into electricity for many years now. However, despite substantial investment, they have not been widely adopted by the energy industry to generate electricity. There are a couple of reasons for this circumstance.
PV cells are very expensive to create per unit area. Their high cost has made the energy they produce too expensive to compete with conventional sources of energy, such as natural gas and coal.
One way to reduce the area of PV cells needed to produce electricity is to concentrate sunlight onto the cells. If a collector can concentrate sunlight by a factor of 500, then 500 times less area of PV cells is needed to produce the same amount of electricity. Hence, the cost of the energy produced should be vastly reduced.
The idea of concentrating sunlight onto PV cells is not a new one, but the cost and problems associated with building a collector, known in the industry as a solar concentrator, more than offset the cost savings in the reduced number of PV cells. This has prevented PV cells adoption for large-scale electrical energy production.
Many solar concentrators fall into three primary design categories. The first design category is the parabolic dish. This design uses a single parabolic mirror that is similar in shape to a large satellite dish. The mirror collects sunlight and focuses it to a focal point. At this focal point can be PV cells or a heat engine such as a sterling engine.
The second design category is the "power tower." This design uses many heliostats (small mirrors that track the sun) and points them all to a common focal point. At this focal point can be PV cells or a sterling engine.
The third design is commonly used (albeit in small numbers) in commercial power plant applications and is known in the industry as a solar trough. This design utilizes a single mirror that is parabolic along only one axis that looks something like a trough. This mirror collects sunlight and then focuses this sunlight into a line. At the focus can be a pipe that contains a working substance to be heated, or PV cells. This design has the advantage of a mirror that is easy to manufacture in small size sheets since it is curved in only one direction and it is relatively easy to apply a reflective coating or a glass mirror. Another advantage is the light in the focal plane can form a rectangular shape, important for focusing light onto rectangular PV cells or a continuous pipe structure. The primary drawback to this design is that since sunlight is concentrated only along one axis, a very large mirror is required to achieve high concentrations. Constructing, supporting, and controlling such large mirrors turns out to be a costly endeavor, in fact, too costly to offset the savings produced by needing fewer PV cells.
Because the trough structure establishes and maintains optical alignment of the parabolic mirror or mirror sections, it must be capable of withstanding wind and of securely supporting other solar collector substructures without significantly distorting the mirror shape. Thus, steel trusses anchoring in a concrete foundation is a common trough structure design. However, this and other currently used trough designs are relatively expensive (i.e., they can represent up to 40% of the total solar collector cost), heavy, and cause concerns over longevity and ability to keep mirrors in alignment during periods of high winds.
In view of the problems experienced with the construction and operation of cost-effective solar collectors/concentrators, a need continues to exist for a solar concentrator trough structure that has a minimum of components and has the potential to be less costly to manufacture and maintain while providing a strong supporting structure that better ensures efficient performance of the light collecting surface.


A carrier control loop (1) for a receiver of digitally transmitted signals is disclosed comprising, in the direction of signal flow, a quadrature demodulator (3), a symbol recognition device (4), a detector (9) for forming a phase deviation value (.phi.d) and/or a frequency deviation value (fd), a feedback device (10), and a variable-frequency oscillator (11) connected to the quadrature demodulator (3). An evaluating device (12) determines from signals (I, Q) of the carrier control loop (1) a reliability value (z) for the measured phase deviation value (.phi.d) and/or frequency deviation value (fd), and controls the carrier control loop (1) in accordance with the determined reliability value.

Examples of such transmission methods are also known by the following abbreviations: FSK (Frequency Shift Keying), PSK (Phase Shift Keying), BPSK (Binary Phase Shift Keying), QPSK (Quaternary Phase Shift Keying), and QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation). The receiver circuits for these methods are known and are generally similar in design. An important constituent is an analog or digital carrier control loop which ensures that a quadrature demodulator operates with the correct phase and frequency. The quadrature demodulator serves to demodulate the quadrature-modulated signal, so that the individual symbols from which the desired data stream can ultimately be reconstructed can be determined via the separated quadrature signal components by means of a symbol recognition device. This requires that the quadrature demodulator in the carrier control loop be operated with the exact phase and frequency so that the two quadrature signal components can be reliably separated.
For receivers of digitally transmitted signals, all-digital circuit technologies are increasingly being used, whose fundamental advantages in terms of stability, reproducibility, immunity to interference, etc. are known. Analog stages are used only where the signal frequencies are too high for digitization. Where the respective interface for the digitization is located depends on a trade-off between the required characteristics and the associated circuit complexity, an important quantity being the necessary digitization frequency, which is generally determined by the system clock used in the receiver, and which is limited by the respective circuit technology employed. For the circuit implementation it is advantageous if the digitization takes place before the carrier control loop, e.g., in the tuner or intermediate-frequency stage, because then the signal processing of the entire carrier control loop is an all-digital one.
The digital quadrature demodulation of the digitized input signal uses a pair of digital conversion signals whose digital value curves are sine- and cosine-shaped. The individual sine and cosine values are formed by a digital oscillator using an overflowing accumulator and a sine and cosine table. The overflow frequency of the digital oscillator is identical with the frequency of the conversion signal pair. The greater the ratio of the system clock frequency to the conversion frequency, the better the frequency accuracy of the overflowing accumulator will be, the resolution being determined essentially by the number of bits of the numerical value to be accumulated and the corresponding number of bits of the accumulator.
To ensure that the mixing process for the demodulation in the quadrature demodulator takes place with the correct phase and frequency, the phase and frequency of the frequency-variable oscillator are controlled by means of a feedback device. To accomplish this, an error detector determines from the outputs of the quadrature demodulator and the subsequent stages phase and frequency deviation values which indicate how far the phase and frequency of the conversion signal pair deviate from the respective desired values. Finally, a control signal for the variable-frequency oscillator is formed. Without this phase-locked control, subsequent assignment of a symbol to a predetermined phase location or phase range would not be possible. As the signals are band-limited and interference or noise signals are superimposed on them, the original punctiform phase location blurs into an areal phase and amplitude range, with the phase limits overlapping one another under unfavorable conditions.
The known advantages of this digital coding are that the original data stream can be easily decoded at the receiver end, with the digital coding being relatively insensitive to interference on the transmission path or in the receiver. Starting from this known prior art, it is an object of the invention to make the receiver end even less sensitive to interference.

Carrier control loop for a receiver of digitally transmitted signals


Coextruded easy-opening film structures having at least three layers for use as a packaging film or as a component thereof suitable for storing and/or cooking food items contained therein. The first film layer includes a material selected from the group consisting of ethylene/α-olefin copolymer, propylene/ethylene copolymer and blends thereof, the second film layer comprises a first modified or unmodified polyolefin and a second modified or unmodified polyolefin which is immiscible in the first modified or unmodified polyolefin; wherein the second layer is disposed between said first layer and said third layer. The third layer includes a material selected from the group consisting of polyethylene, anhydride-modified polyolefin; ethylene/vinyl alcohol copolymer, polyamide and blends thereof. The multilayer coextruded frangible films are thermoformable and exhibit a heat seal strength of between 1000-2500 g/in. (393.7-984.3 g/cm) after being submerged in water at 100° C. for one hour upon conducting a Standard Heat Seal Strength Test.

The present invention is in the field of flexible multilayer packaging films and packages made thereof for "cook-in" packaging applications. More specifically, the present invention relates to flexible multilayer packaging films for "cook-in" packaging which have an "easy-opening" feature.
Food items are often cooked in flexible packaging films by immersing the package in hot water or placing the package in a steam-heated environment. This process is referred to in the art as a "cook-in" process and the film used in the process is known as a "cook-in" film or "cook-in" packaging film. Food items which have been cooked and packaged may then be refrigerated, shipped to a retailer, and stored until the cooked food item is consumed, e.g., sliced and repackaged into smaller portions for consumer display. Alternatively, the cooked food items may be immediately removed from the package and either consumed or sliced and repackaged for consumer display.
Flexible films for cook-in packaging applications must be structurally capable of withstanding exposure to cook-in time and temperature conditions while containing the food item. Cook-in time and temperature conditions typically involve a long, slow cook, for example, submersion in hot water at about 55° C. to 65° C. for about 1 to about 4 hours. Submersion in water or steam at 70° C. to 100° C. for up to 12 hours is also possible.
Often the package forming process for cook-in applications, requires that two film surfaces sealed together by heat sealing around the edges of the package to secure a food item therebetween. The sealing of the two film surfaces is typically done using heated sealing bars or similar equipment. Opening of the package obtained in this way usually requires the use of scissors, knives or other cutting devices. It is often desirable to open a package without the use of scissors or knives. One method which obviates the need for a cutting tool in opening a package is the use a packaging film having an easy-opening feature.
"Easy-open" packaging have been used in a variety of food packaging applications to provide packaging that is easy for the consumer to open without having to tear the packaging. Food packaging having a "easy-open" feature may take several forms. For example, a flexible film lidding or lid stock material may be peelably adhered to a rigid tray, tub, or container. Alternatively, the easy-open packaging may incorporate a frangible or peelable seal between a combination of one or more of flexible films, webs, substrates, or supports. Examples of this alternative include thermoforming and vacuum skin packaging methods known in the art. For example, the lower web or support (e.g., "formed web") may be heated and deep-drawn to form a receptacle for the item to be packaged. Once the item is placed on the support, the upper web (e.g., "non-formed web") is drawn over the item and peelably sealed to the peripheral edges of the support. The seal may be formed using heated sealing bars, platens, or frames to apply heat and pressure to the top and bottom webs in the seal area.
Other types of easy-open packaging may be formed using vertical-form-fill-seal (VFFS) or horizontal-form-fill-seal (HFFS) methods known in the art to form a pouch or bag containing the packaged product. In such alternatives, the frangible film or web may in effect be sealed to itself (i.e., the same type of film material may form both the top and bottom web of the packaging).
Accordingly, it is desirable to develop flexible packaging films which maintain their structural integrity while being exposed to cook-in times and temperature conditions and are also easily opened without the use of ancillary cutting tools. It is also desirable to develop an easy-open or frangible packaging films which are thermoformable for use in storing and cooking food items contained therein.

Frangible heat-sealable films for cook-in applications and packages made thereof


Embodiments may provide a scan driver including a plurality of stages for simultaneously outputting first scan signals in a simultaneous driving period and for progressively outputting second scan signals in a progressive driving period, wherein each of the stages includes a first signal processing unit coupled to an input terminal, a first clock terminal, a third clock terminal, an auxiliary terminal, a first power source terminal, and a second power source terminal to output a first output signal and a second output signal, and a second signal processing unit coupled to a second clock terminal and the first power source terminal to receive the first output signal and the second output signal and to output a first scan signal and a second scan signal to an output terminal.

1. Field
Embodiments relate to a scan driver and an organic light emitting display using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various flat panel displays (FPD) capable of reducing weight and volume have been developed. The FPDs include a liquid crystal display (LCD), a field emission display (FED), a plasma display panel (PDP), and an organic light emitting display.

Scan driver and organic light emitting display using the same


A wear-resistant Ni.backslash.Cu alloy and methods of preparing same are disclosed. The alloy comprises a ductile, continuous phase of Ni.backslash.Cu with a discontinuous phase of hardened Ti containing particles distributed throughout the continuous phase. The particles are Ti.backslash.Al intermetallic or complex Ti.sub.x Al.sub.y Ni.sub.z complex or particle. The alloying components are poured and mixed in the melt under an inert atmosphere, then slowly cooled to provide the desired cast article. The alloy should be protected during melting and cooling in a protective atmosphere, such as a vacuum, or an inert atmosphere so as to inhibit oxide and nitride formation that would otherwise adversely affect desirable alloy properties.

Animal and vegetable rendering presses and the like include a variety of working parts such as screw flights, breaker bars and pins and metallic screens that are subjected to excessive shear conditions during the kneading and working of the abrasive animal or vegetable medium in the press. In animal rendering operations, the work medium is acidic, and accordingly, the working parts must be capable of enduring in this corrosive environment in addition to fulfilling the requirement of good wear resistance.
In many cases, carbon steel, Ni, Cr and B alloys have been used to make such press parts but, in the long run, these parts exhibit an undesirable brittleness or excessive corrosion that may lead to fracture.
Ni.backslash.Cu Monel alloys with minor amounts of Si addition thereto are known as being corrosion resistant in many acidic mediums. However, brittle suicides may be present in these alloys and this leads not only to difficulty in machining of the desired parts but also to the possible fracture failure of the part during prolonged use.
There is accordingly a need in the art for the provision of fracture tough, ductile metallic parts that exhibit high impact strengths so that such parts can be used as working parts in the expression, kneading or shearing of abrasive materials. There is an even more specific need for the provision of such parts that are corrosion resistant in acidic media.

Wear resistant nickel alloys and methods of making same


The present invention relates to a replication deficient recombinant virus encoding at least one antigen and/or antigenic epitope, wherein expression of said antigen and/or antigenic epitope is regulated by a transcriptional control element comprising at least two elements driving early expression of said antigen and/or antigenic epitope and the use of said replication deficient recombinant virus as medicament or vaccine.

Live attenuated, replicating vaccines, rather than inactivated preparations, have provided the most effective protection against viral infection and disease. These vaccines elicit essentially life-long protective immunity. In contrast, immunity induced by inactivated or subunit vaccines is generally of more limited duration. A key factor in pursuit of the latter approaches is safety. An overview of replicating and non-replicating viral vectors for vaccine development is given in the publication of Marjorie Robert-Guroff, Replicating and Non-replicating Viral Vectors for Vaccine Development, Curr. Opin. Biotechnol. 18:546-556, 2007.
Recombinant viruses are widely used to express foreign antigens in infected cells. Specifically, recombinant poxviruses are currently tested as promising vaccines to induce an immune response against a foreign antigen expressed from the poxvirus vector. Most popular are avipoxviruses on the one side and vaccinia viruses (VACV) on the other side. U.S. Pat. No. 5,736,368 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,051,410 disclose recombinant vaccinia virus strain Wyeth which expresses HIV antigens and proteins. U.S. Pat. No. 5,747,324 discloses a recombinant VACV strain NYCBH expressing lentivirus genes. EP 0 243 029 discloses a recombinant VACV strain Western Reserve expressing human retrovirus genes. For the expression of heterologous genes in poxviruses several promoters are known to the person skilled in the art, such as the 30K and 40K promoters (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,747,324), a strong synthetic early/late promoter (see, e.g., Sutter et al., A recombinant vector derived from the host range-restricted and highly attenuated MVA strain of vaccinia virus stimulates protective immunity in mice to influenza virus, Vaccine 12,1032-40, 1994), the p7.5 promoter (see, e.g., Endo et al., Homotypic and heterotypic protection against influenza virus infection in mice by recombinant vaccinia virus expressing the haemagglutinin or nucleoprotein of influenza virus, J. Gen. Virol. 72, 699-703, 1991) and the promoter derived from the cowpox virus A-type inclusion (ATI) gene (Li et al., High-level expression of Amsacta moorei entomopoxvirus spheroidin depends on sequences within the gene, J. Gen. Virol. 79,613, 1998). All of these promoters have been used in recombinant VACV to express heterologous genes and were shown to express said genes very efficiently resulting in relatively high amounts of the protein encoded by the heterologous gene. In general, for many vaccination approaches it is highly desired that the antigen against which an immune response is to be induced is expressed in high amounts.
Induction of a strong humoral and cellular immune response against a foreign gene product expressed by, e.g., a VACV vector is hampered by the fact that the foreign gene product has to compete with all of the more than 150 antigens of the VACV vector for recognition and induction of specific antibodies and T cells. Immunodominance of vector CD8 T cell epitopes prevents induction of a strong CD8 T cell response against the foreign gene product. (Smith et al., Immunodominance of poxyiral-specific CTL in a human trial of recombinant-modified vaccinia Ankara. J. Immunol. 175:8431-8437, 2005.) This applies to replicating VACV vectors such as Dryvax, as well as to replication deficient vectors like NYVAC and Modified Vaccinia virus Ankara, MVA.
For expression of a recombinant antigen by VACV poxvirus-specific promoters but not common eukaryotic promoters may be used. The reason for this is the specific biology of poxviruses which replicate in the cytoplasm and bring their own, cell-autonomous transcriptional machinery with them that does not recognize typical eukaryotic promoters.
The viral replication cycle is divided into two major phases, an early phase comprising the first two hours after infection before DNA replication, and a late phase starting at the onset of viral DNA replication at 2-4 hours after infection. The late phase spans the rest of the viral replication cycle from ˜2-20 h after infection until progeny virus is released from the infected cell. There are a number of poxyiral promoter types which are distinguished and named by the time periods within the viral replication cycle in which they are active, for example, early and late promoters. (See, e.g., Davison and Moss, Structure of Vaccinia Virus Late Promoters, J. Mol. Biol. 210:771-784, 1989; Davison and Moss, Structure of Vaccinia Virus Early Promoters, J. Mol. Biol. 210:749-769, 1989; and Hirschmann et al., Mutational Analysis of a Vaccinia Virus Intermediate Promoter in vitro and in vivo, Journal of Virology 64:6063-6069, 1990, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference.)
Whereas early promoters can also be active late in infection, activity of late promoters is confined to the late phase. A third class of promoters, named intermediate promoters, is active at the transition of early to late phase and is dependent on viral DNA replication. The latter also applies to late promoters, however, transcription from intermediate promoters starts earlier than from typical late promoters and requires a different set of transcription factors.
It became increasingly clear over recent years that the choice of the temporal class of poxyiral promoter for antigen expression has profound effects on the strength and quality of the antigen-specific immune response. It was shown that T cell responses against antigens expressed under the control of a late promoter are weaker than those obtained with the same antigen under the control of an early promoter. (Bronte et al., Antigen expression by dendritic cells correlates with the therapeutic effectiveness of a model recombinant poxvirus tumor vaccine. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A 94:3183-3188, 1997; Coupar et al., Temporal regulation of influenza hemagglutinin expression in vaccinia virus recombinants and effects on the immune response. Eur. J. Immunol. 16:1479-1487, 1986.)
Even more strikingly, it was shown that in repeated autologous immunizations with VACV as well as with the replication-defective VACV vector MVA, recall CD8 T cell responses against antigens under the control of an exclusively late promoter can fail completely. This failure resulted in an almost undetectable antigen-specific CD8 T cell response after the second immunization (Kastenmuller et al., Cross-competition of CD8+ T cells shapes the immunodominance hierarchy during boost vaccination. J. Exp. Med. 204:2187-2198, 2007.)
Thus, early expression of antigens by VACV vectors appears to be crucial for efficient antigen-specific CD8 T cell responses. It has also been shown that an early-expressed VACV vector antigen not only competes with late expressed antigens but also with other early antigens for immunodominance in the CD8 T cell response (Kastenmuller et al., Cross-competition of CD8+ T cells shapes the immunodominance hierarchy during boost vaccination, J. Exp. Med. 204:2187-2198, 2007). The specific properties of the early portion of the poxyiral promoter might thus be important for induction of an antigen-specific T cell response. Moreover, it is a commonly held view and a general rule that higher amounts of antigen are beneficial for induction of stronger antigen-specific immune responses (for the poxvirus field, see for example Wyatt et al., Correlation of immunogenicities and in vitro expression levels of recombinant modified vaccinia virus Ankara HIV vaccines. Vaccine 26:486-493, 2008.)
A promoter combining 4 early promoter elements and a late promoter element from the ATI gene has been described previously and has been shown to direct increased early antigen expression (Funahashi et al., Increased expression in vivo and in vitro of foreign genes directed by A-type inclusion body hybrid promoters in recombinant vaccinia viruses. J. Virol. 65:5584-5588, 1991; Wyatt et al., Correlation of immunogenicities and in vitro expression levels of recombinant modified vaccinia virus Ankara HIV vaccines. Vaccine 26:486-493, 2008). T cell responses induced by an antigen driven by such a promoter in a recombinant replication competent vaccinia virus vector have been analyzed after a single immunization and were, however, found to be only slightly different from those obtained with the classical p7.5 promoter in this setting. (Funahashi et al., 1991.)
Jin et al. (Constructions of vaccinia virus A-type inclusion body protein, tandemly repeated mutant 7.5 kDa protein, and hemagglutinin gene promoters support high levels of expression, Arch. Virol. 138:315-330, 1994) reported the construction of recombinant VACV harbouring promoters consisting of a VACV ATI promoter combined with tandem repeats (2 to 38 copies) of a mutated p7.5 promoter operably linked to the CAT gene. Up to 10-15 repetitions of the mutated p7.5 promoter appeared to be effective in increasing early gene expression. However, with all constructs, the amount of CAT protein produced in the presence of cytosine arabinoside (AraC) (i.e. when the viral replication cycle was arrested in the early phase) was only less than one-tenth of the amount produced in the absence of AraC, indicating that although early gene expression was increased, most of the expressed antigen was obviously produced during the late phase of infection.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved viral vectors that enable early expression of foreign antigens and induction of a strong antigen-specific immune response.

Replication deficient recombinant viruses expressing antigens regulated by transcriptional control elements comprising multiple elements


An apparatus includes a direct-current to direct-current (DC-DC) converter having an output node and at least one electronic switch. The DC-DC converter also includes: 1) a first feedback loop configured to control a voltage at the output node by adjusting a first switching parameter of the at least one electronic switch; and 2) a second feedback loop configured to adjust a second switching parameter of the at least one electronic switch. The second feedback loop includes a switched-capacitor circuit configured to determine a threshold signal based on an error between a reference signal and a control signal for the at least one electronic switch. The second feedback loop is configured to adjust the second switching parameter based on a comparison of an on-time signal with the threshold signal.

Power supplies and power converters are used in a variety of electronic systems. Electrical power is generally transmitted over long distances as an alternating current (AC) signal. The AC signal is divided and metered as desired for each business or home location. As desired, the AC signal is converted to direct current (DC) for use with individual electronic devices or components. Modern electronic systems often employ devices or components designed to operate using different DC voltages. Accordingly, different DC-DC converters, or a DC-DC converter that supports a wide range of output voltages, are needed for such systems. There are many different DC-DC converter topologies. The available DC-DC converter topologies differ with regard to the components used, the amount of power handled, the input voltage(s), the output voltage(s), efficiency, reliability, size, cost and/or other characteristics.
One existing DC-DC converter topology uses a feedback circuit to adjust the amount of power provided to the converter output node based on a variable load. Due to imperfections of components and/or variance in electrical system design (a DC-DC converter is part of a larger electrical system) some converter output voltage ripple is common. The converter output voltage ripple adds noise in an electrical system. In the existing DC-DC converter topology, the converter output voltage ripple has a variable frequency that is not easily filtered from an electrical system.

DC-DC converter having a switch on-time control loop with a switched-capacitor circuit for error-based adjustment


Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture are disclosed to facilitate proximity detection and location tracking. An example apparatus includes a real time location system (RTLS) health processor. The example RTLS health processor includes an event processor to process an event included in a message from an RTLS device to identify event information related to the RTLS device, the event relating to a health of the RTLS device and the event information including an event type and an event detail. The example RTLS health processor includes a health analyzer to compare the event detail to a prescribed bound for the event type, the event relating to a health of the device. The example RTLS health processor includes an output generator to, when the event detail is outside the prescribed bound, trigger a response to address the event with respect to the RTLS device.

Real-time location systems (RTLS) monitor asset distribution and usage, providing actionable information to help control costs and improve the quality and efficiency of care. Systems that have been developed to track and analyze activities in clinical settings have included installing Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or infrared (IR) reader infrastructures into buildings to capture position information. RFID sensors may be placed on the people and/or assets that need to be tracked.
However, this is an expensive and time-consuming solution because it requires pulling power and data cabling to all the required locations. Location accuracy can also vary depending on technology. Typical RFID systems have a tolerance of approximately plus-or-minus ten feet, further limiting their range. RFID and IR-based sensors, though, are highly susceptible to drift due to interference in the environment (e.g., a patient room) and cross talk between locations that are physically separated, but have a line of sight between them (e.g., two patient rooms across the hall from each other).
Therefore, it would be desirable to design a system and method for tracking locations and interactions between people and assets in an environment with minimal infrastructure requirements and standardized technologies.

Receiver health systems and methods for a real time location platform


Packaging structures and systems are used for handling components for use in a nuclear reactor. The packaging protects the component during transport and handling and then dissolves in liquid in the nuclear reactor or fuel pool. The packaging need not be removed and may block flow paths or otherwise interfere with operability were it not for its dissolution. The packaging may include shock absorbers in a fuel assembly or a seal on a water rod in the assembly. Mechanical, frictional, or chemical retaining materials may be used to secure the packaging and may also dissolve in the liquid. For a light water reactor, polymers, protein gels, and plastics can all be used where they will dissolve in the water and are otherwise compatible with reactor chemistry and neutronics. Materials with higher temperatures for solubility may be used because they will dissolve when reactor operations commence.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a conventional nuclear reactor fuel assembly 10 typically used in commercial nuclear power reactors for electricity generation throughout the world. Several fuel assemblies 10 are placed in a reactor in close proximity to sustain a nuclear chain reaction. A fluid moderator and/or coolant conventionally passes through fuel assembly 10 in a length-wise (axial) direction, enhancing the chain reaction and/or transporting heat away from the assembly 10.
As shown in FIG. 1, fuel assembly 10 includes multiple fuel rods 14 containing fissile material and extending in the axial direction within the assembly 10. Fuel rods 14 are often seated into lower tie plate 16 and extend upward into upper tie plate 17 at ends of fuel assembly 10. Fuel rods 14 may be bounded by a channel 12 that forms an exterior of the assembly 10, maintaining fluid flow within assembly 10 throughout the axial length of assembly 10. Conventional fuel assembly 10 may also include one or more fuel spacers 18 at various axial positions. Fuel spacer 18 permits fuel rods 14 to pass through grid openings in spacer 18, thereby aligning and spacing fuel rods 14. One or more water rods 19 may also be present to provide a desired level of moderator or coolant through-flow to assembly 10.
During plant fabrication or an operational outage for maintenance and refueling, one or more assemblies 10 are installed, moved, or removed within a nuclear reactor core. Typically, several new, or fresh, fuel assemblies 10 are received at the plant prior to the outage for adding during this period. Fresh fuel assemblies 10 may be shipped by rail, freight, or any other transport means from a fuel fabricator, typically at only a few locations that are necessarily remote from the plant. Upon receipt, assemblies 10 are unloaded, unpackaged, inspected, and then moved into temporary storage, such as a fuel pool, prior to moving into the reactor during the maintenance period.

Systems and methods for debris-free nuclear component handling


A method and system for data dependent multi phase image visualization, includes: acquiring a plurality of series of image data acquisitions; registering the plurality of series of image data acquisitions to a same reference series to create a plurality of registered series; combining information from the registered series to create a new series; creating a further new series by a selection decision based on combination rules from information from the plurality of registered series and the new series; and displaying the further new series.

Perfusion data is used to diagnose a wide range of pathologies in the human body by showing the flow of injected contrast agents. A perfusion study comprises several acquisitions, typically one before the injection and one or more acquisitions at time intervals after the injection. Studies show the spread of contrast agent in different tissue.
In order to detect subtle changes, the different time series resulting from the acquisitions have to be combined in an appropriate way so that the enhancement attributable to the contrast agent can be calculated locally and visualized. Typically, a form of registration, deformable or rigid, is used to compensate for patient motion. Then the data can be compared, subtracted, etc., and the flow information can be extracted. The result of the flow calculation is either displayed in separate views, or it is merged back into one of the series to provide the user with anatomical context. This merging is usually done for the complete image, using a blending.
As an example, the calculation of the Hepatic perfusion index is cited. In the example, three phases are acquired: a Native phase N, without contrast, an Arterial phase A, wherein contrast has entered the arterial system, and a Venous phase V, wherein contrast has filled the venous system. Then these different time series are deformed to compensate for patient motion, including the effects of breathing. After deformation, the time series are in the same coordinate system and can be compared voxel by voxel. The Hepatic perfusion index HPI is then calculated asHPI=(A−N)/Max(A−N, V−N).
This value is displayed in a color-coded scheme. It has been shown in publications that the HPI improves the detection of subtle changes in the liver related to HCC (liver tumors). See, for example, Kim K W, Lee J M, Klotz E, Park H S, Lee D H, Kim J Y, Kim S J, Kim S H, Lee J Y, Han J K, Choi Bl, "Quantitative CT Color Mapping of the Arterial Enhancement Fraction of the Liver to Detect Hepatocellular Carcinoma", Radiology, in press: Radiology: Volume 250: Number 2; February 2009. It is noted that co-author E. Klotz is a named inventor in the present application.
However the color coded image generally also shows enhancement outside the liver, where it is typically not of any value and, in fact, may tend to obscure anatomical information and/or landmarks and can distract the focus of attention of the viewer. Even inside the target organ, such as a liver, the arteries are enhanced as well, making it necessary to inspect carefully to distinguish lesions from arteries. See FIG. 2 for an example of an image without application of the present invention.

Method and system for data dependent multi phase visualization


This invention relates to a protection module provided to receive an overvoltage arrester in a receptacle and designed to plug on the protection ring of a telephone line interconnection module. The receptacle presents a receiving cavity adapted to receive overvoltage arresters of different dimensions, and it contains three elastic contacts, viz. two line contacts each with two contact strips and an earth contact with contact clamp. A thermofusible insulating shim is inserted between four additional earth lugs and the body of the overvoltage arrester in order to ensure short-circuiting of the latter in the event of functioning due to a lightning strike.

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of a module 1 for rapid interconnection of telephone lines and for protection against lightning or other overvoltages, which is at present marketed by Applicants, while FIG. 2 is an exploded view in perspective of its intermediate half-bushing 2 forming a protection device against lightning or other overvoltages.
It is briefly recalled here that this module 1 is mounted on a preferably standardized metal rail 3 which constitutes an electrical earth connection bar, and that it is constituted by three superposed half-bushings or rings:
a lower half-bushing 4 which receives the first pair of telephone lines, PA1 an intermediate half-bushing, called "protection ring" in which is plugged a protection module 5 containing a three-pole lightning arrester or "overvoltage arrester" 6, and PA1 an upper half-bushing 7 which receives the second pair of telephone wires. PA1 in that it comprises, in a receptacle for receiving the overvoltage arrester, three elastic metal contacts, viz. a median earth connection contact whose transverse section presents the form of a two-tined fork which is provided to receive, between these two tines, the median annular earth electrode of the overvoltage arrester, and two lateral line connection contacts which are respectively positioned on either side of this earth contact and symmetrically with respect to the median transverse plane thereof, each of these two contacts being provided to elastically abut respectively against the two line electrodes of the overvoltage arrester, PA1 in that the internal dimensions of said receptacle are slightly greater than the average dimensions of an overvoltage arrester available on the market, with the result that, taking into account the clearance allowed by the elasticity of these three elastic contacts, this receptacle is adapted to receive commercially available overvoltage arresters whose external dimensions may be slightly different from one another, PA1 in that said median elastic earth connection contact is in the form of a cradle which comprises, in the longitudinal direction parallel to the axis of the overvoltage arrester and on either side of each of the two elastic earth connection lugs which form the two tines of said fork, respectively two additional elastic metal lugs which are shaped in order respectively to abut on each of the two line electrodes of the overvoltage arrester, an insulating shim made of thermofusible material being, in addition, provided to be inserted between each of these four additional elastic lugs and the body of the overvoltage arrester in order, by application of a well known general means, normally to form an electrically insulating gap, generally an air gap, between each additional lug and its conjugate line electrode of the overvoltage arrester, this insulating gap being eliminated when, the overvoltage arrester having just functioned, this insulating shim then melts under the effect of the heat, and PA1 in that this thermofusible shim comprises four adjusting tabs which are respectively adapted to fit, when said shim is positioned, between each of said additional elastic metal lugs.
A median screw 8 traverses the assembly of the module 1 and serves both as earth connection and as clamping device ensuring cohesion of the three half-bushings and ensuring self-stripping connections of the four line wires.
The protection ring 2 is composed (FIG. 2) of a body 9 of plastics material which firmly houses three "tuning-fork" contacts, viz. a central double tuning-fork contact 10 which receives the body of the screw 8 and is therefore the earth contact, and two lateral tuning-fork contacts 11 and 12 which are connected to the two line terminals of the module.
The plug-in protection module 5 is composed of a body 13 of plastics material which forms a receptacle for a lightning arrester or overvoltage arrester 6.
This overvoltage arrester 6 is a three-pole lightning arrester found on the market, on the three electrodes of which are soldered three rigid contact lugs 70, 71, 72 which are provided to traverse the bottom of the receptacle 13 so as to plug respectively in the contacts 10, 11, 12 when the module 5 is plugged on the protection ring 2.
After assembly of the protection module 5, the overvoltage arrester 6 is embedded in a polyurethane resin 74 (FIG. 1).
This known device presents drawbacks:
The fact that the overvoltage arrester is embedded in a very rigid polyurethane resin necessitates coating this overvoltage arrester with a layer of a supple product, such as a product based on silicone, in order to allow the fusible device for thermal limitation, which is conventionally interposed between the earth of the lightning arrester and at least one line electrode, to perform its role fully despite the presence of the polyurethane which is rigid. This arrangement increases the cost of this protection module.
An overvoltage arrester, on whose electrodes contact lugs are soldered is not a product available on the market. Consequently, it is not possible for the user to replace the plug-in protection module of the lightning arrester after said lightning or overvoltage arrester has functioned: the whole of the module must be changed, which is relatively expensive.
In addition, this known device is provided to receive an overvoltage arrester of well-determined dimensions, which is inconvenient, as it is then necessary always to be supplied from the same manufacturer of overvoltage arresters.
Finally, this same known device presents another drawback of not lending itself to automatic, robotized manufacture.
It is an object of the invention to overcome the drawbacks set forth hereinabove.

Plug-in protection module for a module for rapid interconnection of telephone lines


Methods and apparatus for using wireless networks to support a variety of school related operations including attendance record keeping, student class work assignment receipt and student test answer result receipt are described. Short range wireless signals transmitted in an area corresponding to a class session are used to facilitate verification of a student's presence in the class. Students submit attendance messages, test answer messages and/or work corresponding to an assignment wirelessly with the submission message or attendance message including information from a short range wireless signal received by the student device along with student authentication information such as a captured image or fingerprint obtained from the student at the time of submission or attendance message transmission. Based on the information in a received message the network node authenticates the student and that it was submitted from the area of the class. Records are updated based on received message content.

Many colleges, high schools and other educational facilities have installed Wi-Fi and/or other wireless systems, including a large number of access points, to allow students to wirelessly access a school computer network and/or the Internet from their classrooms, dorms or other sites on campus. Some schools, including many colleges, require students to purchase laptops or other wireless devices for accessing the school network.
While in colleges, laptop computers with wireless capabilities may be common for students, even students who don't normally carry a laptop computer routinely carry a cell phone with wireless network capabilities.
While students often use their cell phones and/or other devices to obtain general information about their school or to access particular school systems, teachers are still left in many cases with the task of manually tracking class attendance, manually accepting test results of tests taken during class, and collecting work assignments which were due to be submitted prior to or at the end of a particular class session.
Class attendance is of particular concern, along with test result submission which is to occur during a class session. This is because both class attendance and test results can significantly affect a student's ability to obtain credit for a class. Furthermore, to receive credit for class attendance and in class tests, physical presence of the student is normally required. Physical presence of the student is normally confirmed by the teacher creating the attendance record, and/or accepting the tests results. While physical involvement and tracking of attendance and/or test result submissions during a class normally requires involvement of a teacher or another school administrator it would be desirable if at least some of the attendance and/or student in class submission functions could be automated, and implemented in and electronic form. This should occur without necessarily losing the ability to confirm that the submission transpired during class, and that the student was physically present to make the submission or receive attendance credit.

Methods and apparatus for supporting school operations using wireless signals


The present invention relates to an apparatus for attaching surgical sutures to eyeless surgical needles. The apparatus includes a frame for positioning and maintaining the needle while the suture is being attached and a rotating die system which selectively impacts the needle to secure the suture thereto.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to surgical sutures and their production. More particularly, the invention relates to an apparatus and method for attaching surgical needles to surgical sutures.
2. Description of the Related Art
The trend to develop and produce surgical sutures attached to eyeless surgical needles is continuously evolving. The most common surgical suture of this type is a single-use needle of appropriate size and shape which is attached to the end of the suture, so that the needle is used once and then discarded.
The attachment can be accomplished by use of a "drilled end" needle, that is, one in which a concentric aperture is formed in the end face of the needle, in which the suture is placed in the aperture and the needle is crimped around the suture. Alternatively, a "flanged" needle may be utilized in which a U-shaped channel is stamped into the end of the needle with the ends of the "U" being crimped about the suture to hold the suture together. The attachment must be one which is predictably secure, causes a minimum of damage to tissue, is convenient for the using surgeon, permits sterilization and entails reasonable costs. In addition, the attachment must withstand the rigors of manufacture, sterilization, storage, shipment and use.
With conventional crimping operations a crimp is created between several dies which close to a fixed gap. Any variation in the crimping dies, the needle size, the hole size, or the suture size alters the degree of crimp.
Conventional crimping methods require the back end of the needle be struck with two half moon shaped dies. The needle is then manually rotated 90.degree. and the needle is struck again with the dies. The manual intervention in the production of surgical sutures with eyeless needles reduces production efficiency and increases the associated costs incurred in their manufacture.
To date, techniques devised for connecting such suture components in a manner to perform within the preferred guidelines are not as effective for high speed production of surgical sutures as would otherwise be desirable. The present invention avoids the aforementioned disadvantages and provides a needle crimping apparatus which automatically rotates the dies 90.degree. so as to reduce the need for manual rotation of the needle as described above.

Apparatus for attaching surgical suture components


A printing apparatus, including: an ink jet head for ejecting ink droplets of an ultraviolet curing type ink toward a medium; a temporary curing ultraviolet light source; an irradiation setting storage section which stores ultraviolet irradiation settings of ultraviolet rays from the temporary curing ultraviolet light source to the medium; and a curing completion ultraviolet light source being for completing curing of the dots of the ink, is provided. The ink jet head performs a printing by a multi-pass method. The ultraviolet irradiation settings are set so that, regarding temperature of the region where the ink jet head ejects ink droplets in each main scanning operation in the multi-pass method, an increasing range of temperature compared with temperature at a timing of the last main scanning operation is suppressed within a temperature rising range which dot gains of the dots of the ink are substantially the same as each other.

Conventionally, an ink jet printer which uses an ultraviolet curing type ink for printing has been widely used (for example, see Non-patent literature 1). In such an ink jet printer, normally, ink droplets are ejected from an ink jet head toward a medium and ultraviolet rays are irradiated to the dots of ink which are formed by the ink droplets having been landed on the medium to cure the ink. Further, in recent years, since demanded print resolution and print quality become higher, printing in a multi-pass method has been widely used in which a plurality of main scanning operations is performed at each position of a printing region to be printed.    [Non-patent literature 1] Internet URL http://www.mimaki.co.jp


In a container for solid, paste-like or flowable products, particularly food products, comprising a lower container part for containing the products and a container top part for closing the container, wherein the container bottom part has a rim which extends around the container bottom part opening, the container top part has a collar element which extends around the rim of the container bottom part and an essentially flat areal cover element connected to the collar element and releasably connected to the rim of the container bottom part when, after filling of the container bottom part with a product, the container is closed by the container top part.

The invention relates to a container for solid, paste-like or flowable products, particularly for food products, comprising a container bottom part for containing the product and a container top part in the form of a container lid and the container bottom part is provided with a rim extending around the circumference of the opening of the container bottom part.
Such containers consist generally of a plastic material and are manufactured by known injection molding techniques. They are commercially available for various applications and in various sizes and are used in many different shapes for all kinds of products which must be packaged hygienically or, respectively, in a sterile manner. Products which are offered in food stores packaged in such containers are for example all kinds of milk products, meat and sausage products, but also vegetable and fruit products as well as ready-to-serve meals in refrigerated or non-refrigerated states.
Since these types of containers are mass products for are containing the exemplary products mentioned above hygienically and in a sterile and air-tight manner, their manufacture must be inexpensive in order to be acceptable to the market that is, the manufacturers of the products and to the consumers. Furthermore, laws and rules require that such containers provide extensive information concerning the content of the container, the composition of the product, the energy content of the product, the manufacturing date, the expiration date and other information required in certain countries, such as health considerations regarding the product contained in the containers.
For this reason, such containers are generally provided with labels which list the various data concerning the product. Often the labels include also the name of the manufacturer, registered marks etc., and generally in many cases, the product contained in the containers is depicted on the label, for example, a sausage product, a cheese product or a product in the form of a liver pate' or similar.
The additional labels however increase the price of manufacture for the container since the label has to be applied after the filling and closing of the container either to the container itself, to the container lid or to the container and the container lid.
Another important problem of such containers resides in the fact that, for example, upon opening of the container by the removal of the lid, which, for the generally known yogurt and cottage cheese containers, consists only of an aluminum foil, the lid does not lift off at the areas where it is joined to the rim of the containers but is ripped upon removal so that it cannot be used again for closing the container if the product is not fully removed or consumed. Another type of closure for such containers wherein an imprinted foil is cemented onto the actual container lid has the disadvantage that, upon removal of the lid for opening the container that foil is ripped off the container lid without the connection between the container lid and the container being released so that the container cannot be opened in this way.
In another type of such known containers, wherein labels are provided during the manufacture of the lid in accordance in the injection mold already with the foil which forms the outer surface of the container lid, an edge area of the foil projecting beyond the container lid is connected to the container. Also this type of containers have a disadvantage in that, in the edge area of the container lid, the circumferentially reinforced label or foil is ripped uncontrollably during opening of the container. In addition, the ruptured sections of the foils which have been applied by the "Inmolded Label" procedure again causes the foil to be ripped off from this container lid uncontrollably and the container can then be opened only by the use of a tool such as scissors or a knife. Of course, a lid opened in this way cannot be used again to cover the container opening when the product contained in the container is not fully removed or consumed. It is a further disadvantage that often the area around the container or the user become soiled when the user tries to open such a container.
In EP-A 1 475 314, which is assigned to the assignee of the present application, a container of this type is disclosed wherein the disadvantages pointed out above in connection with prior art containers and container lids are eliminated in a very elegant and efficient manner.
The utilization of such containers for various products for mass consumption results in the mass-production of the containers and consequently requires inexpensive solutions for the manufacture of such containers. There is always a trend to reduce the costs of such containers which include a top part consisting of an upper outwardly extending foil and a lid on which the foil is disposed.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a container of the type described above, which can be manufactured faster and more easily than the containers described above and which requires less material and which, after the first use, can again be closed with good sealing properties and reopened as often as needed without any loss in sealing properties.