A circuit for detecting individual positions of a plurality of electrical contactors, including a plurality of modules each including a contactor having k separate contact positions each connected in series to a resistor associated with an integer status value between 1 and k and separate from other status values of a same module, each module being associated with a weighting coefficient and the weighting coefficients following a geometric progression of no less than k+1, the electrical conductance value of each resistor being equal to the status value thereof multiplied by the weighting coefficient of the module thereof.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a circuit for detecting individual positions of electrical contactors as well as the application thereof in thrust reverser doors in a turbine engine.
2. Description of the Related Art
The current turbine engines include numerous computers each receiving information coming from sensors such as contactors and interpreting this information so as to determine the actions to be undertaken.
This is, for example, the case of thrust reverser devices commonly used to slow the airplane and assist the braking system so as to reduce the distance necessary for stopping the airplane.
In a known manner, a thrust reverser device includes a plurality of retractable doors that are deployed during braking and closed during other phases of flight. Each door may be equipped with at least three contactors in two states, open or closed, with one contactor being intended to send information on the open position of the door, another contactor being intended to send information on the closed position of the door and the last contactor being intended to provide information on the locking of the door. In addition, for reasons of safety, it is necessary to provide redundancy for each contactor so as to maintain the reliability of information transmitted to the computer.
It is thus understood that, the more the number of contactors is increased, the more the number of inlets and outlets to be interfaced with the computer is increased, producing a greater load for the computer and a large number of connection wires between the computer and the contactors positioned at the thrust reverser doors.
To overcome this problem, the applicant has already proposed, in application EP0638913A1, the production of a circuit comprising contactors with two contact positions arranged in parallel and associated with resistors, so as to reduce the number of inlets and outlets.
However, the solutions proposed have numerous disadvantages. Indeed, in a first case, a defect of a contactor may lead to an incorrect reading of the position of the other contactors. In a second case, it is possible to know the number of open and closed contactors without being capable of specifying their individual position.

Circuit for detecting the positions of contactors in a turbine engine


A quick-release cord grip is described herein. The quick-release cord grip can include a damming device through which at least one conductor traverses, and a frame mechanically coupled to the damming device. The frame can include a first portion having a first receiving feature along a first inner surface, a first coupling feature, and a first fastening feature. The frame can also include a second portion having a second receiving feature along a second inner surface, a second coupling feature, and a second fastening feature. The first coupling feature and the second coupling feature can be movably coupled to each other. The first fastening feature and the second fastening feature can be detachably coupled to each other. The damming device can be disposed within the first receiving feature and the second receiving feature when the first fastening feature and the second fastening feature are mechanically coupled to each other.

Cord grips provide a way for passing a cord (also called a cable or a conductor herein) into an enclosure (e.g., junction box, switch, cabinet, plug, connector, push-button station, conduit). Once a conductor is passed through the cord grip, one or more portions of the cord grip can be used to tighten around the conductor, which gives the cord grip its name. A cord grip can provide strain relief for such conductors, and can be used in residential, commercial, institutional, and industrial applications. Cord grips can be found in various shapes and sizes, and can pass therethrough one or more of a number of conductors.


An amorphous material for the conduction of protons on a base of potassium hydrodisilicate contains oxometallates, bi- and trivalent metal ions and an excess of silicon dioxide and is suitable for use in fuel cells.

The present invention generally relates to a material with an amorphous structure on a base of potassium hydrodisilicate, and more particularly, to such a material which is a proton conductor adapted for use in fuel cells and a process for making the same.
To the extent that such materials exist as glasses, they become electrolytically conductive at temperatures near their softening point so that, when an electric field is applied, metal and hydrogen ions migrate through the material. Disadvantages of such electrolytically conductive glasses include high operating temperatures, dimensional instability, changes of material connected with the current conduction as a result of metal ion migration and formation of electronically conductive areas by metal precipitations.
Crystalline materials for the exclusive conduction of Protons are disclosed by the text "Proton Conduction and Injection Solids, Chemical Reviews, 1975, No. 1, Page 21 to 65". However, for technical applications, such as fuel cells, their proton conducting capacity of 10.sup.-15 to 10.sup.-4 S cm.sup.-1 (compare Page 24, Chem. Rev., 1975, No. 1) is too low. Other disadvantages are the high operating temperatures and the crystalline structure as well as the resulting anisotropy of the proton conducting capacity.
An object of the present invention is to provide a material which represents a suitable proton conductor for fuel cells and which has an anisotropic proton conducting capacity of more than about 10.sup.-4 S.times.cm.sup.-1, and to provide a process for producing such a material.
This object and other objects are achieved according to advantageous embodiments of the material in that, in addition to potassium hydrodisilicate, the material contains oxometallates up to a molar ratio of about 1:5, and in that doping elements of the third group of the Periodic Table up to about 50 mol. % are incorporated instead of 100 mol. % silicon ions, and in that up to about 50 mol. % of the potassium ions are replaced by bivalent metal ions of approximately the same ionic radius, and in that up to about 400 mol. % or four times the original 100 mol. % of silicon dioxide are contained.
This material has advantages which include that, except for the proton conduction, it suppresses other ion conductions, that its electronic conducting capacity is negligibly low, and that it blocks off electrons in the area close to the surface.
The material according to advantageous embodiments of the present invention is based on potassium hydrodisilicate, since potassium hydrodisilicate is capable of forming a glass having a chain type molecular structure, and since it tends to form hydrogen bridges The silicate chains are doped with elements of the third group of the periodic system up to about 50 mol. %, preferably from about 2 mol. % to about 30 mol. %, instead of the silicon ions, so that hydrogen vacancies are formed during the formation of hydrogen bridges By increasing the hydrogen vacancies, the vacancy diffusion of hydrogen ions is improved and thus the proton conducting capacity is increased advantageously.
In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, aluminum ions, as a doping element, are incorporated up to about 15 mol. % of the silicon ions, these aluminum ions forming a water inhibiting layer, while, within the volume, they increase the proton conducting capacity of the material.
In another preferred embodiment of the invention, boron ions, as a doping element, are incorporated which advantageously do not form any crystalline precipitations even at a high concentration and, at the same time, advantageously reduce the operating temperature.
An essential characteristic is the addition of oxometallates up to a molar ratio of about 1:5, preferably of about 1:1 to about 1:3 between the potassium hydrodisilicate and the oxometallates which advantageously improves the proton conducting capacity of the material since highly polarizable covalently bonded anionic polymer chains are incorporated into the amorphous structure together with the doped silicate chains.
Preferably, oxometallates of the transition metals are used since they cause an increase of the proton conducting capacity by more than a power of ten. From this group, titanates, vanadates, chromates, zirconates, niobates, molybdates, hafnates, tantalates and wolframates proved to be particularly suitable.
When the material, according to advantageous embodiments of the invention, is used in a water containing or water vapor containing environment, as it exists, for example, in fuel cells, the insolubility of the material in water is decisive. In order to increase the waterproof characteristic of the material, up to about 50 mol. %, preferably from about 5 mol. % to 20 mol. % of the potassium ions are replaced by bivalent metal ions of approximately the same ionic radius.
Preferably, barium ions are used instead of potassium ions for from about 5 to about 20 mol. % of the potassium ions, since barium ions represent a particularly good protection against the penetration of water molecules and the decomposition of the material by water molecules.
In order not to lose any water molecules which are required for the forming of hydrogen bridges during the process of glass formation, an increased pressure of from about 20 to 400 bar, preferably about 70 to 300 bar, is applied during the glass formation at temperatures between about 500.degree. and about 800.degree. C., preferably between about 550.degree. and about 700.degree. C.
The advantages of such waterproof, proton conducting glasses include the special characteristic that an electronic conduction is prevented at the surface as well as in the volume of the glasses, so that a low volume fuel cell can be implemented which is based on a high proton conduction. For this purpose, the proton conductive glass according to the invention is applied preferably to a supporting substrate as an amorphous film having a thickness of about 5 to 150 .mu.m by means of a special preparation process.
In a preferred embodiment, this amorphous film reaches a proton conducting capacity of at least about 10.sup.-2 S cm.sup.-1 at a operating temperature of about 200.degree. C.
The process according to further advantageous embodiments of the present invention has the advantage that a glass forming suspension is converted directly on a substrate into a proton conducting glass layer at temperatures of about 500.degree. to about 800.degree. C. and pressures of about 20 to about 400 bar, preferably at temperatures between about 550.degree. and 700.degree. C. and at a pressure of about 70 to about 300 bar, so that the geometrically advantageous form of a proton conducting glass plate is obtained without any cutting, separating techniques and grinding or polishing work.
If the substrate, in a preferred embodiment, forms a porous electrode material of a fuel cell, which preferably is a platinized sintered metal plate on a base of, for example, copper, it may advantageously, without any intermediate treatment, be used with the proton conducting glass layer according to the invention as an active partition in fuel cells.
If the substrate is unsuitable for use as an electrode material, the substrate, in another advantageous embodiment, is removed from the glass layer, for example, by paring, stripping, separating or by caustics. At the softening point of the glass, the resulting self contained glass layer, on both sides or on one side, is pressed together with single layer or multi-layer electrode material for fuel cells, as, for example, of a layer of platinized sintered copper and another layer of sintered platinum.
This pressing together is advantageously carried out in a heatable high pressure facility in a water vapor atmosphere so that the proton conducting capacity of the glass layer is maintained.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Material for the conduction of protons and method of making the same


A method and system for monitoring wireless data service performance of wireless service providers. Data messages are sent from a plurality of remote and/or local monitoring probes to other monitoring probes. In general, the remote monitoring probes will be distributed throughout a service area(s) from the service provider and include both fixed probes and mobile probes, wherein each probe will include one or more wireless devices, including cellular phones, PSC phones, PDA devices, Blackberry devices, and the like. Various performance data are then measured, including message deliver latency and network accessibility. This data is then sent from the remote monitoring probes to one or more central monitoring stations, where it is stored and aggregated to generate performance reports and alerts, which are delivered to the service providers or may be accessed through a web user interface. In addition, wireless Internet access service performance is monitored using the remote and local monitoring probes, wherein various access functions are performed using WAP-enabled wireless devices.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally concerns wireless messaging and data services, and in more particular concerns a method and system for monitoring the data delivery performance of various wireless service providers, devices, and applications and automatically analyzing the monitoring results to provide recommendations to service providers to assist them in improving their wireless offerings.
2. Background Information
The use of wireless communications has grown at an astounding rate, and is predicted to continue to grow, with no end in sight. While most of the present bandwidth for wireless communications is used for voice traffic, more and more data is being sent over the airways, and the increased availability of wireless web contact and wireless messaging has placed increasing pressure on service providers.
While the demand for data access over wireless communications networks continues to escalate, the available bandwidth and quality of service provided by present wireless communications technology has not kept pace. Moreover, network complexity and diversity has increased, making the challenge of maintaining quality of service for wireless data networks, applications, and services even more difficult. As a result, network access is often delayed or even unavailable during peak usage periods, and connections are often dropped. It is predicted that these types of problems will only grow worse, leaving customers frustrated and unsatisfied.
The present market for wireless providers is highly competitive, with each provider seemingly offering more minutes for the same base rate every three to six months. In general, it is this selling point that is emphasized. In many instances, the cell phone a person purchased will only work with a certain provider, and those providers have recognized that once they get a new customer, that customer is likely to stay, at least on part because the customer doesn""t want to throw away a perfectly good phone in order to switch to a new service provider. In addition, most service agreements are between six months and two years, with substantial penalties for dishonoring the agreement.
Marketing research indicates that many users would be willing to pay higher service fees for improved performance, e.g., shorter latencies and less dropped connections. In addition, it would be highly advantageous for those service providers that provide higher quality service to be able to advertise this fact when they are trying to attract new customers. While the service providers can publish performance results corresponding to their own criteria, there is no method that is available for objectively measuring the performance level of the various service providers. Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a bias-free means for measuring the performance of the various service providers in the wireless communications industry.
The present invention provides a method and system for monitoring wireless data service performance of wireless service providers. Data messages are sent from a plurality of remote and/or local monitoring probes to other monitoring probes. In general, the remote monitoring probes will be distributed throughout a service area(s) from the service provider and include both fixed probes and mobile probes, wherein each probe will include one or more wireless devices, including cellular phones, PSC phones, PDA devices, Blackberry devices, and the like. Various performance data are then measured, including message deliver latency and network accessibility. This data is then sent from the remote monitoring probes to one or more central monitoring stations, where it is stored and aggregated to generate performance reports and alerts, which are delivered to the service providers or may be accessed through a web user interface. In addition, wireless Internet access service performance is monitored using the remote and local monitoring probes, wherein various access functions are performed using WAP-enabled wireless devices.

System and method for wireless data performance monitoring


A high frequency coaxial interconnection solder ball grid array produces a low loss, reproducible electrical interconnection at the circuit board level for mounting one or more high frequency components, such as high frequency IMA modules. Since the coaxial interconnection ball grid array can be and is generally implemented as part of a larger ball grid array, high frequency signal generation, signal reception and digital processing can be combined in a single electronic component, such as a circuit board. A coaxial-like interconnection is formed from a plurality of solder balls configured in a three-by-three square array. The coaxial interconnection solder ball grid array includes a single centrally disposed solder ball for interconnecting with a centrally disposed conductor of a coaxial line and a plurality of solder balls surrounding the single centrally disposed solder ball, some balls of which interconnect with a coaxial ground shield of the coaxial line. When soldered together, the centrally disposed solder ball and the central conductor of the coaxial line have the appearance of a rod with a diameter having a standard 50 ohm impedance. The outer conductive shield or ground signal path of the coaxial line is connected with multiple solder balls, to achieve a lower inductance ground-to-ground connection.

The present invention relates generally to interconnection devices and more particularly to interconnection devices for mounting high-frequency multiple millimeter wave assemblies to circuit boards.
Rapid advances in technology have accelerated the need for packaging devices which can accommodate, among other factors, connection requirements, higher operating frequencies and increases in the numbers of inputs and outputs on integrated circuits. Conventional packaging devices include ball grid arrays (BGA), wire bonding, tape automated bonding (TAB), quad flat packs (QFP) and controlled collapse chip connections (C4 or flip chip). BGA packages tend to be particularly popular because they are easier to surface is mount on a printed circuit board than fine pitch peripheral lead packages, such as QFPs. This is because the outer leads of BGA packages are distributed on the lower surface of the package, rather than being restricted to the package perimeter and thus being easier to damage. Moreover, since BGA packages do not include peripheral leads, BGA packages take up less room on a printed circuit board, and may be closely spaced. This close spacing also allows for shorter interconnect lengths between packages, which results in improved electrical performance.
Conventional packaging technologies, including BGA packages, however, fail to address the specific needs of high frequency integrated microwave assemblies (IMAs), particularly with respect to providing low loss, reproducible electrical interconnections at the circuit board level for mounting high frequency IMAs. Specifically, known packaging techniques fail to provide the interconnections which would allow high frequency signal generation, signal reception and digital processing to be combined in a compact space, such as a single circuit board. Rather, separate high frequency coaxial connectors are required to interface the high frequency IMAs with the circuit board.
In high frequency IMAs, arrays of coaxial lines extending from IMA modules must be interconnected to the circuit board. Coaxial transmission lines, commonly employed for the propagation of microwave power in IMAs, include a cylindrical center conductor disposed within a cylindrical tubular outer conductor. Although more costly than open-wire transmission lines, coaxial lines completely enclose the electromagnetic fields, preventing radiation losses and providing shielding from nearby circuits. With a coaxial connector, signal loss is minimized since almost all of the electric field emanating from the signal conductor remains confined in the dielectric. A coaxial conductor will thus electrically insulate the central signal path from any other signals in the vicinity.
Deficiencies can exist with respect to performance in IMAs, particularly at very high frequencies if such interconnections are not properly accommodated. This is because slight variations in signal path impedance may dramatically impact transmission performance. Furthermore, the high frequency interconnection needs to be inexpensive, allowing its use in the commercial market place.
What is needed therefore is a low loss, economical device for connecting millimeter wave assemblies to coaxial lines on substrate boards which would allow high frequency signal generation, signal reception and digital processing to be combined in a single circuit board.

Solder ball grid array for connecting multiple millimeter wave assemblies


A semiconductor device having an improved negative bias temperature instability lifetime characteristic is manufactured by forming a first insulating layer on a substrate, performing a first nitridation on the first insulating layer to form a second insulating layer, and sequentially performing a first and second anneal on the second insulating layer to form a third insulating layer, wherein the second anneal is performed at a higher temperature and with a different gas than the first anneal. A second nitridation is performed on the third insulating layer to form a fourth insulating layer, and a sequential third and fourth anneal on the fourth insulating layer forms a fifth insulating layer. The third anneal is performed at a higher temperature than the first anneal, and the fourth anneal is performed at a higher temperature than the second anneal and with a different gas than the third anneal.

1. Field
Embodiments of the present inventive concepts relate to a manufacturing method for a semiconductor device, and more particularly to a manufacturing method for a semiconductor device having an improved negative bias temperature instability (NBTI) lifetime characteristic.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the recent trend toward highly integrated semiconductor devices, the size of a semiconductor device is gradually scaled down, leading to an increasing demand for low-power, high-speed transistors. Low-power and high-speed operation in a transistor can be achieved using a gate insulating layer. In particular, reducing gate thickness and securing a negative bias temperature instability (NBTI) lifetime characteristic typically are quite important.
In non-memory and memory device below 60-nm scale, a silicon oxynitride layer (SiON) may be used as a gate insulating layer. In order to reduce the electric thickness of the SiON gate insulating layer and improve the NBTI lifetime, the position and concentration of nitrogen in the SiON gate insulating layer is controlled.

Manufacturing method for semiconductor device


A circuit for generating voltages having values proportional to the threshold voltages (V.sub.T) of n-channel transistors used in the circuit comprises a current mirror M.sub.2, M.sub.3 having a reference current input generated from a reference voltage of value 2V.sub.t by an n-channel transistor M.sub.1. The output reference voltage of value 2V.sub.T by an n-channel transistor M.sub.4 whose gate is coupled either to its drain, for output voltages greater than V.sub.T, or to the gate of transistor M.sub.1 for output voltages less then V.sub.T.

This invention relates to voltage sources and particularly to circuits which provide specific voltages which are dependent on the threshold voltage of transistors used in the circuit.
Such circuits are particularly useful in the field of CMOS IC's where it is advantageous to provide specific voltages whose values are proportional to the threshold voltage V.sub.T of the transistors used therein. Such transistors may be either n- or p-channel field-effect transistors. One application is in logic circuits where threshold voltage dependent voltages are required in order to switch the transistors in the circuit so that logical decisions are made by the circuit. Another application is in sensing amplifiers in which lines connected to the inputs of the amplifier are precharged by voltages proportional to the threshold voltage in order to improve the sensitivity of the amplifier.


A method of forming a gate of a semiconductor device, including the steps of sequentially forming a tunnel oxide film, a nitride film, a dielectric layer, a polysilicon layer, a metal silicide film, and a hard mask film on a semiconductor substrate; sequentially etching the hard mask film, the metal silicide film, the polysilicon layer, and a predetermined region of the dielectric layer, forming a control gate pattern and also exposing the nitride film; performing a thermal oxidization process on both sides of the control gate pattern, forming an oxide film; and stripping the exposed nitride film by a wet etch process, thereby exposing the tunnel oxide film.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to a method of manufacturing semiconductor devices. More particularly, the invention relates to a method of forming a gate of a semiconductor device, wherein a loss of tunnel oxide film is minimized and damage to the semiconductor substrate is prevented.
2. Discussion of Related Art
A method of forming a gate using a high dielectric material as a dielectric layer has been used in a method of manufacturing a NAND flash memory device.
More particularly, a gate formation structure including a semiconductor substrate, a tunnel oxide film, a nitride film, an aluminum oxide (Al2O3) film, and polysilicon using aluminum oxide (Al2O3) is the high dielectric material is called a ″SANOS structure.
The gate formation process of the SANOS is briefly described below. A tunnel oxide film, a nitride film for a floating gate, an aluminum oxide (Al2O3) film, a polysilicon layer for a control gate, a tungsten silicide film, and a hard mask film are sequentially formed on a semiconductor substrate.
A photoresist film pattern is formed on the hard mask film. The tungsten silicide film, the polysilicon layer, the aluminum oxide film, and the nitride film are sequentially etched using the photoresist film pattern as a mask, forming a gate.
The gate etch process uses a dry etch process. After the nitride film is stripped, the etch process must be stopped at the tunnel oxide film.
In other words, a recipe in which the nitride film is easily etched and the tunnel oxide film is relatively less easily etched when etching the nitride film (e.g., the selectivity ratio of the nitride film to the tunnel oxide film is set to 10:1) must be used. It is, however, impossible to obtain such high selectivity ratio through prior dry etch techniques. Accordingly, a problem arises because the etch process is difficult to stop at the tunnel oxide film.
Therefore, the tunnel oxide film may be lost. Accordingly, there are problems in that the semiconductor substrate is also attacked and cell characteristics are degraded accordingly.

Method of forming gate of semiconductor device


Apparatus for supplying comminuted tobacco leaves to the only distributor of a machine for simultaneously producing two cigarette rods employs several gates which can admit batches of tobacco into the magazine of the distributor either simultaneously or one after the other. Each gate has its own inlet for tobacco and an outlet which can be unsealed to dump a batch of accumulated tobacco particles into the distributor. The gates can be disposed at a common level or at several levels, and each gate can extend all the way between the ends of the adjacent magazine. Alternatively, two gates can be disposed end-to-end so that the length of each of these gates equals or approximates half the length of the adjacent magazine. The inlets of the gates can receive comminuted tobacco from a single feeding conduit by way of a mobile connector, and each inlet is located at one longitudinal end of the respective gate.

The invention relates to machines for producing rods which contain fibrous material, especially for simultaneously producing a plurality of rods which contain fibrous material. Typical examples of such rods are cigarette rods wherein a filler of shredded and/or otherwise comminuted natural, reconstituted and/or artificial tobacco is confined in a tubular wrapper of cigarette paper or the like. More particularly, the invention relates to improvements in apparatus for supplying fibrous material to machines for producing rods, especially for simultaneously producing plural rods, wherein a rod-like filler of fibrous material is confined in a tubular envelope.
The apparatus for supplying fibrous material (shredded tobacco) to a cigarette rod making machine which turns out several cigarette rods (normally two cigarette rods) comprises a distributor wherein the fibrous material is prepared for conversion into plural streams which are thereupon trimmed to be converted into rod-like fillers which are ready for draping into cigarette paper or other suitable wrapping material.
Commonly owned copending patent application Ser. No. 057,783 filed June 3, 1987 by Uwe Heitmann and Peter Brand for "Method of and apparatus for simultaneously making plural tobacco streams", now U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,138 granted Dec. 16, 1989, discloses an apparatus which converts a single stream of fibrous material into two smaller streams each of which is ready for trimming and subsequent draping. A very important prerequisite for simultaneous making of satisfactory plural cigarette rods wherein the fillers consist of trimmed tobacco streams which are obtained as a result of breaking up a larger flow is to ensure that the desirable characteristics (such as the uniformity of mixture of different blends of tobacco, the weight per unit length, the density of the fillers and/or the hardness of the fillers) of one rod will exactly match the respective characteristics of each other rod. This necessitates the provision of an apparatus which is capable of ensuring the making of a homogeneous large flow, i.e., of a flow which can be subdivided into several streams each of which has the same density, hardness and/or other characteristics which are desirable to the smoker and to the manufacturer of cigarettes, cigars, cigarillos, filter rod sections and/or other rod-shaped articles of the tobacco processing industry.

Apparatus for supplying fibrous material to machines for simultaneously producing a plurality of cigarette rods


A resealable envelope comprising a flexible plastic back sheet, a backing adhesive applied on a back surface of the flexible plastic back sheet to attach the envelope to a package, a flexible plastic front sheet attached to the back sheet at their respective side edges and bottom edges, a flexible closure flap being adhered directly to the front surface of the back sheet at their respective top edges via a permanent adhesive and overlapping said front sheet, and a resealable adhesive located proximal to the top edge of the front sheet such that the resealable adhesive is capable of fastening said closure flap to the front sheet forming a resealable closure.

The instant invention relates to a resealable, flexible plastic envelope having superior durability to those of the prior art. In particular, the closure flap of the instant invention can be repeatedly opened and resealed without damaging the integrity of the envelope.
Adhesive type closure arrangements have been used to seal and/or close plastic bags such as those used for sandwiches, garbage containers, and other household uses. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,519,095 to Clayton describes a resealable flexible thermoplastic bag wherein the closure comprises at least one female channel member or strip-affixed to the bag and having a pressure sensitive adhesive layer on an internal portion of the channel strip such that the thickness of the adhesive layer is less than the interior depth of the walls of the channel strip. During shipment and storage the walls of the channel hold the pressure sensitive adhesive layer away from adjacent surfaces to prevent inadvertent sticking. Sealing of the bag is achieved by contacting the channel strip with a surface of the bag and exerting pressure along the strip whereby the pressure sensitive adhesive is contacted with a substantially flat portion of the surface and adhered thereto.
Clayton discloses a resealable plastic bag containing a channel with the adhesive layer positioned on a flap of the bag, a channel with the adhesive positioned on the body of the bag over which the flap will fold, and two female channel strips positioned on opposite sides of a bag opening to affect a double seal by pressing the two channels into contact such that one wall or bead of each channel is contacted by the adhesive layer in the opposing channel.
Other patents disclosing resealable, flexible plastic bags include U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,791,783 and 5,783,012, both to Porchia et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,527,112 to Dais et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,032,854 to Greer et al.
One possible use of the resealable, flexible plastic bag is as a packing list envelope which is commonly used by courier services such as FedEx, U.S. Postal Service, etc. When a package is sent through the courier service, a list of the contents of the package, addresses of the addressee and sender, and various other pertinent information are placed into a transparent packaging envelope with the addresses visible through the front of the envelope. The back of the envelope is then attached to the package with an adhesive. Because, during the package processing, the envelope is subject to being opened and resealed for placing or removing items in the envelope, it is desirable to have an envelope that can repeatedly be opened and resealed without losing its integrity.
Thus it is desirable to avoid the problems of the prior art envelopes and provide a packing slip envelope that is resealable without damaging the integrity of the envelope and without the high cost.
One aspect of the invention is related to a packing slip envelope that is resealable with an resealable adhesive without damaging the integrity of the envelope. If the packing slip envelope to be attached to a package, an adhesive preferably permanent is provided on the back of the envelope. The envelope comprises a front sheet, a back sheet, and a closure flap. The front sheet has the same width as the back sheet and a shorter height. The back and front sheet are attached at their respective side edges and bottom edges via heat sealing. The closure flap attaches to the back sheet at their respective top edges via a permanent adhesive and overlaps the front sheet. To seal the envelope, a resealable adhesive is placed on the outside and adjacent to the top edge of the front sheet. The adhesive binds the closure flap overlap to the front sheet to seal the envelope. The permanent adhesive used to join the closure flap to the back sheet allows the envelope to be opened and resealed without damaging the several joints at the edges of the envelope. The envelope is preferably made of a plastic and can be either transparent or translucent. Printing can be provided on the face sheet or backing sheet.
Another aspect of the invention is related to the method of making the packing slip envelope.


A web application security scanner (WASS) includes a login manager configured to perform an automated login to a web site. The automated login may be performed when the login manager detects that a login session has ended. The login manager is configured to determine credentials for the web site to allow the WASS to access the web site. The WASS may then use the credentials to continue scanning the web site. Thus, previously unscannable web pages may be accessed in the web site because of the automated login process.

Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to web application security scanners and more specifically to web application security scanners capable of detecting session state and capable of automatically logging into a web site.
Web application security is important for businesses that maintain web sites. Unauthorized access to a web site may allow user identities to be stolen, allow personal user information to be accessed without authorization, etc. This may cause many problems for businesses. Also, unauthorized attacks may affect a web site's availability.
In order to protect against unauthorized access, a security analysis of the web site may be performed. This may include scanning the web site to determine any vulnerabilities that may exist. The scanning typically ignores significant aspects of the web site functionality. For example, the scanner may not be allowed to access certain areas of the site if they are protected. Accordingly, the scanner may not be able to reliably test significant portions of the web site functionality. Thus, a security analysis may not be complete and reliable.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Automated login session extender for use in security analysis systems


An electromechanical actuator for use in a hydraulic braking circuit of a vehicle comprises an electric motor having a stator and a rotor, and a linear actuator that is located within the motor. The linear actuator comprises an elongate shaft having a screw part at one end carrying an external thread that extends along a portion of the shaft, and a fixing part at the other end shaft, the linear actuator further comprising a drive nut that surrounds the screw part of the shaft and is located at least in a retracted position inside the enlarged bore of the first portion of the rotor body, the drive nut and being connected to the screw part. The rotor body is secured relative to the stator by a bearing assembly that is fixed to the second part of the elongate rotor body, the other end of the rotor body being otherwise unsupported and overhung from the bearing assembly.

This invention relates to improvements in electromechanical actuators, especially for use in a hydraulic braking system for a vehicle.
In a traditional hydraulic braking system, brake pressure is created by the driver pressing on a foot pedal, which moves a push rod that in turn displaces a diaphragm in a vacuum boosted brake servo. The servo amplifies the pressure applied by the driver, and generates an increased hydraulic pressure in a hydraulic fluid connected to a brake caliper or drum.
It is known also to provide a braking system in which the pressure applied by the brake is controlled by an electromechanical actuator. This allows the brakes to be applied using force from the actuator rather than purely relying on the driver pressing the pedal. This arrangement also allows the brakes to be applied independent of the driver, for instance during an emergency or as part of vehicle stability control system or a hill hold function.
A suitable actuator should have a fast response time and be capable of generating a relatively large pressure increase, and most conveniently the actuator is capable of driving a piston back and forth within a cylinder. It will be appreciated that an actuator capable of such performance can be used in a wide range of applications, and is not just limited to use in a hydraulic braking system.
In one arrangement, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,577, an electro magnetic actuator comprises a motor having a stator and a rotor. The rotor is hollow and is provided on an inner surface with a helical groove that forms part of a ball screw linear drive located inside the rotor. The drive comprises an elongate screw having an external helical groove that complements that of the rotor. The two grooves are filled with metal balls and the balls act on the screw to create a linear movement of the screw relative to the stator. The linear movement of the screw is used to control the hydraulic pressure in a hydraulic braking circuit of a vehicle. The rotor is supported by bearings at both ends.
In an alternative arrangement disclosed in the applicants earlier patent EP0317182 a stepper motor has a screw that is fixed to the protruding end of the rotor of a motor so that as the rotor rotates the screw also rotates. The screw protrudes into a bore formed in an end face of a piston that is in turn inserted in the bore of a cylinder filled with hydraulic fluid. The piston is prevented from rotating in the cylinder, and as the rotor rotates, the piston is moved along the cylinder. This alters the pressure of the fluid in the hydraulic brake circuit connected to the cylinder.


Methods and systems for the provision of a targeted risk-protected minimum income benefit or protected distribution through the design and management of a trust that allows for exposure to the equity and fixed-income markets. The targeted minimum income amounts depend upon the performance of equity and fixed income assets and risk mitigation instruments contained in the Trust. The method and system rely upon the adjustment of constituent assets to provide for the targeted minimum retirement income amounts. The action of risk management procedures eliminate reliance upon third-party guarantors. The methods and systems include mortality management procedures that protect the participants against longevity risk.

1. Fields of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods and systems for the provision and maintenance of risk-protected retirement income using self-funding risk-control techniques.
2. Description of Related Art
Defined-benefit pension plans involve the delivery of recurrent retirement income to participants according to formulas contained in the governing plan documents. Income amounts are typically based on years of employment service and the participants' compensation in years prior to retirement. The plan sponsor operating a defined-benefit plan assumes a variety of risks involved with assuring that promised retirement income payments can actually be made. These risks may include those related to funding sufficiency, uncertain investment returns of plan assets, and realized participant mortality experience vs. mortality rate assumptions. While stringent regulations apply to the operation of a defined-benefit plan, many companies have found the risks and costs associated with such plans to be burdensome, making them less common today.
A defined-contribution pension plan, such as that enabled by §401(k) of United States Internal Revenue Code, involves the recurrent contribution of deposits into investment funds that grow until retirement, when withdrawals are contemplated. While the plan sponsor may also contribute to the fund, no specified retirement income amounts are promised. Plan participants therefore bear the funding, investment and longevity risk (chance of outliving one's assets) involved with such a defined-contribution plan. The performance of defined-contribution plans has been unsteady due to market volatility, causing particular difficulty for participants near or in their early retirement years.
A number of attempts have been made to remediate the risks that a defined-contribution plan participant bears. One attempt involves the participant's purchase with plan proceeds of an insurance company annuity contract that promises fixed payments over the participant's lifetime. However, annuity contracts significantly restrict participant access to funds, reduce assets available to beneficiaries and may not provide retirement income of a sufficient amount. Another attempted solution involves the introduction of guarantees in the form of guaranteed minimum withdrawal and income benefits that provide for lifetime income. A common guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefit (GMWB) allows the fund holder starting at a certain age to withdraw a fixed percentage (typically around 5%) of a guaranteed income base every year (the guaranteed income amount). A common guaranteed income base is a fixed percentage of the highest anniversary value of a balanced or target-date retirement fund held inside the participant's account. If fund assets become depleted after first taking withdrawals from the fund, the insurer promises to make the fixed payments for the remainder of the participant's lifetime. This benefit is provided to the participants in the faint of an insurance (annuity) contract. These contracts provided by insurance companies subject participants to the claim-payment abilities of the insurance company, a third party guarantor. The ability of guarantors to stand behind such guarantees over the full life expectancies of participants is unknown and plan fiduciaries are reluctant to subject all or a significant portion of their plan participants to the claim-payment risk of one or more third party guarantors.
FIG. 1 is a schematic illustrating aspects of prior art, most notably the use of third-party guarantors to provide guarantees for retirement income amounts. As shown, Retirement Plan Participants contribute to a fund that is invested in assets that provide for the return of Contributions along with Investment Returns. The fund pays an Annual Guarantee Fee to the Insurer or Third-Party Guarantor. (The Guarantor in turn may hedge its guarantee liability through transactions with Derivatives Dealers.) If the Fund's assets are insufficient to meet the guaranteed retirement income amount, the Guarantor makes the required payments after the Fund's assets are depleted.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a method and system for the creation and/or maintenance of an improved retirement income plan.

Methods and systems for providing and maintaining retirement income


A heat roller control apparatus having a heat roller for hot melt coating a thin film on a member, a heater for heating the heat roller, temperature detecting member for detecting the surface temperature of the heat roller, temperature control member for controlling the heater according to a temperature detecting signal obtained from the temperature detecting means, and temperature judging member for producing a temperature judging signal for judging the state of the surface temperature of the heat roller according to the temperature detecting signal. The temperature judging member calculates a variation of the surface temperature of the heat roller from the temperature detecting signal every predetermined time and judging the stability of the hot melt coating by the variation of the surface temperature of the heat roller when the temperature detecting signal reaches into a predetermined temperature range.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a heat roller control apparatus, and more particularly relates to a control apparatus for a heat roller for use in a laminator or the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 3 shows a conventional heat roller control apparatus. In FIG. 3, a reference numeral 1 denotes a heat roller, 1A denotes a member, such as a PVC card to be laminated with a thin film 1B, such as a PET film, 8a and 8b denote transfer rollers for transferring the member 1A and the thin film 1B, 2a denotes an actuator, such as a motor for rotating the heat roller 1, 2b denotes an actuator, such as a motor for rotating the transfer roller 8b, 3a and 3b denote driving circuits for driving the actuators 2a and 2b, respectively, 4 denotes a heater for heating the heat roller 1, 5 denotes a temperature detecting element, such as a thermistor for detecting a surface temperature of the heat roller 1, 6 denotes a temperature control circuit for controlling the excitation of the heater 4, 9 denotes a temperature judging circuit formed of a microprocessor, for example, for judging whether the surface temperature of the heat roller 1 is stable in a predetermined range lower than a first reference signal c1 indicating the upper limit value, but higher than a second reference signal c2 indicating the lower limit value, 10 denotes a temperature state indicator for indicating whether the surface temperature of the heat roller 1 is stable in the predetermined range, and 7a and 7b denote detecting elements, such as photosensors for detecting the presence of the member 1A, respectively.
FIG. 4 shows a diagram for explaining the surface temperature of the heat roller 1.
In FIG. 4, a reference symbol (a) denotes the first reference signal c1 indicating the upper limit value of the predetermined range, (b) denotes the second reference signal c2 indicating the lower limit value of the predetermined range, (c) denotes a temperature signal a outputted from the temperature sensing element 5, and (d) denotes a temperature judging signal e outputted from the temperature judging circuit 9. The temperature judging circuit 9 judges whether the temperature signal a outputted from the temperature detecting element 5 is in the predetermined range and maintained continuously for a predetermined setting period of time t1. Further, the temperature judging circuit 9 outputs the temperature judging signal e of low level xe2x80x9cLxe2x80x9d in case that the temperature signal a outputted from the temperature detecting element 5 is out of the predetermined range, or that the temperature signal a is in the predetermined range, but is not maintained continuously for the predetermined setting period of time t1. The temperature judging circuit 9 outputs the temperature judging signal e of high level xe2x80x9cHxe2x80x9d in case that the temperature signal a is in the predetermined range and maintained continuously for the predetermined setting period of time t1.
The actuator 2b is driven by the driving circuit 3b when the detecting element 7a detects the presence of the member 1A and the driving circuit 3b receives a first detecting signal b1 outputted from the detecting element 7a. The actuator 2b is not driven by the driving circuit 3b when the temperature judging signal e is low level xe2x80x9cLxe2x80x9d. The adhesive strength of the member 1A becomes small or the member 1A is deformed if the hot melt coating is carried out in the state that the surface temperature of the heat roller 1 is out of the predetermined range. The member 1A and the thin film 1B are transferred to the heat roller 1 by the rotation of the transfer roller 8b when the level of the temperature judging signal e is xe2x80x9cHxe2x80x9d and the actuator 2b is driven. The heat roller 1 is rotated when the actuator 2a is driven by the driving circuit 3a irrespective of the state of the temperature judging signal e or the first detecting signal b1 outputted from the detecting element 7a, so that the member 1A and the thin film 1B are held by the transfer roller 8a and the heat roller 1, and the hot melt coating is carried out while they are transferred. The actuator 2b is deenergized when the member 1A and the thin film 1B are passed through the detecting element 7b and the driving circuit 3b receives a second detecting signal b2 outputted from the detecting element 7b.
The transfer of the member 1A is not carried out even if the presence of the member 1A is detected and the surface temperature of the heat roller 1 is in the predetermined range because the temperature judging signal e is low level xe2x80x9cLxe2x80x9d until the predetermined time t1 has been passed.
Thus, the time t1 becomes an idle time.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a heat roller control apparatus free from the above defects.
It is another object of this invention to provide a heat roller control apparatus wherein a variation of a temperature signal outputted from a temperature detecting element is detected at a predetermined interval, and a temperature judging signal of high level is produced so that a member to be laminated with a thin film is transferred for hot melt coating, if the variation of the temperature signal is smaller than a predetermined value when the temperature signal reaches in a predetermined range.
According to a heat roller control apparatus of this invention, the idle time after a surface temperature of a heat roller has reached to the predetermined temperature range can be shortened.
A heat roller control apparatus according to the present invention is characterized by comprising a heat roller for hot melt coating a thin film on a member, a heater for heating the heat roller, temperature detecting means for detecting the surface temperature of the heat roller, temperature control means for controlling the heater according to a temperature detecting signal obtained from the temperature detecting means, and temperature judging means for producing a temperature judging signal for judging the state of the surface temperature of the heat roller according to the temperature detecting signal, wherein the temperature judging means calculates a variation of the surface temperature of the heat roller from the temperature detecting signal every predetermined time and judging the stability of the hot melt coating by the variation of the surface temperature of the heat roller when the temperature detecting signal reaches into a predetermined temperature range.
A heat roller control apparatus according to the present invention is characterized by comprising a heat roller for hot melt coating a thin film on a member, a heater for heating the heat roller, temperature detecting means for detecting the surface temperature of the heat roller, temperature control means for controlling the heater according to a temperature detecting signal obtained from the temperature detecting means, and temperature judging means for producing a temperature judging signal for judging the state of the surface temperature of the heat roller according to the temperature detecting signal, wherein the member to be attached with the thin film is transferred only when the surface temperature reaches into a predetermined temperature range and a variation of the surface temperature of the heat roller is smaller than a predetermined value.
The temperature judging means is a circuit comprising an A/D converter, three comparators, an AND gate, two registers, an oscillator, a subtracter, two frequency dividers, and two inverters.
Other object and advantages will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Heat roller control apparatus with roller surface temperature variations determination


A downhole probe of a drilling rig has a probe sleeve for protecting the downhole probe. The probe sleeve may be made of a metal or a polymer such as polyphenylene sulfide. The probe sleeve may be heat-shrinkable to provide a tight fit between the downhole probe and the probe sleeve. The probe sleeve may include one or more protrusions shaped to engage a centralizer surrounding at least part of the downhole probe. The one or more protrusions may be arranged to prevent rotation of the centralizer relative to the probe sleeve. The probe sleeve may be made using a modified extrusion process and may include reinforcement to add strength to weld-lines along the length of the probe sleeve. The protrusions may also be used as reinforcement.

Recovering hydrocarbons from subterranean zones typically involves drilling wellbores. Wellbores are made using surface-located drilling equipment which drives a drill string that eventually extends from the surface equipment to the formation or subterranean zone of interest.
The drill string can extend thousands of feet or meters below the surface. The terminal end of the drill string includes a drill bit for drilling (or extending) the wellbore. Drilling fluid, usually in the form of a drilling "mud", is typically pumped through the drill string. The drilling fluid cools and lubricates the drill bit and also carries cuttings back to the surface. Drilling fluid may also be used to help control bottom hole pressure to inhibit hydrocarbon influx from the formation into the wellbore and potential blow out at surface.
Bottom hole assembly (BHA) is the name given to the equipment at the terminal end of a drill string. In addition to a drill bit, a BHA may comprise elements such as: apparatus for steering the direction of the drilling (e.g. a steerable downhole mud motor or rotary steerable system); sensors for measuring properties of the surrounding geological formations (e.g. sensors for use in well logging); sensors for measuring downhole conditions as drilling progresses; one or more systems for telemetry of data to the surface; stabilizers; heavy weight drill collars; pulsers; and the like. The BHA is typically advanced into the wellbore by a string of metallic tubulars (drill pipe).
Modern drilling systems may include any of a wide range of mechanical/electronic systems in the BHA or at other downhole locations. Such electronics systems may be packaged as part of a downhole probe. A downhole probe may comprise any active mechanical, electronic, and/or electromechanical system that operates downhole. A probe may provide any of a wide range of functions including, without limitation: data acquisition; measuring properties of the surrounding geological formations (e.g. well logging); measuring downhole conditions as drilling progresses; controlling downhole equipment; monitoring status of downhole equipment; directional drilling applications; measuring while drilling (MWD) applications; logging while drilling (LWD) applications; measuring properties of downhole fluids; and the like. A probe may comprise one or more systems for: telemetry of data to the surface; collecting data by way of sensors (e.g. sensors for use in well logging) that may include one or more of vibration sensors, magnetometers, inclinometers, accelerometers, nuclear particle detectors, electromagnetic detectors, acoustic detectors, and others; acquiring images; measuring fluid flow; determining directions; emitting signals, particles or fields for detection by other devices; interfacing to other downhole equipment; sampling downhole fluids; etc. A downhole probe is typically supported in a bore of a drill string near the drill bit. Some downhole probes are highly specialized and expensive.
Downhole conditions can be harsh. A probe may experience high temperatures; vibrations (including axial, lateral, and torsional vibrations); shocks; immersion in drilling fluids; high pressures (20,000 p.s.i. or more in some cases); turbulence and pulsations in the flow of drilling fluid past the probe; fluid initiated harmonics; and torsional acceleration events from slip which can lead to side-to-side and/or torsional movement of the probe. These conditions can shorten the lifespan of downhole probes and can increase the probability that a downhole probe will fail in use. Replacing a downhole probe that fails while drilling can involve very great expense.
A downhole probe may communicate a wide range of information to the surface by telemetry. Telemetry information can be invaluable for efficient drilling operations. For example, telemetry information may be used by a drill rig crew to make decisions about controlling and steering the drill bit to optimize the drilling speed and trajectory based on numerous factors, including legal boundaries, locations of existing wells, formation properties, hydrocarbon size and location, etc. A crew may make intentional deviations from the planned path as necessary based on information gathered from downhole sensors and transmitted to the surface by telemetry during the drilling process. The ability to obtain and transmit reliable data from downhole locations allows for relatively more economical and more efficient drilling operations.
Telemetry techniques that may be used to carry information from a downhole probe to the surface include transmitting information by generating vibrations in fluid in the bore hole (e.g. acoustic telemetry or mud pulse (MP) telemetry) and transmitting information by way of electromagnetic signals that propagate at least in part through the earth (EM telemetry). Other telemetry techniques use hardwired drill pipe, fiber optic cable, or drill collar acoustic telemetry to carry data to the surface.
In directional drilling, information from a downhole probe can be essential to guiding the drilling to follow a desired trajectory. For example, the downhole probe may include sensors to detect inclination and heading of the drill string.
Downhole probes often have a probe housing for containing the electronics systems. In some circumstances, the downhole probe is provided within a centralizer which bears against the wall of the drill pipe/string, drill collar or gap sub and maintains a central orientation of the downhole probe. One example of a centralizer is provided in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/073,757.
The centralizer of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/073,757 comprises: an elongated tubular member having a wall formed to provide a cross-section that provides first outwardly-convex and inwardly-concave lobes. The first lobes are arranged to contact a bore wall of a bore in a section of a drill string at a plurality of spots spaced apart around a circumference of the bore wall. The centralizer also comprises a plurality of inwardly-projecting portions. Each of the plurality of inwardly-projecting portions is arranged between two adjacent ones of the plurality of first lobes.
Reliability is one problem encountered in drilling with downhole probes. As noted above, failure of a downhole probe can be very costly. It would be beneficial to be able to construct downhole probes in such a manner that the probes have enhanced reliability under downhole conditions.

Downhole probe sleeves and methods for making probe sleeves


A system for monitoring a person may include a person-worn sensor device including at least one sensor (e.g., at least one accelerometer, magnetometer, altimeter, etc.) configured to collect sensor data and a processor to process data from the person-worn sensor device. The processor may be configured to determine or access an orientation of a physical support apparatus (e.g., bed, table, wheelchair, chair, sofa, or other structure for supporting the person), receive sensor data collected by the person-worn sensor device, calculate an orientation of the person relative to the physical support apparatus based on (a) the orientation of the physical support apparatus and (b) the sensor data collected by the person-worn sensor device, and identify, based on the determined orientation of the person relative to the physical support apparatus, a physical support apparatus exit condition indicating an occurrence or anticipated occurrence of the person exiting the physical support apparatus.

Pressure ulcers are a vast and growing problem in the United States and account for {tilde over ( )}$10 billion dollars in annual health care spending. In 2008, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services discontinued reimbursement for hospital-acquired pressure ulcers (HAPUs), thus increasing the demand for early-stage prevention. Each year, over 1 million patients will suffer from a hospital-acquired pressure ulcer. Pressure ulcers occur most commonly in the elderly, which is the fastest-growing segment of the population. As a result, the number of patients at risk for developing pressure ulcers is expected to increase dramatically in the coining decades. Given the tremendous burden that pressure ulcers place on the healthcare system, there is a substantial need for improved prevention methods.
Pressure ulcers, also known as bedsores, can form when there is sustained pressure on a given area of the body. This unrelieved pressure causes compression of tissues and impairs blood flow to affected areas. If the surface pressure is not relieved, the resulting shortage of blood flow can lead to localized tissue damage and cell death. Pressure ulcers initially appear as areas of reddened skin, but can quickly develop into large open wounds if left untreated.
Pressure ulcers are a source of significant morbidity and mortality for patients. Pressure ulcer treatment begins with a comprehensive review of a patient's general health and an assessment of their wound. General treatment principles include positioning patients such that little or no pressure is placed on the ulcer, using pressure-relieving physical support apparatuses, optimizing nutritional status, and utilizing a myriad of advanced wound care modalities and wound dressing technologies. More specific treatment goals depend on the stage of the pressure ulcer, and range from applying skin protective dressings to surgical closure of the wound and skin grafting. The development of a hospital-acquired pressure ulcer may highlight the need to review, refine and intensify an institution's pressure ulcer prevention procedures.
To prevent pressure ulcers, the currently accepted standard of care is to turn high-risk patients at least every 2 hours, day and night. In many healthcare facilities, such a turning schedule can be difficult to maintain. Studies have shown that caregiver compliance with patient turning protocols is low and a high percentage of patients are not being turned appropriately.
Some explanations for this low compliance include difficulty monitoring patient position, ineffective turn reminders/alerts, and sub-optimal caregiver staffing ratios all of which hinder efforts to prevent pressure ulcers. To further exacerbate the problem, as the population ages, the percent of patients requiring turning is increasing, and yet there is a growing shortage of nursing staff, making it increasingly difficult to maintain compliance with prescribed turning schedules.
In addition, for patients with ambulatory challenges, bed exits and falls can present a serious risk of injury. Such bed exits and falls can present significant care and liability issues for hospitals, assisted living institutions, hospices, and regular homes where a patient is being cared for. Elderly patients, or patients who are disoriented, or patients who have overestimated their condition, all too frequently seek to exit their beds when their physical abilities are not at the level necessary to either stand up or walk.
Bed exits and falls have in the past proven particularly challenging to manage, because prompt detection has been difficult. Monitoring systems for bed exits have proven unreliable, at least in part because such systems typically do not detect the preliminary movements that indicate a forthcoming exit by a patient who is likely to fall upon exiting the bed. Likewise, systems for detecting falls have not had great success, in part because falls can occur slowly, and involve relatively short distances between the bed and either the floor or some intermediate object.
The costs associated with a fall can be enormous, including loss of life or serious injury for the patient. From an economic standpoint, hospitals incur greatly increased costs in caring for patients injured due to a fall. Moreover, such costs are typically not reimbursed by insurance, as these hospital-acquired injuries are considered preventable. For some patients, particularly those who are easily disoriented, such as Alzheimers or dementia patients, an unexpected bed exit by even an ambulatory patient can result in that patient going missing, leading to significant consequences to both the patient and the caregiver
There is a long-felt, definite and even urgent need for a system, method and device that helps to prevent, detect, and/or treat pressure-induced ischemic and pressure ulcers by optimizing surface pressure at areas of compromised tissue perfusion. Various aspects of the present invention accomplish these objectives and substantially depart from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art.

Systems, devices and methods for analyzing a person status based at least on a detected orientation of the person


A model adapter includes a first section of an off-body adapter at least partially circumscribing a sting mount, and a second section of the off-body adapter coupled to the first section such that the off-body adapter is coupled to the sting mount. The off-body adapter is positioned aft of the model to provide for a substantially aerodynamically smooth transition between a model and the sting mount.

The present disclosure relates generally to wind tunnel models and, more particularly, to methods and systems that facilitate the transition between a first test setup utilized to measure aerodynamic forces on a wind tunnel model and a second test setup utilized to measure acoustic signatures.
To determine aerodynamic properties of a vehicle or object, a model of the object may be subjected to a wind tunnel test. Air is channeled through the wind tunnel, and the effects of the air moving past the model are observed and/or measured. At least some known systems include a first test setup for measuring aerodynamic forces and a second test setup for measuring acoustic signatures. Known methods and systems of transitioning between the two test setups, however, is generally time consuming and tedious.

Methods and systems for enabling wind tunnel models to transition between measuring aerodynamic forces and measuring acoustic signatures


An engine including a lubricated vacuum source is disclosed. In one example, engine oil entrained in gases lubricates a vacuum pump. The approach may provide for improved efficiency when generating vacuum.

A vehicle may include a vacuum system to operate or to assist in the operation of various devices. In particular, vacuum may be a way to assist a driver applying vehicle brakes or other vacuum operated devices. Vacuum may be provided in some vehicle via a vacuum pump because the engine operates frequently with a positive intake manifold pressure. Some vacuum pumps may be electrically driven (typically on-demand) by a motor while others are mechanically driven (typically operated continuously) via the vehicle's engine. Vane vacuum pumps have the capacity to produce vacuum over long vacuum pump life cycle. However, if the vane vacuum pump is not properly lubricated the vane vacuum pump life cycle may be reduced and the vane vacuum pump may not be able to produce a desired level of vacuum.
The inventor herein has recognized the above-mentioned disadvantages and has developed an engine vacuum system, comprising: an engine including a crankcase vent and an oil separator located along the crankcase vent; and a vacuum pump in fluidic communication with the engine and a vacuum consumer, a vacuum pump inlet port in fluidic communication with a passage entering an interior of the engine, the passage absent an oil pump along its length.
By directing gases from within an engine's oiled compartment to a vacuum pump, it may be possible to lubricate the vacuum pump with engine oil that may be entrained within the gases. Further, the gases may be returned to an interior portion of the engine so that they may be subsequently combusted by the engine (or the oil mist may return as liquid oil to the engine oil). In this way, it may be possible to lubricate the vacuum pump without an oil pump directing oil to the vacuum pump. In one example, gases from the engine may be drawn to the vacuum pump inlet only in response to a vacuum level of a vacuum reservoir exceeding a threshold vacuum level. Consequently, gas flow from the engine to the vacuum pump inlet may occur only during select conditions.
The present description may provide several advantages. In particular, the approach can improve the operation of a vacuum pump that has oil wetted seals. Further, the approach can reduce vehicle emissions for vehicles that have vacuum pumps. Further still, the vacuum pump may be lubricated without an oil pump supplying oil to the vacuum pump.
The above advantages and other advantages, and features of the present description will be readily apparent from the following Detailed Description when taken alone or in connection with the accompanying drawings.
It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure.

System and method for reducing vacuum degradation in a vehicle


Embodiments of the present invention relate to a novel compound of Formula (I) or stereoisomer, a tautomer, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, for use in treatment of infection caused by Gram-negative bacteria.

In susceptible individuals, certain Gram-negative bacteria can cause serious complications and infections, such as pneumonia, urinary tract infections, wound infections, ear infections, eye infections, intra-abdominal infections, oral bacterial overgrowth and sepsis. The treatment of serious bacterial infections in clinical practice can be complicated by antibiotic resistance. Recent years have seen a rise in infections by Gram-negative bacteria that are resistant to many types of antimicrobials, including broad-spectrum antibiotics such as aminoglycosides, cephalosporins and even carbapenems. This alarming trend highlights the need to identify new antimicrobials that are effective against Gram-negative bacteria, in particular against multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria.
Polymyxins are a class of antibiotics produced by the Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus polymyxa. First identified in the late 1940s, polymyxins, particularly polymyxin B and polymyxin E (colistin), were once used in the treatment of Gram-negative infections. However, these antibiotics exhibited side effects such as nephrotoxicity. Consequently, their use in therapy has been limited to treatments of last resort.

Isolated darobactin A analog compounds and compositions thereof


An image processing system comprises at least one image sensor comprising a plurality of sub-pixels, and configured to provide a first image plane from a group of first sub-pixels selectively sensitive to a first NIR light band and a second image plane from a group of second sub-pixels selectively sensitive to a second NIR light band. An NIR light source is capable of separately emitting first NIR light corresponding to the first NIR light band and second NIR light corresponding to the second NIR light band. The system can be configured to operate according to at least a first working mode where a face detector is configured to detect at least a first face in the first image plane and a second face in the second image plane at a spatially non-coincident location to the first face.

Face detection and tracking in real-time is well known in image processing, for example as described in European Patent No. EP2052347 (Ref: FN-143). These techniques enable one or more face regions within a scene being imaged to be readily delineated and to allow for subsequent image processing based on this information.
Such image processing can include face recognition which attempts to identify individuals being imaged; auto-focussing by bringing a detected and/or selected face region into focus; or defect detection and/or correction of the face region(s).
Concerning individual identification based on face features, A. K. Jain, A. Ross, and S. Prabhakar, "An introduction to biometric recognition," IEEE Trans. Circuits Syst. Video Technol., vol. 14, 2004 discloses that the iris of the eye is a near-ideal biometric. Typically, an image of an iris is best acquired in a dedicated imaging system that uses infra-red (IR) illumination, typically near infra-red (NIR) above 700 nm.
The iris regions are typically extracted from identified eye regions and a more detailed analysis may be performed to confirm if a valid iris pattern is detectable. For example, J. Daugman, "New methods in iris recognition," IEEE Trans. Syst. Man. Cybern. B. Cybern., vol. 37, pp. 1167-1175, 2007 discloses a range of additional refinements which can be utilized to determine the exact shape of iris and the eye-pupil. It is also common practice to transform the iris from a polar to rectangular co-ordinate system, although this is not necessary.
Detecting and tracking eyes or iris regions can also be used for determining gaze or a person's condition, such as fatigue or other health condition, which is especially useful in driver monitoring systems (DMS) integrated in vehicles.
Separately, most cameras and smartphones can identify specific patterns, such as 'eye-blink' and 'smile' in real-time tracked faces, and the timing of main image acquisition can be adjusted to ensure subjects within a scene are in-focus, not blinking or are smiling such as disclosed in WO2007/106117 (Ref: FN-149).
A common problem when capturing images within a scene is limited system dynamic range when acquiring differently illuminated subjects. In particular, regions of acquired images corresponding to bright regions of a scene tend to be overexposed, while regions of acquired images corresponding to dark regions of a scene tend to be underexposed.
This problem can particularly effect the acquisition with active illumination of faces within a scene extending over a significant depth of field within the scene, such as faces of occupants disposed at different rows within a vehicle being imaged from a camera located towards the front of the vehicle, for example, near a rear-view mirror. In particular, if the exposure is set for acquiring properly exposed images of faces near to the camera (which are more illuminated by a light source), the acquired images of faces distant from the camera (which are less illuminated by the light source) tend to be underexposed. Vice versa, if the exposure is set for acquiring properly exposed images of the distant faces, the images of the nearer faces tend to be overexposed.
A known solution to acquire an image with high dynamic range (HDR) is to capture a sequence of consecutive images of the same scene, at different exposure levels, for example, by varying the exposure time at which each image is acquired, wherein shorter exposure times are used to properly capture bright scene regions and longer exposure times are used to properly capture dark scene regions. The acquired images can be then combined to create a single image, where various regions within the scene are properly exposed.
It can be readily appreciated how this solution can be quite satisfactorily applied to scenes with static subjects, such as landscapes, while being impractical for capturing faces which are relatively close to the camera and which can move during consecutive image acquisitions, thus causing artefacts when attempting to construct an image of the scene. It should also be noted that it is not possible to acquire such sequences of variably exposed images using rolling shutter techniques.
From "High Dynamic Range Image Sensors," by Abbas El Gamal, Stanford University, ISSCC′02 (http://cafe.stanford.edu/˜abbas/group/papers and pub/isscc02_tutorial.pdf) it is further known to use an HDR CMOS image sensor with spatially varying pixel sensitivity. In particular, an array of neutral density (ND) filters is deposited on the image sensor so that, in a single captured image of a scene, sensor pixels associated with darker filters can be used to acquire bright regions of the scene and sensor pixels associated with lighter filters can be used to acquire dark regions of the scene. However, this document is not concerned about face acquisition and detection across an extensive depth of field within a scene, especially when using active IR illumination.

Multispectral image processing system for face detection


A multiplexer includes a common terminal connected to an inductance element at a connection path with an antenna element, filter elements including different pass bands and connected to the antenna element with the common terminal therebetween, and an inductance element arranged in series between a transmission filter with a largest capacitance when viewed from the antenna side among the filter elements and the common terminal. An inductive component of the inductance element and a capacitive component of the transmission filter element define an LC series resonant circuit, and a resonant frequency of the LC series resonant circuit is lower than any of pass bands of the filter elements.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multiplexer, a transmission apparatus, and a reception apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, cellular phones have required that a single terminal support multiple frequency bands and multiple wireless systems, that is, multiband and multimode terminals have been required. To this end, a multiplexer for separating high-frequency signals according to a radio carrier frequency (band) is arranged immediately below an antenna. As a plurality of band pass filters of a multiplexer, elastic wave filters exhibiting low-loss characteristics in a pass band and steepness near the pass band are used.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-332885 discloses a surface acoustic wave (SAW) demultiplexer in which two ladder SAW filters having different pass bands are connected to a common terminal. In the SAW demultiplexer, an impedance matching circuit including an inductor and a capacitor is arranged between an antenna and the common terminal.
Furthermore, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-104799 discloses a filter in which an acoustic resonator is arranged between a connection node of inductors connected in series and ground. With this arrangement, a notch filter with a high steepness is formed by an LC resonant circuit including the inductor and the capacitance of the acoustic resonator.
For a multiplexer having a small number of bands to be used, impedance matching between an antenna element and each signal path may be achieved by arranging an impedance matching circuit between the antenna element and a common terminal, as with the SAW demultiplexer described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-332885.
However, as the number of bands to be used increases, it becomes more difficult to achieve impedance matching for a plurality of filter elements using only the above-mentioned impedance matching circuit. Thus, adding, in addition to the above-mentioned impedance matching circuit, matching elements such as an inductor and a capacitor to individual filter elements, has been considered. In this case, however, a notch waveform formed by the LC resonant circuit described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-104799 may be unexpectedly generated within a pass band of the multiplexer. As a result, it becomes difficult to ensure low-loss characteristics in the pass band of the multiplexer.

Multiplexer, transmission apparatus, and reception apparatus


A system for determining performance data of plants growing in a field. The system comprises a mass flow meter for generating mass data related to the mass of plant product passed through the mass flow meter, and that is communicatively connected to a computer based data processing system; a temperature sensor for determining the temperature of the air adjacent the mass flow meter or within the mass flow meter, and that communicatively connected to the computer based data processing system, and a moisture sensor for determining the moisture of air adjacent the mass flow meter or within the mass flow meter, and that is communicatively connected to the computer based data processing system. The computer based data processing system is structured and operable to utilize the mass data, the air temperature and the air moisture to determine a yield of the plants from which the plant product was harvested.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
To accurately determine or identify the best performing plants in a breeding program (e.g., to accurately differentiate the yield between hybrids that are closely related, or between like hybrids that are treated with different treatments), the plants are typically tested, at some point, in field conditions, (e.g., tested in the respective test plots). In industrial research settings, seeds growing on plants in discrete test plots are harvested and then the seeds/grains that result are analyzed to determine one or more characteristics related to crop performance. Often, one of the characteristics used by plant breeders to make their selections is yield (i.e. the amount of grain, seed or other plant product produced/collected from a plant or plot).
Large breeding programs often face the challenge of collecting accurate data from millions of individual test plots in a single season, so the reliability of different yield data collection methods must be balanced with the rate of data collection. At least some known high-throughput yield sensing methods and systems include the use of mass flow meters with the capacity to estimate the amount of material flowing past a certain point in a pipe, chute, or other method/type of conduit. However, the quality and accuracy of data generated by such known systems and methods are insufficient for the needs of plant breeders.


In an active matrix substrate including an array of thin film transistors arranged in a matrix, source buses and gate buses formed on an insulating substrate, a contact pad is formed on the source buses and the gate buses so that a metal portion of these buses is exposed, in order to provide an access for probing to monitor the waveform of signals.

11. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an active matrix substrate comprising an array of thin film transistors formed on an insulating substrate, which constitutes an active matrix display device in combination with a liquid crystal as a display medium and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An active matrix liquid crystal display device employing a "chip on glass" (COG) method is known, in which driver ICs supplying drive signals to source buses and gate buses for a thin film transistor (TFT) array are directly mounted in the form of a chip on an insulating substrate on which the TFT array together with the source buses and the gate buses is formed.
FIG. 7 shows the above type conventional active matrix liquid crystal display device, which comprises a TFT array 2 formed with TFTs arranged in a matrix on a glass substrate 1. Source buses 20 and gate buses 21 running through the area of the TFT array 2 so as to be connected to each TFT are connected to a source bus driver IC 3 and a gate bus driver IC 4, respectively. These driver ICs 3 and 4 are also mounted on the glass substrate 1 in the form of a chip. A counter glass substrate 5 is placed over the whole area of the TFT array 2 with a liquid crystal portion 7 interposed therebetween.
FIG. 8 shows the structure of the source bus driver IC 3 mounted on the glass substrate 1 and connected with the source bus 20. The source bus 20 is covered with an insulating film 6 with an exception of an uncovered COG connection 30 where the source bus 20 is connected to the source bus driver IC 3. The COG connection 30 is positioned underneath the source bus driver IC 3, thereby protecting the uncovered metal of the source bus 20 from being exposed to the outside when the source bus driver IC 3 is mounted on the substrate. The gate bus driver IC 4 mounted on the glass substrate 1 and connected with the gate bus 21 has the same structure as the source bus driver IC 3 as described above.
Generally, in an active matrix liquid crystal display device, the quality of display may be degraded because of an electrical factor. In such a case, the waveform of a signal input to the source bus 20 or the gate bus 21 can be monitored and inspected during the drive of the liquid crystal panel having an area corresponding to the area occupied by the TFT array 2, so as to analyze the cause.
The monitoring of the signal waveform is normally performed by putting a probe in contact with the metal of the bus. However, in the above conventional active matrix liquid crystal display device, this monitoring during the drive of the liquid crystal panel is not possible, because, as described above, no part of the metal is exposed to the outside for providing an access for probing. The monitoring may be possible if the insulating film 6 covering the bus is partly removed to form an exposed metal portion on the bus. However, it is difficult to remove only the insulating film 6 from the metal, and further, if the insulating film 6 is successfully removed, it is also difficult to put the probe in contact with the bus which is fine and thin (width: 10 .mu.m, thickness: 400 nm) without causing troubles such as breakage and cutting.
The objective of the present invention is to provide an active matrix substrate in which the waveform of signals input to the buses can be easily monitored by visual probing without troubles such as breakage and cutting.

Active matrix substrate having a contact pad for detecting bus line signals


Ammonia, particularly aqueous ammonia is sequestered in unexpected large amounts on zeolite molecular sieves having high proportions of silica with respect to alumina in their crystal frameworks. While conventional adsorption mechanisms are to some degree involved, it is apparent from the fact that the characteristic odor of ammonia is not detectable by the human sense of smell over the ammonia-loaded adsorbents indicates that other mechanisms are operable. These properties provide the basis for processes and products which are useful in removing ammonia from an environment to alleviate health hazards or unpleasant odor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the sequestration of ammonia, and more particularly to the process for removing ammonia from a liquid or gaseous medium by contact with a crystalline molecular sieve having certain physical and chemical properties hereinafter elucidated. The invention also relates to molecular sieve compositions suitable for use in the process.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Ammonia is a colorless gas with a pungent odor which in small concentrations in the atmosphere is merely objectionable for its assault on the olfactory sense organs, but in larger concentrations is toxic and harmful to animal tissue. Ammonia in concentrations as low as 20 ppm (volume) is detectable by the human sense of smell, and at concentrations of as low as 100 ppm becomes irritating as an odor and can bring tears to the eyes. Ammonia gas is extremely soluble in water particularly at ambient room temperature and below. At 0.degree. C for instance, one volume of water dissolves 1298 volumes of gaseous ammonia. At 20.degree. C a lesser but still substantial 710 volumes of the gas are dissolve. Whereas hazardous levels of ammonia presence are ordinarily encountered in industrial environments, the merely objectionable, i.e. malodorous, concentrations of ammonia are usually encountered as the product of bacterial action on nitrogeneous organic matter, particularly animal excretia.
Being a highly polar compound, the adsorption of ammonia, either from gas streams or aqueous media, has long been carried out using a wide variety of adsorbent media. Commonly employed solid adsorbents include activated charcoal or active carbon, silica gel, activated alumina, kieselguhr, fullers earth and other clay minerals, and zeolites of both the crystalline and the amorphous types. A mixture of alfalfa, bentonite clay and a binder is proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,789,799 for adsorbing and neutralizing odors of animal waste matter. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,437,429, the use of a hydrated zeolite in admixture with clay is proposed as being particularly useful for the control of odors from pet litter, it being observed that the use of zeolites by themselves as litter material has generally been unsuccessful due to their poor water adsorption properties as compared with clays. For the adsorption of certain odors from animal litter using a mixture of clays and zeolites, it is proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 4.437.429 that the zeolite constituent not only be employed in its hydrated state, but also that the water of hydration be the original water of hydration. It is said to be not sufficient that water is added to a previously heat-treated zeolite from which the original water of hydration was driven off.
In general, when zeolites have been utilized for the suppression of ammonia or other odors, the preferred species have been those with a low framework Si/Al ratio and high degree of adsorption capacity for water or other highly polar molecules such as ammonia or hydrogen sulfide. The disclosure of the aforesaid U.S. Pat. No. 4,437,429 is somewhat remarkable for its specific disclosure of may of the class of so-called high silica zeolites which are synthesized using organic templating agents such as the tetraalkylammonium ions. These include ZSM-5. ZSM-11, ZSM- 12 and ZSM-23. The preferred zeolite species is the natural mineral clinoptilolite, however, which has a nominal framework SiO.sub.2 /Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 molar ratio of about ten. It has also been proposed, U.S. Pat. No. 4,648,977, to use high-silica molecular sieves, including the silica polymorph silicalite, to adsorb toxic organic materials, from aqueous media for water purification purposes, but for the removal of dissolved ammonia it has been the common practice to utilize high-alumina zeolites such as clinoptilolite, eronite, mordenite, ferrierite, zeolite L, zeolite T, zeolite W, zeolite F and synthetic mordenite, for two reasons. Firstly, the large number of cationic sites in the high alumina zeolites increased the number of cations which could be ion exchanged with ammonium ions, ion exchange being considered the principal mechanism involved. Secondly, the adsorptive capacity of zeolites for molecules having a high permanent dipole moment was believed to be enhanced by the electromagnetic environment within the zeolite void space produced by the arrangement of the cation sites of the zeolite structure.

Process for sequestering ammonia and the odor associated therewith


A shopping cart with a frame basket member, with a floor and a contiguous wall extending vertically from the floor. There are a pair of substantially U-shaped carrying handles with ends that are pivotally attached to the upper frame member. The handles pivot between a raised position for carrying, and a lowered position. There is also a main handle with ends that are pivotally attached to the upper frame member. The main handle pivots between a raised position for carrying, and a lowered position where the handle rests around the basket member. There are a pair of support members attached to the floor of the cart and a pair of wheel supports attached to the floor opposite the support members. The wheel supports have an attached wheel shaft and a wheel.

Many offerings exist by which groceries may be carried through a store. The devices offered, however, do not solve all problems associated with maneuverability and convenience. When a basket with handles is used, the shopper cannot accommodate the addition of larger items. When a larger wheeled cart is used, the shopper sacrifices maneuverability.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shopping cart for use in connection with carrying groceries or other sundries. The shopping cart has particular utility in connection with providing an efficient and easy method of maneuvering through crowded store aisles while shopping.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of shopping carts is known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,906,383 to Cortes discloses a home shopping cart. However, the Cortes '383 patent does not provide the ease of carrying of the present invention, and has further drawbacks of not being as maneuverable as the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,294,158 to Cheng discloses a collapsible handcart that can be used for shopping. However, the Cheng '158 patent does not have the ease of carrying of the present invention, and additionally is not as maneuverable as the present invention.
While the above-described devices fulfill their respective and particular objects and requirements, they do not describe a shopping cart that provides the advantages of the present invention; therefore, a need exists for an improved shopping cart, particularly one that includes the ease of use when shopping for a small quantity of groceries as the present invention, while allowing the user to carry as a basket or wheel as a cart if desired.
In this respect, the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art.