Swivel shower including a base body, a swivel body including a shower outlet and held on the base body for swivel movement about a swivel axis between a first swivel body end position, constituting a rest position, and a second swivel body end position, constituting an operating position, a shower fluid inlet for supplying a shower fluid, and a swivel drive for driven swiveling of the swivel body, wherein the swivel drive includes a slide piston capable of being pressurized by a fluid pressure of the supplied shower fluid, which piston is arranged for translational movement between a first piston end position, corresponding with the first swivel body end position, and a second piston end position, corresponding with the second swivel body end position. Illustratively, the slide piston is arranged with a translation directional component in parallel to the swivel axis, and/or the swivel drive includes a transmission element in the form of a slotted guide mechanism between the slide piston and the swivel body, wherein the transmission element transmits the translational movement of the slide piston into a swivel movement of the swivel body, and/or the shower outlet in the rest position of the swivel body is swiveled away from a visible face of the swivel shower, and a swivel angle stroke from the first to the second swivel body end position is at most 90°.

The invention relates to a swivel shower comprising a base body, a swivel body including a shower outlet and held on the base body for swivel movement about a swivel axis between a first swivel body end position, constituting a rest position, and a second swivel body end position constituting an operating position, a shower fluid inlet for supplying a shower fluid, and a swivel drive for driven swivelling of the swivel body, wherein the swivel drive includes a slide piston capable of being pressurized by a fluid pressure of the supplied shower fluid, which piston is arranged for translational movement between a first piston end position, corresponding with the first swivel body end position, and a second piston end position, corresponding with the second swivel body end position.
Swivel showers of this type are useable, for example, as wall- or ceiling-mounted sanitary swivel showers, such as ceiling-mounted over-head showers which can be swivelled, and as wall-mounted side showers which can be swivelled, in shower rooms.
Said swivel showers have a swivel body which is held on a base body for swivel movement and has a shower outlet, wherein the swivel body can be swivelled between two end positions, of which one acts as a rest position and the other as an operating position. In the rest position, the swivel shower is inactive, i.e. shower fluid does not emerge from the shower outlet. In the operating position, the swivel body is in its active shower position, in which the shower fluid which is supplied via a shower fluid inlet leaves the shower outlet as a corresponding shower jet.
For driven swivelling of the swivel body, use is made of a swivel drive which includes a slide piston capable of being pressurized by a fluid pressure of the shower fluid, which piston is arranged for translational movement between a first piston end position and a second piston end position, corresponding with the two swivel body end positions. The shower fluid inlet can be located, for example, on the base body or on the swivel body.
A swivel shower of the type mentioned at the beginning is disclosed in patent EP 1 947 251 B1. The swivel shower there is designed as a sanitary shower spray device for wall and/or ceiling mounting, with a flat outer surface. The flat outer side of the swivel shower here forms the visible face of the shower, i.e. that face which is visible to or faces the user in the mounted state of the swivel shower. The swivel body is formed by a shower carrier which carries one or more shower units. In the active operating position, the shower units protrude over the outer side of the shower. Tubular sections of a shower fluid supply serve as swivel axes of the shower carrier, and the slide piston of the swivel drive, said slide piston being capable of being pressurized by the fluid pressure of the supplied shower fluid, is arranged with a translation direction perpendicular to the swivel axes. In an embodiment which is shown, said slide piston presses with a pressure pin at a lateral distance from the swivel axes against an inner side of the shower carrier and swivels the latter by approx. 15° from a rest position, in which its shower outlet side runs parallel to the flat outer side of the swivel shower, into an oblique operating position in comparison thereto. Alternatively, the use of a step-up with deflection is proposed in order to be able to swivel the shower carrier even by 180°, when required, and therefore, in the rest position, a smooth side faces outwards and the visible face of the swivel shower accordingly acts in a closed manner.
It is an object of the invention to provide a swivel shower of the type mentioned at the outset with functionalities or properties which are improved in relation to the abovementioned prior art.
The invention achieves this and other objects by providing a novel and inventive swivel shower having the features mentioned at the outset and one or more additional features.
According to a first aspect of the invention, the slide piston of the swivel drive for the swivel body is arranged with a translation directional component in parallel to the swivel axis. This means that the translation direction of the slide piston is parallel to the swivel axis or at any rate has a component, which is different from zero, parallel to the swivel axis, i.e. the translation direction of the slide piston is not perpendicular to the swivel axis. This arrangement of the slide piston can form functional advantages for the swivel drive and can promote a compact constructional form of the swivel shower.
According to a further aspect of the invention, the swivel drive includes a transmission element in the form of a slotted guide mechanism between the slide piston and the swivel body in order to transmit the translational movement of the slide piston into a swivel movement of the swivel body. A transmission element of this type can afford functional advantages and permits a favourable conversion of the linear translational movement of the slide piston into the rotational movement carried out by the swivel body during swivelling.
According to a further aspect of the invention, the shower outlet in the rest position of the swivel body is swivelled away from a visible face of the swivel shower, and a swivel angle stroke from the first to the second swivel body end position is at most 90°. As already explained above, the visible face here means that side of the swivel shower which is visible to the user in the mounted state of the swivel shower or faces the user during use as intended. In the case of a wall- or ceiling-mounted sanitary shower, the visible face is typically a shower front side which faces the user located in front of or under the swivel shower. This measure can afford functional and design advantages. In this inactive position of the swivel body, the shower outlet can thus be swivelled away invisibly to the user, i.e. by being swivelled into the base body. Nevertheless, a swivel angle stroke of at most 90° is sufficient in order to swivel the swivel body into its active-shower operating position in which the swivel shower outputs the desired shower jet via its shower outlet, for which purpose the shower outlet is typically located visibly to the user on the visible face of the swivel shower. Depending on requirements and the use situation, the swivel angle stroke of the swivel body is also only at most 50°, for example approx. 45° or less. As is clear to a person skilled in the art, the above aspects of the invention are not necessarily functionally related and can therefore be realized in each case individually or jointly or in any desired combination in corresponding embodiments.
In a development of the invention, the slotted guide mechanism comprises a first guiding part including a sliding track and a second guiding part having a sliding cam cooperating with the sliding track. Of said two guiding parts, the one guiding part is arranged unmoved on the base body, while the other guiding part is arranged for translational movement together with the translational movement of the slide piston and coupled for rotary movement to the swivel body. Said slotted guide mechanism permits a functionally reliable and stable transmission of the translational movement of the slide piston into the rotary or swivelling movement of the swivel body, and the swivel shower can be constructed relatively compactly when required.
In a refinement of the invention, that guiding part which is arranged for translational movement together with the translational movement of the slide piston and coupled for rotary movement to the swivel body includes a follower sleeve cooperating with an end face of the slide piston. Said follower sleeve can be moved in a translatory manner by the slide piston and can simultaneously be rotated via the slotted guide mechanism, as a result of which the swivel body coupled for rotary movement to the latter is swivelled.
In a development of the invention, the slide piston is guided for translational movement on a swivel shaft sleeve defining the swivel axis. The swivel shaft sleeve can thereby provide both a swivel shaft for swivelling the swivel body and a guide for the slide piston which is moved in a translatory manner. Additionally or alternatively, the slide piston is telescopically shiftable onto or into the swivel shaft sleeve.
In a development of the invention, the swivel shower has an elastic piston return element preloading the slide piston to its first piston end position. The elastic piston return element can be, for example, a compression or tension spring which is supported on the base body on the one hand and on the slide piston on the other hand or is connected to same at one spring end in each case. In corresponding embodiments, the tension/compression spring can be shifted coaxially onto the swivel shaft sleeve and thereby held or guided thereon. By preloading the slide piston to its first piston end position, the swivel body is accordingly preloaded into its rest position. If no shower fluid is supplied or the shower fluid supply is shut off or blocked, the swivel body, in corresponding embodiments of the invention, takes up said rest position which is stabilized by the action of the elastic piston return element. When the shower fluid supply is opened, the fluid pressure of the supplied shower fluid then presses the slide piston counter to the action of the elastic piston return element in the direction of its second piston end position, as a result of which the swivel body is swivelled into its active operating position.
In a development of the invention, the swivel body is a cuboid-shaped shower cartridge including the shower outlet on one of its cuboid sides and a cover surface on an adjacent cuboid side, which cover surface is parallel to the visible face of the swivel shower in the first swivel body end position. Such a swivel body can be produced with a relatively small outlay and may be of advantage in terms of design and functionality. In the active rest position of the swivel body, its cover surface thereof can be seen on the visible face of the swivel shower, while the shower outlet can be concealed so as not to be visible to the user. If desired, the cover surface here can form, for example, a substantially flush end with an adjacent surface of the swivel shower or of the base body thereof, and/or the cover surface can have a surface composition which is substantially uniform with an adjacent surface of the swivel shower, and therefore the swivel body joins harmoniously into an inconspicuous overall image of the swivel shower on the visible face thereof in said rest position. Only if the cuboid-shaped shower cartridge forming the swivel body is swivelled into its active operating position does its cuboid side containing the shower outlet appear on the visible face of the swivel shower, and the desired shower jet is then output via the shower outlet.
In a development of the invention, the swivel shower has a locking element by means of which the swivel body is lockable in the second swivel body end position. As a result, the swivel body can be held in its second swivel body end position, for example for maintenance or cleaning work, irrespective of whether fluid pressure is present because of supplied shower fluid, or the shower fluid supply is blocked. This is useful particularly for embodiments of the swivel shower in which the swivel body in the rest position is swivelled away from the visible face of the swivel shower or is not freely accessible from the outside for the user.
In a development of the invention, the shower outlet includes a jet outlet plate having at least one jet outlet nozzle, the nozzle longitudinal axis of which encloses an acute angle, i.e. an angle of greater than 0° and less than 90°, with the jet outlet plate. The nozzle longitudinal axis here defines, as customary, a main jet direction of a shower jet emerging from the shower outlet nozzle or of a shower jet formed by a plurality of such jet outlet nozzles. This means that, in this case, the shower jet emerges at an acute angle of its main jet direction to the jet outlet plate. As a result, for example, the shower jet can be output with its main jet direction perpendicular to a visible face of the swivel shower if or although the jet outlet plate is not oriented parallel, but rather obliquely with respect to the visible face of the swivel shower in the active operating position of the swivel body.
In a development of the invention, the swivel shower includes a shut-off valve arranged in a fluid flow path between the shower fluid inlet and the shower outlet, said valve blocking and unblocking the fluid flow path as a function of a swivel position of the swivel body. Said shut-off valve thus completely blocks the fluid flow path in the first swivel body end position and completely unblocks same in the second swivel body end position. This has the advantage that no shower fluid can emerge from the shower outlet when the swivel body is in the inactive rest position. On the other hand, the shut-off valve completely unblocks the shower fluid for the active shower operation when the swivel body is in the operating position. The blocking and unblocking functionality of the shut-off valve is advantageously controlled by the swivel position of the swivel body, which automatically ensures that the shut-off valve provides the desired valve function in the respective swivel body end position.
In a refinement of the invention, the shut-off valve has a switching hysteresis, according to which the valve starts unblocking the fluid flow path during swivelling of the swivel body from the first swivel body end position in the direction towards the second swivel body end position with a delay as compared to it completely blocking the fluid flow path during swivelling of the swivel body from the second swivel body end position in the direction towards the first swivel body end position. In other words, during swivelling of the swivel body from the rest position, shower fluid begins to emerge from the shower outlet only from a predetermined unblocking swivel angle since the shower fluid supply remains blocked by the shut-off valve up to then. If the swivel body is swivelled back from its operating position into its rest position after the active shower operation, the shut-off valve completely blocks the shower fluid supply to the shower outlet only at a shut-off swivelling angle which lies closer to the first swivel body end position than the unblocking swivel angle. Shower fluid can therefore still emerge from the shower outlet for a somewhat longer period before the shut-off valve completely blocks the shower fluid supply to the shower outlet and the swivel body reaches its rest position. This can be advantageous for corresponding use situations.

Swivel shower having a fluid pressure driven swivel body


The present invention relates to a batroxobin-encoding nucleotide sequence and/or a mutated α-factor secretion signal sequence, and a vector and a transformant using the same. The batroxobin-encoding nucleotide sequence of this invention exhibits an excellent expression efficiency in yeast, particular Pichia pastoris and the recombinant batroxobin is obtained at 4-13 fold higher yield than natural-occurring batroxobin-encoding sequences. The protein expression system which uses the batroxobin-encoding nucleotide sequence as well as mutated α-factor secretion signal peptide sequence of this invention obtains the recombinant batroxobin at about 20-fold higher yield than natural-occurring batroxobin-encoding sequences. In addition, the recombinant batroxobin prepared using the sequence of this invention has a significantly plausible activity and stability compared with natural-occurring batroxobin.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a batroxobin-encoding nucleotide sequence and/or a mutated α-factor secretion signal sequence containing a specific sequence, and a vector and a transformant using the same.
2. Background of Technique
Generally, venom effect on blood coagulation cascade and fibrinolytic pathway of mammalian including human has been investigated for a long time and several effective agents have been isolated and characterized. Various components included in venom are known to affect fibrin-clotting, platelet aggregation and so on directly or indirectly, thus to be used as pro-coagulant or anti-coagulant (Meaume, J. Toxicon, 4: 2558 (1966); Matsui et al., Biochim. Biophys. Acta., 1477: 146-156 (2000)). Some of the components are already characterized and broadly used for diagnosis and therapy of thrombosis. In particular, the study about thrombin-like enzyme converting fibrinogen into fibrin by cleavage of fibrinopeptide has been performed actively and over 20 proteins have been reported, and cDNA of some was characterized.
The thrombin-like enzyme initially hydrolyze fibrinopeptide A of fibrinogen molecule to make unstable fibrin clot (des-A-fibrin) unlike thrombin, mammalian native blood coagulation protein, but the unstable fibrin clot is rapidly degraded by in vivo fibrinolysis system over time to eventually decrease blood fibrinogen level (Pirkle, H., and Stocker, K. Thromb. Haemost., 65: 444-450 (1991); Marsh, N. A., Blood Coagul. Fibrinolysis, 5: 339-410 (1994)).
Therefore, the thrombin-like enzyme is used in clinic field as hemostatic agent or therapeutic and preventing agent for thrombosis by using these both-sided characteristics of enzyme. This enzyme don't also have an influence on other blood coagulation factors and activation of platelet, with which merit it shows effective hemostatic activity to intravenously or intramuscularly inject the small amount of the enzyme (2 NIH unit/60 kg) 1-2 hrs before surgery. On the other hand, it is possible to reduce blood fibrinogen level without side effects such as bleeding, that can be happen when using thrombolytic enzyme, by controlling dose and administration time of enzyme. The release of des-A-fibrin and FDP (fibrinogen degradation products) formed during the above process stimulate heoendothelial cell to induce the production of plasminogen activator. The enzyme is used as therapeutic and preventing agent for thrombosis because the enzyme can inhibit thrombin activity (Schumacher et al., Thromb. Res., 81: 187-194 (1996); and Bell W. R. Jr., Drugs, 54: 18-30 (1997)).
Recently, this fibrinogen reduction effect of the thrombin-like enzyme is reported to be feective on therapy of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia or acute ischemic stroke caused by administration of heparin (Dempfle et al., Blood, 96: 2793-2802 (2000)).
The clinically used all thrombin-like enzymes are native proteins isolated and purified from venom. Batroxobin isolated from venom of Latin venomous snake Bothrops atrox moojeni is commercially available from Italian Solco Basle Ltd. Company and Swiss Pentapharm Company and is sold as trade names like reptilase (for hemostasis), defibrase (fro thrombolysis), reptilase-reagent (for diagnosis reagent). Botropase (for hemostasis, Italian Ravizza Company) isolated from venom of Latin venomous snake Bothrops jararaca, Malayan pit viper and Ancrod (American Knoll Pharmaceutical Company) isolated from venom of Calloselasma rhodostoma are also commercially available.
Recently, Vivostat System (Denmark, Vivosolution Co.) using batroxobin as an autologous fibrin sealant with the purpose of bleeding prevention and suture in surgical operation also is in the limelight.
Likewise, the method to produce recombinant protein has been intensively studied by various researchers since massive production batroxobin purified from snakes was limited. In the investigation to express protein from eukaryote in microorganisms, protein expression is reduced due to gene codons with low translation efficiency of E. coli (prokaryote) in the translation after transcription of eukaryotic genes. To overcome it, the method to improve protein translation is commonly carried out by using a recombinant E. coli strain into which foreign eukaryotic tRNA gene is transformed to recognize amino acid codon with low frequency in E. coli. Notwithstanding these efforts, inactive proteins are produced during refolding process of proteins expressed in E. coli (Yang et al., Biotechnol. Lett., 25: 101-104 (2003); Fan et al., Biochem. Mol. Biol. Int., 47: 217-225 (1999); Maeda et al., J. Biochem., 109: 632-637 (1991)). As reported until now, any successful case in which recombinant thrombin-like enzyme is expressed in E. coli and then has similar activity compared with specific activity of nature enzyme is not reported yet.
Throughout this application, various publications and patents are referred and citations are provided in parentheses. The disclosures of these publications and patents in their entities are hereby incorporated by references into this application in order to fully describe this invention and the state of the art to which this invention pertains.

Mutated nucleotide sequences of batroxobin, mutated α factor secretion signal sequence and processes for preparing batroxobin using the same


A microscope optical system includes a first lens group having a positive power, a second lens group, and a third lens group including a positive lens. The first lens group includes: a first lens component arranged closest to an object, the first lens component including a first meniscus lens that has a meniscus shape with a concave surface facing the object side; a second lens component having a positive power that has a meniscus lens shape with the concave surface facing the object side; and a cemented lens including a positive lens and a negative lens that is made of a higher-dispersion material than a material of the positive lens. When NA, βG3, DG3i, DG23 represent a numerical aperture of the microscope optical system, a lateral magnification of the third lens group, a spacing between the third lens group and an image plane, a spacing between the second lens group and the third lens group, the microscope optical system satisfies the following conditional expressions:0.25<NA≤1.51   (1);0.2<βG3<3   (2);0.1<DG3i/DG23<2.5   (3).

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a microscope optical system.
Description of the Related Art
In recent years, the number of pixels of an image sensor has increased remarkably, and in the field of microscopes, expectations for microscope apparatuses that enable observation and image acquisition while achieving both a wide field of view and a high resolving power have been growing. As an example, when a microscope apparatus having both a wide field of view and a high resolving power is applied to a virtual slide, a scanning speed can increase.
In order to realize the microscope apparatus described above, an objective needs to have a low magnification and a high numerical aperture. Such an objective is described, for example, in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2010-186162 and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2011-075982.


The present invention provides a space saving and simply implementable planar integrated switching device comprising at least two CPW-slotline transition units each including an access for inputting and/or outputting a transmission signal, a slotline connecting said at least two CPW-slotline transition units, and a switching element arranged on said slotline between said at least two CPW-slotline transition units for switching the transmission signal over said slotline on and off under control of a switch control signal.

Coplanar waveguide (CPW) and slotline are the most widely used uniplanar transmission lines. The use of uniplanar transmission lines allows easy series and shunt devices without via holes and easy mounting of external components, and thus, offers great design flexibility. These characteristics make CPW and slotline important in MIC (Microwave Integrated Circuit) and MMIC (Millimeter Wave Integrated Circuit) design. To fully utilize the advantages of uniplanar structures, broadband transitions of CPW-slotline are necessary. Such CPW-slotline transitions are, for instance, described in WO 97/17738 A1 and the article of C. Ho, L. Fan and K. Chang, "Transmission Line Modeling of CPW-Slotline Transitions and CPW Butterfly Filters", in IEEE MTT-S Digest, 1994, pp. 1305-1308.
Switches are one of the indispensable devices in microwave and millimeter wave systems, and generally are connected with other components in series. This, however, requires more space for the switches in the system, and also mostly requires additional impedance matching networks which can make system design more complicated.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,605,674 B2 discloses a radiofrequency switch for switching between a transmission signal and a received signal at a signal transmission/reception end in a time division duplexing system. In said RF switch a slotline is divided into a first slotline and a second slotline, and an open-end circuit is provided at each end portion of the first and second slotlines. A first transmission line delivers signals from and to the first slotline, and a second transmission line delivers signals from and to the second slotline. A third transmission line delivers signals from and to the portion of the slotline that separates the first slotline from the second slotline. A variable subopen-end circuit portion includes at least one open-end circuit, which is selectively switched to the first or second slotline according to an external switching control signal.


System for, and method of ellipsometric investigation of and analysis of samples which have, for instance, a non-random effectively “regular” textured surface, and/or a surface characterized by an irregular array of faceted structures.

It is well known in the art to cause an electromagnetic beam to reflect from a sample, and by monitoring change in, for example, the intensity and/or polarization state of said beam resulting from interaction with the sample, determine properties of the sample, (eg. thickness of thin films on the sample surface, and optical constants). It is also known that where a sample surface reflects specularly essentially all incident electromagnetic radiation can be reflected from the sample into a detector and good data will typically be developed thereby. A problem can occur, however, where a sample has an irregular surface, as incident electromagnetic radiation becomes scattered by what amounts to the effects of said beam effectively approaching the sample surface at different angles and planes of incidence, at different locations thereon. When this occurs a large majority of the electromagnetic radiation which reflects from the sample surface is often directed other than into a detector, or is scattered, rather than specularly reflected thereinto, which scattered electromagnetic radiation causes problems in analysis of acquired data. The intensity of a collected portion of a reflected beam can then become too weak to be used in sample analysis and attempts to increase the intensity entering a detector, without consideration of from where on an irregular sample surface the additional collected electromagnetic radiation reflects, can lead to data which is noisy, depolarized, based on uncertain angles-of-incidence, and therefore can not be reliably analyzed to provide good results.
To provide insight to priority it is disclosed that this Application is a CIP of Pending application Ser. No. 11/980,262 Filed Oct. 30, 2007, which is a CIP of Pending application Ser. No. 11/495,130 Filed Jul. 29, 2006, and therevia this Application is a Divisional of patent application Ser. No. 11/177,207 Filed Jul 8, 2005; and therevia a CIP of Ser. No. 10/652,696 Filed Sep. 2, 2003, (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,230,699); and therevia Claims Benefit of Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/459,690 Filed Apr. 3, 2003. This Application also, via the foregoing Applications, Claims Benefit of Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/588,315 Filed Jul. 15, 2004. This Application further is a CIP of application Ser. No. 11/145,470 Filed Jun. 6, 2005, and therevia this Application is a CIP of Ser. No. 10,376,677 Filed Feb. 28, 2003 (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,982,789), and therevia of Ser. No. 10/178,723 Filed Jun. 24, 2002, (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,950,182); Ser. No. 09/531,877 Filed Mar. 21, 2000; Ser. No. 09/583,229 Filed May 30, 2000, (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,804,004); Ser. No. 09/864,840 Filed May 24, 2001, (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,456,376); Ser. No. 10/943,821 Filed Sep. 17, 2004; Ser. No. 09/854,548 Filed May 14, 2001; and this Application Claims benefit of Provisional Application Serial Nos. 60/300,714 Filed Jun. 26, 01; 60/424,589 Filed Nov. 07, 2002; 60/427,043 Filed Nov. 18, 2002; 60/431,489 Filed Dec. 06, 2002.
It is noted that the most recent 262 Pending Application invention relates to systems for adjusting sample orientation, and more particularly to system and method for orienting the tilt and vertical position of samples in ellipsometer and the like systems. As mentioned above, it is known to place samples on stages in ellipsometer and the like systems, and to cause a polarized beam of electromagnetic radiation to impinge on said sample at an oblique angle thereto, interact with said sample and then enter a detector. It is also known that the "tilt" of a sample surface at a specific location thereon can affect realized angle and plane-of-incidence values actually achieved. Further, it is known to adjust the vertical height of the stage to position a sample such that a beam of electromagnetic radiation reflecting therefrom enters a detector. And, it is known to use a beam of electromagnetic radiation comprising a range of wavelengths, (eg. which can be smaller or larger than a facet feature on a sample to enable), investigation thereof).
Existing Provisional and Utility Applications, (ie. 60/459,690 Filed Apr. 3, 2003 and Allowed application Ser. No. 10/652,696 Filed Sep. 2, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,230,699), by an Inventor herein, show a prior art system for detecting sample tilt, and a system which utilizes an ellipsometer beam reflected from a sample to perform vertical positioning of a stage. Importantly, FIG. 3b, therein, (presented as FIG. 3c herein), shows a sample which is very much the same as the textured faceted samples investigated by the present invention when rotated to a different orientation. The stage in said 699 Patent FIG. 3a, (presented as FIG. 3d herein), is shown as being rotatable in Angle-of-Incidence (AOI) Tip, Plane-of-Incidence (POI) Tilt and about a normal to the surface of the stage (STG), (and if present thereupon a specular sample). To point out differences between the 699 Patent system and the present invention, it is disclosed that the 669 Patent describes a beam splitter which is used to divert a portion of the reflected beam into a detector and used to mediate adjustment of the sample's vertical position and/or tilt. Said system does not secure relative position of the ellipsometer and sample, but provides for aligning a sample system and controlling the angle and plane-of-incidence at which a beam of electromagnetic radiation obliquely impinges on a monitored location of a surface of a sample, and comprises, as viewed in side elevation:                a sample supporting stage which can be translated in "X", "Y" or "Z" directions as well as rotated about "X", "Y" and optionally "Z" axes;        vertically above said stage there being a first beam splitter means, a lens and a first camera means for providing a view of a portion of the surface of said sample, said first beam splitter means optionally having positioned on a lower surface thereof light emitting means for providing light to the surface of said sample;        laterally with respect to said first beam splitter means there being a reflection means;        vertically above said reflection means there being a second beam splitter;        vertically above said second beam splitter there being a second camera means and laterally with respect to said second beam splitter, there being sequentially a lens and an essentially point source of electromagnetic radiation;        said first and second camera means each having associated therewith display means.        Said system further comprises an ellipsometer polarization state generator to cause, and a polarization stage detector to monitor, a beam of electromagnetic radiation which in use impinges on said monitored location on said surface of said sample at an oblique angle thereto.        In use said first camera means and its associated display means provide a view of at least a portion of the surface of a sample utilizing light provided by said light emitting means for providing light to the surface of said sample positioned on said lower surface of said first beam splitter, and said essentially point source of electromagnetic radiation provides electromagnetic radiation to the surface of said sample via said second beam splitter, said reflective means and said first beam splitter, and said sample supporting stage is caused to be translated in any of said "X", "Y" and "Z" directions as well as rotated about said "X", "Y" and optionally "Z" axes which are necessary to cause an interrogating beam of electromagnetic radiation provided by said essentially point source of a source of electromagnetic radiation to reflect from the surface of said sample, proceed back through said first beam splitter means, reflect from said reflective means, pass through said second beam splitter means, enter said second camera means and cause an image on the display means associated therewith which indicates that the monitored location on the sample surface is oriented so as to face substantially vertically.        The purpose of the foregoing is to align said sample surface to assure that said beam of electromagnetic radiation provided to said monitored location on the surface of said sample at an oblique angle approaches said surface at known intended angle-of-incidence and plane-of-incidence orientation, rather than at an angle-of-incidence and plane-of-incidence orientation which is modified by surface irregularities or non-flat samples.Said system can further comprise a polarizer means in the path of said beam of electromagnetic radiation provided by said essentially point source of electromagnetic radiation, and in which said first beam splitter is sensitive to polarization state, and the polarizer means can be adjustable to enable control of the direction of polarization. The system point source of a source of electromagnetic radiation can comprise a fiber optic. The related Co-Pending 130 Application describes a related system.
Continuing, as it is relevant, Patent to Abraham et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,091,499 is disclosed as it describes a method and system for automatic relative adjustment of samples in relation to an ellipsometer. Paraphrasing, said Abraham et al. system basically comprises:                a system for orienting a sample on a stage in an ellipsometer system comprising a first light source, a polarizer, said stage, an analyzer and a detector;        said system further comprising a detection system having a second light source, wherein said detection system is independently adjustable in relation to said ellipsometer, and wherein said detection system can be electronically locked into position relative to said ellipsometer so that said ellipsometer and said detection system can be adjusted as one unit in relationship to said stage, wherein said detection system can detect both a tilt of a sample placed onto said stage, and a distance of said sample from a coordinate source of the ellipsometer in two perpendicular axes; and        said system further comprising an adjusting device, wherein said adjusting device can adjust tilt of said stage, and wherein said adjusting device can adjust the position of said ellipsometer and detection system when in an electronically locked relationship with respect to one another.The 499 Patent drawings show a single source, (identified as (21)), provides, via beam splitters and reflection means, normal and oblique angle-of-incidence electromagnetic beams to a sample, which normal and oblique angle-of-incidence electromagnetic beams are each intercepted by a different detector, (identified as (24) and (25) respectively), after reflecting from the sample. The associated ellipsometer system comprises a separate source, (identified as (11)).
Additional known related Patents are:                Patent to Coates U.S. Pat. No. 4,373,817;        Patent to Coates U.S. Pat. No. 5,045,704;        RE. 34,783 to Coates;        Patent to Mikkelsen et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,600,560;        Patent to Fanton et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,596,411;        Patent to Piwonka-Corle et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,910,842;        Patent to Piwonka-Corle et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,608,526;        Patent to Bareket, U.S. Pat. No. 5,889,593;        Patent to Norton et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,486,701;        Patent to Aspnes et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,900,939;        Patent to Aspnes et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,798,837;        Patent to Rosenscwaig et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,412,473;        Patent to Carter et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,771,094;        Patent to Liphardt, U.S. Pat. No. 7,136,162;        PCT Application Publication WO 99/45340;        Published Application of Stehle et al., No. US2002/0024668 A1.
Additionally, a recent computer search using the words "solar cell" and "sample tilt" provided no hits, while using the words "solar cell" and "substrate tilt" provided one hit each for Patents and Published Applications, (eg. U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,635 and Published Application US 2007/0267711), and using the words "solar cell" and "stage tilt" provided two hits each for Published Applications, (eg. US 2006/0048800 and 2004/0056779). None of these identified references are considered relevant.
Provisional Application Serial U.S. Pat. No. 61/126,233 filed May 02, 2008 in incorporated herein by reference.
Finally, while there is no known published disclosure thereof, Applicants have heard, "through the grapvine", that another entity (ie. Sentech), is using a large sample tilt technique similar to that disclosed herein, to facilitate investigation of solar cells. However, Applicants believe this alternative use is of very recent implementation and, for instance, does not involve use of spectroscopic electromagnetic radiation nor involve application of a sample stage rotation.
An approach to investigating a sample with a "regularly" textured surface, (ie. it comprises a surface having a repeated faceted pattern thereupon) and/or a surface characterized by an irregular array of faceted structures, would provide utility. If possible, such an approach would allow a researcher to collect an increased amount of "information containing" electromagnetic radiation which reflects from said sample textured surface and enters a detector to produce good data. It is such an approach that is subject of the present invention.

Ellipsometric investigation and analysis of textured samples


A threaded pipe flange and piping system utilizing the same. The threaded pipe flange includes a base portion having a predetermined shape and at least two openings dimensioned to accept at least two mounting bolts. A shoulder portion extends from, and is integral to, the base portion and includes at least two substantially flat gripping surfaces that allow the flange to be attached using an open end wrench, adjustable wrench or pipe wrench. A threaded opening extends through the base portion and the shoulder portion and is sized to mate with the threaded pipe to which the flange is to be attached. In operation, the pipe flange is attached to the predetermined threaded pipe by aligning the threaded opening with the predetermined threaded pipe, gripping the gripping surfaces of the shoulder portion, and rotating the pipe flange until the flange is tight. The piping system includes at least one threaded pipe, a pipe flange having a plurality of gripping surfaces, a pair of mounting bolts and a circulator or other pump.

The present invention relates to the field of plumbing and heating and, in particular, to a flange for connection to a water circulator or pump and to a piping system utilizing the same.
Flanges are typically used to connect pumps or flow controlling devices to a pipe, or to connect a pipe to another pipe directly. Connections of this type are used extensively in the plumbing and heating industry, especially with steel or copper pipes.
Flanges are secured to pipe ends by means of interior flange threads rotated to attach to the exterior pipe threads. The force required to attach the flange to the pipe is substantial and a typical flange will not have a shoulder that is used that is designed to serve as a gripping surface for tightening the flange. The absence of this shoulder necessitates the use of a large pipe wrench to attach the flange to the exterior pipe threads. As the surrounding free space is usually obstructed and quite small, it is often difficult for a user to maneuver the wrench. In addition, the size and shape of the gripping surface may also vary as the flange is turned onto the pipe, thus necessitating the use of more than one wrench. For these reasons, pipe flanges are well known as fittings that present a fastening problem.
One particularly common problem is encountered when attaching pipe flanges to pipe ends for connection to circulators, such as those utilized in home heating systems. These flanges are typically elliptical in shape and do not readily accommodate a standard pipe wrench or other tightening device. In addition, when the elliptical ends of the flange have turned within the 180 degrees tightening arc, the wrench must be readjusted, necessitating many fatiguing and time consuming iterations to complete the task. Moreover, as the size of a pipe wrench increases, the length of the handle increases proportionally. As pipe flanges must often be attached to a circulator that is extremely close to a wall, other pipes, or even worse, a corner, the use of a long handled pipe wrench or a pry-bar and long stove bolts to attach the flange to the pipe makes this job a tiring and time consuming one.
One solution to this problem is disclosed in the inventor""s co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/897,741, titled FLANGE TIGHTENING TOOL. This application discloses a flange tightening tool for use in securing a standard flange to a pipe. The tool has a base plate, a tightening hexagonal shoulder, two attachment openings, and a rotating handle perpendicular to the tightening base plate. The base plate and openings are dimensioned to mate with the flange to be tightened and the rotatable handle is attached to hexagonal shoulder and can be used to position the tool against the flange. In operation, the user positions the tool against the flange, attaches the tool to the flange by inserting bolts through the openings in the base plate, and attaches the flange to the pipe by gripping and rotating the hexagonal shoulder with an appropriately sized box or adjustable type wrench.
The inventor""s co-pending application has many advantages over the current flange tightening methods. It eliminates the gripping problems associated with standard pipe flanges by gripping the flange at the mating surface rather than the shoulder. In addition, box or adjustable wrenches having appropriately sized handles may be utilized rather than the long handles associated with larger sized pipe wrenches. Despite these advantages, this solution has not gained acceptance due to the cost of the tool and the reluctance of installers to adapt their methods to new technologies.
Therefore, there is a need for a means for attaching a pipe flange to a pipe that may be utilized to install the flange adjacent to an existing circulator or other device, that may be utilized in close quarters, and that allows an installer to utilize a standard open end or adjustable wrench, and that does not require an installer to purchase a new tool or to alter accepted installation methods.
The present invention is a threaded pipe flange and piping system utilizing the same. In its most basic embodiment, the threaded pipe flange includes a base portion having a predetermined shape and at least two openings dimensioned to accept at least two mounting bolts. A shoulder portion extends from the base portion and includes at least two substantially flat gripping surfaces that allow the flange to be attached using an open end wrench, adjustable wrench or pipe wrench. A threaded opening extends through the base portion and the shoulder portion and is sized to mate with the threaded pipe to which the flange is to be attached. In operation, the pipe flange is attached to the predetermined threaded pipe by aligning the threaded opening with the predetermined threaded pipe, gripping the gripping surfaces of the shoulder portion, and rotating the pipe flange until the flange is tight.
The pipe flange may have any number of gripping surfaces, though it is preferred that it have between four and eight gripping surfaces. The preferred pipe flange is elliptical in shape and is made from malleable iron, though other shapes and materials, including ductile iron, steel or brass, may also be utilized depending upon the application in which the flange will be utilized.
In its most basic embodiment, the piping system of the present invention includes at least one threaded pipe, a pipe flange as described above, a pair of mounting bolts and a circulator or other pump. The circulator is made up of a pump portion and a volute portion through which the fluid is pumped. The volute portion includes at least one volute flange that is dimensioned to mate with the pipe flange. In some embodiments, the volute flange includes a substantially flat mounting surface, while in others the mounting surface includes a recessed portion that is dimensioned to accept a circular gasket.
In this system, the pipe flange is attached to the threaded pipe by aligning the threaded opening with the predetermined threaded pipe, gripping the gripping surfaces of the shoulder portion, and rotating the pipe flange. The pipe flange is attached to the circulator by aligning the pipe flange openings with the volute flange openings and disposing and securing the bolts through the pipe flange and the volute flange such that the pipe flange and the circulator are tightened together.
The piping system may include a gasket disposed between the pipe flange and the volute flange, with the preferred system having a recess in mounting surface of the volute flange to accept a round gasket. However, in some embodiments, traditional gaskets that are dimensioned to have the same footprint as the pipe flange are utilized, while in still others, other known sealing methods are employed.
Therefore, it is an aspect of the invention to provide a pipe flange that may be utilized to install a flange adjacent to an existing circulator or other device.
It is a further aspect of the invention to provide a pipe flange that may be easily installed in close quarters.
It is a further aspect of the invention to provide a pipe flange that allows an installer to utilize a standard open end wrench or adjustable wrench during installation.
It is a further aspect of the invention to provide a pipe flange that does not require a special tool to install and does not require installers to depart from accepted installation methods.
It is a still further aspect of the invention to provide a piping system in which a pipe flange may be easily attached to a circulator regardless of the location of the circulator in relation to walls, pipes or other devices.
These aspects of the invention are not meant to be exclusive and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art when read in conjunction with the following description, appended claims and accompanying drawings.


A take-down rifle which permits easy removal and reassembly of the barrel to the receiver portion of the rifle and incorporating a system for effectively accommodating for wear in the mating parts thus providing for proper alignment between the rifle's two main components. The system includes a barrel bracket secured to the forearm, an adjustable collar threaded on the receiver end of the barrel and in contact with the barrel bracket, and the bonding of the barrel to the forearm by means of a low durometer elastomeric adhesive. Adjustment for wear can be made by turning the adjusting collar in a direction to cause the barrel to move in a direction away from the barrel bracket which accommodates for any thread wear between the receiver and the barrel.

So-called take-down rifles have been available for many years. The term "take-down rifle" describes a rifle in which the barrel and forearm are readily connected with and detached from stock and receiver frame so as to permit the rifle to be more easily packed. During World War II, the Japanese developed such a rifle for issue to airborne units. A standard bolt action rifle was modified to accommodate a special barrel with interrupted threads at its chamber end that mated with threads on a sleeve provided at the front end of the receiver. Such a rifle proved to be unsuccessful. Thereafter, another version was developed which featured a barrel locked in place by means of a tapered wedge but its accuracy at best was mediocre.
Rifles utilizing a take-down feature are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 529,455; 534,691; 605,111; 605,734; 616,719; 755,660; 855,181; 1,065,341 and 1,370,836. In spite of numerous developments in the art of take-down rifles, virtually all such rifles suffer from the inability to hold zero, or repeat the point of aim after the barrel has been removed and reinstalled. Although deviation is probably acceptable for 50 yard plinking rifles, it is not acceptable for long range precision shooting such as may be required for target use or sniper use by the military and law enforcement organizations. In order to obtain the degree of accuracy considered acceptable for sniper or target shooting, all components of any rifle and particularly a take-down rifle must fit together in an extremely tight manner with very close tolerances. Without the means to compensate for wear in mating parts, particularly threadwear, any rifle that is constantly taken apart and reassembled will lose its accuracy resulting in a change in point of impact of the bullet. Consequently, there is a need to provide a take-down rifle that can be taken apart repeatedly and reassembled with provision for maintaining its accuracy.


In a spin-echo magnetic resonance sequence a phase encoding gradient magnetic field (39) is applied after the 180.degree. rephasing pulse (32.sub.1). After detection of the spin-echo signal (33) the position dependent phases are compensated for by applying a further gradient magnetic field (39'), identical in size but opposite in sign. The phase difference (.phi..sub.32,1 -.phi..sub.31,1) between the RF-pulses (31.sub.1,32.sub.1) applied within a sequence is constant over the sequences. With no position dependent effects left at the end of a sequence the next sequence can be started immediately following the earlier one. A repetition time TR substantially shorter than the spin-spin relaxation time T.sub.2 is feasible, thereby developing a steady state of the magnetization. A TR of 50 ms or less can be obtained, as well as strong signals for long T.sub.2 substances and good T.sub.2 contrast. RF spoiling by changing phases of RF-pulses in subsequent sequences can destroy the T.sub.2 signal and provide images with pure T.sub.1 contrast.

The invention relates to a method for magnetic resonance imaging of a body placed in a stationary and substantially homogeneous main magnetic field, the method comprising repeated execution of a sequence including the following steps:
application of a first RF-pulse for excitation of at least a portion of the body, PA1 application of at least a first gradient magnetic field for phase encoding of the excited portion, PA1 application of a second RF-pulse at a time .tau. after the first RF-pulse, PA1 detection of a magnetic resonance spin-echo signal around a time 2.tau. after the first RF-pulse, PA1 whereby a repetition time between first RF-pulses in subsequent sequences is shorter than a transversal relaxation time T.sub.2 of a relevant substance of the body. With such a method, images of a slice of a human or animal body or of an object can be obtained with a spin-echo technique. By relevant substance of the body is meant a substance relevant for imaging. For diagnostic purposes, this is a substance such as a body fluid, tissue or fat. In accordance with the convention in the art, T.sub.2 is used to designate the transverse spin-spin relaxation time constant. PA1 the first gradient magnetic field is applied after the application of the second RF-pulse, and in that PA1 a second gradient magnetic field for compensation of the phase encoding caused by the first gradient magnetic field is applied in the interval after occurrence of the magnetic resonance spin-echo signal and before application of the first RF-pulse in a next sequence. Phase encoding of the excited portion of the body is introduced after the application of the 180.degree. re-phasing RF-pulse. The position dependent effects thereof are removed by the second gradient magnetic field after detection of the spin-echo signal and before the next sequence starts. Consequently, there is no phase difference left between spins in the direction of the phase encoding gradient magnetic field. Position dependent effects due to phase encoding of magnetisation in the excited portion of the body are therefore not present at the start of the next sequence, and a next excitation RF-pulse can be applied without having to realign the magnetisation along the direction of the main magnetic field. The repetition of excitation pulses prior to the vanishing of the transversal excitation allows a fast data acquisition. In medical diagnostic imaging this is most useful in breathhold abdominal imaging, where the total scan time is limited to an interval measured in seconds. PA1 a selection gradient magnetic field is applied during application of the first RF-pulse for selection of a slice of the body, and in that PA1 a third gradient magnetic field is applied during detection of the magnetic resonance spin-echo signal for frequency encoding. As known in the art, the excitation pulse in this procedure excites a slice in the body in which the Larmor frequency of the spins corresponds to the frequencies in the RF-pulse, in general the selected slice is perpendicular to the main magnetic field. Within this slice, position information in one direction is encoded by the first gradient magnetic field providing phase encoding, and in the perpendicular direction by a position dependent precession frequency caused by the third gradient magnetic field. PA1 applying a first radio-frequency pulse (RF-pulse) for excitation of at least a portion of the body, PA1 applying a at least a first gradient magnetic field for phase encoding of the excited portion, PA1 applying a second RF-pulse at a time .tau. after the first RF-pulse, PA1 detecting a magnetic resonance spin-echo signal around a time 2.tau. after the first RF-pulse, PA1 within a period that allows the repetition time TR between first RF-pulses in subsequent sequences to be shorter than a transversal relaxation time T.sub.2 of a relevant substance of the body. The apparatus according to the invention is characterised in that the control means are further arranged for
Such a method is known from EP-B 0 128 622. In that document a method for magnetic resonance imaging is disclosed in which an excitation radio-frequency pulse (90.degree. RF-pulse) is followed by a 180.degree. rephasing RF-pulse after a time interval .tau.. The 180.degree. RF-pulse rephases the transversal component of the magnetization and generates thereby a spin echo signal that is detected, providing information about the object or body. In order to encode position information in the detected signal, at least a phase encoding gradient is applied before the 180.degree. rephasing RF-pulse providing the signal with position dependent phases. These position dependent phases have to vanish before a next sequence can be started. In order to avoid waiting until the magnetisation of the excited portion has substantially returned to its equilibrium state, a second 180.degree. RF-pulse is applied after detection of the spin-echo signal causing a second spin-echo signal. A second 90.degree. RF-pulse is generated simultaneously with the occurrence of this second spin-echo signal. The second 90.degree. RF-pulse re-orientates the transverse component of the magnetisation into the direction of the main magnetic field. Consequently, it is not necessary to wait until this situation has resulted from natural relaxation of the magnetisation.
Although providing a considerable increase in sampling speed over earlier spin-echo sequences, the repetition time of this known method is still at least about 200 ms. About 100 ms of this time is needed for residual relaxation after the second 90.degree. RF-pulse is applied, and another 50 ms is needed between the detected spin-echo signal and the second 90.degree. RF-pulse. The 100 ms period in the known sequence is needed for the vanishing of position-dependent effects in the excited portion of the body, such residual position dependent effects otherwise would give rise to ghosts and artefacts in a reconstructed image. The 50 ms from the spin-echo signal to the 90.degree. RF-pulse cannot be reduced significantly as the second 180.degree. RF-pulse cannot be applied before the end of detection sequence of the spin echo signal. Therefore, it does not seem feasible to achieve a significant reduction of the repetition time in the known method by reduction of the intervals in between RF-pulses.

Method and apparatus for rapid spin echo magnetic resonance imaging


In some implementations, an audit platform may determine a first availability of a particular IP address based on data identifying IP addresses assigned for wireless and/or wireline services, a second availability of the particular IP address based on data identifying contact and registration information for IP addresses, and a third availability of the particular IP address based on data identifying active IP addresses associated with a backbone router. The audit platform may determine a fourth availability of the particular IP address based on data identifying responses to ping commands associated with the IP addresses, and a fifth availability of the particular IP address based on data identifying responses to traceroute commands associated with the IP addresses. The audit platform may calculate a confidence score, indicating a confidence level that the particular IP address is available, based on the first availability, second availability, third availability, fourth availability, and fifth availability.

An Internet Protocol (IP) address may be assigned to a device that is connected to a network (e.g., a network that uses the IP communications protocol for data communication). The IP address may identify the device and provide the location of the device in the network, and may thus provide the capability of establishing a path to the device.

Systems and methods for utilizing an internet protocol (IP) address scanning model to identify available IP addresses


A method and a system are provided for the safe berthing of marine vessels in the high seas and other unprotected open waters. The invention allows a large vessel to be berthed alongside in close enough proximity to a marine structure so that conventional loading arm equipment may be used to load and unload the vessel under most environmental conditions. One or more floating dolphins moored to the bottom of the sea and provided with fendering means are used for berthing the vessel alongside to the marine structure. The preferred type of floating dolphin is a triangular semi-submersible moored buoyant structure comprising three buoyant column members, or “caissons”, arranged invertical fashion, three buoyant hull segments, or “pontoons”, that support and separate the column members and provide heave damping to the moored buoyant structure, and three horizontal bracing members that retain the tops of the column members in place.

Conventional berthing methods and systems used in most port terminals usually involve the use of a dock, or wharf, fixed to the bottom and provided with fendering means designed to absorb the environmental loads to which the dock is subjected as a result of wind forces, currents and waves. For large vessels, like the ones that transport petroleum products and other specialized products such as liquefied natural gas and compressed natural gas, berthing dolphins are often placed adjacent to or separately from the dock in order to provide additional stability to the ship. Berthing dolphins are freestanding marine structures embedded into the bottom and provided with fendering means for absorbing environmental loads during berthing. Hawsers and similar types of cables and ropes are passed through hawseholes located in the bow of the ship and fastened so as to moor the ship to the dock and hold the ship in proper relationship with the terminal. In these "hard berthing" techniques, the vessel being berthed is made to come into and remain in contact with the fixed marine structures, i.e., the dock terminal and the berthing dolphins.
While these hard berthing techniques may be adequate for loading and unloading cargo to and from wharfs and docks in protected waters, they are not adequate for the loading and unloading of cargoes in unprotected waters during much of the environmental conditions that prevail in such locations. Loading or unloading of cargoes in unprotected waters often requires that the berthing operation be conducted quickly, with minimum separation distance between the vessel and the offshore platform and with high degree of accuracy. Otherwise, the transfer operation runs the risks of causing accidental cargo spills and frozen lines, with their attendant safety and environmental hazards, not to mention expensive product losses.
The use of single-point-mooring buoys is another example of conventional berthing methods and systems. Single-point-mooring buoys, however, are used only at the bow of the vessels, not alongside the vessels, and their use requires that specialized fittings and manifolds be installed on the vessels in order to load and unload the vessels.
It is apparent that a need exists for a technique whereby an offshore structure in unprotected waters, such as a deepwater terminal or platform, is able to receive cargo from large vessels in a safe and efficient manner without substantial periods of shut down due to normal environmental conditions. The present invention is directed toward providing such a technique.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and a system for the proper and safe berthing of ships in unprotected waters during most environmental conditions. It is also an object of the present invention to provide a method and a system for berthing marine vessels under ambient conditions that require high degrees of safety, efficiency and effectiveness. Another object of this invention is to provide a commercially practicable method for the berthing of a difficult-to-handle cargo ship alongside in unprotected waters, which method reduces the effects of environmental loads between the ship and the berth while utilizing conventional components in a novel fashion. A specific object of the invention is to provide an environmentally attractive method for berthing large cryogenic-fluid-transport tankers in spatial relationship to offshore platforms and similar structures that serve as deepwater port terminals. A further object of the present invention is to provide a technique that increases the time-available window for berthing a tanker at a fixed structure in open waters in a safe and cost-effective manner. Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a system for berthing vessels alongside in open waters, which system is able to accommodate conventional vessels for loading and unloading and does not require the vessels to have special bow or stern loading manifolds or fittings. These and other objects of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the description that follows.


An imaging lens including, in order from an object side towards an image surface side, a diaphragm, a first lens which is a meniscus lens having a positive power whose convex surface faces the object side, and a second lens which is a lens having a positive power whose convex surface faces the image surface side, wherein conditions expressed by each of following expressions (1)-(6) are to be satisfied; 1.25≧L/fl≧0.8, 0.55≧f1/f2>0, 1.5≧f1/fl≧0.9, 1≧d2/d1≧0.2, 0.35≧d1/fl≧0.1, and 0.27≧d3/fl≧0.1 (where, L: entire length of the imaging lens, fl: focal distance of the entire imaging lens, f1: focal distance of the first lens, f2: focal distance of the second lens, d1: center thickness of the first lens, d2: space between the first lens and the second lens on the optical axis, and d3: center thickness of the second lens).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging lens. In particular, the present invention relates to an imaging system of a two-lens structure that is capable of reducing size and weight, enhancing optical performance, and improving productivity. The imaging lens is used for an image-taking device that forms an image of an object, such as scenery or a person, on an image-taking surface of a solid image pickup device such as a CCD, CMOS, etc. The solid image pickup device is mounted on a portable computer, a television phone, a portable phone, a digital camera, and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, there has been an increasing demand for cameras that utilize a solid image pickup device, such as a CCD, CMOS, or the like, which is mounted on a portable phone, a portable computer, and a television phone, for example. It is demanded that a camera such as this is small and light because the camera is required to be mounted on a limited installation space.
Therefore, it is also necessary for the imaging lens used for such cameras to be similarly small and light. Conventionally, a single-lens structure lens system using a single lens is used as such imaging lens.
Such a single-lens structure lens system can sufficiently handle being applied to a solid image pickup device called CIF that has a resolution of about 110 thousand pixels. However, in recent years, the use of a solid image pickup device called VGA that has a high resolution of about 300 thousand pixels is being examined. There is a problem in that the conventional single-lens structure lens system cannot sufficiently exert the resolution performance of such high-resolution solid image pickup devices.
Therefore, conventionally, various two-lens structure lens systems and three-lens structure lens systems having an optical performance that is superior to that of the single-lens structure lens system have been proposed.
In this case, in the three-lens structure lens system, each aberration leading to the deterioration of the optical performance can be effectively corrected, thereby allowing an extremely high optical performance to be obtained. However, since the three-lens structure lens system has a large number of parts, it is difficult to reduce the size and weight. Since each component part requires high accuracy, the manufacturing costs increase, as well.
On the other hand, although the two-lens structure lens system cannot achieve an optical performance that is as high as that of the three-lens structure lens system, a higher optical performance than that of the single-lens structure lens system can be acquired. It can be said that the two-lens structure lens system is suitable for a small, high-resolution solid image pickup device.
As such a two-lens structure lens system, conventionally, numerous lens systems called a retro-focus-type in which a negative lens and a positive lens are combined have been proposed. It is possible to reduce costs of such retro-focus-type lens systems through a reduction of the number of parts. However, from this configuration, it is practically impossible to reduce the size and weight to about the size and weight of the single-lens structure lens system since the back focus distance increases.
As another two-lens structure lens system, there is a lens system called a telephoto-type in which a positive lens and a negative lens are combined. However, such telephoto-type lens systems had been developed for silver-salt photography, and therefore, the back focus distance of the telephoto-type lens system is too short. The telephoto-type lens system also has problems regarding telecentricity. It is difficult to apply the telephoto-type lens system as is to the imaging lens for solid image pickup devices.
Furthermore, conventionally, in the two-lens structure lens system or the three-lens structure lens system, a configuration in which a diaphragm is disposed between two lenses that are mutually adjacent in the optical axis direction is mainstream (for example, refer to Patent Literatures 1 and 2).    [Patent Literature 1] Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication 2004-163850    [Patent Literature 2] Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication 2004-170460
There is an increasing demand for further improvement of the optical performance, in addition to the reduction in size and weight, of these types of imaging lens. However, in a configuration in which the diaphragm is disposed between the two lenses, as in the imaging lens described in Patent Literatures 1 and 2, it is difficult to achieve both the reduction in size and weight and further improvement in the optical performance. Furthermore, it is difficult to accommodate the sensor characteristics (incident angle to the sensor).


A system, method, and computer program product are provided for mounting an image of a computer system in a pre-boot environment for validating the computer system. In use, an image of a computer system is mounted in a pre-boot environment of the computer system, where the image includes a file system structure and initialization data of the computer system. Furthermore, at least one task is performed on the mounted image for validating the computer system.

Traditionally, computer systems have been monitored for detecting unwanted activity. Unfortunately, the time during which monitoring is capable of being employed with respect to computer systems has generally been limited. Such limitations have often been associated with an ability to monitor computer systems during boot up.
For example, it may be difficult to load the software components needed to perform the monitoring early in the system boot process, leading to gaps in monitoring capabilities. Thus, by the time the monitoring components are loaded malware may have already compromised the computer system and may accordingly be able to prevent the load and execution of the monitoring components or obstruct their view of the system. This lack of early systems monitoring leaves open a key window of opportunity for attack.
There is thus a need for addressing these and/or other issues associated with the prior art.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System, method, and computer program product for mounting an image of a computer system in a pre-boot environment for validating the computer system


A system for power management. The system includes a plurality of input/output pads and a plurality of input/output cells, where each input/output cell is coupled to one of the input/output pads. The system further includes a plurality of interrupt observe circuits, where each interrupt observe circuit is coupled to one of the input/output cells, and where the interrupt observe circuits are configured to generate an interrupt flag during a low power mode.

Standards such as EnergyStar require power limits on devices, which can include a semiconductor application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) that must meet the low power requirements to satisfy EnergyStar standards, as well as general consumer demand.
There are many techniques for reducing power in ASICs, including using a low leakage manufacturing process, incorporating multiple voltage domains for the core logic, and powering down sections of the ASIC that are not in use. The first two techniques give up performance and increase system cost, respectively, while the third technique introduces challenges on how to wake the powered down ASIC based on external events such as a button press or network activity.

Method and system for waking on input/output interrupts while powered down


A system for adjusting oversubscription loading includes an interface and a processor. The interface is configured to receive a set of performance data from a set of worker systems. The processor is configured to determine a feedback indication for a worker system of the set of worker systems based at least in part on the set of performance data. The feedback indication is used to adjust an oversubscription controller on the worker system. The processor is configured to provide the feedback indication to the worker system.

High priority services running on a computer cluster underutilize their computing resources in order to maintain enough reserve resources to handle demand spikes of those services without losing performance. However, underutilizing computing resources is inefficient for the computer cluster and wastes computing resources when demand spikes do not appear. To take advantage of the underutilization, low priority services are allowed to operate that are evicted when high priority services need more computing resources. The oversubscription creates the potential that services will be competing for the same limited resource (e.g., central processing unit capacity, free memory, network bandwidth, etc.) in the event that two services have a demand spike.


The present disclosure relates to a system for manufacturing of vascular patches in the form pre-operative surgical planning prototypes providing optimized patient specific 3-D patch geometries. The present disclosure relates more particularly to a patch generation device for manufacturing of vascular patches in the form pre-operative surgical planning prototypes providing optimized patient-specific patch geometries, said patch generation device comprising a processing unit effectuating processing of the optimized patient-specific patch geometries.

The work leading to this disclosure has received funding from the European Research Council Proof of Concept Grant under the European Union's H2020, ERC grant agreement number 641156.
Congenital cardiovascular defects in neonatal and pediatric patients are treated through palliative reconstructive surgical operations where the commercially available vascular transplants/grafts are generally fabricated from synthetic "non-remodeling" materials. Compared to adults, cardiovascular structures of neonatal and pediatric patients grow in size and their vascular micro-structure alters significantly with aging under increasing mechanical loads.
Typically, a series of open-heart surgeries must be performed at progressive stages of growth (First stage at birth, second stage in 2-3 years old, third stage in 4-5 years old and further operations in adulthood (˜50 years+)) since artificial grafts are unable to comply with changing vascular size and fail beyond their operating dimensions unlike live tissue. Additionally, it is further to be noted that surgical grafts should have geometries specifically engineered to the specific patient as cardiovascular anatomies are highly complex and differ between patients.
Treatment of cardiovascular defects in neonatal and pediatric patients therefore involves significant complexity and is prone to serious medical complications compared to adult patients. Due to the nature of the cardiovascular structures of neonatal and pediatric patients and their vascular micro-structure altering with aging under increasing mechanical loads, surgical operations are successively conducted by which the commercially available vascular patches are implanted to the patient. However, as noted, since the cardiovascular anatomies have complex differentiating structures, commercially available square or rectangular two dimensional patches are typically needed to be structured and shaped prior to the operation by the surgeon according to the specific needs of the patient.

System for pre-operative development of patient-specific vascular patch graft prototypes for pediatric and neonatal patients


A piston for an internal combustion engine may include at least one oil ring groove configured to receive an oil scraper ring. The at least one oil ring groove may have an upper groove flank, a lower groove flank, and a groove base. The at least one oil ring groove may be structured to be asymmetrical and deeper in a radial direction in a region of the lower groove flank. The piston may also include an oil outflow channel structured and arranged to fluidically communicate with an oil collecting chamber disposed in a spine of the oil scraper ring. A connecting point between at least one of (i) the at least one oil ring groove and the oil outflow channel, and (ii) the oil collecting chamber and the oil outflow channel may be disposed exclusively in the lower groove flank.

EP 1 264 980 B1 has disclosed a generic piston for an internal combustion engine, having at least one oil ring groove for receiving an oil scraper ring, wherein said oil ring groove is formed so as to be asymmetrical and deeper in an inward radial direction in the region of a lower groove flank, averted from a piston crown, and thus has an oil collecting chamber in the spine of the oil scraper ring. Furthermore, an oil outflow channel is provided which has a communicating connection to said oil collecting chamber. The oil collecting chamber transitions here via a connecting point, which lies in the groove base and in the lower groove flank, into the oil outflow channel, such that the oil outflow channel has a communicating connection to the oil collecting chamber via the lower groove flank and the groove base.
DE 39 28 491 A1 has disclosed a piston for an internal combustion engine having an oil ring groove and having a spring element, which, over its height, ends radially at the inside at the same diameter, of the oil ring. The groove base of the oil ring groove in this case lies radially further to the outside in a region adjoining the groove upper flank than in a region adjoining the groove lower flank, whereby a relatively large curvature radius can be achieved at the transition between the groove base and the groove lower flank. By means of the relatively large curvature radius, it is nevertheless possible to achieve relatively high strength of the piston.
A disadvantage of the pistons known from the prior art, however, is that during the provision of an oil outflow channel which proceeds from a lower groove flank and the groove base of the oil ring groove, a three-dimensional edge structure arises during the production process, which edge structure cannot be finish-machined or can be finish-machined only with very great difficulty.

Piston for an internal combustion engine


A method is provided, the method comprising operating a field emitter array (FEA) to generate at least one of a high electric field and a high electron flux, and exposing the field emitter array (FEA) to at least one gas. The method further comprises generating at least one radical species from the at least one gas exposed to the at least one of the high electric field and the high electron flux.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to methods of using field ionization devices, and, more particularly, to a method for using field emitter arrays to mitigate and remediate chemical and biological hazards.
2. Description of the Related Art
One of the biggest threats to the military and civilian populations of the United States and the rest of the world is the use of weapons of mass destruction based on biological and chemical warfare. Research emphasis has been on the detection of biological weapons because of the potentially catastrophic nature of the use of biological weapons. Until recently, there has been less emphasis on chemical weapons because of the large volume of material typically required to pose a major threat. However, there is growing concern that terrorists, foreign or domestic, could attack chemical plants producing ammonia (NH3), chlorine (Cl2), insecticides, and the like, where there are large volumes of highly toxic materials. Additionally, there are many manufacturing facilities (for example, manufacturing plants that typically use arsine, germane, diborane, and the like) where there are also large volumes of highly toxic materials already in place that may be vulnerable to terrorist attack. Because of these and other similar potentially disastrous scenarios, chemical weapons again are a major concern.
One of the problems with many of the current schemes for biological warfare defense (BWD) and chemical warfare defense (CWD) is that the defense systems are specific to certain chemicals or pathogens. Schemes that provide a more general defense such as high temperature catalytic oxidation or radio frequency (RF) plasma oxidation, require a large amount of energy and power, and can produce harmful side-products. What is required is a defense system that can render harmless a large number of pathogens or compounds without producing harmful side-products. Another important element, especially for military applications is that the defense system should be portable and power-efficient enough so that the defense system can be used and implemented by individual soldiers and on small vehicles.
Biological and chemical warfare and/or terrorism and/or accidents are complicated by the fact that the delivery of the biological and/or chemical agents can be as simple as exposure of the pathogens and/or toxins to the atmosphere, resulting in potentially wide dispersal. Examples of these biological and/or chemical agents and/or pathogens and/or toxins may include Sarin ((CH3)2CHOP(O)FCH3), Soman ((CH3)3CHCH3OP(O)FCH3), VX (CH3P(O)OC2H5SCH2CH2N(CH(CH3)2)2), and the like. The delivery method can be simple and extremely low cost. The effect of the biological and/or chemical agent can be immediate, or it can be delayed for days. Conventional devices are expensive, slow, consume a lot of power, and are bulky. These devices cannot operate in real-time and are not suitable for battlefield and forward deployment or emergency situations. Conventional approaches that are fast and that have the potential for real-time operation are extremely agent-specific and can be thwarted by developing new biological and chemical warfare agents. Hence, new approaches that have the potential of instantaneous detection in the field that are low cost, portable and consume very little power are desired.
The present invention is directed to overcoming, or at least reducing the effects of, one or more of the problems set forth above.

Method for using field emitter arrays in chemical and biological hazard mitigation and remediation


A paper feed apparatus for a sheet-fed press includes a paper stack unit, a suction port member, a cam mechanism, and a paper feed roller and a paper feed roll. The paper stack unit stacks paper sheets on a paper stack plate thereof. The suction port member draws the leading end portion of the paper sheet stacked on the paper stack unit. The cam mechanism moves the suction port member vertically between a suction position and an upper position and back and forth between the suction position and a retreat position. The paper feed roller and the paper feed roll are disposed within the forward path of the suction port member, and draw the paper sheet conveyed by the suction port member and feed the paper sheet onto a feeder board.

The present invention relates to a paper feed apparatus for a sheet-fed press, which draws a paper sheet stacked on the paper stack plate of a paper stack table, grips the leading end portion of the paper sheet with a paper convey member, and feeds the paper sheet onto a feeder board to perform printing.
A paper feed apparatus provided to a sheet-fed press has a paper stack table for supporting a paper stack plate on which paper sheets are stacked. A plate-like feeder board is inclinedly supported in front of the paper stack table such that its front portion is lower than its rear portion. A suction port member that can move vertically and back and forward is provided above the stacked paper sheet. A paper feed roller to be rotated by a driving unit and a paper feed roll opposing the upper circumferential surface of the paper feed roller are provided between the paper stack table and the feeder board.
With this arrangement, paper sheets stacked on the paper stack plate on the paper stack table are drawn one by one from the highest one by the suction port member, and the drawn paper sheet is moved forward. The moved paper sheet is gripped by the paper feed roller and the paper feed roll at its leading end portion, and is fed onto the feeder board as the paper feed roller and the paper feed roll are rotated.
According to the conventional paper feed apparatus having the above arrangement, however, paper sheets are continuously fed onto the feeder board by inserting a paper sheet under a previously fed paper sheet with a slight shift in the feed direction. Therefore, the trailing end portion of the paper sheet which is exposed from the trailing end portion of the previously fed paper sheet must be drawn by the suction port member. Then, when the paper sheet is to be drawn, the paper sheet portion except for the trailing end portion is not held, resulting in an unstable paper feed operation.
For example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 45-12928 discloses an arrangement in which the leading end portion of a paper sheet is drawn by a suction port member. This arrangement will be described. More specifically, this paper feed apparatus has a feed roller, a guide arm, a suction port member, and a guide plate. The feed roller is axially supported above the leading end portion of the stacked paper sheet and rotated by a motor. The guide arm is supported by a link mechanism and moved forward and backward in the horizontal direction so as to enter from the front side to bring the roll at its distal end portion into contact with the lower circumferential surface of the feed roller and to be retreated forward from the entered state. The suction port member is supported by the link mechanism and moved in the vertical direction with respect to the leading end face of the paper sheet to draw the paper sheet. The guide plate is supported above the reciprocal path of the guide arm. A paper feed roller and a paper feed roll that oppose each other in the vertical direction, and a feeder board, three of which are similar to those described above, are provided in front of the guide plate.
With this arrangement, when a paper feed operation is to be performed, first, the suction port member is moved downward from the upper stop position, draws the leading end portion of the paper sheet, and is then moved upward to the upper stop position, and releases the paper sheet. Simultaneously, the guide arm enters below the feed roller, and the roll at the distal end portion of the guide arm is brought into contact with the lower circumferential surface of the feed roller. The released paper sheet is clamped by the feed roller and the roll. When the feed roller and the roll are rotated, the clamped paper sheet is fed forward on the guide plate, gripped by the paper feed roller and the paper feed roll, and fed onto the feeder board.
According to the conventional paper feed apparatus having the above arrangement, as described above, when the suction port member that has drawn the paper sheet is moved upward and releases the paper sheet, the paper sheet is fed to a portion below the suction port member by the rotation of the feed roller and the roll. At this time, after the paper sheet drawing by the suction port member is released, it is quickly moved in the paper convey direction from the stop state. Then, the paper sheet which is being quickly moved forward and the suction port member may undesirably interfere with each other. It is, however, difficult to set the timing so as not to cause this interference. Hence, high-speed printing cannot be achieved. Furthermore, it is difficult to move all the feed rollers and the rolls simultaneously and to cause them to grip the paper sheet at the same contact pressure. Therefore, a paper feed error such as erroneous paper direction tends to occur to increase waste paper.

Paper feed apparatus for sheet-fed press


Method, control, and apparatus for taking up a billet produced in an extrusion or tube-making press includes applying a controlled pull-away tractive force, which keeps the emerging billet straight and does not affect the formation of the billet, increasing the pull-away tractive force in proportion to the extruded billet length, unit length weight and coefficient of friction between the billet and the delivery table, superimposing the pull-away tractive force upon the take-up tractive force determined from the cross-section and flow behavior in the die. After a billet has been separated and withdrawn from the die, the pull-away force and the length of the emerging billet are measured and the pull-away force, divided by the billet length, is entered as a set value for the specific profile frictional force to be multiplied by the billet length, which is determined by a path measurement, when extruding a subsequent billet of the same nominal cross section. The control is carried out such that, in addition to a value, which takes account of the resistance to motion of the carriage of the take-up device, as a first addend, and in addition to a base value--dependent upon the billet cross-section--of the take-up force as a second addend, starting from the point at which the billet tip is gripped by the grippers of the take-up device, an increasing value, which is the respective product of the result of a continuous delivery path measurement and a predetermined specific profile frictional force between the emerging billet and the delivery table, is determined and entered as a third addend as a desired value of the tractive force exerted on the billet tip.

The introduction of a mechanized take-up operation for billets produced in an extrusion or tube-making press gave rise to the requirement of limiting the tractive force which is exerted on the billet and keeps the latter straight so as to prevent any effect on the formation of the billet in the die (DE-PS 484 649). If billets are produced which either cannot or are not intended to be wound up, it is usual to provide a table after the press which receives the emerging billets and guides them during extrusion, with support surfaces, which are as flat as possible, being provided to prevent distortion of the billets during cooling. Owing to the risk of thin billets buckling and the reaction of the shear force on the formation of the billet in the die, resulting in compression of the emerging billet, it is usual to use take-up device consisting of carriages which are moved along the table by a traversing drive and provided with grippers which grip the tips of the emerging billets. However it has to be ensured that the tractive force exerted on a billet by a take-up device does not affect the formation of the billet in the die by causing a contraction in area of the emerging billet. In order to meet the demand for increasingly closer tolerances of the cross-sectional dimensions of the billets, the traversing drives, together with the measurement and control of the tractive force to be exerted on the billets, have been improved in numerous proposals with the result that, by means of a more accurate and direct measurement of the tractive force at the grippers and specially developed tranversing drives, the smallest possible tractive force, which is constant within narrow limits, is sufficient to keep the billets straight and prevent compressive forces from arising in the billet.

Method for taking up a billet produced in the extrusion or tube-making press and control of a take-up device for this purpose


Modular building structures and systems for construction of modular buildings are provided. A modular building structure according to one embodiment includes at least two panels having two outer skins and an inner core; at least two panel spacers between the outer skins of the panels; at least two panel connectors partially receiving the panels; at least one coupling bar; and at least one corner coupler configured to couple two of the panels substantially perpendicular to each other. A modular building structure may further include at least one straight coupler configured to couple two of the panels substantially parallel to each other.

The use of modular building structures and systems has increased in recent years in an attempt to reduce construction costs, simplify the construction process, and reduce construction time. Modular building structures are constructed by assembling a number of pre-fabricated components, which may be manufactured under controlled environmental conditions and assembled either in the controlled environment or at the installation location of the structure. One recognized benefit of modular building structures is the relative ease of transporting the individual components to remote locations and assembling the structures in such locations. For instance, modular building structures have been assembled in locations without available roads after the components have been transported to the locations by helicopter.