The invention is devices and methods to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and associated lower urinary tract symptoms infections (LUTS). The devices are intra-urethral implants placed in a patient in need thereof by minimally invasive procedures, preferably under local anesthesia in an office environment. The devices are sized and designed for atraumatic insertion and expansion within the urethra to engage and retract enlarged prostatic tissue proximate to the urethra that is leading to adverse symptoms associated with BPH. The methods include steps to deploy the implant devices of the invention using a delivery system of the invention and at target prostatic tissue that is visualized during the procedure and yields a reduction in the symptoms of BPH.

The prostate is a walnut-shaped gland that wraps around the urethra through which urine is expelled from the bladder and plays a crucial role in the reproductive system of men. Although the gland starts out small, it tends to enlarge as a man ages. An excessively enlarged prostate results in a disease known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) refers to the abnormal, but non-malignant (non-cancerous) growth of the prostate observed very commonly in aging men. BPH is a chronic condition and is associated with the development of urinary outflow obstruction in the prostatic urethra. It also causes a range of disorders referred to collectively as Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (LUTS), including sexual dysfunction, frequent urination, difficulty in voiding urine, urinary retention, urinary leakage, and urinary tract and bladder infections that worsen as the abnormal growth in the prostate enlarges and progresses.
BPH presents as an age-related phenomenon in men, typically starting as early as 40 years of age. The prostate goes through two main growth periods over time. The first occurs in puberty, when the prostate doubles in size. The second phase begins around age 25 and continues irregularly thereafter. BPH often begins to develop during the second growth phase, and as the prostate enlarges, the gland presses against and impinges the urethra. The prevalence of BPH, which has been examined in several studies around the world, is approximately 10% for men in their 30s, 20% for men in their 40s, reaches 50% to 60% for men in their 60s, and is 80% to 90% for men in their 70s and 80s. At some time, almost all men will develop some pathological features consistent with BPH. As of 2015, over 15 million men in the United States exhibited symptoms of BPH.
Combined with a tendency of the bladder wall to become thicker and weaker, BPH patients lose the ability to completely empty the bladder. Urethral narrowing and urinary retention cause many of the problems experienced by BPH patients.
Most BPH patients are treated either by medication or surgery to restore the ability of urine to pass through the urethra proximate to the prostate gland. Alpha-Blockers are the most common drugs prescribed for BPH. They act against the dynamic component of urinary outflow obstruction by relaxing smooth muscles in the bladder neck, prostate capsule, and prostatic urethra. 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors (5-ARIs) are more effective in men with large prostates. They act by reducing the prostate gland size. While these drugs provide some relief from BPH, they have unavoidable side effects and do not offer a complete solution for many BPH patients. Side effects include orthostatic hypotension, dizziness, decreased libido and sexual dysfunction (e.g., erectile dysfunction, ejaculatory dysfunction and retrograde ejaculation). Other BPH patients do not experience significant alleviation of symptoms, and many find the requirement for daily medication both bothersome and costly.
Surgical procedures provide BPH relief by removing a significant portion the prostate tissue. Several traditional surgical procedures are available, all of which require hospitalization and some form of spinal, epidural, or general anesthesia. Transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) is the main surgical treatment for BPH and remains the gold standard against which other treatments are compared. Traditional surgical techniques differ in the location of the incision made by the surgeon to access the prostate and in the method by which prostatic tissue is removed. For example, some surgeries use laser energy, heat, or radio frequency to remove tissue from the prostate. They include laser enucleation, photoselective vaporization (PVP), transurethral needle ablation (TUNA) using radiofrequency energy, transurethral microwave thermotherapy (TUMT) and transurethral incision of prostate (TUIP). However, these traditional surgical approaches to the treatment of BPH are invasive, non-reversible, and have significant drawbacks including the placement of a temporary catheter for a few months, risk of infection, loss of sexual function, urinary incontinence, and restenosis—wherein recurring hyperplasia of cells in the prostate regrow to cause a recurrence of the narrowing of the urethra opening and also a recurrence of the LUTS symptoms described above.
Although removing prostatic tissue relieves some BPH symptoms, tissue removal by traditional surgical approaches is irreversible and any adverse effects of the surgery may afflict the patient for life or affect the patients' quality of life. Moreover, surgical approaches are associated with the inherent risks from the surgery itself, risk recurrence from the regrowth of removed prostatic tissue, and, depending on the extent of the disease and the particular surgical approach necessary for an individual patient, can require recovery periods as long as 3 to 6 weeks.
Because of the recognized drawbacks of traditional surgery, less invasive therapies have been developed and, depending on the extent of disease, may be chosen by patients and their physicians as an alternative to lifelong medication or surgery. These less-invasive therapies may be suited for those patients not willing or medically not fit to have a surgical procedure performed under general anesthesia.
Less invasive techniques include transurethral methods that actually remove enlarged prostatic tissue, including electrovaporization where an urologist inserts a tube-like instrument called a resectoscope through the urethra to reach the prostate. An electrode attached to the resectoscope moves along the urethra and adjacent to the enlarged prostatic tissue while transmitting an electric current that vaporizes the targeted tissue.
In water-induced thermotherapy, an urologist passes heated water through a catheter inserted into the urethra. First, a treatment balloon is placed in the urethra, roughly in the middle of the prostate. Then, super-heated water flows through the catheter into the treatment balloon, which heats and destroys the surrounding prostate tissue.
In transurethral needle ablation, an urologist inserts a cystoscope through the urethra to the prostate and then inserts small needles through the end of the cystoscope into the prostate. The needles send radiofrequency energy that heats and destroys selected portions of prostate tissue.
In transurethral microwave thermotherapy, a catheter is inserted down the urethra and delivers microwave energy to heat and destroy prostate tissue. The temperature becomes high enough inside the prostate to destroy enlarged tissue.
In high-intensity focused ultrasound therapy, an urologist inserts a special ultrasound probe into the rectum, near the prostate. Ultrasound energy waves from the probe heat and destroy enlarged prostate tissue.
While these less invasive techniques are generally less traumatic than traditional surgery, each destroys prostatic tissue and is irreversible. To avoid destroying the prostatic tissue, other therapeutic procedures have been developed that are designed to enlarge the diameter of the prostatic urethra without actual removal of tissue from the prostate gland.
In one technique called "Urolift," an urologist inserts the Urolift device through a standard rigid cystoscope and determines the areas of the prostate gland that are significantly enlarged. Once the desired location has been identified, urologist deploys the Urolift implant. The Urololift device inserts a small needle through the width of the prostate gland to place an anchor on the far side of the prostate. Then, the suture is tightened to forcefully retract prostatic tissue surrounding the urethra and open the prostatic urethra. The urologist can place several implants and sutures in this manner along the length of the urethra, and the total number of implants and sutures varies, depending on the size, shape and length of the obstructive tissue.
Other procedures rely on an implantable device placed within the prostatic urethra that is designed to enlarge the diameter of the urethra. A prostatic implant involves a procedure wherein the urologist inserts a small device within the prostatic urethra which is narrowed by enlarged prostatic tissue. Once in place, the implant is designed to help keep the urethra open, while preventing enlarged prostate tissue from total impingement or narrowing of the urethra. Ideally, prostatic implants eliminate the need to surgically remove prostatic tissue and are expected to reduce the risks of infection, sexual dysfunction, and incontinence, inherent and traditional to even less-invasive, surgical approaches. The procedure is also considered reversible since the implants may be removed and additional surgical treatments may be performed in the future.
Several different designs for intra-prostatic implants or urethral stents have been developed. In one design, a cylindrical tubular mesh is compressed to a reduced size, inserted through the urethra to the location of the enlarged prostate and allowed to expand to increase the diameter of the urethra. While such mesh-style apparatus does not destroy prostate tissue, they have a tendency to migrate within the urethra and into the urinary bladder. Also, when such implants extend into the bladder—either by design or by intra-urethral migration—the implants can become encrusted with cells and mineralization from urine present in the bladder. To avoid the migration issue, other implant urethral stent designs are fixed to the walls of the urethra using different anchoring features. These designs have the drawback of disrupting the epithelial layer of cells on the interior of the urethra, causing injury to the urethral wall and risking bleeding, infection, hematuria, abnormal tissue growth, formation of stones or other trauma around the point of attachment of the implant to the urethral wall. Mesh-like urethral stent designs also have the disadvantage of having a high implant surface area relative to the prostatic tissue area over which they apply their expansion or retraction force. Higher implant mass and higher implant surface area are desirable to provide sufficient retraction forces to push the hyperplastic lobes outward and expand the lumen of the prostatic urethra. Too high a retraction force may cause significant pain to the patient and damage the urethral wall. Higher implant surface area also increases the probability for encrustation and stone formation on the surface of the implant over time, thereby causing either urethral narrowing or structural degradation of the implant. It is therefore desirable to design an optimal implant with sufficient "retraction force" or "radial force" or "expansion force" to push out the hyperplastic tissue of the prostate and increase the lumen of the prostate and provide LUTS relief using minimal implant surface area and/or implant mass. The present invention describes implant designs with low surface area ratio relative to the prostatic tissue area that they treat to minimize encrustation and stone formation, while providing effective expansion force to open the lumen of the prostatic urethra.
Other implant designs rely on an expandable structure that rests in the three grooves formed between two lateral and the medial lobes of the prostate. The design and manufacturing strategy for an intra-urethral prostatic implant, together with its deployment strategy, accompanying deployment system, and ability to retrieve the implant are particularly important because a number of necessary, and potentially conflicting, design criteria must be met. An ideal implant design facilitates deployment in an office-based procedure that does not involve the drawbacks and potential complications of traditional surgical techniques and does not require hospitalization or general anesthesia. The implant should be easy to deliver and to retrieve using conventional companion or ancillary devices such that practicing urologists are familiar with the apparatus necessary to deliver the device. The design should be compatible with companion urology devices used to diagnose BPH and image the urethra, bladder and other anatomical and physiological features of the urinary system.
Additionally, the design of the implant must account for the unique physiology of the prostate gland. The prostate is made up of two larger lateral lobes and a medial lobe that are joined together along the length of the urethra and that surround the urethra on all sides. Particularly as the prostate tissue expands in a hyperplastic condition, grooves are formed along the length of the boundary between the lateral lobes of the prostate or between either lateral lobe and the medial lobe. The design of an implant should result in exertion of force directly on the lobes of the prostate tissue immediately proximate to the urethra and retract prostatic tissue along a length thereof to restore the patency of the urethral passageway. Preferably the device is spaced away from the grooves formed along the length of the contact between adjacent lobes of the prostate and does not migrate during the implantation period, while preserving normal urological and sexual function. The implant should also be designed to be placed between the bladder neck opening and the external urinary sphincter, without causing undue trauma to the urethra, bladder neck and the external sphincter. And more preferable, the device must be placed between the bladder neck and the verumontanum to prevent irritation of the bladder neck and obstruction of the ejaculatory ducts, respectively.
All of the implants described above including the Urolift implants are placed using rigid metallic sheaths and rigid endoscopes that have a large diameter (22 F and above or 7 mm) used in urological procedures. Inserting the rigid sheaths and endoscopes (or cystoscopes) through the penis into the prostatic urethra could be very painful. General or local anesthesia is required to place these implants in the prostatic urethra. Therefore, there is a need to design flexible systems that are compatible with flexible sheaths and flexible endoscopes used in interventional urological procedures. In addition, there is a need to reduce the diameter (or profile) of the implant and delivery systems so that the procedures may be done in an office setting using flexible cystoscopes, without the need for anesthesia. Also, the delivery and deployment of the implants described above, may be challenging since they could obstruct direct visualization of the urethra during device placement. As such, there is an additional need to design the implants and delivery systems that allow for direct visualization during advancement of the delivery system and placement of the implant in the prostatic urethra.
It is also desirable to have features on the implant and delivery system to reposition the implant in the event that it is misdeployed. Features to hold the device and reposition the devices, using traditional graspers or other ancillary devices to retrieve stones during urological procedures, in conjunction with imaging using an endoscope or cystoscope are needed.
Finally, it is desirable for the implant to be retrievable at the discretion of the urologist, patient symptoms after treatment, and patient condition after relief of BPH symptoms. So, the design of the implant must facilitate simple and atraumatic removal in an outpatient environment, in the physician's office without the need for hospitalization. In some cases, the implant may be retrieved after a pre-specified implantation period and replaced by a fresh, new implant to treat BPH.

Implantable devices and methods to treat benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) and associated lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS)


Single enantionmers of compounds of formula (B), in either the cis or trans configuration,

Classes of compounds of formula (A), particularly the 2-substituted 4-substituted 1,3-oxathiolanes pyrimidine nucleosides have been found to have potent antiviral activity. In particular, these compounds have been found to act as potent inhibitors of HIV-1 replication in T-lymphocytes over a prolonged period of time with less cytotoxic side effects than compounds known in the art (see Belleau et al (1993) Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. Vol. 3, No. 8, pp. 1723-1728). These compounds have also been found active against 3TC-resistant HIV strains (see Taylor et al (2000) Antiviral Chem. Chemother. Vol 11, No. 4, pp. 291-301; Stoddart et al (2000) Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. Vol. 44, No. 3, pp. 783-786). These compounds are also useful in prophylaxis and treatment of hepatitis B virus infections.
Methods for the preparation of these compounds have been disclosed in PCT publications WO 92/08717, WO 95/29176 and WO 02/102796 as well as in publications by Belleau et al (1993) Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. Vol. 3, No. 8, pp. 1723-1728; Wang et al (1994) Tetrahedron Lett. Vol. 35, No. 27, pp. 4739-4742; Mansour et al, (1995) J. of Med. Chem. Vol. 38, No. 1, pp. 1-4 and Caputo et al in Eur. J. Org. Chem. Vol. 6, pp. 1455-1458 (1999).
The product of the existing processes is in many cases a racemate. This racemate normally requires further processing to obtain the pure enantiomers. A preferred method for the production of single enantiomers is resolution of the racemate such as by direct preferential crystallization, crystallization of the diastereomeric salts, kinetic resolution, enzymatic resolution, selective absorption and asymmetric synthesis.
If the racemate is a true racemic compound, a homogeneous solid phase of the two enantiomers co-exists in the same cell unit. These materials may be separated via diastereomer crystallization, which generally involves reacting the racemate with an optically pure acid or base (the resolving agent) to form a mixture of diastereomeric salts that are then separated by crystallization. Other racemates may exist in the form of conglomerates, which is a compound that crystallizes with a single enantiomer in the crystal lattice. However, conglomerates are observed in less than 20% of all racemates. A conglomerate can be defined as an equimolar mixture of two crystalline enantiomers that are, in principle, mechanically separable. The phase diagram of a conglomerate displays one sharply defined minimum temperature at a mixture of 50% and 50% that is the eutectic point of the enantiomeric mixture. The success of a preferential crystallization depends on this fact.
Methods for resolving certain racemates by formation of conglomerate salts, also known as preferential crystallization or resolution by entrainment, are described in, for example, Tung et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,994,604), Manimaran et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,302,751), and Coquerel et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,022,409), the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
A conglomerate compound crystallizes as a single enantiomer in the crystal lattice. Therefore, to be a conglomerate the IR spectrum of the racemic conglomerate salt, a 1:1 mixture of (−) and (+) crystals, must be identical to that of the single enantiomer. Another characteristic of conglomerate behavior is that the racemic conglomerate salt normally has a melting point lower that that of either single enantiomer.
If a conglomerate is obtained, it may be used for enantiomeric excess enhancement because the most soluble composition is racemic. Generally the conglomerate of X % enantiomeric excess will provide an X % yield of single enantiomer leaving behind racemic liquors.
A conglomerate may also be used in an entrainment process in which a racemic solution is seeded with a single enantiomer leading to preferential kinetic precipitation of that enantiomer.

Enantiomeric resolution of 2-substituted 4-substituted 1,3-oxathiolanes nucleosides

Abstract: wherein R1 and R2 are as defined herein, can be separated from enantiomeric mixtures thereof by reacting the compound with an acid to produce a conglomerate salt that has the following characteristics:                the IR spectrum of the salt of the racemic compound, a 1:1 mixture of (−) and (+) crystals, is identical to that of the each of the single enantiomer, and        the salt of the racemic compound has a melting point lower that that of either single enantiomer. The conglomerate salt is then separated by preferential crystallization.


The present disclosure provides a clear channel assessment detection method and apparatus. The method includes: acquiring a clear channel assessment (CCA) detection pattern or a Muting pattern; and performing a CCA detection to an unlicensed carrier channel on resources corresponding to one of the CCA detection pattern or the Muting pattern.

With rapid increase of data services, data transmission pressure borne by carriers on a licensed spectrum is higher and higher. Therefore, sharing of data traffic in a licensed carrier by a carrier of an unlicensed spectrum becomes an important evolution direction of subsequent long-term evolution (LTE) development.
The unlicensed spectrum has characteristics as follows. The unlicensed spectrum should not be purchased, cost of spectrum resources is zero, and the unlicensed spectrum has characteristics of free or low charge. Individuals and enterprises may participate in deployment, and equipment of equipment manufacturers may be deployed at random and has characteristics of low access requirement and low cost. Frequency bands of 5 GHz, 2.4 GHz and the like in the unlicensed spectrum may be used and have a characteristic of great available bandwidth. The unlicensed carrier has a resource sharing characteristic, that is, during operations of multiple different systems or during operations of different operators in the same system, some resource sharing manners may be considered to increase spectrum utilization efficiency, and the like.
Based on the above characteristics of the unlicensed spectrum, a Rel-13 version of an LTE system was started to be researched in September 2014, wherein an important research issue is that the LTE system is operated by using carriers of the unlicensed spectrum. This technology enables the carriers of the existing unlicensed spectrum to be used by the LTE system, and potential spectrum resources of the LTE system are greatly increased, so that the LTE system may achieve a lower spectrum cost.
Based on various benefits brought by unlicensed carrier resources used by the LTE, a Licensed-Assisted Access (LAA) system should consider fair coexistence with other technologies (such as, Wireless-Fidelity, Wi-Fi) while using the unlicensed carrier. In addition, with respect to access of the unlicensed spectrum, a Listen Before Talk (LBT) mechanism is required to be executed for controlling in some areas. Therefore, LAA equipment, such as at least one of an evolved Node B (eNB) or a User Equipment (UE) should comply with LBT requirements, thereby achieving friendly coexistence with the Wi-Fi system.
An agreement on frequency reuse is reached in a Rel-13 RAN1 # Ad-hoc conference, that is, realization of frequency reuse during transmission of adjacent LAA cells under the same operator is a goal of LAA design, and design of the LBT should be considered. For a terminal side, terminals in the same cell or terminals under the same operator should also consider the reuse problem, and similarly, design of frequency-domain patterns during corresponding LBT detection should be considered, thereby realizing or increasing multiplexing efficiency.
However, in a Rel-13 RAN1 #80bis conference, with respect to a base station side, when the LBT mechanism is applied to competitive channel access in an LBE (load-based equipment) manner, candidate methods capable of increasing downlink transmission multiplexing efficiency include: Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) threshold adaptation, Tx start timing alignment, signal subtraction from ED or modified ED, and combination of those options or other alternatives are not precluded. Based on advantages and disadvantages of several methods above discussed in each conference before the 82nd conference, finally an agreement is reached as follows: frequency reuse on the base station side is increased in the manners of CCA threshold adaptation and Tx start timing alignment. Based on this, with respect to a CCA threshold adaptation method, the LAA equipment needs to recognize that signals sensed by the unlicensed carriers come from other LAA equipment or other system equipment, thereby adjusting (increasing or decreasing) a CCA detection threshold to realize equipment multiplexing under the same operator. However, with respect to a Tx start timing alignment method, in order to allow different LAA equipment of the same operator to align at transmission timing points, self-delay is introduced, and/or, the LBT process is coordinated (coordination parameters include at least one of the followings: a random back-off value N, a start timing position of an Extended Clear Channel Assessment (ECCA) or transmission starting timing), but channel access probability is decreased, so that good multiplexing cannot be realized.
With respect to problems in related arts that multiplexing efficiency is low and brought unlicensed carrier access probability is low because an interference source problem cannot be recognized during CCA detection, and no effective solution has been proposed at present.

Clear channel assessment detection method and device


A rear housing of a display apparatus and the display apparatus are disclosed. The rear housing for the display apparatus includes a first case, a third case and a second case sequentially arranged in a lateral direction; a bottom of the first case includes a first retainer portion extending toward the second case, a bottom of the second case includes a second retainer portion extending toward the first case, and the first and second retainer portions are connected by means of a first connecting member; both sides of the third case are connected to the first case and the second case by means of second connecting members respectively.

Flat display apparatuses, for example, thin film transistor liquid crystal displays (TFT-LCDs) or organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) displays, are characterized in thin thickness, low power consumption, no radiation and the like, so flat display apparatuses have been developed rapidly in recent years, and are widely used in computer display products, TV products or large-screen public display products.
A flat display apparatus generally comprises a display panel for displaying images, a front frame for protecting the front surface of the display panel and a rear housing for protecting the back surface of the display panel. For a TFT-LCD, the rear housing is also used to accommodate a backlight module. In recent years, the sizes of flat display apparatuses have been continuously increased (for example, the flat display apparatuses of 100 inch or more), therefore, the sizes of the rear housings of the flat display apparatuses are also increased as the sizes of the flat display apparatuses increase. The rear housing of a flat display apparatus is generally formed in its entirety by a metal pressing process or an injection molding process, and when the size of the rear housing is excessively large, it is necessary to increase the size of the presser, further, the resulting rear housing is liable to be distorted and/or bent, which causes damages and is disadvantageous to transportation. The above-mentioned factors result in a long mold-making period and molding difficulty for the rear housing of a flat display apparatus.

Rear housing of display apparatus and display apparatus


Various embodiments provide a multi-channel collaborative visual analytics (CVA) system, method and computer program product for coordinating collaborative data exploration. The system comprises a central CVA server and a plurality of client devices. The CVA server has a plurality of local channels and a global channel. Each client device is coupled to one or more local channels of the central CVA server by one or more WebSockets and communicates state change event data of a distributed-web-connected application to the central CVA server. The central CVA server manages both real-time delivery and recorded playback of the state change events for the plurality of client devices. The CVA system further comprises a persistent store that stores the state change events from the plurality of client devices for deferred playback.

The present disclosure generally relates to multi-channel visual presentation, and more particularly relates to a system for collaborative multi-media, multi-channel cognitive visual analytics, rationale, authoring and playback.
Exploring highly related, sparsely populated data using visual analytics involves coordinated displays with large amounts of screen real estate in order to show multiple perspectives of shared and filtered content. The exploration session is extended across the cloud with the ability to engage as a shared view participant during collaborative exploration or to disengage and fork the exploration process and later reengage with collaborators to share results. During exploration, the choices made to navigate between visual analytics, filter and select data, and/or configure displays to highlight insights are recorded. Capturing and documenting these choices and insights helps provide the rationale for the exploration session so other collaborators can understand why certain decisions were made and what was discovered. Current systems capture provenance, display content in multiple display environments (MDEs), or filter data, but have been implemented as disparate solutions focusing on empowering the exploratory process. However, there is no an integrated system that empowers users to collaborate during the exploration session and also edit, augment and rearrange the recorded stages of the collaborative exploration for playback in an MDE to communicate the rationale leading to insights so others less educated in the art of visual/data analytics can understand and benefit from the exploration session results.

Collaborative multi-media, multi-channel cognitive visual analytics rationale authoring and playback

International Business Machines Corporation


An entity bidirectional-identification method for supporting fast handoff involves three security elements, which includes two identification elements A and B and a trusted third party (TP). All identification entities of a same element share a public key certification or own a same public key. When any identification entity in identification element A and any identification entity in identification element B need to identify each other, if identification protocol has never been operated between the two identification elements that they belong to respectively, the whole identification protocol process will be operated; otherwise, interaction of identification protocol will be acted only between the two identification entities. Application of the present invention not only centralizes management of public key and simplifies protocol operation condition, but also utilizes the concept of security domain so as to reduce management complexity of public key, shorten identification time and satisfy fast handoff requirements on the premises of guaranteeing security characteristics such as one key for every pair of identification entities, one secret key for every identification and forward secrecy.

Entity authentication methods adopting an asymmetric cryptographic technique are categorized into two kinds: unilateral authentication and mutual authentication. Uniqueness or timeliness of authentication is controlled by time variant parameters such as timestamps, sequence numbers, and random numbers. If the timestamps or sequence numbers are used as time variant parameters, the unilateral authentication can be completed by only one pass authentication, and the mutual authentication between entities can be completed by two pass authentication; or if random number are used as time variant parameters, the unilateral authentication can be completed by two pass authentication, and the mutual authentication can be completed by three pass authentication or four pass authentication (i.e., two parallel two pass authentication).
Before or during operation of whatever authentication mechanism, a verifier shall be provided with a public key of a claimant, otherwise the authentication might be endangered or fail. A three pass mutual authentication is described here as an example.
Referring to FIG. 1, an authentication entity A transmits a token TokenAB=RA∥RB∥B∥Text3∥sSA(RA∥RB∥B∥Text2) to an authentication entity B, and the authentication entity B transmits a token TokenBA=RB∥RA∥A∥Text5∥sSB(RB∥RA∥A∥Text4) to the authentication entity A, where X denotes an authentication entity distinguishing identifier, and the authentication system includes the two authentication entities A and B; CertX denotes a certificate of an entity X; sSX denotes a signature of the entity X; RX denotes a random number generated by the entity X; and Text denotes an optional text field.
A process of operating the three pass authentication mechanism is described in detail below:
1) The entity B transmits a random number RB and an optional text field Text1 to the entity A;
2) The entity A transmits a token TokenAB and an optional certificate field CertA to the entity B;
3) The entity B performs the following steps upon reception of the message transmitted from the entity A:
3.1) Guaranteeing to obtain a valid public key of the entity A either by verifying the certificate of the entity A or by some other means; and
3.2) After obtaining the public key of the entity A, verifying the signature of the entity A contained in the token TokenAB in the step 2), checking the correctness of the distinguishing identifier B, and checking that the random number RB transmitted in step 1) is consistent with the random number RB contained in the token TokenAB received in the step 2), and the entity A is therefore authenticated by the entity B;
4) The entity B transmits a token TokenBA and an optional certificate field CertB to the entity A; and
5) The entity A performs the following steps upon reception of the message including TokenBA transmitted from the entity B:
5.1) Guaranteeing to obtain a valid public key of the entity B either by verifying the certificate of the entity B or by some other means; and
5.2) After obtaining the valid public key of the entity B, verifying the signature of the entity B contained in the token TokenBA in the step 4), checking the correctness of the distinguishing identifier A, and checking that the random number RA transmitted in the step 2) is consistent with the random number RA contained in the token TokenBA received in the step 4) and that the random number RB received in the step 1) is consistent with the random number RB contained in the token TokenBA received in the step 4), the entity B is therefore authenticated by the entity A.
As can be apparent, successful operation of the three pass authentication mechanism is guaranteed under the condition that the entity A and the entity B possess respectively the valid public keys of each other, but the protocol does not involve how to obtain the valid public keys and the validity thereof. However, this guaranteeing condition can not be satisfied in many application scenarios at present. For example, a user access control function is typically realized by the entity authentication mechanism over a communication network, and thus an access of a user to the network is prohibited before a successful operation of the authentication mechanism, and consequently it is impossible or difficult for the user to access a certificate authority and even impossible to obtain the public key of an opposite entity, i.e., a network access point, and the validity thereof prior to the authentication.
At present, mutual authentication typically has to be performed between the user and the network access point over the communication network to guarantee that the user accessing the network is legal, and thus if it is not necessary for a network entity to be aware of the valid public key of the opposite entity but instead the public key of the opposite entity is checked during authentication, then the traditional entity authentication mechanisms can both be improved and gain good feasibility and easy-to-use in practical applications. Moreover, in any of the foregoing authentication mechanisms, a device where an authentication entity resides has to perform the entire authentication protocol each time it is associated to another different device, which may give rise to the issue of whether a demand for rapid handoff can be satisfied over the communication network; and each authentication entity has to be configured with a pair of public and private keys, which may significantly complicate the management of public keys for a large network. Therefore, the protocol has to be designed to reduce the complexity of network management as much as possible while guaranteeing the authentication function to satisfy the demand for rapid handoff.

Entity bidirectional-identification method for supporting fast handoff


An art kit provides an artwork having two complementary pictures such that the viewing angle determines a resulting picture. A pair of sheets has complementary images thereon, a left hand image and a right hand image as defined. Each sheet is separable into a plurality of strips with tabs on each side that can be folded. Each strip of each sheet may be numbered evenly and oddly in sequence. The sequential numbers such as 1 and 2 are connected with vertical tabs being held together with clips to form one section of the two images, one side being left and the other right. All of the sections are then mounted to a backing board frame to form the artwork. If the sheets are without printed images, an artist may form such images on the sheets when the sheets are mounted in a coloring jig before separation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to art as presented by pictures/images, and, in particular, relates to combining two pictures/images to have a different overall image from different perspective views, and, in greater particularity, relates to a kit and method of using the kit which allows users to blend two separate complimentary images together into one artwork.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Art forms are clearly an evolving process dependent upon the artist's creative imagination, the medium of presentation, and the technology available. Integrating two pictures or images in one frame has been addressed as shown by the prior art and has been described as "kinetic art."
Artist Yaacov Agam popularized this art-form in the 1950's. Many artists have utilized this principle in their art as well since then. In the 1980's one such artist Shirley Chaitlin used extruded plastics to create an articulated art-form that she called an "Articulator." Many artist have attempted new approaches to this art-form with varying levels of success, using wood, metals, glass and plastics as well as folded paper.
In 1999 inventor Alan Feiertag filed a patent application regarding "Kinetic Art Paper" that resulted in an issued patent, U.S. Pat. No. 6,306,779, that is incorporated by reference. The purpose was intended for making what is called "kinetic art" with the aid of a photoprinter and a computer assisted printing programs that are now available. In this process of Feiertag, a kinetic artwork paper is formed on a backing sheet with multiple strips of paper adhered thereto with cutouts therebetween so that the artwork paper can be folded in pleats. As noted, pictures can be placed on the strips manually or in a preferred embodiment by photoprinting with a special program now available for integrating two pictures thereon. Alternating strips would have one image and the other strips would have the other image. After forming the integrated image on the artwork paper, it is then folded into pleats so that, as seen from straight on, one image is on the left side of the pleats, and the other image is on the right side of the pleats.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,937,960, being incorporated by reference, discloses a process of placing multiple pictures upon a backing sheet automatically. The backing sheet with two applied pictures is then attached to a display stand being shaped as a triangular prism shaped body. A wavelike display surface is attached to each side of the prism body and then the two pictures on the backing sheet are placed on the wavelike body so that two different pictures can be seen if looking in different directions as the display stand is rotated to the side. Therefore, 6 different pictures are viewable on this display stand as it is rotated. This process is thus a means of increasing the number of pictures as seen, for example, on a three sided, rotating display to six.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,356,953 discloses a process of forming a display assembly for including two picture displays in a book where the two pictures are included upon a folded pleated kinetic artwork insert. This reference is incorporated by reference.
Accordingly, there is an established need for a process where a user/artist is able to easily form "kinetic art" by using a kit having an improved process therein.

Device and method for presenting two images having different perspective views together


A pencil having a longitudinal axis and a gripping recess, in which the inside contour of the gripping recess in a first sectional plane transversely to the longitudinal axis has at least one concave portion. The inside contour of the gripping recess in a second sectional plane intersecting the first sectional plane at the longitudinal axis has at least one convex portion.

The invention concerns a pencil having a longitudinal axis and a gripping recess, in which the inside contour of the gripping recess in a first sectional plane transversely to the longitudinal axis has at least one concave portion.
Pencils of the above-indicated kind are known, for example from German utility model no. 20 2008 002 102. In the known pencils the gripping recesses are provided for example with a spherical milled head so that they are of a part-spherical configuration. In other words the inside contour of the gripping recesses in the known pencils are concave not only in the above-mentioned first sectional plane transversely to the longitudinal axis but also in a second sectional plane intersecting the first sectional plane at the longitudinal axis. When using cylindrical milling cutters the known pencils each have a gripping recess with an inside contour which has a concave portion in a first sectional plane transversely relative to the longitudinal axis while they have a flat portion in a second sectional plane intersecting the first sectional plane at the longitudinal axis.
Introducing a gripping recess in a pencil results in a weakening effect for the pencil because the pencil is reduced in diameter in the region of the gripping recess. That weakening effect is on the one hand detrimental to stability of the pencil and on the other hand detrimental to holding/the holding feel of the pencil.
The object of the invention is to develop the pencil of the kind set forth in the opening part of this specification in such a way that stability and/or the hold/holding feel of the pencil is/are improved.


An apparatus includes a pipette dispenser to control dispensing of a volume to a dispensing location. A tip is operatively coupled to the pipette dispenser. The tip includes an electromechanical print head to dispense the volume from the pipette dispenser to the dispensing location based on a command from the pipette dispenser that indicates an amount of the volume to be dispensed from the print head.

A pipette is a laboratory tool commonly used in chemistry, biology and medicine to transport a measured volume of liquid, often as a fluid dispenser. Pipettes come in several designs for various purposes with differing levels of accuracy and precision, from single piece glass pipettes to more complex adjustable or electronic pipettes. Many pipette types operate by creating a partial vacuum above the liquid-holding chamber and selectively releasing this vacuum to draw up and dispense liquid, for example. Measurement accuracy varies depending on the style of pipette employed.

Pipette dispenser tip utilizing print head

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


An apparatus consisting of stacked slab waveguides whose outputs are vertically staggered is disclosed. At the input to the stacked waveguides, the entrances to each slab lie in approximately the same vertical plane. A spot which is imaged onto the input will be transformed approximately to a set of staggered rectangles at the output, without substantial loss in brightness, which staggered rectangles can serve as a convenient input to a spectroscopic apparatus. A slit mask can be added to spatially filter the outputs so as to present the desired transverse width in the plane of the spectroscopic apparatus parallel to its dispersion.

1. The Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the optical transformation of the shape of a nominally circular object to an object with non-unity aspect ratio without substantial loss of brightness. When the aspect ratio of the output is chosen to be high, the resultant shape is particularly appropriate as an input to a diffraction-grating based spectrometer.
2. Background and Relevant Art
When an object is illuminated with a beam of optical radiation for the purpose of gathering light from the object, the optimum shape of the illumination beam is often nearly circular. If for example, the object has volumetric scattering properties, and it is desired to observe the back-scattered radiation, for an imaging system with limited field of view, the optimum geometry for collecting the largest proportion of back-scattered light is to image an area centered on a circular illumination beam.
If it is desirable to subject light which has either been scattered by or transmitted by an object to spectroscopic analysis, and the spectrometer is based on diffraction, it is advantageous to present a nominally rectangular input to the spectrometer of high aspect ratio, where the short axis of the rectangle is in the direction of the dispersion of the spectrometer. Such an arrangement optimizes the resolution of the spectrometer. Hence, if it is advantageous to both collect light from an area having near unity aspect ratio and present a high aspect ratio input of nominally rectangular shape to the spectrometer, it is desirable to find an arrangement which optically converts a near unity aspect ratio spot to a high aspect ratio output. There can, of course, be other circumstances besides spectroscopy where such an optical conversion can be advantageous, and no limitation to spectroscopy for the usefulness of such a converter is implied.
The conversion of near-unity aspect ratio spots to high aspect ratio outputs is sometimes accomplished with a fiber bundle, where the fibers are arrayed in a close packed geometry at the end where light is to be collected and re-arranged in a linear configuration at the opposite end. Such an arrangement will reduce the collection efficiency by approximately the ratio of the area of the fiber cores to the area of the collection bundle. In addition, it is difficult to re-arrange the close packed configuration at one end to the nominally linear configuration at the other end in a short length, hence it is difficult to make the fiber bundle devices compact.
Anamorphic prism pairs have been used for such transformations wherein a nominally collimated beam passes through a first prism and is deflected in angle, thereafter, passing through a second prism which is disposed at an appropriate angle with respect to the first. It is difficult to obtain changes in aspect ratio of more than a factor of five with this arrangement and it is also very difficult to reduce reflection losses at all surfaces and in all polarizations because the beams can be incident at high angles. Moreover, this approach requires a collimated beam which makes the embodiment less compact.
Another optical scheme for performing aspect ratio transforms is an anamorphic lens system as is described in "Anamorphic Condensing Optics for a Slitless Spectrograph", J. R. Baskett, and I. D. Liu, Applied Optics, 9, p. 49-52 (1970). The lens system consists of a spherical lens, followed by a cylindrical lens, followed by a second spherical lens, concluding with a second cylindrical lens. The system is complex, and is not suitable for high numerical aperture applications, and also consumes considerable space.
In yet another approach a non-imaging elliptical concentrator is proposed in, "Elliptical Concentrators", A. G. Garcia-Botella et al., Applied Optics, 45, p. 7622-7627 (2006). The difficulty with such concentrators is that the angular distribution of the input radiation is not preserved, with angular divergences in the two planes scaling inversely with geometrical scaling in the two planes. In many applications the input radiation diverges symmetrically and it is desired that the output radiation nominally preserve this property.
Finally, it is possible to design a diffractive element that provides both wavelength dispersion and transformation of aspect ratio. Such a design is described in "Lensless anamorphic Fourier transform hologram recorded with prism systems", A. Viswanath and K. Srinivasan, Applied Optics, 36, p. 5748-5755 (1997). It is difficult to simultaneously obtain high diffraction efficiency, wide field of view, and high numerical aperture with this design.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Apparatus for transforming the aspect ratio of an optical input field based on stacked waveguides


Embodiments of the present invention provide techniques for authenticating users based on personalized (i.e., user-provided or user-selected) authentication data. In one set of embodiments, the personalized authentication data includes acoustic, image, and/or video data, but is exclusive of biometric data of the user. In this manner, existing acoustic, image, and video-based authentication interfaces/mechanisms may be leveraged, without the problems associated with verifying biometric data. In some embodiments, a user may enroll or register multiple pieces of personalized authentication data into an authentication system. The user may then select one piece of personalized authentication data for use by the system at a time of authentication.

Embodiments of the present invention relate to authentication, and more particularly relate to techniques for authenticating a user based on personalized (i.e., user-provided) authentication data.
User authentication is the process of verifying the identity of a principal (i.e., a user) for a security-related purpose. Generally speaking, this verification is performed by testing one or more of the following "authentication factors:" (1) something the principal knows (referred to as a Type I authentication factor), (2) something the principal has (referred to as a Type II authentication factor), and (3) something the principal is (referred to as a Type III authentication factor).
In the field of computer security, a significant number of existing authentication systems rely on textual passwords or personal identification numbers (i.e., Type I authentication factors) in order to verify the identities of users. However, authentication based on textual authentication data is well-known to have several weaknesses. For example, relatively secure (i.e., complex) passwords are generally difficult to remember. Conversely, short or easily memorized passwords are relatively insecure and may be attacked through a variety of methods, such as a dictionary attack. In some cases, Type I authentication factors are combined with Type II authentication factors to increase the security of a system. For example, an ATM machine typically requires both a PIN and a physical ATM card to carry out transactions. However, Type II authentication factors may also be compromised, such as through loss or theft.
To address some of the above weaknesses, a growing number of computer-based authentication systems are incorporating authentication via Type III, or biometric, authentication factors. Exemplary biometric characteristics include fingerprints, voice, face geometry, retinal pattern, and the like. Since biometric characteristics are inherent to a particular individual, there is no need to memorize authentication information such as a textual password. In addition, many believe that a biometric characteristic cannot be stolen as easily as a physical (i.e., Type II) authentication device/token. To support these biometric systems, non-textual authentication interfaces have been developed. For example, acoustic-based interfaces have been developed to support authentication via voice recognition. Similarly, image and video-based interfaces have been developed to support authentication via facial recognition, fingerprint recognition, and the like.
Unfortunately, despite their advantages, biometric authentication systems still possess a number of weaknesses. Voice-based authentication, in particular, is problematic for several reasons. First, the enrollment/registration process necessary to register a user's voice into a voice-based authentication system can be both time-consuming and cumbersome. For example, this process typically requires the user to recite several sentences or paragraphs-worth of training data into the system to generate a voice model for the user. In addition, the training data must generally be recited in a quiet environment to capture the user's voice with adequate clarity and precision. As a result, users may be unwilling to spend the time and effort demanded by this process.
Second, authentication based on voice recognition is not particularly reliable. For example, it is possible for an attacker to impersonate the voice of a legitimate user and thus fool the system into providing access. This is known as a "false positive." It is also possible for a user's voice to change temporarily (e.g., due to a cold or other illness), and thus cause the user to be denied access even though the user is legitimate. This is known as a "false negative." In either situation, the authentication mechanism fails to operate as intended.
Third, voice recognition is generally a very complex process and may require significant resources to be performed with a reasonable degree of accuracy. For example, a large amount of storage resources may be necessary to store registered training data and voice models, and a large amount of computational resources may be necessary to verify a given voice sample against a registered model. Accordingly, the costs associated with deploying and maintaining a voice-based authentication system can be prohibitively high.
Fourth, since voice characteristics (and other types of biometric characteristics) are inherent to a user, they cannot be reset or reissued if the user's voice is somehow compromised (e.g., through impersonation or a voice recording). This is a significant concern because the legitimate user will have no way to regain secure access to the system. In addition, the legitimate user will no longer be able to user his or her voice as an authentication credential for other voice-based systems.

System and method for personalized security signature


A method and apparatus for automatic resonance detection is disclosed for a motor-driven mechanical system such as a voice coil motor (VCM) in which a resonance detector and driver are provided. The automatic resonance detector is implemented on the same integrated circuit as the driver, and dynamically determines the natural resonant frequency of the VCM driven by the driver. The resonant frequency is determined by measuring the back electromotive force (BEMF) of the VCM, detecting the slope of the BEMF signal, and determining the resonant frequency from the slope of the BEMF signal.

The present invention relates to motor control and control of motor driven systems. More specifically, it relates to a method and apparatus for determining the resonant frequency of a motor system, such as a voice coil motor (VCM), for use in anti-ringing control systems.
Motor-driven translational systems are commonplace in modern electrical devices. They are used to move a mechanical system within a predetermined range of motion under electrical control. Common examples include image stabilization and autofocus systems for digital cameras, video recorders, portable devices having such functionality (e.g., mobile phones, personal digital assistants, and hand-held gaming systems), and laser drivers for optical disc readers.
In a camera or video recorder, a lens driver controls an actuator that moves the lens assembly back and forth for image stabilization and to adjust focus and magnification. One such actuator is the VCM. In a VCM, the lens position is fixed by balancing the motor and spring forces of the VCM. In other words, the VCM can be modeled as a mass coupled to a spring. When a motor moves the mass according to the drive signal, the motion generates other forces within the system which can cause the mass to oscillate around the new location at some resonant frequency (fR). This oscillation is also known as "mechanical ringing." For example, resonant frequencies of approximately 110 Hz have been observed in consumer electronic products. Such oscillation typically diminishes over time, but impairs performance of the device in its intended function by, for example, extending the amount of time that a camera lens system takes to focus an image, distorting the image, and shortening the lifetime of the VCM.
Mechanical ringing of VCMs can be reduced by minimizing the energy supplied to the VCM at its resonant frequency, which will in turn enable the user to achieve fast mechanical settling times and enhance autofocus response times and image quality. The response of the VCM may be damped by filtering the drive signal applied to the VCM, for example through a notch filter with a center frequency at the resonant frequency, and having a stopband sufficiently wide to accommodate the expected tolerance around a VCM nominal resonant frequency. Currently, the VCM nominal resonant frequency is a single fixed frequency estimated and pre-programmed into a motor driver before operation.
Pre-programming the resonant frequency, however, can cause imprecise operation. The resonant frequency of a VCM may vary due to different vendors, the manufacturing process, or age. System manufacturers often do not know the resonant frequency of their mechanical systems precisely. Additionally, particularly in consumer electronics where system components must be made inexpensively, the resonant frequency can vary across different manufacturing lots of a common product. Furthermore, as a VCM ages, its resonant frequency may change as well. Thus, the end-user estimated and programmed nominal resonant frequency may be substantially different from the actual resonant frequency of the mechanical system.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a method to dynamically and accurately determine the natural resonant frequency of a VCM actuator, to aid the design of shorter filters, and accommodate the variations in resonant frequency. It would be further advantageous for this method to be automatic resonance detection built into the motor driver on-chip. It would be further advantageous for the resonant frequency detection to be designed to enable anti-ringing filtering "on-the-fly."

Control techniques for motor driven systems utilizing back-EMF measurement techniques


Sipping straws are confined in discrete envelopes while advancing in a single file of spaced-apart straws through a wrapping station. The envelopes are obtained from a continuous strip of wrapping paper which is conveyed to the wrapping station in the direction of advancement of the file of spaced-apart straws and is draped around the straws in such a way that one of its longitudinally extending marginal portions overlies and adheres to the other marginal portion with simultaneous formation of a seam rather than an outwardly extending fin. The thus obtained tubular wrapper is thereupon severed in the gaps between successive spaced-apart straws, and the end portions of the thus obtained discrete envelopes are sealed by knurling, e.g., simultaneously with severing of the tubular wrapper.

The present invention relates to improvements in the making of wrapped drinking or sipping straws, and more particularly to improvements in the methods of and apparatus for confining drinking of sipping straws (hereinafter called sipping straws) in tubular envelopes of paper or the like.
It is well known to confine sipping straws in suitable elongated tubular envelopes of thin paper or the like. As a rule, conventional apparatus for the making and wrapping of sipping straws comprise an extruder that turns out a continuous tube which is normally made of a suitable plastic material (e.g., a transparent or translucent plastic material) and is caused to pass through a cutter. The latter repeatedly severs the leader of the tube to thus convert it into a file or row of discrete sections (hereinafter called straws) of desired length. The thus obtained straws are thereupon wrapped into envelopes in such a way that each envelope exhibits a longitudinally extending flap or fin and is closed at the ends. The making of fins and closing at the ends is accomplished by resorting to suitable knurling tools which interlace overlapping portions of the respective envelopes. Such knurling necessarily involves the making of rather pronounced fins which interfere with predictable confinement of wrapped sipping straws in cardboard boxes or other types of containers. Furthermore, the wrapping operation does not always result in the making of airtight seals and the flaps detract from the appearance of the ultimate products.
The maximum output of presently known apparatus for wrapping sipping straws is in the range of between about 600 and 1000 per minute. On the other hand, an extruder can turn out 2000 or even more straws per minute. Thus, the extruder must operate at less than full capacity due to the lesser output of the wrapping apparatus.
Another drawback of presently known and utilized apparatus for making and wrapping sipping straws is that their requirements for wrapping paper or other suitable wrapping material greatly exceed the minimal requirements which must be satisfied in order to adequately confine and preferably seal or substantially seal an individual straw in a tubular envelope. The disparity between the required quantities of wrapping material and the number of wrapped sipping straws which are turned out per unit of time increases with increasing lengths of the straws.
In addition, the rather limited capacity of conventional straw wrapping or draping apparatus renders it necessary to increase the number of extruding, wrapping and cartoning machines which, in turn, contributes significantly to the overall cost and necessitates the utilization of additional floor space as well as the services of additional attendants.


A water recycling system primarily adapted for use in shower facilities enabling the user to increase both the time duration of a shower and the quantity of water experienced by a user, by maintaining water in a semi-closed system, while both maintaining water and energy conservation. The system preferably operates with fresh and recirculated hot water. The system utilizes spent hot shower water located in the catchment area of a shower or tub and recycles this water to one or more spray heads located at or in the proximity of the regular water dispensing head or so-called "spray head" of that shower. A selected water temperature can be maintained by periodically introducing fresh water or continuously introducing the fresh water at a very low flow rate from a fresh water source, and mixing that water with the recycled water from a water catchment area. Recycled water can also be re-heated and issued again. The apparatus of the system may be provided with an adapter for quick connect and disconnect such that the apparatus can be moved from shower to shower. A manifold forming part of the apparatus includes a check valve arrangement to preclude gray water or spent hot water from entering into the water supply system.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to certain new and useful improvements in a water recycling system and more particularly, to a water circulation system which is highly effective for use in recycling water from a water catchment basin, e.g. of a shower and reissuing the same a through dispensing head along with an intermittent mixing of fresh water from a supply source.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
In many parts of the United States and other countries throughout the world, there are periodic draught conditions which may last for one or more years. In many other countries there is a permanent drought condition as a result of geographic locale and the climatic conditions for that geographic area and hence a chronic shortage of fresh consumable water. As a result, water becomes a precious commodity. Various governmental institutions, as a matter of necessity, impose restrictions on the quantity of water which may be used. These restrictions generally apply to commercial institutions such as hotels and industrial users, as well as to private users.
Coupled with the problem of rationing is the fact that many municipalities have severe restrictions on the use of waste water or gray water and also have restrictions on the use of underground water sources since these sources may potentially be contaminated. As a result of these restrictions, and the rationing of water, one of the principal uses to which water conservation is directed is shower wash water.
Many municipalities, in water shortage periods, instruct the citizens to use shower water only for purposes of rinsing off soap lather, and to cease all water flow during lathering and the like. Moreover, by governmental regulation, all homes in certain municipalities must be outfitted with flow-restricting shower nozzles which materially reduce the water flow rate and hence, the reduction in the quantity of water which issues from a shower head.
The problem of water rationing is particularly pronounced in countries which do not have a large available source of fresh water. Many countries have resorted to the use of desalination plants for purposes of producing fresh water from sea water. However, with the present-day technology, the cost of desalinized water is quite substantial and while there may not be a supply restriction, the cost of the water is quite substantial and therefore, there is an effective economic restriction on the amount of water which can be used in any activity.
Many people are accustomed to and particularly enjoy long showers with an abundance of available hot water. Not only does the flow restricting head reduce the amount of water delivered, but since the flow restricter literally serves as a restriction in the line, water issues at a substantial pressure. As a result, there is not a soft water flow, but rather a high pressure stream of water which does not produce a pleasing sensation when striking upon a person's body in any significant quantity which users may desire.
In many societies of the world, bathing is often a tradition or a ritual. Thus, even if sources of fresh water are readily available, there is still a cost associated with purification and delivery of water from a public source to private facilities. Thus, water conservation still has substantial cost benefits. Further, the bathing is oftentimes not only a traditional ritual, but does provide many aesthetic benefits, as well as therapeutic benefits. Thus, water recycling has a significant advantage in essentially all societies.
When one replaces a government issued or government approved flow-restricting shower head with another high-flow rate conventional shower head, that person risks potential civil penalties, not to mention the substantial cost for exceeding a rationed limit of water. Hotels and similar institutions have a particularly pronounced problem in that there is no effective control on the quantity of shower water used by a temporary occupant. Nevertheless, hotels and similar institutions are almost always subjected to rationing of water on the same basis as the private population. Consequently, these institutions have a particular need for some mechanism to control the amount of water used or otherwise to provide a water-conserving shower bath system.
In view of the foregoing, there is clearly a need of water rationing in those regions where only a limited amount of fresh water may be available, particularly in vehicles such as boats, planes, trains, submarines, space stations, recreational vehicles, mobile homes and the like. These vehicles in particular are uniquely limited in their ability to provide extended shower capacity, due to the finite capacity of water on board the vehicle, or otherwise the ability of the vehicle to create fresh water. Thus, a water recycling system in this type of environment would be particularly effective.
In addition, closely related to the need for water conservation is the problem of energy consumption. The heating of water alone accounts for a substantial energy use in many countries. For those institutions and private residences for reasons of minimizing expense and conserving energy resources and reducing the associated pollution, the reduction of the need to heat water may become as vital a goal as the conservation of the water itself. Use of all forms of heating energy, such as fossil fuel energy, electrical energy and the like, results in increased costs. Further, many commercial and industrial institutions, and the private sector in general, have found it necessary to also restrict the use of fossil fuel energy, as well as restrict the use of water consumption.
In addition to the restrictive constraints on the availability, cost and ecology of heating energy, is the basic limitation or capacity of the supply source to meet the demand. As a simple example, if a hot water heater is limited in its ability to provide sufficient yield when successive and/or multiple demands are placed on this heating system, the consequence of depleting and utilizing all of the available hot water are frequent. In a household environment, with a limited hot water supply capacity, only a limited number of family members can shower within a limited time period without otherwise depleting the availability of hot water. As a result, the traditional therapeutic and healthful ritual of bathing is often degraded into a brief, unsatisfying guilt-ridden utilitarian function of merely cleaning.
The present invention obviates these and other problems in the provision of a water recycling apparatus and method which is highly effective for use in showers and which maintains both energy and water conservation, while greatly improving performance, capacity and satisfaction.

Water recycling system using spent recycled water with fresh water