An array substrate, a fabrication method thereof, and a display device are provided. The fabrication method includes forming a first conductive layer and a second conductive layer on both of a first area and a second area of a substrate; forming a bonding pin in the first area to electrically connect with a driving chip, wherein the second conductive layer is located at a side of the first conductive layer away from the substrate; and removing the second conductive layer in the second area, forming a conductive electrode in the second area to electrically connect with a light-emitting element by a connection member.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a conventional mini light-emitting diode (mini-LED) backlight module. The conventional mini-LED backlight module comprises a first metal pattern layer formed on a substrate 100, wherein the first metal pattern layer comprises a first conductive member 1011 and a gate electrode 1012; a gate insulating layer 102 covering the first metal pattern layer and a gate electrode of the substrate 100; an active layer 103 formed on the gate insulating layer 102; a second metal pattern layer formed at a side of the active layer 103 away from the substrate 100, wherein the second metal pattern layer comprises a second conductive member 1041, source and drain electrodes, and a conductive electrode 1042, wherein the second conductive member 1041 is electrically connected to the first conductive member 1011; a passivation layer 105 covering the second metal pattern layer and the gate insulating layer 102, and exposing the conductive electrode 1042; an indium tin oxide layer 106 formed on the passivation layer 105 which electrically connects with the second conductive member 1041 through a via hole formed in the passivation layer 105; and a mini-LED 107. Herein, the second metal pattern layer comprises a copper layer, and the indium tin oxide layer 106 is used to prevent the copper layer of the second conductive member 1041 from being oxidized. However, the conventional mini-LED backlight module has a problem of numerous manufacturing processes.
In order to simplify the manufacturing process of the conventional mini-LED backlight module, conventional technology uses the second metal pattern layer to simultaneously form a conductive structure bound to a flip-chip film and a conductive electrode bound to the mini-LED, with the second metal pattern layer comprising a copper layer and a MoTiNi alloy layer on the copper layer. The MoTiNi alloy layer is away from the substrate, and the copper layer is close to the substrate. The MoTiNi alloy layer is used to prevent oxidation of the copper layer, omitting formation of the indium tin oxide layer, thereby simplifying the manufacturing process. However, in the conductive electrode in the second metal pattern layer, since the MoTiNi alloy layer and the solder paste do not easily form a solid solution alloy, adhesion of the solder paste on the MoTiNi alloy layer is poor, resulting in the mini-LED not being able to be firmly bonded to the conductive electrode using the solder paste.
Therefore, it is necessary to propose a technical solution to solve the problems such as weak bonding of the mini-LED and the conductive structure used to bind the flip-chip film is easily oxidized while the outermost layer thereof uses copper resulted from the poor adhesion of the MoTiNi alloy layer and the solder paste.

Fabrication method of array substrate with greater adhesion between conductive layer and connection member

TCL China Star Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd.


A polymer including a structural unit represented by the following formula (A). In the formula (A), P is independently a group represented by the following formula (P), a is an integer of 2 to 5, and b is an integer of 0 to 5. In the formula (P), A is independently a nitrogen atom or CR; X is a single bond, O, S, C(R)2 or NR. R is independently a hydrogen atom, a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group including 1 to 20 carbon atoms or the like, or a single bond used for bonding to another P or L, provided that at least one R contained in (P)a is represented by any one of the following formulas (3) to (7).

Due to self-emission and no dependency on viewing angle, as well as capability of plane emission and reduction in thickness, application of an organic EL device to a display of a TV or a mobile phone, an illumination or the like has been studied.
An organic EL device has a configuration in which a thin film of an organic compound is sandwiched between a cathode and an anode. The methods for forming a thin film are roughly divided into the deposition method and the coating method. The deposition method is a method in which a low-molecular weight compound is mainly used, and a thin film is formed on the substrate in vacuum. The industrial-base-production thereof proceeds. On the other hand, the coating method is a technique in which a thin film is formed on the substrate by using a solution (e.g. inkjet and printing). The deposition method has a high material utilization efficiency, and hence is suited to an increase in area and an enhancement of resolution. This method is a technology which is deemed to be indispensable in an organic EL large-sized display in the future.
The vacuum deposition method using a low-molecular material has an extremely low utilization efficiency of the material. In addition, if the size is increased, the degree of distortion of a shadow mask becomes large. Therefore, deposition on a large-sized substrate is difficult, and as a result, fabrication of a display using a large-sized organic EL substrate is difficult. In addition, the production cost also increases.
On the other hand, in the case of a high-molecular weight material, it is possible to form a homogenous film by applying a solution obtained by dissolving the high-molecular weight material in an organic solvent. A coating method represented by the inkjet method or the printing method can be used by utilizing such a nature of a high-molecular weight material. Therefore, it is possible to enhance the material utilization efficiency to near to 100%. In addition, since it can be applied to substrates of various shapes ranging from a small-sized substrate to a large-sized substrate, the production cost of the device can be significantly reduced.
However, in general, the coating method is not suited to a stacked-type device, and has a problem that it is not easy to improve the performance of the device.
The reason for unsuitability of applying the coating method to a stacked-type device is that, when stacking layers, films which have been formed in advance are inevitably dissolved. Specifically, in a stacked-type organic EL device fabricated by the coating method, a hole-injecting layer and a hole-transporting layer have to be insoluble in a solvent used when an emitting layer is formed.
Therefore, at present, most of organic EL devices obtained by the coating method are limited to a two-layer structure in which a hole-injecting layer is formed by a water-dispersion liquid of polythiophene:polystyrene sulfonic acid (PEDOT:PSS), and an emitting layer is formed by using an aromatic organic solvent such as toluene. Since the PEDOT:PSS layer is not dissolved in toluene, it is possible to fabricate such two-layer structure.
A hole-transporting material is formed into a hole-transporting layer and stacking on a hole-injecting layer by using an organic solvent such as toluene, xylene, dioxane and cyclohexanone. In this case, the adhesiveness to a hole-injecting layer emerges as a problem. If a hole transporting material has a low adhesion to a hole-injecting layer, current leakage may occur. In addition, since the surface flatness of a resulting layer is not good and the interface between the layer and an emitting layer is not flat and smooth, the life of a device obtained may be shortened.
As for a hole-transporting layer, use of a high-molecular weight compound has been studied in expectation of improved physical or thermal durability. For example, Patent Document 1 reports an organic EL device using as a polymer polyvinyl carbazole (PVCz) having a hole injecting ability. Since the glass transition temperature (Tg) of PVCz is extremely high, the resulting thin film has an excellent stability, whereby an organic EL device having a high durability can be fabricated.
However, the device thus obtained has problems that it requires a significantly high driving voltage, and has insufficient luminous efficiency and short lifetime.
Further, Patent Document 2 discloses an organic EL device using a polymer obtained by co-polymerizing a vinyl anthracene derivative and a vinyl carbazole derivative. However, the device has problems that the luminous efficiency is poor and the lifetime is short.
On the other hand, various studies have been made on a high-molecular weight electroluminescence material since it can be formed into a film by applying the solution thereof and printing (Patent Documents 3 to 7).
However, it has problems that an organic EL device using the above mentioned high-molecular weight compound does not always have sufficient device properties such as a long life (half life) and a high luminous efficiency.
Further, as a material for a hole-transporting layer or a material for an emitting layer, many high-molecular weight materials using a carbazole unit have been studied. However, in the both cases of a material for a hole-transporting layer (Patent Documents 8 and 9) and a material for an emitting layer (Patent Documents 10 to 13), since high-molecular weight materials are synthesized by random co-polymerization, the resulting device has low reproducibility. In addition, it has problems that partial structural defects occur due to an irregular main chain skeleton and trap of holes occurs, thereby to lower the device performances (efficiency, lifetime).
Moreover, the materials for a hole-transporting layer disclosed in Patent Documents 8 and 9 have a problem that the resulting devices have deteriorated performances (efficiency, lifetime) due to poor adhesion to a hole-injecting layer or insufficient surface flatness of a hole-transporting layer obtained.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Carbazole-based polymer and organic electroluminescence element using same


A microwave plasma burner in which a high temperature plasma is generated. The microwave plasma burner includes a wave inducing tube for receiving and guiding microwaves from an antenna of a magnetron within a wave guide resonator, so as to generate a high temperature plasma by causing vibrations of an injected gas by the help of the microwaves while discharging the injected gas. The microwave plasma burner according to the present invention gives the following effects. A strong high temperature plasma can be generated with a structure not involving vacuum. The flames are generated by the heat which is generated by the vibrations of air, and therefore, a separate igniting device is not required. High temperature flames are generated, and therefore, the burner of the present invention can be used for welding and cutting. A complete combustion occurs due to the heat which is generated by the vibrations, and therefore, any air pollution can be prevented. A desired gas can be selected, and therefore, any oxidation can be prevented during a welding.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a microwave plasma burner in which a high temperature plasma is generated.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Microwaves belong to a frequency region of 30 MHz to 30 GHz, and microwaves are widely applied to various apparatuses such as microwave oven and the like. Particularly, microwaves are utilized in generating a plasma.
In the plasma, the gas is highly ionized, and positive ions and negative ions are present in the same magnitude of density. Thus electrical balance is realized, and a neutralization is attained. The glow discharge tubes and the arcing columns are the typical examples.
Conventionally, in order to generate a plasma by utilizing microwaves, a high vacuum is formed in a chamber, and then, a gas or a gas mixture is injected into the vacuum chamber. The microwaves are irradiated into the chamber.
Then a plasma is generated within the chamber.
However, in this conventional method, a high vacuum is formed within the chamber into which microwaves are irradiated. In order to form the high vacuum, a precise design is required and therefore, the actual manufacture becomes very difficult.
Further, in a welding burner, an igniting device is needed, and therefore, an inconvenience is encountered during the use.
The present invention is intended to overcome the above described disadvantages of the conventional technique.
Therefore it is an object of the present invention to provide a microwave plasma burner in which a high temperature plasma is generated by guiding microwaves without forming a high vacuum.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a microwave plasma burner in which an igniting device is eliminated for ensuring the convenience.
In achieving the above objects, the microwave plasma burner according to the present invention includes: a wave inducing tube for receiving and guiding microwaves from an antenna of a magnetron within wave guide resonator, so as to generate a high temperature plasma by causing vibrations of an injected gas by the help of the microwaves while discharging the injected gas.
Further, the microwave plasma burner according to the present invention includes: a magnetron for outputting microwaves through an antenna; a wave guide resonator for resonating the microwaves from the antenna; and an inducing tube installed within the wave guide resonator, for receiving and guiding the microwaves from the antenna to cause vibrations of an injected gas so as to generate a high temperature heat and a high temperature plasma during a discharge of the injected gas.


Embodiments of the present invention recite a method for collaborative display of geographic data. In one embodiment, a configuration file is created which defines how geographic data collected by a geographic data collection device is to be displayed by an office application. The configuration file is used to create a geographic data file in which collected geographic data is formatted to visually convey information about a geographic feature. The office application then accesses the geographic data file and automatically displays the geographic feature in a manner which is consistent with the configuration file.

The collection and processing of geographic data often involves a geographic data collector in the field which collects data about a geographic feature. The geographic features may define a point (e.g., a tree, utility pole, fire hydrant, etc), a line (e.g., a road, stream, hedge, pipeline, etc), or a polygon (e.g., a parking lot, playground, housing lot, farm field, etc.). The attributes of a feature are descriptive information which further defines the object. For example, if the feature is a tree, attributes may include the species of tree (e.g., oak, maple, pine, etc.), the height, girth, location, condition (e.g., healthy, dead, overturned, etc.) of the tree.
A structured collection of geographic features and their corresponding attributes is typically stored in a feature library. The feature library is uploaded onto a geographic data collection device and is used to collect geographic data. As an example, if geographic data about a park is to be collected, a feature library may include features such as trees, park benches, parking lots, playground and/or playing fields, light poles, sidewalks and/or paths, roads, and other facilities such as rest rooms, etc. Alternatively, if geographic data is being collected for a utility company, the feature library may include features such as light poles, fire hydrants, water and sewage lines, meters, transformers, etc. Thus, a different feature library can be uploaded depending upon what type of data is to be collected.
In the field, when data is collected about a geographic feature, the location of the feature is recorded along with a code which indicates what type of geographic feature is being recorded. Typically, the surveyor accesses an ASCII file which contains a list of the codes. Typically, ASCII codes are used to minimize the use of computing resources of the geographic data collection device such as memory and/or data storage. This is problematic in that there is no standardized set of codes for geographic features. Therefore, the surveyor needs to know all of the codes within his/her organization. This can be a problem because different working groups may designate different codes for the same geographic feature. As a result, it can be difficult for the surveyor to memorize all of the codes needed to collect the desired data. Alternatively, the surveyor may carry a paper upon which all of the codes are listed, or the geographic data collection application may generate a user interface in which the codes are displayed.
Another problem with the collection and processing of geographic data is that the software applications operating on the geographic data collector and the office application used to process the geographic data are often developed as stand-alone applications. In other words, they are not designed or intended to work together. As a result, the geographic data files generated by a geographic data collection application are typically not formatted to be compatible with the office application used to subsequently process the collected data.
When the geographic data file is accessed by the office application, the office application displays the collected data. As an example, the office application can automatically draw line segments between points of a linear feature, or of a polygon feature. However, there are no additional features associated with the points and lines rendered by the office application. In other words, the attributes associated with a geographic feature are not automatically displayed.
This is especially problematic when a person in the office is not familiar with the site from which the feature/attribute data has been collected. For example, an office technician will see the points and lines displayed by the office application, but may have a hard time interpreting what they mean unless the office technician is familiar with the site. In other words, some prior knowledge of the site is needed in order for the office technician to interpret the collected data. Thus, additional effort is needed for the surveyor in the field to clearly communicate the meaning of the points and lines which are being displayed to the office technician. Alternatively, the office technician can manually look up the ASCII codes which are associated with respective geographic features and manually add that information to the displayed data. As a result, creating a descriptive interpretation of the collected geographic data can be more time consuming, expensive and error prone because the data collection and data rendering applications do not exchange all of the collected data in an efficient manner.

Method for collaborative display of geographic data


A device for treating a facet joint of a patient, the facet joint including opposing, superior and inferior faces. The device includes a superior component and an inferior component each defining an anchoring surface configured to engage bone at a face of the facet joint and an articulating surface. The device is configured for percutaneous insertion into the facet joint, with the articulating surfaces abutting one another in a sliding interface. One or more instruments are included with the device as part of a percutaneous implantation kit, such as a dilator, a guide wire, and a sheath.

Within the next 10 years, more than 70 million people are going to join the ranks of seniors. In an aging population, the articular cartilage that allows bones to smoothly move over each other wears down with time and unlike many tissues in the body, articular cartilage cannot heal itself. At this time, options that help to relieve severe degenerative joint pain, or osteoarthritis, include joint replacement or fusion. As examples, approximately 200,000 total knee joint and over 300,000 hip joint replacement operations are performed annually, and typically these artificial joints last about 10 to 15 years. Chronic lower back pain also affects both workforce productivity and health care expense, and there are currently over 500,000 surgical procedures performed annually in the United States in an attempt to alleviate lower back pain that persists following failure of more conservative therapy (e.g., bed rest, pain and muscle relaxant medication, physical therapy or steroid injection). The source of this pain may originate from dysfunction among a plurality of anatomical structures (as will be shown and described below) that are comprised in the spine, including facet joints.
Facet joints can become arthritic due to degeneration with aging, trauma, or disease (e.g., pathologies that include inflammatory, metabolic, or synovial, disorders). In addition, fractures, torn ligaments, and disc problems (e.g., dehydration or herniation) can all cause abnormal movement and alignment, putting extra stress on the surfaces of the facet joints.
The physiological response to this extra pressure is the development of osteophytes, i.e., bone spurs. As the spurs form around the edges of the facet joints, the joints become enlarged, a condition called hypertrophy, and eventually the joint surfaces become arthritic. When the articular cartilage degenerates, or wears away, the bone underneath is uncovered and rubs against bone. The joint becomes inflamed, swollen, and painful.
Facet joint arthritis is a significant source of neck and back pain, and attributable to about 15 percent of persistent lower back pain. Upon failure of conservative treatment for facet joint pain, such as intra-articular steroid/local anesthetic injections administered under fluoroscopic guidance, some patients with chronic pain may eventually require surgical intervention for facet joint arthritis including, for example, facet rhizotomy; facetectomy to remove the facet joint to reduce pressure on the exiting nerve root; total joint replacement, or facet arthrodesis (i.e., fixation leading to fusion, where the two articulating surfaces of the joint grow solidly together and form a single, solid piece of bone). However, as will be noted in more detail below, while these surgical procedures may alleviate back pain, many joint replacements and all fusions do not restore the normal physiological function and motion attributable to healthy anatomical form. Rather, they often significantly alter spinal biomechanics which can cause or exacerbate co-existing spinal instabilities and degeneration at other spinal levels or in other joints associated with spinal motion.
To understand spinal biomechanics, and the impacts of dysfunction and therapy, it is perhaps useful to first consider the spinal anatomy. The vertebrae of the spinal cord are conventionally subdivided into several sections. Moving from the head (cephalad) to the tailbone (caudal), the sections are cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacral, and coccygeal. Regardless of location, each vertebra forms two pedicles and two laminae that combine to define a spinal foramen in which the spinal cord is protected. Extending from the pedicles are two transverse processes. Extending from the midline of the vertebra where the two laminae meet is a spinous process. These three processes serve as a connection point for ligaments and muscles. Adjacent vertebrae are separated by an intervertebral disc, and surfaces of the adjacent vertebrae form portions of two fact joints by and between the two vertebrae (it being understood that relative to a spinal segment consisting of an intermediate vertebra, an adjacent cephalad vertebra, and an adjacent caudal vertebra, the intermediate vertebra forms portions of four facet joints, two facet joints with the cephalad vertebra and two facet joints with the cephalad vertebra).
As illustrated in FIG. 1, a facet joint 20 is composed of a superior facet 22 and an inferior facet 24. The superior facet 22 is formed by the vertebral level below the intervertebral disc (a superior articular facet faces upward from the junction of the lateral mass and the pedicle) and the inferior facet 24 is formed by the vertebral level above the intervertebral disc (an inferior articular facet, which faces downward). On the superior articular facet 22 is a superior articulating surface, and on the inferior articular facet 24 is an inferior articulating surface. Facet joints are oriented obliquely to the sagittal plane, and the joint space itself is curved from front to back. The more posteriorly located inferior facet 24 is convex, whereas the more anteriorly located superior facet 22 is concave. There are two facet joints between each pair of vertebrae, one on each side, from the top and bottom of each vertebra. The joints combine with the disc space to create a three-joint complex at each vertebral level, and each joint extends and overlaps neighboring vertebral facet joints, linking each other and hence the vertebrae together. The facet joints are synovial joints; each joint including two opposing bony surfaces with cartilage 26 between them and a capsule 28 around the joint. More specifically, synovial fluid 30 is contained inside the joint by the joint capsule 28, a watertight sac of soft tissue and ligaments that fully surrounds and encloses the joint, which keeps the joint surfaces lubricated. The ends of the bones 22, 24 that make up the synovial facet joint 20 are normally covered with articular, hyaline cartilage that allows the bones to glide against one another providing the flexibility that allows the movement of vertebral bodies relative to one another.
The assembly of two vertebral bodies, the interposed spinal disc and the attached ligaments, muscles and facet joints (the inferior articular processes that articulate with the superior articular processes of the next succeeding vertebra in the caudal direction) is referred to as a "spinal motion segment." Each motion segment contributes to the overall flexibility of the spine and contributes to the overall ability of the spine to provide support for the movement of the trunk and head, and in particular, the facet joints enable torsional (twisting) stability. When the facets of one or more vertebral bodies degenerate, or otherwise become damaged such that the vertebrae no longer articulate or properly align with each other, there is a resulting loss of mobility, and pain or discomfort. The functional role of facet joints in a spinal motion segment is thus relevant to an understanding of the operative and functional advantages of the facet joint methods and devices disclosed herein, which achieve dynamic stabilization and mobility preservation without constraining motion in any plane.
In the context of the present disclosure, "dynamic" refers to non-static devices with an inherent ability to allow mobility by enabling or facilitating force or load bearing that assist or substitute for physiological structures that are otherwise compromised, weakened or absent. The spinal motion preservation assemblies of the present disclosure provide dynamic stabilization across a progression-of-treatment interventions for treating symptomatic joint pain.
As indicated above, facet joints are located on the posterior column of the spine. In the context of this discussion: anterior refers to in front of the spinal column, and posterior refers to behind the column; cephalad means towards a patient's head (sometimes "superior"); caudal (sometimes "inferior") refers to the direction or location that is closer to a patient's feet. As the present application contemplates accessing various vertebral elements and joints through a preferred approach that comes in from a percutaneous posterior approach, proximal and distal are defined in context of this channel of approach. Consequently, proximal is closer to the beginning of the channel and thus closer to the clinician, distal is farther from the beginning of the channel and thus more distant from the clinician. When referencing access and delivery tools, distal would be the end intended for insertion into the access channel, and proximal refers to the opposing end, generally the end closer to the handle for the delivery tool. When referencing implants, generally distal would be the leading end first inserted into the joint, and proximal refers to the trailing end, generally the end in engagement with the deployment tool.
There is a cause-and-effect relationship among intervertebral disc integrity, facet loads and spinal degeneration. Specifically, the progressive loss of disc height with disc degeneration often also alters the facet joint's mechanical ability as the facet joints may degenerate or dislocate, and the physiologic ligaments lose elasticity and their load carrying ability. More specifically, with disc-space narrowing, as frequently occurs with degenerative disc disease, there is increased load in the facet joints, especially in extension, and concomitant degeneration of the facet joints and capsules. Since the facet joint capsules are primarily loaded in flexion and in rotation, and the facet joints are the primary resistors against rotational or torsional forces (e.g., normally the facets control approximately 30% of axial rotation), facet joint degeneration significantly alters spinal mobility.
The need to provide minimally invasive therapies that provide pain relief while restoring and preserving the biomechanical function of the physiologic facet joints is paramount to overall spinal mobility, and to date, therapies have not adequately satisfied all of these issues, as noted below.
One therapy, facet rhizotomy, involves techniques that sever small nerves that go to the facet joint. The intent of the procedure is to stop the transmission of pain impulses along this nerve. The nerve is identified using a diagnostic injection. Then the surgeon inserts a large, hollow needle through the tissues in the low back. A radiofrequency probe is inserted through the needle, and a fluoroscope is used to guide the probe toward the nerve. The probe is slowly heated until the nerve is severed. Another technique using pulsed radiofrequency does not actually burn the nerve, rather, it is believed to stun the nerve. Yet another technique involves de-enervation by probe tip freezing, and still another procedure involves carefully controlled injection of botox toxin to treat muscle spasm, a protective reflex that may occur when the facets are inflamed which causes the nearby muscles that parallel the spine to go into spasm. While these procedures may provide pain relief, they do not address ongoing joint degeneration, e.g., wear on articulating surfaces, which leads to kinematic and biomechanical dysfunction that may in turn lead to transition syndrome (i.e., progression of degeneration and pain in other joints) at other levels.
While certain clinicians have advocated prosthetic total joint replacement of damaged facet joints, in practice it is difficult to implement a prosthetic facet joint for a variety of reasons including the variability in facet joint geometry from facet joint to facet joint and the high level of interaction between the facet joint and the other components in the spinal column. Moreover, joint replacement is an invasive and time-consuming procedure, requiring pre-preparation of joint surfaces and removal of bone, and thus there are associated risks, including blood loss and morbidity, increased anesthesia time, and increased convalescence time.
Another therapeutic treatment of the facet joint is to affix the superior articular process to the inferior articular process using a facet screw. Although this fixation therapy may alleviate symptoms associated with a degenerated facet joint, it also sacrifices some of the ability of the motion segment to move and thus sacrifices some of the ability of the spinal column to move in a natural manner. Central and lateral spinal stenosis (joint narrowing), degenerative spondylolisthesis, and degenerative scoliosis may all result from the abnormal mechanical relationship between the anterior and posterior column structures, and induce debilitating pain.
Still another therapeutic treatment of the facet joint, known in the prior art, involves an artificial facet joint where the inferior facet, the mating superior facet, or both, are covered with a cap, i.e., over (substantively all of) the facet. While potentially viable, the capping of the facet has several potential disadvantages. If the facet joint is osteoarthritic, a cap will not remove the source of the pain. Moreover, at least with use of caps over osteoarthritic femoral heads, the capping of articular bone ends has sometimes experienced clinical failure by mechanical loosening. This clinical failure is believed to result from the disruption of the periosteum and ligamenturn teres femoris, both serving a nutrition delivery role to the femoral head, thereby leading to avascular necrosis of the bony support structure for the cap. It is likely that corresponding problems could develop from capping the facet. Another potential disadvantage of facet capping is that in order to accommodate the wide variability in anatomical morphology of the facets, not only between individuals but also between levels within the spinal column, a very wide range of cap sizes and shapes is required.
Thus, there is an unmet need for additional therapies applicable to facet joints to stabilize and augment the facet joint to alleviate problems without initial resort to the more radical therapies of replacing the facet joint with a prosthetic joint or fixation of the facet joint and the inherent loss of natural movement of that motion segment.

Method and apparatus for facet joint stabilization


A method and apparatus for processing transactional file system operations to enable point in time consistent file data recreation and recovery from transactional file systems is described. In one embodiment, the method includes processing input/output activity associated with file data that is used in a computing environment to identify at least one transaction and segregating the input/output activity based upon the at least one transaction to enable point in time consistent data recreation for the file data.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to a data protection system and, more importantly, to a method and apparatus for processing transactional file systems operations to provide point in time consistent file data to support file data recovery and replication from transactional file system.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a typical computing environment, one or more computing devices use a variety of resources to process and store file data. For example, employees within a large organization use computers, data storage devices, networking components and/or the like for performing the day-to-day activities. The employees may store the file data in the data storage devices in the form of data volumes for retrieval at a later date. Occasionally, the file data in the data volumes becomes corrupted or erroneous and a previous storage state of the file data is needed to avoid a disruption in the day-to-day activities of the organization.
Many organizations use a variety of data protection systems to preserve storage states of the data volumes in case of a disaster. For example, a snapshot of the data volume at a particular point-in-time may be captured through a snapshot service in order to facilitate recovery of lost or corrupted data (e.g., files, emails and/or the like). In other words, the snapshot is a representation of a storage state of the data volume at the particular point-in-time. Furthermore, a continuous data protection system is configured to recreate any version of a file existing at any point-in-time using the captured snapshot and a log or journal of input/output activity for that file.
The data volumes may be organized into files and directories (i.e., a file system, such as File Allocation Table (FAT), New Technology File System (NTFS)). For example, the data volumes may be organized in accordance with a transactional file system, such as Transactional NTFS. Generally, a transactional file system volume is fault-tolerant and consistent. A transaction can either be finished completely (e.g., a committed transaction) or reverted completely (e.g., a rolled back transaction), but not necessarily both at any given point in time. This means that if there is a crash or power failure, after recovery, the storage state of the data volume will be consistent. A significant amount of computing overhead, however, is required to maintain data consistency.
Current data protection systems are unable to restore or replicate file data associated with a transaction that was in progress during the snapshot of the data volume. For example, mounting a snapshot causes any in progress (i.e., incomplete) transactions to be rolled back. As such, the snapshot does not include file data that is point in time consistent. Hence, the use of transactions prevents the data protection software from recreating point in time consistent file data from the snapshot. In addition, the file data may only be replicated or recovered to a data volume that supports transactional file systems. Transactional file system operations cannot be played on a non-transactional file system.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a method and apparatus for processing transactional file system operations to enable point in time consistent file data recreation and recovery from transactional file systems.

Method and apparatus for processing transactional file system operations to enable point in time consistent file data recreation


Application context changes associated with instantiated applications are monitored at a context tracking device. In response to each application context change, relationship context dependency properties between the instantiated applications and application resources associated with the instantiated applications are evaluated. At least one relationship context dependency property that is used by at least one of the instantiated applications is determined to have changed as a result of an application context change. The at least one relationship context dependency property is updated during runtime based upon the application context change.

The present invention relates to property values associated with applications relationships. More particularly, the present invention relates to delayed expansion of values in context.
Values for applications may be defined, for example, using Java® properties. The values so defined are evaluated once when an application is loaded and, as such, are static in nature.

International Business Machines Corporation


A technique for capturing the surface of three-dimensional ("3D") objects using structured lighting. The movement of shadow across the 3D objects is optically recorded. Variation in brightness on the surface provides a cue for triangulation. By analyzing the variation in brightness of a particular point on the surface, the location of that point is determined based on the movement of the shadow. With known locations for a camera and a light source, the coordinates in space of the point is triangulated. By repeating this process, a collection of coordinates is created. Those coordinates are then used to reconstruct the 3D surface.

As the processing speed and memory capacity of computers have continued to increase, along with advances in computer graphics software, the interest in imaging both the geometry and surface texture of three-dimensional ("3D") objects has also increased. Numerous applications of such technology which for many years were anticipated have begun to be realized. The use of 3D representations has expanded in many areas, including entertainment, animation, industrial design, engineering, archiving, commercial advertising, catalogs, and "virtual reality" visits to actual places (e.g., cities and museums).
Various techniques have in turn developed to capture this information. Some are mechanical, some are purely based on images. Each system proposes different tradeoffs. The main parameters to be considered include: cost, accuracy, ease of use, and speed of acquisition. So far most commercial 3D scanners have favored accuracy over other parameters. However, while accurate, these systems tend to be very expensive.
One example of a mechanical system uses physical contact with the object to measure its surface. A robot arm "feels" the object and records the variations in dimension. The object may be rotated or otherwise adjusted to allow for multiple measurements. This type of system is typically expensive, bulky and slow.
Another group of systems uses active lighting, such as a laser or LCD projector. Typically these systems also use motorized transport of the object. The object is lit by projected light and rotated to provide views from multiple angles. While such systems are very accurate, they are also typically very expensive and bulky. Another disadvantage of lasers is that they are potentially dangerous to the operator's eyes, reducing the applicability of these systems to consumer use.
Some computer vision researchers have considered taking a different approach, favoring cost and ease of use while sacrificing some accuracy and speed. A number of ways of obtaining information on 3D shapes from more passively acquired images have long been known: stereoscopic disparity, texture, motion parallax, (de)focus, shading and specularities, occluding contours and other surface discontinuities. Unfortunately, the single passive cue that gives reasonable accuracy, stereoscopic disparity, has two major drawbacks: (a) it requires two cameras, and (b) it is typically ineffective on untextured surfaces. Accordingly, such a system is not inexpensive because of multiple cameras. In addition, because the great majority of industrially manufactured objects do not have textured surfaces, stereoscopic disparity is not suitable for a large number of applications.
The inventors have determined that a better technique for representation is found using shadow rather than lasers or multiple cameras. Accordingly they have developed the methods and apparatus for capturing 3D surfaces based on structured lighting described in the present disclosure.


An example system disclosed herein for transforming neuro-response data into media ratings includes a data collector to obtain first neuro-response from a first subject exposed to a first media and second neuro-response data from a second subject exposed to a second media. The first media broadcast is before a time of the second media. The example system includes an analyzer to integrate the first neuro-response data with ratings data for the first media to generate a first rating for the first media. The ratings data is based on set-top box data associated with a media presentation device presenting the first media. The analyzer is to transform the second neuro-response data into a second rating for the second media based on the first rating.

Conventional systems for performing ratings predictions of media materials such as programming and advertising are limited. Some ratings predictions can be made based on survey and focus group based feedback. However, conventional systems for predicting ratings are subject to syntactic, metaphorical, cultural, and interpretive errors that prevent accurate and repeatable predictions.
Consequently, it is desirable to provide improved methods and apparatus for generating ratings predictions by using neuro-response data such as central nervous system, autonomic nervous system, and effector system measurements.

Generating ratings predictions using neuro-response data


A system for forming a looped suture is provided. The system includes a suture supply assembly configured for supplying thread, a flipper gripping assembly configured for forming a loop in the thread, a carriage assembly configured for advancing the thread through the forming process, and a welding assembly configured for securing the loop in the thread.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a system of forming a looped suture. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to an automated system of forming a looped suture having a taper cut.
2. Background of Related Art
Sutures including loops formed therein are known. A loop may be formed in a suture for a number of reasons. A loop formed in a suture during manufacture may be used to secure the suture to tissue. In this manner, once the non-looped end of the suture is inserted through tissue, that end may be threaded through the loop to form a slip knot-like configuration that may be tied to secure tissue. In another application, a loop may be formed in a suture in place of a knot. This requires the use of a handheld instrument that may be brought into an operating room.
Regardless of the reason for forming the loop, when a loop is formed in a suture, whether using adhesive, heat or ultrasonic energy, the diameter of the suture is doubled where the two suture portions overlap. In the event that the suture loop is used to secure tissue, the doubling of the diameter of the suture in order to create the loop increases the amount of force necessary to pull the loop through tissue. This increased force applied to the suture may result in tearing or other unnecessary trauma to the tissue being sutured. Therefore, it would be beneficial to have a system and method of forming a looped suture to include a taper cut.

System and method for making tapered looped suture


When FRET efficiency is measured quantitatively by removing uncertain elements of fluorescence detection information, calibration information prestored in a storage means while including at least the leak rate of donor fluorescence component emitted from a donor molecule, the leak rate of acceptor fluorescence component emitted from an acceptor molecule, and the non-FRET fluorescence lifetime of the donor fluorescence component when FRET is not generated out of the fluorescence of a measurement object sample is acquired. The FRET fluorescence lifetime of the donor fluorescence component is then determined using the intensity information and phase information of fluorescence of the measurement object sample, the leak rate of donor fluorescence component and the leak rate of acceptor fluorescence component, thus determining the FRET fluorescence efficiency.

Analysis of protein functions has recently become important as post-genome related technology in the medical, pharmaceutical, and food industries. Particularly, in order to analyze actions of cells, it is necessary to research interactions (binding and separation) between a type of protein and another type of protein (or a low molecule compound) which are living substances in a living cell.
The interactions between a type of protein and another type of protein (or a low molecule compound) have been recently analyzed using a fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) phenomenon. Interactions between molecules are herein detected within a range of several nanometers using fluorescence. Such interaction detection using the FRET phenomenon is mainly performed with a microscope system.
For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2005-207823 discloses a single molecule fluorescence analysis using FRET. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2005-207823 proposes a fluorescence spectral analysis method in which a fluorescence correlation analysis method or a fluorescence-intensity distribution analysis is performed based on received fluorescence using the FRET phenomenon.

Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co., Ltd.


A method and a manufacturing line for manufacturing wind turbine blades having a composite shell structure comprising a matrix material and a fiber reinforcement material by use of a resin transfer moulding process. The method comprises a manufacturing line, where wind turbine blades are formed in a number of moulds. Each number of moulds comprising at least a first mould part comprising a first mould cavity. The manufacturing line further comprises a gantry means movable along the manufacturing line. The method comprises the following steps: a) arranging fiber reinforcement material in the first mould cavity of a first mould using the gantry means, b) moving the gantry means along the manufacturing line to a second mould, c) supplying curable matrix material into the first mould cavity of the first mould, while substantially simultaneously arranging fiber reinforcement material in the first mould cavity of a second mould using the gantry means. The manufacturing line comprises a plurality of moulds for forming wind turbine blades. Each of the number of moulds comprising at least a first mould part comprising a first mould cavity.

It is known to manufacture wind turbine blades using project oriented manufacturing methods, e.g. where each of the wind turbine blades are moulded and assembled at the same work shop, whereafter the wind turbine blade optionally is moved to another work shop, typically a finishing work shop, where the wind turbine blade is cut, trimmed, painted and the final fittings are mounted on the wind turbine blade. The wind turbine blades are often made of fibre-reinforced polymer and are usually manufactured as shell parts in moulds, where the top side and the bottom side of the blade profile (typically the pressure side and suction side, respectively) are manufactured separately by arranging glass fibre mats in each of the two mould parts and injecting a liquid resin, which subsequently is cured. Afterwards, the two halves are glued together, often by means of internal flange parts. Glue is applied to the inner face of the lower blade half before the upper blade half is lowered thereon or vice versa. Additionally, one or two reinforcing profiles (beams) are often attached to the inside of the lower blade half prior to gluing to the upper blade half.
The shell parts for the wind turbine blade are typically manufactured as fibre composite structures by means of VARTM (vacuum assisted resin transfer moulding), where liquid polymer, also called resin, is filled into a mould cavity, in which fibre reinforcement material priorly has been inserted, and where a vacuum is generated in the mould cavity, hereby drawing in the polymer. The polymer can be thermoset plastic or thermoplastics.
Vacuum infusion or VARTM is a process used for moulding fibre composite mouldings, where uniformly distributed fibres are layered in one of the mould parts, the fibres being rovings, i.e. bundles of fibre bands, bands of rovings, or mats, which are either felt mats made of individual fibres or woven mats made of fibre rovings. The second mould part is often made of a resilient vacuum bag, and is subsequently placed on top of the fibre reinforcement material. By generating a vacuum, typically 80% to 95% of the total vacuum, in the mould cavity between the inner side of the mould part and the vacuum bag, the liquid polymer can be drawn in and fill the mould cavity with the fibre reinforcement material contained herein. So-called distribution layers or distribution tubes, also called inlet channels, are used between the vacuum bag and the fibre reinforcement material in order to obtain as sound and efficient a distribution of polymer as possible. In most cases, the polymer applied is polyester or epoxy, and the fibre reinforcement is most often based on glass fibres and/or carbon fibres.
It is commonly known that moulds for making large articles, such as wind turbine blades, can consist of two mould parts that are closed about a longitudinal hinge line, where the hinges are passive, i.e. a crane is used to lift one of the mould parts about the hinge line for closure and opening of the mould. When making wind turbine blades, the mould is closed so as to glue two blade shell halves together, said shell halves being produced in separate mould parts. Alternatively, wind turbine blades can be manufactured as disclosed in EP 1 310 351.
However, as the demand for wind turbines is rapidly increasing it is found increasingly difficult to scale the conventional project oriented manufacturing method to accommodate the demand for several reasons as listed in the following: Firstly, the project oriented manufacturing method requires that all the materials required for manufacturing a wind turbine blade, e.g. resin and fibre reinforcement material, has to be transported to every work shop, which is logistically demanding. Secondly, every work shop has to be equipped with tools and gear necessary for every single manufacturing step in the process, which yields an overhead of resources. Additionally, the conventional project oriented manufacturing method requires a mould in every single work shop, which is expensive, since production and maintenance of moulds are time consuming and thus expensive. Furthermore, the conventional project oriented manufacturing method occupies a lot of space, and since the workers at each work shop has to perform a variety of manufacturing step, there is a risk that the quality of the manufactured wind turbine blades may suffer.
EP 2 014 449 A discloses a tool and method for producing wide parts of composite material by means of laying, cutting and hot-forming. The tool comprises two identical tables and a gantry with tool heads for operating on both tables. Each table is provided with a fleksibel membrane on which fibrous material is layed out and cut. Subsequently, parts are formed in a hot-forming process where a tool including a flexible forming membrane deforms the fibrous material under the influence of heat supplied by heating means. According to the specification of EP 2 014 449 A it is an important feature of the device that it has the ability to laminate, cut and form the stratified composite materials by means of heat in situ. However, such a hot-forming process using a flexible membrane forming tool and the use of means for heating the work piece to high temperatures as required for hot-forming are incompatible with the production of high precision wind turbine blades by use of a resin transfer moulding process.
It is therefore an object of the invention to obtain a new method and manufacturing line for manufacturing wind turbine blades, which overcome or ameliorate at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art or which provide a useful alternative.

Method and manufacturing line for manufacturing wind turbine blades


A system and method are disclosed for providing noise reduction in a sigma delta modulator. Reducing the noise comprises inputting a signal to a plurality of modulator stages; feeding back the signal within at least one of the modulator stages through a feedback loop having a gain wherein the feedback loop provides noise shaping.

The present invention relates generally to sigma delta modulators. More specifically, a sigma delta modulator with noise shaping is disclosed.
Analog to digital converters (ADCs) are widely used in electronic systems for digitizing signals. The conversion from analog signal to digital introduces noise into a system, referred to as quantization noise resulting from the quantization process. FIG. 1A shows the noise transfer function (NTF) of a Nyquist ADC. A Nyquist ADC is one type of ADC that samples the input signal at twice the bandwidth, which is a sampling rate adequate for recovering the original signal according to the Nyquist theorem. The NTF of the Nyquist SDM tends to be relatively flat, and does not reduce the noise.
Attempts have been made to ameliorate the noise problem using oversampled ADCs, also known as sigma delta modulators (SDMs), to provide noise shaping. FIG. 1B illustrates the noise transfer function of a sigma delta modulator. The input signal is sampled at a rate greater than twice the bandwidth. The NTF of the SDM has a minimum centered at direct current (DC) that forms a notch in the signal spectrum. The presence of this notch in the NTF provides noise shaping. Thus, the output noise is reduced at frequencies around the notch.
The benefits of an oversampled SDM generally come from the use of a large oversampling ratio. As the oversampling ratio decreases, the dynamic range of the SDM decreases. To meet certain dynamic range requirements, some designs use multiple cascaded stages to achieve a lower oversampling ratio. FIG. 1C illustrates the noise transfer function of a cascaded sigma delta modulator. With multiple cascaded stages, the notch in the NTF deepens at DC, and provides further noise reduction at frequencies around DC. However, the improvement in noise reduction due to each stage diminishes as more stages are cascaded.
For sigma delta modulators used in wide band applications such as wireless local area network devices, it is desirable to reduce noise for a broader frequency range. In xe2x80x9cA TWO-PATH BANDPASS SIGMA-DELTA MODULATOR WITH EXTENDED NOISE SHAPINGxe2x80x9d by Tabatabaei, et al. (IEEE JOURNAL OF SOLID-STATE CIRCUITS, VOL. 35, NO. 12, DECEMBER 2000) which is incorporated by reference, Tabatabaei discloses a way to produce minima in the NTF at frequencies other than DC, by digitally mixing the output of one stage with another frequency. FIG. 1D illustrates the noise transfer function of a two stage sigma delta modulator that uses digital mixing, according to Tabatabaei. The cascaded stage produces a minimum in its transfer function that is offset from DC. As a result, in the NTF, there is an additional notch centered at f0 besides the one at DC. The NTF is shaped to reduce noise near both notches. This design is superior to the conventional cascaded SDM in terms of noise characteristics, but a number of problems remain. The digital mixer adds complexity to the circuitry and consumes more power. The mixer frequency is dependent on the system clock and may only take on a limited number of values. Also, the mixer is designed to output a single frequency, therefore the location of the additional minimum cannot be easily moved.
It is desirable to have a wide band SDM that has broader noise reduction without increasing circuitry complexity and power consumption. It would also be useful to control the location of the minimum in the NTF more easily.


A food container is described which has a body in which are formed at least one liquid food compartment having an outlet formed in the top of the body, and at least one granulated food compartment having an outlet formed in the bottom of the body.

The present invention relates to a food container.
Currently marketed containers are designed for a wide variety of foodstuffs, in both liquid and granulated form, e.g. salt and pepper. Most of these, however, are designed for one type of foodstuff, i.e. liquid or granulated, or are divided into two compartments, both containing liquid foodstuffs.


A method of separating excess resin from at least one object, includes: (a) stereolithographically producing at least one object on at least one carrier platform, each carrier platform having a planar build surface to which at least one object is connected, each object carrying excess resin on a surface thereof; then (b) mounting each carrier platform to a rotor; (c) centrifugally separating excess resin from each object by spinning the rotor with each carrier platform connected thereto while each object remains connected to each carrier platform; and then (d) removing each carrier platform from the rotor with each object thereon, with excess resin separated therefrom.

A group of additive manufacturing techniques sometimes referred to as "stereolithography" create a three-dimensional object by the sequential polymerization of a light polymerizable resin. Such techniques may be "bottom-up" techniques, where light is projected into the resin onto the bottom of the growing object through a light transmissive window, or "top down" techniques, where light is projected onto the resin on top of the growing object, which is then immersed downward into a pool of resin.
The recent introduction of a more rapid stereolithography technique sometimes referred to as continuous liquid interface production (CLIP) has expanded the usefulness of stereolithography from prototyping to manufacturing. See J. Tumbleston, D. Shirvanyants, N. Ermoshkin et al., Continuous liquid interface production of 3D objects, SCIENCE 347, 1349-1352 published online 16 Mar. 2015); U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,211,678; 9,205,601; and 9,216,546 to DeSimone et al.; see also R. Janusziewicz, et al., Layerless fabrication with continuous liquid interface production, PNAS 113, 11703-11708 (18 Oct. 2016).
Dual cure resins for additive manufacturing were introduced shortly after the introduction of CLIP, expanding the usefulness of stereolithography for manufacturing a broad variety of objects still further. See Rolland et al., U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,676,963, 9,453,142 and 9,598,606; J. Poelma and J. Rolland, Rethinking digital manufacturing with polymers, SCIENCE 358, 1384-1385 (15 Dec. 2017).
Stereolithography resins—both conventional and dual cure—are generally viscous, and excess, unpolymerized, resins adhere to objects after they have been produced. Various wash techniques for removing excess resin are known (see, for example, W. McCall et al., Wash liquids for use in additive manufacturing with dual cure resins, US Patent Application Pub. No. 2017/0173872), but such techniques are generally slow, are not adapted for high through-put manufacturing situations, may require large amounts of wash liquids, and—because the excess resin is carried away in the wash liquid—generally preclude collection and use of the excess resin in subsequent stereolithographic production steps. Accordingly, there is a need for new techniques for removing excess resin from additively manufactured products.

Resin extractor for additive manufacturing


A read/write head carrying mechanism for a floppy disk drive. Upper and lower heads are brought into close contact with both sides of a floppy disk in a loaded state, and reciprocate in the radial direction of the floppy disk so as to be positioned at a desired track. The lower head is secured to a carriage, while the upper head to an upper arm, which is swingable with respect to the carriage. The carriage reciprocates along a single guide rail, which is spaced apart from and disposed parallel with a head moving path. The carriage is supported by the single guide rail, with the result that the carriage and the upper arm as a whole form a carriage assembly which swings with the guide rail as a fulcrum. The upper and lower heads move vertically by very small amounts by following the fluctuation of the floppy disk, thereby causing the heads and the floppy disk to be brought into close contact with each other.

The present invention relates to a read/write head carrying mechanism for a floppy disk drive. More particularly, the present invention concerns improvements of a read/write head carrying mechanism which is adapted to bring upper and lower heads, respectively, into close contact with both sides of a floppy disk placed in a loaded position, cause the upper and lower heads reciprocate along a predetermined head moving path, and swing open the upper and lower heads away from each other during the loading or unloading of the floppy disk, thereby facilitating the insertion and ejection of a disk cartridge.
Hitherto, various types of floppy disk drives have been put to practical use so as to effect the reading/writing of information in a magnetic medium known as a floppy disk, particularly a 3.5-inch floppy disk, incorporated in a disk cartridge.
Among these types of floppy disk drives, a double head type having a pair of upper and lower heads and capable of effecting the reading/writing of information on both sides of a floppy disk has been a mainstream, and these upper and lower heads are reciprocated along a predetermined head moving path set in the radial direction of the floppy disk.
A typical floppy disk drive employs a longitudinally mounted carriage whose longitudinal axis extends in the direction of the aforementioned head moving path, and the longitudinal axis of the carriage is arranged to be in alignment with the head moving path, the carriage being reciprocated by a motor or the like.
In addition to such a longitudinally mounted carriage, a transversely mounted carriage whose longitudinal axis is arranged perpendicularly to a head moving path has also been proposed, and these two different types of carriages are used each in its proper way, as required.
In both of these types, however, a space must be secured for the upper and lower heads to permit the insertion or removal of a disk cartridge during the loading or unloading of the disk cartridge. Conventionally, either one of the heads, normally the upper head, is swung open upwardly, and the insertion and removal of the disk cartridge are carried out through a clearance formed thereby.
Hence, with a conventional apparatus, there has been a problem in that the thickness of the floppy disk drive increases for securing a space for the springing up of the upper head.
A floppy disk drive having such a large thickness has a drawback in that it is unable to cope with the trend toward a small thickness which computers have in recent years have been required to be provided.

Read/write head carrying mechanism for floppy disk drive


A coil component comprises a core element having a mounting portion, a coil conductor placed on the core element, and at least two terminal electrodes which are placed in the mounting portion. The mounting portion has at least two terminal placement areas for placing the terminal electrodes respectively. A hollow portion opening to the mounting side face of the mounting portion is formed in an area between the at least two terminal placement areas in the mounting portion. When mounting the coil component on a circuit board, conductive paste is intervened between an area from the terminal electrodes placed in the mounting portion of the core element to the base exposed area of the mounting portion, and the electrode patterns on the circuit board.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a coil component and an electronic device.
2. Description of the Related Art
A known conventional coil component is a common mode choke coil disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-77730, for example. The coil component disclosed in this document comprises a magnetic core having a core portion and a pair of flange portions disposed on both ends of the core portion, terminal electrodes, two of which are disposed on each flange of the magnetic core respectively, and two insulated coated conductors (coils) which are wound around the core portion of the magnetic core. In the electrode terminal portion, both ends of each insulated coated conductor are conductively connected respectively.


A method for capturing a tool path, applicable to a machine tool having a controller and furnished with a tooling, includes the steps of: obtaining a data update frequency of the controller; calculating a feed rate of the controller, determining whether or not the feed rate is obtained, going to next step if positive, and going to the previous step if negative; reading G-codes of the controller to confirm the feed rate; and, based on the confirmed feed rate, recording machine coordinates transmitted from the controller for synthesizing a tool path file. The tool path file is used for simulation and analysis of machining of the machine tool. In addition, a device for capturing the tool path is also provided.

Currently, prior to performance analysis upon machine tools, complete information of tool paths needs to be collected in advance. However, since a typical controller of the conventional machine tool usually adopts a communication protocol unable to provide real-time data transmission, from which substantial time delay would be inevitable to result in incomplete or disconnected collection of coordinates, thus significant bias in reconstructing the cutting path would be expected.
In addition, if a machining program is provided by a computer aided design (CAD) system through a computer aided manufacturing (CAM) simulation, path planning shall be performed in advance to generate an intermediate file for obtaining corresponding G-codes (one of program languages for numerical controls), and thus practical machining of the machine tool can't be present in a real-time manner. However, if an interpreter is introduced to realize the G-codes, following maintenance or service difficulty would be encountered due to singularity and incompleteness of the interpreter.
In addition, the current CAM system may not produce G-codes for supporting the tool path file generally in an advanced packaging tool (APT) format. Since the tool path file is a long-streaming cluster of machine coordinates, thus, while in analyzing the tool-path information, each of the coordinates in the tool path shall be analyzed, the corresponding G-codes shall be processed also to form a tool path file, and additional macro instructions shall be prepared as well. Obviously, after all these tedious processes, it can be foreseen that inaccuracy would arise.
In other words, currently while in performing the tool-path analysis, either by the controller or by software, bias and difficulty in obtaining the tool-path data would be inevitable.
Accordingly, a method and device for capturing useful tool-path information that can adjust a feed rate of the cutting tool according to a communication frequency of the controller of the machine tool would be welcome and also urgent needs to the skill persons in the art.

Method for capturing tool path and device thereof

INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE


A system for testing a phased array comprising a phase-locked loop circuit responsive to a received output signal of the phased array. The phase-locked loop circuit comprises a phase detector; a filtering element, a variable frequency oscillator and a feedback loop. The system is configured to output at least one of a value indicative of the output of the phase detector and a value indicative of the output of the filtering element for estimating at least one of an imparted phase shift and an imparted frequency modulation by array.

Modern RADAR system architectures include analog and digital phased array systems. A phased array antenna is comprised of numerous radiating elements each having a phase shifter. Beams are formed by selectively activating all or a portion of antenna elements of a given array. The beam pattern of these antennas can be controlled to produce one or more directed beams. Scanning or steering of the beams is accomplished by shifting the phase of the signals emitted from the elements in order to provide constructive and/or destructive interference. The ability to form and steer a beam permits multiple functions to be performed by the same system. As with any type of RADAR, the ability to efficiently test the functionality and accuracy of the system may be critical to achieving and maintaining system performance.
Phased RADAR arrays using analog beamforming have traditionally been tested using a planar nearfield scanner. More specifically, radio frequency (RF) equipment is configured to either receive an RF signal from an analog Array Under Test (AUT), such as AUT 10 in FIG. 1A, or transmit an RF signal to an AUT. In order to obtain the phase and amplitude changes for determining AUT performance, the equipment is configured to establish reference points at a nearfield probe and at the AUT. During nearfield scanning measurements, data is acquired via an RF receiver, and amplitude and phase measurements are characterized by the difference between the reference and test points. After the entire active aperture has been scanned and corresponding data collected, the data is processed via a Fourier Transform to obtain a pattern of the farfield energy in visible space.
As phased array technology has improved, universal digital beam forming (DBF) architecture has been implemented. Digital receivers and exciters have greatly improved phased array performance parameters, such as signal to noise, beamforming error elimination, and clutter attenuation. Many new digital phased array architectures are designed utilizing distributed digital receivers and exciters (DREX). DREX systems include, for example, an "on-array" module having a single exciter, a single receiver and a transmit/receive module (T/R module) associated with each radiating element. DREX systems offer improved RADAR performance in detection sensitivity, time sidelobes, third-order interception point and instantaneous dynamic change. However, the implementation of these on-array exciters and receivers poses new technical challenges.
For example, new testing and measurement obstacles have been encountered, as the array can no longer be represented as a transfer function of a linear system. More specifically, analog phased arrays can be represented as a complex transfer function dependent on the carrier frequency. The transfer function H(jω) is simply the ratio of RFin to RFout:H(jω)=RFout/RFin
This linear function is relatively easily tested using a standard network analyzer. The analyzer measures the swept frequency magnitude and phase difference induced by the transfer function relative to the analyzer's self-created reference signal of known magnitude and phase.
As set forth above, DREX systems used in digital phased arrays can no longer be represented by an input RF signal, a transfer function and an RF output signal. Modern digital distributed RADAR arrays, as illustrated by digital AUT 15 in FIG. 1B, convert a digital bit stream to an RF signal when operating in a transmit (Tx) mode, and convert a received RF signal to a stream of digital bits when operating in a receive (Rx) mode. As a result of this AD/DA processing, RF-based test equipment (i.e. network analyzers) are not adequate to accurately test, debug or characterize these systems.
More specifically, when a digital array transmits to the nearfield scanner probe, a digital word is translated by the exciter's D/A converter and transmitted as an RF signal to the nearfield scanner probe. Conversely, the array receives an RF signal from the nearfield scanner probe, and an A/D converter on the digital receiver converts the analog data to digital data comprising in-phase and quadrature-phase (I/O) data components. This I/Q data stream is then distributed to various processing locations within the phased array system.
As the nearfield scanner probe uses an analog receiver and exciter, existing systems must correlate digital I/Q data from the digital array with the analog RF data of the nearfield scanner probe. For example, the DREX modules in the array require the distribution of multiple local oscillators for up-conversion in Tx mode and down-conversion in Rx mode. Variations in magnitude and phase of each local oscillator are wrongly perceived as changes in amplitude or phase of the RADAR target return signal. Therefore, care must be taken in the distribution of the RADAR RF circuitry (for Tx and Rx) in the array, as well as the distribution of the local oscillator signals in the array. This same care must be applied to the external equipment testing or characterizing the array, or the constituent components of the array. Further, the reference RF signal used for comparison to detect amplitude and phase changes is problematic. If the reference RF signal exhibits parameter changes, the array will wrongly apply internal corrections as though the array hardware was exhibiting errors.
Current solutions for testing DREX-based systems include the application of identical DREX hardware used as the testing equipment. Outfitting this RADAR-testing-RADAR solution means adding significant amounts of additional hardware, software, firmware, data recording/storage ability, and RF and local oscillator stability equipment to the system. These systems are not portable for testing or alignment of the array in the field. In addition to the added weight and expense, the system is further taxed with the need for additional cooling for the hardware. Engineering of this arrangement is also intensive and expensive.
Improved systems and methods for nearfield testing of phased arrays are desired.


Disclosed herein are 1- or 2-thio, thiomethylene, and sulfonylnaphthalene derivatives of formulas I and II ##STR1## or a pharmaceutically acceptable catonic salt thereof, wherein n is 0 or 1. R.sub.5 is hydrogen, bromo, chloro, trifluoromethyl or difluoroethyl; PA0 R.sub.6 is hydrogen, hydroxy, methoxy or ethoxy; and PA0 R.sub.7 is hydrogen or R.sub.7 and R.sub.6 are both methyl or ethyl carbonate,. provided that, when S(O).sub.2 is in the 2 position of the naphthalene ring, R.sub.5, R.sub.6 and R.sub.7 are each hydrogen. The disclosed compounds possess blood-glucose lowering actions and are useful in the treatment of diabetes mellitus.

Treatment for non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM; Type II diabetes) usually consists of a regimen of diet and exercise, oral hypoglycemic agents and, in more severe cases, insulin. Oral agents in common use are the sulfonylureas and biguanides. However, while the sulfonylureas are valuable for treatment of NIDDM they may give rise to hypoglycemic episodes and exhibit other toxic manifestations which limit their use. They are also prone to a high incidence of primary or secondary failure of efficacy. Similarly, the use of biguanides has declined because of their association with incidents of toxic lactic acidosis. A continuing need for new hypoglycemic agents which may be less toxic and more efficacious is clearly evident. Pursuit of new oral agents is ongoing and a variety of new and novel compounds with hypoglycemic activity have been reported (Mohrbachet, R. J.; Kiorpes, T. C.; Bowden, C. R. Annular Reports in Medicinal Chemistry--Vol. 22, 1987, pp. 213-222, and references therein).
Ciglitazone [(.+-.)-5-[4-(1-methylcyclohexyl)methoxy]benzyl]-2,4-thiazolidinedione] (U.S. Pat. No. 4,401,902) represents a class of compounds useful for the treatment of hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia which only normalize these parameters, thereby avoiding hypoglycemic episodes. Other 2,4-thiazolidinedione containing compounds having antihyperglycemic activity and useful for treating diabetes have been disclosed. See: (a) Yoshioka, T.; Fujita, T.; Kanai, T.; Aizawa, Y.; Kurumada, T.; Hasegawa, K.; Horikoshi, H. J. Med. Chem. 1989, 32, 421, (b) Kanji, M.; Fujita, T. U.S. Pat. No. 4,687,777, 1987, and (c) Eggler, J. F.; Holland, G. F.; Johnson, M. R.; Volkmann, R. A. U.S. Pat. No. 4,738,972, 1988.
The compounds of the present invention also possess antihyperglycemic activity and are of novel structure. They differ from the above compounds by the attachment of a thio or sulfonyl or methylthio linking moiety at the 5-position of the 2,4-thiazolidinedione ring and by the incorporation of a lipophilic naphthalenyl group into the structure. Accordingly, the present compounds represent an important new approach for the treatment of diabetes mellitus.
Compounds in which sulfur is attached to the 5-position of a 2,4-thiazolidinedione ring have been disclosed (Japan Kokai No. 78 40,770; Japan Kokai No. 78 46, 973; Mikrobiol. Zh. (Kiev) 1970, 32, 518-520 (Ukrain); Ger. Offen. DE No. 3,045,059) but differ from the compounds of the present invention in that the nitrogen of the 2,4-thiazolidinedione ring is substituted or the sulfur is in the form of a sulfonic acid. In addition, these compounds are not sulfones and do not contain a naphthalene ring. Furthermore, these compounds are claimed as having only antifouling or antibiotic properties.
The most preferred compounds of formula I are 5-[(2-naphthalenyl)sulfonyl]-2,4-thiazolidinedione and 5-[[6-methoxy-5-(trifluoromethyl)-1-naphthalenyl]sulfonyl]-2,4-thiazolidin edione, and the pharmaceutically acceptable cationic salts thereof.

5-[(1- and 2-naphthalenyl) sulfonyl]-2,4-thiazolidinediones and derivatives thereof


A fire in an enclosed space in an aircraft is, for example, visually detected early since smoke generated by a beginning fire is initially permitted to escape from the enclosed space. The enclosed space is, for example, an overhead luggage bin or a goods container holding food or freight. The smoke can pass through a flow passage either in the form of a gap or a leak between a lid and walls, or between a door and a door frame, or between walls and other walls joined together. Intumescent material is installed along the gaps or leaks and expands into the gaps or leaks when the fire has generated a temperature sufficient for causing the expansion of the intumescent material. Preferably a guide surface assures that the intumescent material expands into the gaps and leaks and cannot expand away from gaps and leaks.

Enclosed spaces such as overhead luggage compartments in a passenger cabin ceiling or goods containers for food and freight in the loading space of an aircraft, are conventionally not sealed in an airtight manner so that any fires that might start in these enclosed spaces would be automatically smothered. Rather, leaks in the form of air flow passages, gaps and openings admit air and thus oxygen into the enclosed space thereby fueling the fire. That is a disadvantage. However, such leaks have the advantage that an early detection of a fire is possible because smoke generation is most intense at the beginning of a fire and the smoke can escape through these leaks, whereby an early visual detection is possible. The supply of air and thus oxygen applies particularly to overhead luggage compartments or bins and to containers that may be stored in a galley area or in the freight space of an aircraft. Fires that have started in these enclosed spaces have been known to expand with detrimental effects into the passenger cabin or into the freight space of an aircraft.
UK Patent Publication GB 2,107,182 A discloses various types of louvers for covering openings in buildings and in doors of buildings for air ventilation. These louvers are constructed with slats, the back side of which is coated with intumescent material for closing off the air flow channels formed between neighboring slats of the louver when the intumescent material is exposed to elevated temperatures sufficient to cause the intumescent material to expand. Since the expansion is uncontrolled, particularly with regard to the direction of expansion it is not always assured that the cross-sectional flow areas between two neighboring slats are completely sealed off. Thus, some air could still pass through the louvers.
German Patent Publication DE 36 12 377 A1 discloses a fire protection sealing tape in which a tape material is combined with one or more intumescent fire protection strands. The intumescent strands which expand their volume in response to a respective expansion temperature, are combined with the tape material in such a way, that the expansion of the intumescent material will expand the adhesive tape. These tapes have at least one adhesive outer surface. One or more intumescent material strands may be completely embedded in the tape material. Another conventional adhesive tape has a strand or strip of intumescent material positioned between two strips of tape material. The adhesive tape combined with an intumescent material strand or strands is installed in joints between neighboring sections of steel reinforced ceilings, walls, slots between lightweight construction walls, concrete ceilings and generally in gaps that must be closed. The main purpose of these conventional adhesive tapes is to prevent a fire that has started in one room from moving into neighboring rooms.
UK Patent Publication GB 2,277,871 A discloses a fire-resistant container in which a metal casing and its metal door are lined on the inside with layers of an intumescent adhesive, a heat resistant thermal insulating material, and an intumescent strip. The fire-resistant container is for example used to protect filing cabinets against a fire.
The above described conventional use of intumescent materials, particularly intumescent strips or strands or tapes, leaves room for improvement particularly for effectively using such materials in an aircraft.

Method and apparatus for detecting smoke and smothering a fire


There is disclosed herein a tube case having first and second sections wherein the open ends of the two sections can be slid together to provide a carrying case for elongated items, such as fishing rods, rifles, golf clubs, golf bags and the like. One section is smaller in cross-section than the other such that the closed end of that section can be inserted into the open end of the other section to provide a more compact assembly for storage and shipment. The sections of the tube case are designed so that a portion or an edge at the open end of the outer case abuts a shoulder on a latch plate or bracket on the other case to both provide a stop when the open ends of the two sections are placed together for carrying an article, and further to properly orient the ends of the two sections so that latches can be readily and simply engaged and latched to lock together the two sections.

The present invention relates to cases, such as rigid cases for transporting and/or storing products. In particular, it is directed to an elongated two-section case wherein one section fits or telescopes within the other, and the sections of the cases are formed of a relatively rigid material, such as roto-molded polyethylene.
Numerous forms of cases have been devised over the years, including soft sided cases and rigid wall cases. The most familiar forms of cases are suitcases, briefcases, roll-on carrying cases, golf club cases and golf club traveling cases, and the like. A need exists for a relatively strong and lightweight case for transporting elongated items, such as fishing poles, golf clubs, rifles and various and sundry other elongated devices that need protection from the elements and from damage, such as while being transported in the baggage compartment of an airplane.
The present invention relates to a relatively rigid case formed in two telescoping sections wherein the end of one section fits within the end of another section to form the overall elongated case. A relatively simple latching assembly is provided, along with the manner in which the two case sections are configured, to allow an end of one section to abut against a latch plate affixed to the other section to act as a stop or stops, and to enable the two sections to be simply, efficiently and strongly latched together. In this manner, the two sections overlap thereby providing a strong central section to the assembled case. Another aspect of the present invention is that the closed end of the smaller section is configured to almost totally fit within the open end of the larger section to provide a relatively compact case assembly for shipment, storage, warehousing and the like.
More specifically, according to an exemplary embodiment, each section has a closed end and an open end. In assembling the case for use, to contain or hold an article, such as a fishing rod, golf clubs or the like, the two open ends are mated in the manner noted above and latched together to provide an elongated carrying case for the article. On the other hand, in the case of just storage and/or shipment of the case itself, the closed end of one section is inserted into the open end of the other section, with the two sections telescoped together thereby resulting in a relatively compact assembly only slightly longer than one of the sections.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved form of case.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a relatively rigid and lightweight elongated carrying case having a simple latching mechanism for securing together sections of the case for carrying a product or products therein.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a tube case having two sections, one of which can be stored in the other for relatively compact storage and shipment.


An apparatus and method for applying covers to seat cushions, including a frame cushion support which is rotatable between a portion in which the cushion covered thereby is compressed to facilitate placing the cover over the cushion and a position which provides access to the bottom of the cushion to facilitate fastening the cover to the cushion.

I. Field of the Invention
The instant invention relates to a method and apparatus for applying covers to seat cushions to form finished seats such as are often provided in motor vehicles.
The invention particularly pertains to the manufacture of seats with stressed covers which conform tightly to inner cushion material (such as material commonly employed in vehicle seats) which material is usually resilient and deformable. The resulting seats embody covers which follow the contours of the cushions without slackness.
II. Prior Art
Seats of the type to which the instant invention pertains comprise resilient compressible foam cushions, and covers which may be of synthetic materials and which are normally shaped to generally conform to the shape of the finished seat. Normally these covers are of a smaller size than the cushion material to be enclosed by the cover. Accordingly the foam core must be compressed in order to place the cover over the cushion.
Seats of this type often also comprise an innerspring structure with a peripheral frame which forms a means for supporting a cushion and provides the major support for the seat. As is known, the cover in such seats must be forced over the cushion's upper face, then down the sides of the cushion, then pulled inwardly beneath the spring frame, and finally secured to the frame by hog-tying or like means. It is known to provide a work place support for the seat which holds the frame and cushion in an upright position in which the cover can be forced over the top and down the sides of the cushion. Once this is accomplished it is also known to rotate the cushion 180 .degree., fix it in position once again and, while the frame is still held by the support, pull the cover ends over the innerspring frame, and lastly hog-tie the cover in position.
According to the known methods and apparatus, workers must physically pull and tug the cover over the top of the cushion, and after the inversion of the cushion, they must pull the cover upwardly and over the lower half of the cushion, then the cover must be pulled over the spring frame before the cover can be hog-tied to the frame.

Cushion compression machine for compressing a cushion and applying a cover to the cushion