Knockdown furniture for an infant, having enhanced folding workability and safety for an infant. The knockdown furniture (1) for an infant has a frame (11) which forms a space for receiving an infant, and the frame (11) is provided with frame members (30, 40, 50) and a bottom plate (60) placed below the frame members (30, 40, 50). The frame members (30, 40, 50) can be folded into a flat shape lying along the bottom plate (60), and the frame members (30, 40, 50), which are folded into the flat shape lying along the bottom plate (60), and the bottom plate (60) can be integrally folded on each other.

Conventionally, there has been proposed knockdown furniture for an infant (play yard, play pen) that forms a sleeping space or a playing space for an infant. The knockdown furniture for an infant includes a hollow rectangular parallelepiped main body, and only an upper surface of the main body is opened. An infant can be placed into the main body from the opened upper surface, and the infant is surrounded by the main body and is safely protected. A flat bed plate can be attached in the main body in a suspended manner, and the infant can be laid down on the upper surface of the bed plate. Further, when the knockdown furniture for an infant is not used, it can be folded and stored. When the knockdown furniture is to be used, it can be assembled and used. In this way, the knockdown furniture for an infant has an advantage such that both a playing space and a sleeping space for an infant can be easily formed, and when it is not used, it can be folded and a space for installing the knockdown furniture can be effectively utilized.
A specific structure for such conventional knockdown furniture for an infant is explained below. That is, a rectangular parallelepiped main body includes four vertical frames, four upper lateral frames connected to upper portions of the vertical frames, and four lower lateral frames connected to lower portions of the vertical frames. Side sheets are provided between adjacent vertical frames, and a bottom plate is provided between the lower lateral frames.
A central portion of each upper lateral frame in its longitudinal direction can be folded downward. Therefore, when the knockdown furniture for an infant is not used, a bottom plate is first detached from the main body, the upper lateral frames are folded downward from their central portions, thereby collecting the four vertical frames to a central position as viewed from above, and the knockdown furniture for an infant can be folded. Further, when the knockdown furniture for an infant is to be used, the vertical frame is pushed and spread laterally outward, the central portion of each upper lateral frame is brought upward and is returned straightly, and the bottom plate can be attached to the main body (see Patent Document 1, for example).
Patent Document 1: U.S. Pat. No. 7,043,779 Specification


A delivery device for a single- or multiphase fluid having a tubular body for axially guiding the fluid, including a motor stator arranged outside the tubular body and a delivery element arranged within the tubular body, comprising a motor rotor. A rotor gap is formed between the delivery element and the hollow body for allowing the fluid to pass through. Mounting arrangements are fixedly disposed in axial direction on each side of the delivery element within the tubular body. Hub gaps are formed between the delivery element and the mounting arrangement. First permanent magnet bearing elements are disposed in the mounting arrangement and second permanent magnet bearing elements are disposed in the delivery element. The first and the second permanent magnet bearing elements functionally work together and are magnetized in axial direction and have opposite polarity. Position sensors associated with each of the first permanent magnet bearing elements and a stabilizer is disposed around the hollow body.

The invention relates to a device for delivering single-phase or multiphase fluids without altering the properties thereof.
Especially less stable multiphase fluids, for example emulsions and dispersions, which can experience irreversible changes by an energy insertion, can disadvantageously get during the delivery in corresponding devices, like pumps, into instable areas.
A very sensitive fluid system is blood. This opaque red body liquid of vertebrate animals circulates in a closed vascular system, wherein the rhythmical contraction of the heart presses the blood into the different areas of the organism. In this case the blood transports the respiratory gases, which are oxygen and carbon dioxide, as well as nutrients, metabolic products and body own substances. In this case, the blood vascular system including the heart is hermetically sealed from the environment, so that the blood experiences no changes in the healthy organism, when it is pumped via the heart through the body.
It is known, that the blood tends, when contacting with materials foreign to the body or through foreign energy affect, to a haemolysis and a thrombi formation. The formation of thrombi can be deadly for the organism, as they lead to a clogging up in the far branched vascular system. Haemolysis describes the condition, that the red blood cells are lysed destroyed further than the physiological degree. The causes for the haemolysis could be mechanical or metabolical. Increased haemolysis causes multiple organ damage and can lead to the death of the human being.
On the other hand it has been shown, that it is principally possible to support the pump capacity of the heart under specific constructive conditions or even to replace the natural heart by an artificial heart, but a constant operation of implanted heart support pumps or artificial hearts is at the moment only limitedly possible, as the interaction of these artificial products with the blood still lead to disadvantageous changes of the blood.
In the known State of the Art different development directions of blood pumps are distinguishable. Heart support pumps and artificial hearts can be designed starting from the required pressure difference and the volume flow, as well as the displacement principal as a so-called pulsating pump or according to the turbo principle as a radial or axial flow device. At the moment these three named designs are developed in parallel. The flow devices show because of the high capacity density of this type of devices smaller dimensions than piston devices. Within the group of pumps, which function according to the turbo principal, the axial pump variant is as a rule smaller than the radial variant. A turbo device can be designed generally for the given pressure difference and the given volume flow very differently, for example as an axial or a radial pump with greatly different rotational speeds.
The axial blood pumps known from the State of the Art, comprise generally an outer cylindrical pipe, in which a delivery element rotates, which is formed as a rotor of a motor stator arranged outside and which, therefore, transports the blood in an axial direction. The support of the delivery element is a problem. A purely mechanical support is disadvantageous because of the damage of the blood and even because of the relatively high friction values. Also the up-to-now described magnet bearing types have not lead to a satisfactory solution.
From Kawahito et al.: In Phase 1 Ex Vivo Studies of the Baylor/NASA Axial Flow Ventricular Assist Device, in: Heart Replacement Artificial Heart 5, pages 245-252, Springer Verlag Tokyo 1996, Publisher T. Akutso and H. Koyagani, an axial blood pump according to the state of the art for the support of an ill heart is known, which can be implanted into the chest area of a patient. The axial blood pump has a rotating impeller with a blading, which is supported within a blood carrying pipe and is driven by means of an electric motor.
For this the impeller is formed as a rotor of the electric motor and is coupled by means of magnets mounted on the blading with the stator of the electric motor fast with the housing. An axial and a radial support of the rotor takes place via a toe bearing , in which the rotor is supported point-by-point on bearing elements arranged in the flow. Such an arrangement is also known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,957,504.
The known blood pump has the disadvantage, that the to be delivered blood experiences in a considerable extent a traumatisation and damage. In this case the danger lies generally in the formation of thrombi. The reason for this lies essentially in the formation of wake areas of the bearings.
A further disadvantage is undoubtedly the limited endurance of the mechanical bearing because of wear.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,779,614 discloses an implantable axial blood pump, which consists of an outer cylindrical pipe and a rotor hub rotating in this pipe for the blood delivery. The rotor is magnetically supported and carries at the same time the rotor magnets of the drive and the impeller blades. The magnetically supported rotor forms with the stator blading mounted on the outer pipe long, narrow gaps. The arrangement of two motor-stator-combinations respectively on the ends of the pump shall stabilize the positioning of the rotor. The positioning in the direction of the axis is stabilized by another pair of magnets, which shall take up the axial forces of the rotor as well. Although a relatively wide annular gap for the fluid flow is provided and with the magnetic bearing of the rotor important development goals for the implantable blood pump concerning a compact design and free from sealing and support problems can be aimed at, the blood pump has great disadvantages concerning the function and the structural design of the pump. The exceptionally long narrow gaps between the rotor hub and the stator blades on the stator increase the danger of a blood damage by high velocity gradient of the gap flows. The arrangement of two motors required for the rotor stabilization is designwise cumbersome. Furthermore, the rotor is not form-fittingly secured in the axial direction and is therefore a residual risk.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,385,581 also discloses an axial blood pump with magnet bearing. The bearing magnets arranged in the rotor and in the stator area are charged with an opposing polarity.
Disadvantageously this leads to the breakdown of the pump, when the bearing fails. Furthermore, it is disadvantageous that no so-called post guide lattice is provided, i.e. the total pressure is produced by the impeller, and the residual spin energy remains in the flow.
A further axial blood pump with magnetic bearing is known from WO97/49 440. The magnetic bearing is carried out at the conically formed rotor ends of the rotor, which forms the impeller. The fixedly arranged pole shoes are arranged opposite to the rotor ends, which pole shoes guide the flow of the permanent magnets. The bearing necessitates an active stabilization with at least four stabilization coils in axial as well as in radial direction. In a further variant the bearings with radially magnetized permanent magnet rings with changing magnetization direction are proposed, which are indeed difficult to control.
From WO 98/11 650 a further axial blood pump with a so-called bearingless motor is known. The xe2x80x9cbearinglessxe2x80x9d motor is a combination of a motor and a magnetic bearing. The position of the rotor is stabilized passively by permanent magnets with reference to three degrees of freedom translation in the x-direction, tipping in the x- and y-direction. The passive stabilization is achieved by a permanent magnetic rotor ring, which is surrounded on the stator side by a soft iron ring. Control and driving coils, which are connected to the soft iron ring, allow a drive with reference to three degrees of freedom. The low bearing stiffness requires additional measures. Furthermore, a bearing stabilization is necessary in the x- and y-direction, which leads to a great extent of measuring technology to be applied and can result in a high heating of the pump because of the active coils.
For the delivery of chemical fluids an axial propeller pump is known from EP-A 0 856 666. The delivery element is magnetically supported between two mounting elements, which are attached in a tubular hollow body with the retention of an annular gap. The delivery element forms the rotor of a motor, which stator is arranged externally of the tubular hollow body. The magnetic bearing is achieved in the radial direction by radial magnetized permanent magnets and in the axial direction by means of electromagnetic coils, which as far as possible are decoupled from these. Radially magnetized permanent magnets necessitate a defined minimum size and small air gaps.
Therefore, the delivery gap can only be very small, which in the here present delivery task (propeller pumps produce a high pressure at a small delivery volume) which is not a hindrance for other pumps, but, however, is especially not acceptable for blood pumps.
Furthermore, the complete axial rigidity, which is very high compared to the radial rigidity because of the delivery pressure of the to be delivery medium, has to be exerted by the stabilization coils, which requires a specific current value, which leads to a corresponding energy demand and to heating. The control of the axial position slows down with increasing current value, so that the pump is only suitable for pulsating delivery tasks to a limited extent.
It is the object of the invention to provide a device for the gentle delivery of single or multiphase fluids of a simple structural design, which does not or only inconsiderably change the to be delivered fluid in its characteristics, in which wake areas and vortexing of the to be delivered fluid are minimized and a pulsating delivery is enabled.
The object is solved according to the characterizing features of claim 1.
Preferred and advantageous embodiments of the invention are given in the sub-claims.
According to this the delivery element is supported free of contact between the mounting elements, respectively separated to each by a hub gap, by means of permanent magnetic bearing elements, which are arranged in the mounting elements as well as in the delivery element, which functionally work together and which magnetic acting faces are opposed to each other and are magnetized in the axial direction and poled oppositely. Sensors for the positional detection and stabilizers for the positional correction are arranged in the mounting elements and on or in the wall of the hollow body.
The device according to the invention achieves a simple design. The permanent magnetic bearing elements necessary for the magnetic bearing, are additionally arranged to the permanent magnetic elements of the motor rotor directly on the delivery element. The magnetic bearing takes up advantageously the axial as well as the radial forces. The axial stabilization offers an active control of the axial position of the delivery element, wherein annular coils, arranged on the front face of the delivery element, produce an axial magnetic flow, which superimposes the axial magnetic flow of the permanent magnetic bearing elements and serves for the control of the axial position.
The rotor gap, which has to be provided between the external face of the delivery element and the inner face of the tubular hollow body, has to be designed in such a way, mat the motor losses as well as the flow losses generated by the gap are minimized Hereby it is important, that the generated motor losses are increasing the flier away the motor rotor is arranged from the motor stator. A smaller rotor gap on the side of the motor is to be seen as advantageous. On the other hand a smaller rotor gap leads, however, to larger friction losses of the flow and therefore, is technologically disadvantageous concerning the flow. A suitable compromise for blood pumps lies for example in the named rotor gap width of 0.5 to 2.5 mm.
An advantageous embodiment of the invention consists in that further sensors for the determination of the instantaneous blood volume flow and for the instantaneous pressure difference generated by the pump are integrated in the hubs of the axial blood pump and/or in the walls of the tubular hollow body. Both measuring values are present in the controller of the delivery device for the variance comparison and therewith opens the possibility for a control of the delivery process in the sense of a physiological optimal pulsating delivery, adapted to the natural heart action by means of a time dependent rotational speed change of the rotor or of a pulsating pump optimized in the sense of a lower energy consumption and also realised by a time dependent rotational speed change.
In a preferred way the mounting elements are formed as fluid guide units with fluid blades. Because of this flow losses are minimized.
In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention means are provided on the front face of the rotor hub, which deliver radially the fluid present in the hub gap between the fluid guide unit and the delivery element to the outside, for example radial blades, grooves, bulgings or convex formations.
A further advantageous embodiment of the invention consists in that an axially extending bore is provided in at least one of the fluid guide units, through which the to be delivered fluid passes, and which serves, that fluid present in the hub gap between the fluid guide unit and the delivery element is transported radially to the outside.
Both prementioned embodiments influence the radial pressure distribution and produce compensation flows for the prevention of dead water areas in the hub gap between the front faces of the fluid guide unit and the delivery element.
In a further embodiment of the invention the delivery element, especially the rotor hub, has two blades distanced in the axial direction. Herewith a so-called tandem grid is formed. The pressure increase to be produced by each blading row is advantageously reduced. Furthermore, this special arrangement of the rotor of the delivery device limits additionally the disturbing tipping movement of the same.

Device for delivering single-phase or multiphase fluids without altering the properties thereof


Novel 1-substituted 1H-imidazo-[4,5-c]quinolin-4-amines are disclosed. These compounds function as antiviral agents, and they are potential synthetic intermediates in the preparation of known antiviral agents and labeled known antiviral agents. This invention also provides intermediates for preparing such compounds, pharmaceutical compositions containing such compounds, and pharmacological methods of using such compounds.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to 1H-imidazo[4,5-c]quinoline compounds. More particularly, this invention pertains to antiviral 1H-imidazo[4,5-c]quinolin-4-amine compounds, intermediates for the preparation of such compounds, pharmaceutical compositions containing such compounds, and pharmacological methods of using such compounds.
2. Description of the Related Art
The first reliable report of the 1H-imidazo[4,5-c]quinoline ring system, Backman et al., J. Org. Chem. 15, 1278-1284 (1950), describes the synthesis of 1-(6-methoxy-8-quinolinyl)-2-methyl-1H-imidazo[4,5-c]-quinoline for possible use as an antimalarial agent. Subsequently, syntheses of various substituted 1H-imidazo[4,5-c]quinolines have been reported. For example, Jain et al., J. Med. Chem. 11, pp. 87-92 (1968), has synthesized the compound 1-[2-(4-piperidyl)ethyl]-1H-imidazo[4,5-c]quinoline as a possible anticonvulsant and cardiovascular agent. Also, Baranov et al., Chem. Abs. 85, 94362 (1976), has reported several 2-oxoimidazo[4,5-c]quinolines, and Berenyi et al., J. Heterocyclic Chem. 18, 1537-1540 (1981), has reported certain 2-oxoimidazo[4,5-c]quinolines.
Certain 1H-imidazo[4,5-c]quinolin-4-amines are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,689,338. These compounds are substituted on the 1-position by alkyl, hydroxyalkyl, acyloxyalkyl, benzyl, phenylethyl or substituted phenylethyl, and are useful as antiviral agents. Furthermore, these compounds are known to induce interferon biosynthesis.

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company


An inverter for use with a brushless generator for operating the generator in generating and starting modes includes an interphase transformer (IPT) having first and second end terminals and a mid-tap, a first subinverter coupled between a rectifier and the first end terminal of the IPT and a second subinverter. Contactors are operable in the generating mode for coupling a main generator portion armature winding to the rectifier and the second subinverter between the rectifier and the second end terminal of the IPT. The contactors are operable in the starting mode for coupling a source of power to the rectifier, the IPT mid-tap to the main generator portion armature winding and the second subinverter between the rectifier and an exciter field winding of the geneator. A control unit is operable in the generating mode for operating the subinverters such that substantially constant-frequency AC power is produced at the mid-tap at the IPT and is further operable in the starting mode such that AC waveforms are delivered to the exciter field winding and the main generator portion armature windings so that the generator is operated as a motor.

In a variable-speed, constant-frequency (VSCF) power conversion system, a brushless, synchronous generator is supplied variable-speed motive power produced by a prime mover and develops variable-frequency AC power at an output thereof. The variable-frequency power is rectified and provided over a DC link to a controllable static inverter. The inverter is operated to produce constant-frequency AC power, which is then supplied over a load bus to one or more loads.
Usually, such VSCF systems must provide a high level of load current, and hence switches used in the inverter must be high power devices and/or be connected in parallel. High power switching devices are expensive and somewhat difficult to control. Parallel-connected power switches encounter problems due to current sharing, and hence this approach is not entirely satisfactory as an alternative.
Heintze, U.S. Pat. No. 3,943,429, Honbu et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,549,258 and Mizoguchi, U.S. Pat. No. 4,802,079 disclose polyphase inverters wherein each phase comprises first and second subinverters having outputs interconnected by a reactor such as an interphase transformer or a choke. A mid-tap of the reactor is coupled to a load. The switches of such inverters are subjected to only a fraction of the load current, and hence devices of smaller current rating can be used. Also, the reactor eliminates problems arising from current sharing.
As is known, a generator can be operated as a motor in a starting mode to convert electrical power supplied by an external AC power source into motive power which may in turn be provided to the prime mover to bring it up to self-sustaining speed. In the case of a brushless, synchronous generator having a permanent magnet generator (PMG), an exciter portion and a main generator portion mounted on a common shaft, it is necessary to provide power developed by an external power source at a controlled voltage and frequency to armature windings of the main generator portion and to provide field current to the main generator portion via the exciter portion so that the motive power may be developed.
Dhyanchand, co-pending application Ser. No. 07/408,928, filed Sept. 18, 1989 and assigned to the assignee of the instant application (Sundstrand Docket No. B03265-ATl-USA) discloses a VSCF system of the above-described type having a set of three exciter field windings which are connected in a wye configuration in a starting mode of operation. During operation in a generating mode of operation, two of the exciter field windings are connected in parallel and the remaining winding is connected in series with the parallel combination. The same windings may therefore be used in the starting and generating modes. AC power for the exciter field windings during operation in the starting mode is obtained from an external AC power source, a rectifier coupled to the external AC power source and an exciter power converter coupled to the rectifier. During operation in the generating mode, DC exciter power is obtained from the PMG, an autotransformer which steps down the PMG armature voltage level, a rectifier and a power converter which may form a part of the exciter power converter.
Shilling, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,743,777 discloses a starter generator system using a brushless, synchronous generator. The system is operable in a starting mode to produce motive power from electrical power provided by an external AC power source. An exciter of the generator includes separate DC and three-phase AC field windings disposed in a stator. When operating in a starting mode at the beginning of a starting sequence, the AC power developed by the external AC power source is directly applied to the three-phase AC exciter field windings. The AC power developed by the external AC source is further provided to a variable-voltage, variable-frequency power converter which in turn provides a controlled voltage and frequency to armature windings of a main generator. The AC power provided to the AC exciter field windings is transferred by transformer action to exciter armature windings disposed on a rotor of the generator. This AC power is rectified by a rotating rectifier and provided to a main field winding of the generator. The interaction of the magnetic fields developed by the main generator field winding and armature windings in turn causes the rotor of the generator to rotate and thereby develop the desired motive power.
When the generator is operated in a generating mode, switches are operated to disconnect the AC exciter field windings from the external AC source and to provide DC power to the DC exciter field winding.
Messenger, U.S. Pat. No. 3,908,161 discloses a brushless generator including three exciter field windings which are connected in a wye configuration and provided three-phase AC power during operation in a starting mode. The three-phase AC power induces AC power in an exciter armature winding which is rectified and applied to a main generator field winding. Main armature windings receive controlled AC power to in turn cause rotation of the generator rotor. Thereafter, the three exciter field windings are connected in series and provided DC excitation when operating in a generating mode.


A method and apparatus to perform Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) operations on a data block using a plurality of different n-bit polynomials is provided. A flexible CRC instruction performs a CRC operation using a programmable n-bit polynomial. The n-bit polynomial is provided to the CRC instruction by storing the n-bit polynomial in one of two operands.

A polynomial is a mathematical expression of one or more algebraic terms, for example, "a+bx+cx.sup.2", each of which consists of a constant (a, b or c) multiplied by one or more variables (x) raised to a nonnegative integral power. A fixed size remainder of binary division of a data block by an n-bit polynomial may be used to verify that there were no transmission errors when transmitting the data block from a source to a destination. An n-bit polynomial applied to a data block of arbitrary length detects any single error burst that is less than or equal to n bits.
The fixed size remainder is computed for a data block at a source and is transmitted with the data block. The n-bit polynomial is applied to the received data block at the destination to re-compute the fixed size remainder. The recomputed fixed size remainder is compared with the fixed size remainder transmitted with the data block to verify that there were no transmission errors.
A Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) is a term that is given to both a fixed size remainder (a residue of binary division of an arbitrary length data block by a fixed size polynomial) and the function to produce the fixed size remainder.
Although the following Detailed Description will proceed with reference being made to illustrative embodiments of the claimed subject matter, many alternatives, modifications, and variations thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, it is intended that the claimed subject matter be viewed broadly, and be defined only as set forth in the accompanying claims.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Instruction-set architecture for programmable cyclic redundancy check (CRC) computations


Techniques are proposed for animating a deformable object. A geometric mesh comprising a plurality of vertices is retrieved, where the geometric mesh is related to a first rest state configuration corresponding to the deformable object. A motion goal associated with the deformable object is then retrieved. The motion goal is translated into a function of one or more state variables associated with the deformable object. A second rest state configuration corresponding to the deformable object is computed by adjusting the position of at least one vertex in the plurality of vertices based at least in part on the function.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of computer-based animation, in particular, to motion control of active deformable objects.
Description of the Related Art
Computer generated animation typically involves simulating the locomotion of various objects, such as characters and other virtual actors, in a virtual space. Many objects are articulated, in that such objects include a rigid internal structure that includes the equivalence of bones and joints. Accordingly, this rigid internal structure forms a virtual "skeleton" for the articulated objects. Such objects, such as humanoids and animals, may be animated via physics-based locomotion controllers that translate high-level commands, such as "walk left," "crouch," or "jump," into sequences of joint torques that yield the desired behavior. Deformable objects, on the other hand, are generally passive, in that the objects have no such internal rigid structure to which joint torques may be applied. Examples of deformable objects include jelly-like creatures, walking carpets, singing candelabra, or water-pail-carrying broomsticks.
Such a passive deformable object may be animated using physics-based simulation by applying external control forces to the deformable object in order to achieve desired motion objectives. These external forces do not typically sum to zero and may have non-vanishing rotational components. As a result, these external forces may change linear and angular momenta related to the deformable object in arbitrary, non-physical ways, which may lead to unrealistic motion. For example, animating a deformable object by applying external forces may yield motion similar to that of a marionette controlled by an invisible puppeteer.
Alternatively, a deformable object may be fitted with an internal rigid structure, essentially providing a "skeleton" for the deformable object. Joint torques may then be applied to that internal structure, as is done for articulated objects. As a result, the deformable object moves in response to forces applied to the joints of the internal structure. However, the resulting motion is restricted to what is achievable by articulating the internal structure. Such motion may be substantially less than the motion available to the original deformable object that is not fitted with the internal structure.

Motion control of active deformable objects


A method of preparing an adhesive wound dressing, the dressing comprising a central portion and an edge portion, the method comprising the steps of providing a support layer, drawing the support layer into a mold and dispensing a portion of uncured adhesive over the mold, distributing the adhesive in the mold and removing excess adhesive. The adhesive is cured and the support layer is detached from the mold. The central portion is provided with a plurality of through-going holes and an absorbent pad is placed on the non-adhesive side of the central portion and finally a backing layer is laminated to the absorbent pad and the edge portion of the support layer.

An adhesive dressing is typically composed of an adhesive which is coated on a backing layer and the dressing is typically further provided with an absorbent layer e.g. in the form of an absorbent pad. Such an adhesive dressing should have adhesion suitable for firmly adhering the dressing to the skin and subsequently easily removing it from the skin. Furthermore, the dressing should have high water vapour permeability to avoid skin damage because it is directly attached to the skin, in which high water vapour permeability can promote wound healing.
Conventionally, the adhesive of dressings has the pressure-sensitive adhesive coated onto an entire surface of the backing layer. Thus, conventional dressings are disadvantageous in terms of low water vapour permeability, due to the coated adhesive per se, regardless of the water vapour permeability of the backing layer. That is, even though a backing layer having high water vapour permeability is used, the adhesive coated on the entire surface of the backing layer may prevent water vapour permeation, whereby the water vapour permeability of the dressing is reduced.
Wound dressings comprising soft adhesives, such as for example silicone, polyurethane or acrylate based adhesives are popular due to their softness. These soft adhesives are often solvent based and manufacturing dressings with these usually includes a drying or curing step and limited opportunity of modelling the adhesive after these steps.
Most of the known coating methods with such adhesives can only coat one uniform thickness at one time and the amount of waste in the process may be substantial.
If the absorbent pad is directly attached to the middle of the coated backing layer, the adhesive area between the absorbent pad and backing layer is largely wasted as it is not used for adhesion to the skin as intended. The adhesive, though formulated for good properties for skin contact, may not have the optimal properties for attaching the absorbent pad. For attachment of the absorbent pad, a cheaper or more effective adhesive or attachment method may be used.
An exposed absorbent pad on a backing layer requires good anchorage to the backing layer, especially when wet and heavy due to being soaked with exudate. By good anchorage is meant that absorption of moisture does not cause the absorbent pad and the backing layer to delaminate.
An exposed absorbent pad surface facing the wound side maximises the exudate absorption when in place. However, longer term placement (such as for a period longer than 3-5 days) on the wound may lead to ingrowth of tissue of the healing wound onto the absorbent core surface or more difficult removal, which in turn irritates the wound.
To overcome the removal problem, contact layers of less adhering nature are known. These contact layers are often thin films or gel layers having perforations to expose the absorbent core.
Another function of the contact layer may be to support and hold the absorbent core in position.
There is a need to simplify and improve the processes of dressing construction with different patterns and thicknesses of the different parts of the adhesive layer. There is a need to maximize the contact area to skin but minimize the coverage of the backing film.


Provided are compositions comprising unequal mixtures of (R)-amisulpride and (S)-amisulpride, or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, where the amount of (R)-amisulpride is greater than the amount of (S)-amisulpride, compositions and medicaments comprising the same used for the treatment of various diseases and disorders, and methods of using same for the treatment of various diseases and disorders, including, but not limited to, dosage regimens. In addition, provided are various formulations thereof, including, but not limited to, formulations employing polymorphs of enantiomeric amisulpride.

Amisulpride is a member of the chemical class benzamide, and has the chemical name 4-amino-N-[(1-ethylpyrrolidin-2-yl)methyl]-5-ethylsulfonyl-2-methoxy-benzamide. The chemical structure of amisulpride is as follows:

There is a need for better treatments of psychiatric and mood disorders, including bipolar disorder and in particular depression associated with bipolar disorder. For example, psychiatrists indicate that about 25% of patients across all bipolar disorders are refractory during a manic episode, while about 70% are refractory during a depressive episode. Thus, there is a need for drugs that remit depressive symptoms in bipolar patients.
Dopamine receptor antagonists are one class of drugs used to treat psychiatric disorders, however efficacious D2 occupancy levels are also related to deleterious side effects. A need also therefore exists for central nervous system drugs (CNS) and in particular psychiatric drugs for the treatment of depression and diseases and disorders with a depressive component, that provide a therapeutic effect with no or reduced side effects and in particular side effects associated with dopamine D2 receptor occupancy.
Racemic amisulpride is sold under the tradename SOLIAN® as 400 mg tablet and as a solution for the treatment of acute and chronic schizophrenic disorders, in which positive symptoms (such as delusions, hallucinations, thought disorders) and/or negative symptoms (such as blunted affect, emotional and social withdrawal) are prominent, including patients characterized by predominant negative symptoms, with a recommend total daily dose of 400-800 mg. However, movement related adverse events including tremor, rigidity, hypokinesia, hypersalivation, akathisia, dyskinesia are listed as "very common" in the label for racemic amisulpride in the 400-800 mg/day dosage range. Such as extrapyramidal symptoms are commonly associated with antipsychotic drugs employing dopamine receptor blockade. Typically, extrapyramidal symptoms are observed at high dopamine receptor occupancy, e.g., at about 70-75% occupancy. Other side effects associated with racemic amisulpride include prolongation of the QT interval and increase in prolactin which may lead to galactorrhoea, amenorrhoea, gynaecomastia, breast pain, erectile dysfunction. Therefore, there is need for better psychiatric drugs with reduced side effects.
A need exists for an amisulpride composition which has reduced adverse events and a greater safety profile. A further need exists for an amisulpride composition which can effectively treat bipolar symptoms accompanied with depression more effectively than current formulations. A still further need exists for an amisulpride formulation which is optimized to antagonize the D2 dopamine receptor associated with bipolar symptoms and separately optimized to antagonize the 5-HT7 serotonin receptor associated with symptoms of depression.


Disclosed herein are embodiments of beds and components thereof. In one embodiment, a bed comprises a frame; a plurality of adjustable members, each coupled to the frame, and each of the plurality of adjustable members adjustable to individual positions; one or more sensors coupled to one or more of the adjustable members; and a controller, the controller configured for receiving input from the one or more sensors and determining at least one adjusted sleep setting for the occupant. The controller is further configured to control the plurality of adjustable members and adjust each of the plurality of adjustable members according to the at least one adjusted sleep setting. The adjustable members may comprise struts, slats, or a combination thereof.

Quality of sleep is essential to good human health and well-being. Many types of beds have been developed, including mattresses and box springs, water beds, air mattresses, and memory foam mattresses, e.g. Mattresses and box springs comprising spring systems with coverings of pliable foam layers and possibly other materials have been in use for many years and are widely available. Many approaches and enhancements to beds and bedding have also been developed including mattress top coverings that include specially formed materials and foam to improve comfort. A wide range of materials, coverings, and configurations of blankets, sheets, pillows, and other bedding accessories are available.
In spite of a wide diversity of beds that are available, serious problems exist for substantially all types and configurations. Mattresses including spring systems sag over time and bugs (especially bed bugs), mites, human secretions, and other infestations and contaminants build up. Hence, many bed systems are not hygienic because there is no convenient way to launder, clean, or otherwise restore them. While a mattress with heavy coverings may be warm and cozy in the winter months, a lighter mattress covering that allows air to pass may be far more comfortable in the heat of summer. Conventional spring mattresses are also large and bulky, making them hard to store and move.
Water beds are heavy, create damage if a leak or rupture occurs, and some persons have difficulty sleeping in them due to the motion of the water. Water beds normally include a heating system to warm the water in them that normally takes several hours to establish a requested temperature. Hence, while the water bed temperature is usually adjustable, a person may find a given temperature not comfortable and would need to wait several hours for the water bed to adjust. For at least the foregoing reasons, water beds are generally impractical for use in hotels.
Air mattresses are normally not preferred for bedding as they don't allow air to pass, resulting in a warm and sweaty sleeping environment. In addition, some persons are unable to find comfortable sleeping positions on air mattresses.
Some mattresses include viscoelastic foam. Viscoelasticity provides both viscous and elastic properties that enable a mattress to conform and support a person sleeping on it. The viscous nature of the material is sensitive to temperature and is normally configured so that the warmth of a person's body causes the viscoelastic foam to yield and conform; however, air does not easily pass through, making the mattress too warm for some persons, and viscoelastic mattresses are also susceptible to contaminations and infestations. Further, viscoelastic foam mattresses are generally heavy and also expensive relative to a conventional spring mattress.
A key problem with all existing types of mattresses and beds is that while they may be tailored to persons of specific heights, weights, body shapes, and other personal aspects; it is impossible for them to be optimized for all persons. Hence, a mattress that provides stiffer springs in the region of a person's back for better back support of larger and heavier persons cannot help but generate an uncomfortably too stiff feeling for other persons who are smaller and lighter. Adjustable beds may provide some accommodations for certain sleeping positions, but if a person changes position the bed may need to be re-adjusted. Accordingly, adjustable beds substantially retain the issues with the various types of mattresses that they may be used with, and also tend to be heavy and expensive to produce.

Automated bed and method of operation thereof


An apparatus for detecting corpuscles such as blood cells. The apparatus has an aperture and a constant-current source that supplies an electrical current to the aperture for detection of corpuscles. When corpuscles to be investigated pass through the aperture, the electrical impedance changes, producing a signal (herein referred to as the corpuscle signal). The apparatus further includes a pseudo signal-generating means for producing a pseudo signal in the form of pulses. The pseudo signal has a peak value proportional to the amplitude of the input current and is equivalent to the corpuscle signal detected when the corpuscles pass through the aperture. A signal selector means is disposed among the aperture, the constant-current source, and the pseudo signal-generating means. The signal selector means assumes either a first state or a second state. In the first state, the current from the power supply is supplied to the pseudo signal-generating means, and the pseudo signal produced by the pseudo signal-generating means is supplied to the aperture. In the second state, the current from the power supply is supplied to the aperture.

A known corpuscle-detecting apparatus passes a liquid sample containing blood cells or other corpuscles through an aperture in a detector portion and detects individual corpuscles, based on the difference in electrical impedance between the liquid and each corpuscle.
FIG. 12 is a block diagram of such a corpuscle-detecting apparatus. This apparatus comprises a detector portion 102 having an aperture 101. A power supply 100 supplies a constant current to the aperture 101. Individual corpuscles are detected by the detector portion 102. The output signal 103 from this detector portion 102 is sent to an amplifier circuit 104, a waveform-processing circuit 106, an A/D converter circuit 108, and a data-processing circuit 110 which are disposed behind the detector portion 102. The signal is processed in these circuits in given manner, and the number and the sizes of the corpuscles are detected.
The corpuscle-detecting apparatus is required to adjust the sensitivity thereof and to check or monitor the operation of the circuits. Such adjustment and checking or monitoring has been done by the prior art techniques in the manner described below.

Corpuscle-detecting apparatus having sensitivity adjustment


Alkali metal source comprises a powder of silicon or germanium grains having a shell of a compound of silicon or germanium and the alkali metal.

The invention relates to a device for releasing metal vapour from a powder of an alkali metal, and also relates to a method of manufacturing such a device.
Such devices (dispensers) are used, for example in tubes comprising photocathodes (brightness intensifiers, X-ray image intensifiers) and photomultiplier tubes to deposit a thin layer of the metal, for example, on the cathode so as to decrease the work function of the electrons emitted by the cathode. This type of dispenser may also be used in display tubes comprising semiconductor cathodes.
A device of the type mentioned in the opening paragraph is described in GB No. 1,265,197 in which the powder comprises an alkali chromate such as cesium chromate. When heated the chromate powder is decomposed so that pure cesium is released.
One of the drawbacks of such a device is that the dimensions of the pulverulent grains of the chromate are so small that the powder exhibits poor flow properties, making it difficult to fill the holders in a regular manner and making it difficult to manufacture the dispensers in a reproducible manner.
A second drawback is the emission of unwanted gases during the supply of the alkali metal. Such dispensers often comprise silicon and zirconium-aluminium in addition to the chromate for binding oxygen which is released during the decomposition reaction. Zirconium-aluminum in particular emits adsorbed hydrogen and hydrocarbon gases at the decomposition temperature of the various alkali chromates (700.degree.-800.degree. C.). Also the envelope, which usually consists of nickel-chromium steel, emits these gases, notably carbon-containing gases; particularly the latter gases have a detrimental influence on the operation of photocathodes and semiconductor cathodes.
Moreover since, the alkali metal is supplied by decomposition temperature, the supply of the alkali metal is difficult to control or is not controllable at all.


A vacuum cleaner has a nozzle with an opening and a vacuum pump connected to draw dirt laden air into the opening from exteriorly of said vacuum cleaner. A shield is movably mounted to the vacuum cleaner to have a first position at which a first part of the opening is blocked from passing air and a second position at which a second part of the opening is blocked from passing air. The first part of the opening may be downwardly directed and the second part may be forwardly directed. The shield may be pivotally mounted to the nozzle.

While many types of vacuum cleaners are available for efficiently and easily cleaning horizontal undersurfaces, conventional devices are not readily adaptable to the cleaning of vertical surfaces. Thus, for example, in order to clean the risers of carpeted stairs with most conventional machines, it is necessary for the operator to physically rotate the entire machine and suspend it while urging it horizontally against the riser. In a solution to this problem suggested in U.S. Pat. No. 4,397,060, the nozzle is pivotally mounted to the hand part of the machine, so that the operator may hold the handle in the normal position while cleaning a riser. This arrangement, however, requires a pivotal interconnection between major elements of the device in order to effect the rotation of the entire nozzle.
The present invention is therefore directed to the provision of a vacuum cleaner that overcomes the above disadvantages of known machines.
An object of the present invention is to provide a light-weight, portable, vacuum cleaner having an adjustable shield which can pivoted from one position to another whereby the nozzle opening is changed in orientation in order to vacuum both stair steps and risers, as required.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a hand-held vacuum cleaner having means for changing the flow path of dirt-laden air therein and in which a closable opening is present for providing easy access to the drive belt for replacement purposes.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a hand-held vacuum cleaner which is reliably effective for the purposes intended.

Vacuum cleaner with adjustable nozzle shield


In an operating method for a hob having a plurality of heating elements, an operating action for a heating element, such as heating with an additional region on the cooktop or invoking a parboiling step, is selected in an initial step by providing input to a general input sensor element that is not associated with any specific heating element. In a subsequent step, the selected operating action is allocated or associated with a specific heating element by operating a cooking element specific sensor element, for example when setting the power level for that heating element. Therefore, sensor elements can be provided with an advantageous multiple-use effect for general operating actions. Furthermore, the operating sequence permits simple and convenient operation.

Normally, putting into operation an electric heating appliance, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,734,377, takes place by first switching on the complete appliance. For operating purposes, the operating elements are so-to-speak used as switches. This is followed by the selection of a hotplate to be put into operation either by actuating a specific selection switch, or actuating a so-called "plus or minus" switch (which increase or decrease the power levels) specifically provided for said hotplate. The hotplate is then operated with the power level set.
The problem addressed by the present invention is to provide an alternative to an otherwise conventional operating method, which can be performed equally easily and instinctively.

Method for operating a heating device of an electric heating appliance having a plurality of heating devices


The present invention provides a flexible hose for connecting a fuel manifold to a burner of a gas turbine engine. The flexible hose includes a metal convolute tube, an elongate member or members located in grooves formed in the inner surface of the convolute tube, and a pressure-containing sheath outside the convolute tube. The flexible tube has end connectors fluidly-tightly joined to respective ends of the hose for connection at one end of the hose to the fuel manifold of the gas turbine engine, and at the other end of the hose to the burner of the gas turbine engine.

A gas turbine engine has combustion equipment including a plurality of burners which receive fuel from a fuel manifold and direct the received fuel into one or more combustors. In general, flexible hoses are used to connect a rigid fuel manifold to the burners. The hoses allow the burners to move independently of the manifold, e.g. due to vibration and differential thermal effects.
A problem with such flexible hoses is that coke may build-up inside the hose, leading to restrictions or blockages which may disrupt flow within the hoses. Coking is the deposition of solid particulate matter, usually carbon, produced by heat-induced degradation of the fuel.
A known approach to try to prevent build-up of coke inside a hose includes using a multi-layer hose construction as follows:                1) Outer braid layer        2) E-glass layer        3) Pressure-containing braid        4) Fuel-carrying polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) tube
In such a construction, the PTFE tube forms the fuel-contacting, inner surface of the hose. The low coefficient of friction of PTFE can reduce build-up of coking inside the hose. However, PTFE-containing hoses are susceptible to overheating due to the relatively low thermal conductivity of PTFE. Additionally, PTFE degrades at elevated temperatures above approximately 350° C. Therefore, PTFE-containing hoses are not suitable for use at very high temperatures.
End connectors for connecting to a manifold and a burner may be joined to the hose by crimping the connectors to respective ends of the hose. In particular, being a mechanical process that does not require heating of the hose, crimping is compatible with PTFE-containing hoses. However, the reliability of crimped joints may be variable, raising a concern that crimped end connectors may lose fluid-tightness.


The present invention relates to attachment mean (1) for connecting plane components in dry construction, in particular for fixing two-dimensional construction material to a metallic substructure, having a shaft (2) on one end region of which a point (3) and on the other end region of which a head (4) are formed, a fine thread (5) being formed on the shaft (2) in order to increase extraction values of the attachment means (1), at least in regions, a number of grooves (6) being provided on the shaft (2) which extend substantially parallel to the central axis (X) of the shaft (2).

The present invention relates to attachment means, in particular a screw nail, for connecting plane components in dry construction, in particular for fixing plane construction material to a metallic substructure, the attachment means having a shaft on one end region of which a point and on the other end region of which a head are formed, a fine thread being formed on the shaft in order to increase extraction values of the attachment means, at least in some regions.
These types of attachment means are generally known and are often called screw nails. With temporary use screw nails according to the prior art can often no longer be removed from the components to be connected. With attempts to turn-out screw nails according to the prior art it could be observed that the thread in the thin holding plates of the metallic substructure often slips, and that one can not grip the screw nail in the holding plate. In those regions where plasterboard or wooden panels are attached over metal substructures made of thin sheet metal, with the screw nails according to the prior art it is only possible with difficulty to unscrew the screw nails which have been used from the components.
However, in the prefabricated house industry whole house walls are fully assembled on the factory floor. After positioning the house at the building site the installers must often open up individual parts of the prefabricated walls in order to lay their cables or pipes correctly. For this purpose it must be possible to partially remove the plaster and wooden elements again which are already attached. If the screw nails used cannot be removed sufficiently, this often leads to the panels being damaged, and this in turn leads to increased temporal and financial expenditure.
In document DE 70 29 451 a screw nail is described on which a fine thread is provided in order to increase the extraction values of the screw nail and which is overlaid by a steeply extending, multi-threaded steep thread. The steep thread is formed by grooves arranged in helical lines which are designed such that the screw nail turns into the components to be connected when driven in. By providing the steep thread it should be possible, as the screw nail penetrates, for the material thus displaced to pass into the steep thread. At the same time, it should be possible due to the fine thread for shearing processes of any type, and so destruction of the structure of the material to be connected, to be prevented. In this way it should be possible with a further turn of the screw nail driven in for a thread to be cut into the material remaining in the steep thread by the fine thread so that it should be possible to release the screw nail and also to reinsert it.
However, it has been shown by trials that when specifically using wooden materials or also plaster boards, this effect does not occur. It was not actually possible to form a thread in these connection partners by turning the screw nail. Therefore in dry construction it could be observed that with the materials predominantly used a screw nail according to the prior art can only be insufficiently unscrewed since only the metallic substructure has sufficient strength in order to form a thread therein. Since, however, due to the helically formed design of the grooves the screw nail, when inserted, penetrates into the material by rotation, the region of the sheet metal to be penetrated is almost totally chipped away by the screw nail in accordance with its circumference or the material is totally displaced. Consequently, the connection is only held by the material displaced by the screw nail being inserted in the insertion direction pressing against the shaft from the outside. Subsequent cutting of a thread in the material of the substructure is not possible, however, because the shaft and the fine thread of the screw nail presses the material to the side or does not even come into contact with it, and so the screw nail rotates in the construction material.
A further problem which occurs when attaching plasterboard or wooden panels onto metal substructures made of thin sheet metal is that the attachment means connects insufficiently to the supporting substructure, and this leads to a loose connection which cannot assume any holding function. These screw nails incorrectly inserted into the material are therefore removed in practice. Upon removing the screw nails the effect also often arises that the nails cannot be screwed back in and turn blankly, and this has a negative effect with incorrect insertions.
In order to avoid this and to provide a screw nail which is also suitable for use with plane construction material such as Rigips plasterboards or wooden panels and a metallic substructure such as, for example, a sheet metal structure, it is proposed in document DE 31 07 403 C1 to improve the hold of the screw nail in the sheet metal structure by it being provided with a synthetic coating up the end of its insertion part. In this way it should be possible for the insertion end with the synthetic coating to interlock into the edges of the hole in the sheet metal substructure. For this purpose the threaded region of the screw nail is driven totally through the substructure until a thread-free region of the shaft provided with a synthetic ledge is pressed into the sheet metal substructure which, due to the clamping which is established between the synthetic and the sheet metal, prevents the nail from being pulled out of the substructure unintentionally.
The injection of an appropriate synthetic around the screw nail increases the costs of production of the screw nail on the one hand due to the increased time requirement and on the other hand due to the increased material requirement.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide attachment means which are inexpensive to produce and, by maintaining reliable anchoring to the supporting metallic substructure, provides release of the attachment means if so required.
This object is achieved according to the invention in that a number of grooves are provided on the shaft which extend substantially axially to a central axis of the shaft.
The axis-parallel alignment of the grooves makes it possible for the attachment means to be driven into the material combination to be connected by means of an automatic nail gun device substantially without any rotational movement. Thus, providing the grooves aligned axis-parallel to the shaft it is possible for small material projections to retain in the connection region with the substructure when the attachment means penetrate into the metallic substructure in accordance with the design and number of grooves. Upon unscrewing the attachment means, these material projections provide a grip for the fine thread formed in the shaft. When turning the attachment means in the sheet metal structure the fine thread can cut thread turns into the material projections. Consequently the attachment means do not turn through the sheet metal but grip onto the material projections and can be unscrewed from the connection region again.
In order to be able to guarantee uniform unscrewing of the attachment means from the connection region, for example by means of an appropriate electric screwdriver, it can be advantageous to arrange the grooves evenly distributed over the peripheral surface of the shaft. Of course an asymmetrical arrangement of the grooves is also conceivable.
In one exemplary embodiment of the present invention the grooves are arranged such that they extend from the point along a section of the shaft which coincides with the metallic substructure.
Due to the fact that the grooves can reduce the extraction values of the attachment means, the grooves should have the smallest possible width, ideally so that the bars forming in the substructure do not buckle when inserting the screw nail.
For this reason it can also be advantageous to form the grooves, not over the whole length of the shaft, but only in the region which coincides with the metallic substructure, i.e. for example from the tip to the end of the region which comes into contact with the metallic substructure when knocking in the screw nail.
The grooves can have a semi-circular, V-shaped or U-shaped cross-sectional profile here. Other embodiments of the cross-sectional shapes of the groove are also conceivable.
In order to enable particularly smooth-running and simple unscrewing of the attachment means from the material combination to be connected, in one exemplary embodiment the fine thread is provided with self-cutting thread flanks.
One preferred embodiment proposes designing the fine thread as a flat saw tooth thread in order to increase the extraction values. Here the flat fine thread can be a double thread.
In order to also be able to insert the attachment means into metallic substructures with a sheet metal thickness of between 0.5 mm and 1.5 mm, in a further exemplary embodiment it is heat-treated, and in particular austempered.

Attachment means for connecting plane material combinations in dry construction


A method of hunting for a communication channel in a communication system where a plurality of communication lines each have a plurality of communication channels includes the steps of maintaining a record of current channel statuses of the communication channels with respect to all the communication lines, and distributing busy channels evenly among the communication lines by selecting a communication channel based on the record of channel statuses and assigning the selected communication channel to a call.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a method of hunting for a communication channel and a device operating based on the method, and particularly relates to a method of hunting for a communication channel and a device operating based on the method where the method hunts for a PCM communication channel in a communication system comprised of a plurality of PCM communication lines.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 is an illustrative drawing showing a network access device and a switch in a communication system. FIG. 2 is an illustrative drawing showing two switches in a communication system.
In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a switch 10 includes PCM-communication-line control devices 11, a network switch 12, subscriber circuits 13, a signal processing device 15, a central controller 16, a main memory 17, and a bus 18.
In FIG. 1, each of the PCM-communication-line control devices 11 is connected to a network access device 21 via a PCM communication line 20. In FIG. 2, each of the PCM-communication-line control devices 11 is connected to another switch 22. The subscriber circuits 13 are directly connected to subscriber terminals 14. Each PCM communication line 20 has a capacity for 30 different communication channels, for example. In the configuration of FIG. 1, the network access device 21 transmits a call-transmission signal or a call-disconnection signal to the switch 10 via a PCM communication line 20 when such a signal is received from a subscriber terminal connected to the network access device 21. The switch 10 attends to control of the call.
Under the control of the central controller 16, the network switch 12 switches communication lines. The signal processing device 15 receives a call-transmission signal or a call-disconnection signal from a subscriber terminal 14 or from the network access device 21, and searches for or hunts for an available channel in a PCM communication line 20. If a channel is available, the signal processing device 15 allocates the channel to the communication channel of a subscriber who initiated the call. If all the channels are busy in a given PCM communication line 20, a search is conducted with respect to another PCM communication line 20. Then, an available channel that is found is allocated to the communication channel of the subscriber who initiated the call.
When a subscriber initiates a call, there may be a communication channel in a PCM communication line 20 where the communication channel was selected on a previous occasion in response to the subscriber""s previous call. In such a case, a search for an available channel is started from a channel next following the previously selected communication channel in this PCM communication line 20. If an available channel is found, the signal processing device 15 allocates the channel to the communication channel of the subscriber who initiated the call. If all the channels are busy in a given PCM communication line 20, a search is conducted with respect to another PCM communication line 20. Then, an available channel that is found is allocated to the communication channel of a subscriber who initiated the call.
For the purpose of hunting for a channel in an environment where a plurality of PCM communication lines are provided, typically, channel statuses as to whether the channels are available are controlled separately for each PCM communication line. When a subscriber initiates a call, a search for an available channel is conducted in a PCM communication line. If an available channel is found, the channel is allocated to the communication channel of the subscriber who initiated the call. If all the channels are busy in this PCM communication line, a search is conducted in another PCM communication line. When an available channel is found, the channel is allocated to the communication channel of a subscriber who initiated the call. Alternately, an initial search for an available channel may be started from a channel next following a previously selected channel that was chosen for a previous call.
In such a channel hunt method as described above, a channel of a second PCM communication line is allocated in response to a call when all the channels of the first PCM communication line are busy or all the channels next following the previously selected channel in the first PCM communication line are busy. Because of this, a PCM communication line which is currently allocated to calling subscribers tends to have more busy channels than other PCM communication lines. If this PCM communication line suffers failure, many numbers of calls are terminated.
Further, when a PCM communication line is to be shut down for the maintenance purpose, shutting down is not performed until all the channels become non-busy. It takes time to shut down a PCM communication line that is allocated to calling subscribers since such a line has a larger number of busy channels than other lines.
Accordingly, there is a need for a channel hunt method and a device based on such a method which can reduce the number of calls to be terminated at the time of failure of a PCM communication line, and can shorten a time period required for shutting down a PCM communication line.
Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide a channel hunt method and a device based on such a method which can satisfy the need described above.
It is another and more specific object of the present invention to provide a channel hunt method and a device based on such a method which can reduce the number of calls to be terminated at the time of failure of a PCM communication line, and can shorten a time period required for shutting down a PCM communication line.
In order to achieve the above objects according to the present invention, a method of hunting for a communication channel in a communication system where a plurality of communication lines each have a plurality of communication channels includes the steps of maintaining a record of current channel statuses of the communication channels with respect to all the communication lines, and distributing busy channels evenly among the communication lines by selecting a communication channel based on the record of channel statuses and assigning the selected communication channel to a call.
The method as described above distributes busy channels evenly among the communication lines, so that concentration of busy channels in a particular communication line can be avoided. This reduces the number of calls that are to be terminated at a time of communication-line failure, and shortens a time period required for closing a communication line.
In order to distribute busy channels evenly among the communication lines, according to one aspect of the present invention, the communication channels have channel numbers assigned thereto, and the communication lines have line numbers assigned thereto, wherein the step of distributing the busy channels includes the steps of searching through the record for an available channel having a search channel number by checking the communication lines in an ascending order of the line numbers, repeating the search by successively incrementing the search channel number from a smallest channel number to a largest channel number until the available channel is found, and assigning the available channel to the call.
According to the present invention, there are at least three other variations of the communication-channel-hunt method that achieves even distribution of busy lines. These three variations and the particular variation that was described above may be provided as one set, and a selection may be made among the four variations to perform a search of a desired type to look for a communication channel in a desired manner.
Other objects and further features of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Method and device for hunting for communication channel


Methods and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for monitoring resource transfer are provided. One of the methods includes: by a server, receiving a resource deposit request from a resource deposit initiator; performing, using a first risk identification model, a first risk identification on the target account according to the resource deposit request to obtain a first risk identification result; receiving a resource withdrawal request from a resource withdrawal initiator, and the resource withdrawal request requesting a resource withdrawal from the target account to the recipient account; performing, using a second risk identification model, a second risk identification on the target account according to the resource withdrawal request to obtain a second risk identification result; and determining, using a third risk identification model, a resource transfer risk monitoring result of the target account according to the first risk identification result and the second risk identification result.

At present, the rapid development of mobile payment technologies has brought great convenience to people's daily lives, but also creates the possibility of cyber fraud for cybercriminals. Internet fraud activities increase, and fraud crimes emerge endlessly. According to statistics, thousands of fraudsters are disposing resources each day, and each fraudster involves about dozens of victims. For example, cases such as the Xu Yuyu's telecommunications fraud have also aroused public concern and reflection.
Currently, a main management and control manner for Internet fraud and disposal activities is as follows. Verification and management and control are performed on victims' reports and complaints, but usually fraudsters quickly transfer resources and complete disposal in a short time. Therefore, in a process of receiving a complaint from a victim and determining a fraud activity, a fraudster has disposed and transferred resources to an account. In this case, timeliness of performing management and control is poor, fraud and disposal activities of the fraudster cannot be promptly prevented and controlled, and consequently resource transfer by the fraudster cannot be promptly prevented.
It can be learned that in the existing technologies, post-event management and control is performed only on a complained fraud activity, there is no real-time monitoring for resource transfer, and timeliness of performing management and control on fraud and resource disposal activities is poor.

Resource transferring monitoring method and device


A method and system for performing at least one transaction on at least one column of a table in a database system is disclosed. The method includes determining whether a first transaction of the at least one transaction fulfills all of at least one criteria. The method further includes ensuring that the at least one column is in a shared numeric lock if the first transaction fulfills all of the at least one criteria, wherein the shared numeric lock is a lock that allows at least a second transaction fulfilling all of the at least one criteria to access the same column concurrently with the first transaction without releasing the shared numeric lock between transactions, and wherein the shared numeric lock is released only after all of the transactions fulfilling all of the criteria have completed processing. The method further includes processing the first transaction.

Database systems are used for a variety of applications. FIG. 1 depicts a portion of a conventional database system 10 used by a client 20. The database system includes a processor 12 having a local memory 14 and a storage subsystem 15, typically disks. The database system 10 typically stores data in the form of tables, such as the table 16. The table 16 can be considered to have one or more pages 17 and be organized in columns 18 and rows 19.
FIG. 2 depicts a conventional method 30 for performing transactions using the database system 10. Transactions are typically provided to the database system 10 in the form of statements, for example in structured query language (SQL). Transactions may include one or more statements for performing a variety of operations including but not limited to additions, subtractions, other changes or updates to the information stored in the table 16, requests for information, and other operations. The conventional method 30 typically commences after a transaction, or statement, has been provided to the database system 10 for processing.
Locks are obtained on portions of the table 16 for the transaction, via step 32. Typically, a row lock is obtained for a row 19, in step 32. However, in other conventional methods, the granularity of the lock may change. For example, instead of row locking, page or table locking can be performed. The transaction is processed to completion, via step 34. Thus, step 34 includes performing any commit statement necessary to write information to the disks in the storage subsystem 15. The locks, such as the row locks, are released, via step 38. Processing of another transaction may be performed, via step 38. Step 38 may thus repeat steps 32-36 for another transaction.
Although the conventional method 30 functions, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that in many cases, it is inefficient. Many database systems 10 manage large amounts of data and undergo a large number of operations to a particular row 19 or column 18 in the table 16. For example, in banking, inventory tracking, credit card, or reward systems (e.g. frequent flier) applications, only one or two columns 18 in the table 16 are frequently changed. For example, suppose that the table 16 relates to a banks credit card or other accounts. The table 16 may thus have columns 18 for account holders' names, account holders' addresses, the account type, and the balance of the account. The columns 18 relating to the account holder's name and address change infrequently. In contrast, columns 18 relating to the balance in the account, or the stock of a particular item on hand for an inventory table, change frequently. For a bank having many customers, the column relating to the account balance may be subject to numerous transactions hourly. Moreover, many of the transactions that change such columns share common characteristics. Such transactions are not tied to a specific value of the data in the column. In particular, addition and subtraction operations, otherwise known as credit and debit operations, do not depend upon the balance in the column for which the addition or subtraction operations are used. When such operations are completed using the conventional method 30, each addition and subtraction must wait for the release of the locks in step 36 prior to beginning processing. Stated differently, statements in transactions that attempt to access the same row and column that are already accessed by statements in another transaction must wait for the lock to be released prior to commencing. Consequently, performing such operations on a table 16 may take a significant amount of time to complete.
Accordingly, what is needed is a method and system for more efficiently performing transactions such as addition/subtraction (or credit/debit) transactions in a database system. The present invention addresses such a need.


An RF receiver coil arrangement for the reception of measuring signals from a measuring sample in the measuring volume of an NMR spectrometer comprising an RF resonator having superconducting, inductively and capacitively acting conducting structures, which form resonant circuits, on planar substrate elements and which are disposed about the measuring sample, is characterized in that each individual current-carrying resonant circuit on the planar substrate element produces a magnetic field in the center of the measuring volume, which is parallel to the plane of the planar substrate element, on which the individual resonant circuit is located, wherein the deviation from parallelism, does not exceed 40 degrees. This introduces a new class of superconducting NMR resonators which better meet the technical requirements than those of prior art.

This application claims Paris Convention priority of DE 101 18 835.8 filed on Apr. 17, 2001 the complete disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
The invention concerns an RF (=radio frequency) receiver coil arrangement for receiving measuring signals from a measuring sample in the measuring volume of an NMR (=nuclear magnetic resonance) spectrometer, comprising an RF resonator having superconductive, inductively and capacitively acting conductive structures, which form resonant circuits, which are disposed on planar substrate elements, and which are disposed externally around the measuring sample.
An arrangement of this type is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,585,723.
NMR is a very powerful and exact method for analyzing the structure of chemical compounds. Unfortunately however, it is not very sensitive. For this reason, it is of central interest in NMR to provide resonators which have as high a detection sensitivity as possible, i.e. as high a signal to noise (S/N) ratio as possible. The use of cooled and in particular superconducting radio frequency resonators permits the losses in the resonator to be kept very small thereby considerably increasing the sensitivity.
HTS material is currently the most suitable superconductor. This material has a high transition temperature and, compared to other superconductors, is very insensitive to static magnetic fields. These advantageous properties are obtained only when the superconductor is made from very thin epitaxial layers which are formed on oriented monocrystalline substrates. Since such substrates are normally only available as flat plates, the geometric shape of the resonators is constrained to be in the form of flat plates, thereby considerably limiting the possible geometric arrangements.
The substance to be measured is normally a liquid enclosed in a measuring tube usually at room temperature, which is separated from the cold NMR resonator (at approximately 20K) by an intermediate tube and a vacuum chamber.
Such arrangements are known e.g. from U.S. Pat. No. 5,585,723. Superconducting receiving resonators have the following principal problems. The static magnetization produced by the superconductor can cause field inhomogeneities which substantially prevent the generation of narrow lines in high-resolution NMR. Moreover, the finite critical current in the superconductor limits the maximum coil current for the transmitter pulse, thereby complicating or impeding short pulse widths for a predetermined NMR flip angle.
As mentioned above, the sensitivity of the resonator, i.e. its S/N ratio, plays a primary role in NMR. It depends on the volume integral of the term B1(x,y,z)/sqrt(P), wherein B1 designates the high frequency field which is produced by the resonator at the location x, y, z when provided with power P. If the contributions of the currents in the conductors all have identical values, the conventional equation P=Rxc2x7I2 can be inserted for the power P, wherein the term in the volume integral becomes B1(x,y,z)/Ixc2x7sqrt(R). This means that the larger the B1 field produced by the resonator per unit current I and the smaller the overall loss resistance R of all conducting paths, the higher the sensitivity.
The NMR resonator must not only have high sensitivity but its conductors must also carry large currents to permit production of as high B1 fields as possible during the transmitting phase. High B1 fields permit short transmitter pulses for obtaining a given desired NMR flip angle. Such short transmitter pulses are highly desirable in NMR for various reasons which will not be discussed herein. Although resonator sensitivity allows optimum conversion of the current into a B1 field, this is not sufficient in and of itself. The current should also be as high as possible. This, in turn, depends i.a. on the critical current of the superconductor and on the width of the conductor. The geometry of the resonator should therefore be such that those conductors which are mainly responsible for producing the B1 field are as broad as possible and can carry the full critical current.
A further parameter which is of major importance to the NMR spectrum is the resolution. The resolution substantially depends on the relative line width which can be obtained for the NMR signal which, in turn, depends on the homogeneity of the stationary magnetic field H0 in the active region of the measuring sample. Since the static magnetism of the superconducting material in the resonator can have a strong negative effect on the homogeneity of the H0 field due to the short separation of the superconductor from the measuring sample, the surfaces of the individual superconducting conducting elements must be specially designed. One solution of prior art provides for the subdivision of all conductors into narrow strips to minimize the influence of magnetism to the greatest possible extent.
The Q of the resonator is also an important value which can influence the NMR spectrum. It should not be too high in order to keep transient and decay processes, mainly caused by the transmitter pulses, short for minimizing undesired artifacts in the NMR spectrum. Since the Q value is equal to the ratio xcfx89L/R, i.e. the impedance of the overall inductance of the resonator, divided by the overall resistance of all conducting paths, the inductance L of the resonator should be as small as possible for a given resistance R. This can be obtained by keeping only those inductances which are mainly responsible for generating the B1 field in the measuring sample, and by reducing or compensating for all others to the extent possible.
Moreover, the resonator should permit a second resonator to be mounted as close to the measuring sample as possible such that its magnetic field is orthogonal to that of the first for minimizing magnetic coupling between the two resonators. The resonance frequencies of the two resonators can either be the same or different. Of these two options, the latter is usually chosen and the second resonator serves to excite and/or receive signals from a second type of nucleus. Orthogonal resonator arrangements of this type are often used in NMR for special experiments.
In particular, two types of resonators are known, i.e. the coplanar Helmholtz resonator (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,585,723) and the hybrid resonator (see U.S. Pat. No. 6,121,776).
Coplanar Helmholtz Resonator
This resonator consists of two planar resonant circuits in a Helmholtz arrangement (see FIGS. 7 and 8) which are tuned to the same resonance frequency f0 and which produce two resonant modes due to their strong inductive coupling, one below and the other above f0. The mode with the lower resonance frequency is the only one which can produce a homogeneous B1 field in the measuring volume. The other mode produces a highly inhomogeneous field and can therefore not be used as an NMR detector.
The opening angle xcex1 of the resonant circuit arrangement is usually selected to be 120xc2x0 (see FIG. 7) to obtain the best homogeneity of the B1 field.
Since the coil consists exclusively of superconducting material, the losses are very small and the sensitivity could be very high were it not for other impairing factors. In particular, the planar geometry prevents the conducting paths from being placed in the direct vicinity of the measuring sample, therefore producing a correspondingly smaller B1 field at the location of the measuring sample. The sensitivity is consequently reduced.
The structure of each of the two resonant circuits is shown in FIG. 9. All conductors perform a dual function, namely generation of both the resonance inductance and the resonance capacitance of the resonant circuit. It can be shown that the largest possible average current through such conductors is only half of the critical current for the superconductor should the individual conductors have the same widths. The maximum B1 field which can therefore be obtained is likewise only half the size of the highest theoretically possible field. However, one would like to operate at the full critical current.
If, as is usually the case, the same resonator is also used for transmitting the excitation pulses, it is very important to obtain as high a current in the conductors as possible and therefore a maximum B1 field since this determines the pulse width needed to obtain a desired NMR flip angle. Moreover, that pulse width should be as small as possible. The B1 field is halved by the effect described in the previous paragraph and is further reduced by the relatively large distance between the conductors and the measuring sample.
The large dimensions of the two resonant circuits caused by the planar geometry also causes the inductance of this resonator to be many times greater than the minimum possible inductance. These resonators have Q values of 30,000 and more. This leads to transient and decay processes, mainly caused by the transmitter pulse, which are of excessive time duration and which therefore cause distortions in the base line and generate undesired artifacts in the NMR spectrum.
The large size of the resonator has the additional consequence that there is little free space for providing additional resonators in the vicinity of the measuring sample. Moreover, the resonator conductors are located close to the shielding and are magnetically and electrically coupled thereto, thereby causing additional losses.
Hybrid resonator
This resonator is preferably designed as a birdcage resonator. It is constructed from massive superconducting conducting paths disposed in an optimized fashion around, and parallel to the axis of, the measuring sample. These conducting paths are capacitively connected to each other at both ends of the conducting paths via a normal-conducting, tubular element.
Since the conducting paths are disposed in close proximity to the measuring sample and act nearly purely inductively, without having to serve a capacitive function, they can carry the full critical current. These two factors allow the maximum B1 field which can be generated in the sample volume to assume an optimum value. This resonator type also allows correspondingly optimum short pulse widths for a desired NMR flip angle.
Compared with the Helmholtz resonator which has purely superconducting resonant circuits, the overall loss resistance R of the hybrid resonator is slightly higher and its overall inductance L is much smaller, since the conducting paths closely surround the measuring sample. This produces a quality factor Q=xcfx89L/R which is considerably smaller and therefore better than that of the Helmholtz resonator.
Although one might expect the higher overall losses of the hybrid resonator to produce a worse S/N ratio, this effect is compensated, or even overcompensated, by the fact that the conducting paths are located much closer to the measuring sample and therefore produce a much larger B1 field. In certain cases, S/N ratios which are higher than those of a Helmholtz resonator can be obtained.
The very compact construction permits optimum installation possibilities, in particular for measuring samples having large diameters, with which the amount of remaining free space can be very limited. However, for smaller diameters of the measuring sample, the somewhat complicated construction has structural limits.
In summary, the NMR resonator should have the following five important features:
1) It should have optimum sensitivity.
2) It should generate the desired NMR flip angles during the transmitting phase with as short pulse times as possible.
3) Its influence on the homogeneity of the stationary Ho field in the region of the measuring sample should be as small as possible.
4) Its Q should not be too high, such that the transient and decay processes mainly caused by the transmitter pulses can be kept short to prevent generation of excessive artifacts in the NMR spectrum.
5) Its geometrical design should be such as to provide the space required for optimum installation of one or more orthogonal resonators.
Departing therefrom, it is the underlying purpose of the present invention to present a new class of superconducting NMR resonators which satisfy the above-mentioned requirements to present an improvement over prior art.
This object is achieved in accordance with the present invention in a surprisingly simple and effective manner in that each individual current-carrying resonant circuit on the planar substrate elements generates a magnetic field in the center of the measuring volume which is parallel to the plane of the planar substrate element on which the single resonant circuit is located, wherein the deviation from parallelism should not exceed 40 degrees.
The invention presents a manner of NMR resonator construction with improved sensitivity, minimized pulse widths for a given desired NMR flip angle, minimized resonator Q and therefore small spectral artifacts, as well as optimum space for installation of additional resonators in an orthogonal direction relative to the first resonator. Nearly all of these features constitute considerable improvements over prior art.
These resonators have excellent NMR properties and are also of simple construction to permit easy assembly, even with confined geometries.
Further advantages can be extracted from the drawing and the description. The features mentioned above and below can be used in accordance with the invention either individually or collectively in any arbitrary combination. The embodiments shown and described are not to be understood as exhaustive enumeration, rather have exemplary character for describing the invention.
The invention is shown in more detail in the drawing and is further explained with reference to embodiments.

Superconducting NMR resonators generating RF magnetic fields at the sample which are substantially parallel to the plane of a resonator


A secondary battery includes a cathode, an anode, and an electrolytic solution, in which the anode includes a plurality of first anode active material particles, a plurality of second anode active material particles, a first anode binder, and a second anode binder. The plurality of first anode active material particles include carbon, and an R value of the plurality of first anode active material particles is from 0.35 to 0.45, and a median diameter of the plurality of first anode active material particles is from 5 μm to 14.5 μm. The plurality of second anode active material particles include carbon, and the R value of the plurality of second anode active material particles is from 0.1 to 0.25, and a median diameter of the plurality of second anode active material particles is from 15 μm to 25 μm.

The present technology generally relates to an anode for a secondary battery including an anode active material and an anode binder, a secondary battery using the anode for a secondary battery, and a battery pack using the secondary battery, an electric motor vehicle, a power storage system, an electric tool, and an electronic device.
Various electronic devices such as a mobile phone and a personal digital assistant (PDA) are becoming widespread, and there is a growing demand for downsizing, weight reduction and long life of the electronic devices. To meet the demand, a battery as a power supply, in particular, a secondary battery which can downsize, can be lightweight, and obtain high energy density is being developed.
The secondary battery is not limited to the electronic devices described above, and application of the secondary battery for other uses is under consideration. Examples of other uses include a battery pack removably mounted on each electronic device or the like, an electric motor vehicle such as an electric vehicle, a power storage system such as a home power server, or an electric tool such as an electric drill.
The secondary battery includes an electrolytic solution together with a cathode and an anode, and the anode includes an anode active material and an anode binder. Since a configuration of the anode has a great effect on battery characteristics, various studies have been made on the configuration of the anode.

Anode for secondary battery, secondary battery, battery pack, electric motor vehicle, power storage system, electric tool, and electronic device