A spine and neck support device adapted to support the anatomical structures in the cervical and upper thoracic spine when the user's neck is in flexion. A cushion conforms about the user's anatomical neck structures and rests on the upper chest of the user. The cushion has a chin support area that avoids contacting the user's chin when the user's head is in a neutral position and contacts the user's chin when the user's neck is in flexion. When the user's neck is flexed and the user's chin contacts the chin support area, the cushion unloads and supports the user's neck. At least one and preferably two straps are attached to the cushion and secure it to the user. The top is sloped downwards from back to front to maximize the user's downward field of vision. A groove in the posterior surface of the cushion accommodates the user's trachea/esophagus.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of orthopedic devices, and more particularly to cervical/head support cushion and therapy devices for the head and neck.
2. Description of Related Art
Many professions require sustained cervical/neck and upper thoracic spinal flexion postures including surgeons, dentists, scientists/researchers looking into microscopes, and students. Many daily activities also require a person to be looking down for an extended period of time such as working at a computer, reading, or writing. The structures (muscles, tendons, ligaments, discs) in the cervical spine and upper thoracic spine are stressed in a sustained flexion in a flexed posture. If one is bending at the waist to look down, the neck could be in a neutral position and those structures not stressed, but that is not a practical way to look down. Also, it would be impossible to hold that position for very long, as it places too much load in the lumbar spine. To look down, it is more practical to flex one's neck, especially for extended periods of time. The upper thoracic spine follows suit with the cervical spine. Safely supporting the head while the neck is in a flexed position is critical in helping to alleviate or even prevent pain and disability, while allowing one to perform their work/activity for a longer period of time. There are many posterior neck muscles that can potentially be affected by extended periods of cervical flexion, including the longissimus capitis, longissimus cervisis, semispinalis capitis, splenius capitis, splenius cervisis, and suboccipital muscles. Excessive time spent in a flexed posture without support can also put excessive forces on the cervico-thoracic intervertebral discs, ligaments, muscles, tendons, connective tissues, and facet joint, which can lead to pain and/or injury.
Many neck cushions and braces have been made for the purpose of supporting the head and neck while the user/wearer is in a lying down or sitting up position with the head and neck in a neutral position. While they may help to unload the cervical and upper thoracic spine, they do not do so while the user is in a cervical flexion position.
A wide variety of cervical support devices are known and these devices are mostly intended for medical or therapeutic purposes. These devices are typically constructed of rigid or soft materials such as plastic or foam. The device typically rests on the shoulders, supports the neck, and holds the head and neck in a normal eyes- or face-forward anatomical position while the wearer is sitting upright or standing. These devices are not well suited for relatively unrestricted physical activities and typically prevent the user from looking downwards except with only their eyes or having to bend forward from their trunk. Other devices are intended to support the neck and head when the wearer is in a supine or side lying position. These devices are intended to provide support and proper alignment of the head-and-neck during rest or sleep.
One such device is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,738,640 to Carlson-Orsi. This device includes an upper cervical horizontal cushion, and an attached upper thoracic spine vertical cushion with straps to hold the device against the upper portion of the spine. It is intended to be used in a chair or bed with the wearer's head-and-neck resting against the chair or bed pillow. Again, this device is not intended to be used to provide neck support during physical activities or when the user has to look down. Because of, among other things, the device's top-of-shoulder-straps attachment site onto the cervical (top or horizontal) component of this device's cushions, there is no effective forward pull, and consequently, that device does not and cannot support the head and neck in flexion during downward-looking activities.
The prior art also includes numerous cervical orthoses designed to partially or totally immobilize the head and neck. Examples of such orthoses are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,204,529 to Crochrane; U.S. Pat. No. 4,520,801 to Lerman; U.S. Pat. No. 4,712,540 to Tucker; U.S. Pat. No. 5,097,824 to Garth; U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,763 to Nagata et al. The immobilization provided by these devices result in a desired spinal alignment, reduced neck muscle strain or spasm and transfers the load of the head to the shoulder area. However, these cervical orthoses create the problem of extended immobilization weakening the muscles that stabilize the head and neck. They do not permit rotation or flexion of the head, therefore limiting the user in the activities in which they can participate. These devices do not allow the user to perform any activities that require cervical/neck flexion, and thus do not and cannot support the head and neck in flexion during downward-looking activities.
Other known cervical therapy devices, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,116,359 to Moore; U.S. Pat. No. 5,320,640 to Riddle et al; U.S. Pat. No. 5,336,138 to Arijawat; U.S. Pat. No. 6,551,214 to Taimela; U.S. Pat. No. 6,599,257 to Al-Obaidi et al; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,692,451 to Splane, support the head and therapeutically exercise the neck in one or more planes. However, these cervical therapy devices are cumbersome cervical therapy devices built onto a chair or table requiring patients to visit a physical therapy facility for cervical therapy and are not portable for use during any desired activities. These devices also do not and cannot support the head and neck in flexion during downward-looking activities.
Another example of the prior art is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,458,090 to Walpin. The multi-positional support device disclosed allows for support in various fixed degrees of rotation as well as small ranges of head and neck rotation. However, this device presents the problem of allowing only small ranges of head and neck rotation insufficiently exercising atrophied neck muscles to strengthen them to safely support the load of the head and allow extensive ranges of rotation of the head. This device also does not and cannot support the head and neck in flexion during downward-looking activities.
Another example of the prior art is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,964,474 to Fox. The cervical collar here is made of plastic foam and includes a thin band of resilient plastic material biasing the foam into an annular shape terminating in opposed rear ends which may be separated to circumferentially expand the collar against the bias of the band for fitting about a patient's neck. A front central top portion of the collar includes a depression and the top surface itself is beveled and shaped in such a manner as to comfortably cradle a patient's front jaw portion and side areas of the head. An outer covering of fabric material may be applied about the collar for purposes of cleanliness and enhancement of the aesthetic appearance of the collar. This device is designed to support the user's neck in an upright position and not in a flexion position. It does not and cannot support the head and neck in flexion during downward-looking activities.
Another example of the prior art is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,232,663 to Newton. The cervical collar here is made of a pad of resilient foam material with a scalloped depressed area at the middle of the inside surface of the collar whereby a user's chin is supported in the depression and pressure on a user's throat area is relieved by the reduced thickness provided by the depression. This collar does not and cannot support the head and neck in flexion during downward-looking activities.
Another example of the prior art is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,617,691 to Monti et al. This device is a generally rectangular or other suitably shaped support pillow that is adapted to be removably secured around a user's neck. A single elongated wedge-shaped pillow segment is provided with fasteners for joining one end to the other. The wedge shape gives increased lateral support to the user's neck and head. Worn with the fasteners under the user's chin, it gives increased head and neck support whereas if it is worn with the fasteners behind the users head, it gives increased chin and head support. A three-piece version is also provided, and the various pillow segments may be of various sizes. A laminate may be applied to render the support pillow bacteria proof, flame retardant and waterproof while allowing heat and perspiration to escape. A spring-like closure version is also shown. This device is not intended to give support while the user is in a neck flexion position but more to function as a comfortable support for a head and neck to be used while sleeping or resting in a seated or vertical position. As such, this device does not and cannot support the head and neck in flexion during downward-looking activities.
Another example of the prior art is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,577 to Sarkozi. This is a soft neck support collar comprising two offset and attached, tubular ring elements, each element hooking together at their respective ends. Both ring elements contain a soft fill material such as nylon, cotton, polyester, acrylics, foam, foam chips, etc. The combined effect of the fill material together with the tubular configuration, enables the neck to adjust for lateral forward and backward forces during movement. The upper ring element is tapered at each end, so that when these ends are joined together, a space is formed into which the chin can fit, thereby maintaining the neck in a neutral position, and preventing hyperextension. The lower ring element is hooked together at each end, and the rings are offset to enable the lower ring to close at the back of the neck, approximately opposite from the closure of the upper ring element. Hence, the lower ring element functions as a continuous, uniform tubular-shaped ring which does not interfere with movement of the chin. Thus, in the closed configuration, the neck support collar allows for neutral positioning of the chin and neck, and restricts neck mobility. This collar also does not and cannot support the head and neck in flexion during downward-looking activities.
Another example of the prior art is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,890 to Carruth. This device is a chin rest that is arranged to include a housing having a top wall to include a pad member mounted therein. The housing includes first and second leg tubes mounted to opposed ends of the housing, that in turn include first and second respective extension legs that are provided with support pads to position the organization relative to an underlying support surface permitting an individual to rest the chin thereon during reading and other events when the individual is in the supine position, not a standing or seated position. This chin rest does not support or unload the neck of the user while performing activities that require cervical/neck flexion. It does not and cannot support the head and neck in flexion during downward-looking activities.
It is apparent that numerous head supports have been provided in the prior art that are adapted to be used in various contexts. However, even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, they would not be suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described.
Accordingly, there is a long-felt need for an adjustable device wearable during any activity that involves any prolonged or short duration cervical flexion that comfortably supports the cervical and upper thoracic spine and related soft tissue components. Such a device must comfortably transfer the load of the head to the cushion and upper chest of the patient and allow the neck muscles to be active when they need to be to rotate or extend the head. Such a device must facilitate a method of unloading the neck and its associated soft tissue and joints. The long sought-after but as yet unrealized device has to be inexpensive to manufacture, easy to use, and completely portable.

Neck and spine support device for a neck in flexion


Techniques to facilitate the creation of contracts and to automatically instantiate entitlements into contracts. A number of entitlement templates may be created for various entitlements. Each entitlement template is typically defined to include certain specifically defined entitlements. The entitlement templates may further be associated with products. A contract may thereafter be formed having any number of line items for one or more products and/or assets. Upon execution of the contract, an agreement is formed and the entitlements (if any) for each product/asset included in the contract may be instantiated (e.g., via a button on a screen). Upon instantiation of the entitlements into the contract, the covered products/assets become entitled and can thereafter receive the entitlements defined in the templates associated with the products/assets.

The present invention relates generally to computer processing, and more particularly to techniques to instantiate entitlements into contracts.
Contract creation and management are ubiquitous challenges faced by many industries and organizations. In many industries, complex products and/or services may be offered, and these offerings may be associated with complex pricing structures, entitlements, billing and service delivery requirements, and so on. To simplify the contracting and management processes, standard contracts with standards terms may be created and used for these offerings. However, these "canned" contracts are not acceptable for many organizations because of their inflexible nature.
On the other extreme, customized contracts with individually selected and tailored terms can provide the most flexibility. However, such customized contracts are typically time-consuming to draft and even more challenging to manage. In many instances, this total flexibility is not necessary or even desirable.
Many contracts include entitlements (i.e., benefits, such as services) as well as obligations (i.e., liabilities, such as monthly payments). Entitlements typically comprise certain "coverage" that a customer is entitled to receive under the contract (e.g., services, discounts, and so on). Entitlements may be defined to cover one or more products and/or assets for a particular period of time.
In general, a contract may be drafted to include any number of terms, and each term may be drafted to cover any matter of importance between contracting parties. For example, a contract may define certain pricing structure, cover certain services, offer certain preventive maintenance, and so on. For each of these terms, the scope of coverage may differ depending on various factors such as, for example, the parties to the contract, the price paid, and so on. Contracts may thus be viewed as comprising unstructured information of various types.
The task of creating contracts that meet the needs and requirements of an organization can be challenging. The challenge often magnifies as the complexity and/or the number of product and/or service offerings increase. Thus, techniques that can assist an administrator or an end-user (e.g., a sales associate) to efficiently form contracts (with the proper entitlements) and which are sufficiently flexible to cover most if not all contracting situations, are highly desirable.

Method and system for instantiating entitlements into contracts


A readhead and scale arrangement comprises: a readhead comprising a light source configured to output diverging source light comprising a plurality of individually detected wavelengths and at least a first optical signal receiver channel configured to provide a first set of position signals; and a scale track extending along the measuring axis direction on a scale member comprising a scale grating, the scale track configured to diffract the first diverging source light to provide first and second diffracted scale light portions of each of the individually detected wavelengths to the first optical signal receiver channel which provide interference fringes. The readhead comprises an optical path difference element, arranged such that respective wavelengths undergo different phase shifts. Such an encoder is robust to scale track contamination and other signal degradation.

Various scale grating encoders that use optical receiver channels are known, including, for example, those miniature fiber optic encoders disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,906,315; 7,053,362; 7,126,696; and 7,973,941 (the '315, '362, '696 and '941 patents), each of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Such encoders offer a desirable combination of features which may include extremely small size, very high accuracy, electrical noise immunity, and very high-speed operation.
In various applications, it is desirable to use an encoder which is robust to signal degradation resulting from contamination on a scale track. An encoder disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,701,593 (the '593 patent) which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, uses three different wavelengths of source light to determine a position. Each of the three wavelengths is spatially filtered in the readhead using a periodic optical element which acts as three periodically interleaved etalons to provide three distinct spatial phase signals. Such an encoder is robust to contamination or signal drift due to certain thermal effects. However, such a periodic optical element must be manufactured to have very precise separation between the faces of the respective "strip-like" etalons, while at the same time, periodically interleaving the etalons along the measuring axis directions. This requires a very high level of precision in manufacturing such a device. In addition, installation may require a small gap (<100 um). An encoder which is robust to contamination or signal degradation due to thermal effects and is easy to manufacture and install is desirable.

Multiple wavelength configuration for an optical encoder readhead including dual optical path region with an optical path length difference


A quantum-dot photon turnstile device is capable of producing a stream of regulated and directed single pairs of photons with opposite circular polarizations. This device operates by injecting pairs of electrons and holes, alternately, into a single quantum dot, where they combine to form photons. The device will efficiently and reliably produce a directed beam of such photons at regular time intervals. It will be able to operate at high frequency and at high temperature. Such a stream of regulated photon pairs will be useful in quantum cryptography, quantum computing, low-power optical communications, as a light standard, and in many other areas of technology and fundamental science.

This invention was supported in part by grant number 93J006 from Japan Science and Technology Corporation (JST). The Japan Science and Technology Corporation has certain rights in the invention.
The present invention relates to the field of generation of quantum-mechanical states of light. In particular, it relates to the development of devices to produce a stream of regulated and directed single pairs of photons.
Recent progress in the field of quantum optics has enabled scientists to perform experiments that test the fundamental principles of quantum mechanics, which were previously only possible as thought experiments. Furthermore, scientists have come to realize that those fundamental principles can be exploited technologically. For example, there is growing interest in the new fields of quantum cryptography, quantum teleportation and quantum computing. These experiments require that a quantum system be prepared in a well-defined state. Out of the many candidate systems, single photons or pairs of photons have been most widely used.
The recently demonstrated scheme of quantum cryptography involves encoding information on the polarization of a single photon or pairs of polarization-entangled photons. Protection against eavesdropping is provided by the quantum-mechanical fact that measurement of the information will inevitably modify the state of the photon. The single-photon version of quantum cryptography (BB84 protocol) is vulnerable if more than one photon is sent by mistake, and therefore a stream of regulated single photon is needed. The entangled-photon-pair-version (Ekert protocol) does not have this vulnerability, but nevertheless, a compact source of regulated pairs of polarization-entangled photons would make this scheme more attractive as a method of rapid and secure communication.
Other technological applications are possible for a device that can generate regulatediphoton streams. For example, the regulated photon stream will have very stable intensity, with fluctuations well below those of standard light sources. The device could thus potentially see use as a high-precision light standard. It could also be applied in classical low-power optical communications networks. A stream of single photons at regular time intervals provides a rapid stream of bits, which can potentially be used to store information. This represents the lowest possible power consumption in optical communication: one photon per bit.
The principle sources of single photons in use are highly attenuated lasers, or light-emitting diodes (LED""s). Optical pulses from the sources are reduced in intensity by absorption or reflection until each pulse contains, on average, less than one photon. Since the deletion of photons during attenuation is a random process, the number of photons in each pulse is also random. Many pulses will contain no photons, and some will contain more than one. This will limit the rate at which measurements can be done, and will also lead to errors in the experiments. It would be preferable to have a regulated source, where the number of photons in each pulse is well known.
Progress toward this goal was achieved by using single atoms, single trapped ions, or single molecules. An atom, or ion, or molecule was excited using a laser beam, and the resulting emitted light was observed. Because there is a certain amount of dead time between emissions of photons, the output photon flux is better regulated than for a laser or LED. In fact, if the exciting laser was pulsed in the right way, it would in principle be possible to obtain exactly one output photon per input pulse. However, these methods of producing regulated photons require complex and delicate experimental setups, and are thus not easily reproduced or used. Another difficulty in these methods is that the direction of photon emission is random. In other words, the photons fly in all directions, and are thus not easily collected and used in a subsequent experiment or system.
Another proposed source that overcomes the problem of random emission direction involves the use of strongly interacting photons in a nonlinear cavity. An optical cavity is used to enclose an atomic medium, which is exposed to a coupling laser beam that allows for strong non-linearity in the absence of loss. A pulsed laser beam is directed towards one end of the cavity. If the pulses have the correct shape, the output pulses from the other end of the cavity will each contain one, and only one, photon. This stream of regulated single photons will be directed in a well-known direction. However, the experiment setup is again quite complex and difficult to operate. It is thus difficult to incorporate into a large experiment or to use in a technological application.
One more proposed source involves pumping a quantum dot with a surface acoustic wave (SAW) (xe2x80x9cPhoton Trains and Lasing: The Periodically Pumped Quantum Dotxe2x80x9d by C. Wiele et al., published in October 1998 in Physical Review A, vol. 58). The quantum dot is a small region of semiconductor material that can contain only one electron and one hole. The SAW is a periodic deformation that travels along the semiconductor surface. The wave can trap electrons and holes and move them along the surface. It may be possible to make the wave such that only one electron and one hole will be transported in each period. If the wave then passes over an appropriate quantum dot, the electron and hole will be trapped by the dot. They will then recombine to produce a photon. The photons will not be emitted in any particular direction. As well, it is not yet evident whether it will actually be possible to create a SAW such that each period contains exactly one electron and one hole. Finally, there will be errors in the output photon stream when the dot fails to trap both carriers.
A single photon turnstile device was realized in a mesoscopic double barrier p-i-n junction (xe2x80x9cA Single-Photon Turnstile Devicexe2x80x9d by J. Kim et al., published in Feb. 11, 1999 in Letters to Nature, vol. 397, and xe2x80x9cTurnstile Device for Heralded Single Photons: Coulomb Blockade of Electron and Hole Tunneling in Quantum Confined p-i-n Heterojunctionsxe2x80x9d by A. Imamoglu, published in Jan. 10, 1994 in Physical Review Letters, vol. 72). Regulated single photons were produced using a combination of simultaneous Coulomb blockade effect for electrons and holes and resonant tunneling in a mesoscopic p-n junction. The structure generally comprises of an intrinsic central quantum well (QW) in the middle of a p-n junction, and n-type and p-type side quantum wells (QWs) isolated from the central QW by tunnel barriers (FIG. 1a). The lateral size of the device is reduced to increase the single-particle charging energy e2/2Ci where Ci (i=n or p) is the capacitance between the central QW and the side QWs. The device is designed such that the electron and hole tunneling conditions are separated in applied bias voltage, and thus can be controlled independently. The electron resonant tunneling condition into an electron sub-band in the central QW is satisfied at a certain bias voltage V0. When an electron tunnels, the Coulomb blockade effect shifts the electron sub-band energy off of resonance, so that the subsequent electron tunneling is inhibited (FIG. 1b). Then the bias is increased to V0+xcex94V to satisfy the hole resonant tunneling condition. If a single hole tunnels into the hole sub-band of the central QW, the subsequent hole tunneling is inhibited due to the Coulomb blockade effect for holes. By modulating the bias voltage between the electron and the hole resonant tunneling conditions periodically, it is possible to inject a single electron and a single hole into the central QW periodically, if the tunneling time is much shorter than the pulse duration. If the radiative recombination time of an electron-hole pair is also much shorter than the pulse duration, one (and only one) photon is emitted per modulation period.
A GaAs/AlGaAs three-QW structure sandwiched by n-type and p-type AlGaAs bulk layers was grown by molecular beam epitaxy.
Post structures with diameters of 200 nm-1.0 xcexcm were made by electron-beam lithography followed by metal evaporation, lift-off, and BCl3/Cl ECR plasma etching. The surface of the device was passivated with sulfur in (NH4)2S solution, and encapsulated with a silicon nitride film. Finally, the structure was planarized with hard-baked photoresist, and bonding pads were evaporated. The top semi-transparent metal served as the p-type contact from which an emitted photon was detected, and the n-type contact was formed in the substrate. The device was installed in a dilution refrigerator with a base temperature of 50 mK and biased with DC and square wave AC voltages. The emitted photons were detected by a silicon solid-state detector. FIG. 2a shows a histogram of the measured time intervals between the rising edge of the driving pulse and the photon detection. The data show that the emitted photons follow the rising edge of the driving pulse, as expected.
Unfortunately, the turnstile device described above exhibits low detection efficiency of generated photons due to the low escape probability of the photons from the structure. The substrate is opaque for the emitted light and photons must pass through opaque metal contacts. Consequently, only a small fraction of the generated photons (2xc3x9710xe2x88x923) reach the photodetector.
Furthermore, a considerable background leakage current produces non-regulated photons. The leakage current is due mainly to the fact that the electron tunneling cannot be fully suppressed at a high bias voltage when only holes should be allowed to tunnel. This is because the peak-to-valley ratio of the resonant tunneling structure was finite. Due to the first two items, the photon states that are generated by the device are a stream of single photons with their time intervals only slightly more regular than those of a random Poissonian source.
Prior art photon turnstile devices also exhibit low modulation frequency. As can be derived from FIG. 2, the photon recombination time in the present device was 30 nsec. This limits the modulation speed to below 10 MHz. In addition prior art devices typically require low operation temperatures. In a turnstile device, which relies on Coulomb blockade, the thermal energy fluctuations must not exceed the Coulomb blockade energy shift. This energy shift is determined by the device capacitance and therefore requires. the very low temperatures in the experiment described above.
Development of sources of polarization-entangled photon pairs has occurred slowly over the last few decades. The atomic cascade method, developed in the early 1980""s, uses a special two-photon decay process in atoms such as calcium. Although the photons are emitted in all directions, polarization entanglement is perfect only when two photons from a pair are emitted in the same or opposite directions. Spontaneous parametric down conversion, developed in the mid-1980""s, uses a nonlinear crystal to convert pump photons into entangled photon pairs. Although this method can generate entangled photon pairs at a decent rate, the number of pairs produced cannot be precisely controlled, but rather follows a Poisson distribution.
There is a need, therefore, for a quantum-dot photon turnstile device that overcomes the above difficulties.
It is an object of the present invention to generate pairs of polarization-correlated or polarization-entangled photons. It is another object of the invention to provide a quantum-dot photon turnstile device having a high probability of escape for generated photons. It is a further object of the invention to provide a quantum-dot turnstile device that exhibits low production of non-regulated photons. It is another object of the invention to provide a quantum-dot turnstile device that exhibits high modulation frequency operation. It is an additional object to provide a photon turnstile device capable of high temperature operation.
A quantum-dot photon turnstile device includes a quantum dot embedded in a resonant tunneling barriers, and an external optical cavity coupled to the quantum dot. The resonant tunneling structure includes an intrinsic semiconductor disposed between a heavily-doped p-type semiconductor layer and a heavily-doped n-type semiconductor layer. The quantum dot is embedded in the intrinsic semiconductor layer. The dot has an average base width of roughly 20 nanometers and a height of roughly 4 nanometers. The intrinsic material surrounding the quantum dot forms tunnel barriers, which separate the electron reservoir, i.e., the n-type semiconductor layer, and the hole reservoir, i.e., the p-type semiconductor layer, from the quantum dot.
According to an exemplary embodiment, the device is capable of producing a regulated and directed stream of single pairs of photons with opposite circular polarizations. The device is first biased at an electron bias voltage Ve such that two electrons with opposite, spins can tunnel into the initially empty quantum dot. Further electron tunneling is now suppressed due to the Pauli exclusion principle, since the ground state is filled and the next available electron state, the first excited state, is far off of resonance. Then the device is bias at a hole bias voltage Vh such that two holes with opposite spins can tunnel into the dot. Again, further hole tunneling is suppressed due to Pauli exclusion principle since the hole ground state is filled and the first excited hole state is off of resonance. Once two holes have tunneled, two electrons recombine with two holes as dictated by selection rules, producing a pair of photons with opposite circular polarizations. From here, the cycle is repeated. Thus, modulating the bias voltage between Ve and Vh produces a regulated stream of photons, where two photons are emitted per modulation cycle. The emission frequency of the single pairs of photons can be changed by adjusting the voltage modulation frequency.
For polarization anticorrelation to be observed, the spin-relaxation times for electrons and holes in the dot must be longer than the electron-hole recombination time (true for typical semiconductors), and the recombination time must be much longer than the hole tunneling time. Therefore, the electron bias voltage Ve and hole bias voltage Vh are selected to maximize the tunneling probabilities of two electrons and two holes into the quantum dot. Furthermore, the doping level of the n-type and p-type semiconductor layer and the thickness of the intrinsic tunnel barriers are controlled to ensure that the hole tunneling time is longer than the recombination time. If the spin-dephasing rate for electrons and holes is slow enough, then the emitted photons will also have entangled polarizations.
The optical cavity directs the emitted photons into a single electromagnetic mode. Without such a cavity, the spontaneously-emitted photons would leave randomly in all directions. The cavity typically comprises a pair of reflectors placed on opposite sides of the quantum-dot structure, such as distributed-Bragg-reflector cavity or Fabry-Perot cavity. Alternatively, the cavity can be a microsphere cavity, a simple post with or without a metal coating, or a photonic bandgap structure.

The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University


An apparatus for the treatment of skin tissue includes at least one ultrasound transducer for placement on the skin tissue surface; at least two drivers for driving the at least one transducer; a controller which is configured to control the at least two drivers; the controller is configured to drive the at least two drivers at different frequencies to affect different depths in the skin tissue.

Ultrasound is widely used for both diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Therapeutic ultrasound includes a variety of procedures concerned with diseases or aesthetic treatments. Body shaping and contouring occupies a significant role in aesthetic ultrasound treatments, in which fat cell destruction is accomplished by applying low frequency ultrasound to a desired area of the skin. In this type of fat treatment, energy is primarily delivered to the subcutaneous layers of the skin where fat cells are heated until lipolysis occurs.
To achieve this desired effect, an ultrasound probe is positioned on the patient's skin and ultrasonic (hereinafter "US") energy heats the deeper skin layers. This known treatment may require a long continuous application of US energy and may have undesirable side effects such as raising the temperature of the shallower skin layers closer to the skin surface.
Alternatively, focused ultrasound probe may be employed to focus higher densities of energy at a required depth to achieve a similar lipolysis effect. However, such a type of US energy beam is focused on a smaller treatment spot and thus usually requires a prolonged treatment to cover a desired body treatment area.
Skin tightening is another common aesthetic procedure which may be done using US energy. Skin tightening is achieved by shrinking and or producing new collagen in the dermis layer of the skin.
Thus, there is a perceived need to provide a non-focused US energy delivery apparatus which has the capability to destroy fat cells, while keeping the skin surface cool as well as providing shallow skin tightening in one single apparatus.

Multiwavelength ultrasonic tissue treatment apparatus


An apparatus and method for thoroughly soaking wood for use in the grilling or preparation of food. The apparatus being capable of accepting and soaking wood in the form of wood planks, wood chunks, or wood chips. The apparatus in a form of a tank which holds the cooking wood plank in liquid for any amount of time, ensuring that the plank absorbs the liquid evenly and for a long enough period for proper cooking. Other items can be added to the liquid while soaking, such as seasonings, sauces, or other wood types. These flavors will meld with the liquid in the tank and evenly distribute the flavor to the cooking plank.

When grilling or otherwise cooking with a plank of wood beneath the food to be cooked, it is first necessary to properly infuse the plank with water. The present invention optimizes the process required to properly soak a plank of wood to be used for cooking.
Cooking food on hot wood planks is a well known method of preparing food that is becoming more popular. "Wood plank cooking" traditionally arises from the Pacific Northwest Native art of plank-grilling, an ancient tradition of cooking sides of fresh fish—specifically salmon—on alderwood or cedar. Plank-grilling fish and other foods on sections of soaked aromatic woods set over a grill is a very complex culinary experience. As the food cooks, essentially basting itself in its own oils and juices, it absorbs fragrant wood smoke to achieve a layering of flavors not found in any other form of cooking.
In order to properly use a wood plank to prepare and cook food, the plank must be thoroughly soaked in water or other liquid, such as juice, cider, or wine, for anywhere from twenty minutes to six hours. For shorter time periods, typically the plank will be run under water in a sink or placed in a pan or other container of water, resulting in under-soaking which can create fire hazards. For longer soaking periods, typically the plank is placed into a pan or bucket and some weight is placed on the wood to keep it submerged. This may result in uneven soaking as one end of the board lifts up while not being overseen, or even an entire side of the board if the weight holding the board down shifts entirely. Additionally, the area of the plank underneath of the weight may not absorb liquid or flavors effectively. Proper soaking requires even soaking for the entire time period to produce the optimal amount of smoke for food cooking and flavor without the risk of a fire.
Heretofore there has not been available a device implementing the system and method with the advantages and features of the present invention.


A clamping device (1) is adapted to receive and retain a portion (21) of a strip (20), and to actively tighten itself around the strip portion (21) under the influence of a pulling force. This is functioning in such a way that the higher the pulling force, the higher the force with which pushing parts (31) of the clamping device (1) are pushed. This results in a firm clamping connection. On the basis of this functioning, the clamping device (1) can be embodied in a form which has an open side, while maintaining a high capacity of withstanding loads. This results in the advantageous property that the strip (20) can be placed in and removed from the clamping device (1) in a sideward direction. This allows for detachment and reuse, and increases speed and convenience of use. The strip (20) does not need to be inserted in a closed shape. Various other applications than in a tie wrap (10) are possible for the clamping device (1), including applications in tension belts.

Such a device is known, and may be a component of a so-called tie wrap, for example, i.e. an elongated, narrow object which is usually manufactured of a flexible plastic such as nylon, and which is intended to be tightened around one or more other objects. In particular, a tie wrap comprises an elongated, narrow strip and a retaining element which is connected to an end of the strip, which is shaped like a rectangular ring, and which has a projection at an inner surface thereof. In an application of a tie wrap, a closed loop is formed by putting a free end of the strip through the retaining element. The inner dimensions of the retaining element are adapted to receiving the strip with only small play.
A surface of the strip which is located at the side of the projection of the retaining element in forming the loop is provided with teeth having inclined surfaces. The orientation of these surfaces is such that in reducing the size of the loop for the purpose of tightening the tie wrap around one or more objects, an inclined surface of a tooth slides over the projection in a direction in which the surface is rising. Due to this, the strip is pushed away from the projection, and the retaining element is elastically deformed to some extent, until an uppermost point of the inclined, rising surface of the tooth is reached, and the tooth is moved completely beyond the projection. At that point, there is room for the retaining element to assume its original shape, and the tooth is no longer capable of moving back, because the projection is in the way and is located at the side of the uppermost point of the inclined, rising surface of the tooth. Therefore, the strip can only be moved through the retaining element in one direction, namely the direction in which the loop is getting smaller.
During a movement of the strip through the retaining element, successive teeth are constantly displaced beyond the projection by exerting a pulling force on the strip. On the basis of the elastic properties of the material of the strip, it is possible to tighten the tie wrap around one or more objects, wherein the loop of the tie wrap remains closed because at least one of the teeth of the strip is in contact with the projection of the retaining element and cannot move beyond it because the strip is located in the retaining element with only small play.
In spite of the fact that the known tie wrap is suitable for many practical applications, it is a disadvantage of this tie wrap that, taking into account a situation in which the loop has a desired size, in case of an increase of forces which are aimed at making the loop larger, particularly pulling forces which are exerted on the retaining element at the position of the attachment of the strip to the retaining element, the shape of the retaining element eventually changes. Due to this, a coupling which was originally present between the retaining element and a portion of the strip is lost, wherein the tie wrap looses its functionality as a result of a lasting deformation of the retaining element.
Another disadvantage of the known tie wrap is related to the shape of the retaining element, and the associated fact that a user of the tie wrap needs to take trouble to put the free end of the strip through the retaining element.

Tightenable clamping device, suitable for application in tie wraps


A device for detecting disconnection for use in a stepping motor driver is provided having a driver circuit 3 which comprises a pair of windings 21, 22 wound in a bifilar turn arrangement; a pair of MOSFETs 1, 2 connected to the other end of each winding 21, 22; a common current detecting resistor 4 connected between MOSFETs 1, 2 and ground; a first reference voltage generator 34 for producing a first reference voltage Vt1; a second reference voltage generator 40 for producing a second reference voltage Vt2 lower than first reference voltage Vt1; a decision circuit 8, 8b for comparing the detection voltage on current detecting resistor 4 with second reference voltage Vt2 to produce an alarm signal when detection voltage is higher than second reference voltage Vt2; and a disconnection detector 11 for receiving an alarm signal from decision circuit 8, 8b after comparator 8 produces a chopper signal 17 to produce a disconnection signal upon occurrence of line-disconnection in winding 21 or 22.

For example, Japanese Patent No. 2,639,144 discloses an apparatus for controlling an exhaust gas return valve which comprises a line-disconnection detecting circuit for use in a stepping motor. The control apparatus discerns a specific level of excitation current flowing through to windings of the stepping motor to detect disconnection in winding based on the discerned level of the excitation current.
FIG. 12 shows an electric circuit diagram of a prior art disconnection detecting circuit 100 used in a control apparatus for an exhaust gas return valve. Disconnection detecting circuit 100 comprises excitation coils 121 to 124 provided in a stepping motor 120 and each having one end connected to a DC power source 130 through a resistor 137 or 138; four transistors 101 to 104 each having a collector terminal connected to the other end of excitation coil 121 to 124; current detecting resistors 105 to 108 each connected to an emitter terminal of transistor 101 to 104; four comparators 109 to 112 each having a non-inverted input terminal (+) connected to a junction between each emitter terminal of transistor 101 to 104 and current detecting resistor 105 to 108, and an inverted input terminal connected between two voltage-dividing resistors 131 and 132; four D-type flip flops (DFF) 125 to 128 each having a D input terminal connected to an output terminal of corresponding comparator 109 to 112; a motor drive circuit 140 for simultaneously supplying drive pulses for a base terminal of each transistor 101 to 104 and a trigger input terminal T of each DFF 125 to 128 through a retardant circuit 133 to 136; an AND gate 141 for receiving outputs from all of DFFs 125 to 128; and a control circuit 142 having an input terminal Pi for receiving an output from AND gate 141 and an output terminal Po for forwarding drive signals to motor drive circuit 140.
In operation, control circuit 142 produces drive signals to motor drive circuit 140 which then provides drive signals of four different phases at 90 degree angular intervals for base terminal of transistors 101 to 104 to turn them on and off to drive stepping motor 120. For example, upon turning transistor 100 on, electric current flows from DC power source 130 through resistor 137, excitation coil 121, collector-emitter terminals of transistor 101 and current detecting resistor 105 to ground to activate stepping motor 120. At the same time, drive signals from motor drive circuit 140 are transmitted to trigger input terminal T of DFF 125 with a constant delay time through retardant circuit 133. Dividing resistors 131 and 132 provide a reference voltage for each inverted input terminal of comparators 109 to 112.
In operating stepping motor 120, output signals from output terminal Po of control circuit 142 cause motor drive circuit 140 to produce drive pulses to base terminal of transistor 101 to turn it on so that electric current flows from DC power source 130 through excitation coil 121, transistor 101 and current detecting resistor 105. Electric current through excitation coil 121 and transistor 101 is detected as a corresponding detection voltage applied on current detecting resistor 105, and comparator 109 compares detection voltage on current detecting resistor 105 with reference voltage divided by resistors 131 and 132. When detection voltage on current detecting resistor 105 reaches a predetermined level, comparator 109 produces the output to make DFF 125 produce the output of high voltage level to AND gate 141. Similar operations are carried out in case motor drive circuit 140 produces drive pulses to each base terminal of remaining transistors 102 to 104, and when detection voltage on current detecting resistors 106 to 108 comes up to the predetermined level, comparators 110 to 112 produce the outputs so as to transmit the outputs of high voltage level from DFF 126 to 128 to AND gate 141.
Upon occurrence of disconnection in excitation coil 123, no electric current flows through excitation coil 123 although motor drive circuit 140 gives base terminal of transistor 103 drive pulse, and therefore, there is no detection voltage on current detecting resistor 107. This causes DFF 127 to produce the output of low voltage level to transmit a disconnection signal to input terminal Pi of control circuit 142 through AND gate 141.
Japanese Patent Disclosure Nos. 2000-175486 and 2-26297 demonstrate stepping motors capable of detecting disconnection in motor coil by detecting an elevated voltage applied on a driving element when any disconnection occurs in motor coil of the bifilar turn arrangement in the stepping motor. FIG. 13 shows a disconnection detecting circuit of such a stepping motor.
As shown in FIG. 13, the disconnection detecting circuit comprises two pairs of motor coils or windings 221 to 224 each pair being wound in the bifilar turn arrangement, field effect transistors (FETs) 201 to 204 each connected in series to DC power source 230 and winding 221 to 224, a common current detecting resistor 205 connected between FETs 201 and 202 and ground, a diode 206 connected in parallel to current detecting resistor 205, a common current detecting resistor 207 connected between FETs 203 and 204 and ground, a diode 208 connected in parallel to current detecting resistor 207, a disconnection detecting circuit 240 connected between each winding 221 to 224 and FET 201 to 204, first and second control circuits 210 and 211 for forwarding drive signals to gate terminal of each FET 201 to 204, an excitation signal generator 212 for applying excitation signals to first and second control circuits 210 and 211, and a stop controller 250 for receiving a disconnection signal detected by disconnection detecting circuit 240 to provide stop control signals for first and second control circuits 210 and 211. Disconnection detecting circuit 240 comprises diodes 241 to 244 connected between winding 221 to 224 and FET 201 to 204, a common Zener diode 245 connected to all diodes 241 to 244, resistors 246 and 247 for dividing output from Zener diode 245, and a capacitor 248 connected in parallel to resistor 247. Stop controller 250 has an input terminal connected between resistors 246 and 247.
When no break appears in each winding 221 to 224, stop controller 250 does not produce the output. For example, when winding 221 has a break or cutoff, accumulated electric energy in winding 222 in the bifilar turn arrangement together with winding 221 cannot be released through winding 221, and therefore, high voltage induced in winding 222 causes breakdown of FET 202. Subsequently, electric energy in winding 222 is discharged while electric current flows through a closed circuit including winding 222, FET 202, resistor 205 and DC power source 230. This electric current causes Zener diode 245 to be turned on to provide a trigger signal of high voltage level for stop controller 250. Accordingly, stop controller 250 forwards stop signals to first and second control circuits 210 and 211 to cease operation of FETs 201 to 204.
As mentioned above, prior art disconnection detecting devices require complicated circuit construction and high voltage resistive electric elements to detect disconnection in winding of two phase stepping motor provided with plural windings in the bifilar turn arrangement. Such a circuit construction is expensive in manufacture and also unsuitable to produce an integrated circuit of the disconnection detector. In addition, when two phase stepping motor is operated with unipolar drive, switching elements are on-off switched by a chopper drive of regular current. In this case, if electric energy is accumulated in one winding, and besides, the other winding has a disconnection, counter electromotive force resulted from flyback energy cannot be regenerated through the other disconnected winding, and therefore, an excessive electric potential would be applied to a switching element for excitation of one winding. Thus, there is a large risk that the excessive electric potential may cause damage such as breakdown to the switching element. In this way, any of prior art techniques cannot detect disconnection in winding until the timing to excite the disconnected winding.
An object of the present invention is to provide a device having a simplified circuit structure for detecting disconnection of a stepping motor. Another object of the present invention is to provide a device for detecting disconnection of stepping motor and capable of easily producing the device into an integrated circuit.

Device for detecting line-disconnection in stepping motor driver


The purpose of this plan is to reduce the damages in intercity train crash cases to the passengers. Berth sleeper airbags are designed to protect the passenger's head and body while the passenger is asleep in the berth sleeper, which inflates in the event of a rollover accident.

U.S. patent classification
244/118.6; 105/316; 105/321; 5/9.1
Bus and train transportation are regarded as one of the safest modes of public transportation. The manufacturers and operators of buses have gone to great lengths to establish and maintain this safety record. However, a fire resulting from a collision or failure of a component puts lives at risk and can have an enormous impact on operational costs as well as customer confidence.
Improving passenger and driver safety is always on the agenda. Part of the safety issues is fire safety which is a continuous process. There are always things to be learnt from experience and actual fire incidences and important learning tools at the disposal of stakeholders which can provide critical input into best practices for design, operation and human interaction. Fire safety in buses has been the focus of significant research in recent years but much improvement still remains, in particular related to fire prevention and safe egress. The sharing of information and best practices can benefit all parties but most importantly, the passenger safety.
I. Ceramic Fiber
Ceramic Fiber is produced from high purity aluminosilicate material through strictly controlled high temperature furnace melting and fiberizing process. The fiber is white and odorless, suitable for high temperature applications up to 2300° F. (1260° C.). Ceramic Fiber products include cloth, tape, rope, braid, tubing, paper, blanket, etc. Types of ceramics are:
Kaowool Blanket
Kaowool blanket is produced from kaolin, a naturally occurring alumina-silica fire clay. Kaowool, the world's most recognizable name in ceramic fiber blanket, is available in a wide variety of densities and sizes. Kaowool blanket offers excellent handle ability and high temperature stability. This allows it to meet a wide range of hot face and backup insulation applications in furnaces, kilns and other equipment requiring high temperature heat containment.
Kaowool RT Blanket
Kaowool RT Blanket is produced from a blend of high quality alumina, silica and kaolin using the spinning process. It is available in a wide variety of densities and sizes, and offers a highly cost effective alternative to Cerablanket with its 2300° F. (1260° C.) maximum temperature rating.
Cerablanket
Cerablanket is produced from exceptionally pure oxides of alumina and silica using the spinning process. The resultant quality spun fibers have been optimized for high handling strength, with on average the highest tensile strength of any Thermal Ceramics ceramic fiber blanket. Cerablanket is available in a wide variety of densities and sizes. Cerablanket offers excellent handle ability and high temperature stability which allows it to meet a wide range of hot face and back up insulation applications in furnaces, kilns and other equipment requiring high temperature heat containment.
Cerachem Blanket
Cerachem Blanket is a 2600° F. (1427° C.) maximum temperature rated refractory blanket formed from a unique, patented, spun alumina-silica-zirconia fiber. It is specially designed for applications where high fiber tensile strength, low thermal conductivity and low shrinkage are required. Cerachem Blanket is used extensively in high temperature units in the ceramic, chemical processing, and ferrous metal industries. Thermal Ceramics Cerachem refractory blankets are ideal for a wide range of hot face lining and backup insulation applications in furnaces, kilns and other high temperature equipment.
Cerachrome Blanket
Made from spun alumina-silica-chromia fiber, Cerachrome Blanket is well suited for hot face lining applications where higher temperatures are encountered, such as soaking pit covers, reheat and forging furnaces. Cerachrome Blanket with its chromia-stabilized chemistry offers improved long term shrinkage characteristics over zirconia containing blankets such as Cerachem. Cerachrome Blanket effectively fills the gap between zirconia blankets and high alumina products.
II. Fire Resistant Glass
Fire resistant glass is one of the most important safety glass. Coefficient expansion of thermal expansion of the glass is extremely low. It could resist much thermal shock caused by extreme temperature gradient across the glass between fire exposed and non-fire exposed sides. Glass becomes molten but does not break under high temperature and high temperature gradient. It remains its integrity to keep away blaze, smoke and fume. This wire free fire resistant glass performs any one, two or three of following characteristics depending on Class and Grade.                It remains its integrity for a certain period of time. It refers to the time the glass remains intact in a fire        It forms a strong radiation barrier that prevents fire from spreading. It refers to amount the glass prevents heat emission permeate to non-exposed side.        It is heat insulation to prevent heat flux or high temperature at non-fire side. It refers to amount the glass restricts the temperature rise on non-fire side.
All of these are significant contribute to evacuation of fire scene, the work of fire fighters and rescuers.
Class
Fire resistant glass is classified into three categories:                Class A fire-resistant glass is a kind of fireproof glass with fireproof integrity and fireproof heat insulation.        Class B fire-resistant glass is a kind of fireproof glass with fireproof integrity and heat emission intensity.        Class C fire-resistant glass is a kind of fireproof glass with fireproof integrity.Grade
The three classes of fire-resistant glasses are further classified into Grade I, Grade II, Grade III and Grade IV according to various levels of protection which is measured in terms of Integrity, Radiation and Insulation. The Table interpreting Class Vs Grade Vs Time is just for reference. Glass resists more than 90 min (could be as high as 180 min.), is classified into higher levels. There are also Classes E and EI which perform much better and are more safety for fire protection.
ClassGrade IGrade IIGrade IIIGrade IVA90 min.60 min.45 min.30 min.B90 min.60 min.45 min.30 min.C90 min.60 min.45 min.30 min.Glass Configuration:1. Monolithic Fire Resistant Glass
Monolithic glass is single pane. This fire protective glass blocks flames, fumes and smoke but not heat radiation. Its advantages are:                As it is not wired or laminated, it stays clear at all times during fire accident so that evacuation and putting out fire could be carried out properly. Clear fire resistant glass offer transparent alternative to solid brick walls.        It is thermal shock proof and resists to cold, heat, solar irradiation and humidity.        This high strengthened fire resistant glass is 3 to 5 times stronger than thermal temper glass.        Various glass thickness of monolithic fire resistant glass is available.        Monolithic fire resistant glass is light. Framework is cheaper. Mounting and installation is easier at lower cost.        It is easily upgraded to several types of fire resistant glass such as reflective coated fire resistance glass, insulated fire resistant glass, laminated fire resistant glass and energy save fire resistant glass, etc.
There are several types of monolithic fire rated glazing reaching different classes and grades of fire resistance.
2. Chemically Strengthened Glass
Soda lime glass is always chemically strengthened to improve its thermal stability and internal strength. Then glass is thermally tempered by conventional tempering furnace by air quenching to it turn into Class C monolithic fire resistant glass. Xinology FR series fire resistant production system is used to carry out this process to produce Class C fire resistant glass.
3. Metallic Coated Glass
Glass could be metallic coated on both sides to reflect away heat and minimize the possibility of thermal shock. Monolithic fire resistant glass performs consistent regardless of fire attack direction.
4. Borosilicate Glass
Borosilicate glass is excellent in heat proof. It has also very low coefficient of thermal expansion to resist thermal shock. Borosilicate glass is generally fully thermal tempered upgraded to fire resistant glass.
5. Glass Ceramic
It is a special composition of glass and ceramic with excellent thermal shock and heat insulation.
III. Fire-Smoke Protection Curtain
Curtain systems are a modern alternative to conventional systems such as fire protection doors, gates and windows. With a curtain system, unreinforced openings will remain entirely useable and perfectly secured. Curtain systems can be fully integrated in the existing building concept. Due to the compact layout of the system, the fields of application are almost limitless.
The intuitive technology, the high-quality materials and the reliable construction allow an easy installation and low-maintenance operation.
Most of the time, fire smoke is a much more dangerous hazard than the fire itself. Smoke can spread quickly and silently within a building, transporting heat and therefore supporting the expansion of the fire. Just a few breaths could lead to deadly intoxication. Smoke curtains can effectively counteract the spreading of fire smoke and therefore lives can be saved.
A smoke curtain is a much better choice in such situations. In general cases, the system is rolled up and enables the unimpeded passing of the passage. The curtain only drops in case of an emergency and builds an enclosed space according to the required security targets. Usability and fire protection are perfectly combined. With a two-stage drop, it is possible to pass the curtain system before it is totally closed.
Benefits
                No obstruction of passages        Compact and lightweight layout        Seamless integration in the building design        Easy installation and low-maintenance operation
Modern fire protection concepts demand high standards from buildings and security systems. Owing to their flexibility and ability to easily combine fire protection technology and architectural design, curtain systems will be increasingly used.
Curtain systems can be configured for various applications. They can be used to actively control occurring combustion gases to create a steady space enclosure or establish an isolating heat barrier.
Fields of Application
                Airports, subway stations        Community buildings, schools        Industrial buildings, warehouses        Universities and laboratoriesIV. Fire Resistant Cable
In all fire disasters, fire smoke, heat and toxic fumes are the main obstacles to safe evacuation of a building or area. A major contribution towards overcoming these hazards is the use of fire resistant and non-halogenated cables. These cables provided the following features:                Fire resistance        Long-term circuit integrity in a fire        Low smoke and toxic gas emissions        Flame retardant properties        Zero halogen gases        Ease and low cost of installationFire Resistant cables are used, where required by local fire codes, in the wiring of:        Fire resistant safety circuits        Public address and emergency voice communication system in high-rise buildings        Control and instrumentation services in industrial, commercial and residential complexes        High-temperature installation conditions
Fire Resistant Cable have been developed to maintain circuit integrity in a fire and to ensure maximum safe evacuation of personnel with no detrimental effects like toxic gases or smoke. The Fire-Resistant cables are constructed in the following typical format:                Stranded Annealed Copper Conductor        Mica Tape Fire Resisting Barrier        XLEVA-MI/XLPEIEPR/LSOH/PE/PVC as Primary Insulation Material.        Flame Retardant LSOH, PVC as Bedding or Sheathing Material.
Fire Resistant cable may be single-core or multi-core constructions. The cable may be unarmoured, armoured, braided, with or without metallic screened. The Fire resistant cable may categorized by a letter symbol (e.g. A) or series of symbols (e.g. CWZ) in according to the requirements for fire resistance characteristics which they meet, the test temperature selected and the duration of the test for resistance to fire alone in according to BS 6387 as below:
RequirementSymbol(I) Resistance to fire alone650° C. for 3 hoursA750° C. for 3 hoursB950° C. for 3 hoursC950° C. for 20 minutes (short duration)S(2) Resistance to fire with waterW(3) Resistance to fire with mechanical shock650° C.X750° C.Y950° C.Z


In a printing press and a method, provided are an offset rotary press for printing predetermined information on a web using a printing plate, a printer for digitally printing specific information desired by a reader and reader identification information at a specific location on a web surface, and a dispatch system for reading the reader identification information on a newspaper, thereby sorting the newspaper by delivery destination. The offset rotary press and the printer are collectively driven by a controller, thereby improving the productivity of printed matter.

For example, newspapers are printed by offset rotary presses. This newspaper offset rotary press is made up of a plurality of paper feeders, a plurality of printing units, a turn-bar unit, and a folding unit. Accordingly, each paper feeder feeds a web to a printing unit to conduct printing on each web. Then, the traveling routes of a plurality of webs are changed in the turn-bar unit, and then the plurality of webs are overlapped in the predetermined order. After that, in the folding unit, the webs are folded transversely to be then laterally cut at predetermined lengths and folded laterally, thereby forming a signature which is then discharged as newspapers.
A printing unit in such a newspaper offset rotary press requires a printing plate for printing articles or advertisement, and the printing plate is wound around a printing plate cylinder to conduct the printing operation. For this reason, to replace articles or advertisement, the printing unit has to be stopped to replace the printing plate. Thus, this may lead to a reduction in productivity of printing newspapers or to waste sheets.
Furthermore, when a reader having her/his interest in a particular field reads a newspaper, the reader must check all the newspaper pages by herself/himself to know the detailed contents though the pages are roughly classified by the type of articles or advertisement.
Note that a newspaper offset rotary press disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 below is provided with an inkjet printing unit in addition to a printing unit, so that newspapers can be continuously printed without stopping the printing press.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Printing & Packaging Machinery, Ltd.


A system pendulum apparatus (13) is provided for a chuck and a method is provided for the clamping of workpieces with a pendulum element (16) and a basal element (30). An axially swivelable connection is provided between the pendulum element and the basal element by way of an element connection device. A swivel range a of the pendulum element can be restricted by a restriction device (39), and the pendulum element can be returned by a return device to a central position of the swivel range. The pendulum element can be fixed within the swivel range by a fixing device (23). The basal element can be joined by a joining device to one jaw of a chuck (10). The pendulum element has a clamping device with two exchangeable clamping elements (20), which are displaceable and fixable.

System pendulum apparatuses and clamping methods as cited in the introduction are sufficiently known and are employed for low-warpage clamping of thin-walled rings, such as roll blanks for the manufacture of ball bearings, or for clamping of non-circular workpieces. Known types of chucks are generally composed of three pendulum apparatuses each having two clamping elements. System pendulum apparatuses are preferably likewise employed on hydraulically actuated chucks, whereby said chucks have a small clamping stroke. If non-circular workpieces are clamped, the system pendulum apparatuses are adjusted in such a way that the clamping jaws, which are each arranged in pairs on the upper surface, abut against the workpiece with nearly identical pressure, whereby deviations in the shape of the workpiece can be reduced. However, due to the design of the pendulum jaws, the diameter range of the workpieces to be machined is restricted such that for the clamping range of the chuck several pendulum jaws of different sizes are required resulting in that efficient machining can be achieved only in mass production.
In this context, there are known from the state of the art pendulum chucks with system pendulum apparatuses, in which the system pendulum apparatus is connected to the pendulum chuck by means of a rotational axis, wherein the pendulum stroke is restricted by a pin tangent to the rotational axis and by conical recesses provided in the rotational axis. The system pendulum apparatus is additionally furnished with clamping inlets being tightly fitted to the system pendulum apparatus, allowing for a workpiece to be clamped therebetween. An adjustment of the system pendulum apparatus to various workpiece diameters is performed by radial adjustment of the system pendulum apparatus in relation to a rotational axis of the workpiece by means of the pendulum chuck. By way of this action, the clamping range of the pendulum chuck is restricted to a small diameter range. Besides, a return of the system pendulum apparatus to a central position is performed by means of two resilient arresting pins.


A charging cable for an electric vehicle includes a power plug adapted to be detachably connected to a power socket of a commercial power source; a temperature detecting unit for detecting a temperature of the power plug; a cable connector adapted to be detachably connected to an electric vehicle for supplying a charging current to a battery of the electric vehicle; and a switching unit for opening and closing a current path between the power plug and the cable connector. The charging cable further includes a leakage detecting unit for detecting an electric leakage based on a current flowing through the current path; and a power cutoff unit for opening the switching unit when the detected temperature of the temperature detection means exceeds a threshold value or when the leakage detection means detects the electric leakage.

Recently, electric vehicles, including a hybrid car that runs on a combination of electric power stored in a secondary cell and fuel, such as gasoline, as a power source, and a secondary cell vehicle that runs on electric power stored in a secondary battery as a power source, have been put into practical use. These electric vehicles include an electric vehicle (for example, a plug-in hybrid car) whose battery is charged with electric power supplied from a commercial power source at a private home. For charging the battery, an electric vehicle charging cable is used in order to connect a socket outlet of the commercial power source and a connector of the electric vehicle.
As this type of battery, there is included a battery requiring a high voltage of about, e.g., 200 to 300V. Also, there is included a battery using a high voltage of 200V as commercial power for charging. Therefore, there arises a safety concern for an electric vehicle or an electric vehicle charging cable.
Further, at an ordinary home, an electric vehicle is usually parked in an outdoor parking space, a car port installed outdoors, or the like. When the battery of the electric vehicle is charged, a charging cable for the electric vehicle is plugged in a waterproof power socket of a fall-out preventing structure provided on an outside wall of a house and is supplied with commercial power from the waterproof power socket to thereby charge the battery. Further, when the electric vehicle is not charged, for example, when the electric vehicle is driven out, it can be considered that the electric vehicle charging cable is accommodated indoors or inside the electric vehicle, e.g., in the trunk. That is, the electric vehicle charging cable is plugged into or pulled out of the waterproof power socket whenever it is used.
In addition, the fall-out prevention type of the waterproof power socket provided on the outside wall of the house has been designed under the assumption that a plug would be kept plugged in the socket for a long period of time. Therefore, if the plug is frequently pulled out and inserted, abnormal heating may be generated due to an imperfect connection. Also, there is a possibility that abnormal heating will be induced by a tracking phenomenon due to high humidity and large amounts of particles and dust outdoors accumulated.
In order to address the above, there has been conventionally suggested a power feed coupler which detects an increase in temperature during the time of charging of a battery and stops the power feeding once an abnormal temperature rise is detected to thereby prevent abnormal heating (see, e.g., Patent Document 1). The power feed coupler disclosed in the above document is provided with a thermistor serving as a temperature detection means in a case having a primary coil therein. When the temperature of the power feed coupler exceeds a set temperature, a temperature abnormality is detected by an increase in resistance of the thermistor such that the power feeding is stopped.
In addition to a bad connection or abnormal heating induced by the tracking phenomenon, there is a possibility that, if an electric leakage occurs during the time of charging a battery by using a high voltage as mentioned above, an excessive current flows and stress is put on the battery or the charging circuit. Due to this, there is a need to avoid abnormal heating or electric leakage by a combination of multiple means, e.g., by providing the power feed coupler of Patent Document 1 and an electric leakage breaker in the power feeding path of the commercial power source. This results in high cost of the equipment and much time for installation.
FIG. 16A shows an example of the charging cable unit AA. A cable connector G provided at one end of a cable 6 is connected to a connector of an electric vehicle, and a plug 3′ provided at the other end of the cable 6 is inserted and connected to the socket BB of a commercial power source, so that a commercial power is supplied to the electric vehicle C to charge a secondary cell installed in the electric vehicle C. FIG. 16B shows the charging cable unit AA′ provided with an electric leakage breaker 5′. When detecting an electric leakage, the earth leakage breaker 5′ cuts off the power feeding to the electric vehicle C (see, e.g., Patent Document 2).
With the charging cable unit AA′ disclosed in Patent Document 2, an electric power can be supplied to charge the secondary cell of the electric vehicle C. However, an amount of power consumed for charging the electric vehicle C or the electricity cost cannot be checked and further an elapsed charging time, charging completion time, or the like cannot be displayed. Accordingly, a user has to directly check the charging cable unit to know whether charging is complete or not, thereby making it inconvenient.
Conventionally, there have been proposed charging systems that can display charging information relating to a secondary cell installed in an electric vehicle or an emergency battery. FIG. 17 depicts one of the charging systems wherein the display function is provided in the electric vehicle C or in the emergency battery D. With this system, the user can find out the charging status of the secondary cell when he is near the electric vehicle C or the emergency battery D, but cannot when he is at a location (e.g., at home) away from a charging place.
In order to address the above drawbacks, there is proposed a charging system which is configured to keep track of the charging status of the secondary cell even when the user is at a location away from a charging place (see, e.g., Patent Document 3). With this system, wireless communications are performed between a transmitter provided at an electric vehicle and a receiver provided at a display device. Thus, charging information of the secondary cell is transmitted from the transmitter of the electric vehicle to the display device that can display the charging information received by the receiver.
With the charging system disclosed in Patent Document 3, the user can check the charging status even if he is at home by having the display device installed at home. However, when it is intended to apply this system to an emergency battery for example, this system can be applied only to an emergency battery equipped with a transmission function because the transmitter is installed at the electric vehicle in the charging system disclosed in Patent Document 3, thereby imposing a limitation to a wide application.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application No. 2001-10518    Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application No. H 5-276674 (Paragraph Nos. [0012] to [0015] and FIG. 1)    Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application No. H 5-211724 (Paragraph Nos. [0009] to [0013] and FIG. 1)

Charging cable, charging cable unit, and charging system for electric vehicle


Disclosed herein are systems, methods, and computer-readable storage media for providing an N-best list interface. A system practicing the method receives a search query formatted according to a standard language for containing and annotating interpretations of user input, the search query being based on a natural language spoken query from a user and retrieves an N-best list of recognition results based on the search query. The system then transmits the N-best list of recognition results to a user device, receives multimodal disambiguation input from the user, the input indicating an entry in the N-best list, and transmits to the user device additional information associated with the selected entry. The additional information can be a map indicating an address for the selected entry. The standard language can be XML-based Extensible MultiModal Annotation (EMMA) markup language from W3C.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to mobile search and more specifically to multimodal interfaces for managing N-best lists of recognition results.
2. Introduction
While numerous research prototypes have been built over the years, building multimodal interfaces remains a complex and highly specialized task. Typically these systems involve a graphical user interface working in concert with a variety of different input and output processing components, such as speech recognition, gesture recognition, natural language understanding, multimodal presentation planning, dialog management, and multimodal integration or fusion. A significant source of complexity in authoring these systems is that communication among components is not standardized and often utilizes ad hoc or proprietary protocols. This makes it difficult or impossible to plug-and-play components from different vendors or research sites and limits the ability of authors to rapidly pull components together to prototype multimodal systems.
The new W3C EMMA standard is one example of how to address this problem by providing a standardized XML representation language for encapsulating and annotating inputs to spoken and multimodal interactive systems. Certain applications on mobile computing platforms could benefit from application of such standardized representations of spoken and multimodal inputs.

System and method for an N-best list interface


Empty trays are transferred from a main conveying line for conveying trays to a feed line branched off from the main conveying line, yarn packages are transferred one after another on the feed line from a doffing machine to the empty trays, and then the trays respectively loaded with the yarn packages are returned sequentially to the main conveying line. Thus, the yarn package conveying system curtails time necessary for transferring yarn packages form the doffing machine to the empty trays, and simplifies yarn package transferring work and the tray conveying machine.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a yarn package conveying system in which a plurality of empty trays are trasferred from a main conveying line conveying trays into a feed line branched from the main conveying line, yarn packages are transferred one after another from a doffing machine to the empty trays on the feed line, and the loaded trays carrying the yarn packages are returned one after another to the main conveying line.
2. Related Art Statement
A winding machine forms a plurality of yarn packages by winding yarns packages simultaneously by an automatic doffing machine and transfers the plurality of yarn packages one after another to trays. The plurality of yarn packages simultaneously doffed by the automatic doffing machine are transferred simultaneously to a peg, and then the yarn packages are trasferred one after another from the peg to trays.
Such a conventional doffing procedure has many steps of work and requires much time to transferring the yarn packages from the winder to the automatic doffing machine, to transfer the yarn packages simultaneously from the automatic doffing machine to a peg and to transfer the yarn packages one after another from the peg to the trays.
Since each package is put on the tray with a portion thereof having a yarn bunch on the rear side, the yarn package needs to be inverted in unwinding the yarn bunch, which requires an additional step of work. Furtheremore, a complicated, expensive yarn package conveying system is necessary and such a yarn package conveying system is disadvantageous in respect of effective use of the floor space of the mill.
A system proposed to overcome such disadvantages transfers yarn packages one after another from a doffing machine directly to trays. However, the yarn packages are transferred on a feed line branched off from a main conveyingline from the doffing machine to empty trays transferred from the main conveying line to the feed line owing to the layout of the system, which entails the following problems.
In the previously proposed system, one empty tray is tranferred from the main conveying line to the feed line, a yarn package is transferred from the doffing machine to the empty tray to load the empty tray with the package, and then the loaded tray is returned to the main conveying line. When transferring yarn packages from the doffing machine to empty trays by such a procedure, the doffing machine needs to suspend the yarn package transferring operation after transferring one yarn package to an empty tray for a time in which the loaded tray is returned from the feed line to the main conveying line and the next empty tray is transferred from the main conveying line to the feed line. Thus, the previously proposed system requires much time for transferring all the yarm packages from the doffing machine to empty trays.


A Light-Emitting Diode (LED) lamp includes a heat sink with a number of passive air flow ducts defined at least partially by fins of the heat sink and a cover plate over the fins. The heat sink includes a body with a cavity, a number of fins radiating outwards from the body, and a cover plate covering the fins. Each passive air flow duct includes top and bottom openings for air flow.

A Light-Emitting Diode (LED), as used herein, is a semiconductor light source for generating light at a specified wavelength or a range of wavelengths. LEDs are traditionally used for indicator lamps, and are increasingly used for displays and general lighting. An LED emits light when a voltage is applied across a p-n junction formed by oppositely doping semiconductor compound layers. Different wavelengths of light can be generated using different materials by varying the bandgaps of the semiconductor layers and by fabricating an active layer within the p-n junction. Additionally, an optional phosphor material changes the properties of light generated by the LED.
Continued development in LEDs has resulted in light that can cover the visible spectrum and be used as a lighting source. These attributes, coupled with the potentially long service life of solid state devices, enabled a variety of new applications such as replacement lamps to compete with the well entrenched incandescent and fluorescent lamps for general lighting

Light-emitting diode lamp and method of making


A display panel driving method capable of performing a good intermediate luminance display corresponding to an input video signal. A unit display period in a video signal is composed of a plurality of divisional display periods. In each of the divisional display periods, a pixel data writing process is performed for setting each of pixel cells to either a light emitting cell or a non-light emitting cell in accordance with pixel data corresponding to the video signal, and a light emission sustain process is performed for causing only the light emitting cells to emit light a number of light emissions allocated in correspondence to a weighting factor applied to each of the divisional display period. A luminance distribution of the video signal is measured every display line on the display panel, and the number of light emissions allocated to each of the light emission sustain process is changed every display line in accordance with the luminance distribution.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for driving a plasma display panel in a matrix display scheme.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, a plasma display panel (hereinafter referred to as the xe2x80x9cPDPxe2x80x9d), an electroluminescent display panel (hereinafter referred to as the xe2x80x9cELDPxe2x80x9d) and so on have been brought into practical use as thin flat display panels of matrix display scheme. The PDP and ELDP have pixel cells, which function as pixels respectively, arranged in the form of a matrix comprised of n rows and m columns. The pixel cells have only two states: xe2x80x9clight emissionxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cnon-light emission.xe2x80x9d Therefore, gradation driving based on a subfield method is carried out for a display panel such as the above-mentioned PDP and ELDP to provide a halftone luminance level corresponding to an input video signal.
The subfield method involves converting an input video signal into N-bit pixel data pixel by pixel, and composing one field display period with N subfields each of which corresponds to each of N bit digits. A number of light emissions corresponding to each of the bit digits in the pixel data, is allocated to each of the subfields, respectively. When a bit digit in the N bits is, for example, at logical level xe2x80x9c1,xe2x80x9d light is emitted the number of times allocated as mentioned above in a subfield corresponding to the bit digit. On the other hand, when the bit digit is at logical level xe2x80x9c0,xe2x80x9d no light is emitted in the subfield corresponding to the bit digit. The driving sequence using the subfield method represents a halftone luminance level corresponding to an input video signal by a total number of light emission which is performed in each of the subfields within one field display period.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a display panel driving method which is capable of accomplishing a good intermediate luminance display corresponding to an input video signal for a display panel comprised of a matrix of pixel cells, each of which has only two states of light emission and non-light emission.
The present invention provides a display panel driving method for driving a display panel having a plurality of pixel cells arranged in matrix in accordance with a video signal. In each of a plurality of divisional display periods of a unit display period in the video signal, a pixel data writing process is performed for setting each of the pixel cells to either a light emitting cell or a non-light emitting cell in accordance with pixel data corresponding to the video signal to write the pixel data, and a light emission sustain process is performed for causing only the light emission cells to emit light a number of light emissions allocated thereto corresponding to a weighting factor applied to each of the divisional display periods. A luminance distribution of the video signal is measured every display line on the display panel, and the number of light emissions allocated to the divisional display period every display line is changed in accordance with the luminance distribution.