Manners for transferring information within a flash memory device across a memory array are described. A controller retrieves information from a storage unit and then a decoder decodes the information. The information is set across a series of bitlines through a pass gate to a second controller. The bitlines are both associated with the storage unit as well as bitlines associated with other storage units. A series of transistors is associated with each bitline. Different transistors are active based on if the bitlines are associated with the currently used storage unit.

Electronic devices with the ability to store information (electronic devices) are an important part of society. Electronic devices influence almost every aspect of life, ranging from business transactions to interpersonal communications. Examples of these devices are cellular telephones, personal digital assistants, and personal computers. One important aspect of electronic devices is the ability to store the information in digital memory, which stores information as a series of I/Os. A typical electronic device may have several different types of memory. One memory type is ROM (Read-Only Memory). ROM is a non-volatile memory type that a system can write to only once. Non-volatile memory is memory that can retain information without a draw from a constant source of power. ROM systems can read the information stored in the memory, but ROM systems cannot re-write new information to the memory.
Another type of memory in an electronic device is RAM (Random Access Memory), which is memory that allows information to be read in any order regardless of its stored sequence. RAM is the main working area for an electronic device. An electronic device can read the information stored in the RAM and an electronic device can write new information to the RAM. However, an undesirable aspect with RAM is that most types of RAM are volatile memory types, meaning that they need to draw from a constant source of power to retain their memory.
A common form of RAM is Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM). In an integrated circuit, each bit of data is stored in an individual capacitor as an I/O. The capacitors lose voltage due to natural leakage and stored data is lost unless the system recharges the capacitor. The reason for the term Dynamic refers to a constant activity taking place (e.g., the constant recharging of the capacitor). There are several variations on DRAM, such a video DRAM.
Other memory types exist in attempts to address undesirable aspects of ROM and RAM. One of the basic memory types created to address such aspects is EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) which is both non-volatile and capable of multiple writes and reads. However, EEPROM is relatively expensive to manufacture, thus making use impractical for many personal applications. Flash memory technology is an alternative to EEPROM. In addition to processing the advantages of EEPROM (namely that the memory is readable, re-writable, and non-volatile); flash memory is also relatively cheap to mass-produce. The economic factor makes flash memory much more desirable for personal applications, such as storing of digital photographs and storing digital music files. Moreover, Flash memory devices generally have an expected life span of about one million programming cycles.

Transfer of non-associated information on flash memory devices


The invention relates to a winch device with a first winch having a first winch drum and a second winch having a second winch drum. There is also a synchronizing device through which a rotation of the first winch drum can be synchronized with the rotation of the second winch drum. Further, a differential shaft with a first synchronous wheel and a second synchronous wheel is provided, said first synchronous wheel being connected via a first rotary connection device to a first drive and the second synchronous wheel is connected via a second rotary connection device to the second drive.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a winch mechanism having a first winch with a first winch drum driven in rotary manner by a first drive via a first gear, a second winch with a second winch drum driven in rotary manner by a second drive via a second gear, and a synchronizing device making it possible to synchronous a rotation of the first winch drum with a rotation of the second winch drum.
2. Related Art
Such double winch mechanisms with two winch drums and two separate drives are more particularly used for cranes and other lifting devices. A force distribution over at least two cables is advantageous for strength and safety reasons. Production and cost advantages result from the use of two smaller drives in place of one large drive. The use of two winch drums basically permits a joint and a separate operation of the cables, so that high functionality results from such a winch mechanism.
Such a winch mechanism can e.g. be gathered from JP 52147849 A. The two winch drums are in each case driven by a hydraulic motor. The two hydraulic motors can be synchronized by a corresponding hydraulic connection. However, even minor leaks in the hydraulic system can impair synchronization.
AT 309 011 B discloses a device for controlling the synchronism of at least two motor-moved winches, synchronization being brought about by a relay connection. However, due to their sensitivity, electrical and electronic components can lead to malfunctions, e.g. when used in construction machines under rough construction site conditions.
A gear for driving two drum winches can be gathered from DE 37 10 132 C2. In this case the two winch drums are driven by means of a common main driving motor, so that necessarily synchronization takes place. A differentiated drive of the two drums can be achieved using a positioning motor via a corresponding gear adjustment.


A system and method for controlling a non-tactile device including a receiving device configured to receive signals corresponding to a user's brain waves or movements, the brain waves or movements corresponding to a series of directional intentions, the intentions defining at least one line pattern, a processor configured to process the at least one line pattern, each of said at least one line patterns associated with an action of the device, and output a control signal to the non-tactile device related to the action.

There is an emerging market in the information technology sector that focuses on the reading of brain waves in order to operate devices or to generate speech communication. Devices that read brain waves and control devices are commonly referred to as brain-computer interfaces (BCI), mind-machine interfaces (MMI), direct neural interfaces (DNI), synthetic telepathy interfaces (STI) or a brain-machine interfaces (BMI).
A BCI is a system in which messages or commands that a user sends to the external world do not pass through the brain's normal output pathways of peripheral nerves and muscles. For example, in an electroencephalography (EEG)-based BCI, the messages are encoded in EEG activity. A BCI provides its user with an alternative method for acting on the world. For more information on BCIs, see Wolpaw, Jonathan R., N. Birbaumer, D. J. McFarland, G. Pfurtscheller, and T. M. Vaughan, "Brain-computer interfaces for communication and control," Clinical Neurophysiology, 113 (2002) 767-791, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
A BCI changes electrophysiological signals from mere reflections of central nervous system (CNS) activity into the intended products of that activity: messages and commands that act on the world. It changes a signal such as an EEG rhythm or a neuronal firing rate from a reflection of brain function into the end product of that function: an output that, like output in conventional neuromuscular channels, accomplishes the user's intent. Id. As such, a BCI replaces nerves and muscles and the movements they produce with electrophysiological signals and the hardware and software that translate those signals into actions. Id. A BCI operation depends on the interaction of two adaptive controllers: the user's brain, which produces the signals measured by the BCI; and the BCI itself, which translates these signals into specific commands Id.
Currently, devices such as EEG headsets have become readily available to the retail market. These devices read the brain's six wave types, or "bands", and classifies them into one of the following categories:
TABLE 1The six (6) wave types emitted by a typical brainduring normal thought processes, including theirfrequency ranges and normal correlative behavior.BANDFREQUENCY (Hz)NORMALDeltaup to 4Adult slow-wave sleep;In babies;Present during "continuousattention" tasks;Theta4-7 Drowsiness;Arousal in adults;IdlingAlpha8-12Relaxation/Reflection;Closing the eyes;Inhibition controlBeta13-30 Alertness;Active or anxious thinkingGamma 30-100+Multiple perceptions, suchas "sight and sound";Short-term memorymatching of recognizedobjects;Mu8-13Rest-state motor neurons
EEG devices read the bands of brain activity which present themselves as electrical waves. Typically, these waves are read in real-time, interpreted and then associated to a pre-defined action resulting in a "one-to-one correlation", meaning the user thinks "X" and the device either speaks "X" or executes "X".
Devices exist that can convert a user's thought to a direction (e.g. a direction along the axis) or movement (e.g., movement of a body part of a user, or movement of an external object), in that a user imagines a movement or direction, such as "left", or "ball moves up", or "hand moves down", which creates an easily identifiable wave pattern for the EEG to read, and the EEG sends this pattern to proprietary software which can then send a suitable corresponding (e.g. "left") command to something as simple as a computer cursor or mouse pointer to something physical, such as a wheelchair, car or other device, or can use the thought as a component into an output of item of information.
Examples include that a user thinks "left" which results in something moving left (e.g., a prosthetic appendage, a mouse pointer, etc.).
There are inherent challenges in the existing modality of one-to-one correlations with regards to the association of brain wave patterns in spoken language or executed actions. The only way researchers have been successful with accurate and fast thought-to-speech technologies has been to implant computer chips within the brains of the users, often involving open-brain surgery. The existing thought-to-speech technologies often attempt to identify common/frequent "patterns" within the brain waves of spoken and "non-spoken/thought/imagined" language. Many times, these patterns can be the same for words that are similar: cat, rat, bat, mat, etc. Or, similar phrases such as, "I hate cats" and "irate bats". Even with implanted chips, users can expect a success rate of between 45% and 89%. For more on thought-to-speech, see "Machine Translates Thoughts into Speech in Real Time", Dec. 21, 2009, "phys.org", which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
If an "over-the-counter" EEG machine is incorporated with the existing modalities of brain wave interpretation, the resolution of the device is typically not accurate enough to identify the intended thought consistently to be useful in day-to-day practice. Not only is the general interpretation of brain waves and specific brain wave patterns very difficult due to their dynamic nature and high variability, but outside electrical interference from commonly used devices, such as cell phones and televisions, make this process even more difficult and the output more inaccurate.
The challenges in the user's thought-to-command category of thought-controlled devices are nearly identical with the above thought-to-speech category. Problems with correctly identifying the non-verbalized command greatly affect the selection of the associated action.
There are also challenges with the user's thought-to-direction category. These one-to-one correlations of non-spoken commands/thoughts into the direction of "something" is by far the most accurate and repeatable process for all thought-controlled devices. Up, down, left and right are all consistent, repeatable patterns, and might be the most easily identifiable markers within commonly collected EEG brain wave data. However, this category is limited in that researchers and inventors are only using this logic to associate directional-based thoughts with the movement of an object (e.g., movement of a mouse pointer, movement of a computer cursor, operation of a wheelchair, driving a car, operating an exoskeleton, or the like), which remains a one-to-one correlation of "imagined direction" with the actual executed direction, whether it be virtual via software or mechanical via devices and equipment.
This challenge/limitation leaves a huge void in controlling devices that are not operated with directional thought. For example, controlling, using thought, devices such as televisions, doors, appliances, adjustable beds or even mobile phones and tablet computers is not easily done using conventional methods. The answer would lead one to operate within the thought-to-speech or thought-to-command modalities, which are highly unreliable and unpredictable. It would not necessarily lead one to operate within the thought-to-direction modality due to the traditionally perceived limitation of a finite number of directional thoughts.
As can be seen, there is a need for improved methods for using thoughts and other input to define a single action, function or execution for non-tactile (e.g., not requiring touch input as is required with a keyboard or mouse) or thought-controlled devices that is more reliable and accurate.

Systems and methods for using imagined directions to define an action, function or execution for non-tactile devices


A system includes electronic apparatuses, an information terminal, and an information processing apparatus connected via a data communication line to the electronic apparatuses and the information terminal. The information processing apparatus includes a job executing apparatus determining unit configured to perform a determination process based on apparatus information received from the electronic apparatuses to determine one of the electronic apparatuses as an executing electronic apparatus for executing a requested job, and a data conversion unit configured to convert requested job data received from the information terminal into converted data that the executing electronic apparatus can process and transmit the converted data to the executing electronic apparatus to request execution of the requested job.

1. Field of the Invention
An aspect of this disclosure relates to a technology for controlling execution of jobs.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent No. 3573466, for example, discloses a job control technology where a client sends job data of a print job to a server, and the server generates print data and sends the print data to an image processing apparatus to execute the print job. The disclosed technology eliminates the need to include software (e.g., a printer driver) for generating print data in a client and thereby makes it possible to simplify software management and save storage resources.
However, with the related-art job control technology, the user needs to specify an apparatus or device where a job is to be executed. Here, for example, the format of print data (or execution data) of a print job varies depending on an "executing" image processing apparatus where the print job is to be executed. Accordingly, the server needs to generate execution data that the executing image processing apparatus can process. For this reason, the client sends information indicating an executing image processing apparatus specified by the user to the server, and the server identifies the executing image processing apparatus based on the information and generates data that the executing image processing apparatus can process.
Thus, with the related-art job control technology, the user needs to take the trouble of specifying an "executing" apparatus or device each time that the user requests execution of a job. To obviate this problem, it may be possible to use a fixed or predetermined image processing apparatus to execute jobs. In this case, however, since the same image processing apparatus is used for all jobs requested by the user, the jobs may not be processed properly.
For the above reasons, it is preferable to dynamically and automatically determine an executing apparatus or device that is suitable to execute a requested job.

Job control system and job control method


The present invention relates to the high resolution imaging of samples using imaging mass spectrometry (IMS) and to the imaging of biological samples by imaging mass cytometry (IMCTM) in which labelling atoms are detected by IMS. LA-ICP-MS (a form of IMS in which the sample is ablated by a laser, the ablated material is then ionised in an inductively coupled plasma before the ions are detected by mass spectrometry) has been used for analysis of various substances, such as mineral analysis of geological samples, analysis of archaeological samples, and imaging of biological substances. However, traditional LA-ICP-MS systems and methods may not provide high resolution. Described herein are methods and systems for high resolution IMS and IMC.

LA_ICP-MS (a form of IMS in which the sample is ablated by a laser, the ablated material is then ionised in an inductively coupled plasma before the ions are detected by mass spectrometry) has been used for analysis of various substances, such as mineral analysis of geological samples, analysis of archaeological samples, and imaging of biological substances.
Imaging of biological samples by IMC has previously been reported for imaging at a cellular resolution. Detailed imaging at a sub-cellular resolution has also recently been reported.
Despite these recent advances, there is a need for still further apparatus and techniques that enhance the resolution of IMC to sub micrometer scales. The two main challenges in enhancing the resolution of IMC to sub micrometer scales are:                1) confining the sampling spot area to a size of around 200 nm or less in size; and        2) ensuring that the amount of analyte in the ablated material produces a sufficient signal-to-noise ratio.
It is an object of the invention to provide further and improved apparatus and techniques which overcome these two challenges in order to provide for high resolution imaging of samples.

High resolution imaging apparatus and method


The invention provides novel poly-substituted 5-membered heterocyclic compounds represented by Formula (IV), or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt, solvate, metabolite, polymorph, ester, tautomer or prodrug thereof, and a composition comprising these compounds. The compounds provided can be used as selective irreversible bruton's tyrosine kinase (Btk) inhibitors and are further useful to treat inflammatory, auto immune diseases associated with aberrant B-cell proliferation such as RA (rheumatoid arthritis) and cancers. This invention also provides the preparation of a medicament using of Formula (IV), and methods of preventing or treating diseases associated with excessive Btk activity in mammals, especially humans.

Protein kinases, the largest family of human enzymes, encompass well over 500 proteins. Specifically, tyrosine kinases phosphorylate proteins on the phenolic moiety of tyrosine residues. The tyrosine kinase family includes members that control cell growth, migration, and differentiation. Abnormal kinase activity has been implicated in a variety of human diseases including cancers, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
Btk is a member of the Tec family of tyrosine kinases, and has been shown to be a critical regulator of early B-cell development and mature B-cell activation and survival (Khan et al. Immunity 1995 3:283; Ellmeier et al. J. Exp. Med. 2000 192:1611). B-cell signaling through the B-cell receptor (BCR) leads to a wide range of biological outputs, which in turn depend on the developmental stage of the B-cell. The magnitude and duration of BCR signals must be precisely regulated. Aberrant BCR-mediated signaling can cause deregulated B-cell activation and/or the formation of pathogenic auto-antibodies leading to multiple autoimmune and/or inflammatory diseases.
Evidence for a role for Btk in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases has also been provided by Btk-deficient mouse models. In preclinical murine models of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), Btk-deficient mice show marked amelioration of disease progression. In addition, Btk-deficient mice are resistant to collagen-induced arthritis (Jansson and Holmdahl Clin. Exp. Immunol. 1993 94:459). A selective Btk inhibitor has been demonstrated dose-dependent efficacy in a mouse arthritis model (Pan et al., Chem. Med Chem. 2007 2:58-61).
Btk is also expressed by cells other than B-cells that may be involved in disease processes. For example, Btk is expressed by mast cells and Btk-deficient bone marrow derived mast cells demonstrate impaired antigen induced degranulation (Iwaki et al. J. Biol. Chem. 2005 280:40261). This shows Btk could be useful to treat pathological mast cell responses such as allergy and asthma. Also monocytes from XLA patients, in which Btk activity is absent, show decreased TNFα production following stimulation (Horwood et al. J Exp Med 197:1603, 2003). Therefore, TNFα mediated inflammation could be inhibited by small molecule inhibitors of Btk. Also, Btk has been reported to play a role in apoptosis (Islam and Smith Immunol Rev 178:49, 2000) and thus Btk inhibitors would be useful for the treatment of certain B-cell lymphomas and leukemias (Feldhahn et al. J Exp Med 201:1837, 2005).
On Jun. 16, 2012, Biopharmaceutical Company Pharmacyclics announced 2 new phase Ib/II clinical experimental results (PCYC-1102 and PCYC-1108) by using Btk inhibitor Ibrutinib (PCI-32765) for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL). The experimental results indicated that 61 patients with relapsed/refractory and 31 untreated patients with CLL are highly active and well tolerated, in addition, during the test, none of the patients was discontinuous because of adverse events.
Obviously, the excellent clinical results of Ibrutinib show that highly selective small molecule Btk inhibitors will be the hot star in the field of global drug development.


A participatory water slide play apparatus is disclosed upon which a ride participant can slide from an upper portion to a lower portion. Sensor/actuator devices are positioned on or adjacent the slide at locations intermediate the upper and lower portions thereof and are linked to associated play elements, such as water forming elements, noise making devices, scoring devices, and the like. While traveling down the slide, the ride participant is able to actuate one or more of the sensor/actuator devices to trigger one or more associated play elements and/or effects. Thus, aside from the enjoyment of the ride itself, ride participants can bring about desired effects and/or actively participate or interact with other ride participants located on or around the slide play structure in a fun and exciting manner.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of commercial play structures and, in particular, to water slide play structures.
2. Description of the Related Art
The popularity of family-oriented theme parks and commercial recreational facilities has increased steadily in the last decade. Water parks, in particular, have proliferated as adults and children alike seek the thrill and entertainment of water attractions as a healthy and enjoyable way to cool off in the hot summer months.
Water parks typically incorporate a variety of different water attractions. One of the most popular water attractions is the water slide. Commercial water slides typically include a riding surface and a plurality of water outlets at the upper entrance portion thereof for admitting water directly onto the riding surface. The water on the riding surface provides a lubricant, reducing friction between the ride participant and the riding surface. Additional water outlets may be interspersed at intervals along the length of the slide, as desired, to provide additional lubricant and/or to accelerate or decelerate the ride participant, as desired. The pull of gravity and/or water acceleration propels the ride participant from one end of the slide to the other. The ride participant typically exits the ride at the end by splashing into a receiving pool.
A climbing structure or stairway is typically provided adjacent the slide to enable ride participants to ascend to the entrance of the slide, usually the uppermost portion. Typically, only one person at a time is able to slide down the slide; others are either climbing the stairs to the top and/or waiting in an adjacent queuing area for their turn to ride down the water slide. Due to the popularity of these rides, queuing areas often extend down the climbing structure and participants may be forced to wait up to 20 minutes or more for their turn to slide down the riding surface. The extended waiting time is a common complaint among ride participants since the ride itself only lasts less than about a minute.
To help alleviate these problems and to create a more exciting water slide experience my U.S. Pat. No. 5,378,197 first disclosed the concept of a participatory water slide play structure in which various water forming devices are positioned over the slide for expelling water onto play participants as they slide down the slide. The devices are arranged such that they can be actuated by the play participants waiting in line or ascending the adjacent climbing structure. It was found that by providing activities for persons waiting in line, their attention was diverted from the tiresome wait and they were able to enjoy and even look forward to their turn in line.
While this generally improved the morale of those play participants waiting in line, the slide experience itself remained largely "passive"--that is, the play participants sliding down the slide (sometimes referred to herein as "ride participants") could not interact with the ride or other play participants once they began their descent down the riding surface. As a result, these ride participants often became the passive "victims" of other play participants controlling the various water forming elements. The slide experience for many of these ride participants often became a hapless ride through a gauntlet of water sprays, jets and water falls with no means to avoid being targeted or to fight back.

Participatory water slide play structure


A method and apparatus for combusting a fuel and air mixture within a combustion chamber, particularly a combustion chamber of a gaseous fuel fired water heater. A pressure relief void is intentionally formed so that a combustion chamber forms communication with a surrounding environment through means other than the exhaust flue and/or a fuel and/or air inlet. During ignition, the pressure relief void allows pre-combustion fluid within the combustion chamber to escape through both the pressure relief void and the exhaust flue. The pressure relief void reduces or eliminates undesirable noise associated with start-up and operation of conventional water heater combustion chambers with premixed burner systems. The pressure relief void of this invention is preferably sized large enough to relieve an ignition pressure pulse from the combustion chamber upon ignition and yet is sized small enough to prevent a combustion flame from passing through the pressure relief void during ignition and/or operational combustion. The water heater may include two burner assemblies, each which can be easily attached or detached, for quick installation and easy maintenance.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for operating a heater, such as a gaseous fuel fired water heater. This invention also relates to a water heater having two or more burner assemblies and a mounting apparatus for releasably attaching each burner assembly to a bottom wall of a combustion chamber, such as a water heater combustion chamber.
2. Description of Related Art
Many conventional water heater combustion chambers intentionally operate with a combustion chamber that is substantially sealed, except for communication with the surrounding environment through a flue stack and an inlet opening for fuel and/or air. In some designs, the combustion air is introduced into the combustion chamber through a restricted opening, wherein a portion of the air is mixed with fuel in the burner nozzle and ignited in a primary combustion region and the remaining portion of the air is directed around the burner to complete combustion. The remainder of the combustion chamber is substantially sealed. U.S. Pat. No. 5,797,355 describes such a gas-fired heater. The purpose of the restricted air opening in the combustion chamber is to prevent a combustion flame from passing from the combustion chamber to the ambient surroundings.
Alternatively, the heater may be constructed with a substantially sealed combustion chamber in which all or substantially all of the combustion air and fuel are directed through an inlet nozzle to the burner, denoted as a fully premixed or simply premixed burner, with the intent of improving burner and overall system performance. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,355,841 describes a gas-fired heater with a premixed burner having a substantially sealed combustion chamber. It is apparent that many conventional designs having premixed burner systems try to achieve a gas tight seal between the combustion chamber and a tank wall in order to limit the entry of secondary combustion air.
A common phenomenon associated with water heater designs employing premixed burners is an undesirable noise, upon ignition and during steady state operation of the combustion chamber. The noise is initiated by the transient pressure rise associated with burner ignition, and may persist during steady state operation if one or more frequencies generated by flame instabilities or other periodic energy input from the burners corresponds with one or more structural or fluidic natural frequencies of the water heater and if there is insufficient system damping to mitigate the acoustic response. Various approaches have been taken to provide noise reduction and/or pressure relief in the substantially sealed combustion chamber, as taught in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,317,992, 5,435,716 and 5,791,298, including insulation provided on the interior of the combustion chamber, a diaphragm on the bottom of the combustion chamber, and openings in the combustion chamber covered by porous material or flaps. These approaches add to system cost and manufacturing complexity, and introduce additional components that can negatively impact reliability.
It is one object of this invention to provide a method and apparatus for operating a water heater wherein a pressure relief void is in communication with the combustion chamber, to relieve chamber pressure during ignition and also to prevent a combustion flame from passing through the pressure relief void during operational combustion.
It is another object of this invention to provide a gaseous fuel fired water heater that has two burner assemblies mounted within or exposed to a combustion chamber.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a mounting apparatus for releasably attaching a burner assembly to a bottom wall or a base plate of a water heater combustion chamber.
The method and apparatus of this invention reduce undesirable noise associated with ignition and with steady state or operational combustion. The method and apparatus of this invention enhance design flexibility by providing a relatively broad range of port loading, the firing rate per square inch of burner material. The method and apparatus of this invention also enhance scale-up capabilities which allows one particular burner assembly design to be used in different operations with various load settings.
The above and other objects of this invention are accomplished with a method wherein a fuel and air mixture, preferably but not necessarily pre-mixed and containing sufficient air to completely combust the quantity of fuel, is introduced into a burner and burned or combusted within a combustion chamber. The fuel and air mixture is ignited within the combustion chamber. An exhaust flue forms communication between the combustion chamber and an ambient environment which surrounds the combustion apparatus. Combustion products discharge through the exhaust flue.
In a pre-combustion condition, the combustion chamber is filled with or houses a fluid, mostly air or another suitable oxidant. Upon initial ignition of the fuel and air mixture, a first portion of the pre-combustion fluid passes through a pressure relief void and a second portion of the pre-combustion fluid passes through the exhaust flue. Conventional water heater apparatuses having premixed burner systems try to seal the combustion chamber, except for communication with an air supply and the exhaust flue, which the prior art refers to as a substantially sealed chamber. According to this invention, the pressure relief void is intended to form a combustion chamber which is not substantially sealed.
In one embodiment of this invention, the pressure relief void is sized large enough to relieve an ignition pressure from the combustion chamber when the fuel and air mixture is initially ignited yet is sized small enough to prevent a combustion flame from passing through the pressure relief void during ignition and/or operational combustion of the continuously supplied fuel and air mixture.
The pressure relief void can have many different sizes, shapes, forms, and locations with the combustion chamber, as long as an effective area of the pressure relief void adequately relieves the ignition pressure and prevents the combustion flame from passing through the pressure relief void during ignition and/or operational combustion. For example, the pressure relief void can be formed by a peripheral gap between the combustion chamber wall and a vessel wall, such as of a water tank of the water heater. In other embodiments, the pressure relief void can be incorporated in the mounting structure for the pilot assembly or the bottom wall or side wall of the combustion chamber. Many different structural elements and configurations can be used to maintain or form the pressure relief void.
In one embodiment of this invention, the water heater apparatus has two or more burner assemblies mounted to a bottom wall of the combustion chamber. In one embodiment, two burner assemblies are positioned a distance apart from each other and form a catch area between the burner assemblies. The catch area is preferably but not necessarily located on the bottom wall, for catching debris fallout and/or condensation which may occur during combustion.
In another embodiment of this invention, each burner assembly preferably has a mounting apparatus for releasably attaching the burner assembly with respect to a bottom wall that at least partially defines the combustion chamber. The mounting apparatus includes a retainer which is secured, either fixedly or releasably, to the burner assembly. A clip is attached to the bottom wall. The clip has an end portion spaced from the bottom wall and thus forms a receiver. A portion of the retainer can be engaged within the receiver. Once engaged, a removable fastener can be used to fasten another end of the retainer against the bottom wall.
In one embodiment, the fastener is a screw. In another embodiment the fastener includes a catch or latch which can be removably engaged within a shoulder of the bottom wall. Any other suitable connecting device can be used to quickly attach and detach the burner assembly with respect to the bottom wall. The mounting apparatus of this invention simplifies field installation and/or maintenance of burner assemblies mounted within water heaters.

Method and apparatus for operating gaseous fuel fired heater


Device for fitting a sleeve onto a container uch as a bottle or a similar object, means being provided for pulling a plastic tube from a supply roller from which a sleeve is cut-off. The device comprises a number of double-walled bushes, each being provided with a guiding member and consisting of a perforated inner wall and an outer wall extending around said inner wall so that an annular space is formed in which underpressure can be generated through a vacuum line. There is a positioning means for the bushes, so that a sleeve can be slid into it and can engage the inner wall of the bush, whereupon the bush is slid across a container and the connection to the vacuum line is disconnected. Then the bush is brought upwards and the container can be removed from the device.

The invention relates to a device for fitting a sleeve on a container such as a bottle or a similar object, said device comprising a double-walled bush with its inner wall perforated and the interior annular space of the bush being connectable to a vacuum line for generating underpressure within the interior space and sucking a sleeve inserted in said bush against the inner wall so that a container can be brought into the sleeve whereupon the connection with the vacuum line is disconnected.
Devices of this kind are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,841,940, 5,715,651, French Pat. No. 2,669,908, and European Pat. No. 0,109,105.
In the device of the U.S. Pat. No. 3,841,940 the axis of the bush extends almost horizontally and the upper part of the inner wall can be moved vertically in relation to the lower part. By this it should be guaranteed that the sleeve, being brought into the bush in a more or less folded position, will properly engage the inner wall. Due to the fact that the upper part of the inner wall is movable, leakage of air along the end edges may occur. Therefore, there is no guarantee that the sleeve will properly contact the inner wall. When sealings are applied between the parts, these will cause friction, causing the movement of the upper part of the inner wall to be counteracted.
Further, it is difficult to put a sleeve into the bush time after time, this being particularly laborious. This will cause the production rate of the device to be low.
In case of U.S. Pat. No. 5,715,651 a separated sleeve is brought on a device being formed by a fixed suction surface in the form of a comb conprising spaced teeth. Subsequently, the sleeve is taken up by stretchers. The stretchers are moved apart so that the sleeve can be fitted on a container. Thus, the sleeve must be able to withstand a considerable stretch and withdrawing the stretchers out of the sleeve and along the wall of the container may cause difficulties. This does not guarantee appropriate functioning of the device.
French Pat. No. 2,669,908 describes a device in which two resilient plates, being flat in their starting positions, with a sleeve between them, are received between two pairs of clamping jaws. The sleeve is drawn against the plates in that the plates are provided with a number of openings to which pipes connected to a vacuum source are connected. The clamping jaws are pushed towards each other to bring the plates in a bent shape so that together they bring the sleeve in a somewhat circular shape.
This involves a complicated structure and operation. Further, there is a risk that the sleeve will not take up the appropriate form or will be damaged on pushing the resilient plates towards each other.
European Pat. No. 0,109,105 shows a device for cutting a part, in the shape of a sleeve, from a flattened plastic tube drawn from a supply roller. Said sleeve being directly brought upon a container. This, however, is not always possible e.g. when the surface of the container is somewhat wet.
It is an object of this invention to provide a device by which the sleeves will be fitted on the containers in the right way, said device having a high capacity. To that end it is provided for, that the device comprises a number of bushes the inner and outer walls of which are fixedly connected to each other, the axes of said bushes being directed vertically, positioning means for the bushes being present so that a sleeve, obtained by cutting-off a part of a flattened plastic tube drawn from a supply roller, can be slid into a bush in vertical direction and can be sucked against the inner wall of it, whereupon the positioning means can slide the bush and the sleeve across a container and the connection with the vacuum line can be disconnected. So the double-walled bush need only be moved up and down, in such a way that it is situated above a container and can take up a sleeve, while subsequently being moved downwards so that it is positioned around the container. Then, the underpressure is released and the bush is returned to its initial position.
To prevent the sleeve from moving up again with the bush, means for blowing hot air onto the lower edge of the sleeve when the bush is in its lowermost position on the container can be provided for.
To that end the outer wall of the bush can be provided with a downwards extending portion such that a chamber is obtained to which a line for hot air can be connected. Now during upward movement of the bush, the sleeve is shrunk simultaneously, no separate shrinking process being necessary.
It has turned out that it is not absolutely necessary to bring the sleeve in the spread state before it is inserted into the bush. It is desirable, that the sleeve will engage a given portion of the inner circumference of the inner wall of the bush. When this would not be the case, the suction force acting on the sleeve might be insufficient to bring the sleeve in the appropriate shape before it is slid onto a container.
It should be taken into consideration, however, that a certain positive tolerance might exist in the circumferential length of the sleeve. In order to accommodate this the inner wall of the bush will be provided with at least one outwardly directed slot. In order to facilitate accommodation of the overmeasure of material said inner wall of the bush might be provided with more slots.
In particular, a stationary stop member for the sleeve will be present underneath the bush, at the position where a sleeve is inserted into it.
Owing to this, the sleeve can be brought on the appropriate position within the bush before a vacuum is generated in the internal space of the bush.
Such a stop member can be in the shape of a substantially horizontally extending rod being situated at some distance below the bush at the position where the sleeve is inserted into said bush, and which, on moving the bush or the rod substantially in horizontal direction, will closely engage the bottom side of the bush.
This gives the advantage that the sleeve, after first having been slid into the bush till beyond its bottom plane, is brought to the correct position in the bush by the stop member. When the stop member is situated directly below the bush, at the position where the sleeve is inserted into it, a bouncing movement of the sleeve may occur. This would not guarantee that the sleeve is at the appropriate location in the bush when the bush is connected to the vacuum line.
In the known way, the device will comprise a turret in which containers are brought onto a rotating disc from which disc they will be removed after a certain rotation of said disc, the number of bushes being at least equal to the number of containers which can be present on said disc and the guiding member of each bush being slidable along a substantially vertically extending guide connected to the disc.
In the device according to the invention, the bushes are moved in vertical direction, to which end a curve track fixedly mounted in the device is used, against which the guide member of the bush is drawn downwards by means of a spring, in which the sleeve is inserted into the bush at almost the highest point of the track.
This gives the advantage, that when the downward movement of the bush is prevented for some reason, the bush can be kept at a higher position against the action of said spring. This prevents blocking of the device with possible harmful consequences.
Since the vacuum line extending to a bush should rotate along with the disc of the turret, it can be provided for, that the vacuum lines of the bushes situated on the turret are connected to an annular vacuum switching plate extending around the rotary shaft of the disc of the turret and moving along with it, or being part of it, an opening in the vacuum switching plate during part of its rotation communicating with a stationary arranged vacuum chamber situated underneath the switching plate.
In order to provide for, that the bush provided with a sleeve slides down across a container in the appropriate way, means for holding a container positioned on the disc of a turret will be provided for.
During rotation of the disc, a centrifugal force will be exerted on the container, as a result of which the container might be able to move in relation to the disc.
The means for keeping a container in its place on the disc of the turret can be in the form of openings in the disc which can be connected to at least one vacuum chamber situated below the disc. Often it might be sufficient to hold the containers only when bringing them onto the disc and removing them from it.
In certain cases, it is desirable, that the sleeve extends across a part of the bottom of a container. In that case it is provided for, that each container is positioned on a platform being supported movably in vertical direction in the disc of the turret and being provided with a connection for a vacuum line, said platform supporting only the central part of the bottom of a container.
When the bottom of a container does not engage the disc in the appropriate way, generating underpressure below the container will be useless. In that case, it can be provided for, that the disc has a number of openings for each container, to wit at least three, through which pins can be slid from below till beyond the surface of the disc, which will be situated around the container, with the pins being mounted on a support member being movable in vertical direction by operating means.
The operating means for moving the pin-bearing support member up and down can be in the form of a curve track fixedly mounted below the disc of the turret.
It will be obvious, that the means for holding the container on the disc must be activated immediately after the container has been placed on the disc. After that, the means might be switched-off depending on the design of the turret.
The inner wall of the bush need not necessarily have a cylindrical shape. It can also have a more rectangular or oval shape and thus be suitable for fitting a sleeve onto a container having a corresponding cross-sectional shape. Generally, then it will be necessary that a sleeve is inserted into the bush in a certain way. Namely, a print present on the sleeve then will have to be visible on the container in the desired way. Thus, the sleeve should be guided more carefully on insertion into the bush.
The device described above has proven to function very reliably already at a relatively small underpressure in the double-walled bush. When applying a relatively high underpressure, it is possible to process so-called xe2x80x9cstretch sleevesxe2x80x9d.
The invention also comprises a method of using the device described above, said method being characterized in that a sleeve is cut-off from a flattened plastic tube drawn from a supply roller, said sleeve being slid vertically into a double-walled bush having its inner wall perforated, air being drawn from the space around the inner wall so that the sleeve is pressed against the inner wall, the bush being slid across a container, the underpressure in the space being removed, a stream of hot air being directed at the lower edge of the sleeve and the bush being returned to its initial position.
The nature, utility, and further features of this invention will be more clearly apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Device for fitting a sleeve on a container and method of applying the device


The present invention provides a positive electrode active material for lithium ion battery having good rate characteristics. The positive electrode active material for lithium ion battery has a layer structure expressed by a composition formula: Lix(NiyM1-y)Oz, wherein M represents Mn and Co, x represents 0.9 to 1.2, y represents 0.6 to 0.9, and z represents 1.8 to 2.4. The positive electrode active material has a particle size ratio D50P/D50 of 0.60 or more, wherein D50 is the average secondary particle size of the positive electrode active material powder, and D50P is the average secondary particle size of the positive electrode active material powder after pressing at 100 MPa. The positive electrode active material contains 3% or less particles having a particle size of 0.4 μm or less in terms of the volume ratio after pressing at 100 MPa.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a positive electrode active material for lithium ion battery, a positive electrode for lithium ion battery, and a lithium ion battery.
2. Description of Related Art
In general, as positive electrode active materials for lithium ion batteries, lithium-containing transition metal oxides are used. Specific examples thereof include lithium cobaltate (LiCoO2), lithium nickelate (LiNiO2), and lithium manganate (LiMn2O4). In order to improve characteristics (high capacity, cycling characteristics, storage characteristics, internal resistance reduction, and rate characteristics) and safety, combination of these oxides is progressed. Lithium ion batteries for large-size applications such as those for automobiles and road leveling are required to have different characteristics from prior art batteries for cellular telephones and personal computers. In particular, special emphasis is placed on good rate characteristics.
Improvement of rate characteristics has been attempted by various methods. For example, Patent document 1 discloses a layered lithium nickel complex oxide powder for lithium secondary battery positive electrode material composed of secondary particles prepared by aggregation of primary particles, the layered lithium nickel complex oxide powder for lithium secondary battery positive electrode material having a bulk density of 2.0 g/cc or more, an average primary particle size B of 0.1 to 1 μm, the secondary particles having a median diameter A of 9 to 20 μm, the ratio of the median diameter A of the secondary particles to the average primary particle size B, or A/B being from 10 to 200. The document describes that it provides a high density layered lithium nickel complex oxide powder for lithium secondary battery positive electrode material which allows the production of a lithium secondary battery having a high capacity and good rate characteristics.    (Patent document 1) Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-214138

Positive electrode active material for lithium-ion battery, positive electrode for lithium-ion battery, and lithium-ion battery


Hand-held hair dryer having a housing provided with air inlet, an electric fan, and power supply. The hair dryer is provided with an upper air outlet and a lower air outlet extending substantially in opposite directions out from the housing and provided with heating element. The lower air outlet also serves as a grip. The housing is provided with a throttle arranged pivotably about a pivot. The throttle is operated by a button between a first position where the upper air outlet is blocked and the lower air outlet is open to air flow, and a second position where the air flows in a direction opposite of the first.

Hairdressers work in a vulnerable occupational group with regard to strain injuries and sick leave. A lot of hairdressers are forced to stop working long time before planned pension age. A substantial reason to this problem is the extensive use of hair dryers. When drying in the direction from top to down the hairdresser must direct the air downwards towards the hair from above, and the hairdresser must lift the arm by twisting the elbow upwards and twist the wrist to direct the air in correct direction. This results in a stress on as well shoulder as wrist. When drying in the direction bottom up the hairdresser often works in a tilted working position and with twisting movements of the wrist. When the hairdresser is about to dry the hair on top of the head, it may be difficult to direct the air in correct direction without having to stretch herself over the customer and work with elevated shoulder and arm. When the hairdresser is drying the hair at the forehead, they often want the air to come from below whereby the wrist is subjected to twisting movements. Another problem with prior art hair dryers is the grip. Prior art hair dryers have smooth grips of plastic material, which forces the hairdresser to squeeze the grip harder and correct the grip when the hands are littered with hair agents. When drying from the top in direction downwards the, thumb joint or fingers are subjected to increased stress or strain.
In addition to the hair dryers found in the hair styling saloons today, examples of hair dryers can be found in the patent literature. For example GB 1559423 and DE 2743743 show hair dryers where the grip is adjustable to a position along the same axis as the air outlet. US patent publication 2008/0040694 describes a hair dryer where the neck of the air outlet also may serve as a grip to improve the ergonomics when drying in direction downwards. A disadvantage of the latter solution is that the user must change grip from the first grip to the other. EP 1649773 describes a hair dryer having ergonomically shaped grips arranged in parallel with the air outlet direction. However, this hair dryer does not solve the problem with strain on wrists when the hairdresser is about to change air flow direction. U.S. Pat. No. 4,195,217 describes a cylindrically shaped hair dryer housing having a grip surface along the outlet.


A self-governing fluidic variable inertia flywheel that can maintain a constant angular velocity is disclosed. The flywheel uses a movable member to separate a liquid filled chamber from a gas occupying chamber. In one embodiment, a self-governing fluidic variable inertia flywheel includes a container having an internal volume and a movable member disposed within the container such that the internal volume is separated into a first chamber and a second chamber containing a fluid. The movable member is responsive to changes in angular velocity of the fluid.

Energy storage is important for many applications from hybrid vehicles to off-peak electric power to rotating machinery. A flywheel offers the combination of high energy density and high power density not attainable with other energy storage medium. Numerous applications utilize flywheels, typically either for purely storing energy or for the purpose of minimizing the angular velocity fluctuation of a shaft. Examples of energy storage applications include flywheel hybrid vehicles, uninterrupted power supplies, cyclic alternative energy sources such as wind turbines, and space power systems. Applications utilizing a flywheel for smoothing angular velocity fluctuations include an internal combustion engine, industrial machinery such as camshafts, and AC generators. In the design of a system with a conventional flywheel used to minimize changes in angular velocity, the flywheel is sized for an allowable coefficient of fluctuation, defined as the change in angular velocity during a cycle divided by the average angular velocity. To achieve a low coefficient of fluctuation, a flywheel with a large moment of inertia is required.
From the equation for the kinetic energy storage of a flywheel,E=½Iω2,
where I is the mass moment of inertia and ω is the angular velocity, it can be noted that a change in energy can be accommodated with a change in the angular velocity, as in a conventional flywheel, or through a change in the moment of inertia. Utilizing a variable inertia flywheel theoretically enables a zero coefficient of fluctuation with a smaller and lighter flywheel. Alternatively, a variable inertia flywheel can eliminate the need for a continuously variable transmission between the flywheel and the load. The inertia of a flywheel can be changed in multiple ways including moving mechanical masses, allowing the flywheel material to strain, and the like.
In many situations, it is desirable to store energy at a constant angular velocity. One of the earliest variable inertia flywheels was the flyball governor by James Watt. Other moving mass variable inertia flywheels include designs using sliding masses on tracks and band-type variable inertia flywheels (BVIF). The BVIF uses a thin metal band wrapped between an inner and outer drum. By changing the angular difference between the inner and outer hubs, the wrappings of the band are transferred between the two drums. To create this angular difference between the two hubs, attempts to recirculate power from the flywheel using a planetary gear train were made.
Instead of moving fixed masses through mechanical means, another method of creating a variable inertia flywheel is to allow the centripetal acceleration of the flywheel create strain in the material. Due to the non-linear stress-strain relationship of specific elastomers, approximately 80% of the stored energy in the system can be extracted at a nearly constant angular velocity. However, due to the limited strength of elastomeric materials with the required stress-strain behavior, the energy density of the flywheel is significantly limited.
Variable inertia flywheels may be applied in various applications, such as hydraulic energy storage applications. Hydraulic energy storage is important to numerous applications including hydraulic hybrid vehicles and alternative energy sources such as wind turbines. Hydraulic energy is typically stored in a hydraulic accumulator, which is typically a pressure vessel containing a gas that is compressed by the addition of hydraulic oil to the pressure vessel. The energy storage density of hydraulic accumulators is significantly lower than other energy storage mediums. The consequence of this for applications such as hydraulic hybrid vehicles is a concession in the energy storage capacity based on packaging and weight considerations. The limited energy storage is a barrier to technologies such as "plug-in" hydraulic hybrid vehicles that can operate for a considerable distance solely on energy storage.
Previous research on improving the energy density of hydraulic accumulators has primarily focused on isothermalizing the compression and expansion of the gas in the accumulator and adding foam or fine metallic strands to the gas volume. These approaches have provided incremental increases in the energy density of hydraulic accumulators, yet the energy density is still orders of magnitude lower than competing technologies.

Fluidic variable inertia flywheel and flywheel accumulator system


A method for operating a computer as a support vector machine (SVM) in order to define a decision surface separating two opposing classes of a training set of vectors. The method involves associating a distance parameter with each vector of the SVM's training set. The distance parameter indicates a distance from its associated vector, being in a first class, to the opposite class. A number of approaches to calculating distance parameters are provided. For example, a distance parameter may be calculated as the average of the distances from its associated vector to each of the vectors in the opposite class. The method further involves determining a linearly independent set of support vectors from the training set such that the sum of the distances associated with the linearly independent support vectors is minimized.

A Support Vector Machine (SVM) is a universal learning machine that, during a training phase, determines a decision surface or "hyperplane". The decision hyperplane is determined by a set of support vectors selected from a training population of vectors and by a set of corresponding multipliers. The decision hyperplane is also characterised by a kernel function.
Subsequent to the training phase a SVM operates in a testing phase during which it is used to classify test vectors on the basis of the decision hyperplane previously determined during the training phase. A problem arises however as the complexity of the computations that must be undertaken to make a decision scales with the number of support vectors used to determine the hyperplane.
Support Vector Machines find application in many and varied fields. For example, in an article by S. Lyu and H. Farid entitled "Detecting Hidden Messages using Higher-Order Statistics and Support Vector Machines" (5th International Workshop on Information Hiding, Noordwijkerhout, The Netherlands, 2002) there is a description of the use of an SVM to discriminate between untouched and adulterated digital images.
Alternatively, in a paper by H. Kim and H. Park entitled "Prediction of protein relative solvent accessibility with support vector machines and long-range interaction 3d local descriptor" (Proteins: structure, function and genetics, to be published) SVMs are applied to the problem of predicting high resolution 3D structure in order to study the docking of macro-molecules.
The mathematical basis of a SVM will now be explained. An SVM is a learning machine that selects m random vectors x∈Rd, drawn independently from the probability distribution function p(x). The system then returns an output value for every input vector xi, such that ƒ(xi)=yi.
The (xi, yi) i=0, . . . m are referred to as the training examples. The resulting function ƒ(x) determines the hyperplane which is then used to estimate unknown mappings.
FIG. 1, illustrates the above method. Each of steps 24, 26 and 28 of FIG. 1 are well known in the prior art.
With some manipulations of the governing equations the support vector machine can be phrased as the following Quadratic Programming problem:min W(a)=½aTΩa−aTe  (1)whereΩi,j=yiyjK(xi,xi)  (2)e=[1,1,1,1, . . . 1]T  (3)Subject to 0=aTy  (4)0≦ai≦C  (5)whereC is some regularization constant.  (6)
The K(xi,xi) is the kernel function and can be viewed as a generalized inner product of two vectors. The result of training the SVM is the determination of the multipliers ai.
Suppose we train a SVM classifier with pattern vectors xi, and that r of these vectors are determined to be support vectors, denote them by xi, i=1, 2 . . . , r. The decision hyperplane for pattern classification then takes the form
                              f                                (            x            )                          =                                            ∑                              i                =                1                            r                                                                  α                i                                                          y                i                                                          K                                                  (                                      x                    ,                                          x                      i                                                        )                                                              +          b                                    (        7        )
where ai is the Lagrange multiplier associated with pattern xi and K(. , .) is a kernel function that implicitly maps the pattern vectors into a suitable feature space. The b can be determined independently of the ai. FIG. 2 illustrates in two dimensions the separation of two classes by a hyperplane 30. Note that all of the x's and o's contained within a rectangle in FIG. 2 are considered to be support vectors and would have associated non-zero ai.
Now suppose that support vector xk is linearly dependent on the other support vectors in feature space, i.e.
                              K                                (                          x              ,                              x                k                                      )                          =                              ∑                                          i                =                1                                            i                ≠                k                                      r                                                        c              i                                                  K                                            (                                  x                  ,                                      x                    i                                                  )                                                                        (        8        )            where ci are some scalars.
Then the decision surface defined by equation (7) can be written as
                              f                                (            x            )                          =                                            ∑                                                i                  =                  1                                                  i                  ≠                  k                                            r                                                                  α                i                                                          y                i                                                          K                                                  (                                      x                    ,                                          x                      i                                                        )                                                              +                                    α              k                                                  y              k                                                                  ∑                                                      i                    =                    1                                                        i                    ≠                    k                                                  r                                                                            c                  i                                                                  K                                                        (                                          x                      ,                                              x                        i                                                              )                                                                                +          b                                    (        9        )
Now define akykci=aiyiyi so that (9) can be written
                              f                                (            x            )                          =                                            ∑                                                i                  =                  1                                                  i                  ≠                  k                                            r                                                                                α                  i                                                                  (                                      1                    +                                          γ                      i                                                        )                                                                          y                i                                                          K                                                  (                                      x                    ,                                          x                      i                                                        )                                                              +          b                                    (        10        )                                                                            =                                                    ∑                                  i                  =                  1                                r                                                                            α                  i                  ′                                                                  y                  i                                                                  K                                                        (                                          x                      ,                                              x                        i                                                              )                                                                        +                          b                                                                                where                                                          (        11        )                                          α          i          ′                =                              α            i                                          (                          1              +                              γ                i                                      )                                              (        12        )
Comparing (11) and (7) we see that the linearly dependent support vector xk is not required in the representation of the decision surface. Note that the Lagrange multipliers must be modified in order to obtain the simplified representation. This process, (described in T. Downs, K. E. Gates, and A. Masters. "Exact simplification of support vector solutions". Journal of Machine Learning Research, 2:293-297, 200) is a successful way of reducing the support vectors after they have been calculated.
FIG. 3 depicts the same hyperplane as in FIG. 2, but this time the number of support vectors has been reduced to just two vectors 32 through the process of determining a linearly independent set of support vectors.
Given either (11) or (7) an un-classified sample vector x may be classified by calculating ƒ(x) and then returning −1 for all values less than zero and 1 for all values greater than zero.
FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a typical method employed by prior art SVMs for classifying an unknown vector. Steps 34 through 40 are defined in the literature and by equations (7) or (11).
As previously alluded to, because the sets of training vectors may be very large and the time involved to train the SVM may be excessive it would be desirable K it were possible to undertake an a-priori reduction of the training set before the calculation of the support vectors.
It will be realised from the above discussion that a reduced set of vectors might be arrived at by choosing only linearly independent vectors. The determination of the linearly independent support vectors may be undertaken by any method commonly in use in linear algebra. Common methods would be the calculation with pivoting of the reduced row echelon form, the QR factors or the Singular value decomposition. Any of these methods would give a set of r linearly independent vectors that could then be used to calculate the Lagrange multipliers and a decision surface similar to that defined by equation (7). A problem arises however in that it is not clear how to optimally select the support vectors that will be kept in the set.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved method for selecting support vectors in a Support Vector Machine.


A magnetic memory device comprises a plurality of magneto-resistance effect elements arranged in a matrix form. The each of a plurality of magneto-resistance effect elements have a pattern shape which substantially internally touches an ellipse having major and minor axes of the magneto-resistance effect element as major and minor axes thereof and a pitch between the adjacent magneto-resistance effect elements in a direction of the major axis is longer than that in a direction of the minor axis.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a magnetic memory device and a method for manufacturing the same which can be applied to an MRAM or the like, for example.
2. Description of the Related Art
A magnetic random access memory (which is hereinafter simply referred to as an MRAM) is a general name of a solid-state memory which can rewrite, hold and read out memory information at any time by using a magnetization direction of a ferromagnetic body as an information storage medium.
The memory cell of the MRAM generally has a structure in which a plurality of ferromagnetic members are laminated. The information recording operation is performed by setting binary information item "1" or "0" to respectively correspond to the state in which the relative arrangement of magnetization of a plurality of ferromagnetic members is set to the parallel or anti-parallel arrangement. The memory information writing operation is performed by inverting the magnetization direction of the ferromagnetic members of each cell by use of a current magnetic field generated by causing a current to flow into one of write lines arranged in a cross stripe form. The MRAM is a nonvolatile memory in which the power consumption at the storage information holding time is principally zero and the storage information holding operation is performed even after the power supply is cut off. The memory information readout operation is performed by utilizing a so-called magneto-resistance effect or a phenomenon that the electrical resistance of the memory cell varies according to a relative angle of the magnetization direction of the ferromagnetic member configuring the cell with respect to a sense current or a relative angle of magnetization between a plurality of ferromagnetic layers.
For example, the MRAM is advantageous in the following respects when the function thereof is compared with that of the conventional semiconductor memory using a dielectric member.
(1) The MRAM is a complete nonvolatile memory and the rewriting operation can be performed by 1015 times or more.
(2) The non-destructive readout can be performed and the refresh operation is not required so that the readout cycle can be shortened.
(3) The resistance to radioactive rays is strong in comparison with that of the charge storage memory.
It is predicted that the integration density per unit area, writing time and readout time of the MRAM can be set approximately equal to those of the DRAM. Therefore, it is expected that the MRAM can be applied to an external memory device of a mobile equipment, LSI hybrid device or a main storage memory of a personal computer by making use of the significant feature of the nonvolatile characteristic.
As the MRAM which is studied for practical application at present, an MTJ element using ferro-magnetic tunnel junction (which is hereinafter referred to as MTJ) in a memory cell is provided. The above MRAM is described in ISSCC 2000 (Digest Paper TA7.2 A 10 ns Read and Write Non-Volatile Memory Array Using a Magnetic Tunnel Junction and FET Switch in each Cell).
The MTJ element has a three-layered structure mainly formed of a ferromagnetic layer/insulating layer/ferromagnetic layer and a current tunnels and flows through the insulating layer. The junction resistance varies in proportion to cosine of a relative angle of magnetizations of the two ferromagnetic metal layers and is set to a maximum value when the magnetizations are set anti-parallel. This is the tunnel magneto-resistance effect and a magnetic resistance variation rate exceeding 25% is observed in a weak magnetic field of 50 Oe or less in NiFe/Co/Al2O/Co/NiFe, for example. As the structure of the MRAM, a coercive force difference type structure which holds data by use of a difference of coercive forces of the two ferromagnetic layers is known. Further, a so-called spin valve structure in which an anti-ferromagnetic member is arranged adjacent to one of the ferromagnetic layers and the magnetization direction is fixed in order to improve the magnetic field sensitivity or reduce a write current is known. The above MRAM is described in Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. Vol. 36, L200, 1997 (Spin-Valve-Like Properties of Ferromagnetic Tunnel Junction).

Magnetic memory device having a plurality of magneto-resistance effect elements arranged in a matrix form and method for manufacturing the same


A system is configured to receive a portion of a word; retrieve a group of words matching the portion of the word; retrieve information associated with a set of words in the group, where the information, for a particular one of the words, indicates a measure of popularity of the particular word, geographic location information associated with the particular word, time information associated with the particular word, or user preference information associated with the particular word; rank the set of words based on the information; present a list of words from the set of words for display based on the ranking; receive selection of a word from the list of words; perform a search for television content based on the selected word to identify a group of television content; receive selection of television content from the group of television content; and present the selected television content for display.

Television content is ever-changing. It seems that new channels, television programs, and/or features intended to enhance the television viewing experience get introduced every day. As a result, it is becoming increasingly difficult for users to wade through all of the content on television.
Television content providers provide tools, such as program guides and searching functionality, that assist users in finding television content in which the users are interested. These tools can be useful if a user knows the name of the television content and/or the date and time at which that television content is broadcast. It is difficult, however, for users to enter search queries that enable the user to select desired television content.

Automated query generation for televison content searching


An apparatus for protecting fingers from an injury caused by axial trauma, such as may result during participation in fast pitch softball, includes a finger shield comprising a portion that extends over the end of a wearer's finger. The finger shield is coupled to a palm-plate, which is for being disposed adjacent to the wearer's palm, via a coupling portion. The coupling portion is disposed between the finger shield and the palm-plate for transferring a substantial portion of the force of a significant impact occurring at the end of the wearer's finger to the wearer's palm via the palm-plate.

In many sports, the hands of participating players are highly susceptible to injury during play. A hand injury not only can cause severe pain, discomfort and disruption in the personal life of the player, but also can sideline that player for an entire season, hampering development and performance for that player in the sport. Such injuries impact team performance as well by denying the services of the player to the team. For the amateur player, a hand injury impedes playing time and thus skill development at all ages. In professional sports, hand injuries can have a dramatic effect, such as a negative economic impact on the injured player, as well as on the team of that player. For instance, the team may have to bear the added expense of paying for the services of a replacement player. In addition, if the player is exceptionally skilled in the sport a forced absence due to injury of the player may affect the overall team performance, which in turn could well affect game attendance, playoff chances, fan support, and the financial reward for all.
More specifically, individuals engaging in baseball or fast pitch softball recreational activities frequently are injured when struck by a ball. Such injuries occur most often while batting or while playing the catcher position; in both cases a pitched ball causes the injury. Historically, pitchers have developed pitches intended to fool a batter into thinking the ball will not enter the strike zone, but which actually curve or "move" into the strike zone at the last moment. With the refinement of sophisticated pitching techniques and greater athletic skill, present pitchers are throwing balls faster (80 to 100 miles per hour), and with more movement (such as the so-called curveball, slider, sinker, palmball, knuckle, rise ball, drop ball etc., some moving 12 inches or more), thus requiring both the batter and the catcher to watch the ball very closely after it is released by the pitcher.
Many solutions are currently known for protecting the backs of players' hands and fingers during batting. For instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,640,712 Hansen et al. disclose a protective batting glove having a cushioned shield engaged to the glove proximate to the back of the hand of an individual, such that the shield is concealed to provide the appearance of a conventional non-protective batting glove. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,898,938 Baylor et al. disclose gloves including a shock absorbing material in a pad that overlies the area of greatest injury risk on the hands of a batter.
Similarly, a number of solutions are known for protecting the palms of players' hands during catching of a pitched ball. For instance, in Canadian patent 2,115,026 Mah discloses a partial glove including a thin layer of impact absorbing material disposed adjacent a palm portion of the partial glove. The partial glove is worn under a catching glove and provides a measure of protection to the palm and heal portion of the wearer's hand. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,528,772 Cheek discloses a protective device including a padded catching panel and flexible back panel, the device designed to be worn under a catching glove. The catching panel is intended to minimize pain and reduce the instances of injuries caused by a ball being caught at great velocities.
Unfortunately, none of the heretofore-mentioned solutions protects the ends of the fingers from axial trauma, often referred to simply as "jamming injuries." These types of injuries may result when a pitched ball with high velocity curves sharply downward (i.e. drop ball pitch) and strikes the ends of a catcher's fingers. Due to the nature of the catcher's equipment, jamming injuries occur most often in fast pitch softball recreational activities, although similar injuries are seen in players of other sports. Jamming injuries can result in serious damage to the ligaments of the fingers, most often causing stretching or partial tearing of the ligament or its bone attachment point. Ligament sprains must be treated with immobilization followed by physical therapy to regain normal range of motion, while ligament tears require surgery.
It would be advantageous to provide a device that overcomes at least some of the above-mentioned limitations.


A method for selectively controlling the rate of release of a liposome-entrapped compound from an intramuscular or subcutaneous injection site. The method includes selecting the average size, amount, and lipid composition of liposomes injected into the site to produce a desired half-life of release of the compound. A preferred composition used in practicing the invention includes an aqueous suspension of liposomes containing the compound in entrapped form, and having average particle sizes less than about 0.2 microns, and large amount of larger empty lipsomes present in an amount effective to increase the half-life of release of the compound from the injection site to a desired half-life between about 1-14 days.

1. Field of the Invention
One aspect of the present invention relates to a liposome-based drug delivery system for prolonged release at a controlled rate of a pharmacologically active compound from the site of administration to the bloodstream. The novel delivery system concerns a liposomal formulation consisting of mixture of a small portion of liposomes with encapsulated drug and a large portion of empty liposomes. The formulation increases half-life of clearance from the injection site, and has the similar release kinetics as the formulation where all liposomes contain the drug. The formulation is also convenient for scale-up process.
The second aspect of the present invention relates to the extended stability of the drug encapsulated in liposomes over the free drug. Liposome encapsulation enables the storage of the drug at very low overall concentration at which the free drug would have lost its activity.

Efficient method for preparation of prolonged release liposome-based drug delivery system


The invention relates to a battery electrode foil comprising an aluminium alloy, wherein the aluminium alloy has the following composition in weight percent: Si: 0.07-0.12% by weight, Fe: 0.18-0.24% by weight, Cu: 0.03-0.08% by weight, Mn: 0.015-0.025% by weight, Zn: ≤0.01% by weight, Ti: 0.015-0.025% by weight, Zn: ≤0.01% by weight, Ti: 0.015-0.025% by weight, Mn: 0.015-0.025% by weight, Zn: ≤0.01% by weight, Ti: 0.015-0.025% by weight, wherein the aluminium alloy can contain impurities up to a maximum of 0.01% in each case, up to a maximum of 0.03% in total, but the proportion of aluminium must be at least 99.5% by weight; wherein the battery electrode foil has intermetallic phases of a diameter length of 0.1 to 1.0 μm with a density of ≤9500 particles/mm2. The invention further relates to a process for the production of a battery electrode foil, its use for the production of accumulators, and accumulators containing the battery electrode foil.

Lithium-ion accumulators in their core consist of alternating anode and cathode layers arranged one above the other and separated by separator layers. For the cathode layers, aluminium foil coated with Li-containing electrode paste is typically used. The anode layer can be a graphite-coated copper foil, for example, and the separator layer can be a polymer layer permeable to Li ions.
In the cathode layer, the aluminium foil serves on the one hand as a carrier or substrate for the electrode paste and on the other hand to dissipate the current, i.e. as a so-called current collector.
In the state of the art, aluminium foils made of pure aluminium materials, such as EN AW1085, are typically used as current collectors for lithium-ion accumulators, as these have better conductivity than higher alloyed materials. However, the pure aluminium materials naturally have unfavourable mechanical properties, which can have a negative effect on the processability and/or the service life of the lithium-ion accumulator.
In the production of the cathode layer, the electrode paste is applied to the aluminium foil and then pressed through a roller system in a calendering process. Furthermore, in the manufacture of wound accumulators, the aluminium foil is wound tightly together with the other layers of the accumulator with relatively small bending radii. During these steps in the production process, the aluminium foil is subjected to high mechanical stresses, which frequently led to wrinkling or tearing of the foils in the case of the foils made of high-purity aluminium alloys used up to now. The mechanical stress can also lead to premature failure of the lithium-ion accumulator.
In addition, the material-related disadvantages limit further thinning of the foil to lower thicknesses, which would be desirable to increase the energy density of the accumulator.
From EP 2 857 535, aluminium materials for current collector foils with higher strengths are known; however, these are higher alloyed aluminium alloys with aluminium contents of less than 99.0%. On the one hand, this leads to poorer conductivity and, on the other, to higher costs for the higher contents of alloying by-products. Alloying by-products are the elements that are contained in the aluminium alloy in addition to aluminium, e.g. Si, Cu, Fe, Ti etc.
EP 2 738 849 and EP 2738 850 reveal aluminium alloy foils for electrode collectors and manufacturing processes. The aluminium foils described therein were produced by a continuous casting process and have high densities for intermetallic phases with a diameter length of 0.1 to 1.0 μm.
Against this background, the present invention is based on the object of providing a battery electrode foil as well as a process for the production of a battery electrode foil, which combine the cost and conductivity advantages of the low-alloy foils used so far with the better mechanical properties of higher-alloy foils.

High-strength battery electrode foil for the production of lithium-ion accumulators


Methods and systems for restoring image integrity in an image are described. The described methods and systems are particularly applied against an image after determining whether the image has undergone at least one of a color mutation, a non-color mutation, or a combination of a color mutation and a non-color mutation.

The characteristics of an image may be subject to change as a result of various operations. Some of these operations may be initiated intentionally, such as, for example, a modification action carried out upon an image in order to impart certain desirable color characteristics to the image, while other operations may be non-color related operations that can unintentionally introduce undesirable distortions and color changes into the image.
A few examples of operations that are intentionally directed at modifying the color characteristics of an image include: changing the RGB ratio of a digital photograph based on a personal preference, changing the color intensity level in a projected color image so as to soften the colors for example, or changing a multicolored image into a sepia colored image. As can be understood, many of these modification actions are often based on individual preferences and perceptions, and are consequently, somewhat subjective in nature.
A few examples of non-color related operations that can undesirably modify the color characteristics of an image include: playing back a high-resolution movie in a video player having limited bandwidth capacity, propagating a video signal through a limited bandwidth transmission medium, using a codec having poor encoding/decoding characteristics, or carrying out illegal image transfer operations (such as making pirate copies of a movie).
While the non-color related operations described above are relatively easy to understand in terms of their impact upon an image, there are several other non-color related operations that cause a subtler and often overlooked impact on the characteristics of an image as well. A few examples of such operations include: cropping of an image, changing the aspect ratio of an image, and adding an object (such as a title) to an image.
These type of non-color related modification operations do not necessarily directly change the color characteristics of objects that existed in the image prior to the modification. However, the modification operations can lead to an overall change in image-related statistics. This change in image-related statistics may cause problems when image processing is subsequently carried out for purposes of rectifying color-related distortions in the image.
Thus, it is beneficial to consider color related operations, as well as non-color related operations, in a holistic manner for purposes of image processing.

Systems and methods for restoring color and non-color related integrity in an image

Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation


A method of manufacturing a semiconductor storage device according to an embodiment includes: stacking a first wiring layer; stacking a memory cell layer on the first wiring layer; and stacking a stopper film on the memory cell layer. The method of manufacturing a semiconductor storage device also includes: etching the stopper film, the memory cell layer, and the first wiring layer; polishing an interlayer insulating film to the stopper film after burying the stopper film, the memory cell layer, and the first wiring layer with the interlayer insulating film; performing a nitridation process to the stopper film and the interlayer insulating film to form an adjustment film and a block film on surfaces of the stopper film and the interlayer insulating film, respectively; and forming a second wiring layer on the adjustment film, the second wiring layer being electrically connected to the adjustment film.

1. Field
Embodiments described herein relate to a semiconductor storage device comprising an arrangement of memory cells, the memory cells configured to store data by change in a resistance value of a variable resistor, and a manufacturing method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently a resistance change memory device in which a variable resistor is used as a storage element attracts attention as one of subsequent candidates of a flash memory. It is assumed that the resistance change memory device includes a resistance change memory (ReRAM: Resistive RAM) in its narrow definition, in which a recording layer is made of transition metal oxide and a resistance-value state of the recording layer is stored in a nonvolatile manner, and a phase change memory (PCRAM: Phase Change RAM), in which the recording layer is made of chalcogenide or the like and resistance value information of a crystal state (conductor) and an amorphous state (insulator) of the recording layer are utilized.
In the memory cell of the resistance change memory device, a cell array is formed by stacking the variable resistor and a rectifying element such as a diode at intersections of bit lines and word lines, without using a transistor. Thus, a high-density memory cell array can be constructed. Furthermore, arranging this kind of memory cell array to be stacked three-dimensionally makes it possible to achieve a large capacity, without increasing cell array area.
In order to achieve the large-capacity memory cell array, it is necessary that a desired current flows even in a fine wiring. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce a resistance of the wiring.

Semiconductor storage device comprising a memory cell array including a rectifying element and a variable resistor