A method and a correspondingly designed device for data transfer in a computer network, the method including transmitting a first message addressed by a first node of the computer network to a second node of the computer network for requesting information regarding the synchronicity of the second node with an element of the computer network, receiving a second message addressed by the second node of the computer network to the first node of the computer network with information regarding the synchronicity of the second node with the element, and ascertaining a status of the synchronization of the second node with the element with the aid of the received information.

The data transfer in a computer network takes place, for example, with the aid of protocols, such as the Internet protocol. Wired computer networks, for example, use the Ethernet, which facilitates the data exchange in the form of frames, so-called data frames, between the devices connected in a local area network (LAN).
Time synchronization protocols, for example, the Precision Time Protocol (PTP) according to IEEE 1588 or the generalized Precision Time Protocol (gPTP) according to IEEE 802.1 AS facilitate the exchange of time information between nodes of the computer network.
However, this exchange does not provide any information about the status of the synchronization between the individual nodes of the computer network itself.

Method and device for data transfer in a computer network for identifying a synchronicity between a node of the computer network with an element of the computer network


Various embodiments provide a data sampling circuit comprising a first sampling module configured to respond to a signal from the data signal terminal and a signal from the reference signal terminal and to act on the first node and the second node; a second sampling module configured to respond to the signal from the first node and the signal from the second node and to act on the third node and the fourth node; a latch module configured to input a high level to the first output terminal and input a low level to the second output terminal; and an offset compensation module connected in parallel to the second sampling module and configured to compensate an offset voltage of the second sampling module.

In LPDDR4/5 (Low Power Double Data Rate 4/5, 4/5th generation low-power memory), as a rate of an input signal becomes faster and faster, an operating speed of a DQ data sampling circuit also needs to be increased accordingly.
In related technologies, the DQ data sampling circuit generally includes a sampling module and a latch module. The sampling module completes sampling of input data, and the latch module completes latch hold of sampled data. Meanwhile, because the sampling module may have an offset voltage, the DQ data sampling circuit also includes an offset compensation circuit, which is employed to compensate the sampling module.
However, a disadvantage of the sampling module is that kickback noise generated by the sampling module is relatively large, and the offset compensation circuit may further increase the kickback noise of the sampling module.
It is to be noted that the above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the present disclosure and therefore it may contain information that does not form the related art that is already known to a person of ordinary skill in the art.


A minimally invasive system and method for vertebral body augmentation includes an expandable containment device, a chassis including an interior cavity for at least partially enclosing the expandable containment device, a first guidewire, a working cannula, a second guidewire having at least a partially flexible distal end portion and a sleeve for introducing bone filler material through a cannulated passageway of the sleeve and into an interior cavity of the containment device. The containment device preferably includes a plurality of pores for directing the outflow of bone filler material anteriorly within the vertebral body. The containment device and chassis are left interior to the vertebral body subsequent to height restoration and augmentation of the vertebral body.

Vertebral compression fractures ("VCF") represent a spinal injury and may result in prolonged disability. Generally, VCF involves the collapse of one or more vertebral bodies in the spine. VCF usually occurs in the lower vertebrae of the thoracic spine or the upper vertebrae of the lumbar spine. The anterior portion of the vertebral body is typically collapsed to a further extent than a posterior portion, resulting in a potentially wedge-shaped, compressed vertebral body, during a VCF event. VCF may result in deformation of the normal alignment or curvature, e.g., lordosis, of the vertebral bodies in the affected area of the spine. VCF and/or related spinal deformities may initiate from, for example, metastatic diseases of the spine, trauma and/or osteoporosis. Until recently, doctors were limited in their treatment options for VCF and related spinal deformities.
Minimally invasive surgical procedures for treating VCF have been developed. A cannula or other access tools are typically inserted through the posterior of the targeted vertebral body, usually through the pedicles in such procedures. For example, U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2009-0069850 describes a balloon with an implant mounted thereon that is insertable through a posterior duct into a compressed vertebral body and expanded to urge endplates of the vertebral body toward an original spacing or shape.
In another such procedure, generally referred to as vertebralplasty, a cannula or bone needle is passed through the soft tissue of the patient's back. Once positioned within the compressed vertebral body, a small amount of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) or other orthopedic bone cement is pushed through the needle into the targeted vertebral body. This technique may be effective in the reduction or elimination of fracture pain, prevention of further collapse, and a return to mobility in patients. However, this technique typically does not reposition the fractured bone into its original size and/or shape and, therefore, may not address the problem of spinal deformity due to the fracture.
Other treatments for VCF generally involve two phases including (1) reposition or restoration of the original height of the vertebral body and consequent lordotic correction of the spinal curvature; and (2) augmentation or addition of material to support or strengthen the fractured or collapsed vertebral body. This procedure is generally referred to as Kyphoplasty and is generally described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,241,734.
One such treatment involves inserting a catheter having a balloon mounted on a distal end into an interior volume of a fractured vertebral body, wherein the interior volume has a relatively soft cancellous bone surrounded by fractured cortical bone. The balloon is expanded within the interior volume in an attempt to restore the vertebral body towards its original height. The balloon is deflated and removed from the interior volume, leaving a void within the vertebral body. PMMA or other bone filler material is injected through the cannula into the void to stabilize the vertebral body. The cannula is then removed and the cement cures to augment, fill, or fix the size and general shape of the vertebral body.
Another approach for treating VCF involves inserting an expandable mesh balloon into the targeted vertebral body. The balloon remains inside the vertebral body after it is inflated with PMMA or an allograft product, which limits intra-operative loss of height of the repositioned endplates.
It is desirable to provide an improved system, method and instruments for minimally invasively inserting a containment device such as, for example, an implant or a balloon, into an interior volume of a patient's bone.

Minimally invasive spine augmentation and stabilization system and method


A thermocompensating susceptor is described comprising a microwave transparent sheet, e.g. paper, paperboard or plastic, having a layer thereon of a dried dispersion comprising a film forming vehicle together with two kinds of dispersed particles including microwave interactive particles such as a metal, metal oxide, carbon or graphite that absorbs microwave energy to produce heat in a microwave oven and electrically nonconductive thermocompensating particles of a mineral hydrate containing bound water of crystallization and having a dissociation temperature between about 100.degree. F. and 500.degree. F., at which temperature the bound water is released therefrom to prevent overheating of the laminate.

In the prior art, a variety of substances including metal particles, ferrites, carbon or graphite particles, oxides of the metals zinc, german lure, barium, tin, iron and the like have been incorporated into coatings for producing heat in a microwave oven, i.e. to act as a heating susceptor for the purpose of absorbing a portion of the microwave energy and converting it to heat. Various other chemical susceptors such as salts are employed in an aqueous solution for this purpose as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,283,427. A quantity of free water must be provided to dissolve the salt so that it is in an ionic form that will interact with the microwave energy to produce heat. This requires that the wet product be placed in a pouch that is sealed at its edges. This wet product has many disadvantages including its bulk, fluidity and the complexity of the manufacturing operation. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,264,668 and 4,518,651 describe coatings containing carbon black. However, it has been found that carbon-containing heat producing coatings, when heated in a microwave oven, can be subject to a runaway heating condition that often produces arcing, sparking, burning or charring of the backing sheet to which they are applied. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,806,718; 4,808,780; 4,810,845 and 4,818,831 describe ceramic devices for microwave heating, primarily green ceramics, which employ a quantity of bound water to produce heating. The ceramic gel itself produces heat.
In developing the present invention it was found that when carbon was used alone with a film former, such as a standard ink base, that burning and uncontrolled temperature rise occurs. Many of the packages burst into flames when heated in a microwave oven. It was also found that when carbon was mixed with an aqueous acrylic dispersion, the resulting susceptor would burn the package. A rapid, uncontrolled temperature rise occurs. Discoloration appears at about 400.degree. F. Then ignition follows almost immediately. The package starts to brown at about 400.degree. F. and then quickly begins to burn which is, of course, unacceptable. Once the package begins to carbonize, this facilitates further heating and accelerates the burning reaction which causes burning to occur at an even faster rate. This can be referred to as runaway heating.
An important objective of the invention is to provide a microwave susceptor layer that can be applied at little or no pressure as a fluid and which, upon exposure to microwave heating, will produce a uniform heat without unacceptable arcing, popping, sparking or burning. It is another objective to obtain uniformity of heating in different portions of the package and also from one sample to another. The susceptor composition should have characteristics that allow it to be applied as a fluid by a variety of methods including roll printing, silk screen printing, spraying, dipping, brushing and the like. The composition should preferably be useful with gravure printing, one application method found to allow especially good coating weight control. The fluid susceptor, sometimes referred to herein for convenience as "ink," should be capable of being applied directly onto a backing such as paper, paperboard or the like without the requirement for multiple superimposed coatings, plastic sheets or high pressure which increase production costs and capital requirements.
When applied by printing, the fluid susceptor composition should have all the qualities of a good printing ink including the proper rheological properties: viscosity, dilatency and thixotropy to avoid problems such as misting, splattering or dripping from freshly printed surfaces moving at high speed and must also transfer easily from the supply roll to the printing roll. The susceptor fluids or inks of the present invention should also produce coatings of uniform thicknesses and be able to form both a continuous and interrupted coating, e.g. a coating with a multiplicity of openings or uncoated spots within a coated area.
It is a further object of the invention to control or stabilize the heat produced by a microwave interactive material by providing a cooling effect at a selected temperature or at a plurality of temperatures within a selected temperature range to compensate for the heat produced by the microwave interactive material.
A more specific object is to control heating of a susceptor so that it can be used on paper without the paper charring or catching on fire.
When printing is the application method, another object is to enable printing of the susceptor to be accomplished using standard printing equipment at normal speeds, up to 1200 feet per minute. A further object is to provide a susceptor for heating foods which is food safe.
Yet another object is to match or exceed the performance of commercially available microwave susceptors that employ vapor deposited semiconductive aluminum coatings.
When overheating occurs at the periphery or along the edge of a susceptor, it is an object to reduce or eliminate overheating, charring or burning of this kind along the edge of a printed susceptor.
These and other more detailed and specific objects of the invention will be apparent in view of the accompanying drawings and specification which set forth by way of example but a few of the various forms of the invention that will be apparent to those skilled in the art once the principles described herein are understood.

Microwave susceptor with attenuator for heat control


Tubing reaming apparatus comprises a housing adapted to be mounted to tubing to be reamed. The housing provides mounting for a reamer shaft adapted to mount a cutter within the tubing. The housing also provides mounting for a drive arrangement. A gear arrangement is provided between the drive arrangement and the reamer shaft. The housing may comprise a clamping arrangement adapted to reduce residual bend and ovality of the tubing.

In the oil and gas industry, devices are often run into wells on lengths of flexible metallic hollow tubing which may stored coiled on a spool; the tubing is thus known as coiled tubing. Individual lengths of coiled tubing, which may be hundred of metres long, are joined by means of appropriate in-line connectors that fit and seal within the ends of the lengths. Coiled tubing is normally formed from strip rolled into a cylindrical form and then welded. As noted above, the tubing is then coiled for storage and transport. Thus the tubing forming operation, and subsequent handling and coiling of the tubing, normally results in the tubing featuring a degree of ovality and residual bend. Furthermore, the internal diameter of tubing formed from strip includes an axial weld seam. Accordingly, to prepare the end of a tubing length to receive a connector, particularly a connector featuring an elastomer seal, it is normal practice to ream the tubing end using a tool such as the applicant's Internal Combination Reamer System (ICRS) unit. This is a hand operated, self-aligning unit that prepares coiled tubing to accept the applicant's Elastomer Sealed Inline Connector. The ICRS tool features a two-part sleeve, one part of the sleeve for location over the end of the tubing and being fixed to the tubing using grub screws, and the other part of the sleeve providing mounting for a shaft extending into the sleeve. A reamer or other cutter is mounted on the end of the shaft within the sleeve, while a handle for rotating the reamer is provided on the other end of the shaft. An Acme thread couples the parts of the sleeve, such that relative rotation of the parts advances the reamer into the tubing on which the sleeve is mounted. Thus, using the handle to rotate the shaft and turn the reamer while rotating the sleeve parts to feed the reamer through the tubing, a skilled operator may use the ICRS tool to ream the end of a tubing length to produce an acceptable seal bore finish on the tubing internal diameter, ready to receive a connector. However, this is a time-consuming operation. For example, reaming a 2⅞″ (7.3 cm) outside diameter 0.190″ (0.48 cm) wall thickness coiled tubing to a depth of 7″ (17.8 cm) will typically take around four hours. Furthermore, inexperienced or unskilled operators often have difficulty in achieving the level of finish necessary to achieve a fluid-tight seal between the tubing and a connector, and furthermore will often damage the reamer: one common problem is that the reamer is advanced too quickly into the tubing and when the reamer is rotated the reamer takes too big a "bite" of the tubing wall, which leads to a poor finish and damage to the reamer. It is also difficult to ream the larger sizes of coiled tubing, due to the torque required to turn the cutter.
It is among the objectives of embodiments of the invention to provide a reaming apparatus that obviates or mitigates at least some of these difficulties.


The present invention relates to a modified polynucleotide encoding aspartate kinase (EC:2.7.2.4; hereinafter, referred to as LysC), transketolase (EC:2.2.1.1; hereinafter, referred to as Tkt) or pyruvate carboxylase (EC:6.4.1.1; hereinafter, referred to as Pyc), in which the initiation codon is substituted with ATG, a vector including the same, a microorganism transformed with the vector, and a method for producing L-lysine using the same.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a modified polynucleotide, in which an initiation codon is substituted with ATG, a vector comprising the same, a microorganism comprising the polynucleotide, and a method for producing L-lysine using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Strains of the genus Corynebacterium, specifically Corynebacterium glutamicum, are Gram-positive microorganisms which are extensively used to produce L-lysine. L-lysine is used, for animals feed, medicines and cosmetics for humans, and is produced through fermentation of the Corynebacterium strain.
Conventionally, a strain of the genus Corynebacterium having enhanced lysine biosynthesis genes and a method of producing L-lysine using the same are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,746,855 discloses a method for producing L-lysine by culturing Corynebacterium which has an enhanced expression of lysE gene (lysine export carrier gene), and additionally introduced genes selected from the group consisting of a dapA gene, a lysC gene, a pyc gene and a dapB gene.
Another method is to amplify genes on the lysine biosynthesis pathway or to modify a promoter. For example, Korean Patent application laid-open Nos. 2009-0082702 and 2009-0084099 disclose a method for producing L-lysine by introducing improved promoters of ddh and lysC-asd operon into Corynebacterium. Korean Patent application laid-open No. 2008-0025355 discloses a method for improving lysine productivity by amplifying the copy number of the genes on the lysine biosynthesis pathway, which are aspB, lysC, asd, dapA, daps, lysA, and pyc, in the chromosome.
Meanwhile, the initiation codon which is recognized by ribosomes to initiate translation in the chromosome is usually ATG. Translation can be controlled according to the initiation codon of the gene, and the sequence of the initiation codon is important in the regulation of protein activity. However, while ATG is the common initiation codon among the lysine biosynthesis genes derived from Corynebacterium glutamicum, the initiation codon of lysC and pyc genes is GTG, and TTG is for tkt gene on pentose phosphate pathway contains the initiation codon of TTG (reference: J. Biotechnol., 104: 5-25, 2003.)
The present inventors have made many efforts to find a method for improving lysine productivity, and as a result, they found that the initiation codon of the wild-type lysC, tkt and pyc genes can be substituted with ATG to enhance the activities of aspartate kinase, transketolase and pyruvate carboxylase over their endogenous activities, thereby completing the present invention.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method for producing L-lysine using microorganisms having ability to produce L-lysine


Roughly described, a computer program product describes a transistor with a fin, a fin support, a gate, and a gate dielectric. The fin includes a first crystalline semiconductor material which includes a channel region of the transistor between a source region of the first transistor and a drain region of the transistor. The fin is on a fin support. The fin support includes a second crystalline semiconductor material different from the first crystalline semiconductor material. The first crystalline semiconductor material of the fin and the second crystalline semiconductor material of the fin support form a first heterojunction in between. A gate, gate dielectric, and/or isolation dielectric can be positioned to improve control within the channel.

As integrated circuit technologies continue to push into higher densities, a number of transistor types have become popular which involve one or more narrow channel structures wrapped with a gate electrode. The channel structures are often called fins, and transistors that include them are sometimes called FinFETs, described for example in D. Hisamoto et al., IEDM, 1998; and N. Lindert et al., IEEE Electron Device Letters, p. 487, 2001, both incorporated by reference herein for their teachings. The fins comprise semiconductor bodies usually arranged in parallel on the substrate, so that they project vertically upwards from the substrate. A gate dielectric layer overlies the sides and top of the fins, and a gate conductor, which can be implemented using metal or polysilicon for example, extends across the fins and over the gate dielectric layer. On either side of the gate conductor, source and drain regions are implemented in the fins. The FET transistors that result have source, channel and drain regions in the fins, and a gate overlying the fins. Such transistors are often called multi-gate transistors, because the gate conductor wraps around three sides of the fins, and as a result increases the effective width of the channel.
FinFET transistors are commonly made from a silicon fin on a silicon oxide support, or a silicon fin on a silicon support. In the case of a silicon fin on a silicon oxide support, the crystalline silicon fin is on an amorphous silicon oxide support. The amorphous silicon oxide does not influence the crystalline lattice properties of the crystalline silicon fin. In the case of a silicon fin on a silicon support, both the fin and the silicon fin are made of the same crystalline silicon with the same bandgap, same lattice constant, etc. So FinFET transistors have not been made from different crystalline materials in the fin and fin support. Such different crystalline materials require that the lattice constant and bandgap of both crystalline materials be compatible. Moreover, the feasibility of CMOS-like logic with such different crystalline materials requires that the lattice constant and bandgap of both crystalline materials be compatible for both n-type and p-type devices. Such issues discourage FinFET transistors made from different crystalline materials in the fin and fin support.
The fins used to implement the FinFET transistors can be quite narrow. As a result of the multi-gate gate structure and the narrow widths of the fins, FinFET transistors have excellent performance characteristics and small layout areas. But even with such narrow fins, the electric field generated by the gate control voltage can be limited in depth and may not extend sufficiently into the cross-sectional middle of the fin. In the off-state, this causes leakage through the middle of the fin. In the on-state, this causes lowered current through the middle of the fin. The wider the fin, the worse the decreased gate voltage control in the middle of the fin, as the middle of the fin becomes more distant from the gate. Manufacturers can reduce this problem by narrowing the fin further, but this solution is difficult to implement because the mechanical instability and line edge roughness of such a narrow fin can cause yield loss.
Fringing electric fields generated from the gate near a crystalline fin support are not expected to solve the issue of decreased gate voltage control in the middle of the fin. Conductors terminate electric field lines, and insulators support electric fields. Because a crystalline fin support is not an insulator, the crystalline fin support is expected to terminate the electric field lines from such fringing electric fields.
Accordingly, there is a need for better ways to improve FinFET transistors with different crystalline materials in the fin and fin support. Also, there is a need for better ways to improve gate control voltage in FinFET transistors.

FinFET with heterojunction and improved channel control


A method of operating an adjustable roll stabilizer (1) of a motor vehicle. The adjustable roll stabilizer (1) includes an actuator (2) which can rotate relative to a rotational axis (3) in order to twist two stabilizer sections (6a, 6b) connected thereto relative to one another about the rotational axis (3). The stabilizer sections (6a, 6b) are radially spaced away from the rotational axis (3) and each is coupled to a wheel suspension (7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b). The actuator (2) is controlled on the basis of a system target torque specified for the vehicle, and the specified system target torque is tested for acceptability in relation to a roll torque distribution (β) that is acceptable for the motor vehicle.

From automotive technology, in particular chassis technology, it is known to influence the roll or rolling behavior of motor vehicles by means of so-termed roll stabilizers. In such cases the basic structure consists of an essentially C-shaped torsion bar spring which, in its central area, is mounted rotatably relative to the vehicle body and whose outer, opposite ends are in each case coupled to a wheel suspension by means of coupling elements termed hinged supports. By virtue of this design, the roll stabilizer ensures that when driving round a curve, the body of the vehicle is deflected not only on the outside of the curve (due to the centrifugal force), but also that the wheel on the inside of the curve is somewhat lowered. Roll stabilizers improve the track-keeping of the vehicle and reduce the lateral inclination of the vehicle body (rolling), which makes driving round curves safer and more comfortable.
To further increase vehicle stability and driving comfort, it is known to make such roll stabilizers adjustable. In that case the roll stabilizer comprises an actuator and is divided into two stabilizer sections that, with the help of the actuator, can twist relative to one another about a rotational axis. By rotating the stabilizer sections relative to one another, a rolling movement of the vehicle body is produced in a controlled manner or a rolling movement of the vehicle body caused by external influences is selectively counteracted. From the prior art adjustable roll stabilizers are known, whose actuator comprises an electric motor which is in driving connection with a mechanical gear system, particularly in the form of a multi-step planetary gearset, in order to produce suitable rotational speeds and torques. In this connection reference should be made, for example, to DE 10 2016 219 399 A1.
Besides the design of an adjustable roll stabilizer, its appropriate control also poses a technical challenge. In this connection reference should be made to DE 10 2009 007 357 A1, which describes a method for operating an adjustable roll stabilizer of a motor vehicle with two axles. Among other things, the prioritizing of various regulation strategies for the roll support of a two-axled vehicle are discussed.
Quite generally, in the context of an active roll stabilization system of a motor vehicle fitted therewith, an adjustable roll stabilizer can be used to distribute an overall supporting torque for the motor vehicle between the front axle and the rear axle, in order in that way, for example in certain situations, to increase the driving stability and/or the driving comfort. Particularly in the case of a two-axled motor vehicle with an adjustable roll stabilizer on the front axle and also an adjustable roll stabilizer on the rear axle, the overall supporting torque for the motor vehicle is distributed between the actuator associated with the front axle and the actuator associated with the rear axle so that the division between them can be influenced by appropriate control. In a manner known as such, for example a motor vehicle tends in principle to under-steer more markedly when too large a proportion of the overall supporting torque is assumed by the actuator on the front axle. Conversely, a motor vehicle tends in principle to over-steer more when too large a proportion of the overall supporting torque is assumed by the actuator on the rear axle.

Method of operating an adjustable roll stabilizer


An insulation resistance detection circuit and method are disclosed. The circuit includes a controller configured to: open a first relay, and close second relays, or switch an on/off status of at least one of the second relays; determine, based on a first measurement value between a positive input terminal of an inverter circuit and an earthing point, whether the positive input terminal of the inverter circuit is short-circuited or has low resistance to protective earthing; and determine, based on a second measurement value between a negative input terminal of the inverter circuit and the earthing point, whether the negative input terminal of the inverter circuit is short-circuited or has low resistance to protective earthing, where the first relay is one of in M relays and is connected to at least one impedor in parallel, and the second relays are relays other than the first relay in the M relays.

In a scenario in which a direct current power generating device (for example, a solar battery) is connected to an alternating current power grid, an inverter needs to be used to perform a grid-connected operation.
In the conventional technology, for a non-isolated alternating current power grid whose power grid side is not connected to a transformer, when a housing of an inverter has no protective earthing conductor (protective earthing or PE) or is poorly earthed, if a direct current input terminal of the inverter is short-circuited to protective earthing (zero resistance to protective earthing) or has low resistance to protective earthing, in this case, if the inverter is directly connected to the grid, the direct current input terminal of the inverter forms a short-circuit loop with the alternating current power grid, causing inverter failure.

Insulation resistance detection circuit and method

Huawei Digital Power Technologies Co., Ltd.


Some tests can be implemented as services. A network provider can deploy (“push”) a test to a container resident on one or more devices of the network, either at installation, periodically, or when a problem is reported. When a customer reports an issue, services running on one or more devices of the customer's installation can cause the containerized tests to be run. For example, the central office of the network provider can initiate a request to run the test through the internet (or other connection) by the container. In some implementations, there is an overlap of the service based test set with traditional technician initiated test sets forming a hybrid testing architecture.

The proliferation of home network installations has driven adoption of Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) networks. Such network architectures bring with them new and special needs for installation and testing. For example, conducting testing on home network installations using traditional methods involves dispatching technicians to the home, necessitating not just a highly skilled labor force, but the ability to schedule convenient times for the homeowner in order to enter the premises and conduct testing and repair. This can be time consuming, inconvenient and expensive for both the network operator and the homeowner. There simply needs to be a better way to conduct testing of on-premises installed networks.


A patient line management device to manage one or more patient care lines is provided. The line management device includes a line manager coupled to a support. The support is adapted to be coupled to a patient support such as a hospital bed.

Patients can be located in a health care facility, such as a hospital, in home care, or in other known patient care settings. Such patients often require patient care equipment to be in close proximity to receive medical care. Such patient care equipment may include heart monitoring equipment, medical gas delivery equipment, infusion pumps, intravenous bags, equipment monitors, defibrillators, and other patient care equipment, many of which directly connect to the patient via lines, cables, or tubes.
Intravenous lines, tubes, wires and the like have in some instances been left to dangle or hang between patient care equipment and the patient without intermediate support. Moreover, many of these lines are put into place or connected to the patient's body prior to the patient being transported. When the patient is being adjusted or moved, however, it is possible for these lines to become displaced or entangled, thereby compromising the ability of the attending caregivers to adequately treat the patient.
Sometimes the lines or tubes are secured to a structure by a fastener, tape, or other means. Such placement is intended to prevent unintentional movement of the lines or tubes, for example to prevent a caregiver from tripping over or snagging one of the lines or tubes. The structure to which the lines or tubes are secured can include a patient support device, a floor, a wall, an equipment support, or any other device which is intended to prevent or reduce accidental movement of the lines or tubes.

Line management device for a hospital bed


An automatic feature demonstration mode for TV products that can be used in retail stores. TV features that otherwise would be overlooked by customers or misrepresented by the sales staff are advertised on the TV itself. The system may be used to convey information beyond TV features.

TVs in a retail location typically are energized side by side to show the same video (such as from a TV station) so that customers can compare the video quality and cosmetic design between different TV models and brands. To provide the customers further information regarding particular TV features, posters or cards are mounted near the TV to explain the TV features, since the features themselves are not easily visible to the customer. Such features include, e.g., the presence of an electronic program guide (EPG), ease of use of the TV's graphical user interface (GUI), etc.
As understood herein, advertising features using cards or posters might not always be effective, because customers spend most of their attention on the TV display itself. Furthermore, the advertising may not be completely controlled by the TV manufacturer. For instance, the placement of the advertising is controlled by the retail outlet, and a poster or card for a TV might mistakenly be placed near the wrong TV, meaning that the manufacturer might not be able to control errors the creep in to the advertising.


Wavelet coding of partially-masked image information may be made faster by either of two embodiments of the present invention. In a first embodiment, quick convergence is obtained by performing wavelet encoding in stages, each stage associated with a predetermined wavelet scale. By advancing the stages from finest scale to coarsest scale, coefficients of masked wavelets are identifies early in the coding process. In a second embodiment, quick convergence is obtained by introducing overshoot techniques when masked coefficients are identified, modified and image data is reconstructed therefrom.

Books and magazines often contain pages containing audacious mixtures of color images and text. The present invention relates to a fast and efficient method of coding partially-masked image information of such documents by wavelet coding without wasting bits on the image data that is masked by foreground text.
A simplified block diagram of a wavelet coding system is shown in FIG. 1. The system includes an encoder 100 and a decoder 200. The encoder 100 codes input image information according to wavelet compression techniques and outputs coded image data to a channel 300. The coded image data includes wavelet coefficients representing the image data. The decoder 200 retrieves the coded image data from the channel 300 and decodes it according to wavelet decompression techniques.
Multi-resolution wavelet decomposition is one of the most efficient schemes for coding color images. These schemes involve several operations: color space transform, image decomposition, coefficient quantization and coefficient coding.
Image information to be coded is represented as a linear combination of locally supported wavelets. An example of wavelet support is shown in FIG. 2(a). Wavelets extend over a predetermined area of image display. For the length of every wavelet such as W0, two other wavelets W1a and W1b extend half of its length. The length of each underlying wavelet W1a, W1b is itself supported by two other wavelets W2a, W2b, W2c and W2d. This support structure may continue until a wavelet represents only a single pixel.
Image data may be coded as a linear combination of the wavelets. Consider the image data of FIG. 2(b). As shown in FIG. 2(c), the image data may be considered as a linear combination of the wavelets of FIG. 2(a). To represent the image data, only the coefficients of the wavelets that represent the image data need by coded. The image data of FIG. 2(b) may be coded as:
Because most of the wavelet coefficients are zero, the coefficients themselves may be coded using highly efficient coding methods.
The linear combination of coefficients can be expressed in matrix notation as:
Aw=xxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(1)
where w is a vector of wavelet coefficients, x is a vector of pixel values, and A is a square matrix whose columns represent the wavelet basis. Matrix A usually describes an orthogonal or nearly orthogonal transformation. When a decoder 200 is given the wavelet coefficient, then it may generate the image data x using the process of Equation. 1. Efficient multi-scale algorithms perform image decomposition (i.e. computing Axe2x88x921x) and image reconstruction (i.e. computing Aw) in time proportional to the number of pixels in the image.
In practice, most image data is smooth. It differs from the exemplary image data of FIG. 2(b) in that the image data generally does not possess abrupt variations in image value. Whereas the image data used in the example of FIG. 2(b) possesses significant energy in the coefficients of shorter wavelets, natural image data does not often possess energy in these coefficients.
The image local smoothness ensures that the distribution of the wavelet coefficients is sharply concentrated around zero. High compression efficiency is achieved using quantization and coding schemes that take advantage of this peaked distribution.
When a unitary source of information, such as a page of a book or magazine, contains both text and image data, the text may be considered as a xe2x80x9cmaskxe2x80x9d that overlays image data beneath the text. Coding of any part of the image data beneath the masking text becomes unnecessary because the text will mask it from being observed. In the case of wavelet encoding. Masked wavelets need not be coded.
When image data is masked, the mask blocks image data thereunder from being observed. Coding errors that are applied to masked image data are unimportant because the masked image data will be replaced with data from the mask. Also, the mask disrupts the smoothness of the image data. It introduces sharp differences in the value of the image data at the boundaries between the image and the foreground text. Coding of the sharp differences would cause significant energy to be placed in the short wavelet coefficients, which would cause coding inefficiencies to arise in coding the image data. Such coding inefficiencies are particularly undesirable because coding errors that occur below the mask will be unnoticed at the decoder where the mask will overlay the erroneous image data. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a image coder that codes masked image data efficiently.
The disadvantage of the prior art are alleviated to a great extent by a successive projections algorithm that codes partially-masked image data with a minimum number of wavelet coefficients. According to the successive projections algorithm unmasked image information is coded by wavelet decomposition. For those wavelets whose energy lies substantially below the mask, the wavelet coefficients are canceled. Image reconstruction is performed based on the remaining coefficients. For the image information that lies outside of the mask, the reconstructed image information is replaced with the original image information. The wavelet coding, coefficient cancellation, and image reconstruction repeats until convergence is reached.
The present invention also provides a simple and direct numerical method for coding the image information in a manner that obtains quick convergence. In a first embodiment, quick convergence is obtained by performing masked wavelet encoding in stages, each stage associated with a predetermined wavelet scale. By advancing the stages from finest scale to coarsest scale, coefficients of masked wavelets are identifies early in the coding process. In a second embodiment, quick convergence is obtained by introducing overshoot techniques to the projections of images.

Compression of partially-masked image data


A conveying and marking apparatus is disclosed that can convey discrete pieces at high speeds, and in preferred embodiments permits marking on opposite sides of the pieces while the pieces remain in the same position on the conveyor.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention is directed generally to conveying and marking apparatus and methods, and more particularly to an apparatus that can load, convey, and mark discrete pieces at high speeds. In preferred embodiments, the invention permits marking on opposite sides of the pieces and marking the pieces with high resolution, multicolor and/or composite images in registration. In embodiments, the apparatus and methods may be used to provide for direct customization of printed edibles by consumers, over the Internet or in a retail setting, for example.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional apparatus for printing discrete pieces is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,905,589, comprising carrier bars attached to a conveying chain. The carrier bars are positioned side by side to form an essentially continuous conveying surface which follows a transport path. Pockets are provided in the carrier bars to carry small pieces, which are loaded into the pockets at an inclined portion of the transport path and printed on a horizontal portion of the transport path.
The design of the carrier bar systems limits the overall speed at which the pieces can be conveyed. Speeds of 50 to 75 feet per minute (15 to 23 m/min) are typical for conventional carrier bar systems, with 100 feet per minute (30 m/min) being a practical maximum. Above this speed, pieces begin to rattle in the pockets and pop out during transport.
Filling the pockets at high speeds also poses a problem. At higher speeds the pocket is exposed to the piece for a shorter duration of time. The pieces may skip over the pockets, or travel on the carrier bar surface, limiting the percentage of the pockets that can be filled reliably at high speeds ("fill efficiency").
Another drawback of conventional conveying and marking apparatus is the difficulty of printing on two sides of a piece. In order to print on two sides of a piece transported in the carrier bar pockets, the pieces have to be loaded onto a drum to turn them over, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,658. Alternatively, U.S. Pat. No. 5,423,252 discloses an apparatus for printing on two sides of a solid article, such as a tablet or capsule, by transferring the article from a first belt or chain conveyor to a second belt or chain conveyor. Other carrier bar configurations are available in which tablets are vertically oriented (i.e., sitting on their edge) within a cavity having two openings for printing on opposite sides of the tablets. However, these vertically oriented carrier bars suffer from the same maintenance issues and the same limitations as to operating speed and throughput as the horizontally arranged carrier bar systems. Because of the way they are constructed, the vertically oriented carrier bars are limited to printing on a single lane of pieces, which limits throughput, and portions of the printing surface are obscured by multiple portions of the carrier bar.
There is also a need in the art for conveying and marking apparatus that can be used to print multiple images on a piece by holding the piece in registration between print stations without relying on vacuum or trapping mechanisms to secure the piece. U.S. Pat. No. 7,182,018, owned by the assignee herein and incorporated by reference, teaches methods and apparatus for conveying articles in registration between two print stations to form a composite, registered image using a vacuum or trapping mechanism to prevent the piece from skewing or yawing between printing steps.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/587,108, owned by the assignee herein and incorporated by reference, teaches a system and apparatus for high resolution printing on edibles which permits a consumer to submit an image using a computer to a second computer so that a customized edible product can be printed with the image. This may be practiced over the Internet for example, or in a retail setting. There is a particular need for rapid handling of pieces to be custom-printed according to a consumer's preferences on an as-you-wait basis in a retail setting. However, conventional systems for printing on discrete pieces are generally too large to be accommodated in a retail setting.
In view of the foregoing description of the prior art and problems to be solved, one object of the invention is to provide a conveying and marking apparatus that provides for higher transport speed of discrete pieces, especially edible pieces. The ability to transport pieces at high speeds may be significant in increasing throughput in a mass production setting or, for example, in a retail setting where custom-printed edible pieces are prepared for consumers on an as-you-wait basis.
Another object of the invention is to provide for dual-sided printing on a piece without requiring transfer of the piece to a separate conveyor, preferably allowing multiple lanes of pieces to be printed.
Still another object of the invention is to improve the design of the cavity holding the piece, on one hand allowing greater fill efficiency of the pieces in the cavities, and on the other hand allowing the pieces to be securely held in place during transport, for example, to prevent skewing and yawing between printing steps.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a conveying and marking apparatus that takes up less floor space and uses fewer complex elements of construction, which features may be particularly attractive in a retail setting.
There is a particular need for these advances in the field of printing on edible pieces, as there is an increasing demand in this field for consumer-initiated and consumer-designed edible products. These applications require quick and easy changeover to permit different articles to be printed with different customized images, as well as high throughput of edible pieces for rapid turnaround of orders. These and other objects of the invention are achieved according to the invention described and claimed herein.

Conveying and marking apparatus and method


A process and apparatus is disclosed for treating waste water. After treatment, essentially no sludge remains for disposal. The treatment includes mixing the waste water with activated sludge solids in an aeration tank (15). The mixed liquor from the tank is then moved to a clarifier settling tank (17). About 5-25% of the activated sludge separated in the settling tank is returned to an aerobic digester (23) and treated for about 16-24 hours. The aerobic digester can be a batch unit or a continuous process unit. After treatment in the aerobic digester, the activated sludge solids are returned to the aeration tank (15).

The activated sludge process has been used for many years for the treatment of waste water. This process involves the treatment of waste water through the use of suspended biological solids whose activity and quantity is controlled by the addition of oxygen. The aerobic bacteria feeds and grows on the material in the waste water which can be oxidized.
The effluent sewage or waste water is introduced into an aeration tank along with activated sludge. The activated sludge is recycled from final sedimentation tanks. The aeration tank aerates and mixes the waste water and the activated sludge sufficiently to supply the oxygen required by the bacteria in the sludge.
The mixture of waste water and activated sludge, called "mixed liquor", then flows into a settling tank. In the settling tank, the activated sludge solids are separated from the clean, treated water. The activated sludge solids are then returned to the aeration tank to provide the activated sludge for new waste water. In some cases, a sludge reaeration tank is used to aerate the return sludge, but before the sludge is returned to the aeration tank.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,047,492 to Gambrel discloses a sewage process which incorporates an aerobic digester which feeds back into an aeration tank. The patent teaches that, of the sludge removed from the settling tank into the sludge hopper, about 12% should be moved to the aerobic digester and the remaining 88% directed back to the aeration tanks. The patent suggests the aerobic digester operate 14-15 days. However, this length of time is impractical in application because a continuous cycle would require a large number of separate aerobic digesters in order to provide sufficiently aged sludge to maintain the process.
A need continues to exist for more efficient and effective waste water treatment techniques. In processes today, a large quantity of sludge results from the process which must be disposed of. Significant funds are expended by municipalities in disposing of this sludge through the methods approved for the disposal, such as landfill and the like. A process which reduces the resultant quantity of sludge would be of great benefit in reducing the cost of this disposal.

Method and apparatus for treating waste water


This present invention generally relates to devices and methods for repairing an aperture in a biological tissue. In certain embodiments, the invention provides a system for closing an aperture in a biological tissue including a handle, an elongate shaft connected to the handle, and a deployment scaffold connected to the shaft, in which the scaffold is configured to releasably retain a surgical implant and the scaffold is configured to deploy and attach the surgical implant to the biological tissue.

An object of the present invention is to provide apparatus and a method for performing corrective surgery on internal wounds such as hernia where invasion of the patient's body tissues is minimized and resultant trauma is reduced.
A hernia is a protrusion of a tissue, structure, or part of an organ through the muscular tissue or the membrane by which it is normally contained. In other words a hernia is a defect in the abdominal wall through which a portion of the intra-abdominal contents can protrude. This often causes discomfort and an unsightly, visible bulge in the abdomen. When such a hernia defect occurs in the abdominal region, conventional corrective surgery has required opening the abdominal cavity by surgical incision through the major abdominal muscles. While this technique provides for effective corrective surgery of the hernia defect, it has the disadvantage of requiring a hospital stay of as much as a week, during which pain is frequently intense, and it requires an extended period of recuperation. After the conventional surgery patients frequently cannot return to a full range of activity and work schedule for a month or more. Accordingly, medical science has sought alternative techniques that are less traumatic to the patient and provide for more rapid recovery.
Laparoscopy is the science of introducing a viewing instrument through a port into a patient's body, typically the abdominal cavity, to view its contents. This technique has been used for diagnostic purposes for more than 75 years. Operative laparoscopy is performed through tiny openings in the abdominal wall called ports. In most surgical techniques several ports, frequently three to six, are used. Through one port is inserted the viewing device, which conventionally comprises a fiber optic rod or bundle having a video camera affixed to the outer end to receive and display images from inside the body. The various surgical instruments are inserted through other ports to do the surgery that normally would be performed through an open incision through the abdominal wall. Because the laparoscopic surgical techniques require only very small holes through the abdominal wall or other portions of the body, a patient undergoing such surgery may frequently leave the hospital within one day after the surgery and resume a full range of normal activities within a few days thereafter.
In repairing hernia the physician needs to first deploy the patch and then to attach the patch to the tissue.
There are many patents and patent applications relating to attaching a prosthesis implant to a tissue via tacks. Each patent and patent application describes a different attachment mechanism via different anchoring means (see for example U.S. Pat. No. 6,447,524). Traditional anchors used in surgery include clips, staples, or sutures, and may also be referred to as tissue anchors. These devices are usually made of a biocompatible material (or are coated with a biocompatible material), so that they can be safely implanted into the body. Most tissue anchors secure the tissue by impaling it with one or more posts or legs that are bent or crimped to lock the tissue into position. Thus, most traditional anchors are rigid or are inflexibly attached to the tissue. For example PCT no. WO07/021,834 describes an anchor having two curved legs that cross in a single turning direction to form a loop. Those two curved legs are adapted to penetrate tissue in a curved pathway. U.S. Pat. No. 4,485,816 (refers hereinafter as 816') describes surgical staple made of shape memory alloy. The staple is placed in contact of the tissue and then heated. The heating causes the staple to change its shape thus, penetrating the tissue.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,893,452 (refers hereinafter as '452) describes a tissue attachment device that facilitates wound healing by holding soft tissue together under improved distribution of tension and with minimal disruption of the wound interface and its nutrient supplies. The device has multiple sites for grasping the tissue using tines or prongs or other generally sharp, projecting points, protruding from a single, supportive backing. One of the embodiments described in '452 is the use of sharp projecting points protruding from the supportive backing in two different angles.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,517,584 (refers hereinafter as '584) describes a hernia patch which includes at least one anchoring device made of shape memory material. The anchoring devices are initially secured to the prosthesis by being interlaced through a web mesh constituting the prosthesis. The attachment is obtained by altering the attachment element's shape from rectilinear to a loop shape due to heat induced shape memory effect.
Yet other patent literature relates to devices for endoscopic application of surgical staples adapted to attach surgical mesh to a body tissue.
An example of such a teaching is to be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,364,004, 5,662,662, 5,634,584, 5,560,224, 5,588,581 and in 5,626,587.
There are a few patent and patent applications teaching the deployment of patches. For example U.S. Pat. No. 5,836,961 (refers hereinafter as '961) which relates to an apparatus used for developing an anatomic space for laparoscopic hernia repair and a patch for use therewith. The apparatus of U.S. Pat. No. '961 comprises a tubular introducer member having a bore extending therethrough. A tunneling shaft is slidably mounted in the bore and has proximal and distal extremities including a bullet-shaped tip. A rounded tunneling member is mounted on the distal extremity of the tunneling shaft. The apparatus comprises an inflatable balloon. Means is provided on the balloon for removably securing the balloon to the tunneling shaft. Means is also provided for forming a balloon inflation lumen for inflating the balloon. The balloon is wrapped on the tunneling shaft. A sleeve substantially encloses the balloon and is carried by the tunneling shaft. The sleeve is provided with a weakened region extending longitudinally thereof, permitting the sleeve to be removed whereby the balloon can be unwrapped and inflated so that it lies generally in a plane. The balloon as it is being inflated creates forces generally perpendicular to the plane of the balloon to cause pulling apart of the tissue along a natural plane to provide the anatomic space.
Although U.S. Pat. No. '961 relates to deploying means, U.S. Pat. No. '961 teaches a device in which the patch is attached to a balloon which is introduced into the abdominal cavity. The deployment is performed by inflating the balloon. In other words, a totally different deploying means are disclosed.
Furthermore, due to the relatively large volumes of balloons several disadvantages are likely to occur: (a) The visibility within the abdominal cavity might be damaged; (b) The accessibility of the attachment means to the patch might be impaired; and, (c) The maneuverability of the patch within the abdominal cavity is limited.
Yet more, another major drawback to U.S. Pat. No. '961, the inflated balloon lacks any mechanical stiffness which is needed for navigation of the patch to its position.
Another example for deploying the patch can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,370,650 (refers hereinafter as '650) which relates to an apparatus for positioning surgical implants adjacent to body tissue to facilitate the fastening of the implant to the body tissue. U.S. Pat. No. '650 provides an apparatus for positioning surgical implants adjacent to body tissue, comprising an outer tube having a proximal end, a distal end and a longitudinal axis; an inner rod at least partially disposed within the outer tube and slidable along said longitudinal axis. The inner rod has a proximal and a distal end portions. The inner rod distal end portion further comprises articulating means for pivoting at an angle with respect to the longitudinal axis. A looped support member having first and second end portions fixedly secured to said distal end portion of the inner rod; and a surgical implant releasably secured to the looped support member (a preferred embodiment illustrating the teaching of U.S. Pat. No. '650 is illustrated in FIG. 17).
The major difference between U.S. Pat. No. '650 and the present invention is the actual patch deployment mechanism.
While in U.S. Pat. No. '650, the looped support member 14 is transferred from a deployed configuration to a retracted configuration by pushing and pulling tube 12, in the proposed technology the flexible arms are reconfigured from their initial stage (IS) to their final stage (FS) by the reciprocal movement the central shaft. In other words, while in U.S. Pat. No. '650, the patch is deployed due to the elasticity of the loop member (no force is applied), in the present application, the patch is deployed by actively and directly applying force on the Flexible arms by the surgeon.
Furthermore, the deployment of the patch in U.S. Pat. No. '650 is passive and unidirectional; i.e., once the patch is deployed by pulling tube 12, the patch can not be un-deployed and reinserted into tube 12. In order to reinsert the patch into tube 12, the patch must be refolded and such an action can not be performed while the patch is within the patient. Therefore, the surgeon has only one chance to unfold the patch. This is in sharp contrary to the present invention in which the deployment of the patch is bidirectional and actively controlled such that the patch can be deployed and un-deployed simply by the reconfiguration of the flexible arms (which a full description will be provided in the detail description).
Yet another major distinction between U.S. Pat. No. '650 and the proposed invention is the fact that in U.S. Pat. No. '650 the looped support member 14 is preferably in a deployed (i.e., open) configuration thereby insertion of the looped support member 14 into tube 12 will require the physician to apply a significant amount of force in order to maintain the looped support member 14 in a closed configuration. On the contrary, in the present invention, the flexible arms can be actively configured to be constantly closed without any additional force applied by the physician. Therefore, the insertion of the device through a trocar is facilitated.
Yet more, the present invention comprises a central shaft for providing the device mechanical stiffness for the backbone of the system which is needed for better positioning of the patch within the body. Further, by providing mechanical stiffness to the backbone of the system, it will enable the detachment of the patch from the deployment system. Such a mechanism is not disclosed nor claimed in U.S. Pat. No. '650.
Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. '650 describes no attachment mechanism for attaching the patch to the tissue. Further, some major, non obvious modification will have to be made in order to enable attachment between the patch and the tissue whilst using the device of U.S. Pat. No. '650.
More patent literature can be found in PCT no. WO08065653 (refers hereinafter as '653) relates to a device especially adapted to deploy a patch within a body cavity. The device is an elongate open-bored applicator (EOBP) and comprises (a) at least one inflatable contour-balloon, (b) at least one inflatable dissection balloon. The inflatable contour-balloon and the inflatable dissection balloon are adjustable and located at the distal portion. The EOBP additionally comprises (c) at least one actuating means located at the proximal portion. The actuating means is in communication with the inflatable contour-balloon and the inflatable dissection balloon. The actuating means is adapted to provide the inflatable contour-balloon and the inflatable dissection balloon with independent activation and/or de-activation.
It should be pointed out that PCT '653 does not disclose nor claim means adapted to anchor the patch to the biological tissue.
Like U.S. Pat. No. '961, the deployment system describes in PCT '653 is an inflated one, thus it is fundamentally different from the proposed invention.
All those patent and patent application demonstrate attachment means for attaching the patch to the tissue or means for deploying the patch within the body. However none of the literature found relates to a device especially adapted to deploy and attached a patch to a biological tissue.
Thus, there is still a long felt need for a device that can be used for both deploying and attaching a patch to a biological tissue.
Furthermore, there is still a long felt need for a deployment system that will overcome the above mentioned drawbacks and will provide a deployment system that will enable the following (i) a reversible deployment of the patch (i.e., enable the folding and the unfolding of said patch); (ii) a controlled deployment of the patch (i.e., the surgeon applies force in order to deploy the patch and therefore the deployment is actively controlled); and, (iii) will provide mechanical stiffness for the backbone of the system.

Device and method for deploying and attaching an implant to a biological tissue


The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing studs (9) or the like generally oblong pieces comprising a central web (14) and opposite flanges (8a, 8b) connected thereto. The present invention also relates to a stud system comprising such studs, as well as to methods for attaching such studs between an upper and a lower surface. Said flanges (8a, 8b) are formed of an essentially latch-like waste wood material which has been generated in mechanical wood processing, whereby a contact surface (13) is formed at the side of a respective opposite flange latch (8a, 8b) for co-operation with a surface (13a) shaped in a corresponding manner at a web (14) which also is made of wood, suitably of said waste wood material. Said contact surfaces (13, 13a) are glued, favorably under press, together so that said web (14) and said flanges (8a, 8b) attached thereto form an essentially monolithic entity. Vertical studs are attached to corresponding horizontal studs which are arranged at least at said lower surface.

The present invention relates to a method for the production of wood studs or the like generally oblong pieces comprising a central web and opposite flanges attached thereto as disclosed in the preamble to appended claim 1. The invention further relates to a system comprising such studs as well as to further methods for attaching, between upper and lower surfaces, vertical studs of the kind as disclosed above.
In building industry wood is traditionally used for structures of many kinds, but the use of wood, e.g., for posts and cross-bars has in course of time declined in favor of metal studs. The reason for this has been mainly economical, since metal studs nowadays can be manufactured to a more favorable price than wooden studs having the same properties. Moreover, metal studs have the advantage that they are lighter than usual wooden studs and the do not, for example, twist. To this is normally added a certain possibility to pile the studs. Again, a clear disadvantage for metal studs, on the other hand, is that any shaping of the material requires special tools and arrangements, and the result of such a shaping usually will be uneven and jagged. Further, an attachment of, e.g., wallboards to the studs requires special arrangements. Thus, there would exist a market for wooden studs, provided that the costs could be kept low and the studs structurally would be more shape permanent than is the case with known studs and posts.
In mechanical wood processing like sawing the primary raw material always will be round timber, wherefrom one or several wood blocks are taken out in the form of parallelepipeds having, respectively, two opposite parallel planar surfaces. Later on this planar wood can be processed and thus different kinds of more finished products can be obtained, but the out-side boards, i.e. wood pieces normally comprising only one planar side true to gauge while the opposite side at most comprises a planar surface of reduced dimensions and usually only more or less semi-round portions, can normally not be effectively used. To some extent such defective sawn goods has been used as basic material for small dimension laths and the like, but often the useful use is restricted to a function as fire wood or, in a restricted scale, as raw material for the cellulose industry. A common way to further refine this waste wood material is to cut it to chips, in which case all inherent structure will be lost.
Besides the fact that this waste wood material normally comprises a round and a planar side a common problem is considered to reside therein that the dimension at the top end of the log is smaller than the dimension at the root end, for which reason one must take out log blocks having dimensions based on the top end in order to obtain full edge wood material. In this way further wood material is lost, for which a full price cannot be obtained. The price for the raw material discussed above mainly corresponds to the fire wood price, while the price for first class wood is much higher. Thus, this waste material would constitute a favorable raw material for, for example, studs and posts, provided that the manufacturing costs could be kept low and that a sufficient quality and shape permanence of the product could be maintained.
In the course of time one has tried to find different ways to utilize this waste wood material in a manner which makes use of the material""s strength properties. Thus, DE-Patent document No. 29 47 611 discloses a rather complicated arrangement for the manufacture of wooden slats or panels based on round timber by wetting the material, sawing it to boards having a conicity corresponding to that of the log, and by press gluing boards having an opposite conicity and arranged in a parallel manner to interconnect these boards to larger entities.
Again, SE-Patent application No. 9001337-6 discloses an arrangement where, in the same manner, it is suggested the use of opposite conicities in order to form, of four blocks, a hollow stud having a rectangular section, the inner of which being delimited by the outer surface and the conicity of the round timber. Finnish Patent No. 93567, again, discloses a way to form, by sawing round timber longitudinally into four sections, studs where one side comprises an inner V-shape.
The object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing studs and the like structures which can take up competition with corresponding metal studs and which effectively makes use of the waste material which is generated at mechanical wood processing and especially the material which is left over at round timber sawing when a wood block of a rectangular section is taken out.
According to the present invention the object is attained by the features indicated as characterizing ones in the appended claims. Thus, the inventive method is characterized in that the flanges are formed of essentially lath-like waste wood material generated at mechanical wood processing, wherein a contact surface is formed at the side of each respective opposite flange lath for co-operation with a surface shaped in a corresponding manner at a web also made of wood, suitably of waste wood material as discussed above, and that said contact surfaces are glued together, favorably under pressure, so that said web and said flanges connected thereto will constitute an essentially monolithic entity. The stud system according to the present invention is characterized in that said studs are formed in such a manner of pieces of essentially lath-like waste wood material which has been generated at mechanical wood processing that at least each respective flange comprises a longitudinal side portion which, in lateral section, is beveled, wherein a number of such flanges are glued to said web in order to form an essentially monolithic structure where said beveled side portions at opposite flanges are directed towards each other.
The methods for attaching the stud in accordance with the present invention is generally characterized in that one respective horizontal stud or crossbar manufactured by gluing together waste wood material to have an essentially U-shaped cross section is arranged at said upper and lower surfaces. That end of a vertical wooden stud or post which is directed towards said lower horizontal stud is shaped to essentially correspond to the inner section of said horizontal stud, so that the web of the vertical stud will extend between the flanges of the horizontal stud towards, favorably all the way to the web of said horizontal stud, in some case into openings between spaced web portions, while the ends of the flanges of the vertical post will lie close to the upper edge of said horizontal stud. The upper end of the vertical post, which post has been cut to a suitable length, is introduced into a locking device which co-operates with the horizontal stud arranged at the upper surface, said locking device comprising a resilient element, after which, if necessary, said vertical post is fixed in a manner known per se, e.g., by nailing, screwing, and/or gluing, to said horizontal studs. In most cases the post will, in practice, be slightly stressed or wedged in between the respective horizontal studs, so that any further attachment usually is quite unnecessary.
Alternatively, a U-shaped horizontal stud or crossbar manufactured by gluing together waste wood material is arranged only at one of said surfaces, while a thin-walled rail having an essentially U-shaped section and made of metal or the like is arranged at the opposite surface, said rail suitably having holes at least a the flanges. One end of the vertical post is shaped in accordance with the above while the other end is cut transversely to such a length that this end at the assembling will be located within the transverse U-shaped section of the metal stud approximately at its bottom or suitably at some distance therefrom, suitably up to 40 to 50 millimeters from said bottom for a flange width of 60 millimeters, in order to facilitate the introduction and attachment and in some cases also to allow a vertical motion for, e.g., an overlying structure and the horizontal stud attached thereto. The vertical post is introduced between said studs, after which, if necessary, said vertical post is fixed to said horizontal studs in a manner known per se.


Sub-channelization gain in an OFDMA-based wireless channel is enhanced by utilizing packet fragmentation when implementing a constant bit rate (CBR) real time (RT) packet application. A packet that would normally be transmitted using multiple sub-channels in a single OFDMA frame may be fragmented and delivered through the wireless channel over multiple frames. Because fewer sub-channels are used within each frame, sub-channelization gain is enhanced.

In wireless wide area networks (WWANs), such as networks following IEEE 802.16, and other wireless networks, the user device (e.g., the subscriber station) is typically the limiting factor when determining the RF coverage area of a base station or access point. This is because of the transmit power limitations often associated with user devices. Techniques are needed for improving the RF coverage area of base stations or access points in such networks.

Method and apparatus for improving RF coverage area in a wireless network


A method for monitoring at least one journal bearing for a shaft in respect to at least one acoustic event is provided. The at least one journal bearing is coupled with a gearbox, wherein

The present disclosure relates to a method for monitoring a journal bearing with features as disclosed herein and a device for monitoring a journal bearing with features as disclosed herein.
Journal bearings (or plain bearings) are a machine element which can be used in many applications, in which the relative movement between a shaft and the bearing shell of the journal bearing or an intermediate medium is a sliding movement.
One application for journal bearings is e.g. the mounting of planetary gears in epicyclic gearboxes (e.g. planetary configuration or star configuration) in turbofan aircraft engines.
As requirements for new engines in terms of fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and acoustic emissions increase, new engine components have to be developed. In some modern turbofan engines the compressor and the turbine are decoupled from the fan by the use of a high-performance epicyclic gearbox. Thereby, these components can be operated at their respective optimal operating points. The possible lower speed of the fan allows an increase in the fan diameter, which leads to a higher bypass mass flow, without producing supersonic flow at the fan tips.
In the high-performance transmissions epicyclic gears are used, with gears, shafts and bearings representing potential wear parts. A failure of these components may have serious effects on the entire aircraft engine. Acoustical events in journal bearings play a major role as they indicate that lubrication has moved away from the desired fluid frictional area.
From Fang Duan et al., "Helicopter Main Gearbox Bearing Defects Identification with Acoustic Emission Techniques" IEEE Conference on Prognostics and Health Management (ICPHM), 2016 and the Final Report EASA_REP_RESEA_2012_6, Vibration Health or Alternative Monitoring Technologies for Helicopters, wireless transmission of signals associated with monitoring gearboxes is known.

Method and device for monitoring a journal bearing

Abstract: a time dependent solid borne sound signal is detected by at least one solid borne sound signal sensor,

Abstract: the output signal of the at least one solid borne sound signal sensor is transmitted to a signal pre-processing device,

Abstract: frequency components of the solid borne sound signal with of more than 250 kHz are amplified in the signal pre-processing device and/or

Abstract: with a frequency of less than 50 kHz are attenuated in the signal pre-processing device, and

Abstract: the output signal of the signal pre-processing device is wirelessly transmitted via an antenna device to a signal evaluation device for the detection and/or location of the at least one acoustic event.


An image forming apparatus has a plurality of mixed input thereto including one-sided and two-sided documents, and then copied on sheets which are successively outputted in accordance with the supplied documents. The apparatus has a feeder to feed the documents to a reading station, and a discriminator to discriminate whether each of the documents is a one-sided or a two-sided document. Then the apparatus selectively outputs copied sheets in either a one-sided copy mode, a two-sided copy mode or a mixed copy mode in which one-sided and two-sided copy sheets are outputted in accordance with the mixed one-sided and two-sided documents.

The present invention relates to a two-side image forming apparatus capable of automatically copying mixed documents including one-sided and two-sided documents onto the front and rear sides of transfer sheets.
In the case of a conventional two-sided image forming apparatus having an automatic document feeder, copying operations are carried out in the following manner: When a large number of documents are to be continuously copied, an operator checks whether they are one-sided or two-sided documents. Then, the operator selects either a one-sided or a two-sided mode. After that, a copy start command is given to the apparatus.
Accordingly, in the case where mixed documents including one-sided and two-sided documents are continuously copied with the image forming apparatus, it is necessary for the operator to previously sort the documents into one-sided and two-sided ones, and then the operator designates the copy mode for each of the one-sided and two-sided documents so as to carry out a copying operation. Therefore, the copying operation is very inefficient.

Image forming apparatus for copying one and two-sided documents


Value documents or other articles having authentication features, authentication apparatuses, and methods of authentication are provided that relate to the use of taggants that absorb radiation from an illumination source and emit radiation in a manner that has a maximum intensity occurring a duration of time after the illumination source has been switched off. The taggants include a crystalline composition comprising a host crystal lattice doped with a first rare earth active ion, and in some examples a second rare earth active ion.

There are many ways to validate or authenticate a value document, from simple to complex. Some methods involve visible, also referred to as overt, features on or incorporated into a document, such as a hologram on a credit card, an embossed image or watermark on a bank note, a security foil, a security ribbon, colored threads or colored fibers within a bank note, or a floating and/or sinking image on a passport. While these features are easy to detect with the human eye and generally do not require equipment for authentication, these overt features are easily identified by a would-be forger and/or counterfeiter. As such, hidden, also referred to as covert, features may be incorporated in value documents, either in lieu of or in addition to overt features. Covert features can include invisible fluorescent fibers, chemically sensitive stains, fluorescent pigments or dyes that are incorporated into the substrate of the value document. Covert features can also be included in the ink that is printed onto the substrate of the value document or within the resin used to make films that are used in laminated value documents. Since covert features are not detectable by the human eye, detectors configured to detect these covert features are needed to authenticate the value document.
Some covert features incorporate taggants that absorb radiation from a light source and emit detectable radiation having properties, such as wavelength and decay time, which can be used to determine whether the value document incorporating the feature is authentic. For example, some covert taggants use rare earth active ions that have been incorporated into oxide crystal lattices. Most oxide crystal lattices are essentially closed packed structures of oxygen ions where metallic ions may be connected to oxygen atoms of the crystal lattice resulting in symmetries of the crystal fields. Oxide crystals typically result in rapid decay of absorbed radiation to a storage energy level followed by decay to lower energy levels. When such covert taggants are illuminated by a light source, they tend to have a peak in their intensity of emitted radiation that corresponds to the point in time when the light source is shut off and thereafter, the emitted radiation exhibits rapid emission decay.
FIG. 1 is a graph 100 illustrating intensities (in arbitrary units, AU) of an excitation signal 102 and an emission signal 104 with respect to time for one example of a prior art system in which a value document including a covert taggant is illuminated by an LED light source for 10 milliseconds. As illustrated, the intensity of the radiation emitted from the taggant builds during the time that the light source is on, and then decays rapidly once the light source is shut off, decreasing exponentially, as expected, for many existing luminescent covert taggants. The exponential decay constant is a function of the specific taggant used, the host lattice material, and the doping amounts of substitute ions, and is defined as the time required for the emission intensity to decay to the 1/e value. This "1/e value" is referred to as the lifetime "Tau" (τ).

Value documents and other articles having taggants that exhibit delayed maximum intensity emissions, and methods and apparatus for their authentication


A method for evaluating an electric resistance member of an image forming apparatus which can maintain good image quality, without the occurrence of transfer defects such as insufficient transfer, even in a long-term use. An intermediate transfer belt of the image forming apparatus, which is evaluated based on a fluctuation characteristic of the resistivity in a period of continuous voltage application, is used. The absolute value Δρs of the amount of changes in the surface resistivity of the intermediate transfer belt within 2 seconds to 100 seconds from the beginning of voltage application is 0.3 [Log(Ω/)] or less, when the surface resistivity ρs is measured by applying a voltage of 500 V. The absolute value Δρv of the amount of changes in the volume resistivity within 2 seconds to 100 seconds from the beginning of voltage application is 0.5 [Log(Ω·cm)] or less, when the volume resistivity ρv is measured by applying a voltage of 200 V.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for evaluating changes in the resistance of an electric resistance member, and more particularly to a method for evaluating the electric charge carrying member of an image forming apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Image forming apparatuses such as copiers, facsimile devices, and printers are provided with an image carrier, a latent image carrier, and a developing agent carrier as members that are electrified and carry an electric charge. Specific examples of such carriers include a photosensitive body, a developing roller, and a transfer member. In case of image forming apparatuses comprising multiple toners, such as color imaging apparatuses, a transfer belt is used as the transfer member.
Tandem color image forming apparatuses are known as the image forming apparatuses having a transfer belt. The tandem color image forming apparatuses are provided with a plurality of photosensitive bodies disposed along the surface of the transfer belt as image carriers. Such a transfer belt is provided with an electric charge with transfer bias application means and carries the charge. A method of using toner images of multiple colors which are formed on the photosensitive bodies to obtain a color image directly on the transfer material which is supported and transported by the transfer belt and a method of indirectly transferring a toner image on a transfer belt as an intermediate transfer belt and then obtaining a color image by transferring the image to the transfer material are known.
Constant voltage control means which maintains a constant voltage applied to the image carrier and constant current control means which maintains a constant current flowing in the image carrier are employed as transfer bias application means for providing the transfer belt with an electric charge. Values of the voltage and current which are controlled vary depending on the surface resistivity or volume resistivity of the belt. For this reason, the resistance value of the belt is required to be uniform in the circumferential direction and the dependence thereof on environment and voltage has to be low.
However, the following problems were associated with the transfer belts. Thus, when the transfer belt was continuously provided with an electric charge for a long time, the charge remained on the boundary surface of the transfer belt and the resistance value of the transfer belt increased. Furthermore, the transfer belt was degraded, for example, by an electric discharge between an image carrier and a transfer roller, which resulted in the formation of a conductive path on the transfer belt and decreased the resistance value of the transfer belt. Thus, because the resistance value of the transfer belt changes with time, the resistivity thereof will change if such a belt is used for a long time. As a result, the quantity of electric charge supplied to the transfer belt could be insufficient and the image density could decrease due to such an insufficient transfer or, conversely, the quantity of electric charge supplied to the transfer belt could be too high, causing partial discharge and transfer loss which corresponds to the discharge.
Furthermore, when changes in the resistance value of such a transfer belt with time were measured, a test comprising a step of applying a voltage within a fixed interval to the belt was repeated hundreds of times to measure the changes in the resistance value of the transfer belt with time. For this reason, a long time was required to determine the changes in the resistance value of one belt with time.
A differential constant current control method that was conducted so as to obtain a constant difference between the output current from a transfer bias source and a current returning via the transfer belt and a method for preventing image degradation by a constant voltage control based on the correction of current value, as described, for example, in Japanese Patent Applications Laid-open Nos. 2001-209233, 2000-147849, 2001-125338, and H8-194389, have been employed when the volume resistivity of the transfer belt has changed. However, when the surface resistivity of the transfer belt changes with time, the leak quantity of electric current in the circumferential direction of. the belt varies. As a result, a problem associated with power sources for supplying a bias to bias application means in each transfer location rises, for example, in case of tandem color image forming apparatuses with four transfer locations. The problem is that even if the leaking current is detected from transfer locations of the transfer belt, it is unclear from which location the current has leaked. As a result, it was not clear which power source output has to be controlled and how it should be done, and the differential constant current control or constant voltage control based on current value correction could not be used.
Problems associated with the transfer belt as a transfer member were described above, but problems caused by changes in the resistance value with time are also associated with electric resistance members. In particular, the problems are especially easily caused by changes in the resistance value of a photosensitive body, which is a change carrying member of the image forming apparatus, or a development roller.

Method for evaluating changes in resistance of electric resistance member and image forming apparatus using same


A method of testing for power and ground continuity of a semiconductor device having Input and Output (IO) pins and at least a pair of power and ground pins includes identifying the power and ground pins of the device. A victim pin is selected from the IO pins of the device for each pair of the power and ground pins, and an aggressor pin for each victim pin is selected from the remaining IO pins. The aggressor pins are toggled between a high state and a low state. A level of switching noise on each victim pin is measured, and the measured levels of switching noise are compared with predetermined data to determine power and ground continuity of the device.

The present invention relates generally to continuity testing and, in particular, to a method of testing for power and ground continuity of a semiconductor device.
Interconnection faults such as, for example, missing wire bonds, wire bond lifting, missing solder balls, and ball bond lifting are a source of package defects. Continuity testing is performed to identify and screen out semiconductor devices with interconnection faults. Conventional load boards, typically designed and fabricated for parametric and functional testing, are not suitable for power and ground continuity testing. Consequently, power and ground continuity testing is carried out using either modified or customized load boards. However, there are considerable costs associated with the use of such customized or modified load boards. Hence, it would be desirable to have a method of performing power and ground continuity testing for a semiconductor device using a conventional load board.

Method of testing for power and ground continuity of a semiconductor device


A device receives communication information from a user device associated with a user, calculates an extrovert score for the user based on the communication information, and calculates a popularity score for the user based on the communication information. The device also calculates an interesting communicator score for the user based on the communication information, determines a personality score for the user based on the extrovert score, the popularity score, and the interesting communicator score, and stores the personality score.

Electronic communications technologies have interconnected people and allowed for distribution of information (e.g., in various forms) among people. For example, social networking applications, which allow people to virtually connect with one another, have become enormously popular. Other electronic communication mediums, including email, telephone, instant messaging, and text messaging have also grown in popularity.
It is often difficult for a user of such communication mediums to track the quantity, frequency, and/or relative quality of communications between the user and friends, acquaintances, and/or other users connected to the user in some way. Thus, the user cannot determine how popular (or unpopular) he or she is with the one or more other users, and/or cannot determine how popular (or unpopular) the one or more other users are (e.g., based on use of such communication mediums). The user also cannot discern his/her personality and/or the personalities of the one or more other users based on use of such communication mediums.


Bead feeding unit (1) on a production machine in the tobacco industry, provided with a unit of supply channels (4) feeding individual bead (2) streams from a store (2A) to holding pockets (14) situated at the outlets of the supply channels (4), a transferring unit (13) comprising two guiding discs (5,6) situated coaxially and movable feeding means (8) adapted to direct the beads to receiving channels (18) of the transferring unit (13). The unit (1) is characterised in that the transferring unit (13) has at least one cleaning element (25) adapted to clean the holding pockets (14).

The object of the application is a bead feeding method and a bead feeding unit used in the filters of the tobacco industry products, in particular cigarettes.
This invention concerns feeding of spherical or oval objects which are subsequently placed into filter material. For the sake of simplification, such objects will be hereinafter referred to as beads. A known product on the market are cigarettes the filters of which are provided with beads containing aromatic or odorous substances. The substances contained in the beads are released during smoking or yet before lighting up a cigarette by squeezing of the filter which results in crushing the bead.
In the production process, a problem which is difficult to solve and at the same time very significant is the feeding of individual beads to a machine forming filters at great speeds in a way which guarantees that the beads remain undamaged, the flow in the pockets holding the beads remains undisturbed and a high feeding efficiency is maintained, i.e. each manufactured filter actually contains a bead.
In known bead feeders, tubes for feeding the beads to the area from which they are transferred to a bead delivery wheel are used, whereas the function of the said wheel is to place the delivered beads into the filter material.
In the U.S. Pat. No. 7,975,877B2 a bead feeder is disclosed in which the bead feeding unit is provided with a plurality of tubes which are radially connected with a cylindrical bowl, whereas the tubes rotate together with the bowl, and the beads are picked up by a vacuum bead transfer wheel from pockets situated at the outlets of the tubes, and then transferred to a bead delivery wheel from which they are delivered to the filter material.
The document WO 2009/071271 discloses a bead feeder in which the bead feeding unit is provided with tubes rotating with the bowl, whereas the beads are fed to a bead delivery wheel after separating the lowermost bead from those situated above it using a stationary arched wedge-ended element. After passing through the passageway the beads are fed to the pockets of the bead delivery wheel which delivers them to the filter material.
The document WO 2009/071272 discloses a similar bead feeder, whereas the beads are fed to the bead delivery wheel using two discs having a plurality of openings and rotating relative to each other, and a bead is fed after aligning respective openings directly on top of each other and forming successive passageways to the pockets of the bead delivery wheel.
The U.S. Pat. No. 7,833,146B2 shows an apparatus for feeding beads through curved tubes from a bowl directly to the bead delivery wheel, where the tubes rotate together with the bead bowl, and the beads are picked up from the bowl by vacuum transfer.
The patent EP 2 622 973B1 shows an apparatus for feeding beads in individual streams from the bowl through channels to pockets situated on the receiving wheel, then the beads are transferred to the pockets situated on the delivery wheel from which they are delivered to the filter material.
The bead feeders presented above require that during the operation the bead feeding tubes and the bead holding pockets must be free of dirt in order to realize an undisturbed flow. The objective of the invention is to develop a bead feeding method and a bead feeder ensuring an undisturbed flow through the channels and the bead holding pockets.

Bead feeding method and bead feeding unit

International Tobacco Machinery Poland Sp. z o. o.