A filter cleaning device for an air conditioner includes: a casing; a filter that is disposed in the casing and through which an air flow passes; a cleaning brush that is contactable with the filter surface and removes particulate matter from the filter surface; and a dust box that receives the particulate matter, and includes a housing accommodating the cleaning brush and having an opening through which the cleaning brush protrudes to contact a filter surface, a suction tool that includes an outlet in the housing to communicate with the dust box, and applies a suction force to the dust box to remove the particulate matter from the dust box; and a lid that is movable between first and second positions, and closes the opening of the housing in the second position when the suction force is applied.

Air-conditioners are common in different buildings, particularly in commercial premises such as offices and hotels. In those premises often air-conditioners of the so-called duct-type are employed.
Duct-type air-conditioners are understood as air-conditioners of which the indoor unit is connected to an air ducting hidden behind a false ceiling or a false wall. In many cases, also the indoor unit is completely or partly hidden behind the false ceiling or the false wall. An air conditioner according to one or more embodiments is shown in FIG. 1.
Such duct-type air-conditioners 1 generally comprise air ducting 6, 7 located behind a false ceiling U or a false wall. One air ducting 6 leads to an exit grating 8 or exit terminal in a space to be conditioned such as an office, a corridor, a meeting room or a hotel room. Another air ducting 7 leads to an inlet grating 9 or inlet terminal which may either be located within the space to be conditioned or outside that space. The air ducting 7 may alternatively be connected to a ducting network supplying air centrally to a plurality of indoor units.
The air conditioner 1 has an indoor unit comprising a casing having an inlet 2 to which the air ducting 7 is connected and an outlet 3 to which the air ducting 6 is connected. A heat exchanger 4 is located within the casing downstream of the inlet 2 and downstream of one or more fans 5. Yet, the heat exchanger 4 may also be located upstream of the fan/-s 5. A filter 12 having opposite filter surfaces 13, 14 is disposed upstream of the heat exchanger 4 and in many cases located at or near the inlet 2.
An air flow is generated by the fan/-s 5 during operation of the air conditioner 1. Air flows from the inlet grating 9 via the air ducting 7 to the inlet 2, passes the filter 12 and subsequently the heat exchanger 4 for heating or cooling the air before being introduced into the space to be conditioned via the outlet 3, the air ducting 6 and the exit grating 8.
The filter 12 has the purpose of removing particulate matter such as dust and fibers from the air flow to avoid the parts of the air conditioner, particularly the heat exchanger 4, from being soiled and clogged.
Yet, the filter 12 requires regular cleaning to avoid clogging of the filter. Such clogging of the filter may result in an increased resistance to the air flow which requires a higher load on the fan/-s. Hence, clogging of the filter can reduce the efficiency of the air conditioner.
Yet, cleaning of the filter very often requires opening the false ceiling or the false wall and specialized maintenance engineers or cleaning personnel to remove and clean the filter. This is perceived negative. For this reason, systems have been suggested to simplify removal of the filter. Such systems are for example disclosed in KR 10 2003 0083185 A or KR 10 2004 0080810 A.
However, also these systems require cleaning personal to frequently access the spaces to be conditioned, which may disturb the people using the space. For this reason, filter cleaning devices have been suggested which are able to automatically clean the filter. One system uses a suction force for cleaning the filter, wherein a suction device is communicated with a suction nozzle moving along the filter surface, whereby the particulate matter adhering to the filter surface is removed by the suction force applied via the suction nozzle. Two examples of those devices are disclosed in WO 2007/040276 A1 and WO 2016/009351 A1. However, these devices are, on the one hand, perceived to be relatively complicated and hence expensive and, on the other hand, perceived to either not sufficiently remove the particulate matter or to require a relatively high suction force which may lead to damaging of the filter. The relatively high suction force is also required because it during appliance of the suction force air is sucked through the filter causing difficulties in building up a relatively large under pressure on the side of the filter to be cleaned.
To address these deficiencies, filter cleaning devices have been proposed using a mechanical cleaning member, such as a brush. The particulate matter removed from the filter by the brush is collected and retained in a dust box. The dust box will have to be emptied from time to time and is therefore in many cases removable. One type of those filter cleaning devices moves the filter along a fixed mechanical cleaning member for removing the particulate matter. Also the dust box is in these cases fixed relative to the casing of the filter cleaning device. Those devices however require a specific configuration of the filter, such as having a continuous belt shape or a large space into which the filter is moved before being returned to its original position. Alternative types of such filter cleaning devices disclose to slide the mechanical cleaning member along the filter surface with the dust box however being fixed relative to the casing. One such filter cleaning device is disclosed in JP H06-32926 U. Yet, also in this device the brush, being pressed against and slid along the filter, may damage the filter and/or push particulate matter into and even through the filter rather than removing the particulate matter from the filter. In addition, the dust box provided in this device is relatively large so that the entire system requires a lot of space, which in many cases is not available behind a false ceiling or a false wall. Furthermore, it is perceived negative to remove the dust box for emptying the dust box. Rather, it is considered more appropriate to empty the dust box by applying a suction force. However, if the dust box is relatively large and open to atmosphere at a relatively large area, it is difficult to build up a sufficiently high under pressure to remove the particulate matter from the dust box.

Filter cleaning device for an air conditioner and air conditioner having such filter cleaning device


Described is a method and system for analyzing a patient's breaths. The arrangement may include a sensor and a processor. The sensor detects data corresponding to a patient's breathing patterns over a plurality of breaths. The processor separates the detected data into data segments corresponding to individual breaths. Then, the processor analyzes the data segments using a pretrained artificial neural network to classify the breaths based on a likelihood that individual ones of the breaths include an abnormal flow limitation.

Obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) is a well-recognized disorder that may affect as much as 1-5% of the adult population. OSAHS is one of the most common causes of excessive daytime somnolence. OSAHS is most frequent in obese males, and it is the single most frequent reason for referral to sleep disorder clinics.
OSAHS is associated with conditions in which there is anatomic or functional narrowing of the patient's upper airway, and is characterized by an intermittent obstruction of the upper airway occurring during sleep. The obstruction results in a spectrum of respiratory disturbances ranging from the total absence of airflow (apnea), despite continued respiratory effort, to significant obstruction with or without reduced airflow (hypopnea—episodes of elevated upper airway resistance, and snoring). Morbidity associated with the syndrome arises from hypoxemia, hypercapnia, bradycardia and sleep disruption associated with the respiratory obstructions and arousals from sleep.
The pathophysiology of OSAHS is not fully worked out. However, it is now well recognized that obstruction of the upper airway during sleep is in part due to the collapsible behavior of the supraglottic segment of the respiratory airway during the negative intraluminal pressure generated by inspiratory effort. The human upper airway during sleep behaves substantially similar to a Starling resistor which is defined by the property that flow is limited to a fixed value irrespective of the driving (inspiratory) pressure. Partial or complete airway collapse can then occur associated with the loss of airway tone which is characteristic of the onset of sleep and which may be exaggerated in OSAHS.
Starling resistor behavior is generally identified by the presence of an abnormal flow/pressure relationship. When the upper airway acts as a rigid tube (i.e., the normal state of the upper airway), flow is linearly related to a pressure difference across the upper airway. This relationship results in a substantially sinusoidal shape to a curve representing airflow in the airway over the time. When the upper airway exhibits Starling resistor behavior, the pressure/flow relationship changes. In particular, once the driving pressure decreases below a critical value, flow no longer increases in proportion to the pressure and a plateau develops on the pressure flow curve. This relationship produces a distinctive change in the shape of the inspiratory flow curve with respect to time. The detection of this abnormal shape of the inspiratory flow time curve, identifying an abnormal flow limitation, plays a critical role in both the diagnosis and treatment of OSAHS as it represents one of the least invasive means of detecting airway abnormalities.
Diagnosis of the spectrum of sleep disordered breathing requires the detection of all abnormal breathing events during sleep, including the occurrence of the abnormal inspiratory flow time contour indicative of Starling resistor behavior of the upper airway. While this may be performed by a human scorer, the automation of this analysis to provide rapid, reliable detection of such respiratory events is an important goal. Conventional apnea and hypopnea detection may be performed based on the analysis of signal amplitude alone. However, by definition, collapsible airway events showing Starling resistor behavior must be detected by other methods. Measurement of the pressure (drive) producing breathing is not practical in the majority of subjects requiring diagnosis.
Since 1981, positive airway pressure (PAP) applied by a tight fitting nasal mask worn during sleep has evolved as the most effective treatment for this disorder, and is now the standard of care. The availability of this non-invasive form of therapy has resulted in extensive publicity for sleep apnea/hypopnea and the appearance of large numbers of patients who previously may have avoided the medical establishment because of the fear of tracheostomy. Increasing the comfort of the system (e.g., by minimizing the applied nasal pressure) has been a major goal of research aimed at improving patient compliance with therapy.
In recent years, automatically adjusting PAP devices have been developed. These devices are designed to produce the appropriate PAP pressure needed to prevent obstructive respiratory events from occurring at each moment in time. The device may change the pressure (upward or downward) in response to characteristics of the patient's breathing. For example, the automatic PAP system must be able to accurately identify flow limitations and recognize them as indicative of a sleep disorder. Some systems have based flow limitation detection on empiric algorithms with user specified parameters that require adjustment for each patient to achieve optimal performance.

System and method for classifying patient's breathing using artificial neural network


An aerial vehicle and a method of taking a measurement using a sensor mounted on an aerial vehicle. The aerial vehicle has one or more propellers and one car more motors which are selectively operable to drive the one or more propellers to rotate to cause the vehicle to fly. A sensor is mounted on the aerial vehicle. The method includes operating the one or more motors to drive the one or more propellers to cause the vehicle to fly. At a first time instant, the one or more motors are slowed down or turned off. When the one or more motors are slowed down or turned off, a measurement is taken using the sensor; at a second time instant, which is after the measurement has been taken using sensor, operating the one or more motors again to drive the one or more propellers to cause the vehicle to fly.

Aerial vehicles are widely used as flying sensor platforms to capture measurements. The vehicle is flown to a desired position. Once at the desired position, a sensor mounted on the aerial vehicle is operated to capture a measurement. Typically, the aerial vehicles comprise propellers, which are driven by motors; when driven by the one or more motors the propellers rotate to generate a thrust force which enables the aerial vehicle to fly.
Disadvantageously, the propellers and/or motors tend to cause aerial vehicles to vibrate when they are in use. These vibrations are caused by imperfect balance of the rotating masses of propellers and/or motors causing forces and torques to act on the aerial vehicle, as well as due to aerodynamic interactions between the airflow generated by the propeller and other components of the aerial vehicles (e.g. pressure waves or tip vortices hitting the structure of the aerial vehicle). Therefore, if the sensor is operated during flight to capture a measurement, the vibrations can negatively affect the captured measurement. Many sensors take measurements in a specific direction (e.g. Pitot tube wind speed sensors, imaging sensors, and star trackers). Disadvantageously, the orientation of the body of many aerial vehicles is dictated by the need to orient lift-generating surfaces such that the effect of gravity on the aerial vehicle is opposed. To freely orient the sensor, many aerial vehicles use gimbals onto which the sensor is mounted to allow the pointing of the sensor in a direction of interest. Such gimbals add cost and complexity to aerial vehicles.
For example, some aerial vehicles are equipped with imaging sensors, the measurements of which are images. When operated during flight, the vibrations result in motion blur in the captured images due to the camera vibrating during the exposure time; said motion blur is especially evident in low-light conditions where a camera requires a longer exposure time to achieve an image with an acceptable signal-to-noise ratio which in turn requires the camera to remain stationary (or substantially stationary) for an equally longer amount of time; in addition, a "Jello effect" can occur due to the rolling shutter interacting with vibrations of the camera; an event-based imaging sensor/dynamic vision sensor may record a large number of pixel events due the relative motion of the sensor with respect to the environment caused by the vibrations. Preferably, the imaging sensor is an active pixel sensor because such sensors combine small size, low power consumption, and high capture frequencies. In a more preferred embodiment, the imaging sensor is a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) active pixel sensor due to its low cost, small size, and low power consumption. CMOS imaging sensors are particularly susceptible to rolling shutter ("Jello") effects, which are greatly amplified by vibrations and therefore largely mitigated by this invention.
In other examples of the prior art aerial vehicles having a 3D scanning sensor (3D scanner) mounted thereon are widely used to record depth data that can be used to create three-dimensional models. The propellers and/or motors, when in use, can disturb and/or compromise the measurements taken by the 3D scanner; in particular, the vibration of the aerial vehicle caused by propellers and/or motors when the propellers and/or motors are in use can compromise the data by introducing motion blur, or by causing momentary changes in the orientation of the 3D scanning sensor.
In another example the aerial vehicles are provided with one or more ultrasonic sensors and/or one or more laser-based sensors which may for example be used to measure distance such as the distance from the aerial vehicle to the ground. The vibrations which the vehicle undergoes, and/or the magnetic fields generated by electric motors in the vehicle, will result in noise in the measurements taken by the one or more ultrasonic sensors and/or the one or more laser-based sensors (e.g. the vibrations which the vehicle undergoes will result in a constantly changing distance from the aerial vehicle to the ground such that the one or more ultrasonic sensors and/or the one or more laser-based sensors will be unable to take a stable and/or accurate distance measurement).
In another example the aerial vehicles are provided with one or more microphones which are used to take sound measurements. In such an example the one or more motors which drive the propellers and/or the propellers themselves and/or the airflow caused by said propellers will cause sounds which will be "noise" for the sound measurements taken by the one or more microphones. In addition, the air flow caused by the aerial vehicle moving with respect to the surrounding air will cause sounds which will be "noise" for the sound measurements taken by the one or more microphones.
In yet a further example the aerial vehicles are provided with one or more magnetic field sensors which are used to measure magnetic fields. In such an example the current which flows to electric motors operable to drive the propellers to spin when the motors and propellers are in use, will generate a changing magnetic field which will be "noise" for the magnetic measurements taken by the one or more magnetic field sensors.
It is an aim of the present invention to mitigate or obviate at least some of the disadvantages associated with the methods of the prior art.


A lens for electron capture dissociation may include: a first electrode and a second electrode spaced apart from each other and arranged along a first direction; and a third electrode and a fourth electrode spaced apart from each other and arranged along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. The first electrode and the second electrode may be disposed in a space in which a magnetic field is formed in the first direction and trap electrons. The third electrode and the fourth electrode may be in the form of a flat plate and may apply an electric field to the trapped electrons in the second direction.

A Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer (FT-ICR MS) is an apparatus for elucidating molecular structure by measuring the mass of molecular ions and fragment ions, and has become a basic standard for high-resolution broadband mass spectrometry. The FT-ICR MS is configured to measure the mass of ions in an ion cyclotron resonance (ICR) trap consisting of a cylindrical trap electrode, an activation electrode, a measurement electrode, etc. For example, Korean Patent No. 10-0790532 titled "A method for improving Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer signal" discloses a conventional FT-ICR MS.
In the ICR trap, ions exhibit cyclotron motions, including cyclotron rotation, magnetron rotation and axial trapping oscillation. The cyclotron rotation results from the Lorentz force applied on charged ions moving in a static magnetic field. And, the magnetron rotation is induced by the radial electric field gradient formed by an electrostatic trapping voltage in the ICR trap. Further, the ions oscillate linearly along the axial direction of the magnetic field at the trapping oscillation frequency. The FT-ICR MS can measure the mass of ions based on these cyclotron motions of the ions occurring in the ICR trap.
Meanwhile, electron capture dissociation (ECD) refers to a phenomenon in which low energy electrons are introduced to molecular ions to be analyzed to break specific bonds in the FT-ICR MS. ECD is a method of fragmenting ions, which is one of the important processes in elucidation of molecular structure. For example, a process wherein a molecular ion formed from binding of n hydrogen atoms (H) to an atom (M) interacts with an electron to form a fragment ion can be expressed by the following Equation 1.[M+nH]n++e−→[[M+nH](n-1)+]*  [Equation 1]
To induce ECD, electrons are emitted from a cathode of an ECD gun and the emitted electrons are introduced into the ICR trap using, for example, a lens. Fragment ions can be generated in the ICR trap through interaction between the molecular ions and electrons according to Equation 1. Unlike other conventional techniques, ECD can produce fragment ions and is a very important method, for example, in post-translational modification.
However, ECD has the problem that the production efficiency of fragment ions is low. In the FT-ICR MS, the ions are captured using a very high and constant magnetic field for measurement of mass. Under such high magnetic field, electrons are also captured in the magnetic field as the ions are in the magnetic field. Accordingly, an environment is formed in which the electrons are very difficult to move in a direction perpendicular to the magnetic field. ECD occurs when the molecular ions interact with electrons, but, under such an environment, it is not easy for the ions to interact with electrons even when they are close to each other. Due to this problem, the production efficiency of fragment ions using ECD is low.

Lens for electron capture dissociation, Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer comprising the same and method for improving signal of Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer


A method, system and module for automatically converting a call flow into a state-based representation are disclosed. The method comprises walking a call flow and converting each page of the call flow into a rule of a higher level representation of the call flow, augmenting the higher level representation with terminal symbols representing state variable assignments and comparisons associated with decision and computation shapes in the call flow and converting the higher level representation into a state-based representation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to spoken dialog systems and more specifically to a system and method of converting graphical call flows into finite state machines.
2. Introduction
A spoken dialog system is typically represented by a call flow. The call flow is essentially a graph or network, possibly containing cycles over parts of the network. The incorporated application above discloses a rooted tree having a root node, descendent nodes, and leaf nodes. A path from the root node to a leaf node represents a specific dialog. A call flow can contain huge (tens of thousands) or even unbounded numbers of unique dialogs.
Typically, a spoken dialog developer will manually inspect the call flow to generate dialog test cases and scenarios for testing the spoken dialog system. This is a time consuming process and is prone to error. This translation, if done by hand, is prone to error, misinterpretation, and can be time and resource time consuming. What is needed is a system and method for converting the call flow into another representation that is useful for implementing the call flow in a spoken dialog service and useful for testing the implemented spoken dialog service.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System and method for converting graphical call flows into finite state machines


A conductive electrode structure includes a substrate layer; at least one adhesion layer formed on the substrate layer for forming a circuit pattern; a conductive electrode layer formed on the adhesion layer for forming a conducting circuit corresponding to the circuit pattern; a first blackened layer formed on the conductive electrode layer corresponding to the circuit pattern and manufactured with an easily etched material; and a weatherproof layer formed on the first blackened layer and manufactured with an etch-resistant material. The weatherproof layer has a thickness smaller than the first blackened layer. The first blackened layer has a dark color for absorbing and stopping light from entering into the conductive electrode layer, and accordingly forms a shielding surface that prevents the conductive electrode layer from being directly visually perceived by a user. The conductive electrode structure also avoids side etching of the conductive electrode layer to ensure increased yield rate.

In response to the development of compact and light weight electronic information products, the semiconductor manufacturing process is now aimed to enable high-density and automated production. On the other hand, the currently available electronic information products or devices are designed to have a touch sensing surface or touchscreen that is gradually increased in size. As a result, the conductive electrodes for the touchscreen originally made of an indium tin oxide (ITO) material are now replaced by metal conductive electrodes.
Please refer to FIGS. 1 and 2 that show the manufacturing process and the structure of conventional metal conductive electrodes 10. In a first step, a metal conductive electrode layer for forming the main bodies of the metal conductive electrodes 10 is adhered to a substrate 12 via at least one adhesion layer 11, which is also referred to as a bonding layer, so that the metal conductive electrodes 10 formed later do not easily separate from the substrate 12. In a second step, at least one weatherproof layer 13, which is also referred as an anti-corrosion layer, is covered on the metal conductive electrode layer.
Please refer to FIG. 3, the adhesion layer 11 for the conventional metal conductive electrodes 10 includes two sublayers, namely, an intermediate layer 110 connected to the substrate 12 and an electrically conductive seed layer 111 connected to the metal conductive electrodes 10.
In a third step as shown in FIG. 1, a wet etching process using an etching fluid is conducted, so that the weatherproof layer 13, the metal conductive electrode layer for forming metal conductive electrodes 10, and the adhesion layer 11 are etched to form an electrode circuit 14 consisting of a plurality of metal conductive electrodes 10. Finally, after a sensor with the metal conductive electrodes is obtained, the entire surface of the electrode circuit 14 is covered with an optically clear adhesive (OCA) film 16 to protect the sensor against damage.
To avoid the metal conductive electrodes 10 formed on a substrate of the touchscreen from being visually perceived by a user, it is a target of the research and development engineers in the touchscreen industry to develop metal conductive electrodes 10 having a very small width.
More specifically, the electrode circuit 14 on the conventional sensor is protected by the etch-resistant weatherproof layer 13 and is formed through the wet etching process. The wet etching is isotropic. Since the weatherproof layer 13 is formed of an etch-resistant material, there is a relatively large difference between the etching rates of the etching fluid on the weatherproof layer 13 and on the metal conductive electrode layer for forming the metal conductive electrodes 10. Moreover, the weatherproof layer 13 formed in the second step usually has a non-uniform thickness. As a result, when the etching fluid vertically etches the weatherproof layer 13, the metal conductive electrode layer and the adhesion layer 11, a serious side etching 15 will occur on the metal conductive electrodes 10 during the wet etching process.
In other words, when being viewed sidewardly as shown FIG. 1, the side etching 15 tends to occur on the lateral surfaces of the metal conductive electrodes 10 so formed, particularly when the metal conductive electrodes 10 have a designed width smaller than 5 μm and a designed thickness larger than 0.3 μm. As a result, the total etched surface on each of the metal conductive electrodes 10 is too large in proportion to the total area thereof, and the metal conductive electrodes 10 are unevenly etched to result in increased electric impedance of the electrode circuit 14. In some worse conditions, the electrode circuit 14 formed of the metal conductive electrodes 10 will break locally. Therefore, the metal conductive electrodes 10 are not easily controllable in quality and have low yield rate to form a tough problem in manufacturing very fine conductive electrodes.
In view of the disadvantages of the conventional metal conductive electrodes 10 for touchscreen, it is tried by the inventor to develop an improved conductive electrode structure, so that conductive electrodes thereof are not easily visually perceived by a user and do not have the problem of forming an electrode circuit with non-uniform width due to side etching, enabling increased yield rate of the conductive electrode structure.


Disclosed is a compact type 3D image photographing apparatus which adjusts a convergence angle with respect to a subject using two lenses in order to photograph a stereoscopic image. The compact type image photographing apparatus includes a housing; a first actuator having a first lens and disposed in the housing so as to be moved left and right; a second actuator having a second lens, disposed in the housing so as to be moved left and right, and disposed to be spaced apart from the first actuator; a left/right driving part which is disposed at each of the first and second actuators so as to move the first actuator or the second actuator left and right when power is applied; an image sensor which is disposed at each lower side of the first and second actuators so as to photograph a subject through the first and second lenses; and a control part which is disposed at a lower side of the image sensor so as to control power supplied to the left/right driving part, the first actuator and the second actuator.

The application field of mobile communication terminals that typically transmit audio information has been rapidly increasing with recent development of high speed data transmission technology. As a result, it has been a general tendency to transmit still images or videos using the mobile communication terminals, for example in on-demand mobile broadcasting service or multi-messaging service and so on.
However, users of the mobile communication terminal are not content with this, and they further require a new terminal which displays a stereoscopic image.
In order to satisfy the users' requirement, there have been proposed a new mobile terminal which can display a 3D image, and a new 3D image photographing apparatus which takes the 3D image.

Small stereoscopic image photographing apparatus


Wheelchair side frames (A) include forward and rearward side frame portions (10, 12) which are telescopically interconnected such that the length of the side frames is selectively adjustable. A cross brace folding assembly (B) interconnects the side frames and selectively moves the side frames between folded and open configurations. The cross brace mechanism includes a pair of cross brace members (30, 32) which are pivotally interconnected (34) and which are each adjustable in length to adjust the width of the wheelchair in the open configuration without adjusting the height of the seat (100). A pair of rear seat support members (114) are telescopically mounted on posts (112) of the rear frame and are interconnected with stand-off members (120) for supporting a seat back portion (110). The stand-off members hold the seat back away from the rear seat support members such that the clamps from orthopedic braces and appliances may be freely mounted therealong. A front foot rest assembly (D) includes a foot rest supporting member (174) which adjusts up/down, fore/aft, and the degree of tilt. Front wheel mounting assemblies (E) are mounted to the side frame at a selectively adjustable angle.

The present invention relates to the art of personal mobility vehicles, particularly vehicles for the physically impaired. Particular application is found in children's wheelchairs which grow and expand with the child. However, it is to be appreciated that the present invention may also be applicable to wheelchairs for adults and may be utilized to custom fit wheelchairs to adults, may enable the chair to be utilized by adults or children of different sizes, or may be applicable to other vehicles.
Heretofore, wheelchairs have been manufactured in various sizes to accommodate children as they grow. Manufacturing children's chairs in only fixed sizes would require frequent replacement of the entire chair and a large financial burden on parents. Accordingly, children's chairs have commonly been constructed to accommodate size alteration that they enable the child to use the chair over a wider range of physiological development. In one solution, the frame was constructed in modules. Various frame portions were replaced as the child grew to widen the chair, lengthen the seat, and increase the height of the back. However, replacement parts were relatively expensive, as compared to the same parts when purchased in a complete assembly. The removed modular parts tended to have even less market value than a used chair which has been outgrown. On occasion, models were discontinued during the several years a chair was in use and expansion modular parts became scarce or unavailable.
In another solution, seats of different sizes have been selectively mounted on a conventional, full size wheelchair frame. However, because the child's seat tended to be much shorter than a conventional frame, the frame extended forward significantly past the child's feet. This excessive forward extension created difficulty in maneuvering the chair and pulling up to tables and desks. Modular frame construction or add-on pieces were employed on some chairs to alter the length of the frame without affecting its structural strength.
Because the back of a small child's chair is relatively short, the push handles commonly extended well above the back to reach a convenient height for an adult to push the chair. However, the high push handles were considered offensive by many of the children. The presence of push handles, particularly highly visible push handles, tended to create an undesirable appearance of dependency.
Many children who have been confined to a wheelchair require orthopedic pads and braces, particularly for the upper body. Commonly, head pads, torso support pads, and other orthopedic pads and appliances were clamped to the seat back support tubes. In order to accommodate adjustment as the child grew and positioning the pads exactly as required by each child, great flexibility in potential mounting sites was required. Mounting screws and straps for the seat back tended to interfere with proper placement of the pads and appliances.
The present invention provides a new and improved adjustable child's wheelchair which overcomes the above referenced problems, yet expands easily to accommodate a child with growth.


Disclosed is a new function of a small molecule metabolite glutamine. The small molecule can improve sensitivity of bacteria including antibiotic-resistant bacteria to antibiotics. Also disclosed is an application of glutamine in combination with glucose in improving sensitivity of bacteria to antibiotics.

Invention and application of antibiotics play a crucial role in protecting the health and life of human. However, overuse of antibiotics causes antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which threats to the human health, domestic animals, aquaculture and environment. According to the statistics of Ministry of Health, approximate eighty thousands of people directly or indirectly died of antibiotics abuse annually in China. And the losses causing by health-harming and generation of antibiotic resistant bacteria are uncountable. The antibiotic resistant bacteria isolated some clinical in China are on the top of the world. Antibiotic resistance rate of quinolones arrives at 60-70% though the class of antibiotics are used in China for only twenty years besides penicillins-resistant Streptococcus pneumonia, methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, enterococcus and fungal.
In animal husbandry, antibiotics are essential as veterinary medicaments. If veterinary medicaments are not used, the feed number of poultry and livestock required should increase 25% and 89%, respectively. However, wide use and even abuse of veterinary medicaments, especially subclinical dose use for the growth promotion, causes a great death of non-resistant bacteria, and help the antibiotic-resistant bacteria to breed at a prolific rate, which leads to more resistant to antibiotic. In aquaculture, antibiotics are used to control bacterial pathogens. The overuse of antibiotics leads to emerging antibiotic-resistant strains and low quality of aquatic products, which is a seriously threat to aquaculture. Food safety problems with antibiotic residue caused by antibiotic abuse not only reduce export economy, but also increase antibiotic resistant bacteria and make the aquaculture environment worse, which are the direct or indirect threat to ecological environment.
There is a dose-effect relationship between the use of antibiotics and the resistance level of pathogens, i.e. the use of antibiotics within a certain range can change the pathogens antibiotic-resistance level and infection rate of antibiotic resistant bacteria, and then the normal intestinal microflora of human and animal develop resistance to antibiotics, and pollute the environment, water and food by animal feces. So the antibiotic resistant bacteria are increase and the probability to contact with antibiotic resistant bacteria is also increased. Thus, the species of antibiotic resistant bacteria are isolated and identified widely. These antibiotic resistant bacteria cause infectious diseases, which is difficult to be cured since these pathogens are not sensitive to antibiotics. The control of antibiotic resistant bacteria has become a social and scientific issue. In world health day 2011, "Combat with antibiotic resistance: no action today, no medicine tomorrow" was raised by World Health Organization (WHO). Although the development of new antibiotics speeds up with the appearance of antibiotic resistant bacteria, new antibiotic resistant bacteria appear rapidly when the new antibiotics are used. Moreover, the development of a new antibiotic needs a long time. These indicate that strategy on development of new antibiotics may not control the widespread of antibiotic resistant bacteria. These antibiotic resistant bacteria are a great challenge to develop new antibiotics and control the bacterial infectious diseases. Therefore, new methods to inhibit the antibiotic resistant bacteria are very important to control the infections caused by antibiotic resistant pathogens, and to safeguard human health, promote ecological breeding and guarantee food safety. It has been found that plant extracts, traditional Chinese medicine, rinse-free disinfectants are efficient in inhibiting multi antibiotic resistant bacteria in vitro. However, they contain complex components and the specific substances playing the key role are unknown. Recent studies have found that some small molecule metabolites such as glucose and fructose can improve the sensitivity of bacterial persisters gram-negative (Escherichia coli) and gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) to aminoglycosides. The result was specific to this class of antibiotic, and it was further verified in mice. Although bacterial persisters are not the antibiotic resistant bacteria, it is with high tolerance to antibiotics. Besides this report, information regarding to the metabolites or small molecule substances for improving the sensitivity of bacteria to antibiotics is not available so far.

Small molecule substance for improving sensitivity of bacteria to antibiotics


A method for forming a zeolite-carbon doped oxide (CDO) composite dielectric material is herein described. Zeolite particles may be dispersed in a solvent. The zeolite solvent solution may then be deposited on an underlying layer, such as a wafer of other dielectric layer. At least some solvent may then be removed to form a zeolite film. A CDO may then be deposited in the zeolite film to form a zeolite-CDO composite film/dielectric. The zeolite-CDO composite film/dielectric may then be calcinated to form a solid phase zeolite-CDO composite dilectric.

Modern integrated circuits generally contain several layers of interconnect structures fabricated above a substrate. The substrate may have active devices and/or conductors that are connected by the interconnect structure.
Interconnect structures, typically comprising trenches and vias, are usually fabricated in, or on, an interlayer dielectric (ILD). It is generally accepted that, the dielectric material in each ILD should have a low dielectric constant (k) to obtain low capacitance between conductors. Decreasing this capacitance between conductors, by using a low dielectric constant (k), results in several advantages. For instance, it provides reduced RC delay, reduced power dissipation, and reduced cross-talk between the metal lines.
Materials commonly used to achieve low k dielectrics/films are carbon doped oxides (CDOs) or amorphous CDOs. CDOs tend to have a k value less than 3.5, but suffer from weak mechanical properties. These weak mechanical properties often result in cracking of the CDO during high stress processing and packaging steps.
Another material that may be potentially used for ILDs is zeolite or silica zeolite. Zeolite material is advantageous in that they have high porosity and a relatively uniform pore distribution. Zeolite material also is known to have good mechanical strength. Furthermore, zeolite films have dielectric constants in the range of 2.7 and smaller. Yet, zeolite is a crystalline structure, which makes forming a uniform film extremely difficult.

Zeolite-carbon doped oxide composite low k dielectric


Water blown, thermosetting unsaturated polyester-polyurethane hybrid foam compositions are formed by the reaction of an A side composition and a B side composition. The A side composition comprises a polyfunctional isocyanate compound and a free radical initiator. The B side composition comprises a mixture of: (i) an ethylenically unsaturated monomer solution having dissolved therein about 30-90 weight percent of a polyester polyol having at least one ethylenically unsaturated group per molecule which has predominantly hydroxyl end groups; (ii) an amine compound having two or more primary or secondary amine groups in an amount effective to react with the A side composition to form small urea domains finely dispersed within a continuous polyester-polyurethane hybrid phase; and (iii) about 25 to about 150 equivalents water based on 100 equivalents of active hydrogen in the B side. When the A and B side compositions are reacted, the composition will have a ratio of active NCO groups of the isocyanate to active NH groups of the amine compound of between about 10:1 and about 50:1. and an isocyanate index, NCO:(NH+OH+COOH+HOH), of between about 0.5 and about 2.0.

This invention relates to unsaturated polyester-polyurethane hybrid resin foam compositions. More specifically, this invention relates to improved water blown, thermosetting, unsaturated polyester-polyurethane hybrid resin foam compositions.
Polyester-polyurethane hybrid resins are well-known in the art of thermoset compositions. These resins are normally tougher than unsaturated polyesters and stronger, stiffer and less expensive than polyurethanes. Such hybrid resins usually comprise a hydroxy-terminated unsaturated polyester polyol, an ethylenically unsaturated monomer such as styrene and a polyisocyanate. Such resins are described in Edwards, 39th Annual Conference, Reinforced Plastics/Composites Institute, The Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc., Jan. 26-29, 1984. They have been commercially available from Amoco Chemical Company under the trademark Xycon hybrid resins and supplied as two component systems having an A and a B side. The A side contains the polyisocyanate and a free radical initiator, while the B side contains the hydroxy-terminated unsaturated polyester polyol/styrene solution and optionally a peroxide promoter and a polyurethane catalyst and a filler.
Polyester resin foam compositions are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,460,714, which discloses a low density polyester resin foam made from an admixture of an unsaturated polyester resin, an organic isocyanate compound, a blowing agent, a peroxide curing agent system, a surfactant, and small amounts of an inorganic iron salt. The use of an amine compound, as in the present invention, to impart nucleation sites to the foam composition is not disclosed.
The prior art, including U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,325,421; 4,310,448; 4,305,857; 4,184,990; 4,093,569; 4,092,275; 4,310,449; 4,496,678; 4,147,680; 4,305,858 and 4,523,025, teaches the preparation of dispersions of polyisocyanate polyaddition products in hydroxyl-containing compounds to form polyurea polyaddition products, polyurethane resins and foams. In all of these references, a nearly balanced NCO:NH ratio is disclosed, whereas the present invention uses about a 10:1 or greater ratio of NCO:NH to provide a rigid urea phase imparting nucleation sites for foaming within a polyesterpolyurethane hybrid phase.
U.S. Pat. No. 4.855,368 teaches the combination of a polyol, a polyisocyanate and an aromatic amine to prepare reaction injection molding compounds. The aromatic diamine is added to the polyol and then mixed with the polyisocyanate during molding, but no foam compositions are disclosed. U.S. Pat. No. 4,868,231 discloses sheet molding compounds that use aromatic diamines as thickening agents via "in situ" fermation of polyureas. There the molar ratio of isocyanate to amine is generally from about 0.6 to about 1.4 and, preferably, from about 0.8 to about 1.2 (Col. 7, lines 31-33).
In commonly assigned, co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 575,069, incorporated by reference herein, solid molding compositions are disclosed having a soft polyurea phase within a more rigid polyesterpolyurethane hybrid phase. The soft polyurea phase enables improved impact and shrink control. The compositions taught therein are substantially water-free and no foam compositions are taught. Further, there is no disclosure of a rigid urea phase which imparts finely dispersed nucleation sites within a polyester-polyurethane hybrid foam composition, as taught herein.

Unsaturated polyester-polyurethane hybrid resin foam compositions


It is provided a method for determining information with respect to an occupant and/or a seat belt of a motor vehicle, wherein the seat belt includes a plurality of sensors. The method comprises the following steps: determining a force acting on each of the sensors in a sensor coordinate system associated with each of the sensors; generating a numerical model of the seat belt and the sensors in an initial state; generating a final state of the model by varying positions and/or orientations of portions of the modeled seat belt, which are in a fixed geometrical relationship with the represented positions and/or orientations of at least some of the sensors; and determining the information with respect to the occupant and/or the seat belt based on the course of the modeled seat belt in the final state.

This disclosure relates to a method for determining information with respect to an occupant and/or a seat belt of a motor vehicle, a computer program product, and a seat belt arrangement for a motor vehicle.
It is known from the prior art to determine information with respect to a seat belt of a motor vehicle on the basis of sensors that are mounted on the seat belt. For example, US 2019/0168710 A1 discloses a corresponding seat belt arrangement.

Method for determining information with respect to an occupant and/or a seat belt of a motor vehicle, computer program product and seat belt arrangement for a motor vehicle


A method for formally verifying the equivalence of an architecture description with an implementation description. The method comprises the steps of reading an implementation description, reading an architecture description, demonstrating that during execution of a same program with same initial values an architecture sequence of data transfers described by the architecture description is mappable to an implementation sequence of data transfers implemented by the implementation description, such that the mapping is bijective and ensures that the temporal order of the architecture sequence of data transfers corresponds to the temporal order of the implementation sequence of data transfers, and outputting a result of the verification of the equivalence of the architecture description with the implementation description.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of the verification of digital hardware.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
Functional Hardware Verification
The verification of digital hardware is a step in the production of integrated circuits. If the verification of the digital hardware fails to remove all bugs in the digital hardware, a production process for the digital hardware, with its high fixed costs, may need to be restarted and the introduction of a product incorporating the digital hardware into the marketplace will suffer a delay.
One step in the design process of digital hardware is functional verification, by which the initial description of a circuit of the digital hardware is checked to see whether the circuit always behaves as intended. A description of the circuit is given as an RTL description in some hardware description language (e.g. VHDL, Verilog, or SystemVerilog). Current verification methods typically do not identify all of the functional bugs in a design of the circuit. The reasons why the functional bugs remain undetected can be classified as follows:                Unstimulated Bugs: These functional bugs are not found because the stimuli applied to the design of the circuit fail to exercise and propagate the unstimulated bugs to the inputs of a checker of the circuit.        Overlooked Bugs These functional bugs are stimulated and propagated to the inputs of the checker but the checker is not designed to identify the overlooked bugs.        Falsely Accepted Bugs: These functional bugs arise from a consistent misinterpretation of a specification of the design of the circuit by the implementers and the verification engineers.Verification by Simulation
The work horse for functional verification is simulation. Simulation-based verification methods are prone to all three classes of the undetected bugs. Simulation fails to stimulate all of the functional bugs because of the factor of 106 or more between the simulator speed and the real-time execution of the circuit under test. Consequently, the simulation cannot deploy all of the stimuli necessary to exhaustively verify the design of the circuit in the project time available. Simulation coverage metrics do not relieve this situation—the simulation coverage metrics can only assist in the allocation of restricted verification capacity across the design of the circuit.
The problem of the overlooked bugs is therefore generally handled by verification planning. Verification tasks are identified by examination of the specification of the circuit and the architecture, by relating common design patterns to appropriate assertions, or by asking the designers of the circuit to note particularly important relations between signals in the circuit. The completeness of the resulting verification tasks is typically compromised by human error. Therefore, practitioners keep this verification planning "dynamic" throughout the verification phase in order to capture new insight into unmet verification needs.
Formal Functional Verification
Formal verification is regarded as an alternative to simulation-based verification. In formal functional verification, so-called properties are proven against the design of the circuit to ensure proper operation of the RTL description. The formal verification uses methods of mathematical proof and therefore acts as though the circuit has been stimulated with all possible input stimuli. See, Browne, Clarke, Dill, Mishra: "Automatic Verification of Sequential Circuits Using Temporal Logic." Therefore, in the terms of the classification above, the formal verification leads to an avoidance of unstimulated bugs in the design after the formal verification has been completed.
Formal verification has recently been complemented by an approach to ensure that a set of the properties precisely examines the entire input/output behaviour of the circuit. The set of properties is then termed "complete". In the terms of the classification above it avoids overlooked bugs in the design after the verification.
Formal Equivalence Verification
Besides formal functional verification, there is formal equivalence verification. The goal of the formal equivalence verification is to verify process steps of the design after the RTL description has been designed and verified. The verification of these design process steps requires the comparison of the circuit description before and after the design process step. For example, to verify a synthesis step, the RTL description is formally compared with a synthesized net list. Due to its simple user interface, equivalence checking today is the most widely used approach for comparing two descriptions of the same design.
Algorithms used in the formal equivalence verification compare two descriptions of the same design by extracting an automaton from each of these descriptions, by identifying pairs of corresponding input bits, output bits, and state bits in the two automata, and then comparing the next state and output functions of corresponding state and output bits in the two descriptions. This is referred to as combinational equivalence verification. Combinational equivalence verification is only applicable if both circuit representations have the same state encoding.
Processor Verification
General Task
Processors are typically developed such that programmers writing assembler code to be executed by the processor do not need to understand a hardware description of the processor in detail. Instead, it suffices for the programmer to view the processor as though one instruction had been fully executed before the processor begins with the execution of the next instruction. This model of the processor is called the architecture or architecture description of the processor and will be described in more detail below.
For reasons of efficiency, the processors are implemented in a way that the processors execute multiple instructions simultaneously, e.g. in a pipeline. This requires that sequentializing mechanisms are designed which make pipeline effects invisible to the user or which secure efficient operation of the processor. Such sequentializing mechanisms are for example forwarding, stalling, or speculative execution and will be described below. These sequentializing mechanisms are represented in the RTL description of the processor. The RTL description will be referred to as the implementation description below.
The verification problem for the processors is to show that the implementation indeed executes the programs in the way that the architecture suggests. This verification problem is a functional verification task, as the functional verification task verifies the RTL description including the sequentializing mechanisms. However, this functional verification task can also be viewed as an equivalence verification task between two descriptions of the same circuit, namely the architecture description and the implementation description. Still, this equivalence verification task goes far beyond the approaches of the equivalence verification tasks currently known. The reason for this is that the design step that turns the architecture description of the processor into the implementation description involves human creativity and the introduction of elaborate mechanisms such as pipelining, forwarding, speculative execution of instructions, or stalling. In particular, architecture description and implementation description of the processor differ in the timing of the circuit. The time difference between the completion of one instruction in the implementation description of the processor and the next instruction in the same processor can vary widely. In superscalar processors, the execution of one instruction may even overtake the execution of other instructions in the superscalar processor, such that the order of completion of the instruction execution is different from the sequence of instructions of the program. The detailed temporal relation between the architecture description and the implementation description is typically not important to the programmers. They are interested in a gross average throughput of instructions when writing their programs.
The equivalence verification between the implementation description and the architecture description of a processor is exacerbated by interrupts. An interrupt arrives at the processor when the processor receives appropriate values on an input signal. Depending on an internal state of the processor, the processor decides if it accepts the interrupt or not. Upon acceptance of an interrupt, the processor will execute the interrupt. This interrupt execution typically replaces the execution of an instruction, the execution of which was already started by the processor. Part of the interrupt execution is to switch to the execution of another part of the program, the interrupt service routine.
During implementation, a decision is made by the designers regarding which of the instructions that the processor executes when an interrupt arrives should be replaced by the execution of the interrupt. This decision must be accounted for during the equivalence verification.
Processor Verification
In industrial processor verification, the general idea for simulation-based verification is to make both the implementation description and the architecture description execute the same program and then to compare the traffic in the communication between the processor and the data memory in both the implementation description and the architecture description. This approach executes the processor verification by examining the implementation and the architecture based on what is observable at the respective interfaces. Bugs are found when the traffic to the memory of the implementation and the architecture deviate from one another.
Programs used to verify the processor are fed into the architecture description and the implementation description. The programs are either specially developed, randomly generated, or derived from application programs, e.g. the booting of an operation system.
A problem arising from this so-called "black box" approach is related to interrupts. The comparison requires that the interrupts arrive at the implementation description and the architecture description at corresponding points in time. The exact correspondence between the interrupts in the implementation description and the architecture description is often manually provided by a verification engineers which is tedious and error prone.
Often, the simulation-based verification not only examines the processor through its interface signals, but also checks that properties about the relation of internal signals hold. These internal signal properties are temporal logic expressions that are expected to be satisfied for every clock cycle of the implementation and are commonly referred to as assertions. The verification approach using the assertions is termed Assertion Based Verification. The assertions are often provided by the design engineers who develop the implementation description. If the properties are not satisfied, the simulation issues an error or warning message which allows the designer to identify a bug long before the bug becomes observable at the interface signals of the processor.
Once a certain level of confidence in the implementation of the processor is reached, self testing programs are also applied which calculate certain results using two different sequences of instructions and compare these certain results.
However, as discussed earlier, simulation-based approaches suffer from the risk of undetected bugs, either because the undetected bugs were not stimulated or have been overlooked.
Most application of formal verification concentrates on the formal examination of properties which in principle identifies all contradictions to the properties. However formal verification does not account for the underlying problem that the properties may overlook bugs in the sense of the above bug classification.
The application of formal verification to processors has already been studied in academia. Burch and Dill developed an idea of control path verification, i.e. verification of those parts in simple pipelines that decide upon how the processor combines which data. See Jerry R. Burch, David L. Dill: Automatic verification of Pipelined Microprocessor Control. CAV 1994: 68-80. However, Burch and Dill did not consider data paths at all, i.e. those parts that actually transfer or combine the data depending on the signals from the control path. The present invention allows for the verification of the entire processor, including the control paths and the data paths. Several extensions to super-scalar or out-of-order processors have been developed. However, the approaches described in these papers only focus on specific parts of specific designs, i.e., they do not offer a complete verification of the implementation description against the architecture description. In addition, automation is typically low and there is no integration with efficient debug environments, as provided in the invention.
The most advanced approach to processor verification is based on the completeness approach. To this end, properties that capture the architecture description must be written. These properties are to be proven against the design. It must be shown using the completeness checker that the properties do not overlook bugs. This ensures that upon complete formal verification, no unstimulated or overlooked bugs remain in the design.

Equivalence verification between transaction level models and RTL at the example to processors


A zero insertion force ("ZIF") electrical connector for mating the card edge of a daughter-board (7) orthogonally with respect to the surface of a mother-board (5). The connector includes a stacked plurality of compressible electrical contacts (30-1 . . . n, 32-1 . . . n) separated by a plurality of insulating plates (40-1 . . . n, 42-1 . . . n). End caps (26) are anchored to the mother-board (5) and mount the compressible electrical contacts (30-1 . . . n, 32-1 . . . n) and insulating plates (40-1 . . . n, 42-1 . . . n) in a stacked array with each compressible electrical contact (30-1 . . . n, 32-1 . . . n) bridging the junction of the mother-board (5) and daughter-board (7). This way, the array of compressible electrical contacts (30-1 . . . n, 32-1 . . . n) cumulatively complete multiple rows of high-density electrical connections between the mother-board (5) and daughter-board (7).

As electronic systems continue to increase in density and operating speeds, severe electrical and mechanical demands are placed on the electrical connectors employed in the systems. The connectors must complete numerous high density electrical connections, yet they must be rugged and versatile and must comply with high-speed signal specifications.
FIGS. 1 and 3 illustrate an existing solution for the right angle interconnection of a mother-board and daughter-board where FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial, exploded perspective view of the assembly of FIG. 2. FIG. 1 is a perspective drawing and FIG. 2 an exploded drawing of an AMP-ASC.RTM. interconnection system which is commercially available from AMP Incorporated of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The AMP-ASC Interconnection System uses an innovative contact technology and support structure to provide a board-to-board connector that is higher density and can carry faster signals than conventional connectors. The illustrated connector is an AMP-ASC mother-board to daughter-board card-edge connector, and it is obviously made with a very small number of parts. As seen in the enlarged view of FIG. 3, canted coil springs 10 are seated in rigid metal core members 12, and core members 12 are then wrapped by a flexible etched circuit 14 to hold the canted coil springs 10 in place. Two such modules 2 are held side-by-side by plastic end caps 16. The completed assembly is mounted on a mother-board 5. The canted coil springs 10 provide high compliancy and nearly constant normal force through a wide range of deflection. Tightening the modules 2 against the mother-board 5 completes the appropriate electrical connections with the flexible etched circuit 14. Photolithographic fabrication of the flexible etched circuit allows routing of the appropriate conductive traces between the mother-board 5 and daughter-board 7. Hence, insertion of a daughter-board 7 between the two modules 2 compresses the canted coil springs 10 and completes the interconnection between the daughter-board 7 and the mother-board 5 via the flexible etched circuit. This and other AMP-ASC interconnection systems 10 can provide high fidelity interconnection of signals with rise-times of less than 0.3 nanoseconds and at densities up to 160 signal lines per inch.
However, there is ample room for improvement. The assembly and disassembly time of the above-described components (for servicing) is still excessive. More importantly, the manufacturing costs of the canted coil springs 10 are high.
For these reasons, there have been efforts at refining the canted coil springs 10. AMP Incorporated provides an alternative in the form of its AMPLIFLEX.RTM. compressible contacts. These AMPLIFLEX.RTM. compressible contacts include a flexible etched circuit having plurality of closely-spaced traces photographically etched or otherwise formed on a flexible film. The flexible etched circuit is wrapped around an elongate elastomeric core and is bonded thereto. The elastomeric core eliminates the need for the canted coil springs 10 and intricate molded core members 12 of FIG. 2. Consequently, AMPLIFLEX.RTM. compressible contacts are far less expensive to manufacture.
For this reason, it would be greatly advantageous to incorporate AMPLIFLEX.RTM. compressible contact technology in a right-angle zero insertion force connector of the type described in FIGS. 1 and 2.


A drive apparatus for an ultrasonic device includes a transmission circuit for outputting a first through n-th (where n is an integer 2 or greater) drive signal to first through n-th driving electrode line belonging to the ultrasonic device, as well as a control unit for controlling the transmission circuit. In a case where the phase difference between an i-th (where i is an integer 1≦i≦n−1) drive signal and an i+1-th drive signal is a first phase difference, the transmission circuit outputs the first through n-th drive signals at a greater voltage amplitude than a case where the phase difference between the i-th drive signal and the i+1-th drive signal is a second phase difference greater than the first phase difference.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a drive apparatus, an ultrasonic probe, and an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, inter alia.
2. Related Art
One known example of an apparatus for insonifying a subject with ultrasonic waves and receiving reflected waves coming from an interfacial surface at which the acoustic impedance is different within the interior of the subject is an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for inspecting the interior of a human body. As an ultrasonic apparatus (ultrasonic probe) to be used in an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for scanning a beam in a row direction and in a column direction by arraying piezoelectric elements in a matrix array shape and providing a wiring for every row and column. With this technique, however, the application of a drive signal to the piezoelectric elements creates fluctuations in the electrical potential of a common electrode line, and a problem therefore emerges in that the intensity of ultrasonic waves changes depending on the beam direction (steering angle) in a case where phase scanning is to be carried out.
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2006-61252 (Patent Document 1) is an example of the related art.

Drive apparatus, ultrasonic probe, and ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus


A portable hunting device for elevating a hunter wherein the device can be transported to and from a hunting site on a transport vehicle. When fully assembled, the hunting platform is supported by a ladder and at least two support legs. During transport the hunting platform is lowered, the ladder is folded and the support legs are removed and stored in a storage position so that the device is compact for safe transportation. Upon arrival at the desired location, the ladder is extended from a folded position to an extended position and the legs are removed from the storage position and are inserted into the leg guides where the legs are locked into position to prevent separation. A cable is connected from a hand-operated winch to the ladder so that as the winch is rotated, the ladder is rotated and the platform is raised from the transport position to the hunting position.

The present invention relates to a portable deer stand for use when hunting. More particularly, the present invention is a portable deer stand adapted to be mounted to a transport vehicle and transported to and from a hunting site. The deer stand includes a foldable ladder and adjustable legs to support the stand once it is raised from the transport position to the hunting position.
Commonly used by hunters, deer stands provide an elevated platform for hunters while waiting for a deer to pass the area surrounding the hunter. In most cases, these stands are located in remote areas to avoid noise and located in deer habitats. Oftentimes, these remote areas have rugged terrains, are wooded and are far removed from any road or trail; thus, it becomes difficult to transport and assemble the deer stand at the hunting location. Disassembled deer stands are generally transported for permanent assembly at the site where the hunter wishes hunt. Assembly at the site has several disadvantages as it can be time consuming and troublesome for those not having the proper equipment to assemble such structures. Furthermore, if the stand is permanently erected at the hunting area, continued exposure to weather conditions can cause rust or deterioration at a significantly increased rate. More importantly, when the stand is left unattended, it can be vandalized or stolen.
Portable deer stands have been devised so that the hunter can haul an assembled or nearly completed assembled deer stand to the hunting site for assembly and use within a matter of minutes. However, these devices still remain large and bulky and are difficult to transport into steep or rugged terrain or into densely wooded areas.
The present invention provides a portable and compact deer stand that can be transported safely by a transport vehicle into remote locations and erected in minimal time. By providing a compact structure, the stand can be transported to many areas previously unreachable with the prior bulky stands. Furthermore, compact configurations provide a safer alternative to prior stand designs when transporting through steep, rugged or densely wooded terrain.
The present invention provides a portable deer stand that can be transported to and from hunting locations using a transport vehicle. When fully assembled, an elevated hunting platform is supported by a ladder and at least two support legs. The device can be fully assembled within a short period of time and without using tools. During transport to and from the hunting location, the hunting platform is lowered, the ladder is folded and the support legs are mounted in a storage position so that the stand is compact for safe transportation.
When the hunter arrives at the desired location and is ready to erect the stand, the ladder is extended from a folded position to an extended position. The legs are removed from the storage position and are inserted into the leg guides where the legs are locked into position to prevent separation. After the legs and ladder are positioned, a cable is connected from a hand-operated winch to the ladder so that as the winch is turned, a sufficient force is exerted on the ladder to raise and rotate the portable deer stand from the transport position to the hunting position. Once the stand is in the hunting position, the legs and ladder can be adjusted in length to conform to uneven terrain allowing the hunter platform to remain parallel with respect to the horizon. The hunting device can remain attached to the transport vehicle to provide additional stabilization, or optionally, the hunting device can be separated so that the transport vehicle can be driven away.


A recording medium storage apparatus has a storage cassette and a lock mechanism. The lock mechanism restricts movement of the storage cassette in the drawing direction. The lock mechanism has an engaging portion on an apparatus body and an engaged portion on the storage cassette. While the storage cassette is drawn out of the apparatus body, an abutting portion of the engaging portion moves along a first slope on the engaged portion toward a peak portion while swinging in a second direction in which it retracts from the engaged portion, and meanwhile the engaged portion rotates in a third direction so that the peak portion is displaced from a protruding position to a guiding position.

The present disclosure relates to a recording medium storage apparatus that includes a storage cassette for storing a recording medium and a lock mechanism for restricting movement of the storage cassette in the drawing direction, and to an image forming apparatus that is provided with such a recording medium storage apparatus.
Conventionally, there have been widely used storage cassettes for storing a plurality of sheets of paper (recording medium) in a stack and for feeding them to an image forming section in the body of an image forming apparatus according to its image forming operation. An image forming apparatus is provided with a lock mechanism to restrict movement of a storage cassette in the drawing direction while the storage cassette is inserted in the body of the image forming apparatus.
In one example of a conventional image forming apparatus, the lock mechanism includes a locking member (engaging portion) provided on the apparatus body and a convex portion (engaged portion) provided on the storage cassette to be engaged with the engaging portion. The locking member is biased downward by a spring or the like and, during insertion of the storage cassette, rides over and engages with the convex portion. Now, for the storage cassette to move in the drawing direction, the locking member has to ride back over the convex portion against the biasing force. In this way, movement of the storage cassette in the drawing direction is restricted.

Recording medium storage apparatus and image forming apparatus therewith


A D/A conversion circuit in accordance with the present invention, which is provided with a switch swD, allows a writing operation of a voltage (a true gradation voltage) to be performed at a higher speed by first applying a first voltage (a voltage close to the true gradation voltage), which is supplied without passing through a resistor element, to an output line and then applying a second voltage (the true gradation voltage), which is supplied via the resistor element, to the output line. Thus, the present invention can provide a D/A conversion circuit capable of writing display data to liquid crystal cells with higher precision at higher speed, and a semiconductor device utilizing such a D/A conversion circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a D/A conversion (digital/analog conversion) circuit, and more particularly, to a D/A conversion circuit to be used in a driver circuit of a semiconductor device.
It should be noted that in this specification, the term "semiconductor device" is intended to generally indicate all of such an apparatus capable of operating by employing semiconductor properties. For example, the semiconductor device can include an electro-optical device, a semiconductor circuit, or an electronic equipment.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, the technique for manufacturing a semiconductor device, e.g., a thin film transistor (TFT), in which a semiconductor thin film is formed on an inexpensive glass substrate shows rapid advancement because of increased demand for an active matrix type semiconductor display device (in particular, an active matrix type liquid crystal display device).
The active matrix type liquid crystal display device includes several hundred thousands to several millions of pixel regions arranged in matrix. Each of the pixel regions is provided with a TFT which controls, through its switching function, electric charges to be supplied to or discharged from a corresponding pixel electrode.
Specifically, with high finer processing and higher image quality of a display device being required, an active matrix type liquid crystal display device of digital driving type capable of operating at a higher speed has drawn much attention.
FIG. 19 shows a conventional active matrix type liquid crystal display device of digital driving type. This conventional active matrix type liquid crystal display device of digital driving type is composed of, as shown in FIG. 19, such components as a source signal line shift register 1401, digital decoder address lines (a-d) 1402, latch circuits (LAT1) 1403, other latch circuits (LAT2) 1404, a latch pulse line 1405, D/A conversion circuits 1406, gradation gray scale) voltage lines 1407, source signal lines 1408, a gate signal line shift register 1409, gate signal lines (scanning lines) 1410, and pixel TFTs 1411. Herein, a 4-bit active matrix type liquid crystal display device of digital driving type is taken as an example. It should be noted that for simplicity, each of the illustrated latch circuits (LAT1 and LAT2) in FIG. 19 actually represents four of the latch circuits.
Digital signals (digital gradation signals) supplied to the address lines (a-d) 1402 of the digital decoder are sequentially written onto groups of the latch circuits LAT1 (LAT1 groups) in accordance with timing signals supplied from the source signal line shift register 1401.
A time period required until completion of a set of writing operations of the digital signals for the LAT1 groups is referred to as "one line period". More specifically, the one line period corresponds to a time period from the time when the writing operation of the digital signal from the digital decoder to the most leftward LAT1 is started until the time when the writing operation of the digital signal from the digital decoder to the most rightward LAT1 is completed.
After the completion of writing operations of the digital signals for the LAT1 groups, the digital signals thus written into the LAT1 groups are simultaneously transmitted to and written onto the LAT2 groups at the time when a latch pulse appears on the latch pulse line in accordance with the operation timings of the shift register.
Onto the LAT1 groups that have thus transmitted the digital signals to the LAT2 groups, other digital signals supplied to the digital decoder are again written sequentially in accordance with the signals supplied from the source signal line shift register.
During this second-round one line period, voltages in accordance with the digital signals transmitted to the LAT2 groups are supplied to the source signal lines in synchronization with the start of the second-turn one line period. In the exemplary driver circuit described herein, conversion of the digital signals into gradation voltages is implemented by selecting one of the 16 gradation voltage lines by means of the D/A conversion circuit.
The selected gradation voltage is supplied to the corresponding source signal line during the one line period. The corresponding TFT is switched in response to a scanning signal from the gate signal line shift register so that liquid crystal molecules are driven.
By repeating the above-mentioned operations for the number of the scanning lines, one picture (one frame) is created. In general, in the active matrix type liquid crystal display device, 60 frames of images are switched per second.
With reference to FIG. 20, a conventional D/A conversion circuit to be used in the above-mentioned digital driver circuit will be described below.
The conventional 4-bit D/A conversion circuit comprises a plurality of switches (sw0-sw15) and a plurality of gradation voltage lines (V0-V15). One of the switches (sw0-sw15) is selected in accordance with the 4-bit digital signal supplied from the LAT2 groups, and a voltage is supplied to the source signal line 1407 from the gradation voltage line coupled to the selected switch.
One D/A conversion circuit as described above is provided substantially to each of the source signal lines.
The conventional 4-bit D/A conversion circuit as set forth above includes the 16 switches and the 16 gradation voltage lines. Furthermore, the number of the switches will be required to increase in an exponential manner with an increase in the number of bits. In other words, the conventional D/A conversion circuit intended to handle n-bit digital signal requires 2n switches. Accordingly, in an actual active matrix type liquid crystal display device, a large area is occupied by the switches, resulting in a large area occupied by the whole driver circuit. This is disadvantageous for realizing miniaturization of the device.
With reference to FIG. 21, another conventional D/A conversion circuit to be used in the above-mentioned digital driver circuit will be described below. In the 4-bit D/A conversion circuit as shown in FIG. 21, similarly to the 4-bit D/A conversion circuit as described above, one of the switches (sw0-sw15) is selected in accordance with the 4-bit digital signal supplied from the LAT2 groups, and a voltage is supplied to the source signal line from the gradation voltage line coupled to the selected switch.
The D/A conversion circuit shown in FIG. 21 includes five gradation voltage lines (V0-V4), and the number of the line is less than that of the 4-bit D/A conversion circuit in FIG. 20 as described above.
The voltage to be applied across the V0 to V4 is divided by way of resistors so that voltages of different levels are supplied to the respective five gradation voltage lines (V0-V4). In particular, the highest voltage is applied to the V4, while the lowest voltage is applied to the V0.
However, the D/A conversion circuit shown in FIG. 21 has a problem in which the overall resistance becomes large because the voltages to be applied to the respective gradation voltage lines are divided via the resistors, whereby a sufficient writing time of display data to a liquid crystal panel cannot be obtained.
In addition, when the number of bits increases, a device resistance and wiring resistance also increase.
Furthermore, in order to realize high finer definition of a semiconductor display device, the number of pixels, i.e., the number of source signal lines, are required to be increased.
Moreover, as described previously, an increase in the number of source signal lines leads to an increase in the area occupied by the D/A conversion circuit, as well as increases in the wiring remittances and the device resistance. These will also prevent high finer definition from being realized.

D/A conversion circuit and semiconductor device

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


A screw vacuum pump (1) has shafts (7, 8) and rotors (3, 4) secured to the shafts. Each rotor has a central hollow chamber (31) which receives the shaft or contains in built-in components rotating along with the rotor to define a relatively thin annular slot segment (32) for cross-flow circulation of coolant. The annular slot segment is disposed between the built-in components and an inner wall of the rotor""s hollow chamber and between a suction side and a delivery side of the rotor. Separate feed and discharge lines (41, 55, 63, 77, 78, 81, 89, 99, 101, 103) circulate the coolant through the annular slot segment in such a way that the coolant remains cavitation-free and bubble-free.

The present invention relates to a screw vacuum pump comprising two shafts and two rotors secured to the shafts, whereby each rotor has a central hollow chamber provided with devices for guiding a coolant flow.
Screw vacuum pumps of this kind are known from the German patent applications 197 45 616, 197 48 385 and 198 00 825. Since these are operated in a dry manner (without coolant or lubricant in the pump chamber), there exists the problem of dissipating the heat produced during operation caused chiefly by compressing the pumped gases.
In the instance of the screw vacuum pump known from DE-A-197 45 616 with a cantilevered rotor, both rotor and shaft are equipped with a pocket hole which is open towards the bearing side. A central coolant pipe affixed to the casing extends into the pocket hole, said coolant pipe being guided out of the bore on the side of the bearing and opening out on the rotor side just in front of the end of the pocket hole. With the aid of a coolant pump, the coolant is pumped through the central pipe into the bore. It flows back via the annular chamber between the stationary coolant pipe and the rotating inner wall of the pocket hole. The diameter of the bore in both the rotor and the shaft is relatively small so that the surfaces over which the coolant flows are also small. Moreover, shearing forces occur between the pipe fixed to the housing and the rotating wall of the hollow chamber, producing in the coolant unwanted friction and thus an increase in the temperature. The effectiveness of the desired cooling facility for the rotors is limited for these reasons.
In DE-A-197 48 385 two cooling methods are disclosed. In the instance of a first solution each of the rotors is equipped with a hollow chamber open on one side, into which the coolant is injected. Owing to the rotation, a film forms on the inside of the rotor said film flowing back to the opening of the hollow chamber. In the instance of a film cooling arrangement of this kind there exists the danger of the film breaking down so that the desired cooling effect is interrupted. In addition, it is proposed to equip the hollow chamber in the rotor with conical sections so as to be able to increase the dwell time of the coolant in the hollow chamber of the rotor and thus also influence the amount of heat dissipated. In the instance of such conical sections which support pumping of the flow, however, there all the more exists the danger of the coolant flow breaking down. Finally film cooling arrangements have the general disadvantage, that a stationary flow profile forms, in which that part of the film which is close to the wall flows much more slowly compared to the section of the film further away from the wall. The area close to the wall thus practically forms an isolating layer hampering heat dissipation. For the purpose of removing this disadvantage it has already been proposed to provide obstructions in the flow so that the stationary flow profile is interrupted by turbulence. Thus an exchange of heat can be attained between the film sections close to the wall and those further away from the wall. However, installing obstructions is involved and in all slows down the velocity of the coolant flow.
DE-A-198 20 523 discloses a cooling system similar to the one detailed above. Cooled oil is injected into a hollow section of the shaft. Due to centrifugal forces the oil is displaced outwards to the inner wall of the hollow chamber extending conically in the direction of the discharge side.
In a further embodiment disclosed in DE-A-197 48 385, the coolant flows through an annular slot between rotor shaft and a bearing base extending into the rotor""s hollow chamber. As to cooling of the rotor itself, a coolant flow of this kind has very little effect.
DE 198 00 825 discloses a screw pump with entirely hollow rotors. Coolant/lubricant is continuously supplied to, respectively discharged from the hollow chambers. As to the bearings which are arranged on the side where the coolant is discharged, a kinematic reversal has been implemented, i.e., they have a stationary inner ring and a rotating outer ring. The hollow chambers may be designed to be cone-shaped (widening in the direction of the flow) or may have an inner pumping thread. In the instance of such a screw pump there forms a coolant film which requires high rotational or circumferential velocities. The already mentioned danger of the coolant film breaking down exists. Monitoring facilities for an even spread of the coolant quantity to both rotors is, for this reason, absolutely recommended. Also, the necessity detailed of producing turbulence in the film exists, in order to attain an effective cooling effect. Finally equipping a rotor with a conical hollow chamber has several disadvantages: the conical hollow chamber is difficult to manufacture. In the instance of a cantilevered rotor on the delivery side and feeding in the coolant on the suction side of the rotor, the mass of the rotor in the area distant from the bearing is large. Correspondingly, when employing a cantilevered rotor on the delivery side the design needs to be involved. Finally, the fact that the coolant needs to be discharged relatively far out on the delivery side (at a great radial distance), limits the design options available.
DE-A-198 00 825 discloses a further embodiment, in which the rotors are each cantilevered on a shaft stub which extends into a hollow chamber in the rotor, said chamber being only open on the bearing side. The disadvantages detailed above also apply to this embodiment.
In the instance of all cooling systems detailed, there exists in addition the disadvantage that cooling is not performed in a counterflow. The coolant is in each instance supplied to the suction side of the rotor and not to the delivery side which is exposed to a significantly greater extent to the heat produced within the pump.
It is the task of the present invention to equip a pump of the aforementioned kind with an effective cooling arrangement permitting the pump to be manufactured in a simple, compact and cost-effective manner.
This task is solved through the characterising features of the patent claims.
It has been found that the cooling arrangement in accordance with the present invention in which the coolant flows through a relatively narrow, preferably cylindrical slot in the rotating system at sufficient velocity, has an unexpectedly good cooling effect, particularly since the annular slot can be arranged far to the outside, i.e. in the immediate vicinity of the root circle of the rotor""s profile. Since the coolant is not injected, any hollow cavities which might interrupt the cooling effect are not present. Finally there exists the advantage that the direction for the coolant flow may be selected freely so that there is no obstacle as to cooling by way of a counterflow. This results in an equalisation of the temperature spread so that on the delivery side and the suction side narrow rotor/casing slots can be maintained.
As to the selection for the thickness of the annular slot it is relatively narrow, 0.2 to 5 mm for example, preferably 0.5 to 2 mm, whereby the thickness of the slot also depends on the coolant employed, the oil commonly used in vacuum pumps, for example. Apparently it is important that the distance between the two boundary films close to the walls be relatively small so that they will mutually influence each other in a turbulent manner. A laminar flow not influenced by the boundary layers keeping these separated and impairing the transfer of heat is apparently not present or is of negligible thickness.
In order to effectively cool the rotors, the velocity of the coolant (again depending on the type of coolant employed) must be sufficiently high. Flow velocities in the order of 0.1 to 1 m/s, preferably 0.3 to 0.7 m/s have been found to be expedient in the instance of cooling oil. With the known oil supply pumps, be they centrifugal, gear or similar pumps, the required pressure differences can be generated.
Still further advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading and understanding the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments.

Screw vacuum pump with a coolant circuit


An aerosol dispenser having a transparent container for storing propellant and a first compound under pressure. A normally closed valve is mounted on top of the container to control the dispensing of the materials from the container. An ampule containing a second material separate from the first material until the ampule is broken is positioned generally longitudinally along the length of the container with a sleeve. A push rod connected to the valve and extended through a generally cylindrical filter surrounding the valve has a convex shaped finger and an inclined shoulder that cooperates with a beveled edge of the sleeve to break the ampule when the valve is first moved to an open position. The materials are mixed within the container and move through the filter before entering the valve. The mixed materials and propellant are dispensed through a nozzle of an actuator member mounted on the container when the actuator member is depressed causing the valve to open.

Many compounds would be advantageously used if they could be dispensed from an aerosol container Some of these compounds have a relatively short shelf life and have components that cannot be intermixed until just prior to use. Separation of the compounds in the container may be necessary to limit pressure within the container. Mixing of the compounds within the container avoids spillage which can change the ratio of the compounds required for a satisfactory product. Aerosol containers that include a frangible secondary container have been used to hermetically separate two chemical ingredients that must be mixed together immediately prior to spraying. An inertia means, such as a steel ball, has been placed in the secondary container so that by shaking the entire aerosol container the inertia means shatters the secondary container allowing the two chemicals to be mixed together allowing a chemical mixture to be sprayed to a desired location. An example of this structure is shown by Cronan in U.S. Pat. No. 4,121,772.