An embodiment of the invention is an organic thin film transistor chemical sensor. The sensor includes a substrate. A gate electrode is isolated from drain and source electrodes by gate dielectric. An organic ultra-thin semiconductor thin film is arranged with respect to the gate, source and drain electrodes to act as a conduction channel in response to appropriate gate, source and drain potentials. The organic ultra-thin film is permeable to a chemical analyte of interest and consists of one or a few atomic or molecular monolayers of material. An example sensor array system includes a plurality of sensors of the invention. In a preferred embodiment, a sensor chip having a plurality of sensors is mounted in a socket, for example by wire bonding. The socket provides thermal and electrical interference isolation for the sensor chip from associated sensing circuitry that is mounted on a common substrate, such as a PCB (printed circuit board). A method of operating an organic thin film transistor chemical sensor exposes the sensor to a suspected analyte. A low duty cycle voltage pulse train is applied to the gate electrode to reduce baseline drift while sensing for a conduction channel change.

Chemical sensing is a critical process in a large number of everyday household, industrial, military, and scientific processes. A chemical sensor that can indicate the presence of a chemical of interest is useful to provide warnings, such as to indicate an unacceptable level of carbon monoxide or to provide a warning regarding the presence of an explosive vapor or a chemical warfare agent. Similarly, chemical sensors can provide information on the presence or absence of a particular chemical in a process control scheme. The presence or absence of a gas can provide feedback used to control a wide range of industrial processes. In the area of scientific research, many instruments including, for example, chromatography instruments benefit from sensitive chemical detectors.
Sensitivity is a critical aspect of chemical sensors. The more sensitive a sensor is, the lower level of chemical agent that it can detect. Accordingly, there is great interest in producing highly sensitive chemical sensors. Early warning regarding levels of sensed chemicals, faster control of processes responsive to particular levels of sensed chemicals, and better detection in difficult environments are achieved as sensitivity increases. Some particular example applications of interest in the art will now be discussed.
One application of interest is the detection of ultra-trace amounts of explosives and explosive-related analytes. Such detection is of critical importance in detecting explosives in a number of civilian and military or security applications, e.g., mine fields, military bases, remediation sites, and urban transportation areas. Low-cost and portability have clear additional advantages to such sensor applications.
In security applications, chemical sensors are preferable to other detection devices, such as metal detectors, because metal detectors frequently fail to detect explosives, such as those in the case of the plastic casing of modern land mines. Similarly, trained dogs can be both expensive and difficult to maintain in many desired applications. Other detection methods, such as gas chromatography coupled with a mass spectrometer, surface-enhanced Raman Spectroscopy, nuclear quadrupole resonance, energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction, neutron activation analysis and electron capture detection are highly selective, but are expensive and not easily adapted to a small, low-power package for broad distribution.
A particular type of chemical sensor that has been investigated is an organic thin film transistor (OTFT) that has its conduction channel affected in the presence of a chemical analyte. The general principal has been demonstrated, while typical efforts have not demonstrated a useful level of sensitivity. Example transistor chemical sensors are disclosed in the following articles. Torsi, et al., Sens. Actuators, B 67, 312 (2000). The channel material in Torsi et al was 1,4,5,8-naphthalene tetracarboxyl dianhydride. Channel thickness in the chemical sensor was 500 Å (>50 MLs); Crone, et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 78, 2229 (2001) discloses a sensor with channel materials: of di-dodecyl a-6T. The thickness was 100-1000 Å (10-100 MLs). Someya, et al, Appl. Phys. Lett. 81, 3079 (2002) discloses channel materials: of DHa4T with thickness: 150 Å (15 MLs). Zhu, et al, Appl. Phys. Lett. 81, 4643 (2002), discloses channel materials of pentacene. The thickness was 500 Å (50 MLs).
Studies of the charge transport process in OTFTs have shown that carriers conduct primarily through the first 1-5 MLs above the gate dielectric. G. Horowitz, J. Mater. Res. 19, 1946 (2004). Prior OTFT sensors have not recognized or taken advantage of the charge carrier mechanism, having channel layers that are 10 monolayers or more, and typically 50 monolayers or more. Despite intensive study of OTFTs in chemical sensing, the transduction mechanism is not fully understood.
Another issue that impacts and limits usefulness of OTFT sensors is baseline drift. With static gate bias operation, even encapsulated OTFTs exhibit a large bias stress effect (BSE). This bias instability has been observed on OTFTs fabricated with a wide range of active materials and is associated with charge trapping in the organic film. Substantially delaying the time between measurements by hundreds of seconds reduces the BSE, but such a time delay is too long for many chemical sensing measurements. Baseline voltage compensation has also been considered, but simple baseline voltage compensation methods fail to reduce BSE.

Ultra-thin organic TFT chemical sensor, making thereof, and sensing method

The Regents of the University of California


A system for accessing a central pulmonary artery includes an elongate, flexible tubular catheter, having a proximal end, a distal end and a catheter hub on the proximal end. An elongate, flexible rail has a proximal end, a distal end and a rail hub on the proximal end. The rail has a distal advance segment which extends at least about 10 cm beyond the distal end of the catheter when the catheter hub is adjacent the rail hub.

Thrombotic restrictions and occlusions within a patient's blood vessels are a significant medical problem and often require intervention to remove these restrictions and blockages to restore health to patients. While applicable to a wide range of vascular applications, the following background illuminates the problems through the example of patients suffering with Pulmonary Embolisms.
Venous thromboembolic disease (VTE) is a worldwide crisis. There are over 10 million cases of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) diagnosed globally per year, with 1 million cases occurring in the United States and over 700,000 in France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom combined each year. There are approximately 60,000 to 100,000 deaths from PE in the United States each year. DVT and PE are part of the same continuum of disease, with over 95% of emboli originating in the lower extremities. When PE occurs, the severity depends on the embolic burden and its effect on the right ventricle as well as underlying cardiopulmonary comorbidities. Death can result from the acute increase in pulmonary artery (PA) pressure with increased right ventricular (RV) afterload and dysfunction.
Patients with high-risk pulmonary embolism (PE) were treated primarily with thrombolytic therapy delivered systemically or more locally through Catheter Directed Thrombolytics. These approaches result in multiple catheterization lab visits, lengthy hospital stays and often lead to bleeding complications. Newer approaches to PE treatment include single session thrombectomy treatments without the use of thrombolytics. These thrombectomy treatments include delivering a catheter into the PA to remove the thrombus through aspiration, and secondary tools may also macerate or disrupt the thrombus prior to aspiration. While thrombectomy results in fewer bleeding complications and reduced hospital stays compared to thrombolytics, there is much to be improved upon given the challenges of the procedure itself, including the ability to capture a broad spectrum of thrombus types and reduce the total volume of blood loss during the procedure.
The thrombectomy catheter is introduced through an introducer puncture in a large diameter vein. A flexible guide wire is passed through the introducer into the vein and the introducer is removed. The flexible guidewire provides a rail for a flexible guide catheter to be advanced through the right atrium into the right ventricle and into the pulmonary artery. The flexible guidewire is removed and replaced with a stiff guidewire. The large diameter thrombectomy catheter with support dilator is then advanced over the stiff guidewire to the pulmonary artery and the dilator is removed. If the large diameter thrombectomy catheter is not successful in accessing or aspirating thrombus in a more distal portion of the vessel, a smaller diameter catheter may be inserted through the large diameter catheter. This procedure, with multiple accessory devices and exchanges, is expensive, requires advanced catheter skills, results in a high volume of blood loss, and may not result in optimal patient outcomes.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Systems for accessing a central pulmonary artery


A method and an architecture for recovery from a branch misprediction in a processor. The method may include the steps of (A) evaluating a branch prediction for a branch instruction, (B) pausing an instruction cache line fetch in response to the branch instruction, and (C) resuming the instruction cache line fetch from where paused in response to evaluating the branch prediction as incorrect to recover from the branch misprediction.

The present invention relates to processor branch prediction generally and, more particularly, to a method and/or architecture for implementing branch misprediction recovery for an instruction cache memory.
Modern pipelined processors generally incorporate some form of branch prediction to maximize performance when encountering a branch instruction in a stream of instructions. A correct branch prediction of taking a branch will result in a modest delay to a pipeline of the processor while the target branch instruction is fetched from a main memory. A branch misprediction of taking the branch can result in unnecessary delays in the pipeline. In particular, if the branch misprediction occurs early in an instruction cache line fetch operation, the pipeline is stalled while the instruction cache line fetch operation is completed. Once the instruction cache line fetch operation is completed, the pipeline stall is removed and a request for the next instruction in the branch is made to the main memory. Consequently, evaluation of the branch prediction is not performed until after the instruction cache line fetch operation has completed and the pipeline stall has been removed.
Stalling the pipeline during instruction cache line fetching introduces unnecessary delays in the event of a branch misprediction. Since the branch should not have been taken, there is no reason to wait for the current instruction cache line fetch operation to complete. It would be desirable to execute the next sequential instruction immediately if the next sequential instruction has already been copied into an instruction cache memory of the processor. Overall processor performance would be improved if the unnecessary stalls following a mispredicted branch taken were reduced or eliminated.
The present invention concerns a method and/or an architecture for recovering from a branch misprediction in a processor. The method may comprise the steps of (A) evaluating a branch prediction for a branch instruction, (B) pausing an instruction cache line fetch in response to the branch instruction, and (C) resuming the instruction cache line fetch in response to a branch misprediction.
The objects, features and advantages of the present invention include (i) providing a method and/or architecture for a processor to recover from a branch misprediction of taking the branch, and/or (ii) improving a performance of the processor by eliminating or reducing a number of stall cycles following the branch misprediction.


A method for synchronizing a network device includes: receiving, by the network device, a first SSM and a second SSM, where the first SSM carries a first SSM code for indicating a quality level of a first clock source and a first eSSM code for indicating the quality level of the first clock source, and the second SSM carries a second SSM code for indicating a quality level of a second clock source and a second eSSM code for indicating the quality level of the second clock source. When a value of the first SSM code is less than a value of the second SSM code, the network device calibrates a frequency of the network device based on a timing signal of the first clock source.

A format of a quality-level type-length-value (QL TLV) is defined in G.8264/Y.1364, May 2014, released by the International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T). A synchronization status message (SSM) code may be carried in the QL TLV. A format of an extended QL TLV is defined in G.8264/Y.1364 Amendment 2, April 2016, released by the ITU-T. An enhanced SSM (eSSM) code may be carried in the extended QL TLV. When a network device receives a plurality of messages that comply with G.8264/Y.1364 Amendment 2 and are separately used to indicate quality levels of different clock sources, G.8264/Y.1364 Amendment 2 does not specify how to select a clock source for tracking from a plurality of clock sources. As a result, the network device cannot select a clock source (synchronization source) having relatively high synchronization precision from the plurality of clock sources.

Method for synchronizing network device, and network device


The orientation and/or position estimation system includes: a movable operating unit configured to be held by a user and having an image capturing section; and a stereoscopic image providing unit including a display portion configured to display a stereoscopic image, a contact portion configured to come into contact with a part of a face of a user who is viewing the stereoscopic image, and a detection subject portion configured to be captured by the image capturing section. A detection subject portion image in the image captured by the image capturing section is detected and the position and the orientation of the movable image capturing unit are estimated on the basis of the detection subject portion image. On the basis of a result of the estimation, the stereoscopic image is generated and displayed.

Conventionally, there is known marker identification technology for detecting and identifying an indication (marker) located in a real space or on a real object from an image captured by an image capturing device. In this technology, for example, a marker provided to a real object moving in a space is captured by a camera, and the position of a projected image of the marker on the image is detected, whereby the position and the orientation of the real object in the space are measured. In addition, a plurality of markers placed in the real space are captured, whereby the position and the orientation of the capturing camera in the space are measured. Such technology is used also in a virtual reality (VR) field.
The above technology requires the plurality of cameras to be provided in a fixed manner in order to capture the markers (for example, the cameras are provided at such positions as to include the user and the markers entirely in the image capturing range), and thus great time and effort are taken for the arrangement thereof and the like.
Therefore, an object of the exemplary embodiments is to provide an orientation and/or position estimation system having a simpler configuration.
Configuration examples for achieving the above object will be shown below.
One configuration example is an orientation and/or position estimation system including a movable image capturing unit, a stereoscopic image providing unit, a detection section, a specifying section, an estimation section, and an image generation section. The movable image capturing unit has an image capturing section configured to capture a surrounding area. The stereoscopic image providing unit includes at least one display portion configured to display a stereoscopic image composed of a left-eye image and a right-eye image having parallax therebetween, a contact portion configured to come into contact with a part of a face of the user who is viewing the stereoscopic image, and a detection subject portion configured to be captured by the image capturing section of the movable image capturing unit that is being held by the user. The detection section is configured to detect a detection subject portion image indicating the detection subject portion and included in an image captured by the image capturing section. The specifying section is configured to specify a position and/or a shape, in the captured image, of the detection subject portion image detected by the detection section. The estimation section is configured to estimate an orientation and/or a position of the movable image capturing unit on the basis of the position and/or the shape, specified by the specifying section, of the detection subject portion image in the captured image. The image generation section is configured to generate the stereoscopic image to be displayed on the at least one display portion, on the basis of a result of the estimation by the estimation section.
According to the above configuration example, it is possible to provide an orientation and/or position estimation system having a simplified configuration by a user holding the movable image capturing unit.
In another configuration example, the movable image capturing unit may further include: an operating portion; and an operation data generation section configured to generate predetermined data on the basis of operation on the operating portion by the user, and the image generation section may further generate the stereoscopic image to be displayed on the at least one display portion, on the basis of a result of the estimation by the estimation section and the data generated by the operation data generation section.
According to the above configuration example, it becomes possible to perform more various operations as an operation using the movable image capturing unit.
In another configuration example, the movable image capturing unit may further include a light-emitting section configured to emit predetermined light at least in substantially the same direction as an image capturing direction of the image capturing section, and the detection subject portion may be made of a retroreflective material that reflects the predetermined light from the light-emitting section.
According to the above configuration example, it is possible to detect the detection subject portion more reliably.
In another configuration example, the detection subject portion may be provided on a predetermined surface of the stereoscopic image providing unit that faces in substantially the same direction as a line-of-sight direction of the user who is viewing the at least one display portion in a state in which a part of the face of the user is in contact with the contact portion, and/or at such a position on the stereoscopic image providing unit that allows the detection subject portion to be viewed as seen from a direction opposite to the line-of-sight direction.
According to the above configuration example, it is possible to enhance estimation accuracy for the position and the orientation of the movable image capturing unit.
In another configuration example, the stereoscopic image providing unit may have a plurality of the detection subject portions having predetermined areas, and the plurality of detection subject portions may include three detection subject portions that are not arranged on an identical straight line.
According to the above configuration example, it is possible to enhance estimation accuracy for the position and the orientation of the movable image capturing unit.
In another configuration example, of the plurality of detection subject portions, at least three or more detection subject portions may be arranged so as to be asymmetric between a right side and a left side and/or asymmetric between an upper side and a lower side, when the predetermined surface of the stereoscopic image providing unit is seen from a front side.
According to the above configuration example, it is possible to enhance estimation accuracy for the position and the orientation of the movable image capturing unit.
In another configuration example, with the plurality of detection subject portions defined as end points, the plurality of detection subject portions may be arranged so as to be asymmetric between the right side and the left side and/or asymmetric between the upper side and the lower side, with respect to a line passing a center point which is a start position from which linear distances to the end points are substantially equal to each other.
According to the above configuration example, it is possible to enhance estimation accuracy for the position and the orientation of the movable image capturing unit.
In another configuration example, the movable image capturing unit may further include an acceleration sensor and/or an angular velocity sensor, and the estimation section may further estimate the orientation and/or the position of the movable image capturing unit on the basis of a result of the detection by the acceleration sensor and/or the angular velocity sensor.
According to the above configuration example, it is possible to expand the range in which the position and the orientation of the movable image capturing unit can be estimated.
In another configuration example, when the detection subject portion image cannot be determined or specified in the image captured by the movable image capturing unit, the estimation section may estimate the orientation and/or the position of the movable image capturing unit on the basis of a result of the detection by the acceleration sensor and/or the angular velocity sensor.
According to the above configuration example, it is possible to expand the range in which the position and the orientation of the movable image capturing unit can be estimated.
In another configuration example, the orientation and/or position estimation system may further include a connection portion having one end connected to at least a part of the movable image capturing unit and the other end connected to a part of the stereoscopic image providing unit.
According to the above configuration example, the range in which the movable image capturing unit can be moved is limited by the connection portion, and thus estimation accuracy for the orientation and the position can be enhanced.
In another configuration example, a position at which the connection portion and the stereoscopic image providing unit are connected may be a position that is near a lower side of the surface on which the detection subject portion is provided and that is on or near a line vertically extending through substantially a center of the surface on which the detection subject portion is provided as seen from a front side.
According to the above configuration example, an image of the detection subject portion can be captured more reliably and thus estimation accuracy for the orientation and the position can be enhanced.
In another configuration example, the connection portion may have a first movable portion provided near a position at which the connection portion and the stereoscopic image providing unit are connected. A relative positional relationship and/or a relative orientation relationship between the stereoscopic image providing unit and the movable image capturing unit may be changeable by the first movable portion.
According to the above configuration example, the movable range of the movable image capturing unit can be further expanded.
In another configuration example, the connection portion may have a second movable portion provided at a predetermined position different from a position at which the connection portion and the stereoscopic image providing unit are connected, and different from a position at which the connection portion and the movable image capturing unit are connected. A relative positional relationship and/or a relative orientation relationship between the stereoscopic image providing unit and the movable image capturing unit may be changeable by the second movable portion.
According to the above configuration example, the movable range of the movable image capturing unit can be further expanded.
In another configuration example, the connection portion may have a third movable portion provided near a position at which the connection portion and the movable image capturing unit are connected. A relative positional relationship and/or a relative orientation relationship between the stereoscopic image providing unit and the movable image capturing unit may be changeable by the third movable portion.
According to the above configuration example, the movable range of the movable image capturing unit can be further expanded.
In another configuration example, the connection portion may be extendable and contractible.
According to the above configuration example, owing to the extendable/contractible structure, the user's convenience in storage and the like can be enhanced.
In another configuration example, the image capturing section and the operating portion may be provided to a housing attachable to and detachable from the movable image capturing unit.
According to the above configuration example, the housing having the image capturing section and the operating portion can be used as, for example, a single controller, by being held after detached from the movable image capturing unit.
The exemplary embodiments can provide an orientation and/or position estimation system having a simpler configuration.

Orientation and/or position estimation system, orientation and/or position estimation method, and orientation and/or position estimation apparatus


An object of the present invention is to provide a compact base for a seat with a suspension for a vehicle driver, for use in buses, heavy vehicles or special use vehicles, including excavation vehicles or foresting equipment, in which the operator or driver is subject to vibrations. The present invention provides total independence of the suspension properties, including stiffness, damping and range of travel, with height adjustment. In order to accomplish this, the compact base for the seat is divided into parts including a suspension and a seat height adjustment mechanism. These parts have no common component including balloons, dampers or guiding systems. In this manner, the suspension properties of the seat are not affected by the seat height adjustment. Moreover, the invention provides a compact seat base through the use of structures and balloons that fit one within the other.

Typical designs for passive suspensions for seats comprise among other things, a guiding mechanism, a spring element as well as a damping element. The guiding mechanism has for example a scissor type mechanism, allow vertical movements of the seat, which are required during height adjustment as a function of the size of the operator, as well as movements caused by isolation of the suspension when the seat is subject to vibrations. The spring and damping elements allow an attenuation of the vibrations transmitted to the seat.
Pneumatic type passive suspensions typically integrate a pneumatic balloon as a spring element. This type of suspension generally has the disadvantage of offering suspension performances dependent on the chosen height setting. The dependence between the height adjustment of the seat and its suspension comes among other things from the dual role of the pneumatic balloon of the seat. Indeed, the driver can vary the volume of air in the balloon to adjust the height of the seat. Once the adjustment is made, the same balloon acts as a spring element for the suspension.
The first consequence of such a design is the geometric dependence between the height adjustment and the range of motion of the suspension. The effects of this can be observed notably when the height adjustment of the seat is a very high or very low position. In these situations, the end-of-travel abutments of the guiding mechanism of the seat interfere with the normal range of motion of the suspension by limiting its travel, which provokes frequent shocks that are uncomfortable for the driver. These shocks are harmful to the health and safety of the driver, and consequently opposite to the desired effect of a seat suspension, which consists to isolate the driver from any shock or vibration from the vehicle.
The second consequence of such a design is that, generally the stiffness of the balloon varies as a function of the height adjustment. Indeed, the seat occupant varies the volume air of the balloon to adjust the height of the seat. However, the more a balloon has a high volume of air, the more its stiffness is low, as long as the maximum volume is not met.
Furthermore, in the cases of most passive seat suspensions, the shock absorber fixed between the base of the seat and one of the scissor mechanisms has a rotational movement when the seat is in an ascending or descending motion. This non linear movement renders the rate of shock absorption non-constant over the complete range of height adjustment of the seat. Consequently, there is a third dependence between the performance of the seat suspension and the height adjustment.
A simple solution to decrease the level of incomfort of the shocks caused by the interference of the end-of-travel abutments mentioned hereinabove is the introduction of progressive end-of-travel abutments. However, in this case, the suspension looses a lot of its efficiency in the cases where the abutments often interfere with the normal range of motion of the suspension.
A better solution is a suspension, which is independent of the height adjustment mechanism of the seat. In such a case, the properties of the suspension, stiffness, range of motion and shock absorption, remain identical no matter what the height adjustment of the seat is, whether it is adjusted to its minimum or maximum positions.
The concept of a suspension independent from the height adjustment already exists. Patent applications CA 2,516,560 and CA 2,420,324 disclose the idea but apply it to an active suspension by specifying that the independence in the height adjustment is useful for limiting any drop of the seat caused by a break in the suspension or a failure in the actuator. Indeed, the drop is thus limited to the range of travel of the suspension and does not include the height adjustment range distance. These patent applications are not related to an improvement of the performance of compact passive suspensions.
Patent GB 2,309,894 also discloses an independent suspension from the height adjustment but only related to the range of motion of the suspension. Nothing else is disclosed, which renders the other suspension properties independent, including stiffness and shock absorption. Indeed, in this patent, since a suspension balloon is used with a volume of air that varies according to the height adjustment of the seat, this balloon suspension does not have consequently the same stiffness properties with high and low positions for the seat.
The objective of making the properties of the suspension independent from the height adjustment of the seat can be met by using two mechanisms that each fulfills its function without sharing common components. This can be accomplished by superposing a suspension mechanism stage on top of a height adjustment mechanism stage. Each mechanism stage has its own guiding systems, which allow vertical movement, in one case for height adjustment for the seat and in the other case for allowing a range motion for the suspension. The suspension stage has spring and damping elements that attenuate shocks and vibrations. The height adjustment stage has its own actuator in order to adjust the height as well as a locking system to fix this position. With this design, there are no common elements between the two systems, as opposed to what it seen commonly in pneumatic passive suspensions or with pneumatic balloons that play at the same time the role of a spring element for the suspension as well as an actuating element for adjustment of the height. Therefore, an independent suspension allows one to have a seat with properties of stiffness, dampening and potential range of motion that do not vary as a function of the height of the seat chosen by the operator.
However, this double mechanism requires a certain amount of space, which becomes a significant disadvantage in seat applications where certain drivers require a seating position which can be very low. Given that, for a very low driving position, the double mechanism would allow a normal range of motion of the suspension, which would cause movements that would be even lower than a normal driving position, their remains very little place between the bottom of the seat to introduce all the components of this double mechanism.
Thus, there is presently a need for a compact base for a seat with a suspension for a vehicle driver, in particularly for buses, for heavy vehicles or vehicles for special use, for example excavation vehicles or vehicles for forestry equipment, and in which the operator or the driver is subject to vibrations. Furthermore, there is a need for a compact base for a seat, which allows the suspension to be independent from the height adjustment for the seat. There is also to obtain total independence in the properties of the suspension, including stiffness, damping and range of motion, from height adjustment while offering a large range of motion for adjustment of the seat, as well as a very low minimum height adjustment position.

Compact base for a seat with a suspension independent of height adjustment


The present invention relates to polymers containing at least one carbazole structural unit of the general formula (I) where Ar1, Ar2, Ar3 is each, independently of one another, denote an aryl or heteroarylgroup, which may be substituted by one or more radicals R of any desired type; m, o is, independently of one another, 0 or 1; n is 1, 2 or 3 and the dashed lines represent the linking in the polymer; and at least one arylamine structural unit of the general formula (II) and/or (III) where Ar4, Ar5, Ar7, Ar8 is each, independently of one another, an aryl or heteroaryl group, which may be substituted by one or more radicals R of any desired type; Ar6 is an aryl or heteroaryl group, which may be substituted by one or more radicals R of any desired type, or represents a group of the formula Ar9-Ar9, where Ar9 is in each case, independently, an aryl or heteroaryl group, which may be substituted by one or more radicals R of any desired type or linked to one another; p is 1, 2 or 3; q is 0 or 1 and the dashed lines represent the linking in the polymer. Furthermore, the present invention relates to processes for the preparation of these polymers and to formulations and electronic devices which comprise these polymers.

The present invention relates to polymers having carbazole structural units and to processes for the preparation thereof. The present invention furthermore relates to formulations and electronic devices which comprise these polymers.
Electronic devices which comprise organic, organometallic and/or polymeric semiconductors are increasing in importance; they are employed in many commercial products for cost reasons and owing to their performance. Examples which may be mentioned here are organic-based charge-transport materials (for example triarylamine-based hole transporters) in photocopiers, organic or polymeric light-emitting diodes (OLEDs or PLEDs) in display devices, or organic photoreceptors in photocopiers. Organic solar cells (O-SC), organic field-effect transistors (O-FET), organic thin-film transistors (O-TFT), organic integrated circuits (O-IC), organic optical amplifiers and organic laser diodes (O-lasers) are at an advanced stage of development and may achieve major importance in the future.
Irrespective of the particular application, many of these electronic devices have the following general layer structure, which can be adapted for the particular application:    (1) substrate,    (2) electrode, frequently metallic or inorganic, but also made from organic or polymeric conductive materials,    (3) charge-injection layer(s) or interlayer(s), for example for compensation of electrode unevenness ("planarisation layer"), frequently made from a conductive, doped polymer,    (4) organic semiconductors,    (5) optionally further charge-transport, charge-injection or charge-blocking layers,    (6) counterelectrode, materials as mentioned under (2),    (7) encapsulation.
The above arrangement represents the general structure of an organic electronic device, where various layers can be combined, resulting in the simplest case in an arrangement comprising two electrodes, between which an organic layer is located. In this case, the organic layer fulfils all functions, including the emission of light in the case of OLEDs. A system of this type is described, for example, in WO 90/13148 A1 based on poly-(p-phenylenes).
However, a problem which arises in a "three-layer system" of this type is the lack of control of charge separation or the lack of a way of optimising the properties of the individual constituents in different layers, as is achieved in a simple manner by a multilayered structure, for example, in the case of SMOLEDs ("small-molecule OLEDs").
A small-molecule OLED often comprises one or more organic hole-injection layers, hole-transport layers, emission layers, electron-transport layers and/or electron-injection layers and an anode and a cathode, where the entire system is usually located on a glass substrate. The advantage of a multilayered structure of this type consists in that various functions of charge injection, charge transport and emission can be divided in the various layers and the properties of the respective layers can thus be modified separately. This modification enables the performance of the electronic devices to be considerably improved.
Known electronic devices have a usable property profile. However, there is an ongoing necessity to improve the properties of these devices. These properties include, in particular, the lifetime of the electronic devices. A further problem is, in particular, the energy efficiency with which an electronic device achieves the specified object. In the case of organic light-emitting diodes, which may be based both on low-molecular-weight compounds and also on polymers, the light yield, in particular, should be high, meaning that as little electrical power as possible has to be consumed in order to achieve a certain light current. Furthermore, the lowest possible voltage should also be necessary in order to achieve a pre-specified luminous density.
A further object can be regarded as the provision of electronic devices having excellent performance as inexpensively as possible and in constant quality.
Furthermore, the electronic devices should be capable of being employed or adapted for many purposes. In particular, the performance of the electronic devices should be retained over a broad temperature range.
Surprisingly, it has been found that these and further objects, which are not mentioned explicitly, but can readily be derived or inferred from the connections discussed in the introduction herein, are achieved by polymers having all features of Patent Claim 1. Advantageous modifications of the polymers according to the invention are protected in the claims which are dependent on Claim 1.
The present invention accordingly relates to a polymer containing at least one carbazole structural unit of the general formula (I)
where    Ar1, Ar2, Ar3 is each, independently of one another, an aryl or heteroaryl group, which may be substituted by one or more radicals R of any desired type;    m, o is, independently of one another, 0 or 1,    n is 1, 2 or 3 andthe dashed lines represent the linking in the polymer;and at least one arylamine structural unit of the general formula (II) and/or (III)
where    Ar4, Ar6, Ar7, Ar8 is each, independently of one another, an aryl or heteroaryl group, which may be substituted by one or more radicals R of any desired type;    Ar6 is an aryl or heteroaryl group, which may be substituted by one or more radicals R of any desired type, or represents a group of the formula Ar9—Ar9, where Ar9 is in each case, independently, an aryl or heteroaryl group, which may be substituted by one or more radicals R of any desired type or linked to one another;    p is 1, 2 or 3;    q is 0 or 1 andthe dashed lines represent the linking in the polymer.

Polymers with carbazole structural units


Disclosed herein is an interferometric surface inspection machine which is arranged to facilitate the inspection of finished spherical lens surfaces, and which essentially includes: a surface plate formed with a through light guide opening in a predetermined position; an up-down guide means suspended from the lower side of the surface plate; an interferometer liftably supported on the up-down guide means and having a reference lens with a reference surface thereof disposed on the side of the light guide opening and in face to face relation with said light guide opening; and a lens mount portion adjustably located in a predetermined position above the light guide opening in the surface plate and adapted to support peripheral edge portions of a spherical lens element on the side of the lens surface to be inspected.

1. Field of the Art
This invention relates to an interferometric surface inspection machine for inspecting surface conditions of finished spherical lens elements (hereinafter referred to as "lens specimens") by the use of a laser interferometer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It has been the general practice in the art to detect the surface irregularities of a finished lens by the use of a test plate, more specifically, by reflecting light on the surface of a lens specimen through a test plate and measuring the number of lines in an interference fringe pattern (normally referred to as the number of Newton's fringes which is formed as a result of interference between reflected light from a reference surface of the test plate with reflected light from the lens surface under testing. In this regard, the simplest way of inspection is to overlay a test plate directly on a lens surface to be inspected, and project light on the test plate to observe with naked eyes the interference fringe which is formed by the two light reflections from the reference surface of the test plate and the lens surface under inspection. However, in such lens surface inspection, the test plate which is placed in direct contact with an inspecting lens surface has to be handled very carefully to avoid damages to both of the contacting surfaces. Especially, on the part of the test plate which is used repeatedly, it is very likely that accumulation of scratches take place on the entire surface of the test plate even from an extremely early time point of the inspection, necessitating replacement of the test plate at a high frequency. In the surface inspection of this sort, there has been another problem that, unless the surfaces of the test plate and lens specimen are cleaned prior to each inspection, accurate observation of the interference pattern may be jeopardized by dust or foreign matter which has crept onto their overlapped surface portions.
In this connection, there has been known, for example, from U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,734, a surface inspection apparatus which permits to inspect a lens surface in a non-contacting state by the use of a laser interferometer. More specifically, the surface inspection apparatus employs a laser generator to project a laser beam on a reference lens through an optical laser beam guide system, reflecting part of the laser beam light on a reference surface of the reference lens and reflecting part of the laser beam, which has passed through the reference lens, on a surface of a lens specimen which is located in face to face relation with the reference lens, and observing the interference fringe which is produced by interference between the two light reflections.
In this manner, in case of a laser interferometer, the surface of a lens specimen is held in non-contacting state with the reference lens during inspection, preventing the above-mentioned problems of the contacting inspection by the use of a test plate in which the overlapped surfaces of the test plate and an inspecting lens specimen, in direct contact with each other, are both vulnerable to damages or flaws. In the above-described prior art which is arranged to irradiate an inspecting lens surface with light projected from above, however, the lens specimen under inspection needs to be supported in position for inspection on the side away from the lens surface under inspection or needs to be clamped in position at its peripheral edge portions. Normally, the lens specimens to be inspected are manufactured with a certain degree of tolerances in thickness and outer diameter, so that it has been imperative for an accurate inspection to make adjustment of the relative positions of the interferometer and the inspecting lens surface each time a new lens specimen is set on a lens mount member for inspection. For this adjustment of relative positions, usually the interferometer proper is moved in the direction of the optical axis, while the lens mount member which supports a lens specimen is moved in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis and at the same time turned relative to the optical axis to correct its inclination if any. Such adjustment of relative positions of the interferometer and the inspecting lens surface has to be carried out for each of the individual lens specimens even if they are of the same kind. The job of pre-adjusting the position of each lens specimen relative to the interferometer is very troublesome and requires meticulous skills, making it extremely difficult to realize automatic surface inspecting operations.

Interferometric surface inspection machine designed to support an element on the side to be inspected


A touch sensor panel including a plurality of drive lines crossing a plurality of sense lines, forming an array. The plurality of drive lines and the plurality of sense lines are formed by interconnecting sections of at least one conductive material having a truncated diamond shape or formed of interconnected conductive lines. At least one conductive dummy region may be disposed in an area of the touch sensor panel around the truncated diamond shape sections or interconnected conductive lines of the plurality of drive lines and the plurality of sense lines. One or more lines may be formed overlapping the interconnected sections of each of the plurality of drive lines and the plurality of sense lines.

Many types of input devices are presently available for performing operations in a computing system, such as buttons or keys, mice, trackballs, joysticks, touch sensor panels, touch screens and the like. Touch screens, in particular, are becoming increasingly popular because of their ease and versatility of operation as well as their declining price. Touch screens can include a touch sensor panel, which can be a clear panel with a touch-sensitive surface, and a display device such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) that can be positioned partially or fully behind the panel so that the touch-sensitive surface can cover at least a portion of the viewable area of the display device. Touch screens can allow a user to perform various functions by touching the touch sensor panel using a finger, stylus or other object at a location dictated by a user interface (UI) being displayed by the display device. In general, touch screens can recognize a touch event and the position of the touch event on the touch sensor panel, and the computing system can then interpret the touch event in accordance with the display appearing at the time of the touch event, and thereafter can perform one or more actions based on the touch event.
Mutual capacitance touch sensor panels can be formed from a matrix of drive and sense lines of a substantially transparent conductive material such as Indium Tim Oxide (ITO), often arranged in rows and columns in horizontal and vertical directions on a substantially transparent substrate. Drive signals can be transmitted through the drive lines, which can result in the formation of static mutual capacitance at the crossover points (sensing pixels) of the drive lines and the sense lines. The static mutual capacitance, and any changes to the static mutual capacitance due to a touch event, can be determined from sense signals that can be generated in the sense lines due to the drive signals.
The touch sensing pixels can be varied in size and/or spacing to enable touch sensitivity in large panels without increasing the number of drive and sense lines which can otherwise increase the processing burden and can cause negative optical artifacts when viewing the display device through the touch panel. However, increasing the size and/or spacing of the touch sensing pixels can negatively impact the resistance and capacitance (RC) time constant per pixel, thereby hindering touch sensitivity of the touch panel and limiting the speed at which the touch panel can operate.


In accordance with embodiments, there are provided mechanisms and methods for publishing an application-independent format event. These mechanisms and methods for publishing an application-independent format event can enable optimized data communication, improved scalability, increased operational efficiency, etc.

The subject matter discussed in the background section should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in the background section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in the background section or associated with the subject matter of the background section should not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the prior art. The subject matter in the background section merely represents different approaches, which in and of themselves may also be inventions.
Many modern business processes involve interactions between multiple applications and information sources. For example, a business process may interact with multiple cloud-based and on-premise applications and information sources. Unfortunately, techniques for enabling communication between such applications and information sources have been associated with various limitations.
Just by way of example, traditional methods of integration between multiple applications and information sources may not ensure real-time information exchange and may not support an exponential growth of systems, data, etc. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide techniques that improve the integration of distributed systems.

System, method and computer program product for publishing an application-independent format event


A detailed data aggregation apparatus holds detailed data of a plurality of events and a transcription and replenishment rule. In the rule, a plurality of common items, which are common to different events as a minimum unit of aggregation, are defined, and a transcription instruction (for instructing to transcribe a value corresponding to an event definition item to a value corresponding to the common item) and a replenishment instruction (for instructing to replenish a value to be replenished as the value corresponding to the common item) are described, associated with each common item for each event. Regarding the held detailed data, transcribed/replenished detailed data including values corresponding to the common items is created from the respective detailed data according to the transcription instruction or replenishment instruction. The apparatus aggregates the created data in a unit of predetermined common item specified as a unit of aggregation or in a unit of combination of predetermined common items.

Conventionally, use of a data warehouse (DWH) has attracted attention at the time of associating data input to a core system, which is "detailed data" having detailed contents such as a detailed statement or slip, with analysis of various business purposes. Generally, the analysis of detailed data by using a data warehouse is realized by a data warehouse stores therein the detailed data, a data mart stores therein an aggregate result obtained by aggregating the detailed data stored in the data warehouse for a desired analysis purpose, and a front-end application for analyzing the aggregate result stored in the data mart.
A method of aggregating detailed data is explained with specific examples. For example, Japanese Patent No. 3476349 discloses such a method that a data processor aggregates detailed data including common items (for example, "sales period", "product name", "sales area", "sales data", and the like) for each element corresponding to an analysis purpose (for example, 'Tokyo') based on hierarchical structure information of each item (for example, 'computer' and 'personal computer' relating to "product name", and 'nationwide', 'Kanto', or 'Tokyo' relating to "sales area"), and stores the aggregated data in a database beforehand. Further, for example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2001-28005 discloses such a method that a data warehouse server aggregates detailed data including common items (for example, "product code", "customer code" and the like) for each master item corresponding to the analysis purposes based on master item information of each item (for example, 'manufacturer category' and 'product name' relating to "product code", "customer name" and 'personnel code' relating to "customer code", and the like), and stores the aggregated data in a database beforehand.
In the conventional technique, detailed data respectively input to a plurality of core systems cannot be aggregated easily and flexibly corresponding to analysis purposes, and the detailed data, which is the basis of aggregated data, cannot be easily tracked.
That is, to aggregate the detailed data respectively input to the core systems, which includes items defined for each system (or event), corresponding to the analysis purposes according to the methods disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3476349 and Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2001-28005, two-stage aggregation needs to be performed for each analysis purpose, such that aggregation of detailed data is performed for a group of detailed data including the common items (for example, detailed data input to the same system) for each element (or master item) corresponding to the analysis purpose, and the detailed data aggregated for each group is further aggregated for a plurality of groups.
Therefore, simple aggregation cannot be performed corresponding to the analysis purposes. Further, to perform aggregation corresponding to a new analysis purpose different from a presupposed purpose, the two-stage aggregation needs to be performed again. Therefore, there is a problem that flexible aggregation cannot be performed. Further, when the two-stage aggregation is performed for each analysis purpose, the detailed data, which is the basis of the aggregated data, cannot be easily tracked, because an intermediate aggregate result is not generally stored.

Detailed data aggregation apparatus and method


A system for the solid phase polymerization of polymers wherein cold amorphous polymer is introduced to one or more crystallizers and heated to crystallize the polymer. The crystallized polymer is discharged to a reactor for polymerization of the polymer, and the hot polymer product of the reactor is discharged to a fluid bed cooler. The fluid bed cooler includes an inlet for the hot polymer and inlets for the gas used for agitating the polymer. Outlets for the polymer and for the off-gas are also provided. At least one spray nozzle is located in the cooler at a position adjacent the upper level of the polymer and water is introduced through the nozzle for contact with the polymer to achieve cooling of the polymer as a result of the vaporization of the water.

This invention relates to polymer processing systems which treat amorphous polyester to achieve crystallization, followed by solid phase polymerization followed by cooling. An example of such a system is found in Walsh U.S. Pat. No. 5,516,880.
In systems of the type contemplated by this invention, cold amorphous polymer material is fed to a crystallizer and, after substantial heat input, hot product is discharged. The particular apparatus for achieving the crystallization may comprise an indirect heat supply unit or a fluid bed. The Solidaire(copyright) or TorusDisc(copyright) equipment manufactured by Hosokawa Bepex of Minneapolis, Minn. are examples of an indirect heat supply unit which may be utilized for achieving the crystallization. In such a system, steam or other heated fluid is passed through rotors and/or jackets which are in contact with the agitated polymer material. The polymer is thereby heated to the necessary temperature for achieving the crystallization reaction.
In a fluid bed system, for example units manufactured by Howokawa Bepex, heated air is brought into contact with the polymer material in order to improve heat transfer and to achieve the temperatures required for the crystallization reaction.
In systems of the type described, the crystallized material is discharged in the post crystallizer/preheater to further heat the crystallized material to the polymerization reaction temperature and then preheated polymer is transferred to a reactor for achieving polymerization. Subsequent to the polymerization, the material is transferred to a cooler which may also comprise, for example, a TorusDisc(copyright) or fluid bed system. Where a fluid bed cooler is employed, it has been the practice to achieve the cooling, at least in part, by contacting the hot material with cool gas which may be air or some other gas such as nitrogen. As a result, the gas is heated considerably and may then be recirculated only if first cooled. The expense of gas recirculation and cooling is, however, only warranted where nitrogen or some other more expensive gas is being used.
This invention provides a system for polymer processing wherein greatly improved efficiencies are achieved in the operation of the cooling portion of the cycle. In particular, the system constitutes a process and apparatus for utilization of water spray cooling in a fluid bed cooling operation which greatly improves the efficiency of this operation.
The system of the invention comprises, in particular, an arrangement wherein solid phase polymerization is achieved by introducing cold amorphous polymer to a crystallizer to crystallize the polymer. The crystallized polymer is then heated to the required polymerization reaction temperature in the post crystallizer/preheater and then discharged to a reactor for annealing to achieve polymerization of the polymer. As a preferred form of the invention, dry and cool gas is introduced in a transition zone at the bottom of the reactor.
The polymer product of the reactor is discharged to a fluid bed cooler for cooling of the polymerized product. The fluid bed cooler includes an inlet for the hot polymer and an inlet for the cooling gas to provide for contact of the gas with the polymer. The cooler includes a bed portion in which the polymer moves while in contact with the cooling gas, and an upper chamber which collects the off-gas. The temperature of the polymer gradually decreases from the location of the inlet for the polymer to the location of the discharge for the polymer.
The fluid bed cooler of the present invention includes one or up to several water spray nozzles located just above or below the fluidized bed level of the polymer. The number of spray nozzles used depends generally on the size of the system involved with this fluid bed spray cooler system, the bulk of the cooling can be done by vaporization of water and, due to the high heat transfer rate of direct water vaporization, the size of the cooler can be reduced to a great extent. Accordingly, the flow rate of the fluidizing cooling gas required is considerably lower than in the regular gas-cooled fluid bed cooler, and substantial energy savings can be obtained.
The water spray cooling can be utilized in an open-loop-one-pass-gas fluid bed cooler as well as in the closed loop cooling operations where recirculation of fluidizing cooling gas is provided. In the closed loop cooler a gas-cooling-heat exchanger/condenser can be employed and the condensed water can be delivered back to the spray nozzles.


An electrodeless discharge lamp comprising: an airtight container bulb made of a transparent material and enclosing a discharge gas; and a coupler (coil assembly body), contained in a cavity formed in the bulb, for generating a high frequency electromagnetic field by conducting a high frequency current in a coil to excite the discharge gas so as to emit light, wherein the coupler comprises: a pipe-shaped cylinder formed of a thermal conductor for heat release; a skeleton-shaped bobbin mounted on an outer surface of the cylinder along an axial direction of the cylinder; a core made of a soft magnetic material provided at an opening formed by the skeleton of the bobbin and being in substantial surface contact with the cylinder; and a coil wound around a surface of the skeleton-shaped bobbin and the core. Thus, the core provided at the opening formed by the skeleton is in substantial surface contact with the cylinder for heat release, so that heat received by the coil from the heat-generating bulb is directly exhausted to the cylinder through the core.

A conventionally known apparatus of an electrodeless discharge lamp of this kind comprises: an airtight container bulb made of a transparent material and enclosing a discharge gas such as mercury or argon; and an induction coil apparatus which is contained in a hollow portion (hereafter referred to as cavity) provided in this bulb, and which generates a high frequency electromagnetic field by conducting a high frequency current to excite the discharge gas so as to emit light, as shown, for example, in Japanese-translated Laid-open Publication of International Patent Application Hei 11-501152. This induction coil apparatus is formed of an assembly body (hereafter referred to as coupler) of: a coil for generating electromagnetic energy by current conduction; a core made of a soft magnetic material; and a thermal conductor (hereafter referred to as cylinder) for heat release. This kind of electrodeless discharge lamp has advantages that it has a long life because it has no electrode, and that it has good lighting-up responsiveness, and further that it is easy to airtightly seal a glass bulb, and is easy to assemble. However, at the same time, the core positioned in the cavity and formed of a coil and a soft magnetic material is exposed to heat from the bulb while lit. Accordingly, loss due to an increase in coil resistance and reduction in reliability of a coil insulation material become problems, which requires design for heat exhaustion to be devised.
In the electrodeless discharge lamp shown in the above-described Japanese-translated Laid-open Publication of International Patent Application Hei 11-501152, attention is paid to the relationship of the arrangement between a ferrite core and a cylinder in order to increase the heat exhaustion effect by thermal conductor. More specifically, it is described that the heat exhaustion effect is increased by arranging an aluminum-made cylinder in a manner to contain a ferrite core, and by controlling the cross-sectional area ratio between the core and the cylinder.
However, in this electrodeless discharge lamp, a resin-made bobbin for winding the coil is provided to cover the core and the cylinder, in which the resin-made bobbin is poor in thermal conductivity, and in addition cannot prevent an air layer from intervening therebetween when mounted on the core and the cylinder. Air is very poor in thermal conductivity. As a result, it is not possible to effectively exhaust heat of the coil received from the heat-generating bulb. Thus, the coil temperature markedly increases, making it impossible to prevent the reliability of the coil insulation from being reduced. Further, a divided ferrite core is used, which causes the shape of the cylinder to be complex in order to fix such core. Furthermore, although it is possible to consider a structure in which the coil is wound around the core without using a resin-made bobbin, the positional accuracy of the coil is likely to decrease, making it likely that the lighting performance is caused to vary.

Coil assembly body structure for electrodeless discharge lamp


Disclosed herein is a field-of-interest based preference search guidance system. The field-of-interest based preference search guidance system includes: a search requester terminal configured to select a desired search field of interest from among provided fields of interest, and to transmit designated attribute information; and a search service provision server configured to provide the fields of interest to the search requester terminal, to provide a fixed attribute list part and a variable attribute list part descriptive of field-of-interest based keywords belonging to a selected search field of interest to the search requester terminal, to select field-of-interest based keywords belonging to a fixed attribute designated value from information included in transmitted designated attribute information when the designated attribute information is transmitted from the search requester terminal, and to transmit the selected field-based search requester preference incorporating search keywords to the search requester terminal.

Today, with the development of the Internet, various types of information can be viewed, and an individual can directly search for desired information via a search system and then view the information.
When a search requester makes a search request by entering a search term corresponding to a search target, a general search system outputs news, moving images, images, etc. containing content related to the search term entered via the search request so that the search requester can view them.
However, this search method cannot provide various types of information desired by the search requester because a search is performed only based on the keyword entered by the search requester.
As an alternative to the above method, there has been proposed a system in which a search requester directly defines a relationship with a keyword and information is searched for using the relationship defined by the corresponding search requester. However, additional information can be obtained from the search target only when the search requester must personally became aware of a search term for the desired search target and must associate the search term with an additional search term, i.e., a supplementary search term related to the search term. Therefore, there arises a need for a field-of-interest based preference search guidance system which can incorporate the personal preference of a search requester thereinto based on a variable attribute database into which an ever-changing public opinion is automatically incorporated in a search field, to which a search term desired by the requester belongs, without requiring that the search requester directly designates a search keyword, thereby providing a search result keyword suitable for the preference of the corresponding search requester.

Field-of-interest based preference search guidance system


A baking-tin to cook and distribute cakes and food-stuffs in general comprises a laminar support (2) made of paper material provided with a plurality of through holes (3) each of them housing a small pleated-paper cup (4). The support (2) is provided with a number of fracture lines (5) defining a plurality of support portions (6) thereon each circumscribed to at least a small cup 4), as well as a series of shaped holes (7) which are cut each at the crossing of two fracture lines (5). On the outer edges of the baking-tin (1) where the edge itself intersects the fracture lines, provision is made for a plurality of engagement seats (8) enabling the baking-tin to be engaged by grasping elements carried by the automated transport means. Each small cup can be engaged with the respective through hole (3) either by outbending and gluing its upper rim (4a) on the edge of the support defining the through hole, or by interposing the edge of the support between two consecutive folded parts (10) of a restrained fixing portion (9) provided on the upper rim (4a) of said small cup.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a baking-tin to cook and distribute sweet things such as small cakes, puddings and the like (hereinafter referred to as cakes) or food-stuffs in general.
2. Prior Art
It is known that when cakes have to be cooked it is generally necessary to use baking-tins adapted to contain a certain amount of said cakes in order to allow the simultaneous introduction thereof into an oven and the simultaneous withdrawal therefrom.
For the purpose different types of baking-tins are currently used.
One of these types has a laminar metal structure and is provided with a number of niches, each of them designed to contain a cake. However baking-tins of this type involve high production costs as well as long times for the production of the cakes and, as a result, high costs due to a greater heat consumption. In fact in this case at the end of cooking it is necessary to withdraw the cakes from the respective niches and afterwards to pack them up in order to allow their distribution to retailers or consumers.
A further drawback of the above baking-tins is that they need a careful servicing as they must be periodically washed and sterilized. In addition said baking-tins cannot be used to cook cakes in modern microwave ovens, due to the undesired wave reflections they can generate inside the ovens themselves.
Baking-tins made of plastic material are also known but they are substantially identical, as to their construction concept, with the metal baking-tins previously described. In fact the only advantage they have is that their production costs are lower, while they are subjected to all the other drawbacks proper to metal baking-tins.
It is clear that under this situation the provision of baking-tins adapted to make it possible an important reduction in operations and times for the obtention of the finished product would be desirable.
In this connection the applicant has devised a particular type of cake container which has been the subject of the Italian Patent Application No. 23040B/82 filed in the name of the same applicant.
Such patent application relates to a cake container substantially consisting of a laminar support made of paper material into which by means of through holes a plurality of housings is created each of them accommodating a small pleated-paper cup substantially in the form of an upwardly open truncated cone or pyramid, designed to contain a cake.
Advantageously the containers of this type have proved to be adapted for use as baking-tins to cook cakes therein as well as to be directly wrapped up, at the end of baking, together with the cakes themselves in order to constitute a finished packed product.
By the use of these containers it is also possible to eliminate all other drawbacks mentioned above with reference to metal and plastic baking-tins.
In fact they have very reduced manufacture costs, do not need servicing as they are used only once, and do not give rise to any problems when used in microwave ovens.
However it was found that they are not adapted to be carried by automated transport systems interlocked to ovens and to packing devices of modern conception. In addition said containers only make it useful and convenient to introduce into the oven and to pack a given amount of cakes, predetermined at the moment of the manufacture thereof, since thay cannot be separated into pieces or portions adapted to contain a number of cakes different from the one mentioned above.

Baking-tin adapted to cook and distribute sweet things such as small cakes, puddings and the like, or food-stuffs in general


Subsea test apparatus comprises: a connector for mating with a corresponding connector of subsea apparatus to provide at least one of electrical, optical, and fluid connection between the test apparatus and the subsea apparatus; measuring means connected to the test apparatus's connector and operable underwater in a measurement mode; a power supply arranged to power the measuring means; and disconnection means for disconnecting the test apparatus's connector from a mated subsea apparatus's connector. The measuring means, in said measurement mode, is arranged to perform at least one measurement, via the mated connectors, on connected subsea apparatus, and the test apparatus further comprises indicating means operable underwater and arranged to provide an indication of a result of the or each measurement.

Subsea is a well-known term used to refer to equipment, methods and technology used at underwater locations, and particularly at locations on or close to the seabed for various applications, and in particular to explore, drill and develop oil and gas fields that exist below the ocean floors. The ocean floor or seabed at which subsea apparatus is used may be at a relatively shallow location (shallow in this context being at depths less than 1,000 feet) or at a deep water location (generally meaning water depths in the range 1,000 to 10,000 feet, or even deeper).
It will be appreciated that a wide variety of types of subsea apparatus (equipment) is used in such applications. This variety includes subsea apparatus providing a control function (for example comprising controllable valves to regulate the flow of fluids to or from a well) and subsea apparatus providing a connection function (such as providing an electrical or optical control or monitoring link between two pieces of apparatus, or providing a fluid conduit from one subsea location to another, for example to convey fluids to a well for injection into that well, or to convey production fluids from a well). A term commonly used to refer to one type of such subsea interconnecting apparatus is "umbilical", and a subsea umbilical will typically comprise a flexible intermediate portion containing at least one electrical cable, optical wave guide, or fluid conduit, with connection means provided generally at each end for connecting the umbilical to other apparatus. For example, umbilicals are known which comprise a plurality of electrical conductors (e.g. wires or cables) with a corresponding plurality of electrical contacts provided in connectors at each end of the umbilical. There are circumstances in which such an umbilical, or indeed another piece of subsea apparatus, is conveyed to a subsea (underwater) location (this operation is also referred to in the art as "deploying" the apparatus) and is required to remain at that location for some time before it is installed (i.e. connected to some other piece of subsea equipment). For example, an umbilical for providing fluid, electrical and perhaps optical connection to a well head may first be laid on the seabed (deployed). Then, an end of the umbilical may be placed into a mechanical receptacle on the well head to provide the fluid connection (and in this condition the umbilical is partially installed). In certain known arrangements the electrical and/or optical connection between the umbilical and well head is provided by connecting another piece of subsea apparatus, known as a "jumper", between a connector on the umbilical and a corresponding connector on the well head. Thus the jumper is another form of subsea interconnect apparatus or device, typical shorter than apparatus referred to as umbilicals, but similarly providing an interconnecting function. When the jumper is connected, the umbilical is then fully installed to the well head. Clearly, although a subsea umbilical or other subsea apparatus can be tested before it is deployed (i.e. before it is conveyed to its subsea location), degradation or damage to it may occur while it is being transported to its deployment location and indeed while it is waiting at that location before installation occurs. For example, if the connectors of subsea apparatus are not protected in some way at the subsea location before installation, then they can in general become contaminated with silt or other material, and any electrical contacts they contain could suffer corrosion. Such degradation is problematic. One attempt to solve these problems has been to fit a so-called "dummy" connector to the connector of subsea apparatus such as an umbilical, the dummy connector mating with the apparatus's connector in the same way as would a corresponding connector of apparatus to which the umbilical is to be connected. Certain known arrangements are such that when the connector and dummy connector are mated at least one seal is made which prevents or at least inhibits the ingress of contaminants into the mated arrangement and prevents seawater from making contact with any electrical contact of the umbilical's connector. Certain dummy connectors are adapted to provide protection to other parts of the connection interface (i.e. not just to electrical contacts). The dummy connector typically remains mated with the connector of the subsea apparatus until shortly before that apparatus is to be installed. The dummy connector is then detached and the subsea apparatus is connected in the required configuration. Although this technique offers some advantages, there is still the possibility that the subsea apparatus could have been damaged or degraded in some way while the dummy connector was in place. For example, although the dummy connector may have protected the connector of an umbilical, the umbilical may have suffered damage elsewhere along its length whilst in situ or waiting for deployment. Only after removal of the dummy connector, and connection of the umbilical to other subsea apparatus may this damage or degradation become apparent, when a problem is detected with the operation of the subsea system as a whole.
It is therefore an object of certain embodiments of the invention to provide subsea assemblies, subsea test apparatus and methods of handling subsea apparatus which overcome, at least partially, one or more of the problems associated with the prior art.

Subsea test apparatus, assembly and method


A pulsed breathing device has a base unit containing a motor and control circuit and a detachable head unit containing a valve, driven by the motor, which can interrupt the flow of air being breathed.

The present invention relates to a portable breathing device for providing resistance and intra-trachea bronchial percussion on breathing in and breathing out to increase pulmonary efficiency while improving cilial movement which assists mobilisation of intrabronchial mucous or secretions within the lung. It can be used for increasing breathing efficiency and for training athletes and also in the treatment of medical conditions related to weak breathing.
Patent Application WO 03/077823 discloses a breathing device having an air flow interruption means connected to the breathing means, which causes a regular periodic interruption to air flowing through the interruption means to the user.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,083,141 discloses a breathing device which incorporates a pair of rotating cylinders which interrupt the flow of air to a user of the device.
These devices will strengthen and develop the muscles associated with breathing as well as assisting in the development of breath capacity in athletes, singers etc.
The devices can also be used for medical applications, for example in the treatment of emphysema, bronchitis, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
However in medical applications when the device is to be used by several people who are suffering from illnesses, particularly infectious illnesses, there is a very real risk of cross infection unless the breathing device is thoroughly sterilised between uses. It is not normally adequate to have a detachable mouthpiece which can be sterilised as the exhaled air and bodily fluids etc. will be trapped in the air passageways. Sterilisation using high temperatures or sterilising solutions can cause problems as the motor and control systems etc. of the device can be adversely affected and they are expensive and difficult to seal effectively.
The present invention provides a breathing device which overcomes these problems and which also possess many other advantages.


A height-adjustable operating platform of a compact paver comprising a machine frame, a drive motor, travel units, a receiving container at the front in relation to the paving direction for receiving paving material, a longitudinal conveying device with which the paving material can be conveyed from the receiving container in a rearward direction in relation to the paving direction, a transverse distribution device that is height-adjustable in relation to the machine frame and with which the paving material can be distributed on the ground surface transversally to the paving direction, a paving screed that is height-adjustable in relation to the machine frame for compacting and smoothing the paving material distributed on the ground surface behind the transverse distribution device in the paving direction, an operating platform mounted on the machine frame and arranged behind the receiving container in the paving direction and a method for operating a compact paver.

Compact pavers constitute a sub-group of road pavers that are used in a known manner for paving material, e.g. asphalt or similar paving materials. Pavers with an operating weight (with an empty storage unit) of less than 10 tonnes and in particular less than 8 tonnes and/or a track width less than or equal to 1500 mm are commonly designated as "compact pavers". Compact pavers are used for paving surface materials, e.g. in spatially restricted working environments, particularly inside buildings and/or when the paving width is narrow, e.g. the width of an average sidewalk and/or a milled track. The applicant manufactures such a known compact paver e.g. under the type designation BF 223C.
Essential elements of a generic compact paver are a machine frame, a drive motor, travel units, a receiving container located at the front in the paving direction for receiving paving material, in particular asphalt, a longitudinal conveying device with which paving material is conveyed from the receiving container to the rear in relation to the paving direction, a transverse distribution unit that is in particular height-adjustable in relation to the machine frame and which distributes the paving material on the ground surface transversely to the paving direction, a paving screed that is height-adjustable in relation to the machine frame for compacting and smoothing the transversally distributed paving material behind the transverse distribution unit in relation to the paving direction as well as an operating platform arranged behind the receiving container in the paving direction and mounted on the machine frame.
The compact paver generally comprises the essential elements of a tractor and a paving screed. The paving screed is mounted on the machine frame of the tractor in a known manner via corresponding towing arms so as to float during paving operating on the paving material and is pulled by the tractor over the paving material distributed on the ground surface. The paving screed is mounted in a height-adjustable manner vis-à-vis the machine frame. A cylinder-piston unit is generally provided for this purpose, which connects the towing arms in the rear area and/or to the paving screed itself for the purposes of the height adjustment in relation the machine frame. It is also known to vary the angle of application of the paving screed by means of a height adjustment of the towing points of the towing arms. The machine frame designates the essential supporting structure of the tractor. The tractor further comprises a drive motor, conventionally a diesel motor, which provides the required power for the paving operation including propulsion. The compact paver according to the invention is configured to be self-propelling and thus has travel units, e.g. crawler tracks or wheels, driven by the drive motor. The loading of the compact paver with paving material occurs via the receiving container, which is accordingly loaded during paving operation, e.g., by a suitable transport vehicle, in particular a truck or a wheel loader. The receiving container generally comprises adjustable side walls in order to move the paving material provided in the receiving container, e.g. precisely in the direction of the longitudinal conveying device. For this purpose, in particular the side walls of the container can be configured in such a manner that they can be swung up and/or slid in a horizontal direction. The longitudinal conveying device can be, e.g., a scraper conveyor or something similar arranged essentially in the middle in relation to the receiving container. The essential task of the longitudinal conveying device is the conveyance of the paving material within the compact paver from the receiving container in a rearward direction, in particular in order to be deposited on the ground surface in front of the paving screed in the paving direction. The provided transverse distribution device, in particular a known screw conveyor, which is in particular rotatable about a horizontal axis of rotation transverse to the working direction, permits a transverse distribution of the paving material delivered from the receiving container via the longitudinal conveying device, generally centrally. In order to make adjustments for different paving thicknesses, it is also already known to vary the height of the transverse distribution device vis-à-vis the machine frame or ground surface. In the case of greater paving thicknesses the transverse distribution device is raised in relation to the machine frame and vice versa. This adjustment can be, e g, manually actuable and driven by mechanical means, in particular by means of a cylinder-piston unit. The paving screed is constructed in a manner known in the prior art and comprises e.g. extendable screed parts, tamping devices, heating devices, narrowing parts, etc. It is essential that the paving screed is height-adjustable in relation to the machine frame in order to permit different paving thicknesses.
The operation of a generic compact paver is conducted by an operator located on the operating platform mounted on the machine frame. This operator frequently controls the compact paver during the paving process completely on his or her own and without the help of further auxiliary personnel. Thus, from the operating platform, the operator must monitor and/or control the fill level or amount of paving material in the receiving container, the loading process from the transport vehicle for filling the receiving container, the actual paving process—in particular with respect to paving thickness and paving quality—as well as the speed and direction of the compact paver. For the operation of the concrete working and driving functions of the compact paver, it is known to mount one or several suitable operating consoles, into which corresponding control commands can be entered, at a location that is easy to reach for the operator on the operating platform. In order to be able to perform all of these tasks adequately, it is particularly important that the driver has a good overview of the compact paver and its surroundings from the operating platform, in particular in different paving situations.
It is known in the prior art to configure the operating platform as a part of the machine frame. This makes a comparatively simple structure of the compact paver possible. In particular in paving situations with low ceilings, in spatially restricted working conditions or during normal operation, optimal viewing conditions are not always permitted and/or the driver can only operate the compact paver from a very uncomfortable position.

Compact paver and method for operating a compact paver


The use of a combination of sPLA2 activity and OxPL/apoB cardiovascular risk factors for the diagnosis/prognosis of a cardiovascular disease/event or for the monitoring of a cardiovascular disease.

A key problem in treating vascular diseases is proper diagnosis. Often the first sign of the disease is sudden death. For example, approximately half of all individuals who die of coronary artery disease die suddenly, Furthermore, for 40-60% of the patients who are eventually diagnosed as having coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction is the first presentation of the disease. Unfortunately, approximately 40% of those initial events go unnoticed by the patient. Because of our limited ability to provide early and accurate diagnosis followed by aggressive treatment, cardiovascular diseases (CD) remain the primary cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Patients with CD represent a heterogeneous group of individuals, with a disease that progresses at different rates and in distinctly different patterns. Despite appropriate evidence-based treatments for patients with CD, recurrence and mortality rates remain high. Also, the full benefits of primary prevention are unrealized due to our inability to accurately identify those patients who would benefit from aggressive risk reduction.
Whereas certain disease markers have been shown to predict outcome or response to therapy at a population level, they are not sufficiently sensitive or specific to provide adequate clinical utility in an individual patient. As a result, the first clinical presentation for more than half of the patients with coronary artery disease is either myocardial infarction or death.
Physical examination and current diagnostic tools cannot accurately determine an individual's risk for suffering a complication of CD. Known risk factors such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, family history, and smoking do not establish the diagnosis of atherosclerosis disease. Diagnostic modalities which rely on anatomical data (such as coronary angiography, coronary calcium score, CT or MRI angiography) lack information on the biological activity of the disease process and can be poor predictors of future cardiac events. Functional assessment of endothelial function can be non-specific and unrelated to the presence of atherosclerotic disease process, although some data has demonstrated the prognostic value of these measurements.
Individual biomarkers, such as the lipid and inflammatory markers, have been shown to predict outcome and response to therapy in patients with CD and some are utilized as important risk factors for developing atherosclerotic disease.
Nonetheless, up to this point, no single biomarker is sufficiently specific to provide adequate clinical utility for the diagnosis of CD in an individual patient. Therefore, there is a need for identifying biomarkers or cardiovascular risk factors or combination thereof that provides a more accurate diagnosis/prognosis of CD.

Combination of sPLA2 activity and oxPL/apoB cardiovascular risk factors for the diagnosis/prognosis of a cardiovascular disease/event

INSERM (Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale)


A nonvolatile memory device includes a memory cell region including first metal pads, and a peripheral circuit region. The peripheral circuit region includes second metal pads, a signal storage circuit that stores control signals and a data signal received from external of the nonvolatile memory device, a debugging information generator that generates debugging information based on the stored control signals and the stored data signal, and a debugging information register that outputs the debugging information in response to a debugging information external of the nonvolatile memory device. The peripheral circuit region is vertically connected to the memory cell region by the first metal pads and the second metal pads.

The present inventive concepts relate to a semiconductor memory, and more particularly to a nonvolatile memory device and an operation method thereof.
Semiconductor memory devices are classified into volatile memory devices such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), and the like which lose data stored therein when powered-off, and nonvolatile memory devices such as read only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), electrically programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable and programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, phase-change RAM (PRAM), magnetic RAM (MRAM), resistive RAM (RRAM), ferroelectric RAM (FRAM), and the like which retain data when powered-off.
A storage device may be characterized as including a nonvolatile memory device, and a memory controller that controls the nonvolatile memory device. The nonvolatile memory device typically receives a control signal and a data signal from the memory controller. The input signal may be transmitted to the nonvolatile memory device through an interface that connects the nonvolatile memory device and the memory controller. In the case where a failure occurs in an operation of the storage device, debugging may be performed on the storage device. Software code, a memory controller, an interface, and the like that cause the failure may be targeted for debugging.


A wing having a main wing section with a forward spar and an aft spar extending through an internal cavity. The forward and aft spars are spaced apart and delimiting a dry segment of the internal cavity. A winglet is rotatably coupled to the main wing section by a cant hinge defining a cant axis about which the winglet rotates relative to the main wing section between an extended position in which the winglet is aligned with the main wing section, and a folded position in which the winglet is rotated about the cant axis. A linkage assembly disposed in the dry segment is pivotably mounted to one of the forward and aft spars and is coupled to the cant hinge. The linkage assembly is displaceable to apply a force to move the winglet between the extended position and the folded position during flight of the aircraft.

Aircraft are typically designed to have optimal aerodynamic characteristics at a single point in their flight envelope. For example, wing tip devices are typically used to improve aerodynamic performance at cruise and take-off. However, the altitude and the fuel loading change continuously throughout the flight, and the aircraft may often have to fly at non-optimal flight conditions. The aircraft may also operate at Mach numbers that can be significantly different from the ones used as the design condition. The resulting sub-optimal performance may affect the fuel efficiency of the aircraft.