An interface for a graphics system includes simple yet powerful constructs that are easy for an application programmer to use and learn. Features include a unique vertex representation allowing the graphics pipeline to retain vertex state information and to mix indexed and direct vertex values and attributes; a projection matrix value set command; a display list call object command; and an embedded frame buffer clear/set command.

Many of us have seen films containing remarkably realistic dinosaurs, aliens, animated toys and other fanciful creatures. Such animations are made possible by computer graphics. Using such techniques, a computer graphics artist can specify how each object should look and how it should change in appearance over time, and a computer then models the objects and displays them on a display such as your television or a computer screen. The computer takes care of performing the many tasks required to make sure that each part of the displayed image is colored and shaped just right based on the position and orientation of each object in a scene, the direction in which light seems to strike each object, the surface texture of each object, and other factors.
Because computer graphics generation is complex, computer-generated three-dimensional graphics just a few years ago were mostly limited to expensive specialized flight simulators, high-end graphics workstations and supercomputers. The public saw some of the images generated by these computer systems in movies and expensive television advertisements, but most of us couldn't actually interact with the computers doing the graphics generation. All this has changed with the availability of relatively inexpensive 3D graphics platforms such as, for example, the Nintendo 64® and various 3D graphics cards now available for personal computers. It is now possible to interact with exciting 3D animations and simulations on relatively inexpensive computer graphics systems in your home or office.
A problem graphics system designers confronted in the past was how to provide a control interface for a graphics system that enables fast, efficient and flexible use of the graphics system by applications designed to be executed thereon. Various application programming interfaces (APIs) and application binary interfaces (ABIs) have been developed in the past for the purpose of enabling graphics application programmers to control the operation of a graphics chip provided in a graphics system. Perhaps the most commonly-used 3D graphics application programming interfaces in current use are Microsoft's Direct3D interface and the OpenGL interface developed through cooperation with Silicon Graphics. See, for example, Kovach, Inside Direct3D: The Definitive Guide to Real-Time 3D Power and Performance for Microsoft Windows (Microsoft Press 2000); and Neider et al., OpenGL Programming Guide: The Official Guide to Learning OpenGL Release 1 (Addison-Wesley Publishing Co. 1993).
As explained in the Kovach book, Microsoft's DirectX application programming interface (API) provides a set of interfaces offering efficient control of multimedia hardware on a computer running Microsoft Windows. Kovach states that DirectX lets programmers work with commands and data structures that are very close to those that the hardware can natively process, without being so low level that code has to be written differently for each device. By writing device-independent code, programmers can create software that will theoretically always perform at its best (according to Kovach)—even as users enhance their systems with new and improved 3D graphics accelerators, sound cards, input devices and other system capabilities.
Kovach explains that the device-independence of DirectX is obtained because the DirectX APIs are built on a hardware abstraction layer (HAL) that hides the device-specific dependencies of the hardware. In fact, DirectX defines some hardware acceleration support features that aren't available on much of the hardware built today in order to provide extensibility for the future.
While the DirectX approach has been widely adopted and is successful in providing compatibility across a wide range of different platform configurations, the use of a thick hardware abstraction layer and associated hardware emulation layer is not particularly suitable for current low cost dedicated video game platforms at the current time. The DirectX API was primarily designed for personal computers costing many hundreds or thousands of dollars and manufactured in a variety of different configurations and permutations. While the DirectX API has been successful in providing compatibility across a wide range of such different platform configurations, this compatibility has come at the expense of efficiency and performance. In the context of a dedicated low-cost video game platform, it is possible to do much better in terms of providing a fully capable programming interface that is very close to the hardware while providing a highly capable and flexible interface for achieving a wide variety of interesting 3-dimensional graphics effects.
One prior approach is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/990,133 filed Dec. 12, 1997 by Van Hook et al., entitled "Interface For A High Performance Low Cost Video Game System With Coprocessor Providing High Speed Efficient 3D Graphics And Digital Audio Signal Processing." However, further improvements are possible and desirable. In particular, some people criticized the interface described in this prior Van Hook et al., patent application because they thought it was difficult to write applications to. In the home video game arena, it is desirable to maximize performance while keeping the interface used to invoke and control such performance and capabilities as simple and easy to use as possible. Requiring application programmers to write to an unduly complicated interface may increase the time it takes to develop such applications. This can have devastatingly negative effects when it comes time to launch a new video game platform—since the success of the platform may often depend on achieving a certain "critical mass" in terms of the number of games or other applications available at launch time. As some developers of prior new home video game platforms found out, no one wants to buy a new video game system if there are no games to play on it. It is therefore desirable to provide a graphics programming interface that is simple and easy to use and yet is very powerful and flexible.
The present invention solves this problem by providing new and improved interface for graphics systems that is designed to be as thin as possible in order to achieve high performance, while also providing a logical and orthogonal view of the graphics hardware.
The present invention provides a graphics system programming interface with graphics commands allowing geometry to be rendered with many attributes. The interface provides two main methods for drawing geometry. An immediate mode allows the command stream source to send a stream of graphics commands directly to the graphics processor for consumption. This immediate mode interface is useful when the main processor must synthesize geometry data from a higher-level description (e.g., a height field or Bezier patch). The second method feeds a command stream to the graphics processor using a memory-resident display list format. This interface provides superior performance for static data. The immediate interface and the display list interface both support configurable vertex representations. The configurable vertex representations include, for example, direct or indexed vertex components. Vertex components (e.g., position, normal, color and texture coordinates for a number of textures) can all be indexed independently from arrays, or placed directly in the command stream. Additional flexibility is provided by allowing each vertex component to have a differently-sized representation and precision. The available direct types may include, for example, 8-bit signed and unsigned integer, 16-bit signed and unsigned integer, and 32-bit floating point. A scale is available to position the decimal point for the integer types. The indirect types (e.g., 8-bit index or 16-bit index) can be used to index into an array of any of the direct types. This flexible representation allows the game developer to organize vertex data in a way that is appropriate for the game. The ability to index each component separately eliminates a great deal of data duplication.


A laser system may include a seed laser formed from a Ti:Sapphire laser providing pulsed light and an optical parametric amplifier to generate pulsed light within a Holmium emission spectrum as seed pulses in response to the pulsed light from the Ti:Sapphire laser. A laser system may further include an amplifier to generate amplified pulses of light in response to the seed pulses from the seed laser, where the amplified pulses include at least some of the seed pulses amplified by the one or more Holmium-doped gain media pumped by the one or more pump lasers. The amplifier may include one or more Holmium-doped gain media and one or more pump lasers providing continuous-wave pump light within an absorption spectrum of the one or more Holmium-doped gain media.

Ultrashort laser pulses having pulse durations on the order of femtoseconds and spectra centered around 2.05 microns (μm) are highly desirable for a wide range of applications including spectroscopy, sensing, LIDAR, medical, materials processing, military, and eye-safe applications. Further, ultrashort laser pulses centered around 2.05 μm exhibiting high stability and high pulse energies may be utilized as pump sources for additional laser systems providing pulses centered around longer infrared (IR) wavelengths such as mid-infrared (MIR) or far-infrared (FIR) wavelengths. For example, wavelengths between approximately 3 μm and 12 μm may be suitable for biological sensing applications commonly referred to as a "molecular fingerprint" spectral window since absorption lines of many biological materials lie in this spectral window. By way of another example, long-wavelength pulses are suitable for the generation of high-harmonics across a wide bandwidth for the production of coherent extreme ultraviolet (XUV) light as well as attosecond laser pulses.
Ultrafast laser systems typically include an oscillator to generate seed pulses and one or more amplification stages to generate pulses with desired pulse energies. However, oscillator systems generally provide pulses with pulse energies on the order of nanojoules such that substantial amplification is required to reach pulse energies useful for many applications (e.g., millijoules or higher). Chirped pulse amplification (CPA) is a widely used technique that facilitates significant amplification by reducing peak power of pulses during amplification by introducing chirp prior to amplification and recompressing the pulses after amplification. However, the shortest achievable pulse durations are limited in high-gain CPA systems by the gain bandwidth of the gain medium as well as gain narrowing in which central wavelengths of pulses are amplified more than wavelengths on the wings. Advances in optical parametric amplification (OPA) technology, which supports amplification of spectral components outside the gain bandwidth of the gain medium, have enabled the generation of high-energy laser pulses with ever-shorter pulse durations (e.g., pulse durations on the order of attoseconds), particularly when combined with CPA techniques.
Amplification of broadband pulses in OPA technology is typically based on a frequency-mixing process in a nonlinear medium that is pumped by a high-energy narrowband pulse and a difference frequency pulse. The extent of the amplification of the spectral components and generation of new frequency components rely largely on the nonlinear medium used in this process.
Typical OPA systems for generating ultrashort pulses employ an oxide-based nonlinear medium such as barium borate (BBO) and utilize well-developed Ti:Sapphire technology having a gain bandwidth centered approximately around 800 nm to pump the nonlinear medium. However, the transmission properties of the oxide-based non-linear medium may limit spectral components in the MIR or FIR spectral regions. Hence a non-oxide medium such as zinc germanium phosphide (ZGP) is typically used as the nonlinear medium in the OPA system. However, due to nonlinear properties such as two-photon process, it cannot be pumped by the commercial Ti:Sapphire technology. One solution is to pump this non-oxide medium with pulses having longer wavelengths such as those generated through Holmium emission (e.g., centered around approximately 2.05 μm). However, laser systems providing pulses centered around 2.05 μm typically suffer from low stability, low pulse energy, and/or undesirably long pulses (e.g., tens of picoseconds). As a result, the practical ability to utilize ultrashort laser pulses centered around 2.05 μm directly or as seed pulses in more complex systems is practically limited. It is therefore desirable to provide systems and methods for generating ultrashort laser pulses that cure the above deficiencies.

University of Central Florida Research Foundation, Inc.


Techniques related to object detection using binary coded images are discussed. Such techniques may include performing object detection based on multiple spatial correlation mappings between a generated binary coded image and a binary coded image based object detection model and nesting look up tables such that binary coded representations are grouped and such groups are associated with confidence values for performing object detection.

Object detection may be used to determine whether and/or where in an image a certain object such as a human face, a human body, an automobile, or the like appears. For example, face detection may be used in human-computer interaction, photo album management, biometrics, video surveillance, automatic focus in camera imaging, image or video search and retrieval, and the like.
In some implementations, cascade classifiers may be used to perform object detection. To support multiple object detection models (e.g., to search for multiple objects while performing a search), different models are trained for implementation by the cascade classifier in a detection phase. For example, to support profile face detection and rotated face detection, different models (e.g., a different model for each rotation or profile) may be trained and implemented for such profiles and rotations.
However, such implementations may use substantial memory space and power particularly in mobile devices. Furthermore, even in larger form factor devices such as laptop computers and the like having powerful central processing units, such implementations may cause cache thrashing due to rapid exchanges in memory, which may significantly decrease the performance of the implemented object detector.
As such, existing techniques do not provide object detection implementations with model sizes that are suitable for mobile devices and for high performance system performance. Such problems may become critical as object detection becomes more widespread.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Model compression in binary coded image based object detection


The dynamic postural device comprises two oscillating elements having respectively: —a seating portion to support a buttock of a user; a supporting portion opposite to the seating portion and of a substantially convex shape; in which the supporting portion is adapted to allow the oscillation of the respective oscillating element as a result of the seating of the user.

It is known that a physiologically incorrect posture, particularly for people who remain in a static and sedentary position for a long time, can lead to an uneven distribution of pressures that, by discharging onto the spine, rachis and intervertebral discs, cause a series of possible osteoarticular pathologies.
Indeed, sedentariness is one of the major causes of the aforementioned pathologies, together with the lack of movement that causes an accelerated aging of the intervertebral discs, thus accelerating the degenerative processes related to the age.
Specifically, sedentariness together with incorrect postures are linked either to unsuitable seating devices or precisely to the assumption of incorrect postures often directly related to muscular fatigue caused by staying in the same position for a long time.
Additionally, according to recent studies, maintaining good paravertebral muscle trophism and controlled and modulated movement are among the main and most effective prevention factors.
To date, the seating devices commonly used such as chairs and armchairs comprise a base structure provided with at least three elements resting on the ground often associated with wheels which are adapted to facilitate the displacement thereof in the surrounding environments, and a seating surface for the support of a user.
The seating surface is integrally associated with the base structure; in other words, the seating surface is static and its prolonged use over time is often among the major causes of osteoarticular pathologies.
Furthermore, the seating surface is associated with a lumbar supporting surface which is also generally at least partially blocked.
The static nature of the aforementioned surfaces for both seating and lumbar support makes these chairs and armchairs uncomfortable.
Additionally, the total lack of motion stimuli greatly accelerates the early aging process of the muscles.
In order to at least partly overcome the aforementioned drawbacks, several types of seating device are known which have the lumbar supporting surface and the seating surface movable relative to each other so as to vary the angle formed between the pelvis and the spine in order to counteract the tendency of the spine to curve.
Nevertheless, even in this case the prolonged use of such devices is awkward and uncomfortable.
The fact should also be added that they do not allow for balance control, in fact, they have no mobility adjustments systems for the lumbar supporting surfaces and for the seating surface or, likewise, temporary blocking systems of these. Another type of seating device has a base structure comprising at least three elements resting on the ground and adapted to support a spherical element of the type of a ball.
Generally, the spherical element is made of a flexible material and defines the seating surface.
In this case, the total instability of the seating surface makes these devices, generally made for medical and postural gymnastics, inadequate for prolonged seating over time; this is due to the lack of control on the seating surface, which causes stress and muscular fatigue for prolonged periods of time.
Another type of seating device comprises a base structure provided with at least one element resting on the ground comprising a supporting element of elongated conformation and having a first ending part associated in an unstable manner with the resting element and a second ending part associated with a seating surface.
The first ending part is associated with the resting element by interposition of a joint, e.g. of the universal type, which is adapted to make the seating surface unstable.
Even in this case, the total instability of the seating surface makes the aforementioned devices unsuitable for a prolonged use over time, often causing stress and muscular disease.
In detail, the lack of control puts the user into a situation of shaky and uncontrolled balance which makes the seat uncomfortable for prolonged periods of time.
Additionally, the aforementioned devices do not allow for an adequate air recirculation in the proximity of the gluteus region and in the lower part of the pelvis causing, particularly for prolonged periods of time, an increase in temperature at the lower external portion of the rachis; this increases the sensitivity, which is physiologically high in itself, to inflammatory conditions related to the temperature increase in that area.
In addition, the conformation of such devices is unsuitable to the anatomy and variability of conformation and extension of the gluteus region of each individual person, thus resulting in an uneven distribution of the charges in the sitting position.


An adapter assembly fitting an engine coolant system to covert the system to accept a threaded high pressure coolant line in place of the rubber hose, the adapter securing to each coolant line connections, including the upper and lower radiator necks, the necks on the water pumps and the neck generally leading to the intake manifold. These adaptors connect to each neck, allowing for further connection to the high pressure threaded hoses used in high compression engines or for those automobile owners who wish to upgrade to a more aesthetic appearance of the engine compartment. The adaptor assembly comprises a circular composite band, a body having a fluid channel, a split ring washer and a compression ring which attach to each neck in a manner to seal the adapter to the neck.

1. Field of Invention
An adapter assembly fitting an engine coolant system to covert the system to accept a threaded high pressure coolant line in place of the rubber hose, the adapter securing to each coolant line connections, including the upper and lower radiator necks, the necks on the water pumps and the neck generally leading to the intake manifold. These adaptors connect to each neck, allowing for further connection to the high pressure threaded hoses used in high compression engines or for those automobile owners who wish to upgrade to a more aesthetic appearance of the engine compartment. The adaptor assembly comprises a circular composite band , a body having a fluid channel, a split ring washer and a compression ring which attach to each neck in a manner to seal the adapter to the neck.
2. Description of Prior Art
A preliminary review of prior art patents was conducted by the applicant which reveal prior art patents in a similar field or having similar use. However, the prior art inventions do not disclose the same or similar elements as the present coolant system hose adapter, nor do they present the material components in a manner contemplated or anticipated in the prior art.
No adapter suited for the conversion of coolant system necks were found in the search for prior art. However pressure fitting for hoses were located as disclosed herein. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,773,679 to Hangebrauck, a compression coupling includes a metal tube having circumferentially extended beads formed for receiving a free end of a flexible tube held in place by a clamping mechanism. There is no threaded engagement nor is there an elastic circular composite band. A quick connect attachment is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,979,868 to Wu, which allows for the introduction of a quick connect coupling into a fluid line. It uses a combination of threaded engagements, O-ring seals, ball joints and springs, but has little if any to do with the present coolant system neck adapter in function or substantially equivalent elements. A pressurized hose coupling is shown in U. S. Pat. No. 6,416,085 to Markovic, which is also not adapter nor designed to attach to a coolant system neck as disclosed in the present adapter. Unlike the present adapter which attaches to a neck and provides for the attachment of a threaded pressurized hose end, the Markovic patent involves the attachment end of the hose. It has no component structure adapted to fit upon the coolant system neck as does the present adapter, and is thus also not suited for use as is the present adapter, nor does it provide elements substantially similar or equal to those elements and structural relationship as the present adapter.

Automotive coolant hose conversion adapter


Turbojet powerplant with at least one compressor (1), at least one combustion chamber (2), a high-pressure turbine (3) and a low-pressure turbine (4), characterised in that a heat exchanger (5) is arranged between the compressor (1) and the combustion chamber (2), in that at least one hot-gas line (6) branches off from an area downstream of the high-pressure turbine (3) and is connected to the heat exchanger (5), and in that at least one cold-gas line (7) connects the heat exchanger (5) with an area upstream of the low-pressure turbine (4).

This invention relates to a turbojet powerplant for aircraft applications which is provided with a heat exchanger.
More particularly, this invention relates to a turbojet powerplant with at least one compressor, at least one combustion chamber, a high-pressure turbine and a low-pressure turbine.
A great variety of designs of turbojet powerplants is known in the prior art. The objective of the technical development in this field is the improvement of efficiency to achieve, among others, a lower fuel consumption. The associated development effort focuses on the continuous improvement of the efficiency of the individual components. However, the related optimisation measures cannot be progressed ad libitum, in particular with respect to the cost-to-profit-ratio.
In a broad aspect, the present invention provides a turbojet powerplant of the type described at the beginning which combines simplicity of design and safety of operation with improved efficiency and low specific fuel consumption.
It is the principal object of the present invention to provide remedy to the above problematics, with further advantageous aspects of the present invention being cited in the subclaims.
The turbojet powerplant according to the present invention, therefore, provides an arrangement in which a heat exchanger is located between the compressor and the combustion chamber, in which at least one hot-gas line is branched off from an area downstream of the high-pressure turbine and is connected with the heat exchanger, and in which at least one cold-gas line connects the heat exchanger with an area upstream of the low-pressure turbine.
The turbojet powerplant according to the present invention has a variety of merits.
The provision of a heat exchanger according to the present invention enables the compressed gas supplied to the combustion chamber to be heated additionally. By virtue of this additional energy input, a correspondingly smaller amount of fuel-supplied energy is needed in the area of the combustion chamber. This effects a considerable reduction of the fuel consumption, with the output power of the turbojet powerplant remaining unchanged. The take-off of hot gas from an area downstream of the high-pressure turbine ensures that the temperature of the hot gas is high enough to supply a sufficient amount of heat to the heat exchanger.
The combined effect of the features according to the present invention enables the specific fuel consumption (SFC) to be reduced between 2 and 4 percent. This reduction of the specific fuel consumption is independent of any other measures for the optimisation of the turbojet powerplant.
In a particularly favourable development of the present invention, the heat exchanger is designed such that it is capable of flowing the entire amount of the air discharged from the compressor. This ensures that the entire compressed air or the entire compressed gas, respectively, will be heated correspondingly as it flows through the heat exchanger.
The heat exchanger in accordance with the present invention is preferentially of the counter-flow type. This type provides for favourable and safe operation. In a further advantageous development, the heat exchanger is designed as diffuser on the side of the compressor air, this design providing for partial compensation of the heat exchanger pressure loss through heat transfer. This effect is augmented in that the gas exiting from the compressor is forced to pass the heat exchanger, as described above.
In a particularly favourable embodiment of the present invention, the hot gas is discharged to the high-pressure turbine via holes in the leading edge areas of a first row of vanes and is supplied to the hot-gas line via associated lines. Upon entry in the vanes, the hot gas is decelerated and ducted radially outward into a first compartment (annulus). In a favourable arrangement of the present invention, the hot-gas lines which supply the hot gas to the heat exchanger are flanged to this annulus. Apparently, the present invention may be implemented with several hot-gas lines and with several cold-gas lines. Accordingly, the purpose of the first annulus is to combine the individual hot-gas flows from the vanes.
For the protection of the first annulus against too high temperatures, heat shields are provided on its interior side.
Preferentially, for the return of the gas (cold-gas) issued in the area of the heat-exchanger, a second annulus is provided to which the cold-gas line is joined. This second annulus (annular duct) serves the uniform circumferential distribution of the returned cold gas. Again, heat shields are provided to prevent the casing of the second annulus from overheating.
From the second annulus, the cold gas flow will preferentially flow into vanes of the low-pressure turbine which are open to this second annulus. Subsequently, the cold gas exits from the interior of the vanes through openings at the trailing edges. As the gas passes through the vanes, a further heat transfer takes place between the working gas and the cold gas via the walls of the vane airfoils. Said heat transfer causes the temperatures to equalise to some extent, this effect resulting in a more uniform flow profile in the low-pressure turbine. In a favourable arrangement, the exit slots or exit openings at the trailing edges are designed as nozzles.
To ensure an aerodynamically and thermally optimum gas flow through the heat exchanger, it may be advantageous to supply the hot gas from the hot-gas lines to the heat exchanger via local hot-gas chambers. Preferentially, these hot gas chambers are connected to a hot-gas annulus from which the hot gas is fed into axially and radially arranged plates. In these plates, the hot gas flows forwards in the counter-flow direction, thereby transferring heat to the compressor airflow which passes in the opposite direction. In the front portion of the heat exchanger, the cooled-down hot gas (accordingly referred to as cold gas in this application) is collected in a cold-gas annulus and passed from there to the cold-gas lines via local cold-gas chambers. The local hot-gas chambers or the local cold-gas chambers, respectively, serve the conduction of the respective gas volume into the individual hot-gas lines or cold-gas lines, respectively.
In accordance with the present invention, then, the hot gas to be supplied to the heat exchanger is taken off downstream of the high-pressure turbine and, after having passed through and being cooled down in the heat exchanger, is fed as cold gas flow to the working gas upstream of the low-pressure turbine. This provides for a very advantageous, compact design of the turbojet powerplant on the one hand and a low total mass of the arrangement on the other. The combined effect of all these features provides for a reduction of the specific fuel consumption.

Turbojet power plant with heat exchanger


The stator of an electric rotating machine includes a stator core constituted of a plurality of split cores joined to one another in a ring, a plurality of phase windings wound around the stator core, and an outer casing to an inner periphery of which an outer periphery of the stator core is fitted with clamping margin therebetween. The outer casing is provided with a brim including at least two brim portions at least at one of axial ends thereof. The brim portions are spaced from each other in a circumferential direction of the outer casing and project in a direction receding from a center axis of the outer casing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stator of an electric rotating machine, the stator including a stator core constituted of a plurality of split cores fitted to an outer casing by shrink-fitting, for example.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, there is a growing need for a compact and high-output electric rotating machine usable as an electric motor or an alternator. One of the reasons is that the space for accommodating an electric rotating machine mounted on a vehicle is becoming smaller and smaller, while the output required of the electric rotating machine is becoming higher and higher.
It is known to dispose a plurality of split cores in a ring assembly, and fit the ring assembly of the split cores to a cylindrical casing (outer casing) at its outer circumference to form a stator core. For example, refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2002-51485.
This patent document discloses using a shrink-fitting method to fit the ring assembly of the split cores to the outer casing. In this method, the outer casing whose inner diameter is slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the ring assembly of the split cores is set in place, and the ring assembly is fitted into the outer casing which is being heated so that its inner diameter expands. After completion of the shrink-fitting, the ring assembly of the split cores and the outer casing are fixed firmly to each other by the stress due to difference between their diameters.
Meanwhile, the thickness of the outer casing is required to be as thin as possible in order to provide a compact and high output electric rotating machine. However, reducing the thickness of the outer casing causes a problem that the roundness of the above ring assembly of the split cores is lowered because of reduction of rigidity of the outer casing.


An alarm system can include one or more processors. Such processors can receive physiological parameter data associated with a patient. The one or more processors can also select an alarm pattern based at least in part on an indicator of an attribute of the patient. The alarm pattern can include a plurality of different thresholds and corresponding periods of time. Further, the one or more processors can generate an alarm when a value associated with the physiological parameter data satisfies at least one threshold of the plurality of thresholds for the period of time corresponding to the at least one threshold.

Hospitals, nursing homes, and other patient care facilities typically include patient monitoring devices at one or more bedsides in the facility. Patient monitoring devices generally include sensors, processing equipment, and displays for obtaining and analyzing a patient's physiological parameters. Physiological parameters include, for example, blood pressure, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation (SpO2) level, other blood constitutions and combinations of constitutions, and pulse, among others. Clinicians, including doctors, nurses, and certain other caregiver personnel use the physiological parameters obtained from the patient to diagnose illnesses and to prescribe treatments. Clinicians can also use the physiological parameters to monitor a patient during various clinical situations to determine whether to increase the level of care given to the patient. Various patient monitoring devices are commercially available from Masimo Corporation ("Masimo") of Irvine, Calif.
During and after surgery and in other care situations, one or more physiological parameters of a patient can be monitored. An alarm can be generated based on such monitoring to alert a clinician (such as a nurse, doctor, or the like) of a potentially clinically significant patient condition.

System for generating alarms based on alarm patterns


A control device and a transceiver unit are presented. The control device encompasses at least one microcontroller and a digital interface, the digital interface encompassing a transceiver unit and at least one interface controller, the control device being designed selectably for a first mode in which the at least one interface controller communicates via an interface with the microcontroller, or for a second mode in which the at least one interface controller is integrated into the microcontroller.

Control is applied to components in motor vehicles such as, for example, actuators or injectors on the engine using control devices. It is necessary for this purpose for the control device to receive and transmit information or data. It is known to exchange data between sensors/actuators and an associated control device by way of digital interfaces. For reliable communication in motor vehicles, PSI5 interfaces, for example, are used as digital interfaces.
PSI5 (Peripheral Sensor Interface 5) refers to a digital interface for sensors that is based on a two-wire lead and is used in automotive electronics to connect peripheral sensors to electronic control devices. Point-to-point and bus configurations are supported, with asynchronous and synchronous communication.
PSI5 operates on the principle of current interface modulation of a transmitting current for data transfer on the power supply lead. A high level of interference resistance is achieved thanks to the relatively high signal current and the use of Manchester bit coding, with the result that it is sufficient to use an economical two-wire lead for wiring.
It is possible to awaken and deactivate sensors in targeted fashion using upstream data, in which context the power consumption of the PSI5 bus system can be reduced.
Sensors having a PSI5 interface, and correspondingly also receivers and transceivers for receiving sensor data, have been used for several years in the automotive sector. Bidirectional communication is also possible via the synchronization pulses, the data occurring from the control device to the sensor via the presence or absence of synchronization pulses.
All receivers and transceivers possess a Manchester decoder and an SPI interface for data transfer to the microcontroller. In order to generate synchronization pulses, receivers and transceivers that are on the market require a higher voltage (Vsync) than the sensor supply voltage for the sensor quiescent current (VAS). There is also no time stamp, and thus no indication as to how old the received data are.
It is noteworthy that engine control devices used at present do not offer an overall solution, or an economical overall solution, for the acquisition of Manchester-coded data or for bidirectional communication with PSI5 sensors. There is therefore also no possibility of detecting engine tuning.

Control device having a digital interface


A system is configured to prioritize streaming disk I/O over non-streaming disk I/O by providing high priority queuing to streaming disk I/O and/or to throttle non-streaming disk I/O when the total disk I/O (streaming+non-streaming) exceeds a threshold amount for a given time quantum. When disk throttling is utilized, streaming disk I/O is processed in a first time quantum. Non-streaming disk I/O is processed, as much as possible, in the remainder of the first time quantum. Other non-streaming disk I/O remaining to be processed is deferred to a subsequent time quantum.

This invention relates to systems that process streaming disk I/O and non-streaming disk I/O and, in particular, to a system in which processing of streaming disk I/O is prioritized over processing of non-streaming disk I/O.
The advent of streaming input/output (I/O) technology has proven to be a major advancement in the development of computer technology for entertainment and multimedia products and services. Streaming technology is used, for instance, to provide full-motion video over the Internet or from another source. As the name indicates, streaming technology provides a stream of data from an input source such as a disk, video camera, computer file, etc., and renders that data to an output device, typically a video monitor. In most implementations, the input of the data stream is closely synchronized with the output of the data stream so that when a portion of the data stream is being input, another portion of the data stream is being output.
A concept related to streaming is xe2x80x9ctimeshifting.xe2x80x9d Timeshifting involves reading and writing audiovisual data to and from a data source in close to real time. A significant difference in timeshifting and simple streaming is that a portion of a data stream may be input even if another portion of the same data stream is not being output. For instance, a live broadcast may be input in an audiovisual data stream onto a hard disk drive. A viewer of the broadcast may receive audiovisual data output almost immediately after the audiovisual data is written to the disk. However, the viewer may choose to xe2x80x9cpausexe2x80x9d the live broadcast. In this case, the audiovisual data continues to be input onto the disk, but the output stream is momentarily interrupted. The amount of audiovisual data on the disk increases as the input continues while the output is paused. The viewer may then resume output of the audiovisual data stream to continue to view the xe2x80x9clivexe2x80x9d broadcast from the point where it was interrupted. The amount of data on the disk remains relatively static as long as the input and output occur contemporaneously. When the input stream is halted, the amount of audiovisual data on the disk decreases as the viewer continues to receive the output stream until the stream is terminated.
This technology is limited by the bandwidth of the disk to which the data is written and from which the data is read. As used herein with regard to a disk, the term xe2x80x9cbandwidthxe2x80x9d refers to the volume of data that can be written to the disk in a given amount of time. For example, a disk may have a bandwidth of 0.5 megabytes per 100 milliseconds. This means that during a 100 millisecond period, the disk can receive or transmit 0.5 megabytes of data.
Streaming of audiovisual data imposes significant bandwidth requirements on a processor and I/O subsystem of a computer system. A single timeshifting application can easily consume most of the capacity of the processor and I/O subsystem on currently available platforms. If the disk bandwidth is exceeded, the user will experience undesirable artifacts such as video frame dropping, audio glitches, etc. It is, therefore, very important to manage disk bandwidth to the greatest extent possible when processing streaming applications.
The disk bandwidth limitation becomes even more important when consideration is given to systems that run both streaming applications and stochastic, or non-streaming applications. A non-streaming application is a typical computer application, such as a word processor, that utilizes processor time, but does not do so in a time-critical manner. While non-streaming applications should be processed in a timely manner for user satisfaction, these types of applications can typically be deferred for a few hundred milliseconds or so without causing a noticeable difference to the viewer. This is not the case with streaming applications, wherein a one hundred millisecond delay can cause a problem that is noticeable by the user.
It is, therefore, desirable to ensure that streaming disk I/O is processed in a timely manner while still allowing for adequate processing of non-streaming disk I/O. This can be done in most instances by prioritizing processing of streaming disk I/O and deferring processing of non-streaming disk I/O. There is a means by which this can be done, theoretically, in present systems. That is to set a xe2x80x9chigh-priorityxe2x80x9d bit to allow faster access to the processor. However, many applications already utilize this bit and it has generally become somewhat overused. Therefore, simply setting this bit for streaming disk I/O operations will not provide the desired result.
Described herein are methods for priority queuing of streaming disk I/O over non-streaming disk I/O and/or disk throttling, and systems and computer programs for implementing the methods. Disk throttling involves dividing disk bandwidth into discrete time quanta. When disk throttling is utilized, streaming disk I/O is processed first in a first time quantum. If there is any bandwidth remaining in the first time quantum, non-streaming disk I/O is processed in that time quantum to the greatest degree possible. Any non-streaming disk I/O that remains to be processed is deferred to a subsequent time quantum.
Priority queuing for streaming disk I/O involves parsing disk I/O to determine if the disk I/O is streaming or non-streaming. If the disk I/O is streaming, it is processed ahead of the non-streaming I/O. There are several ways to determine which disk I/O is streaming and which is non-streaming.
One way to distinguish streaming disk I/O from non-streaming disk I/O is to divide the disk into two partitions. Streaming dataxe2x80x94or applications that utilize streaming dataxe2x80x94are stored in one partition. Non-streaming dataxe2x80x94or applications that utilize non-streaming dataxe2x80x94are stored in the other partition. The system can then ascertain which disk I/O is streaming disk 110 simply by determining to which partition the data is being written, or from which partition the data is being read.
Another way in which streaming disk I/O can be identified is to include a streaming flag in an application program interface through which an application communicates with a system. If the application utilizes streaming disk I/O, then the application sets the streaming flag. The system recognizes the streaming flag when it is set and considers all disk I/O received and transmitted to that application as streaming disk I/O. The disk I/O is thus given a higher priority than non-streaming disk I/O. In a related manner, an application can inform a system on which it is to run that it utilizes streaming disk I/O. This can be done without the use of a flag in an application program interface. The system can thereafter treat the disk I/O from this application as streaming and manage it accordingly.
The distinction between streaming disk I/O and non-streaming disk I/O can also be made with the use of an application lookup table. The application lookup table contains names of applications that utilize streaming disk I/O. When the application is started, the system refers to the application lookup table. If the name of the application is found in the application lookup table, the system gives disk I/O from that application higher priority than disk I/O from applications that only utilize non-streaming disk I/O.
The application lookup table can be provided with a system, built as the system executes applications, or both. If the application lookup table is provided with the system, there is no work for the system to do other than to refer to the table. The problem with this way of providing the application lookup table is, however, that new applications cannot be added to the application lookup table as the system ages.
If the application lookup table is constructed by the system, the system will initially refer to the application lookup table when starting an application. If the application name is not in the application lookup table, the system proceeds as if the application utilizes only non-streaming disk I/O. If, however, the system finds that the application does, in reality, utilize streaming disk I/O, the system adds the name of the application to the application lookup table. Hence, the next time the application is run, the system will provide its required disk bandwidth at a high priority.
If a combination of these methods is used, an application lookup table is initially provided with the system. If the name of the application is not found in the application lookup table, but the application utilizes streaming disk I/O, the system will add the name of the application to the application lookup table. This initially provides a more complete application lookup table for the system, but it is dynamic and can grow and add applications as the system ages.
A final way discussed herein to distinguish between streaming disk I/O and non-streaming disk I/O is to add a streaming flag to any file that utilizes streaming disk I/O. When the system prepares to process a file, it will provide high priority processing for the disk I/O of that file if the streaming flag is set for that file. This method is more exact than treating the disk I/O of an entire application as streaming if any streaming disk I/O is utilized by that application. However, this requires a deeper change to most systems which may be prohibitive in view of the other methods discussed herein.
These methods and systems implementing these methods are described in more detail below.

Disk throttling and priority queuing for streaming I/O


There is provided an energy recovery apparatus capable of recovering a hydraulic energy in a regenerative air-conditioning system including a pressure sustaining valve and capable of coping with a discharge change caused by variation in air-conditioning load, the air-conditioning system being capable of carrying out normal operation even in a case where the energy recovery apparatus fails. The energy recovery apparatus is configured so as to feed water from a water tank to air-conditioning loads such as a heat source or a fan coil at a higher place through a feed pipe line by a pump and to lead the water passed through the air-conditioning loads into the water tank via a return pipe line including the pressure sustaining valve, a branch pipe line is disposed so as to branch into the water tank from the return pipe line in upstream of the pressure sustaining valve, and the energy recovery apparatus is connected in to the branch pipe line.

The present invention relates to an air-conditioning system, particularly to an air-conditioning system in which an energy recovery apparatus is installed. Furthermore, the present invention also relates to a method of installing the energy recovery apparatus.
In a general form of a regenerative air-conditioning system, as shown in FIG. 9, from a thermal storage tank 6, water is fed to air-conditioning loads (A. H.) 9 such as a heat source machine or a fan coil via a pump 7, and water passed through the air-conditioning load 9 is led into the thermal storage tank 6 via a return pipe line 10. This is referred to as an open return process. The open return process is used in a case where an actual pump head is less than 20 m. When the air-conditioning system comes to a stop, water supply from a feed pump is stopped. However, in the open return process, water freely falls in the vertically rising return pipe line, that is, water drops under the gravity. A siphon effect by the dropping water causes the pressure in the pipe line to be negative so as to induce cavitation noise, vibration, and corrosion result. To eliminate these problems, a vacuum breaker 12a is installed to prevent the pressure in the piping from becoming negative. An energy recovery apparatus for an open return type regenerative air-conditioning system is described in JP-A-63-297949. A structure is shown in FIG. 11.
From the thermal storage tank 6 arranged in a basement of a building, water is fed to a heat source machine 24 on a roof of the building via the pump 7, and is fed to air-conditioning loads 29 on respective floors via another pump 27. The water fed to the air-conditioning loads 29 passes through a return pipe line 22 so as to return to the heat storage tank 6 installed in the basement. Energy recovery apparatuses 100 are installed on a third floor and the first basement in the return pipe line.
On the other hand, in recent years, even with the construction of high-rise buildings, regenerative air-conditioning systems have also been used in buildings with about five to ten floors. In this case, since the actual pump head exceeds 20 m, there is a problem that large vibration and noise are caused upon dropping of water in the open return system. To prevent occurrence of such problems, pressure sustaining valve 11 is disposed in the return pipe line 10 before the water is returned to the heat storage tank 6 in order to prevent the water from dropping. This is a full water return process which is configured in general as shown in FIG. 10.
The pressure sustaining valve 11 is one of pressure regulating valves. When a pressure larger than a set pressure is applied, the valve opens so as to allow water to pass therethrough. On the other hand, when the air-conditioning system comes to a stop and the water supply from the feed pump 7 is interrupted, the valve is rapidly closed in order to prevent water from dropping. From the time when the water supply from the feed pump 7 is interrupted to the time when the pressure sustaining valve 11 closes (three to ten seconds), water in the vertically rising return pipe line 10 freely falls, that is, water is dropped under the gravity in the same manner as in the open return process. In order to prevent the pressure in the pipe line from becoming the negative pressure at this stage, a surge tank 13 is connected via a check valve 12b. Thus water is fed from the surge tank 13 until the pressure sustaining valve 11 is closed, and the pressure in the pipe line is prevented from becoming negative.
When the air-conditioning system comes to a stop the water supply from the feed pump 7, the pressure sustaining valve 11 has to prevent water in the return piping 10 from dropping. Therefore, the set pressure of the pressure sustaining valve 11 stored to be set to a value slightly larger than a pressure which is exerted to the valve when the valve is closed. The pressure exerted to the pressure sustaining valve 11 when the feed pump 7 resting is equal to a potential energy owned by water in the return piping 10, or a height to the water surface of the surge tank 13 from the pressure sustaining valve 11, that is, the actual pump head. In other words, the pressure sustaining valve 11 has a resistance corresponding to the actual pump head. That is, during the operation of the air-conditioning system, water is fed via the feed pump 7, the potential energy of water pumped up to a top part of the pipe line in the air-conditioning system by the feed pump 7 is consumed as the resistance of the pressure sustaining valve 11 when water passes through the pressure sustaining valve 11. Therefore, since no energy remains in return water downstream of the pressure sustaining valve 11, the energy recovery apparatus cannot be used.
On the other hand, should the energy recovery apparatus be connected, upstream of the pressure sustaining valve 11, the potential energy of the return water would not be absorbed by the energy recovery apparatus just upstream of the pressure sustaining valve 11, the water cannot flow overcoming the resistance of the pressure sustaining valve 11, and therefore the air-conditioning system cannot be operated normally.
Moreover, the power of the feed pump 7 has to be increased in order to operate the air-conditioning system in the state in which the energy recovery apparatus is connected, upstream of the water drop preventing valve 11, and accordingly, there would be raised a problem that energy saving cannot be achieved.
Furthermore, if the energy recovery apparatus is connected upstream of the pressure sustaining valve 11, the pressure of the pressure sustaining valve could be set to be small, that is, the resistance of the water preventive valve 11 could be set to be small, and accordingly the consumption power of the feed pump 7 can be restrained from increasing. However, the actual pump head owned by the return water could not be maintained by the pressure sustaining valve 11 when the air-conditioning system comes to a stop, and there would be raised such a problem that water drops. It is to be noted that the pressure sustaining valve is installed in the air-conditioning system, in the basement or the like and it is difficult to remove the valve.
Additionally, if the energy recovery apparatus fails, a problem similar to such a problem that an obstruction is caused in the return pipe line occurs, and therefore the air-conditioning system cannot be operated normally.

Air-conditioning system and method of installing energy recovery apparatus

Hitachi Industrial Equipment Systems Co., Ltd.


A mold core includes first and second main bodies and an adjustment assembly. The first main body includes a front surface, a rear surface opposite to the front surface, and a receiving cavity passing through the front and rear surfaces. The front surface defines two first cavities at opposite sides of the receiving cavity. A connection line of centers of the first cavities intersects with a symmetry axis of the first cavities to form a first intersection point. The second main body includes a forming surface defining second cavities. A connection line of centers of the molding cavities intersects with a symmetry axis of the second cavities to form a second intersection point. The forming surface is coplanar with the front surface. The adjustment assembly abuts the first and the second main bodies to compensate an offset between the first and second intersection points to satisfy a predetermined range.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to molding technologies and, particularly, to an optical coupling lens mold core for molding optical coupling lenses.
2. Description of Related Art
An optical coupling lens is typically formed using an injection-molding mold. The optical coupling lens includes an optical surface, two posts perpendicularly extending from the optical surface, and a number of converging lenses formed on the optical surface. The converging lenses are arranged in a line between the two posts and are divided into "in" and "out" groups for transmitting optical signal in two opposite directions; the "in" group is symmetrical with the "out" group. A first connection line of centers of the posts is parallel to a second connection line of centers of the converging lenses. The first connection line intersects with a symmetry axis of the posts to form a first intersection point, and the second connection line intersects with a symmetry axis of the two group lenses to form a second intersection point.
In order to increase transmission accuracy and transmission efficiency of the optical signal, an offset between the first intersection point and the second intersection point must satisfy a predetermined range. Therefore it is important to design an optical coupling lens mold core for molding an optical coupling lens, of which satisfy the predetermined range.


An automotive generator control method includes inputting a current vehicle speed, an actual battery level, an actual battery temperature and an engine operating efficiency (S11); calculating an optimal battery level by using a preset first mapping table, on a basis of the actual battery temperature and the current vehicle speed; taking a difference between the actual battery level and the optimal battery level as a target power-generation difference (S12); calculating a target power-generation voltage by using a preset second mapping table, on a basis of the target power-generation difference and the engine operating efficiency (S13); and outputting the target power-generation voltage (S14). The automotive generator control method and control device can precisely control a power-generation voltage of a generator according to a current engine/vehicle working condition and a battery working condition, so as to achieve primary energy recovery of the generator in a highly efficient manner.

Currently, electric energy required in vehicles is supplied by the generator in the vehicle, and the generator is driven by the engine to generate and supply power. For supplying a backup power, a rechargeable battery is configured in the vehicle, which is charged by the generator.
However, inventors finds out the following drawbacks during study, first, the conventional engine management system and the conventional generator couldn't adjust the power-generation voltage, thus the generated energy is wasted and the fuel consumption is increased, furthermore, the rechargeable battery is deeply discharged to lower the lifetime of the battery, thereby the primary energy recovery of the generator can't be achieved.

Automotive generator control method and device


An apparatus and method such that when a signal intensity evaluation value is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, a signal intensity amplification factor of each color component is changed in accordance with the signal intensity evaluation value of the color component, and when the signal intensity evaluation value is less than the predetermined value, at least a signal intensity amplification factor of a color component, of which signal intensity evaluation value of the color component is the least, is set at a predetermined value not dependent upon the signal intensity evaluation value of the color component.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image capturing apparatus and a control method therefor, and particularly to an image capturing apparatus such as a digital video camera and a digital still camera for carrying out automatic focusing and to a control method therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
A contrast AF method for carrying out automatic focusing contrast information of a subject image captured by an image capturing device is an automatic focusing method widely used by image capturing apparatuses. In the contrast AF method, only a particular frequency component is extracted by bandpass filter processing from a pixel signal obtained from the image capturing device, and the in-focus state of the image capturing apparatus is detected using the frequency component as a focal evaluation value.
In the automatic focusing based on the contrast AF method, a signal of each of RGB color components obtained by the image capturing device may be subjected to white balance processing (WB processing) to be converted into a brightness signal, and thereafter bandpass filter processing may be performed. This is because, for example, when the output signals of the color components are different in the signal intensity, an amplification factor for an output signal of which signal intensity is low is increased as compared with an amplification factor for an output signal of which signal intensity is high, whereby the output signal of which signal intensity is low is complemented, and evaluation is performed without color deviation.
More specifically, in order to normalize the signal intensity of the output signal of each color component, an output signal of a color component of which signal intensity is low is multiplied by a white balance coefficient having a high value, and an output signal of a color component of which signal intensity is high is multiplied by a white balance coefficient having a low value.
With such a method, when in-focus state of a subject having multiple color components is detected with an optical system having a high on-axis chromatic aberration caused by the performance of the image capturing optical system of the image capturing apparatus, only colors having high signal intensity may be simply evaluated, which can reduce the difference of the in-focus position thus caused.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-329687 (no corresponding publications in foreign countries) explains white balance processing on the image explained above in detail.
As explained in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-329687, the white balance coefficient used for the white balance processing includes a value of a ratio between an average of all signal intensities in the AF evaluation area (AveYi of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-329687 (no corresponding publications in foreign countries)) and an average of the signal intensity of each color component (AveR, AveG1, AveG2, AveB of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-329687), and accordingly, this complements the difference of the signal intensities of the output signals of the color components, making the AF evaluation possible by eliminating the deviation of the colors. This processing is referred to as normalization.
However, when the conventional technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-329687 is applied to a low illuminance, an output signal of a color originally having an extremely low signal intensity is multiplied by an extremely high white balance coefficient, which unnecessarily amplifies a noise component of the original output signal.
More specifically, the ratio of the noise component of an output signal having a small signal intensity is high, and accordingly, when an output signal having a high ratio of the noise component is multiplied by an extremely high white balance coefficient in order to normalize the signal intensity of the output signal of each color component, the noise component of the original output signal is unnecessarily amplified, which causes a problem in that the accuracy of the focal evaluation value is reduced.

Image capturing apparatus and control method therefor


Functionality is described herein for detecting and responding to gestures performed by a user using a computing device, such as, but not limited to, a tablet computing device. In one implementation, the functionality operates by receiving touch input information in response to the user touching the computing device, and movement input information in response to the user moving the computing device. The functionality then determines whether the input information indicates that a user has performed or is performing a multi-touch-movement (MTM) gesture. The functionality can then perform any behavior in response to determining that the user has performed an MTM gesture, such as by modifying a view or invoking a function, etc.

A tablet computing device commonly allows users to make various gestures by touching the surface of the device's touchscreen in a prescribed manner. For example, a user can instruct the computing device to execute a panning operation by touching the surface of the touchscreen with a single finger and then dragging that finger across the surface of the touchscreen surface. In another case, a user can instruct the computing device to perform a zooming operation by touching the surface of the touchscreen with two fingers and then moving the fingers closer together or farther apart.
To provide a robust user interface, a developer may wish to expand the number of gestures that the computing device is able to recognize. However, a developer may find that the design space of available gestures is limited. Hence, the developer may find it difficult to formulate a gesture that is suitably distinct from existing gestures. The developer may create an idiosyncratic and complex gesture to distinguish over existing gestures. But an end user may have trouble remembering and performing such a gesture.

Multi-touch-movement gestures for tablet computing devices


A continuous microfilming apparatus comprising a filming station, means for feeding documents to be microfilmed to the filming station, means for collecting the documents after they have been filmed, and means for transporting the documents from the filming station to the collecting means and turning the documents over substantially 180.degree. while transporting them, which transporting and turnover means includes a transporting reel defining a turnover path of substantially 180.degree. andd flexible guide means circumscribing the transporting reel substantially over 180.degree. and defining therewith a transporting channel for the documents.

The invention relates to a continuous microfilming apparatus comprising a document feeding device, a filming station, a transporting device that turns documents over about 180.degree., and a collecting tray located at an end of the transporting device for collecting filmed documents.
Continuous microfilming apparatuses of this kind are available on the market. In such apparatuses, it is important to turn over documents after microfilming to place the documents into the collecting tray or basket in order of their microfilming with proper sides facing in the same direction. In known apparatuses, turnover and transporting of documents from the apparatus is effected by transporting bands spaced from each other or by a row of pairs of transporting carrier rollers. With this known method of transporting and turning over of documents, the documents not only frictionally engage opposite surfaces of respective transporting means but are also subjected to a certain clamping. This leads not only to high transporting forces but also may result, dependent on the type of the document, in tilting of documents, their crumpling, and even their damage.


A method of handling multi-access (MA) Protocol data unit (PDU) session under inter-system change is proposed. An MA PDU session uses one 3GPP access network or one non-3GPP access network at a time, or simultaneously one 3GPP access network and one non-3GPP access network. The UE and network can support Access Traffic Steering Switching and Splitting (ATSSS) functionalities to distribute traffic over 3GPP access and non-3GPP access for the established MA PDU session. Upon intersystem change from 5GS to EPS over the 3GPP access, if interworking with EPS is not supported, the MA PDU session is maintained in 5GS over the non-3GPP access type. Data traffic over of the MA PDU session over the 3GPP access type is transferred to the non-3GPP access type.

The wireless communications network has grown exponentially over the years. A Long-Term Evolution (LTE) system offers high peak data rates, low latency, improved system capacity, and low operating cost resulting from simplified network architecture. LTE systems, also known as the 4G system, also provide seamless integration to older wireless network, such as GSM, CDMA and Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS). In LTE systems, an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) includes a plurality of evolved Node-Bs (eNodeBs or eNBs) communicating with a plurality of mobile stations, referred to as user equipments (UEs). The 3rd generation partner project (3GPP) network normally includes a hybrid of 2G/3G/4G systems. The Next Generation Mobile Network (NGMN) board, has decided to focus the future NGMN activities on defining the end-to-end requirements for 5G new radio (NR) systems.
In 5G/NR, a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session defines the association between the UE and the data network that provides a. PDU connectivity service. The PDU session establishment is a parallel procedure of PDN connection (bearer) procedure in 4G/LTE. Each PDU session is identified by a PDU session ID (PSI), and may include multiple QoS flows and QoS rules. Each PDU session can be established via a 5G Access Network (e.g., 3GPP radio access network (RAN), or via a non-3GPP RAN). The network/UE can initiate different PDU session procedures, e.g., PDU session establishment, PDU session modification, and PDU session release. Due to new radio conditions, load balancing, or due to specific service, different handover procedures and intersystem change are used to handover a UE from a source 5G access network to a target 5G access or to a target 4G access network.
Operators are seeking ways to balance data traffic between mobile networks and non-3GPP access in a way that is transparent to users and reduces mobile network congestion. In 5GS, UEs that can be simultaneously connected to both 3GPP access and non-3GPP access (using 3GPP NAS signalling), thus the 5GS able to take advantage of these multiple accesses to improves the user experience, optimizes the traffic distribution across various accesses. Accordingly, 3GPP introduced Multi-Access Access (MA) PDU session in 5GS. A MA PDU session uses one 3GPP access network or one non-3GPP access network at a time, or simultaneously one 3GPP access network and one non-3GPP access network. In addition, the UE and network can support Access Traffic Steering Switching and Splitting (ATSSS) functionalities to distribute traffic over 3GPP access and non-3GPP access for the established MA PDU session.
However, UE behavior is undefined on how to handle the MA PDU session when inter-system changes from 5GS to EPS. A solution is sought.

Handling of multi-access PDU session when inter-system change


The invention relates to the use of erythropoietin (EPO), in particular EPO in a polymer-based pharmaceutical preparation which stabilizes the active compound, for the treatment of traumatized skin, in particular for wound healing in the case of mechanical or pathological injuries or in the case of burns.

Erythropoietin (EPO) is a glycoprotein hormone which controls the formation of erythrocytes from precursor cells in the bone marrow (erythropoiesis). EPO binds here to its receptor (EPO-R), which is expressed in all haemopoietic cells.
In adults, erythropoietin is formed principally in the kidney, more precisely in the endothelial cells of the peritubular capillaries. Relatively small amounts are also synthesised in the liver cells (hepatocytes).
The principal action of EPO thus consists in increasing the number of red blood corpuscles in the blood, which results in increased oxygen uptake.
In recent years, diverse authors have reported that EPO also exerts a non-haemopoietic action and EPO-R is correspondingly also expressed by certain non-haemopoietic cells. Thus, stimulation by EPO of nerve cells, neuronal cells of the brain and endothelial cells is reported, in some cases together with direct expression of the haemopoietic EPO receptor. In other cases, the presence of a further, non-haemopoietic receptor is prognosticated, but this has not yet been proven.
Increasing importance is being accorded, in particular, to the non-haemopoietic action, which has not been known for very long, of erythropoietin (EPO) in connection, for example, with the stimulated formation and regeneration of endothelial and tissue cells, such as connective tissue, muscle tissue, epithelial tissue and nerve tissue.
Thus, WO 2004/001023 describes, inter alia, the use of EPO and TPO for stimulating neovascularisation and tissue regeneration and improving wound healing, for example after operations or injuries.
WO 2005/063965 teaches the use of EPO for the targeted, structurally controlled regeneration of traumatised tissue, in which not only is endothelial cell growth stimulated, but parenchymal regeneration and the formation of wall structures are also promoted, meaning that coordinated three-dimensional growth occurs for the construction of a functioning tissue, organ or parts thereof.
Haroon et al. (American J. Pathol. 2003, 163, 993) discuss the new role of EPO in the context of wound healing processes induced by fibrin.
In a review article, Brines and Cerami (Kidney International, 2006) discuss the role of EPO in the protection of tissue.
Erythropoietin, and EPO derivatives or also EPO mimetics, thus appear to be highly suitable on systemic use for specifically initiating and controlling neoformation and regeneration of the affected tissue in the case of injuries to the skin, the mucous membrane, in the case of open skin and flesh wounds or also in the case of skin irritation caused by burns or scalds, and is ultimately able to promote and accelerate healing.
WO 2005/070450 and further papers by the inventors in question describe the use of EPO in the regeneration of vessels and tissue with a weekly dose of less than 90 IU/kg of body weight (=BW), including for the area of wound care. Although possible topical application is theoretically mentioned here, it has nevertheless been found that systemic application is preferred.
It is therefore postulated to administer EPO in the case of systemic application in a sub-polycythemic weekly dose of less than 90 IU (international units)/kg of body weight (BW) instead of 150-300 IU/kg of BW, as was hitherto usual for the known EPO applications. The aim is thus to achieve less stimulation of blood formation in the bone marrow region, but, according to more recent teaching, as outlined, to enable activation of endothelial cell progenitors in the blood region. Activation of the endothelial cell precursor cells in the blood, but also in the tissue, and the development of endothelial cells, which form the innermost cell layer of the blood vessels, have been connected with an improvement in vascularisation, and it is assumed that tissue regeneration is also facilitated thereby. In the meantime, this has been confirmed in clinical trials in the case of burn wounds.
Although some of the said papers mention topical application of EPO for the regeneration of tissue, systemic application of the active compound is, however, placed clearly in the foreground since, on the basis of the results, the non-haemopoietic EPO effect found can be attributed, in the opinion of more recent papers, primarily to the newly discovered stimulation of corresponding endothelial, vascular or CD31-positive precursor cells, which circulate principally with the blood stream, and only secondarily to the growth of parenchymal tissue structures stimulated thereby.
However, the use of EPO in a systemic application for tissue protection or tissue regeneration is associated with significant risks owing to the side-effect potential in relation to the haemopoietic effects.
On topical application of EPO, according to teaching opinion to date, merely the inadequate distribution and reachability of the said systemically occurring cells or precursor cells by EPO means that only an unsatisfactory effect, or none at all, on tissue regeneration would be observed.
In the case of regeneration of tissues after, for example, burn trauma or scalding or also in the case of ischaemic wounds, it is necessary to achieve rapid defect closure. This can only occur if the formation of the parenchymal components of the skin is also stimulated as quickly as possible. The time-shifted stimulation of one component (CD31), in order then to facilitate the formation of another component (parenchyma), corresponds to the teaching of the authors of WO 2005/070450 and further publications.
Although the formation of a vascular network can have an indirect supporting action, it does not as such represent an end result, since the parenchyma is missing and under certain circumstances can only be formed secondarily and thus with a time delay.
The formation of vascular cells must thus be coordinated simultaneously with localised tissue formation. In this case, in accordance with conventional teaching, a dilemma occurs, since doses administered subcutaneously or intravenously target endothelial cell progenitors owing to a systemic distribution principle, and sub-polycythemic doses must additionally be administered in order to limit side effects. In this case, the administration of EPO can thus only be combined with difficulty with localised pharmacokinetics limited locally to the trauma region of the skin.
In accordance with conventional teaching, conceptional stimulation pathways must therefore be selected, where either sub-polycythemic doses must be administered or repeated injections or also changes in the half-value period of the parent substance are necessary.
In each case, however, EPO will arrive at the actual site of need via the bloodstream systemically distributed in the body and even further diluted.
Furthermore, processes occur in the case of wounds which make topical application of EPO more difficult: wound healing of, for example, injured skin or mucous membrane usually proceeds in three phases: the inflammation phase, the proliferation phase and the restoration/remodelling phase. In the case of a fresh wound or skin injury to be cared for, inflammatory processes occur within the first 24 hours, which include, in particular, the immigration of diverse inflammation factors (such as, for example, fibronectin) and cells of various types, such as, for example, monocytes, phagocytes, polymorphic cells and macrophages, and ultimately result in the formation of a fibrin matrix and vascular endothelial cells. The wound secretion formed in the process comprises, inter alia, a series of proteolytic enzymes as well as bacteria which have entered the wound and comprise substances which act in this respect.
The proteolytic enzymes, some of which are highly active, are the reason why protein- or peptide-containing medicaments, such as EPO, which have been applied to the wound and promote wound healing are often of little or no efficacy, since the protein or polypeptide in question is, owing to its chemical and biological nature, deactivated, cleaved and degraded by said enzymes before it is able to develop adequate pharmacological efficacy. The problem is additionally exacerbated by infection of the wound with bacteria or the ingress of cell debris.
Not least for this reason, pharmaceutical proteins are generally applied systemically, which enables their half-value period to be significantly extended and also enables them to be transported more quickly to the sites in the body at which they are to develop their therapeutic efficacy. However, the doses of the protein-containing active compound must be sufficiently high in this application method in order to achieve the desired therapeutic effect, which often inevitably results in undesired side reactions.
In the case of the therapeutic treatment of skin injuries, systemic application of an active compound moreover in principle appears less appropriate, since the healing action of the medicament is actually only necessary locally. There is thus a general problem if protein-containing active compounds are to be employed for the treatment of skin injuries and open flesh and skin wounds.
The use of proteins or polypeptides in topical form, such as, for example, EPO, which, even in plasma, has a half-value period of only 48 hours, for the treatment of skin injuries of this type, as may occur in the case of violent mechanical trauma and irritation and in the case of burns and scalds, would, however, be very desirable in spite of the known difficulties.
The object is thus to provide EPO or its bioequivalent derivatives, fragments, mimetics and the like for skin wound healing in the form of a topical application, without on the one hand, as just described, dramatic losses of action occurring due to proteolysis of EPO due to enzymatic or other processes in the wound, but on the other hand, as likewise explained in detail above, possibly facilitating stimulation of cells or precursor cells which are capable of wound healing in the immediate wound region and if possible also in deeper tissue layers in the vicinity of the wound by topically applied EPO, which ultimately should result in faster wound closure and makes topical application of EPO appear sensible for the first time and provides it with a significant advantage over systemic administration.
A further aim of the invention is to create a form of administration which does not have to take into account the risks and restrictions of a systemic, in particular sub-polycythemic dosage of EPO, and at the same time can act specifically on the actual tissue-relevant cells without at the same time excluding the localised adult endothelial cells.

Topical application and formulation of erythropoietin for skin wound healing

Abstract: In particular, the invention also relates to specific viscous or gelatinous formulations, in particular based on polysaccharides, preferably cellulose derivatives, which comprise EPO and are capable of stabilizing the latter and releasing it slowly and uniformly to the wound.


A method and apparatus for treating ship ballast water before it is discharged into coastal waters. The ballast water may contain a generalized and diverse species population of harmful non-indigenous microorganisms. Before discharge, the ballast water is oxygenated and deoxygenated to reduce the populations of anaerobic and aerobic microorganisms, respectively. If anaerobic microorganisms are of no concern, the oxygenation step can be eliminated. Also, a method and apparatus for treating large volumes of any water, to reduce the population of a wide spectrum of diverse species of microorganisms wherein the water is deoxygenated, and then held in a sealed space for a period of time until the aerobic population has been reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
My invention relates generally to the field of treating water to reduce the population of a wide spectrum of diverse species of microorganisms, especially ship ballast water, containing a generalized and diverse species population of potentially undesirable organisms, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for treating such water to kill potentially undesirable aerobic and/or anaerobic microorganisms in the water to prevent, in the case of ballast water, them from being transported from one coastal area to another.
2. Basic Conditions and Vocabulary
Oceangoing ships may transport various organisms contained in their ballast water from any port in the world to any other port in the world. Macroorganisms can be filtered out, and the remaining microorganisms can be of extremely diverse natures due to their diverse origins, and by extension in any water source. The term colony forming unit (CFU) is often used to describe any microorganism that reproduces. Thus, unless otherwise modified, the terms, CFU and microorganism, shall have the same meaning. Levels of dissolved oxygen in a ship's ballast water play a part in my invention, and the abbreviation, DO, will be used to connote such dissolved oxygen.

Method and apparatus for killing microorganisms in ship ballast water


A component for a gas turbine engine includes a component body formed of ceramic matrix composite lamina and has at least one hook. The at least one hook has an attachment region radially inward of the at least one hook. The attachment region is radially thinner from a hook end of the at least one hook to a remote end, and then becomes radially thicker. A slot is formed through a radial thickness of the at least one hook from the hook end in a remote direction, such that there are two sections of the attachment region. A gas turbine engine is also disclosed.

This application relates to treatments of an attachment region in a component formed of ceramic matrix composite ("CMCs") lamina, including hooks for being supported on mount members.
Gas turbine engines are known, and typically include a fan delivering air into a bypass duct as propulsion air and into a core engine where the air is compressed in a compressor section. The compressed air is moved into a combustor where it is mixed with fuel and ignited. Products of this combustion pass downstream over turbine rotors, driving them to rotate. Turbine rotors in turn drive compressor and fan rotors.
As known, the turbine section and combustor section see very high temperatures. It has been proposed to use ceramic matrix composite materials ("CMCs") for various components in the combustor and turbine sections. One such component is a blade outer air seal ("BOAS") which sits radially outside the tip of turbine blades, to minimize leakage around the turbine blades. Typically the BOAS are mounted on mount members having hooks which sit under hooks on the BOAS.
There are other CMC components within a gas turbine engine, such as combustor panels and turbine vanes, as examples, which may include similar mounting hook arrangement.


In one of many possible embodiments, a system includes a media content processing subsystem including an output driver configured to provide at least a component of a media content instance to a display for presentation to a user, and a receiver configured to receive an input command initiated by the user during the presentation of the component of the media content instance. The media content processing subsystem is further configured to select a control pane from a group of control panes based on the input command, each of the control panes including a different set of control tools, and provide, in response to the input command, the control pane to the display for concurrent presentation of both the component of the media content instance and the control pane to the user.

The advent of computers, interactive electronic communication, the Internet, and other advances in the digital realm of consumer electronics have resulted in a great variety of programming, recording, and viewing options for users who view media content such as television programs. In implementing such enhanced programming, the set-top box (STB) has become an important computing device for accessing media content services and the media content within those services. In addition to supporting traditional analog broadcast video functionality, STBs also support an increasing number of two-way digital services such as video-on-demand, internet protocol television (IPTV), and personal video recording.
An STB is typically connected to a cable or satellite, or generally, a subscriber television system, and includes hardware and software necessary to provide the functionality of the subscriber television system at a user site. While many STBs are stand-alone devices that are externally connected to a television, an STB and/or its functionality may be integrated into a television or personal computer, a mobile device such as a mobile phone or a personal digital assistant (PDA), or even into an audio device such as a programmable radio, as is known.
An STB typically provides users with functionality for controlling certain settings and operations of the STB. In many instances, a user is provided with a large number of features and associated control options. However, the large number of control options often makes it difficult and/or inconvenient for the user to find and utilize a particular feature. For example, when a user of a conventional STB is viewing media content ("on video") caused to be displayed by the STB, the control options immediately available to the user are limited. That is, the user does not have convenient access to many STB control options from an "on-video" screen and/or while the media content continues to be presented. In many cases, the user is forced to leave a presentation of media content (e.g., go "off video") in order to find a desired control option, menu, or feature. This can be frustrating to a user, especially where the user wishes to continue viewing media content (i.e., the media content remains "on video") while also having access to a wide range of control options.

Control tools for media content access systems and methods


A temperature detection element is allowed to more accurately detect a temperature of a battery pack.

Various portable electronic devices, such as mobile phones typical ones of which are smartphones, tablet computers, and the like, have been known. Secondary batteries that can be repeatedly charged and discharged are used for these mobile devices. As one mode of such secondary batteries, lithium-ion secondary batteries are widely used because of various advantages, such as high voltage, high energy density, long cycle life, quick charging, and the like.
A lithium-ion secondary battery is generally used in the form of a battery pack including a battery cell and a built-in protection circuit. The protection circuit has a function of protecting the battery from, for example, overcharge, overcurrent, or overdischarge. In such a battery pack, a temperature detection element for detecting a temperature of the battery pack is mounted on a circuit board. In a case where the detected temperature deviates from recommended temperatures, the battery pack stops charging or temporarily suspends charging, or lowers a voltage at a time of charging to secure safety of the battery and to decrease deterioration of the battery (see Patent Document 1, for example).

Abstract: A battery pack includes: a battery cell; a temperature detection element; and a thermally conductive member transferring heat of the battery cell to the temperature detection element.


The present disclosure relates to aerosol delivery devices that may include components configured to convert electrical energy to heat and atomize an aerosol precursor composition. An outer body may at least partially enclose the components. An illumination source may be configured to output electromagnetic radiation. A wave guide may be configured to receive the electromagnetic radiation from the illumination source and illuminate the aerosol delivery device. The wave guide may define an increasing width from a first longitudinal end at which the electromagnetic radiation is received to an opposing second longitudinal end. Thereby, the wave guide may directly transmit the electromagnetic radiation across the entirety of the second longitudinal end to provide substantially even illumination at the second longitudinal end while employing less material and reducing the volume of space occupied by the wave guide as compared to cylindrical embodiments of wave guides. Related methods are also provided.

Many smoking devices have been proposed through the years as improvements upon, or alternatives to, smoking products that require combusting tobacco for use. Many of those devices purportedly have been designed to provide the sensations associated with cigarette, cigar, or pipe smoking, but without delivering considerable quantities of incomplete combustion and pyrolysis products that result from the burning of tobacco. To this end, there have been proposed numerous smoking products, flavor generators, and medicinal inhalers that utilize electrical energy to vaporize or heat a volatile material, or attempt to provide the sensations of cigarette, cigar, or pipe smoking without burning tobacco to a significant degree. See, for example, the various alternative smoking articles, aerosol delivery devices and heat generating sources set forth in the background art described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,881,737 to Collett et al.; U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2013/0255702 to Griffith Jr. et al., U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2014/0000638 to Sebastian et al., U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2014/0096781 to Sears et al., U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2014/0096782 to Ampolini et al., and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/011,992 to Davis et al., filed Aug. 28, 2013, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. See also, for example, the various embodiments of products and heating configurations described in the background sections of U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,594 to Counts et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 8,079,371 to Robinson et. al, which are incorporated by reference in their entireties.
However, it may be desirable to distinguish aerosol delivery devices from that of competing products, for example, by providing aerosol delivery devices with distinguishing visual characteristics. Further, it may be desirable to configure the aerosol delivery devices to provide visual feedback or information relating to use thereof. Accordingly, it may additionally be desirable to provide components configured to illuminate aerosol delivery devices in one or more manners.

Aerosol delivery device including a wave guide and related method