A load identification method for reciprocating machinery based on information entropy and envelope features of an axis trajectory of a piston rod. According to the present disclosure, firstly, the position of an axial center is calculated according to a triangle similarity theorem to obtain an axial center distribution; secondly, features are extracted from the axial center distribution of the piston rod by means of an improved envelope method for discrete points as well as an information entropy evaluation method; thirdly, a dimensionality reduction is carried out on the features by means of manifold learning to form a set of sensitive features of the load; and finally, a neural network is trained to obtain a load identification classifier to fulfill automatic identification on the operating load of the reciprocating machinery. The advantages of the present disclosure are verified by means of actual data of a piston rod of a reciprocating compressor.

A load variation typically refers to changes of dynamic characteristics of mechanical structures, which lead to an influence on fault features of vibration signals, displacement signals, and the like. It has always been difficult to implement fault monitoring and diagnosis in variable load conditions. Piston rods as movable key parts of reciprocating machinery are prone to causing loosening, cracking, or even breaking to fasteners. There have been many research reports on the fault monitoring and diagnosis of the reciprocating machinery as well as research reports on axis trajectories of the piston rods. For example, an acoustic emission technology is adopted to perform on-line monitoring on the piston rods to pre-warn accidents. A method for fault diagnosis and analysis based on the axis trajectories of the piston rods in the X direction and Y direction can fulfill an early warning of potential faults on the piston rods and piston assemblies of the reciprocating machinery. A harmonic wavelet is used to extract vibration energy, natural frequencies, areas of trajectory envelopes, and other features based on the axis trajectories of the piston rods for fault diagnosis.
At present, there are few reports on the extraction of motion features of the piston rods in the variable load conditions. When a change to the load conditions and faults occur simultaneously, it is necessary to determine why the load conditions of the piston rods change, and the features of influences on loads and the faults should be deeply researched to prevent the faults from being falsely determined. Accordingly, it can be valuable to research transient motion features of the piston rods in the variable load conditions. In view of this, the present disclosure provides a method for extracting information entropy and envelope features of a discrete point distribution contour based on an axis trajectory of a piston rod, which extracts the features of the axis trajectory of the piston rod in different load conditions and establishes a set of sensitive feature parameters of a load as well as a load identification model by means of training.

Load identification method for reciprocating machinery based on information entropy and envelope features of axis trajectory of piston rod

Beijing University of Chemical Technology


An apparatus for sterilizing upright containers which are open at the top and transported continuously in succession, which includes a housing a housing with several successively arranged treatment zones, a transport device with several successively arranged receiving spaces, wherein the transport device or the parts thereof forms or form the bottom of the housing. The housing has a fixed channel which is open at the bottom for the passage of the containers, at least one media distribution chamber with perforations at its bottom is provided above the channel in each treatment zone, and distribution members coupled with the transport device are provided above the containers.

In practice, devices configured as longitudinal runners, for sterilising containers transported continuously one behind the other are known, in which no "clean" separations are present between the individual sterilisation stations. In these known devices, the sterilising medium is blasted onto the container opening and not introduced into the individual containers in a targeted manner. In some circumstances this can lead to problems with the sterilisation.
A further sterilising device is known from DE 40 31 472 A1. In this case, the device, like the above-mentioned prior art, comprises, in the interior of its housing, a plurality of treatment areas, in which the different process media are introduced into the containers. Sluices are present between the individual areas to seal the areas from one another. The sluices are designed, in this case, in such a way that the containers themselves assume the sealing from the respectively adjacent area. It is obvious that this type of sluices cannot be a complete partitioning owing to the moving containers and that it can only be used for a certain container size.
In a device known from DE 102 13 343 A1 for sterile filling of containers, sterile process gas is guided into an annular channel and flows from there via openings into the treatment space.
A method for sterile filling of liquid goods into containers is known from DE 38 09 855 A1, in which the containers are charged with a sterilisation medium prior to filling, the containers, below the media supply, being partially surrounded by a bell which guides the sterile medium to the outside of the container.

Apparatus for sterilizing containers transported continuously in succession


A threaded connection includes a first pipe having an internal liner and a first pin end on a distal end thereof, the first pin end comprising a first annular seal permanently affixed therein, a second pipe having an internal liner and a second pin end on a distal end thereof, the second pin end comprising a second annular seal permanently affixed therein, a coupling having a first and second box end. The first pin end and the first box end, and the second pin end and the second box end are threadedly are threadedly engaged and a mating surface of the first annular seal is configured to contact a mating surface of the second annular seal and provide a continuous internal seal along an axial length of the threaded connection.

1. Field of the Disclosure
Embodiments disclosed herein relate generally to downhole tubulars. More particularly, embodiments disclosed herein relate to internally lined tubular connections and related methods of assembling internally lined tubular connections.
2. Background Art
Casing joints, liners, and other oilfield tubulars are frequently used to drill, complete, and produce wells. For example, casing joints may be placed in a wellbore to stabilize and protect a formation against high wellbore pressures (e.g., wellbore pressures that exceed a formation pressure) that could otherwise damage the formation. Casing joints are sections of pipe (e.g., steel or titanium), which may be coupled in an end-to-end manner by threaded connections, welded connections, or any other connection mechanisms known in the art. As such, connections are usually designed so that at least one seal is formed between an interior of the coupled casing joints and the annulus formed between exterior walls of the casing joints and the interior walls of the wellbore (i.e., the formation). The seals may be elastomeric (e.g., an o-ring seal), thread seals, metal-to-metal seals, or any other seals known to one of ordinary skill in the art.
It should be understood that certain terms are used herein as they would be conventionally understood, particularly where threaded tubular joints are connected in a vertical position along their central axes such as when making up a pipe string for lowering into a well bore. Typically, in a male-female threaded tubular connection, the male component of the connection is referred to as a "pin" member and the female component is called a "box" member. As used herein, "make-up" refers to engaging a pin member into a box member and threading the members together through torque and rotation.
Many downhole oil production operations may be conducted in highly corrosive environments resulting from production and/or re-injection of hydrocarbons and formation containing salts and gases, such as hydrogen sulphide and/or carbon dioxide, which may pass through the pipe interior. To provide a useful life to the pipes used in such environments, corrosion resistant liners (e.g., fiberglass liners) may be installed within each pipe before the pipe is made-up into a downhole string. Threaded and coupled ("T&C") connections may be required to connect the pipe in an end to end relationship and to provide a continuity of the internal liner in the coupled joint, such that protection along a full length of the string (including the pipes and joints) against internal corrosion may be provided. Currently, threaded and coupled connections used with internally lined pipe require special modifications and/or affect the structural integrity of the pipe.
Accordingly, there exists a need for an internally lined pipe connection that is adaptable to a standard connection such that pipe lengths may be installed without substantial modification to the connection and without affecting a structural integrity of the pipe connection.

Internally lined pipe connections and related methods of makeup


A mobile terminal device includes: a receiving antenna that repeatedly receives a radio signal including predetermined identification information; a sensor that detects an orientation of the mobile terminal device every time the radio signal is received by the receiving antenna; and a controller that estimates an arrival direction of the radio signal based on radio field intensity of the radio signal which is received by the receiving antenna for each orientation when a plurality of different orientations are detected by the sensor.

In the related art, a technique of estimating a distance from a mobile terminal device to an object, for example, using a radio communication technique such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) is known. Specifically, a beacon that emits radio waves is attached to an object and the radio waves emitted from the beacon are received, for example, by a mobile terminal device or the like carried by a user. The mobile terminal device estimates a distance from the mobile terminal device to the beacon on the basis of radio field intensity of the received radio waves.
Estimation of an arrival direction of a radio wave emitted from a beacon is also considered to search for a location of an object. That is, a detector including, for example, an antenna that can switch its directivity receives radio waves while switching the directivity of the antenna and estimates arrival directions of radio waves on the basis of a variation in radio field intensity. Accordingly, since a distance to and a direction of a location of a beacon are estimated, it is possible to specify the location of the object to which the beacon is attached.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2014-99857
Patent Document 2: Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2005-207837
Patent Document 3: Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2004-334439
However, there is a problem in that it is difficult to search for a location of an object using a mobile terminal device which is generally spread such as a smartphone. That is, when a mobile terminal device such as a smartphone is used, it is possible to relatively easily estimate a distance to a beacon, but it is difficult to estimate a direction of the beacon. This is because a mobile terminal device such as a smartphone does not generally have a function of switching directivity and has a difficulty in estimating an arrival direction of a radio wave emitted from a beacon.
Accordingly, a special detector equipped with an antenna that can switch directivity or the like is used to search for a location of an object using a radio communication technique, thereby causing a decrease in convenience or an increase in cost.

Mobile terminal device, location search method, and computer-readable recording medium


The present inventors focused on the fact that inflammation at the subretinal macular area enhances choroidal neovascularization, and developed pharmaceutical agents that suppress initiation or advancement of neovascularization by angiogenic factors such as VEGF. More specifically, the present inventors revealed that administering anti-IL-6 receptor monoclonal antibodies to mice treated with laser photocoagulation inhibits the development of choroidal neovascularization.

Age-related macular degeneration is a disease that causes abnormality in the macula of the retina; it is the leading cause of vision loss in Europe and the United States. In Japan, the disease is also steadily increasing because of the aging population. The macula is located in the center of the retina, and the region is densely populated with cone cells among the photoreceptor cells. Rays of light coming from outside are refracted by the cornea and crystalline lens, and then converge on the macula, the central fovea in particular. The ability to read letters depends on the function of this area. In age-related macular degeneration, the macula, which is an important area as described above, degenerates with age and results in visual impairment, mainly in the form of image distortion (anorthopia) and central scotoma.
The wet form of age-related macular degeneration is a disease with a poor prognosis, which results in rapid and severe visual impairment. The major pathological condition is choroidal neovascularization (herein below, sometimes abbreviated as "CNV"). CNV refers to ectopic growth of choroidal vessels, penetrating through Bruch's membrane and retinal pigment epithelia. In wet age-related macular degeneration, hemorrhage and leakage of plasma components comprising fat from the premature vascular plexus is the direct cause of the rapid functional impairment of the neural retina. CNV is thought to be induced by inflammatory cells mainly comprising macrophages that infiltrate to phagocytose drusen accumulated at the subretinal macular area. Inflammatory cells such as macrophages are also sources of production of angiogenic factors, such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and they function to enhance neovascularization at sites of inflammation. This process is called "inflammatory neovascularization". Meanwhile, drusen comprise advanced glycation end-products (AGE) and amyloid β, which are substances that stimulate VEGF production; these substances stimulate retinal pigment epithelia that have migrated to engulf drusen, resulting in VEGF secretion, and this is thought to be another possible mechanism by which CNV develops.
Diseases involving CNV include myopic choroidal neovascularization and idiopathic choroidal neovascularization as well as age-related macular degeneration. Development of diseases involving CNV can sometimes be ascribed to angioid streaks, injury, uveitis, or such. Tissue damage mainly of the Bruch's membrane and retinal pigment epithelia in the subretinal macular area, and the subsequent inflammation, have been suggested to be involved in the mechanism of CNV onset in these diseases, as well as in age-related macular degeneration.
Recent studies demonstrated that VEGF produced in association with inflammation was involved in CNV. Diseases involving CNV have been treated using VEGF antagonists, such as anti-VEGF aptamers, with some degree of success. VEGF antagonists are administered at an advanced stage, when neovascularization develops; however, this is problematic in that irreversible and incurable neurologic damage will remain when therapies begin after entering this advanced stage.
IL-6 is a cytokine called B-cell stimulating factor 2 (BSF2) or interferon β2. IL-6 was discovered as a differentiation factor involved in the activation of B-cell lymphocytes (Non-patent Document 1), and was later revealed to be a multifunctional cytokine that influences the function of various cells (Non-patent Document 2). IL-6 has been reported to induce maturation of T lymphocyte cells (Non-patent Document 3).
IL-6 transmits its biological activity via two kinds of proteins on the cell. The first kind of protein is the IL-6 receptor, which is a ligand binding protein to which IL-6 binds; it has a molecular weight of about 80 kDa (Non-patent Documents 4 to 5). The IL-6 receptor is present in a membrane-bound form that penetrates and is expressed on the cell membrane, and also as a soluble IL-6 receptor, which mainly consists of the extracellular region of the membrane-bound form.
The other kind of protein is the membrane protein gp 130, which has a molecular weight of about 130 kDa and is involved in non-ligand binding signal transduction. The biological activity of IL-6 is transmitted into the cell through formation of an IL-6/IL-6 receptor complex by IL-6 and IL-6 receptor followed by binding of the complex with gp130 (Non-patent Document 6).
IL-6 inhibitors are substances that inhibit the transmission of IL-6 biological activity. Currently, known IL-6 inhibitors include antibodies against IL-6 (anti-IL-6 antibodies), antibodies against IL-6 receptor (anti-IL-6 receptor antibodies), antibodies against gp130 (anti-gp130 antibodies), IL-6 variants, partial peptides of IL-6 or IL-6 receptor, and such.
There are several reports regarding anti-IL-6 receptor antibodies (Non-patent Documents 7 to 8 and Patent Documents 1 to 3). One such report details a humanized PM-1 antibody, which is obtained by transplanting the complementarity determining region (CDR) of mouse antibody PM-1 (Non-patent Document 9), which is an anti-IL-6 receptor antibody, into a human antibody (Patent Document 4).
The level of inflammatory cytokine IL-6 in patients with age-related macular degeneration has recently been reported to be elevated (Non-patent Document 10). However, the role of IL-6 in diseases involving CNV remains to be clarified.
Prior art literature relating to the present invention of this application is shown below.    Patent Document 1: International Patent Application Publication No. WO 95/09873    Patent Document 2: French Patent Application No. FR 2694767    Patent Document 3: U.S. Pat. No. 5,216,128    Patent Document 4: International Patent Application Publication No. WO 92/19759    Non-patent Document 1: Hirano, T. et al., Nature (1986) 324, 73-76    Non-patent Document 2: Akira, S. et al., Adv. in Immunology (1993) 54, 1-78    Non-patent Document 3: Lotz, M. et al., J. Exp. Med. (1988) 167, 1253-1258    Non-patent Document 4: Taga, T. et al., J. Exp. Med. (1987) 166, 967-981    Non-patent Document 5: Yamasaki, K. et al., Science (1988) 241, 825-828    Non-patent Document 6: Taga, T. et al., Cell (1989) 58, 573-581    Non-patent Document 7: Novick, D. et al., Hybridoma (1991) 10, 137-146    Non-patent Document 8: Huang, Y W. et al., Hybridoma (1993) 12, 621-630    Non-patent Document 9: Hirata, Y. et al., J. Immunol. (1989) 143, 2900-2906    Non-patent Document 10: Seddon J. M., Arch Opthalmol. 2005 Jun, 123(6), 774-82

Methods for treating a disease involving choroidal neovascularization by administering an IL-6 receptor antibody


A composite filter media (100) includes a meltblown/spunbond composite fiber material and a mixed fiber triboelectric material are preferably attached to each other by needling the mixed fiber material with the meltblown/spunbond composite fiber material. A netting (104) is then attached by preferably needling the mixed fiber triboelectric material and meltblown through the netting (104).

Early filtration media were largely derived from naturally occurring fibers such as wool, cellulose, asbestos, or other fibers commonly found in nature. Today wool and cellulose still play an important role, although asbestos has long since been discarded for reasons of its toxicity.
With the advent of plastic polymers, new media based on synthetic fibers are possible, featuring enhanced properties for filtration. At the same time, new filtration problems have arisen, such as automotive interior cabin filtration, and room cleaners applied to improving air quality in homes. These applications are particularly difficult as a filtration problem, as they target very fine particulate into submicron size, while at the same time demanding very low pressure drop performance in consideration of limited fan capabilities, all within highly limited space constraints. The preferred filter construction in respect of small size expectation is a pleated filter, in order to achieve increased filtration area per unit volume.
The limited size of available area results in high air velocity within the filtration media, posing a difficult problem for the media designer. Typically, this has meant certain performance trade-offs. One of the most fundamental of filtration trade-offs is between particle capture efficiency on the one hand, and pressure drop on the other.
Typically, the less obtrusive the filtration media is to air flow, the higher the flow output from the system into which the filter is installed. Filtration efficiency must often be compromised to keep flow within acceptable limits, to obtain satisfactory air system performance.
In certain filtration media commonly applied to the aforementioned applications, low pressure drop is gained through use of relatively coarse fibers, typically 10 micron average diameter and greater. Both round and rectangular fibers have been applied, the later commonly referred to as split fiber electret. These fibers are in turn electostatically charged to enhance the level of particle capture efficiency for small particles, through the action of the electrostatic charge forces acting to attract these finer particles to the fibers. In practice these media have been found to lose their effectiveness as a function of time. In certain instances this occurs rapidly in the space of just days or weeks, particularly on exposure to elevated humidity and temperature, or on exposure to certain classes of aerosols, such as oily aerosols. The use of very thin media of low basis weight, comprising fine fibers in the range of 1 to 5 microns can significantly lower this tendency while still respecting the pressure drop demand, but at the expense of low loading capacity and thus much shortened filter life relative to the coarse fiber approach.
As increasing awareness of the hazards associated with certain airborne particulate increases the demand for filtration solutions, coupled with an increased concern over disposal frequency of used filters, designers are pushed to develop media possessing stable operating characteristics, combined with high loading capacity, while at the same time respecting the pressure drop limitations of these high volumetric flow applications. A need thus exists in the art for a filter media and method for manufacturing same, which can address the problems mentioned above.

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company


A software-based conferencing platform is provided. The platform comprises a plurality of audio sources providing input audio signals, the audio sources including a virtual audio device driver configured to receive far-end input audio signals from a conferencing software module, and a network audio library configured to receive near-end input audio signals from one or more near-end audio devices. The platform further comprises a digital signal processing component configured to receive the input audio signals from the audio sources and generate audio output signals based the received signals, the digital signal processing component comprising an acoustic echo cancellation module configured to apply acoustic echo cancellation techniques to one or more of the near-end input audio signals.

Conferencing environments, such as conference rooms, boardrooms, video conferencing settings, and the like, typically involve the use of a discrete conferencing device comprising one or more microphones for capturing sound from various audio sources active in such environments. The audio sources may include in-room human speakers, and in some cases, loudspeakers playing audio received from human speakers that are not in the room, for example. The captured sound may be disseminated to a local audience in the environment through amplified speakers (for sound reinforcement), and/or to others remote from the environment (such as, e.g., a via a telecast and/or webcast) using communication hardware included in or connected to the conferencing device. The conferencing device may also include one or more speakers or audio reproduction devices for playing out loud audio signals received, via the communication hardware, from the human speakers that are remote from the conferencing environment. Other hardware included in a typical conferencing device may include, for example, one or more processors, a memory, input/output ports, and user interface/controls.
Conferencing devices are available in a variety of sizes, form factors, mounting options, and wiring options to suit the needs of particular environments. The type of conferencing device and its placement in a particular conferencing environment may depend on the locations of the audio sources, physical space requirements, aesthetics, room layout, and/or other considerations. For example, in some environments, the conferencing device may be placed on a table or lectern to be near the audio sources. In other environments, the microphones for a given conference device may be mounted overhead to capture the sound from the entire room, for example.
The distributed audio signals produced in such environments are typically aggregated to a single audio signal processing device, computer, or server. In such cases, a digital signal processor (DSP) may be included in the conferencing environment to process the audio signals using, for example, automatic mixing, matrix mixing, delay, compressor, and parametric equalizer (PEQ) functionalities. Further explanation and exemplary embodiments of the functionalities of existing DSP hardware may be found in the manual for the P300 Intellimix Audio Conferencing Processor from SHURE, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety herein. The P300 manual includes algorithms optimized for audio/video conferencing applications and for providing a high quality audio experience, including eight channels of acoustic echo cancellation, noise reduction and automatic gain control.
One drawback of using a hardware device to provide DSP functionalities is the restriction on scalability and adaptability. For example, a hardware DSP includes a specific set of audio inputs, such as analog inputs and USB inputs. If the user outgrows these hardware-based limitations at a later date, a new or additional DSP may have to be purchased and configured for use in the conferencing environment, regardless of whether the user needs all of the functionality (e.g., number of channels, etc.) provided by the new device. This can be costly and time consuming. Another drawback is the reliance on a physical piece of hardware, which may be susceptible to burn-out, failure, malfunction, etc., as will be appreciated.
Given these device-specific limitations, there is still a need for a distributed conferencing system that is flexible and not limited to a single piece of hardware.

Systems and methods for integrated conferencing platform


The present invention is directed to compensate electric properties of an RF power module depending on changes with time, temperature dependency, variations, and the like of grounded emitter current amplification factor of an HBT. A compound semiconductor integrated circuit supplies reference current of a reference HBT depending on hFE of an HBT to an input terminal of a first current mirror of a bias circuit of a silicon semiconductor integrated circuit. The base of an output HBT of the compound semiconductor integrated circuit is biased with bias current which increases in response to decrease in hFE of the HBT from an output of the first current mirror of the silicon semiconductor integrated circuit.

The present invention relates to an RF power module with a hetero junction bipolar transistor used for power amplification of radio frequency and, more particularly, to a technique useful for compensating properties of an RF power module depending on a property variation in a hetero junction bipolar transistor.
Hitherto, in a hetero junction bipolar transistor (hereinbelow, called HBT), a hetero junction is used for an emitter-base junction of a bipolar transistor, and a band gap of the emitter is made larger than that of a base region. As a result, in the HBT, the amount of minority carriers injected from the base to the emitter is small and, while maintaining the emitter injection efficiency high, the base impurity concentration can be made high. Therefore, low internal base resistance can be achieved, and cut-off frequency fT can be improved largely as compared with that in the conventional bipolar transistor.
In M. E. Kim et al., "GaAs Heterojunction Bipolar Transistor Device and IC Technology for High-Performance Analog and Microwave Applications", IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, Vol. 37, No. 9, September 1989, pp. 1286-1303, the reliability of an HBT with a compound semiconductor hetero junction of GaAs/AlGaAs is discussed. In particular, it is reported that deterioration in device parameters such as current amplification factor of an HBT suggests deterioration related to a base-emitter space charge region which may be contamination, surface leak related to ohmic metal, or device short-circuit.
Since the current amplification factor β of a bipolar transistor made of silicon has positive temperature dependency, the grounded emitter current amplification factor increases with temperature rise. It is also written in the document that the grounded emitter current amplification factor of an HBT has negative temperature dependency, and the grounded emitter current amplification factor decreases with temperature rise.

Radio frequency power amplifying module with hetero junction bipolar transistor


A computerized broker system for enabling coordination of computerized federation resources in a networked computer environment to support discovery, connection and correspondence with the computerized federation resources, the computerized broker system is disclosed. The computerized broker system enables the coordination of unique meaningful multipart identifiers and resolver outcomes that satisfy the mutual interest of federation members and ensure agreement, interoperability, usability, reusability, flexibility, stability, expected behaviors, scalability, avoidance of conflict, and other such mutual benefits that are difficult to achieve at scale through member to member cooperation and with no brokerage. A method for distributing and discovering networked resources in a computerized broker system is disclosed and a further method for managing federated networks and federation resources in a computerized broker system is also disclosed. The methods of the present invention enable the creation of one or more federations of independent individuals who share a mutual interest in distributing federated resources, wherein the independent individuals organize to pursue the mutual benefit of distributing networked resources.

A multitude of differing resources may connect to networks in order to correspond with other resources and share information. Many of these connections and correspondences are in the form of one or more resolving processes. Typically, it is advantageous for network connected resources to be readily discoverable and to be broadly interoperable to support meaningful correspondence with as many other relevant connected resources as possible. Modern networks support a multitude of modes and forms of connections and correspondence. For example, connections may be made, and correspondence may be conveyed, in any number of modes such as synchronous or asynchronous, stateful or stateless, connected or connectionless, packet switched or circuit switched, wired or wireless, point to point, multicast or broadcast, digital or analog, etc. Connections and correspondence may be in many forms such as data, voice, images, video, signals, messages, communications, queries, alerts, etc. Those familiar with the art will recognize that there a multitude of existing and possible modes and forms of connections and correspondence among resources connected to networks.
The Internet is a shared network, supporting a variety of connections and correspondence needs, among a variety of connected resources, which may connect and correspond. Connecting a resource to the Internet, with its shared architecture which was designed to openly support connections and correspondence around the world, gives that connected resource the ability to connect and correspond with an incomprehensible number of other resources on a global scale. However, the Internet's open ability to make connections and enable correspondence on a global scale was not designed to support the discovery of valid connections. A connected resource's ability to be discovered by, and to discover, other connected resource which are suitable to connect and correspond with, is dependent on intermediary services on the network which suggest connections, or on integrated applications and services which are configured with connections.
To reduce the chaos that is caused by the availability of multiple competitive, independently developed, and thus incompatible resources, and to reduce the effort required for independently developed resources to connect and correspond with one another to satisfy the variety of needs, businesses often cooperatively develop standards when it is mutually beneficial to coordinate resource interoperability which may support discovery connection and correspondence. The number of cooperating parties can be few or many. The cooperating parties may be unknown to each other—associated only through their mutual adoption of the cooperatively developed standard. The cooperatively developed standard may be developed and used by only 2 parties that wish to ensure their resources are interoperable. Some standards may not be cooperatively developed at all but reflect an industry leader's approach. Standards may not be documented, but their benefits implemented through cooperative development and test efforts. Examples of cooperatively developed standards are those developed by the telecommunications industry, which establish requirements governing the functions of resources such as telecommunications equipment. These cooperatively developed standards memorialize the mutual agreements among the participants. Each of the participants then develop their components and telecommunications equipment contributions according to their interpretation of the standard. Those coordinated telecommunication equipment standards ensure that components and telecommunications equipment contributions from a variety of contributors are a.) interoperable, meaning contributions by different members of the community can perform the coordinated interactions with one another with dependable results; and b.) interchangeable, meaning that contributions by different members, if made to perform like functions, can be substituted with one another and produce the same dependable results.
A great number and variety of cooperatively developed standards have been developed. Also, as technology advances, new resources, compliant with new cooperatively developed standards are replacing outdated versions and those outdated resources, though still valuable, are becoming unavailable or inaccessible if the interoperability with new resources compliant with new technology standards is not supported.
Furthermore, many of the connection and correspondence needs satisfied in the network connected world rely on complex orchestration of a variety and number of resources provided by a multitude of independent contributors, developed according to independent interpretations of a multitude of cooperatively developed standards. For example, there are now seemingly endless competitive combinations of independently developed complex-orchestrations of resources that enable us to correspond with providers of video entertainment resources. E.g. one can use their cable network connection, via their cable box connected by RCA jacks to an older tube-type television, to watch a movie as it is being broadcast, or to watch it at their convenience if it is available for streaming from a video distributor through a cable provider. Alternately, one can use their mobile device, connected through a cellular or Wi-Fi network to stream the same movie from a number of video streaming services. One could also watch the movie as it is broadcast via the new Digital Television broadcast network if they have upgraded their analog television network antenna and receiver to be compatible. In yet another complex orchestration of resources, one could record a cable network broadcast of the movie on their VCR or DVR and watch the recording on a large HDMI compatible video display. Given a need to watch a movie, the user's options are limited by these choices. Unfortunately, despite the abundance of choices, a user's ability to discover and view the movie they wish is limited by the the complex-orchestrations of resources such as devices, applications, licenses, service subscriptions, and network connections they have, at the time and place they wish to view it.
The above movie example describes the complex options available to satisfy a simple, and popular need to view a single commodity resource that is generally available from a number of contributors. The challenge is much greater when a user's need is to gather and merge information from a multitude of contributions both known and unknown to the user. An example of this scenario is the need by participants in the global supply chain to assemble actionable information about consumer behavior and sentiments or about the pedigree and flow of products and materials throughout global networks of sellers and suppliers. In this example, the inputs are contained in a multitude of information systems such as those supporting raw material supplier and certification records management, manufacturing operations management, enterprise resource planning, inventory management, transportation and distribution management, billing and fulfillment management, and regulatory and tariff compliance management. Developing solutions to coordinate the discovery, connections and correspondence required to gather and merge information from across this global landscape of independent contributors, and their variety of devices, information, services and connections to satisfy just one information need is a daunting task—even if the developer of the solution were able to get every participant to cooperate. The thing in common among this heterogeneity is the network that provides connections.
The ability to satisfy connection and correspondence needs ad hoc, or as needs demand, in the current network connected world, given these complexities, is typically satisfied by specialized solution integrators who cobble together device, information, service and connection resources and ensure those combinations satisfy the need. The choices made in cobbling these contributions together can exclude other contributions. The exclusion can be intentional—based on, for example, financial considerations or on technical considerations such as the need to exclude obsolete contributions or to select one contribution from several mutually exclusive alternates. The exclusions can be unintentional—based on limited awareness of the availability of other contributions or the inability to anticipate obsolescence or future options. This inefficiency and inability to satisfy such needs ad hoc is counterintuitive, given the premise that contributors to the solution have connected their resources to communications networks to connect and communicate with other resources, and that contributors want the resources that they connect to be readily discoverable and to broadly interoperable. Those familiar with the art will recognize that the current network's inability to spontaneously support discovery and interoperability for connections and correspondence among resources as needed is a barrier to satisfying needs.
Federations and Federation Brokers.
Federations are formed when autonomous members recognize a need to cooperate with others to simplify undertakings that would be harder without cooperation. Members of a federation have a mutual interest in cooperating to ensure agreement, interoperability, usability, reusability, flexibility, stability, expected behaviors, scalability, avoidance of conflict, and other such mutual benefits that are difficult to achieve at scale through member to member cooperation.
In ideal federations, cooperation is openly coordinated among willing members and a minimum of constraint is used to ensure that the coordinated terms of the federation do not usurp the rights of the members of the federation nor prevent innovation in the undertakings of the members. In ideal federations, members conform with terms of the federation and other members may assume they comply with coordinated terms.
The internet community cooperates on many federations used to enable discovery, connection, and correspondence among network connected resources. The Internet community uses principles of openness and extensibility when coordinating standards to achieve ideal federations. For example, the technical standards of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) for Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs) discourages independent standards that mandate particular forms of URI substructure because that essentially usurps ownership. The IETF also discourages coordinating URI substructures to avoid interoperability challenges where coordinated URI substructures are not used consistently by URI owners or are assumed to be used when they are not.
Many of these ideal federations coordinate identifiers and resolver outcomes that are composed of various organizations of multiple parts. The control of parts may be centrally managed by ideal federation managers or delegated widely and loosely governed. The parts may include factors, substructures that include factors, and structures that include substructures and factors. The parts may represent values that uniquely identify resources and rules that support interpretation and use. The coordination of parts may be delegated to other federations. The parts may be organized and interpreted in hierarchically or organized but interpreted independently.
One of the internet protocols that complies with the IETF's URI technology standards is the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP). The HTTP is one of many possible multipart URI federations coordinated through the IETF. The HTTP is a subset of URIs used to identify internet connected resources that is used as a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) wherein the URL provides access information. One HTTP federation member, using HTTP enabled systems and methods can use an HTTP URI compliant multipart resource identifier to discover, connect and correspond with the identified resource. While HTTP URLs have access information needed by network enabled devices to support discovery, connection and correspondence with a resource, HTTP URLs do not contain coordinated information that reflects the nature of the identified resource that allows the URL to be discovered. Nor do URLs have coordinated information useful for selection of a resource identified by the URL once the URL is discovered.
The internet community also uses principles of openness and extensibility when managing the allocations of standards-based identifiers to resources in ideal federations of resource identifiers. For example, the allocation of domain names in the Domain Name System (DNS) on the Internet is managed openly with few constraints beyond the lowest levels of the hierarchical substructure. The Internet root domain is coordinated with and shared by everyone. The first name level of the DNS substructure, Top-Level Domains (TLDs), some are called generic gTLDs, are managed by accredited registry operators under agreements with Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Registry operators maintain the registry and domain names, the second level of the DNS substructure, with restraints contained in IETF standards and ICANN agreements. The coordination and allocation of subdomain names, the third level substructure of the DNS and beyond, has been delegated to domain name owners to manage and allocate as they wish. Thus, open cooperative agreement on use of the great majority of DNS substructures, which with coordination would allow highly descriptive graph descriptions of the named resources, ends at the domain level. In addition, for fairness, sovereign domain names have traditionally been allocated on a first-come first-served basis. These constraints on coordination and lack of independent coordination of the use of DNS have made domain names arbitrary identifiers.
Ironically, the ideals that constrain the IETF standards and ICANN's administration of allocated names and numbers have ensured naming chaos. Without coordination, every URI is essentially allocated arbitrarily to resources, with opaque naming logic that makes the URI unknowable by anyone besides the owner.
The ideals that constraint the coordination and allocation of resource identifiers is an impediment for federation members that wish to cooperate to better use resource identifiers to enable distribution and selection of resources by coordinating resource identifiers that support discovery, connection and correspondence. This failure to cooperate is a wasteful inefficient use of a shared resource, that is central to the economy. The Internet does not act as a marketplace because the resources on the internet are arbitrarily named. If networked resources were given identities that reflected a coordinated description of their nature, the internet may begin to behave as an efficient market where resources could be discovered by their coordinated identity.
The ideals that constrain the coordination and allocation of resource identifiers is an impediment to network security and management because the federated resource identifiers do not reflect meaningful coordinated descriptions of the resources they identify. Thus, network activities involving the resource identifier and the identified resource may not be associated with their nature or appropriate use. Likewise, arbitrary resource identifiers provide the systems that manage and secure networks little information useful for security and management. There is a need for resource identifiers and network activities involving resource identifiers to be meaningfully coordinated to provide better security and network management.
Resource names that are arbitrarily assigned are unknowable. There is a need for coordinating, among federations, the creation and allocation of meaningful multipart resource identifiers that can be used for distribution and selection of network connected resources. There is a need for discovering resources by coordinating, among federations, the re-creation of allocated meaningful multipart resource identifiers that are suitable for selection, discovery, connection and correspondence with identified resources and information about identified resources.
There is a need for systems and methods that coordinate the assignment of meaningful, coordinated, multipart resource identifiers to enable distribution and selection of resources by coordinating resource identifiers that support discovery, connection and correspondence.
There is a need for a broker to coordinate among many independent members of many independent federations to help those who have resources to distribute those resources to other members who are seeking resources. The coordination by the broker allows the many independent members who seek resources to quickly identify the resources they seek from the many independent members who have resources when the number, variety and independence of the federation member resources are too many to consider. There is a need for a broker to ensure that resource identifiers used are unique, allocated, reflect the nature of the resource suitable for selection and can be used to discover, connect and correspond with the identified resource.
There is a need for brokers to coordinate unique meaningful multipart identifiers and resolver outcomes that satisfy the mutual interest of federation members and ensure agreement, interoperability, usability, reusability, flexibility, stability, expected behaviors, scalability, avoidance of conflict, and other such mutual benefits that are difficult to achieve at scale through member to member cooperation and with no brokerage.
There is a need for brokers to ensure multipart identifiers used for resource distribution and selection describe the resource they identify.
There is a need to coordinate among multipart identifier federations to allow unique identification of resources across multipart name federations.
There is a need to coordinate multipart name federations that allow resources to be uniquely identified using coordinated parts.
There is a need to coordinate multipart name federations that allow unique identifiers for resources to support locating the named resource and information about the named resource on networks.

Federation broker system and method for coordinating discovery, interoperability, connections and correspondence among networked resources


This invention provides apparatus and methods for aseptically transferring fluid into or out of a closed aseptic processing system. The apparatus comprises a novel fluid transfer station, including a needle bundle driver, a mounting base mounting the driver to a tank, and a fluid receiver assembly. The needle bundle driver includes a needle bundle holder which holds a needle bundle while the ends of the needles are driven into the tank through the fluid receiver assembly. The cooperation between the needle holder and the needle bundle includes a pair of clamp arms which extend outwardly from the needle bundle, and terminate in top and bottom pods. The top and bottom pods cooperate with the top surface of a support block and a bottom surface with an overhead clamping block, for locking the needle bundle into the needle holder, immobilizing the needle bundle between the clamping block and the support block. With the needle bundle thus immobilized, the needle bundle is driven toward the tank, driving the ends of the needles through the plug and into the tank, thereby establishing fluid communication through the needles, between the needle holder and the tank. Fluid is then passed through the needles and into or out of the tank.

Hereinafter, the invention is described with respect to its application to processing of dairy products. It is contemplated that both the apparatus and the methods of the invention have application to a wide variety of industrial processes which require transferring of fluid components without introducing contaminating material into the processing enclosure. Thus, the disclosure of dairy processing herein is only illustrative, and is not limiting; whereby a variety of other processing industries are contemplated.
In the processing of dairy products, it is sometimes advantageous to add fluid to the closed aseptic processing system without introducing microbiological or other contamination into the processing system, or similarly to remove fluid from the closed aseptic processing system.
Some processors of dairy products have addressed this problem by attempting to keep sterile the rooms in which the processing takes place. Under the assumption that sterility is achieved, fluid is transferred into or out of the processing system through an open port in e.g. a tank. Keeping the room sterile is difficult; and the sterile room practice is, of course, expensive.
Other processors have addressed this problem of attempting aseptic transfer by attempting to control the amount of microbiological organisms immediately around the open port, as by using a fire ring around the open port. With the fire ring, it is contemplated that microbiological organisms in the vicinity of the open port are destroyed by the heat of the fire.
Still another known method of addressing aseptic transfer is to use a steam ring in place of the fire ring.
Another problem in the dairy processing industry is that the valves and pumps typically used to transfer, for example processed material from one tank to another are difficult to keep clean and sanitized. So special techniques, such as steam tracing, steam jacketing and the like of pumps and valves, have been developed to assure maintenance of aseptic conditions.
These steam-related procedures are time consuming and expensive, requiring a high level of training and skill on the part of the operators. Such complex procedures carry the usual risk of human error. Further, the high temperature inherent in steam creates a risk of the operators being burned. Finally, the heat brought into the plant by the steam must be removed by air conditioning. This adds to the overall cost of air conditioning the plant to maintain specified ambient plant conditions.
In my prior applications and patents mentioned above, from which this application depends, I disclose an aseptic fluid transfer system comprehending an aseptic plug, mounted into the tank wall. The plug is held temporarily mounted to and extending through the tank wall, by a metal tank adapter which is permanently welded into the tank wall, as taught in, for example my U.S. Pat. No. 4,941,517. An hypodermic or like needle can penetrate the plug, whereby the end of the needle protrudes into the interior of the tank. This establishes an aseptic penetration into the tank, whereupon fluid can be passed into or out of the tank, through the needle.
To transfer a larger quantity of fluid, a plurality of needles can be arranged in a needle bundle, with the needles arrayed in a pattern corresponding to the pattern of needle channels which extend through the plug. All the needles, as part of the needle bundle, should be pushed into the plug in the same operation whereby the ends of all the needles are ultimately disposed in the tank. Fluid is typically passed through all the needles in the needle bundle. The number of needles in the needle bundle thus determines in part the fluid flow capacity of the needle bundle.
In using a single needle to penetrate the plug, the operator selects an unused channel in the plug, aligns the needle with the channel, and pushes the end of the needle through the plug and into the tank.
When using a plurality of needles simultaneously as in e.g. a needle bundle, alignment of the needles, and pushing the plurality of ends of the needles through the plug is more difficult. Alignment is more complicated because all of the needles must be simultaneously aligned with respective channels. Pushing the needle ends through the plug is more difficult because the force required is proportional to the number of needles used, such that a person may not, without mechanical assistance, be able to push hard enough to make the needle ends penetrate into the tank.
It is an object of this invention to provide a fluid transfer station at a tank, the fluid transfer station including a needle bundle driver assembly, a mounting base on the tank, and a plug, the fluid transfer station being adapted to provide indexing of the needle bundle and the plug, and mechanical power to thereby drive a plurality of needle ends through the plug.
It is another object to provide a needle bundle adapted to be driven as part of the needle bundle driver assembly.
It is yet another object to provide a needle bundle holder to hold the needle bundle while the ends of the needles are driven through the plug and into the tank.
It is still another object to provide methods of simultaneously driving a plurality of needle ends through the plug and into the tank.
Another object of the invention is to provide methods of aseptically adding fluid to a processing system, or removing fluid therefrom, using a plurality of needles as the conduits of fluid transfer. Finally, it is an object to provide methods of aseptically transferring fluids into, or out of, a plurality of tanks using a single needle bundle driver assembly.


An host channel adapter embedded within a processor device includes a transport layer module, a transport layer buffer, a link layer module, and a link layer buffer configured for storing at least two packets to be transmitted by the embedded host channel adapter. The transport layer module is configured for generating, for each packet to be transmitted, a transport layer header, and storing in the transport layer buffer the transport layer header and a corresponding identifier that specifies a stored location of a payload for the transport layer header. The link layer module includes payload fetch logic configured for fetching the payload based on the corresponding identifier, enabling the link layer module to construct one of the two packets to be transmitted concurrently during transmission of the second of the two packets.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a host channel adapter configured for communication with target channel adapters in an InfiniBand™ server system.
2. Background Art
Networking technology has encountered improvements in server architectures and design with a goal toward providing servers that are more robust and reliable in mission critical networking applications. In particular, the use of servers for responding to client requests has resulted in a necessity that servers have an extremely high reliability to ensure that the network remains operable. Hence, there has been a substantial concern about server reliability, availability, and serviceability.
In addition, processors used in servers have encountered substantial improvements, where the microprocessor speed and bandwidth have exceeded the capacity of the connected input/output (I/O) buses, limiting the server throughput to the bus capacity. Accordingly, different server standards have been proposed in an attempt to improve server performance in terms of addressing, processor clustering, and high-speed I/O.
These different proposed server standards led to the development of the InfiniBand™ Architecture Specification, (Release 1.0), adopted by the InfiniBand™ Trade Association. The InfiniBand™ Architecture Specification specifies a high-speed networking connection between end nodes (e.g., central processing units, peripherals, etc.) and switches inside a server system. Hence, the term "InfiniBand™ network" refers to a private system area network (SAN) that connects end nodes and switches into a cluster within a server system, enabling the sharing of cluster resources. The InfiniBand™ Architecture Specification specifies both I/O operations and interprocessor communications (IPC).
A particular feature of InfiniBand™ Architecture Specification is the proposed implementation in hardware of the transport layer services present in existing networking protocols, such as TCP/IP based protocols. The hardware-based implementation of transport layer services provides the advantage of reducing processing requirements of the central processing unit (i.e., "offloading" processor code execution), hence offloading the operating system of the server system.
However, substantial concerns arise if attempts are made to embed an HCA into a processor core, for example as a processor configured for InfiniBand™ communications. In particular, a stand-alone HCA device may have a prescribed number of external pins for a memory interface configured for accessing external memory. However, adding the HCA memory interface, having the prescribed number of external pins, to a processor core that already has its own memory interface would result in an inefficient implementation having two memory interfaces, resulting in excessive pins, and a substantially higher packaging cost.
An additional concern when embedding an HCA into a processor core is the necessity of a small die size to reduce costs, resulting in a substantially smaller internal memory being available than if the HCA were implemented as a discrete device. However, conventional HCA architectures require substantially more memory for buffering between the Transport Layer and Link Layer transmit path (e.g., 256 kbytes) than typically would be permitted for an embedded HCA in a processor core (e.g., 16 kbytes).
The InfiniBand™ Architecture Specification requires that a packet sent via an HCA undergoes transport layer service, followed by link layer service, based on creation of a work queue entry (WQE) in system memory by an executable verbs consumer resource. Each work queue entry represents one message that needs to be transmitted for the verbs consumer resource. A message can be up to 2 gigabytes (GB) long; hence, a message may need to be broken down into packets that can be transmitted across the InfiniBand™ network. The size of the packet depends on the Maximum Transfer Unit (MTU) for the path to be used for transmitting the packet across the InfiniBand™ network: the MTU sizes may be 256, 512, 1024, 2048, or 4096 bytes. Hence, if an embedded HCA was only allocated 16 kbytes of memory for buffering between the Transport Layer and Link Layer transmit path, the HCA could only store four packets of the largest MTU size (4096).
Examples of operations performed during transport layer service (performed, for example, by a transport layer module) include constructing a transport layer header, generating a packet sequence number, validating service type, etc., based on detecting a work notification of the work queue entry created in the system memory. Examples of operations performed during link layer service (performed, for example, by a link layer module) include service layer and virtual lane mapping (SL-VL mapping), link layer flow control packet generation, link layer transmission credit checking, etc. Note that the transport layer module and the link layer module operate independently and in parallel; hence, the transport layer module attempts to supply the link layer module with packets to transmit, typically by constructing the packets and depositing the packets in an output buffer, while the link layer module continually withdraws packets from the output buffer and transmits them onto the InfiniBand™ network. A particular concern is that the HCA is able to continually transmit packets to keep the link "busy" and avoid gaps on the link (i.e., avoid "dead time" on the link).
Typically the transport layer module would service work queue entries by sequential processing of the respective work notifications, using a first in first out arrangement. However, the link layer operations within the HCA are configured for transmitting InfiniBand™ packets according to virtual lane prioritization. In particular, the InfiniBand™ Architecture Specification defines the virtual lanes as the means to implement multiple logical flows over a single physical link. An HCA may support up to 16 different virtual lanes, where each virtual lane has its own corresponding set of buffer resources, including link level flow control. Link level flow control in an InfiniBand™ network utilizes a token based system, where a link partner (e.g., a channel adapter or a switch) sends flow control tokens to the transmitting channel adapter each time the buffer space is freed in the link partner. If the transmitting channel adapter does not have sufficient flow control tokens to accommodate an entire packet for a given virtual lane, the transmitting channel adapter cannot send any more packets for the virtual lane until more flow control tokens have been received.
Hence, if an embedded HCA allocated a 16 kB output buffer has four stored packets, each of the maximum MTU size (4096 bytes), and the virtual lanes for those packets do not have enough flow control tokens, the link layer module would need to wait until more tokens are received for those virtual lanes before transmitting the data packets. In addition, if one attempted to store at least one 4 kB packet for each of the sixteen (16) supported virtual lanes, the size of the output buffer would expand to 64 kB, instead of the allowed 16 kB.
The problem is further compounded if storage of multiple packets for each virtual lane is preferred in the case where the link layer utilizes a virtual lane high/low priority table. In particular, each entry in the virtual lane high/low priority table specifies the virtual lane that should be serviced next, and the weight of the virtual lane, in terms of how many bytes should be transmitted onto the virtual lane before moving to the next entry in the table. Hence, it may be desirable that the output buffer stores more than one packet for each virtual lane, to enable each virtual lane to utilize the bandwidth allocated according to the virtual lane high/low priority table. Hence, if four packets (each having an MTU size of 4 kB) were allocated to each of the 16 virtual lanes, the resulting output buffer size would be 256 kB, substantially higher than the 16 kB buffer contemplated for the embedded HCA.

Embedded channel adapter having link layer configured for concurrent retrieval of payload data during packet transmission


The invention relates to a pacing system, in particular an implantable pacemaker for pacing multiple chambers of the heart and sensing signals from the myocardium of multiple chambers of the heart which will allow the verification of a cardiac evoked response resulting from a delivered charge to the heart tissue comprising:

The present invention relates to a pacing system, in particular an implantable pacemaker for pacing multiple chambers of the heart and sensing signals from the myocardium of multiple chambers of the heart which will allow the verification of a cardiac evoked response resulting from a delivered charge to the heart tissue comprising: a preamplifier system. The present invention further relates to a method implantable cardiac pacing particularly concerning multichamber pacing and sensing with the capability of performing capture detection in any chamber.
A cardiac pacemaker delivers an electrical stimulus through an implanted lead to the myocardium of a selected area of the heart. If the electrical stimulus is of sufficient energy, the area of myocardium will depolarise and cause a mechanical contraction. The depolarisation immediately following a delivered stimulus is referred to as an evoked response, and the ability to detect this signal is called capture detection or capture verification. This evoked response usually occurs 5-20 ms after the delivery of the stimulation pulse. Typically, the energy output of the pacemaker is set to a level much higher than needed to insure a mechanical contraction. This extra energy consumes battery life, and a system which monitors the energy level needed and provides optimal pacing energy is highly desirable. Monitoring of the needed energy level is critical because the energy threshold to cause a mechanical contraction may change over time. By monitoring each delivered pace for the presence of the evoked response, the System may respond to a change in the threshold level required for a contraction. Verifying an occurrence of an evoked response has been a technical challenge. Due to the characteristics of the tissue-electrode interface of an implanted electrode and the type of pacing waveform typically used, the evoked response signal is usually masked by a much larger polarization voltage which occur after a delivered pace. Many different techniques for overcoming this problem have been proposed. Most of the proposed solutions have not been used in actual practice due to implementation problems.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,858,610 details the use of charge dumping following delivery of the stimulating pulse to decrease lead polarization and also the use of separate pacing and sensing electrodes. U.S. Pat. No. 4,686,988 shows the use of a separate sensing electrode for detecting P-waves in the presence of an atrial stimulation pulse. U.S. Pat. No. 4,373,531 uses pre and post stimulation pulses to neutralize the lead polarization. U.S. Pat. No. 4,537,201 uses an anti-logarithmic amplifier to linearize the exponentially decaying polarization signal, while amplifying only the evoked response signal. U.S. Pat. No. 5,607,457 uses differential sensing between the electrodes in the atrium and ventricle. U.S. Pat. No. 597,957 teaches the sensed cardiac signal is added to either a differentiated or autocorrolated sensed cardiac signal and the difference between the two used to determine the presence of an evoked response. U.S. Pat. No. 5,843,136 teaches the use of an extra capacitor which is switched in series with the DC blocking capacitor to discharge the polarization charge quickly after a stimulus pulse. U.S. Pat. No. 5,443,485 describes a system using an input highpass filter, then bandpass filtering the signal, and finally integrating the bandpassed signal. Many of these approaches are difficult to implement or require pulses increasing battery current consumption. Signal integrity is also an issue with many of these solutions.
Therapies exist needing the capability of pacing multiple chambers of the heart. One pacing therapy for congestive heart failure relies on the placement of electrodes in the right atrium, right ventricle, and the left ventricle. The capability to analyse the signals from many different locations of the heart is also desired. As implantable pulse generators are being developed with greater and greater signal analysis capability, there is a desire to analyse the different signals from many electrode configurations.

Abstract: a preamplifier having

Abstract: a) a DC coupled buffer amplifier first stage, comprising at least one buffer amplifier for each of the at least two electrode inputs,    b) a switch matrix following the buffer amplifiers allowing sensing of the differential between any two of the at least two electrode inputs,    c) a next stage of differential amplifiers providing gain to either the differential between any two electrode inputs or one input to ground, and    d) a next stage filter stage.


A method and system for the issuance of Instant Credit has an Instant Credit engine that performs instantaneous analysis. The method and system can operate along side existing “batch” processes. In addition, the method and system offer various channels of distribution for the Instant Credit products. With the present invention, Instant Credit and other Instant services (e.g., instant account balance transfers, etc.) can be obtained via, Internet, point-of-sale and other distribution channels. The present system also enables highly dynamic product offerings, which can be generated “instantaneously” based on a variety of factors, such as, for example, the channels of distribution (e.g., telephone or Internet), the product sought and/or even the particular individual and/or entity that is applying for a line of credit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the issuance of credit accounts for individuals and/or other entities and relates, more specifically, to the issuance of credit card accounts for rendering financial purchases against a line of credit at a financial institution.
2. Description of the Related Art
Historically, individuals have applied for credit cards largely by mail. The credit card acquisition process has typically been an involved and time-consuming process, requiring significant time invested by the Applicant in accurately completing the form and by the card issuer in rendering a decision. In order to encourage individuals to take the time to fill out applications, credit card issuers have forwarded multitudes of application forms to the public on a daily basis. Credit card issuers have also commonly placed credit card forms in various public places for presentment to potential Applicants. In fact, it is fair to say that even today, these mail-in credit card application forms can be found nearly "everywhere."
Faced with the time-consuming nature of the application process and the "inundation" of sometimes bothersome credit card forms, individuals are often reluctant to take the time to obtain new lines of credit and/or to close-out existing accounts even if more appropriate lines of credit may be available.
While other means have been developed for obtaining lines of credit, including on-line and telephone application processes, such other means are limited and/or remain highly time intensive. Some exemplary existing systems are seen, for example, in: U.S. Pat. No. 5,777,306 to Masuda (showing a method and system for issuing a store specific credit card to a customer immediately after the submission of a credit application); U.S. Pat. No. 5,883,452 to Masuda (showing a method and system for issuing a store specific credit card to a customer immediately after the submission of a credit application); and "Outsourcer Offers Instant Card Approval," Credit Risk Management Report, Vol. 8, Issue 22 (Nov. 16, 1998) (discussing a system for notifying Web credit card Applicants of credit decisions in an instant, but where customers whose credit applications are approved receive credit cards within 24-48 hours after submission of their application.).
There remains a need for individuals and/or other entities to be able to apply for lines of credit "instantly" and via "various" distribution channels. Moreover, there remains a need for instant credit authorization for credit cards owned by multiple issuer associations, such as VISA™ and Mastercard™. These associations and their card approval and product purchasing processes create difficulties for the issuance of instant credit, and which processes are out of the control of individual issuers. There also remains a need for systems whereby credit card issuers can more positively promote their credit card product lines with minimal public disturbance and at times and places where their promotions are—in fact—desirable and helpful.

Method and system for the issuance of instant credit


A transmitter (1) is configured to transmit an optical signal, the transmitter comprising an optical dispersion compensator (10) configured to compensate for chromatic dispersion of the optical signal. The optical dispersion compensator comprises a plurality of delay elements (20; 40). The plurality of delay elements (20; 40) have a combined response providing a delay to the transmitted optical signal which varies with frequency.

Coherent optical interfaces used in long-haul 10 Gbit/s DWDM systems have the capability to compensate for propagation distortions in optical fiber by means of digital signal processing implemented at the receiver. Coherent optical interfaces are high performing but too expensive for metropolitan-wide access and aggregation networks.
Cost effective direct detection interfaces are used instead for point-to-point connections over such short distances, e.g. up to tens of kilometers. This type of interface may transmit in the wavelength region around 1310 nm, where an optical fiber's chromatic dispersion is low and does not need to be compensated for.
DWDM networks offer some features that could be exploited also in the metro-access and aggregation segment, for example: high aggregate capacity, compatibility with various network topologies (mesh, tree, ring, bus), possibility to offload switches and routers from traffic not processed locally, low latency, service segregation, etc.
For this purpose, it would be desirable to extend the operation of direct detection interfaces in the 1550 nm region, where DWDM components are largely available. However, at such wavelengths the chromatic dispersion of an optical fiber is relatively high and needs to be compensated for.
Compensation for chromatic dispersion of an optical fiber is known to be carried out in various ways. For example, the compensation may utilize:
1. In line optical dispersion compensation devices, based on dispersion compensating fiber (DCF), Fiber Bragg gratings (FBG), or liquid crystals (LC). This may require a compensating module at each fiber span, requiring additional optical amplifiers; this leads to additional costs that are unacceptable in the metro access segment. The modules are different at each span, depending on the span length; DCF and FBG are designed to compensate for fixed fiber lengths so that many variants (e.g. from 10 to 100 km, with 10 km of granularity) need to be managed.2. Electronic equalization, implemented in a digital signal processor at the receiver. The electronic equalization consumes power (tens of Watts), introduces latency. The electronic equalization is carried out after an optical detector, e.g. photodiode, on the received electronic signal.3. Electronic pre-distortion, implemented in a digital signal processor at the receiver. Electronic pre-distortion is implemented at the transmitter, by applying a pre-distortion to an optical modulator. The electronic pre-distortion uses a digital signal processor between a bit source and the modulator, to emulate a system whose response inverts that of the fiber link. This aims to recover at the receiver the transmitted bits. This solution requires high speed, high accuracy and energy consuming digital to analog converters (DAC), making it difficult to apply and expensive in particular for bit rates above 10 Gbit/s4. Optical dispersion compensating devices integrated at the receiver. An optical dispersion compensator (ODC) may be located at the receiver, after a polarization controller and prior to a photodiode detector. The polarization controller introduces some complexity, due to the need of tracking variations of the polarization state through control mechanisms. A dual polarization scheme avoids the need of implementing control mechanisms, by using dual polarization grating couplers (DP GC) to split the signal in two orthogonal polarization states, individually compensate the dispersion on the two states, and the recombine them. The main drawbacks are the additional loss and bandwidth limitations introduced by the DP GCs.5. Dispersion tolerant modulation formats. Direct detection modulation formats which are inherently resilient to the chromatic dispersion can be designed, for example, Pulse Amplitude Modulation-4 (PAM4) or Discrete multitone (DMT). PAM-4 and DMT require digital to analog conversion at the transmitter and present a significant sensitivity penalty, compared to on-off keying transmission.


A steam permeable pad for a steam appliance, such as a steam mop or garment press. The pad includes an outer fabric layer and an internal steam management layer which may include a terry fabric. The pad may further include a laminate of jerry fabric, cushioning knit, and open mesh. An attachment feature allows the pad to be mounted to a head or frame of the steam appliance.

Steam treating appliances, such as steam cleaners, garment presses and irons, emit steam through a nozzle or other outlet against a surface to be treated. It is known to position a steam permeable pad over the steam outlet, and to contact the pad against the floor, surface, or garment/upholstery to be treated. Moisture in the steam and moisture accumulation in the pad may leave the treated surface wet. An objective of this invention is to provide a steam permeable pad that hastens drying of the treated surface.


The present invention provides a method for dental cutting including the steps of providing a dental unit water line irrigation system, the dental unit water line irrigation system including a container surrounding a solution chamber; providing a lubricant for use in the dental unit water line irrigation system, the lubricant defining a composition including 10 to 25% by weight of ethanol; 5 to 25% by weight of glycerol; 10 to 25% by weight of xylitol; 0.5 to 5% by weight of a nonionic surfactant and emulsifying agent; 0.15 to 0.5% by weight of a plurality of flavoring agents; and 45 to 60% by weight of water; and selectively operating the water line irrigation system to express the lubricant onto a dental cutting site.

For many years, dental burs have been used for cutting hard tissues—tooth or bone. They are generally made of steel, stainless steel, tungsten carbide and/or diamond grit. There are many bur shapes that are utilized in various specific procedures, such as cavity preparation and creating access points. Over the years, there have been a number of advancements, e.g. high-speed turbines, lasers and microabrasion, but a large majority of dentists still use the traditional hand piece and bur combination for the majority of their clinical work.
Dental cutting or polishing procedures must be performed under a coolant to avoid side effects caused by heating during operation of the cutting instrument. High Speed and Low Speed dental hand pieces have utilized water spray as a cutting fluid for many years. In designing early systems, municipal water system supply lines were simply connected directly to the dental unit. This water was then distributed throughout the dental unit via small diameter tubing water lines leading to the dental hand piece, typically mixed with pressurized air and delivered as a fine spray aimed at the cutting interface between the dental bur and tooth structure. Water irrigation delivered in this manner provided benefit as it continually kept the site cleaner than dry preparation would by physically washing debris from the cutting site. A second benefit of irrigation is that it decreases the negative side effect of heat produced during cutting with fast rotational speeds of dental burs. Unchecked, such negative thermal effects can result in severe and possibly irreversible damage to the dental pulp, and are to be avoided. Therefore, keeping temperatures cool at the cutting interface of the dental bur and tooth structure is desirable.
Infection control in dentistry has increasingly become a concern, and in recent years there has been much concern over the growth of biofilm in small diameter water lines used to deliver water to the cutting site. Small amounts of bacteria are naturally present in municipal water systems. The presence of these bacteria, along with bacterial contamination potentially reintroduced back into the dental unit by retrograde fluid flow can potentially lead to bacterial colonization and biofilm formation in water lines. It has been demonstrated that there is a slower flowing outer column of water present inside small diameter water lines. This slower flowing column near the wall of small diameter lines means that bacterial contamination can remain for longer periods of time and results in proliferation of bacteria, and formation of biofilm that allows colonies of bacteria to firmly attach to the walls of water lines. This unchecked proliferation of the biofilm and colonies then leads to budding off of bacterial colonies by detachment. Once detached, the colonies then migrate downstream and could potentially result in contamination of the water delivered to the cutting site and, ultimately, exposure to the dental patient.
In an effort to address this contamination, dental unit manufacturers developed self-contained dental unit water line irrigation systems (S-CDUWLIS). This type of system, rather than being directly connected to the municipal water supply, utilizes a small bottle to contain water used for irrigation. The bottle is pressurized with compressed air above the water surface. Water is then siphoned away under pressure to allow delivery of the water to the cutting site in the same manner as conventional systems. The main advantage of the self-contained systems, unlike conventional systems is that the bottle can be depressurized, the water purged from the system and discarded, followed by the introduction of cleaning solutions into the bottle. The bottle is then pressurized again and these cleaning solutions distributed throughout the S-CDUWLIS to effectively decrease or eliminate biofilm contamination, thereby disinfecting the irrigation system pathway. Upon completion of this disinfection, the system can be purged of all cleaning solutions, rinsed, and fresh water reintroduced into the system for use. One method used and commercially available from a number of manufacturers is the addition of silver ions via nanoparticles to water. One associated drawback with these preparations is that taste is very unpleasant.
In light of the problems advanced above, there exists a need for a method of use of a dental cutting lubricant for providing physical cleansing of the cutting site, as well as improved cutting efficiency and bacteriostatic action necessary to provide decontamination maintenance of dental water lines.

Dental cutting lubricant and method of use thereof


An electrical adapter (1) includes a first electrical connector (2) having a first insulative housing (23) with a number of first terminals (24) received therein, a second electrical connector (4) having a second insulative housing (43) with a number of second terminals (44) received therein, a connecting portion (3) electrically connecting the first and the second electrical connectors, and a noise absorber (5) surrounding the connecting portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to an electrical adapter, and particularly to an electrical adapter having a noise absorber for electrically interconnecting two electrical connectors.
2. Description of Related Art
An electrical adapter is widely used in computer industry for interconnecting two electrical connectors or other electronic components of different types. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,343,957 and 6,439,916 each disclose a typical electrical adapter. Each adapter comprises a first connector which is adapted for mating with a complementary connector of a cable assembly connected with a monitor, and a second connector mounted in a host computer, thereby electrically connecting the monitor and the host computer. The adapter further comprises metallic shells on opposite ends thereof to prevent the connectors from Electro-Magnetic Interference. However, there is no noise absorber to filter the electromagnetic noise accompanying a transmitted signal.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,885,559 and 5,334,955 each disclose a signal filter having a magnetic ferrite component attached to a cable for absorbing the electromagnetic noise. However, since there is a distance between the filter and a related connector connected with the cable, the electromagnetic noise generated on portions of conductors of the connector and the cable located between the filter and the connector can not be effectively absorbed, thereby adversely affecting the quality of signals transmitted into or from a related electrical device connected with the connector.
Hence, it is requisite to provide an improved electrical adapter to overcome the aforementioned disadvantage in the related art.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an electrical adapter having a noise absorber to improve the quality of the signal transmitted between related electrical devices.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an electrical adapter having a noise absorber positioned at a critical location to absorb the electromagnetic noise effectively.
In order to achieve the objects set forth, an electrical adapter in accordance with the present invention comprises a first electrical connector, a second electrical connector, a connecting portion and a noise absorber. Each of the first and the second electrical connectors comprises an insulative housing and a plurality of terminals received therein. The connecting portion electrically connects the two electrical connectors and the noise absorber surrounds the connecting portion for absorbing the electromagnetic noise more effectively.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Electrical adapter having noise absorber


A drive unit has a motor, a control unit, and a fastener. The motor is housed in a motor case, and includes a stator, a rotor, and a shaft. The stator has winding wires that are wound therein and are electrically coupled to motor wires. The rotor is disposed inside of the stator and the shaft is disposed in and coupled to the rotor, such that the rotor and shaft rotate, as one, within the stator. The control unit includes a semiconductor module with a switching element, a connection terminal that electrically couples the switching element with other devices, and a control unit case to house the semiconductor module. The fastener is disposed in the control unit case, such that the fastener couples the motor and the control unit, and electrically couples the motor wire and the connection terminal.

Conventionally, an electric power steering device, in which the drive unit assists a steering operation of a driver, has the motor and its control unit housed in one body. Such steering device is described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-204654 (JP '654). The steering device of JP '654 has an electrical connection between the motor and the control unit enabled by fastening a bus bar extending from the control unit on a winding wire terminal in a motor case by using a screw. In such structure, the bus bar on the control unit side and the winding wire terminal on the motor side can be easily separated from each other to allow, for example, the replacement of one of the two parts when the parts are broken.
However, since the bus bar from the control unit and the winding wire of the motor are coupled inside of the motor case, the structure of the steering device of JP '654 may require the motor to have a larger size. Further, when the screw for fastening the bus bar on the winding wire terminal is removed, the drive unit has to be removed from a column shaft that is connected to a steering wheel. In other words, such structure does not allow an easy removal of the control unit without first removing the drive unit from the column shaft.


A tool bit storage system includes a plurality of tool bits with each tool bit having a head and a drive portion. The tool bit storage system also includes a tool bit case having a bottom surface and a plurality of bit retainers extending from the bottom surface with each bit retainer supporting one of the plurality of tool bits at an oblique angle relative to the bottom surface so that the drive portion of the one of the plurality of tool bits extends generally away from the bottom surface and the head of the one of the plurality of tool bits extends generally toward the bottom surface.

The application relates to storage devices and, more particularly, to cases for storing tool bits.
Containers for storing tool bits such as drill bits, screwdriver bits, torque bits, and the like are known. Such containers typically include retaining means for holding the tool bits in an organized manner. Due to the relatively small sizes of the tool bits, however, it may sometimes be difficult for a user to grasp and remove the tool bits from the retaining means.