A surgical instrument for providing an ionized gas to a surgical site includes a receptacle for at least one cylinder of pressurized surgical gas and a frame having a port near the distal end for emitting the surgical gas. A passageway extending between the receptacle and the port delivers the surgical gas to the port. A puncture assembly for rupturing a seal on at least one cylinder to release the surgical gas into the passageway includes at least one bank for storing mechanical energy which may include at least one spring. An actuator is operable to actuate the at least one bank release the mechanical energy. At least one puncture pin is operatively coupled to the at least one bank such that energy released by the at least one bank is effective to move the at least one puncture pin relative to at least one cylinder to rupture the seal.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to an apparatus for surgically treating tissue with a pressurized gas. In particular, the disclosure relates to an apparatus with a mechanism for releasing the gas from a cylinder or tank.
2. Background of Related Art
Surgical instruments are commonly used for procedures such as tissue division, dissection, ablation, coagulating and arresting blood loss in tissue. One type of instrument employs a heated probe to arrest bleeding in a technique called thermic coagulation. Heat may be conducted from a relatively hot probe tip to the tissue to be treated by moving the probe into contact or into close proximity with the tissue. The probe may adhere to the tissue while the tissue is being treated, and thus removing the probe often causes repeat bleeding. Many such probes also produce an undesirable buildup of eschar on or proximate the tip, which detrimentally affects the efficiency of the surgical instrument. Another type of instrument directs high frequency electric current through the tissue to stop bleeding. These instruments typically include at least one electrode for contacting the tissue to be treated to establish electrical communication with the tissue. Again, tissue adherence and eschar buildup may occur with these instruments.
Other instruments achieve coagulation by providing a gas to the atmosphere adjacent the targeted tissue. An ionizable gas, for example argon gas, may be directed toward the tissue past an electrode just prior to exiting a distal end of the instrument. An electrosurgical current may be conducted to the tissue through ionized conductive pathways in the gas without requiring direct contact between the electrode and the tissue. Providing an atmosphere of ionized gas may also be beneficial, for example, since the gas displaces oxygen from the area and reduces oxidative stress of the tissue.
The gas may be held in pressurized cylinders or tanks until a surgeon is ready to begin treatment. Relatively large cylinders may be fixed in one location or may be disposed on a movable cart in the operating room. A gas supply hose fluidly connects the remote cylinders to the instrument. Other configurations provide for a relatively small cylinder to be housed within a receptacle defined in a hand-held instrument. In either case, a seal in the cylinder may be ruptured to initiate the flow of the gas to the instrument. A substantial force, about 60 lbs in some instances, may be required to rupture the cylinder seal. Providing such a force may be difficult or distracting for a surgeon or support clinician in an operating environment.

Gas-enhanced surgical instrument with mechanism for cylinder puncture


The steps of the method to make the scintillator panel are providing a first support having thereon a phosphor layer; dividing the first support the phosphor layer into a plurality of scintillator panel sections each having a first support section and a phosphor layer section thereon; providing an adhesive member between a side of the first support section of each of the plurality of the scintillator panel sections and a side of a second support; adhering the plurality of the scintillator panel sections onto the second support; forming a protective layer on a whole surface of the plurality of the scintillator panel sections except a portion of the scintillator panel sections which is contacted with the adhesive member; and separating the scintillator panel sections with their protective layer thereon from the second support. The separated scintillator panel sections with their protective layer are then adhered to light receiving element to form the flat panel detector.

As a flat panel type radiation detector (FPD) developed for a digital radiographic image technique which can acquire directly a digital radiographic image, there are two types of methods. One of them is a scintillator method in which a radiation is converted to a visible light with a phosphor such as Gd2O2S or CsI, then the visible light is converted into an electric charge with a photodiode. Another is a method in which X-rays are directly converted into an electric charge with an X-ray detection element represented by a Se detector.
As a flat panel detector of a scintillator method, it is known, for example, a flat panel type radiation detector (FPD) which is made of a scintillator panel having a phosphor layer; and a photoelectric conversion element containing a thin film transistor (TFT) combined with a charge coupled device (CCD), as described in Japanese Patent Application Publication (JP-A) No. 2005-114456.
The above-described FPD using a scintillator panel having a phosphor layer has been widely used in recent years for a nondestructive examination in the industrial filed or for an application to a dental use which collects still images by introducing in an oral cavity.
In these applications, it is required diversification of magnitude and forms of device. For example, in the application for a dental diagnosis filed, it is required a small device used for an oral cavity, and a variety of forms used for panoramic radiography or cephalic radiography.
And for a small device, it is required to a detector having a large effective image taking region. Moreover, for diversification of form, it is required to efficiently produce scintillator panels of various sizes with relatively small size in the production step.
As a phosphor used for a phosphor layer of a scintillator provided with a phosphor layer, it is advantageously used a phosphor composed of cesium iodide (CsI) as a mother body and an activator contained therein from the viewpoint of conversion efficiency from X-rays to a visible light.
Since a phosphor layer used with a phosphor composed of cesium iodide (CsI) as a mother body and an activator contained therein has a deliquescent property and easily damaged, it will be relatively easily deteriorated with age. Therefore, usually, a protective layer is provided on the phosphor layer for use.
As a method far preparing a protective layer for use, there is disclosed a method in which an upper portion and a lateral face portion of a phosphor layer and an outer peripheral portion of the support are covered with a polyparaxylylene resin (for example, refer to JP-A No. 2004-105518). Another known method is a method in which at least the opposite side of the scintillator panel facing the support and the lateral shoe of the scintillator panel are covered with a transparent resin film having a water transmissivity of less than 1.2 g/m2 per a day.
Moreover, the following method are known; a technology of covering the whole surface of the support including the scintillator portion with polyparaxylylene as disclosed in JP-A No. 2002-116258; a technology of providing unevenness to the support so as to prevent polyparaxylylene floor peeling of as disclosed in JP-A No. 2005-338067; and a technology of fusing the edge portion of the phosphor so that the edge portion of the phosphor may not damage the inner portion of the film when the substrate is a transparent resin film as described in JP-A No. 2008-139291.
Moreover, in order to improve protection ability, therein known a method of vapor-depositing the material of a phosphor layer under the condition of supporting the substrate to be formed with a scintillator layer thereon at three or more very small points (refer to Patent document 1).
However, by using the above-described conventionally known methods, there are problems of insufficient optically effective area or low production efficiency when it is intended to produce a small-sized device, and a relatively small-sized device of various sizes.
Patent document 1: JP-A No. 2006-38870

Method for producing scintillator panel, scintillator panel and flat panel detector


The present invention relates to self-setting compositions consisting in admixed liquid and solid components enable the formation of hardened bio-materials having a broad range of properties and performances. The present invention proposes a) a thermo-sensitive self-gelling liquid component, being water-based, comprising at least a polycationic and a phosphate source, wherein the liquid component is a thermo-gelling solution at a pH ranging from 6.5 to 7.4; b) a powder component consisting in at least two calcium phosphate sources. The preferred calcium phosphate source includes apatites, tricalcium phosphates, tetracalcium phosphates and dicalcium phosphates. Both solid and liquid components are admixed to form a flowable slurry that sets in situ into a hardened calcium phosphate based bio-material.

(a) Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to the preparation and use of an injectable self-setting mineral-polymer composition for repairing, replacing or therapeutically treating tissues and body parts. More particularly, the present invention includes the injectable self-setting mineral-polymer composition.
(b) Description of Prior Art
A large quantity of biomaterials has been introduced for hard-tissue repair and formation, including natural or synthetic materials, pure organic or inorganic materials, and organo-inorganic biohybrid or hybrid materials.
Conductive hard-tissue implants are passive biomaterials that provide a matrix to favor and support a new hard-tissue ingrowth and repair. They generally do not provide any osteogenesis property, in the meaning that such materials do not supply, by themselves, any osteogenesis or hard-tissue inductive factors, or any hard-tissue healing accelerators. Conductive structures have typically to favor the own ingrowth and reorganization of hard-tissues (Ex: osteoconductive materials).
The main constituent of hard-tissues is biological apatite that is commonly found in bone and teeth (65-98%). Calcium and phosphate ions are commonly contained in body fluids and mineral contents of hard tissues, including bones, dentine and dental enamel. They may also additionally contain other constituents such as carbonates, magnesium or sodium. Hydroxyapatite is generally recognized as being a calcium phosphate material with a crystal structure very close to biological apatite. Calcium phosphates, and some other ceramics, were found to be very useful biocompatible materials for hard-tissue repair. Today, a large family of ceramic biomaterials having different forms is available for repairing hard-tissues, and includes calcium phosphates, calcium carbonates, bioglasses and pure natural minerals.
Bone Repair and Formation
Conductive matrices for hard-tissue repair are designed to provide adequate compositions and architectures that favor the ingrowth of hard-tissue by its own. They are inserted into a defect, thus contacting mature hard-tissue cells that are capable of invading the repairing matrix and forming mineral networks to complete tissue ingrowth. Typical examples are generally related to osteoconductive materials for bone tissues.
Conductive hard-tissue implants have received a considerable attention, particularly in bone surgery. Grafting materials for defect filling and bone repair include autografts, xenografts, demineralized bone matrix, porous ceramics such as calcium phosphates, calcium carbonates, coral, nacre, bioglasses, organic matrices (polymers, collagen and other biological macromolecules) as well as organo-inorganic biohybrid or hybrid materials such as organo-apatites.
Implants for filling and repairing defects are currently solids, sometimes gels and hydrogels that enable the ingrowth and conduction of the hard-tissue. Porous or plain solids may be used. Plain solid implants stimulate hard-tissue ingrowth through their own resorption. Porosity may be inherent to the material architecture (true porosity), or be interstitial. Calcium phosphates have been the preferred bone biomaterials. In a large number of animal and human studies, they have been shown to be biocompatible, and bone growth promoters. Targeted calcium phosphate ceramics are tricalcium phosphates, amorphous calcium phosphate, octacalcium phosphate, and apatitic compounds. Hydroxyapatite [Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2], calcium-deficient apatite, fluorinated apatite [Ca10(PO4)6F2], and carbonated apatite [Ca10-xHax(PO4)6-x(CO3)x(OH)2] are the most representative apatitic compounds. Synthetic or sintered apatites may be prepared.
Most calcium phosphate ceramics are prepared as granules or block materials. Block materials can be prepared in various geometries such as rods, cylinders, rectangular shapes, etc. However, ceramic blocks must be re-shaped before implantation to fit exactly the defect size and geometry, which makes heavier and longer the handling and clinical application. Furthermore, calcium phosphate blocks are very brittle and difficult to shape, and consequently the interface between the bone tissue and ceramic implant is not perfectly continuous which may impair the osteoconduction efficiency. Calcium phosphate granules are currently produced with a wide size distribution, and available from 10 microns to 2.5 mm, but preferably used with a size between 90 and 400 microns. Granules can be injected, or at least administered through less invasive techniques, so as to fulfill the tissue defect. But granules have a mobility problem in situ, which limits their use and efficiency.
Ceramics such as calcium carbonates, coral or nacre are equally proposed under granular or block form, and present similar problems. Bioglasses are generally under granular or microspheric form (Bioglass®, USBiomaterials; Biogran®, Orthovita; Perioglass®).
Collagen, a component of soft- and hard-tissues, and Bone Demineralized Matrix (BDM) are the current organic materials for filling hard-tissue defects. Collagen was associated with mineral to form composite materials such as Collapat® or Collagraft® (NeuColl), Cerapatite-Collagen® (Ceraver-Osteal), Ossatite® composite (MCP). Polymeric materials such as polylactic acid, polyglycolic acid, polylactic-co-glycolic acid microspheres, etc were also proposed for bone defect filling and repair, but are less current than calcium phosphate granular materials. One new development is Immix® (Osteobiologics) bone-grafting material based on PLA/GA.
Injectable Bone Substitutes
Inorganic or organo-inorganic bone cements and/or remineralizing systems form another family of promising injectable self-setting or self-hardening osteoarticular materials. Self-setting cements were typically composed of a solid mineral component mixed with a liquid component. Solid mineral components generally contain calcium phosphates, such as monocalcium phosphates [Ca(H2PO4)2.H20], dicalcium phosphates [CaHPO4, CaHPO4.2H2O], tricalcium phosphates [α-Ca3(PO4)2, β-Ca3(PO4)2] and tetracalcium phosphates [Ca4(PO4)O], with or without other calcium sources and/or phosphate sources, calcium carbonates and/or organic or inorganic additives.
Calcium phosphate remineralizing and cement systems differ by the liquid to solid ratio. Cements are produced from calcium phosphate powder that was finely ground, typically around 5 microns. Calcium phosphate solid component was also mixed with much less liquid, thus forming a paste rather than a slurry. Remineralization was generally promoted by using particles of greater size since they slow the remineralization rate and prolong the remineralization potential.
Porosity of the resulting self-setting calcium phosphate materials may benefit to the hard-tissue repair. It is reached by adding a highly soluble porogen ingredient to the calcium phosphate composition. The composition, including the water-soluble inclusions, is subjected to pressure to form compact materials. Hot water may be used to dissolve the porogenic compound. Others suggested that cement porosity is controlled by the size of dry ingredients. Large-size calcium phosphate granules (0.7-1.0 mm) in the cement composition were found to provide larger pores than small-size granules (0.1-0.3 mm).
Self-setting calcium phosphate composition is transformed following the reaction in situ of calcium phosphate ingredients which is a dissolution/reprecipitation process. The reactivity in situ of calcium phosphates is controlled by chemical and physical conditions. Chemical purity of calcium phosphates may greatly alter the reactivity. Tetracalcium phosphate (TTCP) purity was showed to influence setting and performances of calcium phosphate cements, for example the cement setting time and mechanical strength. TTCP is highly reactive to water, such as air moisture, thus forming calcium oxide or hydroxide, and hydroxyapatite at the TTCP granule surface. Formulation pH and temperature influence the reactivity of calcium phosphates. The size of calcium phosphate particles was also reported to significantly control the reactivity, thus possibly slowing the reaction and retarding the hardening or setting rate when too large. Granule size is related to the exposed surface area, and possibly influences the initial composition of the ingredients, the final dry product composition, and hence the mixing, mechanical and physical properties.
Single calcium phosphate cements cannot set in hard-consistency materials. They were also reported not to be able to maintain a constant pH, and to lack of mineralizing capacity. Driskell et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 3,913,229) described a mixture of tricalcium phosphates and dicalcium phosphate that does not self-harden, and has insufficient remineralizing capacity.
Brown and Chow (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,612,053; 4,518,430; and Re33,221) proposed a self-setting composition based upon an aqueous mixture of tetracalcium phosphate (TTCP) with at least another calcium phosphate component in excess, selected from dicalcium phosphate or brushite, tricalcium phosphates and modified tricalcium phosphates, octacalcium phosphate [Ca8H2(PO4)6.5H20] which was able to self-harden into a cement at an ambient temperature. Additional calcium or phosphate sources consisted mainly in CaCl2, Ca(C2H3O2), NaH2PO4 and NH4H2PO4. The slurry containing calcium phosphates in excess had a pH in the vicinity of 7.4. This cement paste was proposed first for dental restorative applications although many orthopedic indications were proposed. Later, Chow and Takagi (U.S. Pat. No. 5,545,254) showed that the preparation of TTCP free of surface calcium oxide or hydroxyapatite greatly improved the quality of such bone cements for dental and orthopedic applications. Remineralization and cement compositions were biocompatible precursors of hydroxyapatite, having two properties: a) they were self-hardening and form materials with sufficient strengths for medical and dental applications; b) they were resorbed in situ and progressively replaced by new hard-tissues.
Liu and Chung (U.S. Pat. No. 5,149,368) proposed other TTCP-based cement formulations where TTCP was admixed with water and acidic citrate to form a paste having a pH greater than 5. The weight ratio of powder to liquid was between 2:1 and 15:1. Constantz et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,053,212) developed a composition precursor of hydroxyapatite by admixing a calcium source with an acidic phosphate source. In the preferred embodiment, TTCP was mixed with calcium oxides, calcium carbonates (typically CaCO3), monocalcium phosphate monohydrate (MCPM) and/or orthophosphoric acid. Calcium to phosphate ration was about 1.25-2.0 to 1.0. Later, another bone cement was described where a dry component was admixed with a compatible lubricant and an anti-microbial agent (U.S. Pat. No. 5,968,253). Its dry component was made of reactive α-tricalcium phosphate (60-95% dry wt.), monocalcium phosphate monohydrate (1-20% dry wt.) and calcium carbonate (5-25% dry wt.), and admixed to a phosphate buffer having a pH between 4.0 and 11.0. The anti-microbial agent such as gentamycin or vancomycin was added to the liquid component at 0.001 to 3.0% wt. This flowable composition was the basis of the Norian SRS® bone cement. This composition involved conversion of MCPM into dicalcium phosphate, then formation of hydroxyapatite by reaction of dicalcium phosphate with TTCP. It was setting in approximately 15 minutes, and reached a compression strength about 40 MPa. Another proposed cement composition gave a 2-10% wt. carbonated apatite (U.S. Pat. No. 5,900,254). Dry composition includes a partially neutralized phosphoric acid such as the MCPM and a calcium phosphate source such as the TCP. Calcium carbonate (9-70% dry wt.) was added to the dry component. The liquid component was a 0.01 to 2.0M phosphate buffer, either a sodium phosphate or sodium carbonate, with a pH between 6.0 and 11.0. This composition had the properties of a) having a calcium to phosphate molar ratio of 1.33 to 2.0; b) being not sintered or hydrothermally prepared; and c) having a compression strength above 5500 psi.
Granular bone cements were proposed by admixing a monocalcium phosphate and/or dicalcium phosphates to a α-tricalcium phosphate or a tetracalcium phosphate (U.S. Pat. No. 5,338,356). Calcium to Phosphate ratio was between 1.39 and 1.45, and calcium phosphate granules were 0.1 to 1.0 mm in size. Liquid to Solid ratio varied from 0.3 to 30. Hirano and Hanno (U.S. Pat. No. 5,152,836) also proposed a hydraulic cement made of a mixture of tricalcium phosphates and dicalcium phosphates with a calcium to phosphate ratio between 1.4 and 1.5. Water was used as the hardening liquid component, and water containing soluble sodium was preferred for short hardening times and enhanced cement strengths.
A calcium phosphate cement was proposed and prepared from a TCP/TTCP dry mixture in a liquid component containing calcium and phosphate sources. Liquid component typically contained phosphoric acid, and calcium hydroxide or calcium carbonate. Additives were optionally added to the cement composition, preferably lactic acid (<4% wt.), alginate or gum (<2% wt.), and/or magnesium or potassium glycerophosphate (<15% wt.). Calcium to phosphate ratio of the dry component was about 1.70 to 1.85 while the one of the liquid component was between 0.2 and 0.5. This cement gave a crystalline hydroxyapatite biomaterial with a compressive strength about 15 to 25 MPa.
A calcium orthophosphate composition that hardens in 100% humidity environments into a calcium phosphate cement was composed of a mixture of three to four calcium sources with water. The composition had a pH ranging between 6.5 and 8.0. Calcium sources were selected preferably among monocalcium phosphate monohydrate (MCPM), dicalcium phosphate or brushite, tricalcium phosphates, and modified tricalcium phosphates, octacalcium phosphate, apatites, and other calcium compounds such as Ca8.5Na1.5(PO4)4.5(CO3)2.5, Ca9(PO4)4.5(CO3)1.5, Ca4Mg5(PO4)6, CaZn2(PO4)2, CaKPO4, CaNaPO4, Ca10Na(PO4)7, Ca2PO4Cl, CaO, Ca(OH)2, CaMgO2 and Ca10(PO4)6Cl2.
Basic calcium phosphate cements self-setting in hydroxyapatite were developed by Chow and Takagi (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,525,148 and 5,954,867). Liquid components contained liquid phosphate component having a pH above 12.5 (phosphate >0.2 mol/l). Solid calcium phosphate component had a Calcium to Phosphate between 3.0 and 5.0, included various calcium phosphates, except TTCP, and a calcium source. Proposed calcium phosphates were dicalcium phosphates, tricalcium phosphates, octacalcium phosphate and/or amorphous calcium phosphate. Additional sources of calcium were selected typically among calcium carbonates, calcium oxides, and calcium hydroxides. Additional minerals were also added in minor concentrations. The pH of the composition was potentially adjusted above 12.5 by adding sodium hydroxide.
Commercial developments in calcium phosphate bone cements are given by SRS® (Norian), BoneSource® (Stryker/Howmedica), alpha-BSM® (ETEX Corp.), all three giving carbonated apatite in situ, and Cementek® (Teknimed SA).
Most common calcium phosphates in self-setting cements were selected from monocalcium phosphate monohydrate [Ca(H2PO4)2.H20], dicalcium phosphate (DCP) or brushite [CaHPO4, CaHPO4.2H2O], tricalcium phosphate (TCP) [α-Ca3(PO4)2, β-Ca3(PO4)2], tetracalcium phosphate (TTCP)[Ca4(PO4)O], amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP)[Ca3(PO4)2.H2O], octacalcium phosphate (OCP) [Ca8H2(PO4)6. 5H20], and apatites [Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2].
All calcium phosphates have different dissolution rate at a given pH. For a calcium to phosphate molar ratio above 1.5, the dissolution rate can be defined (at least up to a pH about 10) as follows: Tetracalcium phosphate>α-tricalcium phosphate>β-tricalcium phosphate>hydroxyapatite.
Calcium phosphates have also a relative acidic or basic character, thus increasing acidity or basicity.
Acidic components generally include, in an acidity order: monocalcium phosphate monohydrate>dicalcium phosphate>octacalcium phosphate>amorphous calcium phosphate=β-tricalcium phosphate=α-tricalcium phosphate=calcium-deficient apatite. Monocalcium phosphate monohydrate is generally used as acidic calcium phosphate source when necessary.
Basic calcium phosphates generally include, in a basicity order: tetracalcium phosphate>precipitated hydroxyapatite=sintered hydroxyapatite>α-tricalcium phosphate=calcium-deficient apatite=β-tricalcium phosphate=amorphous calcium phosphate. Calcium sources such as calcium oxides and hydroxides are more basic than tetracalcium phosphate.
Exothermic setting reactions may be damageable to living tissues and cells in situ. High temperatures generated by the cement setting being undesirable, it is thus desirable to keep the setting temperature well below 50-60° C. Exothermic effects in calcium phosphate cements are typically obtained by reacting calcium oxides with acidic phosphate sources. The transformation of calcium oxide into calcium hydroxide is recognized to be exothermic. Pressure level of cement composition may also change during the setting reaction. Calcium carbonate [CaCO3] is for neutralizing and buffering the formulation, but generates carbon dioxide gas. In situ formation of carbon dioxide gas is susceptible of pressure elevation, and may induce unexpected structural modifications or changes of the resulting material. Calcium carbonate, and other carbonates, in cement composition must be specially considered for this gas supply and pressure increase in situ.
Incorporation of polymer in cement composition was proposed to give some specific properties: a) to improve the handling properties and wettability of the cement; b) to avoid the cement composition to disintegrate in aqueous media such as the physiological fluids, and allow to pre-shape the composition; as a consequence, this reduced the need for removal of body fluid, hemostasis, or the like.
Polyacid or polyol polymers, polysaccharides and polypetidics were preferentially chosen for incorporation in calcium phosphate cement compositions. Polycarboxylics (polycarboxylic acid), poly(ethylene glycol), poly(propylene glycol), methyl cellulose, poly(vinyl alcohol), carboxymethyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, and the like, were proposed as polymeric components. Collagen was optionally introduced in a cement composition by Constantz et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,053,212). Chitin, chitosan, starch, gum, pectic acid, alginic acid, hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfuric acid, dextran sulfuric acid and their salts were reported as potent polysaccharide ingredient (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,152,836; and 5,980,625; and European patent application publication No. EP-899,247 A1).
Chitosan was admixed in many liquid components of calcium phosphate cement compositions. Chitosan in citric, malic, or phosphoric acid aqueous medium was the liquid component of a self-setting TCP or TCP/TTCP cement (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,281,404 and 5,180,426). Chitosan in bone cements or substitutes was also studied in the scientific literature, as reported by Leroux et al. (Bone, Vol. 25, No 2, supplement, 1999:31S-34S), Hidaka et al. (J. Biomed. Mat. Res., 46:418-423, 1999), Ito (Biomaterials, 12:41-45, 1991). It has also been reported the use of chitosan in calcium phosphate compositions. Typically, chitosan 0.05% wt. in an acidic aqueous medium (acid 25-55% wt.) was used as lubricant for a solid component consisting in a mixture of TCP and TTCP. Chitosan was chosen to prevent the powder dispersion and cement disintegration.
Osteoconduction and osteogenic performances of chitosan based materials were reviewed, and applied to biomaterials development. Chitosan with immobilized polysaccharides such as heparin, heparan sulfate, chondroitin sulfate and dextran sulfate was reported for stimulating hard-tissue regeneration by Hansson et al. (International Patent Application publication WO96/02259). Osteoinductive compositions were also developed by admixing hydroxyapatite and bone-derived osteoinductive gelatin to chitosan solutions (U.S. Pat. No. 5,618,339).
It would be highly desirable to be provided with a self-hardening mineral polymer hybrid composition with attractive performance for biomedical uses.
It would also be highly desirable to be provided with a gel-forming liquid component that enables to enhance the handling and cohesion properties of a new self-hardening material.
It would still be highly desirable to be provided with a liquid component that contains a chitosan solution, free of insoluble particle, with a pH close to 7.0 and a thermo-gelling character. This would be innovative and allow developing an in-situ self-hardening material based upon a mineral composition.

In situ self-setting mineral-polymer hybrid materials, composition and use thereof


A split NROM flash memory cell is comprised of source/drain regions in a substrate. The split nitride charge storage regions are insulated from the substrate by a first layer of oxide material and from a control gate by a second layer of oxide material. The nitride storage regions are isolated from each other by a depression in the control gate. In a vertical embodiment, the split nitride storage regions are separated by an oxide pillar. The cell is programmed by creating a positive charge on the nitride storage regions and biasing the drain region while grounding the source region. This creates a virtual source/drain region near the drain region such that the hot electrons are accelerated in the narrow pinched off region. The electrons become ballistic and are directly injected onto the nitride storage region that is adjacent to the pinched off channel region.

Memory devices are typically provided as internal, semiconductor, integrated circuits in computers or other electronic devices. There are many different types of memory including random-access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), and flash memory. One type of flash memory is a nitride read only memory (NROM). NROM has some of the characteristics of flash memory but does not require the special fabrication processes of flash memory. NROM integrated circuits can be implemented using a standard CMOS process.
Flash memory devices have developed into a popular source of non-volatile memory for a wide range of electronic applications. Flash memory devices typically use a one-transistor memory cell that allows for high memory densities, high reliability, and low power consumption. Common uses for flash memory include personal computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), digital cameras, and cellular telephones. Program code and system data such as a basic input/output system (BIOS) are typically stored in flash memory devices for use in personal computer systems.
The performance of flash memory transistors needs to increase as the performance of computer systems increases. To accomplish a performance increase, the transistors can be reduced in size. This has the effect of increased speed with decreased power requirements.
However, a problem with decreased flash memory size is that flash memory cell technologies have some scaling limitations due to the high voltage requirements for program and erase operations. As MOSFETs are scaled to deep sub-micron dimensions, it becomes more difficult to maintain an acceptable aspect ratio. Not only is the gate oxide thickness scaled to less than 10 nm as the channel length becomes sub-micron but the depletion region width and junction depth must be scaled to smaller dimensions. The depletion region or space charge width can be made smaller by increasing the substrate or well doping. However, it is extremely difficult to scale the junction depths to 100 nm-200 nm (1000 Å to 2000 Å) since these are doped by ion implantation and diffusion.
Another problem with flash memories is program speed. Depending on threshold voltage levels, programming times in tenths of a second or more is not uncommon.
For the reasons stated above, and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for a more scalable, higher performance flash memory transistor.


A nozzle of a solder suction device maintaining wettability with solder, excellent in corrosion resistance and heat transfer property, and optimal for solder removal work of electronic components such as integrated circuits. It is composed of a nozzle base made of material excellent in heat transfer property, and a material excellent in wettability with solder, corrosion resistance and heat transfer property, and it is integrally fixed with the nozzle tip member having a solder suction hole, and the inserting part of the nozzle tip member is inserted into the throughhole in the nozzle tip member, and a plating layer is applied and formed on the outer circumferential surface of the tip side on both sides of the plating boundary in the middle between the outer circumferential tip of the nozzle tip member and the outer circumferential tip of the nozzle base body, while a coverying layer made of material inferior in wettability with solder is applied and formed on the base end side outer circumferential surface, so that the wettability of the nozzle tip member and solder is maintained if used for a long time or many times, and that the corrosion of the portion directly contacting with the solder or flux may be prevented, thereby effectively preventing lowering of heat transfer property.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a nozzle of a solder suction device, and more particularly to a nozzle of a solder suction device particularly optical for solder removal job of electronic parts such as integrated circuits, capable of maintaining wettability with solder for a long time and many times of use, and excellent in corrosion resistance and heat transfer property.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A solder suction device is used for detaching a part soldered to a specific position or sucking the residual solder after detaching such parts, and it comprises a nozzle for sucking solder disposed at the front end portion, in addition to heating means such as heater and suction means such as vacuum pump.
Various structures have been proposed hitherto for this nozzle, including the one disclosed in the Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 48-59722. In this nozzle, a rear end part of an iron-made tube having a suction port at the tip is press-fitted into a stainless steel thin-wall pipe, and this thin-wall pipe is inserted into the copper-made iron tip main body so as to be formed firmly with this iron tip main body into one body. On the outer exposed portion of this iron tip main body, a chrome plating layer is applied and formed to apply heat resistant, rust preventive treatment, while a solder coating layer is applied and formed on the outer exposed portion of the tube to maintain wettability with the solder.
Thus, when using this solder suction device, the nozzle heated by the heating means is abutted against the solder to be removed. As a result, the solder is heated and melted by the nozzle heated to high temperature, and is sucked inside from the suction port of the nozzle by the suction means, and is reserved in a reserve tank with filter installed in the midst of suction route.
However, in such conventional nozzle structure, the following problems occurred, and their improvements have been demanded.
More specifically, in the nozzle in such structure, while repeating the solder removal jobs, when the suction means is operated by fitting the tip of the heated nozzle to the portion to be melted, that is, to the solder to be removed, the tip temperature of the nozzle may drop suddenly. As a result, the solder could not be melted sufficiently, and it could not be sucked in certain cases. To the contrary, considering such temperature drop to avoid such situation, if the initial heating temperature is kept at a higher level so as to melt the solder sufficiently even after drop, the heat above the permissible temperature is applied to the soldered parts, and the constituent parts of the heating means themselves may be damaged.
In particular, along with the rapid advancement in the electronics industry handling integrated circuits (or ICs) recently, the solder suction devices come to be used widely in solder removal jobs of such electronic components, and these problems have become very serious.
That is to say, strict permissible ranges are designated for heating temperature of these electronic components so as not to sacrifice their characteristics, and the use of solder suction device exceeding such permissible range is not allowed. Consequently, strict conditions are required for the heating temperature of the nozzle, and a very high precision is needed in its temperature control, but it was no longer possible to satisfy such strict conditions by the conventional nozzle structure stated above.
To solve the problems of the existing nozzle structure, the present inventors intensively tested and researched about the cause of the temperature drop, and discovered that the solder coating layer of the tube surface is melted by the heating temperature in the course of use for a long period or many times, and that the molten solder or flux corrodes the tip part of the iron main body, thereby forming a gap inside the chrome plated layer. This gap acts as an adiabatic layer between the iron tip main body and the tube, so that the heat transmission efficiency of the two is extremely lowered. As a consequence, the tip part heat of the tube is deprived of by the solder to be melted, and when the heating temperature is lowered, enough heat for raising the heating temperature to specified level is not supplemented, so that the temperature drop of the nozzle occurs.


A semiconductor device includes a first transistor connected to an internal voltage terminal and a first node at which a first resistance unit is connected. The first resistance unit includes a resistor connected between the first node and a node from which a monitoring voltage is provided for controlling the first transistor. This resistance unit also includes a first resistance adjustment unit connected in parallel with the first resistor. Also included is a second resistance unit having a third resistor connected between the monitor node and a second node which is connected to a ground potential and a second resistance adjustment unit connected in parallel with the third resistor. A comparator comparing the monitor node voltage to a reference is provided with an output terminal connected the first transistor. Also included is a control circuit to control the resistance adjustment units.

In a semiconductor device such as a volatile semiconductor memory device or a non-volatile semiconductor memory device, a plurality of types of voltage are required in order to perform the operations of writing and reading data. Therefore, in order to generate a plurality of voltages from a single internal voltage, a step-up circuit and a step-down circuit are disposed in the semiconductor device.
In recent years, there has developed a need for the speed of the operation of a semiconductor device to be improved and accordingly, for the required voltage to be generated quickly.


Disclosed is a multifunctional multi-tap (concent) of intercepting a stand-by electric power and a control method employing the same which prevent big fire generated by leakage current by performing an interlocking control and a single-acting control (separate control) in accordance with subordination of respective appliances using a illumination sensor or a body-detecting sensor. The multifunctional multi-tap (concent) detects a signal according, to an illuminance and a motion of body around respective lead-in holes activated as an interlocking control and a single-acting control using an illumination sensor or a body-detecting sensor, discriminates the detected signal by a controller, and controls the respective appliances as a stand-by state or a power-saving state in accordance with the interlocking control or the single-acting control.

Generally, electric appliances which are used in a house, an office, or a factory are classified into two groups, i.e., those which need to be supplied with power all the time such as a refrigerator and those which need to be supplied with power on occasion such as a television, an audio, and a computer monitor.
However, even in the latter type of appliances, most of them are connected to a power source all the time since the power source is usually connected to a outlet located on a wall or a floor so the blocking of the power is inconvenient.
FIG. 1 shows the construction of a power supply system for an electric appliance 200. As shown, an electric energy is supplied to an appliance by connecting a plug of the appliance to an alternating current power or a general outlet 100. In most cases, the appliance is continuously connected with the power due to the inconvenience of blocking the power.
Accordingly, due to such continuous connection, electric power has been consumed unnecessarily and there exists a possibility of a big fire. The total sum of the wasted electric power nationwide is considerable.
In order to overcome such problem caused due to the current leakage of an appliance, a multi-type standby current intercepting multi-tap has been rolled out. This type of outlet strip detects whether or not a user operates a computer by using the clock signal and the data signal of a mouse and a keyboard, which are the input devices of a computer. If it is determined that the computer is not being used, the power is not to be supplied to the peripherals.
If a user reuses the computer, the power is supplied to the peripherals again. By doing such, the power can be saved when a user is not using the computer but the computer is on.
To avoid the current leakage, a outlet including a control module for interlocking the mainframe and the peripherals of a computer is also used. Herein, according to the interlocking control, the main frame of a computer is connected to the main outlet and the peripherals (for example, a printer and a monitor) are connected to the auxiliary outlets. Thus, if the mainframe of the computer is turned off, the multi-tap detects and intercepts the standby power supplied to the peripherals so that the power can be saved.
On the contrary, according to the single-acting control, appliances are individually connected to the auxiliary outlets regardless of the main outlet, and multi-tap detects and supplies/intercepts the standby electric power. Hereinafter, the interlocking control and the single-acting control will be described.
Even remote-control power-saving outlet devices are widely used for the aforementioned type of multi-tap.
However, in the case of the outlet employing the interlocking control function, it has deficiency in precisely detecting the peripherals and sensitively controlling the on/off operation.
Also, the above conventional multi-tap has the problem in that it does not work (i.e., the interlocking control) if the current capacity is used for different appliances at the same time.

Multifunctional multi-outlet of saving electric power and a control method employing the same


Low-noise rollers in modular plastic conveyor belts. Energy-absorbing elements formed on belt rollers or in roller support structure is used to absorb the energy of impacts between rollers and the support structure. The energy-absorbing elements include resilient roller sections sandwiched between rigid sections, spring-like bent tabs on the end faces of rollers, hinged bumpers or flexible fingers between the end faces of the rollers and the roller support structure, and flexible structure protruding from the module into circumferential grooves in the outer cylindrical surface or circular grooves formed in the end faces of the rollers.

The invention relates generally to power-driven conveyors and more particularly to conveyor belts with rollers.
Conveyor belts, especially modular plastic conveyor belts, having article-supporting or friction-reducing rollers are used in many conveying applications. The rollers are mounted on axles whose ends are supported in end supports upstanding from an outer belt surface or in the walls of cavities in the body of the belt. The spacing of the end supports or the diameter of the cavities is sufficiently greater than the axial length of the roller to prevent the roller from binding. As the conveyor belt is operated, axial movement of the rollers causes the rollers to bang into the end supports or the cavity walls. In belts with many rollers, the noise of the rollers hitting the hard plastic of the modular conveyor belt can be loud. In transverse roller-top belts, the rollers are aligned across the width of the belt in rows with the axles parallel to the direction of belt travel. All the rollers in a row tend to hit their forward support at the same time at the start of their engagement with the sprockets at the end of the carryway. The regular, loud clicking sound of the rollers as each row rounds the sprockets can be loud enough to reach or exceed OSHA limits for noise (80 dB). And radial motion of the rollers along the carryway can produce a rattling sound.
Thus, there is a need to reduce the noise of rollers in conveyor belts.

Roller-noise reduction in conveyor belts


A computer implemented method for matching services to potential receivers of the services that includes registering at least one of service providers and service receivers as members to a service matching system. The service matching system collects data from the members. Permission to collect data from the members is revocable at any time by the members. The method further includes taking an order from a first service receiver to receive goods from a service provider; and calculating a route of the first service receiver to obtain the goods from the service provider. The method further includes matching the route of the first service receiver with a potential delivery route to a second service receiver having an order with the service provider; and offering a promotion to the first service receiver to deliver the order by the second service receiver with the service provider over the potential delivery route.

The present invention generally relates to information processing, and more particularly to setting requirements for project implementation.
The service economy can be inefficient in matching service providers and consumers. Many factors contribute to this inefficiency. For example, consumers have difficulties identifying appropriate service providers to meet their needs; and consumers cannot readily distinguish relative service provider quality. In addition, there is an inherent knowledge gap between consumers and service providers. Consequently, consumers and service providers experience difficulty communicating with one another.

Intelligent service and customer matching using an information processing system

International Business Machines Corporation


The present invention provides a radiant heat substrate comprising: a conductive substrate which is formed of a metal material and includes a front surface having a luminous element mounted thereon and a rear surface opposed to the front surface; an insulating film which covers the front surface of the conductive substrate; a metal oxide film which covers the rear surface of the conductive substrate; and a metal pattern which covers the insulating film, wherein the metal pattern comprises: a heat transfer pad which is bonded to the luminous element; and a circuit line which is disposed at a region except from the mounting region of the luminous element and is electrically connected to the luminous element.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a radiant heat substrate and a luminous element package with the radiant heat substrate; and, more particularly, to a radiant heat substrate for improving radiation efficiency and a method for manufacturing the same, and a luminous element package with the radiant heat substrate.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a luminous element package is formed by packaging luminous elements including a Light Emitting Diode (LED) and a Light Emitting Laser to be mounted on electronic devices, remote controls, electronic sign boards, indicators, automatic machine, and lighting systems. As luminous elements have recently been applied to various fields, it is required a package technology for effectively dissipating the heat produced when luminous elements operate. In particular, in case of a high-output LED applied to lighting systems, power consumption is increased and thus high-temperature heat is generated. Therefore, in order to package the high-output LED, a radiant heat substrate to be bonded to the LED is required to have high radiation efficiency.

Radiant heat substrate and method for manufacturing the radiant heat substrate, and luminous element package with the radiant heat substrate


A short-range, radio frequency (RF) transmitting-receiving system that provides both visual and audio warnings to the pilot of a helicopter or light aircraft of an up-coming power transmission line complex. Small, milliwatt-level narrowband transmitters, powered by the transmission line itself, are installed on top of selected transmission line support towers or within existing warning balls, and provide a continuous RF signal to approaching aircraft. The on-board receiver can be either a separate unit or a portion of the existing avionics, and can also share an existing antenna with another airborne system. Upon receipt of a warning signal, the receiver will trigger a visual and an audio alarm to alert the pilot to the potential power line hazard.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power line detection system for air borne vehicles such as helicopters and light aircraft. More specifically, it relates to a short-range, radio frequency transmitting-receiving system that provides both visual and audio warnings to the pilot of a helicopter or light aircraft of an up-coming power transmission line complex.
2. Description of Related Art
The major cause of helicopter fatalities in the United States is a "wire strike". This is defined as a helicopter flying into a suspended power transmission line and subsequently crashing. To date, the most common technique used to warn lowflying aircraft of this danger is a visual one; colored balls are placed on the transmission lines themselves. Strobe lights are sometime used. These method are ineffective in poor weather.
Power transmission lines and overhead cables and wires, which represent the smallest obstacles, are not detectable by conventional microwave radar owing to their small size, and the specular nature of the return signal at the microwave frequencies. Thermal imaging systems are also inadequate since wires are often at the same temperature as the background or are below the resolution limit of these systems. Accident statistics indicate that the high damage incidents and hence high cost are attributable to collisions with power cables since these are the strongest of all cables. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,902,126.
One approach, using radar to detect obstacles in the flight plane, is to discriminate against terrain echos on the basis of vertical antenna directivity, whereby echos from obstacles outside the flight plane are attenuated compared to those close to the flight plane. Unfortunately, directivity in simple radar systems requires large antenna apertures, which are heavy and not compatible with the aerodynamics of airborne vehicles. However, it is well known that a large synthetic aperture can be generated by processing signals received while a relatively small physical antenna is transported through space. This principle is exploited in some airborne radars in which special signal processors use the Doppler history of reflections from terrain objects imparted by aircraft motion to enhance the horizontal resolution of the physical antenna. These techniques fail when the airborne vehicle velocity approaches zero.
It would be advantageous if there were an all-weather, continuously-operating system for alerting helicopter and light aircraft pilots that a potential power line hazard exists in their immediate area. The present invention provides such a system.


A gravity timer of the hour-glass type having a pair of chambers which communicate through an intermediate portion in which a restrictor valve is normally seated in order to regulate the rate of flow of a granular material therethrough and which valve may be selectively opened so that the granular material contained within one chamber may freely pass to the other chamber.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is generally directed to timing devices and more specifically to gravity flow timers of the type having a pair of chambers which are connected by a restricted throat or valve portion and wherein a freely flowable material passes from one chamber to the other in a predetermined amount of time. The present invention is further directed to gravity flow timers which are resettable by including structure which allows the flowable material to be immediately discharged from one chamber to another so that the timing cycle of the timer is immediately established. The timing devices of the present invention are primarily designed for use in game situations.
2. History of the Related Art
There are currently many games available to consumers which are regulated by timing the sequence of play between each of the various players so that a move or action must be taken within a predesignated amount of time. The sophistication of timing devices utilized with games depends upon the specific environment in which the games are to be played. For instance, in competition tournaments for chess each move of a player is controlled by electronic equipment. On the other hand, in home games wherein players must make a move or answer a question in a specified amount of time, reliance is more generally based upon mechanical or conventional gravity type timers. The most economical of the timers for use in conventional board and card games are gravity timers which are of an hour glass configuration. During play, timing is initiated by inverting the hour glass so that material will flow from an upper chamber to a lower chamber through a restricted orifice or neck portion. Such timing devices are designed to give a predetermined amount of time for a player to take an action, answer a question or make a play. Unfortunately, in many instances a player acts before time has expired and therefore the next player in sequence must await the completion of the timing cycle before additional play is possible. In some instances the delay in game play can be an annoyance to the players or may have the effect of decreasing the degree of concentration or level of excitement exhibited by the players.
In an effort to overcome the problems exhibited by conventional hour-glass type timers, there have been several structures proposed for allowing gravity timers to be reset. In Wachtel U.S. Pat. No. 3,125,849 a timing device is disclosed which incorporates a pair of chambers which are connected by an intermediate valve. The valve is rotatable so as to selectively align two different channels with the chambers. One of the channels is considered the timing channel while the other channel, which is of a larger dimension, is used as a reset channel. When the valve is turned so that the reset channel is aligned with the two chambers the flow rate of material is increased so that the timing device may be set in an expedited manner. Unfortunately, with this device it is necessary to provide an intricate valve mechanism between the two chambers. The additional structure requires that the valve be sealed relative to the chambers so that no material will wedge between the housing of the timing device and the rotary valve. These complications increase production costs and therefore, such timers would not be conducive for use in a conventional home game.
Other resettable timers have been developed which require no moving parts. In Johnson U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,030 a resettable timer is disclosed which includes a housing having an inner baffle system wherein the baffles creates a first restricted flow channel relative to the housing along one side thereof and secondary less restricted flow channels along the remaining sides of the baffles and housing. By rotating the housing the material contained therein flows around the baffles to its initial starting point. Unfortunately, with this type of structure, a step-by-step rotation of the housing is required in order to bring all the flowable material to a common chamber. This means that an individual must first rotate the device 90.degree. and thereafter allow the material to move to a first position, thereafter rotating again another 90.degree., with this process continuing until all of the material is within a common chamber above the first flow channel.
Some additional examples of prior art gravity flow timing devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,144,857 to Schultz; 4,431,313 to Hemperly; French patent 1,435,742; West German patent 2,255,154 of 16 May 1974; and British patent 23,894 of 13 Dec. 1893.


Systems, computer-implemented methods, and computer-readable storage mediums for determining tour locations are disclosed. Users are provided access to items of an online marketplace of a first user. Data is received from the first user that includes a request to determine a tour location of a tour. User accesses to the items of the online marketplace are monitored. Based at least on the monitored user accesses, values for candidate locations are determined. One of the candidate locations are selected based at least on the determined values of the candidate locations. The selected location of the candidate locations may be provided to the first user.

Marketplaces can be online and/or real world (e.g., brick and mortar). Online marketplaces can include websites or mobile applications where users may buy or sell goods or services (referred to collectively as "items") from a provider of the online marketplace or other users of the online marketplace. The goods or services (referred to collectively as "items") are described in a published listing. Similar to online marketplaces, real-world online marketplaces may have websites that allows users to view inventory or interact with the real-world online marketplace.
Artists may provide media content by way of online markets. In particular, musicians, authors, filmmakers, actors, and the like may upload digital media content to an online marketplace for access other users, consumers, and fans. Additionally, consumers may purchase physical merchandise online.

System, method, and machine-readable storage medium for an artist tour generation


A computer-implemented method for reducing noise in an image includes receiving a first image in a computer system. The first image depicts an interior of an item and is generated using a technique that provides imaging at selected depths in the item. The first image represents a first interior section having a first thickness. The method includes determining a modification for the first image using a second image of the interior. The second image represents a second interior section encompassing the first interior section and has a second thickness greater than the first thickness. The method includes storing the modification in association with the first image.

It is important to consider the deleterious effects of ionizing radiation when determining the use of computer tomography (CT) within medicine. For some patients, repeat scans are necessary for monitoring high risk situations. In these cases, it is beneficial to minimize the radiation dose of each scan to reduce the cumulative dose over time. However, the signal-to-noise level of low dose CT scans is significantly lower than for normal dose scans, and thus may cause a decrease in diagnostic accuracy.

Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research


A magnetic stirring system includes a stir-mantle and a magnetic stirring apparatus used for stirring/mixing materials in a flask. A rare-earth magnet is mounted on the magnetic stirring apparatus and is driven in rotation by a pneumatic motor. The rare-earth magnet is coupled to a magnetic stir bar in the flask for conjoint rotation so that the stir-bar stirs/mixes the materials in the flask. An exhaust is included to channel air from the motor to the rare-earth magnet and to direct the air to flow over the magnet to control the temperature of the magnet.

Many chemical reactions and physical reactions (e. g., distillations) are facilitated by stirring/mixing the materials within a vessel. One way to do this is to stir the materials in a vessel with a mechanical stirrer. For example, a motor-driven rotatable spindle may be used in which one or more stirring members (e.g., blades) of the spindle can be positioned in the vessel to stir the materials.
As another example, a motor-driven magnetic stirrer may be used. In this stirrer, a magnetic stir bar is positioned within the vessel and a base magnet magnetically coupled to the stir bar is positioned under the vessel near the stir bar. A motor is used to rotate the base magnet, which in turn rotates the stir bar in the vessel to stir the materials. A magnetic stirrer is often desirable because minimal stirring structure is introduced into the vessel, reducing concerns of contamination or leakage to/from the vessel. In addition, small stir bars can be used which are easier to insert into vessels having small inlet openings such as round-bottom flasks (small inlet openings help prevent release of undesirable materials into the environment or vice versa).
However, strong base magnets are required with these magnetic stirrers, particularly when driving the stir bars in viscous materials or large volumes of materials (e.g., 20, 50 or 70 liters of materials). Traditional base magnets are often not strong enough to handle these conditions. In many cases, the coupling force between a traditional base magnet and the stir bar fails, resulting in the stir bar decoupling from the base magnet.
In addition, it is often desirable to conduct chemical reactions and/or physical reactions (e.g., distillations) under abnormal conditions, for example, under high vacuums or with highly volatile chemicals. These conditions can be adversely impacted by the components/design of the stirrer. For example, stirrer designs that have multiple joints or must be sealed would not function well in high vacuums. Similarly, electric motors would not be desirable where highly volatile chemicals are being used (e.g., where flammable or explosive materials are used).
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a motor-driven magnetic stirrer that can be used in high vacuum systems with highly volatile chemicals and that has a base magnet strong enough to handle highly viscous and large volumes of materials.
Corresponding reference characters represent corresponding parts throughout the views of the drawings.


A data traffic monitor for determining a heavy distinct hitter (HDH) in a data stream, the data stream comprising a plurality of element-value (e,v) pairs, includes a HDH module, the HDH module configured to receive the plurality of (e,v) pairs from the data stream; and a counter block in communication with the HDH module, the counter block comprising a plurality of hash functions, and further comprising a respective pair of distinct counting primitives associated with each hash function of the plurality of hash functions, wherein each of the plurality of (e,v) pairs is added to one of the distinct counting primitives of the respective pair of distinct counting primitives for each of the plurality of hash functions in each of the plurality of counter blocks.

This disclosure relates generally to the field of traffic monitoring in a computing network, and more specifically to determining heavy distinct hitters in a data stream transmitted over the computing network.
Today's computer infrastructures are highly distributed systems where data traffic is generated at many different locations. Metering or monitoring the data traffic in such a network may be performed for such purposes as troubleshooting, planning and billing. To facilitate metering and monitoring, network routers collect flow information that may be analyzed by processing units. A processing unit may perform tasks such as flow information collection, filtering, analysis, or aggregation. Traffic metering and monitoring may also be performed for security reasons. Anomalies that may indicate security issues may be detected by monitoring a data stream. For example, a processing unit may discover a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack by observing that a large number of different machines are sending data packets to a small number of destinations. Another network anomaly is a single machine sending data packets to a large number of different destinations, indicating that the single machine may have been compromised and is being used to disseminate a worm.
Security problems such as a DDoS attack or worm dissemination may be detected by determining heavy distinct hitters (HDH) in the data stream. If each packet in a data stream is considered as an element-value (e,v) pair, where each element is a destination and each value is a source address, then the attacked machines in the DDoS scenario are those elements for which the number of distinct values in the observed data stream is large. Alternately, if an element is defined as a source address and a value is defined as a destination address, then the elements with the largest number of distinct values may correspond to compromised machines that are distributing a worm. The elements that occur in the data stream together with a large number of distinct values are heavy distinct hitters. It is desirable to identify the heavy distinct hitters as efficiently as possible.
The HDH problem may be approached by finding all elements that occur in the data stream paired with a number of distinct values that is greater than or equal to a particular threshold. The number of distinct values that occur together with an element may also be determined. However, finding the exact number of HDH elements and values paired with those elements requires a processing unit to store all distinct (e,v) pairs that are received in the data stream, and check for each arriving (e,v) pair whether or not it has already been received, which may require a large amount of memory and processing power, especially at high traffic rates.
To lower memory and processing requirements, a HDH approximation may be determined instead. For example, two parameters epsilon and delta may be defined in the range (0,1), epsilon being the allowed relative error in the estimates, and delta being the failure probability. A threshold T may also be defined as the minimum number of distinct values required for an element to be considered a heavy distinct hitter. After processing a portion of a data stream, an output set of elements that are heavy distinct hitters (i.e., occur with a number of distinct values that is greater than threshold T) may be determined and, for the elements in the set of heavy distinct hitters, the total number of distinct values that occurred with each element may be estimated. If an element is in the set of heavy distinct hitters, then the true number of distinct values that occur with this element is at least (1−epsilon)T, and if an element is not in the output set, then the true number of distinct values that occurs with this element is lower than (1+epsilon)T, and the error in the number of distinct values for all elements is at most epsilon*T. The approximation output must satisfy these conditions with probability at least 1−delta. Thus, the error is at most an epsilon fraction of the threshold T, and the whole process succeeds with probability 1−delta. Since the process succeeds most of the time, delta may be set to a much smaller value than epsilon. As delta is smaller, delta has a smaller impact on the space requirements to compute the approximate solution than epsilon. There may be an anomaly in the case in which one or a few elements occur with a larger number of distinct values than all other elements, or in other words, a few elements occur more often than a certain fraction of all distinct (e,v) pairs. For this situation, if d is the total number of distinct (e,v) pairs, the threshold T may be set to phi*d, where phi is another parameter in the range (0,1). However, approximation of HDHs in a data stream with a low epsilon and low delta with relatively low memory and processing requirements presents challenges.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Determining heavy distinct hitters in a data stream


Mechanisms are provided for performing a cognitive operation. An input graph is received having a plurality of first nodes, where subsets of first nodes are coupled to one another via first edges and each first edge has an associated weight. A blinking graph model is generated based on the graph, where blink rates are associated with second edges and are calculated based on weights of corresponding first edges in the input graph. The blink rate specifies a fraction of time a corresponding second edge is determined to be present in the blinking graph model. A relatedness metric is calculated for a target node relative to a node of interest based on the blink rates of the second edges. The relatedness metric indicates a degree of relatedness of the target node to the node of interest. A cognitive operation is then performed based on the relatedness metric.

The present application relates generally to an improved data processing apparatus and method and more specifically to mechanisms for ranking related objects using blink model based relation strength determinations.
Many real-world applications involve determining relations between two or more objects. These applications utilize metrics for evaluating the "relatedness" of one object to one or more other objects. These metrics are sometimes referred to as relation-strength metrics, distance metrics, similarity metrics, ranking scores, or the like. Examples of such applications include search engine recommendations which recommend web pages that are related to a web page being viewed by a user based on the inter-linking graph between web pages. Other examples include social media websites that provide recommendations of contacts of individuals, e.g., recommending potential new contacts to a user based on an existing social network graph. Still further examples include web sites that recommend multi-media content based on recently viewed multi-media content and commonality of attributes among the multi-media content expressed in a graph. In yet another example, web sites that recommend products based on the item being viewed by a user and similarity between products. Many other examples may be provided in which the application is determining relationships between objects for purposes of performing a processing operation and generating an output.
There are many solutions used by such applications for determining the metrics indicative of relatedness. Examples of these solutions include the PageRank algorithm, SimRank algorithm, Adamic/Aday, and Katz algorithms. The drawback of these solutions is that they have relatively low accuracy. For example, in Liben-Nowell and Kleinberg, "The Link-Prediction Problem for Social Networks," Journal of the American Society of Information Science and Technology, 2007 it was demonstrated that, for link prediction for co-authorship social networks, the best accuracy that was able to be achieved was only 16% accuracy.

Ranking related objects using blink model based relation strength determinations


Lightguide is disclosed. The lightguide includes a light guiding layer for propagating light by total internal reflection, and an optical film that is disposed on the light guiding layer. The optical film includes a plurality of voids, an optical haze that is not less than about 30%, and a porosity that is not less than about 20%. Substantial portions of each two neighboring major surfaces in the lightguide are in physical contact with each other.

Backlights are used as extended area illumination sources in displays such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs). Backlights typically include one or more lamps, a lightguide for producing an extended area light source by extending light from the lamps over the output surface of the backlight, and one or more light management layers such as prismatic light redirecting layers, brightness enhancement layers, reflective polarizer layers, diffuser layers, mirror layers and retarder layers.
Light propagating in a lightguide is typically extracted by light extraction features provided on a major surface, such as the output surface, of the lightguide.

Lightguide with optical film containing voids and blacklight for display system


A tamper-evident securement device for use in securing closed a drawer of a furniture, comprising: a flexible extending closure member comprising an at least partially flexible attaching portion disposed within the furniture, and a flexible locking portion comprising a distal end section that traverses a gap between the drawer and a drawer opening when the drawer is closed, and provides an aperture that is disposed outside the furniture; and a securement member disposed within the furniture that attaches the extending closure member to an inner surface of a top side of the furniture; wherein a lock device can be inserted through the aperture of the flexible locking portion. The tamper-evident securement device may employ a shield plate. For installation of the tamper-evident securement device, an implement may be utilized.

Persons when traveling or staying outside their home place their personal belongings into whatever furniture happens to be available. For travelers, the accommodations may be a hotel, motel, a bed-and-breakfast, or the home or apartment of a friend or relative. Persons staying outside the home can include students residing in a dormitory or apartment, and a person visiting relatives or friends. In the case of a hotel, motel or a bed-and-breakfast, the person can typically lock the room so that outsiders cannot gain access to the room, although cleaning, maintenance and security personnel may have keys to access the room. In apartment rooms, dormitory rooms or within the homes or apartments of relatives or friends, the living area may be locked but may be shared with one or more other persons, or the living area may be unlocked, allowing free access thereto.
In many hotels, a guest may have a security box or vault within the room or the hotel itself, within which the guest can securely lock away valuables such as jewelry and electronic devices, cash, etc. For guests or travelers in hotels, apartments, dormitory rooms or the homes of friends and relatives, the guest, student or traveler may provide their own lockable luggage, security box, or baggage, within which cash, valuable or personal or business documents and articles can be secured, away from access to others.
At other times, the guest, traveler, or student simply wants to secure their personal items and valuables in a furniture drawer, away from the persons having legitimate access to the area, such as roommates, family members, etc., who may snoop around or may be curious about another person's belongings. A temporary lock for a furniture drawer in such a case needs not be unbreakable or unassailable, but should reveal signs of tampering or forced entry if an unauthorized access is attempted. The temporary lock is used as a means to deter and discourage unauthorized access to a curious snooper.
One location where a person might store valuables, sensitive or confidential documents, etc. is in a drawer of furniture provided in the accommodations, such as a dresser, cabinet or desk. While office furniture is typically provided with built-in locks that prevent a drawer from being opened, most dresser drawers, and drawers in many cabinets and desks, are not made with integral locks. Thus, there is a need for a temporary lock to deter and discourage the unauthorized access to a curious snooper by requiring a definitely strong effort to open a drawer protected by such lock, and once opened the drawer cannot be returned to the locked condition by the intruder.
Most household goods are designed and manufactured by many producers and have many different sizes, shapes, and styles. For instance, every hardware store carries many types of toilet flapper for many different toilet water tanks, which vary in size and shape depending on the different toilet models made by many different manufacturers. Each type and design of toilet tank requires a specific toilet flapper. Similarly, there are many types and sizes of drawer for different kinds of furniture. U.S. Pat. No. 9,133,651 issued Sep. 15, 2015 and U.S. Pat. No. 10,094,146 issued Oct. 9, 2018 categorize the many different dresser openings and drawers into four general styles, especially for the top-level drawers and top-level openings, and describe various temporary tamper-evident securement devices that are specifically designed for each general styles. U.S. Pat. No. 9,133,651 discloses tamper-evident securement devices specifically designed for one general style, while U.S. Pat. No. 10,094,146 discloses tamper-evident securement devices specifically designed for another general style; both said patents are incorporated herein by reference. U.S. Pat. Publ. Nos. 20150082840 and 20160002957, also disclose temporary tamper-evident securement devices for different types of file cabinets; both said patent applications are incorporated herein by reference.
It is rather inconvenient to have to carry several types of temporary tamper-evident securement devices when going on a trip, where the type of furniture at the destination is unknown, or having to wait until after arrival at an accommodation before searching for an appropriate temporary tamper-evident securement device. It is therefore very desirable to have a universal temporary tamper-evident securement device that can be used for almost all types of furniture and drawers.


A vehicle attachment carrier loading guidance system may include a sensor for being supported by vehicle supporting a removable attachment having a mount interface for interacting with a mount on an attachment carrier distinct from the vehicle, wherein the sensor is output steering angle signals. The system may further comprise a controller to output presentation signals based upon the steering angle signals. The presentation signals are to generate a visual representation of a projected path of the mount interface with respect to the mount.

Attachments are frequently connected to vehicles. Some attachments are cantilevered from the front or rear of vehicle so as to be carried by the vehicle. Other attachments include wheels or other ground engaging members, wherein the vehicle pushes or pulls the attachment. In some circumstances, the attachments are carried and transported to and from a worksite or field by a separate attachment carrier, such as a trailer, which may be pulled by the vehicle or by a different vehicle.
Throughout the drawings, identical reference numbers designate similar, but not necessarily identical, elements. The figures are not necessarily to scale, and the size of some parts may be exaggerated to more clearly illustrate the example shown. Moreover, the drawings provide examples and/or implementations consistent with the description; however, the description is not limited to the examples and/or implementations provided in the drawings.

Vehicle attachment carrier loading guidance


A computer-implemented method for displaying a plurality of bill due dates, the method comprising: displaying an account identifier for each bill in the plurality of bills; showing a timeline with a due date indicator for each bill in the plurality of bills, the timeline disposed proximate to the account identifier; and wherein each of the account identifiers and timelines are disposed along an axis relative to the other account identifiers and timelines.

1. Field
This disclosure is generally related to an inbound message management system that individuals use in order to manage communications from businesses with which they have relationships. More specifically, this disclosure is related to providing automated processing of the inbound communications to facilitate more efficient use of the communications by the individual.
2. Related Art
Programs and systems such as Quicken and Mint, now both owned by Intuit Inc., as well as PageOnce, can accept direct input of financial institution access credentials to allow aggregation of financial information for a household in a single place. Similarly, online bill payment systems from financial institutions such as Bank of America and USAA have provided integration with billers via direct input of individual, or household, access credentials for the bill payer's site. These tools may in turn rely on other systems such as Yodlee for interfacing with the financial institutions.
Other tools such as the Organizer product from OtherInbox can automatically analyze, prioritize and summarize emails coming into a user's inbox from institutions. Still other tools such as TripIt allow individual emails to be forwarded to a dedicated email address to facilitate presenting a single view of travel-related information.
Additionally, university research projects such as RADAR (See, e.g., "RADAR: A Personal Assistant that Learns to Reduce Email Overload," Freed, Carbonell, et al., 2008) have focused on providing virtual assistants for processing and handling email to assist in performing tasks related to those emails.

Method and apparatus for automated bill timeline


Each blade of a turbomachine rotor is secured to the drum of the rotor by upstream and downstream legs on the radially inner side of the blade platform cooperating with upstream and downstream annular beads on the periphery of the durm, and a locking plate holding the legs in position. The end of the upstream leg is received in an annular groove in the upstream bead, and the downstream leg has an aperture which receives a tongue projecting from a collar on the downstream bead. the downstream leg ends in a cylindrical bearing surface acting on a cylindrical bearing surface of the drum, and includes two hooks on its donwstream face. The locking plate is located in an annular groove of the drum at the downstream edge of the cylindrical bearing surface and has first tongues engaging with the hooks on the downstream leg and second locating tongues at each end.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the fixing of the rotor blades to the drum of a turbomachine rotor.
2. Summary of the Prior Art
Several means are currently used for effecting the fixing and radial retention of the movable blades mounted on the wheels or rotors of modern turbomachines operating at high rotational speeds. Usually the blades, which are formed with a vane portion having an aerodynamic shape which ensures the desired performance of the compression or turbine stage for which the blade is designed, are provided with a base including a root which may be surmounted by a platform defining the inner wall of the main gas flow path. This root, which may be of hammer or fir-tree shape, is located in a cooperating axial groove provided in the rim of a wheel disc or in the outer periphery of a rotor drum. In some cases, the assembly may similarly be made in a peripheral or circumferential direction. In all cases, additional means are normally used to ensure locking of the blades in the radial, axial and peripheral directions.
These well known solutions are still widely used, particularly in aeronautical applications both in the military field and in the civil field, but are not entirely satisfactory in aircraft engines of new design, particularly those which incorporate an additional power turbine of slow rotational speed, intended to drive either a fan or a propeller, and including in particular two contra-rotating stages. As a particular consequence of the reduction of rotational speeds and therefore also of the level of stress to which the rotary parts are subjected, a lightening of the previously used technology is found to be practical. This lightness objective is accompanied by a search for simplification in order, particularly, to make assembly easier. Also, taking into account the new condition of use, the parts should exhibit good behavioural qualities at low rotational speeds of the rotor.
Some elements of a solution may be found in older arrangements which have not reached the degree of complexity and sophistication of more recent, better known solutions, and which are inadequate in themselves.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,654,565 describes the mounting of blades in which the base includes shoulders forming hooks cooperating with slits provided on the rims of assembled discs to form a rotor. U.S. Pat. No. 3,063,674 illustrates the use of rivets for securing rotor blades.

Blade fixing arrangement for a turbomachine rotor

Societe Nationale d'Etude et de Construction de Moteurs d'Aviation"S.N.E.C.M.A.


A socket connector, adapted for electrically connecting an IC package and a printed circuit board, comprises a plurality contacts, an upper housing and a lower housing. The contact has a top contact, a bottom contact and a spring disposed between the top contact and the bottom contact. The top contact has a keeping portion formed with a front piece, a rear piece facing to the front piece and a bend portion connecting bottom edges of the front piece and the rear piece, and defines a guiding slot between the front piece and the rear piece. The bottom contact is inserted into the top contact and movable along the guiding slot. The lower housing defines a plurality of through gaps for receiving the bottom contacts; and the upper housing is mounted upon the lower housing and defines a plurality of receiving slots for receiving the top contacts.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a socket connector which is used for connecting an electronic package, such as a central processing unit (CPU), with a circuit substrate, such as a printed circuit board (PCB).
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 7,025,602, published on Apr. 11, 2006, relates to a contact for connecting an electronic package with a printed circuit board (PCB). The contact has a top contact pin, a bottom contact pin coupled to the top contact pin, and a spring fitted over a predetermined area between the top contact pin and the bottom contact pin. The top contact pin includes a contact part having a predetermined shape and contacting a lead of an object to be tested, that is, an integrated circuit (IC), two support protrusions and a body. The bottom contact pin have the same construction as that of the top contact pin, the top contact pin and the bottom contact pin are coupled to be aligned in an orthogonal orientation to each other. Open ends of the contact pins are also aligned in opposite directions along the longitudinal axis of the contact pins. Each open end forms two contact beams with a gap therebetween, the gaps are used for guiding the top and the bottom contact pins moving toward each other. However, the contact beams are easily damaged after frequent use.
Accordingly, a new socket connector that solves the above problems is desirable.


A boring bar having multiple tool stations spaced therealong. A tool holder is carried at a tool station within a bar mounted bushing. A pinion gear on the bushing is in threaded engagement with the tool holder for moving same. A channel along the bar receives a gear rack in mesh with the pinion gear. Bar surfaces along with a closure at each station overlie rack surfaces to prevent chip entry. Tool holder feed including a threaded rod coupled to the rack and extending outwardly from the bar outer end to receive a handwheel. A limit stop is lockable along the bar to limit rack movement.

The present invention pertains generally to boring bars and the like for machining surfaces concentric with the axis of bar rotation.
In existing boring bars it is the practice to position the cutting tool in incremental fashion as machining progresses with each tool adjustment requiring access to the tool station at a point along the bar. Considerable time is expended in gaining access to and positioning of a tool holder depending on the work piece and the type of mill carrying the boring bar.
Attempts at providing remotely positioned controls for positioning a tool holder radially of a boring bar are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,275,624 wherein a splined shaft extends lengthwise of a boring bar and engages a splined tool holder to impart movement to the holder radially of the bar. A control is located at the bar end and includes an internally threaded handwheel acting on a threaded rod which in turn axially positions the splined shaft. The splined shaft, as well as the tool holder, require the task machining of inter-engaging teeth or splines with the splines carrying thrust as well as rotational loads. Further, the pitch of the splines is such as to render tool removal for manual pre-positioning of the tool difficult. Further, a boring bar must be drilled lengthwise off center a substantial distance with such drilling requiring a great deal of precision to prevent backlash between bar and tool holder. A key and keyway prevent tool rotation.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,237,487 discloses a powered bar having a head thereon with rack and pinion components operable to radially position cutting tools.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,369,007 discloses a threaded tool holder with an internally threaded pinion imparting radial movement to same. A ratchet drive powers the pinion. The tool holder has flats thereon to prevent rotation.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,730,636 discloses a boring head for installation in a boring machine with the head having a bit positioned by a rack and pinion.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,073,186 discloses a boring bar tool with a threaded tool holder having flat surfaces formed thereon to retain the shank against rotation in the boring bar.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,484,480 and 4,761,103 disclose cutting tools positioned radially of the boring bar by reason of the tool being carried in a threaded holder in engagement with a worm wheel.

Boring bar with tool holder stations and control for same

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