A modular wall system including a plurality of wall panels removably attached between a floor and a ceiling by a head track assembly and a floor track assembly respectively. The wall panels include a core material covered on each face by a thin metal skin and are of sufficient strength and rigidity to allow their placement between the head and floor track assemblies without the requirement of stud members or the like. The head track and the floor track assemblies both comprise gasket elements which prevent the passage of microcontamination around the panel members, and the side surfaces of each panel member contains a gasket which abuts and seals against an adjacent panel member to prevent the flow of microcontaminants around the sides of the panel. The floor track assembly also comprises a fastening member which securely holds the bottom of the wall panel to prevent relative movement therewith. The floor track assembly also includes alignment screws which allow the floor track to be leveled, regardless of the unevenness of the floor it is placed upon, thereby insuring automatic alignment of the well panels when placed thereon and insuring complete sealing between adjacently mounted panels. The floor track assembly can also include a U-shaped cradle which allows for more secure attachment of the floor track assembly to the floor. The present wall system can be used for cleanroom construction, or may be used for other types of construction such as office space or the like.

1. Field of the invention
This invention pertains to a modular wall system useful for partitioning off and/or entirely defining subunits of a larger area. More particularly, the invention relates to a modular wall system wherein the enclosing structure can be assembled or disassembled in components, and wherein the assembled structure can be modified by removal of structural elements without affecting the remaining structure. The invention further pertains to a modular wall system wherein wall panels can be quickly assembled or disassembled, yet wherein the assembled wall system is capable of being sealed at the junctures of each attached wall panel.
2. Prior Art
The present trend in construction of buildings used for manufacturing, office space, storage, and other business needs, is to build large floor areas having no walls or other means of closing off smaller units of the floor area. This allows the tenant to choose their own floor plan, and to fashion it through the use of modular wall systems. These wall systems include panels which can be fastened in place between the floor and ceiling at nearly any location across the larger floor area, to confine smaller sub-units useful for the purposes of the tenant. Since modular wall panels of this type are not required to carry any load of the building (i.e., are not load bearing walls), they need not remain permanently in their original location and can be removed, rearranged, or replaced depending on changing needs.
Prior art structures built for cleanroom use, have in the past been fabricated in accordance with permanent design features, as opposed to temporary or modular construction, because of the high risk and critical impact of microcontamination in certain types of manufacturing, (i.e. the production of integrated circuit chips, electronics components or other products which are subject to contamination in an environment of dust or other microcontamination).
The development of the portable, modular cleanroom enclosure has heretofore been deemed impractical for meeting the stringent requirements of these types of manufacturing environments. For example, the preparation of a multi-layered, integrated computer chip includes fabrication of wafer masks and layouts that include hundreds of tiny circuits whose operational condition depends on the absence of foreign materials. These chips are prepared in an industrial cleanroom which is classified by the maximum amount of contamination allowed in the form of airborne particles. For example, a Class 100 room at 0.5 microns means that a cubic foot of controlled airspace within the cleanroom will have no more than an average total of 100 particles no larger in size than .05 microns. Likewise, a Class 10 room means that there are only 10 or less particles of .05 microns in size or larger than a cubic foot of airspace.
The trends for increased productivity and chip capacity have increased the need for more stringent standards for cleanroom structures. Movements have developed to reduce the standard for measurement from .05 microns to .02 microns and to anticipate Class 1 cleanroom conditions. Also, the need to quickly and economically modify the cleanroom structure itself to changing usage requirements is also becoming more and more critical.
Although permanent structures were acceptable for earlier cleanrooms, modern industry demands greater structural adaptability. Many of these demands are not only a natural outgrowth of a changing technology in manufacturing, but also include long standing design problems unique to cleanroom production. For example, manufacturing equipment used within the cleanroom may require day to day maintenance while maintaining the cleanroom environmental requirements. Typically, equipment of this nature is installed as part of a service wall with the operational side of the equipment sealed to the interior of the cleanroom and the maintenance/access side exposed to a service isle exterior of the cleanroom.
Although repair work is facilitated by the service wall configuration, removal of machinery may involve modifications to the wall structure. Therefore, if equipment must be replaced, risk of damage to the cleanroom structure exists. Equally challenging is the need for an adapted wall structure which allows modification in configuration to permit change to new equipment as it is developed. Presently, progressive changes in equipment may require construction of a new cleanroom facility.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,667,579 to Daw shows a cleanroom structure including a plurality of fabricated wall studs removably attached at the junctures of panel elements in such a manner that sealing against particle infiltration is accomplished. This patent includes the use of a conventional steel stud which is slotted to receive a clip, wherein the mated clip is attachable to lateral flanges of abutting panel sections. Although this structure represents a significant improvement over prior art methods for construction of modular wall systems, it must be carefully assembled of the panels and support studs to avoid misalignment which would allow infiltration of dust and the like.
In a case of cleanroom construction, as opposed to other types of wall construction, careful construction techniques have traditionally been required to insure complete sealing of airflow through the wall. It would be a substantial improvement in the art if the structural components, specifically wall panels, were self adjusting to establish coalignment of panel sections within the single plane of panels, including complete sealing of all junctures, without the need or use of studs for supporting and/or fastening the panels.


There is provided an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a program, in which a database in which unknown words are registered is able to be efficiently created, the information processing apparatus including: an identifying portion that identifies a word uttered according to a predetermined utterance method, from within utterance information of a user, as an unknown word; and a processing portion that performs processing to register the unknown word that has been identified.

In recent years, it has become common for a user to input characters aurally due to improvements in speech recognition technology. However, utterance information included in sounds emitted by a user often includes unknown words not registered in a database (e.g., a corpus or the like), such as abbreviations, paraphrases, and proper nouns.
Therefore, unknown words included in utterance information of the user must be properly recognized in order to convert the utterance information of the user into proper notation. Recognized unknown words are registered in a database, and so will thereafter be converted into proper notation.
An example of such technology may be technology which, in continuous dialogue between users, extracts unknown words from dialogue content and registers the unknown words in a predetermined database without making the user aware of the registration mode, as described in Patent Literature 1 below, for example.

Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and program


A trailer mounted proportional brake controller for a towed vehicle and a method of controlling the brakes of a towed vehicle is described. The brake control unit may control the brakes of a towed vehicle. The brake control unit may include a power control unit and a hand control unit. The power control unit may be connected to the brakes of the towed vehicle and the power control unit may be capable of selectively controlling the brakes of the towed vehicle based on a set of braking parameters. The hand control unit may be configured to remotely communicate with the power control unit. The hand control unit may be capable of transmitting information to the power control unit to adjust at least one of the braking parameters and receiving information from the power control unit.

A variety of brake controllers may be employed to control the brakes of a towed vehicle. Typically, the brake controller of a towed vehicle may actuate the towed vehicle's brakes in response to braking by the towing vehicle. These brake controllers may often include accelerometers and microprocessors which may measure and/or take into account a variety of conditions (e.g., braking signal, acceleration, etc.), whereby the brake controller may apply the towed vehicle's brakes in such a manner that assists in stopping the towing vehicle and towed vehicle, and may also reduce the likelihood of skidding, jack-knifing, swaying and the like.
The towed vehicle's brake controller is often mounted to the towing vehicle. Typically, the brake controller may be hard-wired to the towing vehicle, such as being mounted in the cab or passenger compartment of the towing vehicle. The brake controller may communicate with the brake system of the towed vehicle by means of a wiring system that may provide communication between the towing vehicle's brake system and the towed vehicle's brake system.
Hard wiring the brake controller to the towing vehicle is often time consuming and expensive. In addition, some vehicles are not manufactured with the appropriate wiring necessary for a towed vehicle's brake controller, and thus, require aftermarket installation of such wiring, which is time consuming and expensive. Moreover, mounting the brake controller in the cab or passenger compartment of the towing vehicle may frequently require mechanically fastening, such as with screws, bolts, etc., the brake controller to the dash or other interior surface or component of the vehicle, thereby resulting in permanent damage to the dash or other interior component of the towing vehicle.
In some instances, the brake controller may be programmed by a user to take into account variables, such as vehicle weight, road conditions, and other parameters that may potentially affect braking effectiveness. Current brake controllers may not be operable to receive instructions from a user located in the towing vehicle when the towing and towed vehicles are in use and in motion.
In addition, some brake controllers may be required to be mounted directly to the towed vehicle, which precludes them from any adjustments when the towing vehicle is in motion. Moreover, it may be desirable to be able to program the brake controller during vehicle motion as this programming may provide for diagnostics and more accurate input, such as maximum brake output power and the like.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for an improved brake controller that may be used with various trailer braking means, such as electronic or hydraulic brakes, that allows the user to make adjustments to the brake controller while the vehicle is in motion. The brake controller is also not required to be hard wired to a towing vehicle whereby the operator may quickly change between different towing vehicles and while still using the same trailer. In addition, the power control unit of the brake controller may be mounted in any fixed location and is independent of direction of travel.

Universal trailer mounted proportional brake controller


A velocity-reduced drive system (1) is used to operate a movable member of a video camera or a combined camera-and-VTR unit at a reduced velocity. The drive system comprises a micro or flat motor (5) supported in cases (2), (3) and (4), a worm gear (6) rotatably supported by the cases, a worm wheel meshed with the worm gear, first power transmission means (11), (12) and (12) for transmitting rotational force of the motor (5) to the worm gear (6), and second power transmission means (14), (15) and (16) for transmitting rotational force of the worm gear (6) to an output shaft (7) to be coupled to the movable member.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a velocity-reduced drive system, and more particularly to a small or flat velocity-reduced drive system for operating a small device like a video camera or a combined camera-and-video-tape-recorder unit by reducing the velocity of a motor.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is necessary to reduce the velocity of a motor for a lens driving unit when such unit is operated for focusing or zooming a video camera or a combined camera-and-video-tape-recorder unit (hereinafter called camera-and-VTR unit). One of such velocity-reduced drive systems was proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 74342/1989. With the cited system, the velocity of the motor is reduced by a reduction gear train or by combination of the reduction gear train and a pulley-belt unit. A drive shaft of the motor and an output shaft are positioned in the same direction.
Conventionally, the motor and a case for the reduction gear unit are piled with the drive shaft and the output shaft facing in the same direction. Therefore, the drive shaft inevitably becomes longer. The reduction gear train includes a plurality of spur gears, which generate relatively high sounds. Such high sounds are picked up by a microphone of the video camera, being reproduced as noises. Since the direction of the output shaft is limited, the velocity-reduced drive system would have narrower application fields. Further, a number of the spur gears have to be used to obtain large velocity reductions, which means increase of component parts.
When the velocity-reduced drive system is used to operate a cylindrical movable member (e.g. a lens barrel of a combined camera-and-VTR unit), there would be formed an undesired space around the flat surface of the drive system and the cylindrical member.

Kabushiki Kaisha Sankyo Seiki Seisakusho


One aspect of the present invention is a coating system for use in a wet on wet coating application process. The coating system includes a first coating composition, a second coating composition, and a boundary layer. The first coating composition includes a first bulk polymer resin and a first reactive component selected from the group consisting of a part A and a part B reactive component. The second coating composition includes a second bulk polymer resin and a second reactive component comprised of the other reactive component of the part A and the part B reactive component group. The boundary is formed upon applying a first layer of the first coating composition to a second layer of the second coating composition. The boundary layer includes the reaction product of the part A and the part B reactive component and is situated between the first layer and the second layer.

1. Technical Field
One aspect of the present invention relates to coating compositions and another aspect of the present invention relates to applying coating compositions to substrates.
2. Background Art
Many known paint application systems include the application and curing of multiple layers of coatings, which result in the original finish to the exterior surfaces of consumer products, including, but not limited to, automotive vehicles. As one example, wet on wet paint application systems involve the application of a subsequent coating to a substantially uncured previously applied coating. The two substantially uncured coatings are then jointly cured by a curing process, which may involve a curing oven.
One proposed wet on wet paint application system includes the sequential application of multiple coating compositions, including an electrocoat (ecoat), a primer coat, a basecoat and a clearcoat. The ecoat is applied to a substrate (for example, an automotive vehicle panel) and is subsequently cured. Furthermore, the wet on wet system includes applying the primer coat to the cured ecoat, curing the primer coat, subsequently applying the basecoat to the cured primer coat, and subsequently applying the clearcoat to the uncured basecoat. The adjacent uncured coating layers, i.e., the basecoat and clearcoat, are then jointly cured to obtain a cured paint system.

Coating compositions and methods of applying the same


A detector for a portable imaging system includes a flash memory including a full set of configuration parameters and calibration files. The detector also includes a transmit and receive unit for communicating with the portable imaging system. The detector still further includes a detector controller responding to a request for identification of the detector received through the transmit and receive unit. The detector transmits calibration data and configuration data from the flash memory to the portable imaging system and boots the detector.

In the hospital setting, mobile radiographic exams are performed on patients incapable of being moved or difficult to move. Also, in tertiary care medical centers, mobile radiographic exams represent a significant percentage of the radiographic exams performed.
When a portable digital detector is used in the mobile radiology (RAD) clinical environments, it is critical that the system be reliable and available to the user (i.e. maximization of uptime). Due to the harsh environment in which this type of detector is used, (detector being dropped, banged against objects, etc.) it is inevitable that the detector may need to be replaced on a clinical site. It is desirable that the time to replace the detector and return the system back to the customer be as short as possible. With current remote diagnostic capabilities, it is possible to determine which component has failed and to provide the proper part to the site.
If, however, once the detector has been replaced, a long configuration, calibration process is required, as is often the case, time for the user to receive the unit and restart patient procedures may be significantly impacted. As the cost of the system requires high productivity and low downtime, it is critical to reduce or eliminate this effort.
In addition, if any change to the detector design occurs during production it would be highly beneficial for the detector itself to include any configuration parameters that would be affected without requiring the customer to reload new software on the system prior to using the detector.
Also, if multiple detectors are available to the customer and the detector is capable of quickly switching through wireless or quick disconnect connections, the capability quickly to configure the system to work optimally with that detector may add to time saving.
The disadvantages associated with current, portable digital detectors for mobile radiography units have made it apparent that a new technique for installing detectors and configuring portable detector information would be beneficial. The present invention is directed to these ends.


A machine for wrapping divider panels or the like comprising a main frame (20) having a flat work surface (32) and a distributor (34) such that fabric from a roll (30) may be uniformly fed through and distributed by distributor (34) and quickly wrapped around and secured to a panel framework.

Historically, panels for dividing office or other space have been wrapped in fabric by premeasuring the fabric, sewing it into a tube with one seam, placing it upon a stretching device and then inserting the panel core inside the tube, removing the stretcher and finishing the ends of the panel. It is imperative to understand that for good appearance the fabric must be in tension. This method required that the panel be perfectly rectangular, i.e. all right angles, the seam be very straight and that the fabric not be stretched beyond its elastic limit.
Examples of devices for placing material under tension such that they may be secured as a skin include:
U.S. Pat. No. 2,342,025 granted to Watter, Feb. 15, 1944, which discloses an apparatus for placing metallic skin under tension and then applying it to the framework of an airplane or the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,804,101 granted to Johnson et al., Aug. 27, 1957, discloses an apparatus for tensioning a screening material and then applying it to frames.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,041,109 granted to Eames et al., June 26, 1962, discloses a method for securing a fabric material to a framework by inserting it into a slot and then securing it in place.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,699,626 granted to Roth et al., Oct. 24, 1972, discloses an apparatus for automatically placing a fabric over a framework for a small object such as a brush for removing lint from clothing or the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,777,347 granted to McCorbey et al., Dec. 11, 1973, discloses an apparatus which draws two parallel sheets of material such as sheet metal through a dye-forming means and then sprays material into the space between the sheets of metal such that when it is cured it fills the space between the sheets.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,840,960 granted to Toti et al., Oct. 15, 1974, discloses an apparatus for forming hollow metallic beams and the like by simultaneously forming the individual panels and then sealing them along the edges.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,851,684 granted to Wyrach et al., Dec. 3, 1974, discloses an apparatus for assembling flexible sheet material into window screens or the like by securing the material to the frames without rotating the frames.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,147,582 granted to Brollo, Apr. 3, 1979, discloses an apparatus for continuous production of prefabricated insulating panels of sheet metal including a rolling mill and a device for injecting a expandable foam plastic material between the skins.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,257,150 granted to Heffner et al., Mar. 24, 1981, discloses an apparatus including means for providing sheet metal from two separate rolls, a pair of structural assemblies including clamping jaws and means to move the material to a position for fastening.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,426,760 granted to Watts et al., Jan. 24, 1984, discloses a tool for rolling sheet material into a retaining slot.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,516,305 granted to Unger et al., May 14, 1985, discloses a method of/and structure utilized, in securing upholstery fabric to a chair or the like and by utilizing bars under tension to retain the fabric in position.

Machine for wrapping divider panels or the like


In a manufacturing method of magnetic alloy powder including an alloy of Fe and Ni, a precursor made of powdered chloride expressed as FeCl2·2H2O·NiCl2·2H2O is prepared, and the precursor is reduced by heating with calcium hydride to form the, magnetic alloy powder having a coercivity of greater than or equal to 40 kA/m.

A high performance magnet made of a Fe alloy powder includes FePt magnet made of FePt alloy. The FePt magnet has a high protection against corrosion and is a relatively strong magnet. However, because the FePt magnet uses expensive Pt, an application is limited.
Thus, tetrataenite, which is an ordered alloy (NiFe) of Ni:Fe=1:1 is expected as substitution of the FePt magnet. Tetrataenite has a high coercivity. Although normal NiFe alloy has a coercivity of less than or equal to 100 Nm, tetrataenite included in an iron meteorite has a high coercivity of 100 kA/m (see Kotsugi et al., Applied Physics Express 3 (2010) 013001).
Tetrataenite is included in a grain boundary layer in an iron meteorite and is generated at a very slow cooling speed of −10−6° C./year. Although tetrataenite has a crystal structure of face-centered tetragonal lattice (fct), a phase transition occurs at 320° C., and taenite in which an atomic arrangement of face-centered cubic lattice (fcc) is disordered is formed.
Recently, it has been reported that magnetic particles including tetrataenite and having a relatively high coercivity can be artificially composed by hydrogen reduction of nano-particles of compound oxide of Fe and Ni (see Okubo et al., Proceedings of Annual Meeting of Japan Society for Molecular Science 2011, 3P076). However, the magnetic particles have a coercivity of about one-third of tetrataenite included in an iron meteorite.
The inventor of the present application earnestly studied about artificial composition of magnetic alloy powder including an alloy of Fe and Ni and composed magnetic particles including tetrataenite at a temperature lower than or equal to 320° C. using amorphous compound hydroxide of Fe and Ni as source material and calcium hydride as reducing agent. However, the magnetic particles have a coercivity of one-fifth of tetrataenite included in an iron meteorite, that is, natural tetrataenite.

Manufacturing method of magnetic alloy powder


An outwardly grown diffusion aluminide bondcoat is formed on a superalloy substrate and has higher concentrations of Al and Pt and lower concentrations of harmful impurities (e.g. Mo, W, Cr, Ta, S, etc.) at an outermost region of the bondcoat than at an innermost region thereof adjacent the substrate. The bondcoat is pretreated prior to deposition of a ceramic thermal insulative layer in a manner that reduces grain boundary ridges on the outermost bondcoat surface without adversely affecting the outermost region thereof, and then is heat treated to thermally grow a stable alpha alumina layer on the bondcoat prior to deposition of a ceramic layer.

Advancements in propulsion technologies have required gas turbine engines to operate at higher temperatures. This increase in operating temperature has required concomitant advancements in the operating temperatures of metal (e.g. superalloy) turbine engine components. Thermal barrier coatings have been used to meet these higher temperature requirements. Typical thermal barrier coatings comprise alumina and/or zirconia based ceramic which provide a thermal insulative layer to protect the metal component from the high temperatures.
Thermal barrier coatings have been applied to metal components by first coating the component with a bondcoat, which may comprise an inwardly or outwardly grown platinum modified diffusion aluminide bondcoat and/or MCrAlY overlay bondcoat where M is Ni and/or Co. After applying the bondcoat, the coated component typically is grit blasted and vacuum heat treated, or vice versa, to promote the formation of a thermally grown oxide (TGO) layer typically comprising alumina on the aluminum-rich underlying bondcoat. The component then is coated by electron beam physical vapor deposition with a thermal insulative layer of alumina, zirconia, or other ceramic material. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,716,720 and 5,856,027 describe a thermal barrier coating system comprising a clean platinum modified diffusion aluminide bondcoat on the substrate, a thermal grown alumina layer, and a thermal insulative ceramic layer on the alumina layer. The platinum modified diffusion aluminide bondcoat comprises an outwardly grown diffusion aluminide coating produced by CVD (chemical vapor deposition) processing using high substrate temperature and low activity coating gases that produce higher concentrations of Pt and Al and low concentrations of harmful refractory metal impurities (e.g. Mo, W, Cr, Ta, etc.) and surface active impurities (e.g. S, P, Cl, B, etc.) at the outermost zone or region of the aluminide coating.
The life of a thermal barrier coating; i.e. time to coating spallation, is known to be related to the surface characteristics of the bondcoat and the particular phase of the thermally grown alumina present between the insulative layer and the bondcoat. Negative effects of bondcoat surface roughness on coating life have been reported by Jordan in "Bondcoat Strength and Stress Measurements in Thermal Barrier Coatings", US Department of Energy Report (subcontract # 95-01-SR030), Sep. 30, 1997, where it was reported that platinum aluminide bondcoat surfaces include grain boundary ridges that act as sites for stress concentration and damage accumulation during thermal cycling of thermal barrier coated substrates. Grain boundary ridges act as sites for preferential oxidation, void formation, and crack initiation which result in the thermally grown alumina spalling prematurely.
The formation of the thermally grown alumina layer on the aluminum-rich bondcoat involves several metastable transition phases, such as a cubic gamma alumina phase transforming to a tetragonal delta alumina phase then to a monoclinic theta alumina phase finally to a rhombohedral alpha alumina phase, the formation of which occurs by heterogeneous nucleation and growth of the alpha phase from the monoclinic theta phase. The sum of the metastable transitions involves a substantial molar volume reduction of approximately 9%, a significant portion of which is attributable to the final transition from the theta phase to alpha phase.
An object of the present invention is to provide a method of pretreating a superalloy or other substrate prior to coating with a thermal insulative layer of a thermal barrier coating system in a manner to reduce adverse effects of bondcoat surface roughness on life of the thermal barrier coating.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of pretreating a superalloy or other substrate prior to coating with a thermal insulative layer of a thermal barrier coating system in a manner to reduce adverse effects of metastable phases of thermally grown alumina on life of the thermal barrier coating.
A still further object of the present invention is to significantly increase the life of the thermal barrier coating system under high temperature cyclic oxidation conditions.

Thermal barrier coating method and article


A system and method for transmission of a video stream are provided. The system may include: an encoder adapted to generate a video stream comprising a plurality of encoded frames, encoded according to at least one encoding parameter; a comparator in communication with the encoder, the comparator adapted to compare encoded frames of the plurality of encoded frames with input frames to determine a fitness metric reflective of visual quality of the encoded frames; and a controller in communication with the comparator, the controller adapted to adjust the at least one encoding parameter based on the fitness metric.

Delivery of large quantities of continuous real-time data from a transmitter to a receiver is a complex problem. The data stream may be compressed and transmitted over one or more concurrently connected networks before arriving at a server where the operation is reversed, and the data stream recreated.
The problem is particularly challenging when the data stream requires a high data rate such as when the data stream is a high quality (e.g., broadcast quality) video stream.
The problem is also particularly challenging when the one or more connected networks include wireless links, as required, for example when the transmitter is a mobile transmitter.
In particular, existing wireless technologies such as satellite or microwave fixed link may return a (live) video stream to a studio, but may have shortcomings. For example, satellite or microwave fixed link may take extra time to set up, may be expensive, and once set up may have reduced mobility. These solutions may have dedicated channels and a fixed bandwidth that prevents stream failure; however, sporadic drop-outs due to weather/catastrophic failure are still possible, but may be infrequent.
Cellular networks are possible alternatives to satellite or microwave networks for sending data from a mobile transmitter. Cellular networks have broad coverage and are relatively inexpensive to access. However, cellular networks may have lower bandwidth, and may be prone to transmission errors, lag due to resource contention, signal fading and increased interference while moving.
Wi-Fi networks may provide higher bandwidth connections. However, Wi-Fi networks often have limited range and coverage, and may not be readily available to a mobile transmitter. Wi-Fi networks are also subject to interference.
Even when the networks are rated to transmit data at the bit rates required for real-time transmission of the data stream, maintaining the required bit rates is difficult. Available bandwidth may be reduced by many uncontrollable factors, such as physical objects causing interference, the weather, the contention that occurs when multiple devices share the same limited network resources, and so on. Such factors reducing available bandwidth may be unavoidable even when wired links (e.g., wired Ethernet) are used. Fluctuations in available bandwidth may cause concomitant fluctuations in transmission bit rates, and which may make it difficult to reliably transmit high quality audio and video data streams in real time.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System and method for automatic encoder adjustment based on transport data


A frequency locked loop includes a phase comparator receiving first and second periodic signals and having a first output providing pulses if the first signal is in phase advance with respect to the second signal and a second output providing pulses in the opposite case; an oscillator providing the second signal; a counter, the state of which determines the frequency of the oscillator, having an incrementation input and a decrementation input; and a sampling circuit for transmitting each Nth of the pulses either to the incrementation input if the pulse occurs at one of the first and second outputs of the comparator, or to the decrementation input if the pulse occurs at the other of the first and second outputs.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to phase locked loops (PLL's) and more particularly to PLL's including a two-input/two-output phase comparator, the first output providing a signal when the first input is in phase advance with respect to the second, and the second output providing a signal when the second input is in phase advance with respect to the first input.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
FIG. 1 is a simplified diagram of an exemplary conventional so-called "charge-pump" PLL.
A phase comparator (PFD) 10 receives at a first input a logic signal Fext, and at a second input a logic signal Fvco provided by a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) 12. Comparator 10 is generally sensitive to the falling edges of signals Fext and Fvco. A charge-pump includes two current sources 14, 15 of equal value I, for charging or discharging capacitors that may be included in a filter 17. Sources 14 and 15 are disposed in series between a high voltage Vcc and a low voltage Vss and are respectively controlled by an UP output and a DOWN output of the phase comparator 10. The junction between sources 14 and 15 is connected to the control input of oscillator 12 and to filter 17 which is connected to a reference voltage G, such as ground. Filter 17 generally includes an integration capacitor C1 disposed in series with a correction cell including a resistor R and a capacitor C2 interconnected in parallel.
The UP output of phase comparator 10 provides pulses (UP pulses) having a duration equal to the phase advance of signal Fext with respect to signal Fvco. The DOWN output provides pulses (DOWN pulses) having a duration equal to the phase lag of signal Fext with respect to signal Fvco. Thus, the capacitors of filter 17, especially capacitor C1 which has a high value with respect to capacitor C2, are progressively charged or discharged in accordance with the phase relation between signals Fext and Fvco. Voltage Vc across filter 17, which varies as a function of this phase relation, corrects the frequency of VCO 12 in order to catch-up the phase error of signal Fvco. The correction cell R, C2 provides, during each rising edge of an UP or DOWN pulse, a voltage peak to briefly overcorrect the VCO 12.
FIG. 2 shows signals Fext, Fvco, UP and DOWN corresponding to an exemplary case. For the sake of simplification of the drawings, signals Fext and Fvco are represented in the form of pulses having a practically zero duration. Signal Fext is represented as having a constant frequency. Each pulse of signal Fext is marked E.sub.n ; the corresponding pulse of signal Fvco is marked V.sub.n, index n being an integer representing the pulse rank.
At a time t.sub.0, a pulse V.sub.0 of signal Fvco is provided before the corresponding pulse E.sub.0 of signal Fext. Comparator 10 then detects a phase advance of signal Fvco with respect to signal Fext and provides an active DOWN pulse from pulse V.sub.0 up to pulse E.sub.0, which causes the frequency of signal Fvco to decrease. The next pulse V.sub.1 is still in advance with respect to pulse E.sub.1. Then, a new DOWN pulse occurs and causes the frequency of signal Fvco to decrease again, and so forth. This first step during which DOWN pulses are generated is continued until a phase coincidence is obtained between pulses E.sub.i-1 and V.sub.i-1 at a time t.sub.1.
Then, a second step during which UP pulses are generated is initiated. From the timing of pulses E.sub.i and Vi, it is determined that signal Fvco is in phase lag with respect to signal Fext. The PLL compensates for this phase lag by increasing the frequency of signal Fvco responsive to the generated UP pulses, until signal Fvco is again in phase advance with respect to signal Fext.
The two preceding steps alternatively occur until signals Fext and Fvco are in synchronism. Before reaching such synchronism, the frequency of signal Fvco oscillates about the frequency of signal Fext.
FIG. 3A shows the waveform of the frequency variation of signal Fvco in the case of a phase shift of signal Fext after signals Fext and Fvco are initially in synchronism. This situation corresponds for example to that of FIG. 2 and may be caused by a missing pulse (E.sub.00 in FIG. 2) from signal Fext. In the case of a missing pulse E, the PLL "considers" the situation as though signal Fvco was in a phase advance of one period.
At time t.sub.0 the phase shift of signal Fext occurs. From time t.sub.0, the frequency of signal Fvco starts oscillating about the frequency of signal Fext and slowly tends to this frequency. Times t.sub.0 and t.sub.1 of FIG. 3 correspond to times t.sub.0 and t.sub.1 of FIG. 2.
FIG. 3B illustrates the frequency waveform of signal Fvco when the frequency of signal Fext shifts at a time t.sub.0 up to an upper value. From time t.sub.0, the frequency of signal Fvco increases, exceeds the new frequency of signal Fext, and then oscillates about the new frequency and slowly tends up to the new frequency.
If, in FIG. 3B, time t.sub.0 corresponds to a starting of the loop, the situation of FIG. 2 can be found, that is, signal Fvco is in phase advance with respect to signal Fext but is at a lower frequency. Then, as shown in dashed lines, the frequency of signal Fvco starts decreasing, that is, it initially varies in a direction opposite to the desired direction.
It can be appreciated that the PLL tends to rapidly compensate for the phase error between signals Fext and Fvco by modifying the frequency of signal Fvco at each pulse, with the resulting drawback of causing the frequency of signal Fvco to oscillate. The oscillation duration and the amplitude thereof increase as the initial phase error increases. A phase shift or a missing pulse substantially disturbs the loop, even if signals Fext and Fvco are in synchronism.
The frequency of signal Fvco may not even converge in the direction of signal Fext during a specific perturbation or if some of the components are incorrectly selected. The components of filter 17 must be carefully chosen so as to make trade-offs between stability and speed of synchronization.
Another drawback of the PLL's such as the one of FIG. 1 is that capacitors, especially capacitor C.sub.1, and resistor R of filter 17 generally have high values and must be external to an integrated circuit including the other elements of the PLL.


Systems and methods may determine prescribing physician activity levels. Information associated with a plurality of healthcare transaction requests that are received during a designated time period from at least one healthcare provider computer for communication to one or more claims processor computers may be collected. A respective prescribing physician for each of the plurality of received healthcare transaction requests may be identified. For each identified physician, a respective activity measure for the designated time period may be calculated based upon a respective number of the healthcare transaction requests identifying the physician.

In the healthcare field, certain healthcare providers, such as pharmacies and/or drug manufacturers, would like to determine an activity level of a physician for various business and/or marketing purposes. For example, a pharmacy or drug manufacturer may wish to determine whether a particular physician has an active practice prior to targeting that physician for marketing purposes. Therefore, a need exists for systems and methods for determining activity levels for physicians.

Systems and methods for determining prescribing physician activity levels


The capability to design and implement roles in a role-based system is disclosed. The system and data architecture enable organizations to model and assign relationships between Roles and other entities in a computing environment. The complex interrelation of Groups and Roles is established in an environment where: users need not be a member of a Group to use the capabilities of a Role; Role ownership is distinct from Role usage; and Roles themselves have attributes. A collection of methods enable creation, configuration, maintenance, ownership and usage of roles and for implementing relationships between the Role and other system entities, attributes and permissions.

The efficient provisioning and administration of capabilities and attributes in a system or group of systems is a significant challenge faced by many modern organizations. Modern organizations often utilize numerous computer applications, each of which typically enforce business rules, enable the processing of numerous business functions, and model multiple organizational and/or hierarchical structures. Users in the system may have different levels of access, different capabilities and different relationships to the other users and Groups in the organization depending on the particular system or module being accessed. For instance, a typical school system may have separate methods or computer applications to record information about students, organize and define classes, order supplies, track assets, plan and track curriculum, as well as a web site portal to communicate with parents and the community.
To reflect organizational reality, computer systems and automated methods enable functionality to define Groups that reflect the organization's hierarchical and/or functional grouping users in this manner, a system manages the users' attributes and capabilities centrally, at the Group level. The concept of a Group also provides increased flexibility and efficiency because the construct is usually implemented to allow Groups to be members of other Groups. A single Group is often used to combine two or more other Groups, thereby enabling organizations to model sub- or super-Groups. For instance, in a typical school organization, the science Group may include the sub-Groups biology, chemistry and physics departments, while the science Group itself may be part of a super-Group that includes all the science Groups for every school in the school district.
In addition to Groups, a Role can be used to combine one or more capabilities or attributes. Generally, a member of any organization is afforded a level of access or authority within an organization in order to perform assigned Roles, whether the Roles are trivial, administrative or authoritative in nature. A number of commercial and proprietary software tools have been developed to help organizations manage employees and employee Roles. Companies often use simple databases to record information relating to an employee for use by Human Resources, Payroll, and Management. As such, an employee is able to perform designated functions for the company in accordance with the recorded duties and responsibilities.
There is a need to separate the Group and Role entities; this allows the desired relationships to be expressed directly. Existing methods only allow Groups to own a Role. A strong need exists to allow multiple Roles to be combined to form a higher level Role, thereby adding a level of sophistication that enables more logical modeling of a real life organization. Closer modeling of the underlying organizational structure provides more efficient and intuitive configuration and ongoing maintenance of the system. Moreover, existing technology does not provide for separate ownership and usage of a Role. A need exists to increase the functionality of such systems by decoupling the ownership of (or ultimate authority over) a Role from the usage of (or ability to execute the capabilities of) a Role.
Although system design schemes allow for both Groups and Roles constructs, there is a need to provide richer functionality by increasing the flexibility of these constructs. In typical Role-based systems, one relationship, i.e. membership in the Group, is used to express two different concepts. That is, Groups are used to express both true membership and to aggregate permissions. Moreover, existing technologies only use Roles for permissions and privileges and treat Roles as attributes to be shared among a Group of users, not as a concept that can also be used to assist in characterizing properties for a single individual. There is a need to allow essentially any attribute to be captured in a Role.
The typical school organization provides a useful illustration of the Groups and Roles concept. In a school organization, the Principal may be the only person with authority to approve disciplinary actions against students. This scenario illustrates the need for more flexible use of Roles. Groups have members, Roles have users. The intent and meaning of the relationship is different for the two cases. Membership in a Group could be used to imply that a user is allowed a certain privilege, using a Role expresses that relationship explicitly. If the capabilities of a Principal as a Group and instead of being associated directly to the Principal's Login-ID, the Role would be difficult to transfer. A need exists for using a Role in this situation to allow the authority to be easily transferred to a new principal when needed or even transferred to the vice principal temporarily while the principal is on vacation.
Computing environments have modeled a limited set of societal entities, with each environment representing a small subset of the known societal entities. In one example, environments commonly referred to as "social networking" represent a single Role of a Login-ID, as well as a set of roles with a common interest, commonly called a "Group." However, these Groups cannot own Roles, nor do they typically own content of their own. Groups simply give a collection of Roles a single label for easy reference, e.g. as a member of one or more groups. In such computing environments, the content of each Group is kept separate, but is shared within the Group. However, the opportunity for interaction within the environment is extremely limited, typically only with other Group members. Therefore, there is a need for increased functionality to enable a system to recognize that societal entities are not monolithic and that there are more kinds of relationships than have previously been modeled.

System and method for defining and manipulating roles and the relationship of roles to other system entities


A non-invasive diagnostic tool and method for detecting an obstruction in a coronary artery, the diagnostic tool including a signal processor adapted to receive signals corresponding to a heart beat from a plurality of acoustic sensors attached to the chest of a patient. The signal processor is programmed to identify a diastolic portion of the signals for a plurality of heartbeats and conduct a wavelet transform analysis on the diastolic signals for determining the existence of, as well as the severity and the location of, an obstruction in a coronary artery of the patient.

Coronary artery disease generally refers to a build-up of cholesterol or plaque on the interior walls of the arteries of the heart. FIG. 1 is an illustration of an artery 10 having a layer of plaque 12 formed on the interior walls of the artery. This type of build-up of plaque 12 reduces the capacity of the affected arteries to carry blood thereby reducing the flow of blood through the arteries and the amount of blood delivered to the muscles the arteries supply. The plaque 12 can also weaken the walls of affected arteries. As shown in FIG. 2, a crack 14 may develop in the plaque 12 and cause a blood clot to form in an artery. Many heart attacks are caused by blood clots in the coronary arteries.
Currently, angiograms are widely used to diagnose coronary artery disease. An angiogram is an invasive procedure that usually requires cardiac catheterization wherein a catheter is inserted into the blood vessel being examined. FIG. 3 shows a prior art catheter 16 shown inserted into a patient's 18 blood vessel 20 starting near the patient's groin and extending through the blood vessel and into the patient's heart 22. This type of catheterization process is normally necessary before angiogram and subsequent angioplasty procedures are conducted. Normally, attached to the end of the catheter are suitable sensors. In some cases, the sensors are active sensor heads, which emit a radio frequency signal of about 1 MHz and project it towards the heart. These sensor heads are often positioned close to a patient's heart. The projected signal is reflected off the arteries of the heart and can be used to determine an approximate location of an occlusion. An angioplasty is done by inserting a cleaning tool through the artery to remove an occlusion. In some cases, both the angiogram and the angioplasty processes are agonizing for the patient and can be dangerous or even fatal.
When an obstruction occurs in an artery, the blood flow through the affected artery creates more turbulence than in an unobstructed artery. This turbulence normally generates high frequency sounds especially during the diastolic activity of the heart. High frequency bandwidth, spread spectrum signals that experience time and frequency scaling are difficult to decompose with narrow band analysis, such as Fourier transform, due to its sinusoidal kernel, which approximates the scaling effect with a Doppler shift. However, this type of high frequency signal represents an admissible kernel representation for using wavelet transform (WT) in appropriate signal processing algorithms. A wavelet transform analysis uses a more general analysis kernel, or mother wavelet.
In "Wavelet Applications in Medicine" by Akay et. al, IEEE Spectrum, 1997 pages 50-56, there are described techniques used in signal processing for detection of coronary artery disease in healthy and unhealthy patients. Although such technology has been proposed as providing a reliable measurement, the technology has not been fully developed and the multiplicity of acoustic sensors proposed has represented a substantial impediment to widespread usage.
Based on the foregoing, it is the general object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for diagnosing coronary artery disease that improves upon, or overcomes the problems and drawbacks associated with prior art methods and tools for diagnosing coronary artery disease.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel apparatus for detecting and determining the position of obstructions in a patient's coronary arteries.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a novel method of detecting the location of and the severity of obstructions in the coronary arteries.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus, which can be readily available, and that is reliable and relatively inexpensive.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for detecting and determining the position of obstructions in a patient's coronary arteries, which may be constructed from readily available components at a reasonable cost to enable the widespread use thereof.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a non-invasive method of determining the location and the severity of obstructions in the coronary arteries.

Apparatus and method for non-invasive diagnosing of coronary artery disease


A control method of the present disclosure is a control method of an information processing apparatus which includes a storage unit that stores predetermined resource information related to a resource required for a living activity of a user, the method including: an acquiring step of acquiring device information; an estimating step of estimating a living activity of the user; a competition extracting step of extracting a living activity group including living activities for which the resources are likely to compete among the living activities, based on the resource information; a resource judging step of judging whether a required resource has been secured for each of the living activities, based on the device information and the resource information; and an inhibition extracting step of extracting, as an inhibited living activity, a living activity for which it has been judged that the required resource has not been secured.

A user context is a word having meanings. The user context is used as a word indicating all items of information on users. The user context is also used as a word indicating a place, an activity, and a state of a user at a certain point in time. In the present description, the user context is used as the latter meaning.
Conventionally, it has been often performed in the world of the world wide web (WWW) to detect the context of a user automatically and provide a service based on the detection results. For example, this service allows a user to write an appointment into an electronic schedule note so that an email is delivered on the day before the appointment so as not to miss the appointment.
However, since it is difficult to comprehend the context of the real world, at the present situation, such a service is performed only in limited fields. This is because such an infrastructure that a sufficiently large number of sensors are widely present is required in order to automatically comprehend the context of the real world using a computer or the like.
However, in recent years, this situation has been changed due to the development of apparatuses, called smart devices or smart appliances, which have a network function and can collect sensing information and a manipulation history and an operation history of the apparatuses.
When such smart apparatuses such as smart devices or smart appliances are sufficiently popularized among the people, the activity and situation (user contexts) of a user at a certain point in time can be estimated from information (the user's manipulation history of an apparatus or the sensing information) on the user collected from these smart apparatuses.
Although various services that use the estimated user contexts can be considered, one of the important services among them is a service that detects an event relating to a user that "things are not going properly" and takes measures against the event.
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique of incorporating a sensor into a stick used by an elderly person so as to detect a contact between a stick and the ground and judging that "the elderly person is walking safely" if the stick and the ground make contact periodically and otherwise judging that "something dangerous has happened". The system disclosed in Patent Document 1 aims to provide a caring service for elderly persons who are out for a walk using the judging results.
Similarly, Patent Document 2 discloses a technique of extracting sleeping hours, an activity quantity, an excretion frequency, and the like of a care recipient from sensors attached to the care recipient and issuing a warning when the extracted data indicates an abnormality in the living pattern of the care recipient. Moreover, Patent Document 3 discloses a technique of monitoring biological information such as an electrocardiographic signal of a user and automatically detecting an abnormality.
However, Patent Documents 1 to 3 require a further improvement.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-85609    Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-114830    Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-253609

Control method and non-transitory computer readable recording medium

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


A tractor-trailer vehicle includes one, and typically a plurality, of signal switches mounted at spaced intervals along a top wall of the trailer structure, wherein engagement of the signal switches relative to an abutment effects audible and visual alarm within a cab of the associated transport vehicle structure.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of invention relates to alarm apparatus, and more particularly pertains to a new and improved vehicular abutment alarm apparatus wherein the same is arranged to indicate abutment relative to an associated transport trailer vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Height indicator structure is available in the prior art and indicated by U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,011,358; 5,035,290; as well as a load indicator structure as indicated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,542,161.
The prior art has heretofore failed to provide for a readily mounted signal structure relative to a tractor-trailer arrangement as availed in the prior art and in this respect, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.


Methods and apparatus for improved metal ion filtering are provided herein. In some embodiments, a substrate processing apparatus includes: a chamber body and a chamber lid disposed on the chamber body defining a processing region within the chamber body beneath the lid; a collimator disposed in the processing region; a power source coupled to the collimator; and a first set of magnets disposed around the chamber body above the collimator and a second set of magnets disposed around the chamber body and below the collimator that together create a guidance magnetic field that is substantially orthogonal to the collimator.

Reliably producing submicron and smaller features is a key technology for the next generation of very large scale integration (VLSI) and ultra large scale integration (ULSI) of semiconductor devices. However, as the miniaturization of circuit technology is pressed, the shrinking dimensions of interconnects in VLSI and ULSI technology have placed additional demands on the processing capabilities. The multilevel interconnects that lie at the heart of the VLSI and ULSI technology demand precise processing of high aspect ratio features, such as vias and other interconnects.
As circuit densities increase for next generation devices, the widths of interconnects, such as vias, trenches, contacts, gate structures and other features, as well as the dielectric materials therebetween, decrease to 45 nm and 32 nm, or lower, dimensions. However, the thickness of the dielectric layers remain substantially constant, resulting in increased depth to width aspect ratios of the features.
Sputtering, also known as physical vapor deposition (PVD), is a method of forming metallic features in integrated circuits. Sputtering deposits a material layer on a substrate. A source material, such as a target, is bombarded by ions strongly accelerated by an electric field to eject material from the target, which is then deposited on the substrate.
In a physical vapor deposition process, fast-moving ions strike the target, dislodging particles from the target surface. The particles may be charged by the interaction with the incident ions through a charge transfer mechanism. Alternatively, the particles may be charged through interaction with any electric fields existing in the space, or the particles may remain uncharged. Deposition generally occurs faster on field regions and near the tops of trench sidewalls. During deposition, ejected particles may travel in all directions, rather than travelling in directions generally orthogonal to the substrate surface, resulting in overhanging structures formed on the corners of the trench. Overhanging structures disposed on opposite sides of a trench or other opening may grow together, resulting in premature closing and thus preventing complete filling of the trench or opening and forming a hole or a void. When depositing conductive materials to form conductive pathways for a device, such holes or voids undesirably severely diminish the electrical conductivity of the formed feature. Moreover, the higher aspect ratios of trenches and vias in next generation devices are even harder to fill without voids.
Controlling the ion fractions or ion density reaching to the substrate surface at a certain range may improve the bottom and sidewall coverage during the metal layer deposition process. In one example, the particles dislodged from the target may be ionized and accelerated under an electrical bias applied to the substrate. The resulting narrow angular flux distribution encourages particles to travel down into the trench before early closing-up of the trench. It is believed that by increasing the ion fraction/ion density near the substrate surface may promote ion trajectories that are more orthogonal to the substrate. As accelerated ions approach the substrate surface, momentum carried from the accelerated ions may reach deeper down into the trench, whereupon they deflect toward the trench sidewall under the influence of the electrical bias. Nonetheless, the deeper penetration into the trench reduces the effect of overhang near the top of the sidewall. However, as the aspect ratios of the trenches are getting higher and substrate sizes are becoming larger, reaching down to the trench bottom is more difficult and uniformly depositing materials across the substrate surface is also more difficult. Thus, PVD processing remains a challenge to overcome the problem of overhang management.
Therefore, the inventors have provided improved methods and apparatus for forming a metal containing layer with good bottom and sidewall management.


An undulating molded plastic vibratory screen including a base, a plurality of spaced substantially parallel undulations on the base, screen configurations on the undulations, and supporting rib structure within the undulations.

The present invention relates to an undulating molded plastic vibratory screen for a vibratory screening machine.
By way of background, molded planar plastic vibratory screens are known in the art, as exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,819,809 and 4,857,176. Also, undulating metal vibratory screens are also known in the art as exemplified by Pat. No. 5,417,859. However, it is not known that the prior art includes undulating molded plastic vibratory screens for vibratory screening machines.

Undulating molded plastic vibratory screen


A flush valve assembly for a water tank of a water closet which includes a first valve member which can be secured to the water tank and has a base sleeve position including a radiused inlet to thereby increase the discharge coefficient of the valve opening. A second valve member is coaxially and slidably mounted with respect to the first valve member so that the valve opening is created between the first and second valve members when the second valve member is removed from the first valve member. The second valve member is slidably movable between a first rest position, wherein the second valve member is seated on the base sleeve portion of the first valve member so that water cannot pass through the valve opening, and a second position, wherein the second valve member is removed from the base sleeve portion of the first valve member so that water can pass through the valve opening. A sealing member is provided for sealing the valve opening when the second valve member is in its first rest position and seated on the base sleeve portion of the first valve member. A guiding assembly is further provided for properly guiding and aligning the second valve member with respect to the first valve member when the second valve member is moved between its first and second position. The flush valve assembly also includes a trip release mechanism is further provided for releasing the effect of the flush lever on the second valve member when the second valve member reaches its second position so as to return the second valve member to its first rest position prior to the flush lever returning to its first rest position.

The present invention relates to a flush valve assembly for use in a water tank of a water closet. More particularly, the present invention relates to a flush valve assembly which has a coaxial design which provides for greater energy throughput thereby causing more energy to be available to remove wastes from the toilet bowl. The greater throughput is achieved by using a greater orifice diameter and including a radius on the inlet side of the valve opening. In addition, the present invention relates in particular to a flush valve assembly having a xe2x80x9ctrip releasexe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9clost motionxe2x80x9d mechanism to effectively disengage the valve opening/closing member from the flush activation member or flush lever.
Toilets for removing waste products are well known. Typically, toilets incorporate three systems that work together to perform the flushing action. Those systems are (1) the bowl siphon, (2) the flush mechanism, and (3) the refill mechanism. Working in concert, these three systems allow the flushing function of the toilet.
Usually, the tank, positioned over the back of the bowl, contains water that is used to initiate the siphoning from the bowl to the sewage line, as well as refilling the bowl with fresh water. When a user desires to flush the toilet, the user pushes down on the flush lever on the outside of the tank, which is connected on the inside of the tank to a movable chain or lever. When the flush lever is depressed on the outside of the tank, it moves a chain or lever on the inside of the tank which acts to lift and open the flush valve, causing water to flow from the tank and into the bowl, thus initiating the toilet flush.
In many toilet designs, water flows both directly into the bowl and is dispersed into the rim of the toilet bowl. The water releases into the bowl rather quickly, with flow from the tank into the bowl typically lasting approximately two to four seconds. The water flows from the rim, down a channel within the sides of the bowl, into the large hole at the bottom of the toilet, commonly known as a siphon jet. The siphon jet releases most of the water into the siphon tube, initiating the siphon action. The siphoning action draws all the water and waste out the bowl, and into the siphon tube. The waste and water continues through the other end of the U-shaped siphon tube through an area know as the trapway, and is then released into the wastewater line connected at the base of the toilet.
Once the tank is emptied or its contents (fresh water) during the flush, the flush valve closes, and a floating mechanism, which has now dropped in the tank to some residual amount, initiates the opening of the filler valve. The filler valve provides fresh water to both the tank and the bowl through separate flows. Eventually, the tank fills with water to a high enough level to cause the float to rise, thus shutting off the filler valve. At this point, the flushing cycle is complete.
However, government agencies have continually demanded that municipal water users reduce the amount of water they use. Much of the focus in recent years has been to reduce the water demand required by toilet flushing operations. In order to illustrate this point, the amount of water used in a toilet for each flush has gradually been reduced by governmental agencies from 7 gallons/flush (prior to the 1950""s), to 5.5 gallons/flush (by the end of the 1960""s), to 3.5 gallons/flush (in the 1980""s). The National Energy Policy Act of 1995 now mandates that toilets sold in the United States can use water in an amount of only 1.6 gallons/flush (6 liters/flush).
In the past, toilet designs have attempted by various methods to comply with this reduced water requirement, but achieving superior flush performance has been difficult. Therefore, it has been found desirable to provide a flush valve assembly which assists the flush operation in meeting the mandated water requirements while at the same time providing for an enhanced and superior flushing operation.
In the crowded art of producing a more reliable, more efficient and more powerful 1.6 gallon (6 liter) gravity toilet, one method to more effectively remove waste from the toilet bowl is to increase the hydraulic energy available during the flushing operation. However, the hydraulic energy available is not enhanced by the typical flush valve design for a coaxial flush valve assembly wherein the effective flow diameter through the flush valve opening is less than the orifice diameter of the flush valve inlet under dynamic conditions. It has therefore been found desirable to provide a flush valve assembly wherein the effective flow diameter of the flush valve opening is close to the inlet orifice diameter under dynamic conditions so as to increase the available hydraulic energy of the flush water.
Current agency requirements further mandate that the activation means or flush lever for the flush valve assembly have a minimum xe2x80x9chold downxe2x80x9d time of 1 second without exceeding the aforementioned total water usage or discharge per flush of 1.6 gallons (6 liters) of water. It has been found that the hydraulic performance characteristics of the flush valve can be significantly enhanced if water can be evacuated from the tank in a dumping time of less than 1 second, preferably 0.5-0.6 seconds. Therefore, it has been further found desirable to provide a flush valve assembly which releases the effect of the activation member or flush lever so that the valve opening can close before the expiration of the mandated minimum xe2x80x9chold downxe2x80x9d time of the flush lever (1 second) without exceeding the total water per flush mandate of 1.6 gallons (6 liters).
It is a general advantage of the present invention to provide a flush valve assembly which overcomes the deficiencies of the flush valve assemblies of the known prior art.
It is also an advantage of the present invention to provide a flush valve assembly which has a greater energy throughput of the flush water in comparison to existing flush valve assemblies to thereby provide more available energy to remove waste from the toilet bowl.
It is a further advantage of the present invention to provide a flush valve assembly which permits a water closet to meet governmental agency requirements which mandate a minimum xe2x80x9chold-downxe2x80x9d duration of the flush activation member or flush lever of 1 second and a maximum water usage of 1.6 gallons (6 liters) per flush.
It is yet a further advantage of the present invention to provide a flush valve assembly which includes a xe2x80x9ctrip-releasexe2x80x9d mechanism which releases the effect of the flush activation member or flush lever on closure of the valve opening so that a predetermined quantity of flush water can be delivered into the toilet bowl very quickly without exceeding mandated agency requirements.
It is still a further advantage of the present invention to provide a flush valve assembly which improves the flow characteristics of the flush water or flow capacity of the flush valve assembly.
This invention relates to a flush valve assembly for use in a water tank of a toilet bowl. This new flush valve assembly is similar to existing coaxial design flush valves used in gravity type water closet toilets which have a flush valve body usually made of plastic and constructed to form a conduit with an inlet end and an outlet end. The inlet and outlet ends allow flush water to pass from the tank or water closet area to the bowl portion of the toilet.
The flush valve assembly of the present invention allows the water tank to which it is installed to hold a predetermined volume of water and to also serve as a conduit to deliver water to the trapway via the passages within the toilet. A first valve member of the flush valve assembly of the present invention includes a base sleeve portion which is secured to the water tank or water closet and an inner cylindrical member extending generally vertically from the base sleeve portion.
A second valve member (flush valve cover or closure component) is coaxially and slidably mounted with respect to the first valve member so that a valve opening is created between the first and second valve members when the second valve member is removed from the first valve member. The second valve member is slidably movable between a first rest position, wherein the second valve member is seated on the base sleeve portion of the first valve member so that water cannot pass through the valve opening, and a second position, wherein the second valve member is removed from the base sleeve portion of the first valve member so that water can pass through the valve opening. The closed position of the valve opening prevents the flow of flush water into the valve until the valve is activated, typically by means of a flush lever assembly. The open position allows the flow of flush water to enter the valve opening and proceed into passages within the toilet to which the tank is attached.
According to one of the specific objects of the present invention, the flush valve assembly of the present invention achieves a greater energy throughput of the flush water, so as to provide more energy available to remove waste from the toilet bowl. In order to obtain this advantageous result, the base sleeve portion of the first valve member has a radiused inlet to thereby optimize venturi flow and increase the water discharge coefficient of the valve opening to approximately 0.95. More specifically, the radiused inlet has a diameter which is approximately 4.5 inches with a radius of xc2xexe2x80x3 incorporated onto the leading edge of the inlet.
In order to reduce the pulling force necessary to close and properly seal the valve opening when the second valve member is moved from its upper second position to its first rest position, an annular sealing member is provided along the outer circumferential surface of the second valve member which rests in an annular indented valve seat provided in an inner peripheral edge of the first valve member when the second valve member is in its first rest position. This annular indented valve seat preferably has a 3 inch diameter.
The second valve member is properly guided and aligned with respect to the first valve member when the second valve member is moved between its first rest and second positions by providing the flush valve assembly of the present invention with a guiding member. This guiding member includes a second cylindrical tube member secured to the second valve member which is fitted over the first cylindrical tube member of the first valve member so that the second valve member is properly guided and accurately aligned with the first valve member when the second valve member is moved between its first rest position and second position.
In order to reduce hydraulic losses and improve flow characteristics of the flush valve assembly, the first valve member also includes structure to minimize flow resistance. This flow resistance minimization member includes a plurality of tapered web members radially disposed between the first cylindrical tube member and the base sleeve position of the first valve member.
When the flush valve cover is in its floated state so that water rushes into the opened flush valve opening, water backflow has a tendency to rise in the confined space of the flush valve cover. In order to restrict further upward migration of the backflow, an annularly inclined baffle member extends from the inner peripheral surface of the outer housing of the second valve member.
Without adequate floatation of the second valve member of the flush valve assembly, the water tank will not drain properly. Therefore, in order to provide floatation of the second valve member when the second valve member is moved from its first rest position to its second position, a floatation cavity is provided in a space between downwardly depending outer wall and inner wall members of the outer housing of the second valve member.
As in typical flush valve assemblies, the second valve closure member is initially moved from its first rest position, wherein the valve opening is closed, to a second position, wherein the valve opening is opened, by means of a flush lever. This flush lever is displaceable by a user between a first rest position and a second position to operatively move the second valve member between its first rest position and its second upper position.
Current agency requirements mandate that the minimum xe2x80x9chold downxe2x80x9d time for the flush lever is 1 second. However, the longer the valve opening remains open before water is evacuated from the tank, the more energy is dissipated during the flush. Therefore, in order to close the valve in less than 1 second, preferably, 0.5-0.6 seconds, and thereby ensure a relatively rapid delivery of a predetermined quantity of flush water without exceeding agency requirements, the flush valve assembly of the present invention includes a xe2x80x9ctrip-releasexe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9clost-motionxe2x80x9d mechanism. This trip release mechanism releases the effect of the flush lever on the second valve member when the second valve member reaches its second upper position so as to return the second valve member to its first rest position prior to the flush lever returning to its first rest position.
In this flush valve assembly, the trip release mechanism includes a cam rod, a pull rod operatively connected to the flush lever and slidably mounted with respect to the cam rod so that the pull rod and the cam rod are movable in response to movement of the flush lever. A trip dog assembly is also incorporated in the trip release mechanism which is capable of engaging the second valve member when the pull rod and cam rod are moved between a first rest position and a second predetermined position and is capable of disengaging the second valve member when the pull rod moves beyond its second predetermined position.
The engaging and disengaging members of the trip dog assembly include wing-like retention members which extend outwardly to engage the second valve member when the pull rod is moved between its first position and the second predetermined position to move the second valve member between its first rest and second positions and which retracts when the pull rod is moved past the second predetermined position disengaging the wing-like retention members from the second valve member so as to allow the second valve member to return to its first rest position.
In order to cooperatively move the cam rod and the pull rod between their first rest and second predetermined positions, the wing-like retention members are engaged within a central depression section of the cam rod. The wing-like retention members are engaged with an annularly inclined baffle member extending from an inner peripheral surface of the outer housing of the second valve member when the pull rod is moved between its first rest position and second predetermined position. When the pull rod is moved past its second predetermined position, the wing-like retention members are retracted thereby disengaging the wing-like retention members from the annularly inclined baffle member to thereby allow the second valve member to return to its first rest position.
In addition, the central tube member of the first valve member includes an annular flange on an end thereof in order to reposition the wing-like retention members to an extended engageable position when the cam rod and pull rod are returned to their first rest position.
By including the xe2x80x9ctrip releasexe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9clost motionxe2x80x9d mechanism in the present invention, the flow characteristics of a flush valve assembly are not only improved but also the flush valve assembly complies with mandated agency requirements.
Various other advantages and features of the present invention will become readily apparent from the ensuing detailed description and the novel features will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.


Orthopedic implants, systems, instruments, and methods. A bi-portal lumbar interbody fusion system may include an expandable interbody implant and minimally invasive pedicle-based intradiscal fixation implants. The interbody and intradiscal implants may be installed with intelligent instrumentation capable of repeatably providing precision placement of the implants. The bi-portal system may be robotically-enabled to guide the instruments and implants along desired access trajectories to the surgical area.

Transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) procedures are a standard surgery technique to provide support and stabilize the spinal vertebra and the disc space when treating a variety of spinal conditions, such as degenerative disc disease and spinal stenosis with spondylolisthesis. Clinical treatment of spinal pathologies may include precise placement of an interbody to restore anterior column alignment with bilateral pedicle screw (BPS) fixation to stabilize two or more adjacent vertebral bodies adjacent to spinal fusion levels.
Various iatrogenic pathologies may occur in association with interbody and bilateral pedicle screw placement. These pathologies may result from the surgical access window to the disc space, failure to precisely place the interbody along the apophyseal ring for quality cortical bone support, and/or failure to restore normal anatomical spinal alignment. Iatrogenic pathologies associated with pedicle screw fixation, may include, but are not limited to, misplacement of screws, muscle/ligament disruption during insertion, adjacent segment disease due to superior adjacent facet violation by the pedicle screw, and rod construct, procedural efficiency, and instrumentation failure.
The instrumentation needed to provide access into the disc through a tubular approach, provide a valued decompression, complete a quality discectomy efficiently, insert and deploy an interbody, and insert the pedicle screw and rod construct also require a multitude of radiographic imaging throughout the procedure. This all increases surgical operating time, radiation exposure, and can result in the misplacement of implants and screws.
There exists a clinical need for a robotically enabled procedure that provides pre-operative planning that is compatible with navigated, intelligent instrumentation that (1) establishes safe and repeatable direct decompression while gaining access to the disc space; (2) provides enhanced navigated, powered discectomy technique; (3) allows for precision placement of an expandable interbody that increases surface area contact along the apophyseal ring through the posterior approach; and/or (4) utilizes a minimally invasive fixation method that stabilizes the adjacent vertebral bodies without violating the superior facet.

Interlaminar lumbar interbody fusion implants, intradiscal implants, instruments, and methods


The present invention relates to a liner for a refrigerator crisper drawer. The liner comprises a main produce supporting body and provides drawer engaging surfaces. The main body provides a generally upwardly facing produce supporting surface on which items of produce can be placed and has a plurality of openings formed therethrough which enable fluids and air to flow through the main body. The supporting surfaces engage liner supporting surfaces inside the crisper drawer so as to support the items of produce in spaced relation above the floor of the crisper drawer and allow fluids and air to flow along the floor of the drawer beneath the produce supporting body, thereby allowing fluids to drain away from the items of produce through the openings and allowing chilled air within the crisper drawer to flow beneath the items of produce and generally upwardly through the openings to provide circulation to lower portions of the produce. The drawer engaging surfaces are constructed and arranged to enable the liner to be removed from the crisper drawer for cleaning or replacement.

Perishable food items, particularly produce items such as fruits and vegetables, are commonly stored in refrigerator crisper drawers to maintain freshness and avoid spoilage. Typically, enough produce to be used over a given period of time, such as a week, is stored in a refrigerator crisper drawer. However, the bottom portions of individual items of produce tend to be compressed against the drawer floor during such storage.
Due to the compression of the produce, the bottom, outermost layers or skin of individual produce items will suffer from trauma resulting in cellular dissolution. Such cellular dissolution is undesirable and can lead to visible blemishes, poor taste, and accelerated spoilage. Furthermore, free flow of refrigerated air, or other chilled fluid, to and about the bottom layers of the produce items is obstructed because of the compressed contact between the produce and the drawer floor. Such free flow of refrigerated air is desirable in order to prevent bacterial growth and spoilage of the produce. Also, when produce is stored directly on the drawer floor, water or liquids oftentimes pool and provide a stagnant, moist environment which encourages bacterial growth, further accelerating spoilage.
Heretofore, it has been known to support food products with a grill-like surface in order to allow liquids to drain away. Examples of such constructions are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,756,681, 3,915,532, and 3,698,783. However, the constructions disclosed in these patents are directed to closed containers rather than to refrigerator crisper drawers and do not provide a suitable solution to the problems outlined above.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a liner for a refrigerator crisper drawer which provides enhanced air flow to the produce stored therein and allows undesirable liquids to drain away from the produce. It is also desirable to do so in such a way that abrasion and trauma to the produce is minimized as the produce is moved about within the drawer.

Refrigerator crisper drawer liner for preventing the spoilage of produce stored in a refrigerator drawer


A fluid delivery injector comprises a syringe defining a barrel; a plunger and a hollow needle provided within the barrel adapted for linear movement parallel to a longitudinal axis with a distal tip of the needle contained within the syringe. A fluid retention reservoir is defined at least in the barrel and is in fluid communication with the needle when pressure is applied to the fluid in the reservoir and to the plunger for moving the needle out of the barrel. A spring may be provided for retracting the needle when pressure is released from the plunger.

Conventional syringes, including hypodermic as well as other types of syringes, typically have fixed needles which protrude forwardly from the end of the syringe barrel. In a hypodermic syringe, the barrel contains the medication used in an injection. In transport of the syringe, and in storage prior to actual use, syringe needles are typically protected in some fashion, such as by an elongated plastic cap which fits around the needle. Further, the entire syringe is sometimes encased in a paper or plastic container. These packaging techniques insure the sterility of the syringe, but also serve to protect the clinician or other user of the syringe from accidentally getting nicked or pricked by the syringe needle, a result generally referred to as a needle "stick".
Syringes are normally handled by trained professionals is a hospital or clinic and therefore "stick" is less likely to occur. However delivery of some medicines in the field, especially in emergency situations, may not be done by trained professionals.
Risk of infection, such as for hepatitis, the AIDS virus, and in particular the severity of the effects thereof and the knowledge that the virus can be transmitted by needles, has created an extraordinary concern over the possibility of needle sticks.
There exists retractable needles, but these are generally of the type for drawing blood samples. Syringes that have a retracted needle before and/or after use are mainly expensive with complicated mechanical structures.
Accordingly, there is a need to provide a fluid delivery device that is simple, inexpensive and safe.


An apparatus for removing an adhesive layer from a wafer surface includes a chuck, a contact roller, a pick-up roller and a detaping tape. The chuck supports and holds a wafer that has an adhesive layer on its top surface. The contact roller rotates around a first axis and moves linearly along a direction perpendicular to the first axis over the chuck and the supported wafer. The pick-up roller rotates around a second axis, that is parallel to the first axis. The detaping tape rolls around the contact roller and the pick-up roller, and as it rolls it attaches to the adhesive layer, and then is removed together with the adhesive layer. The contact roller has a surface that has a footprint of a circle when rolled along a flat surface.

Several semiconductor wafer processes include wafer thinning steps. In some applications the wafers are thinned down to a thickness of less than 100 micrometers for the fabrication of integrated circuit (IC) devices. Thin wafers have the advantages of improved heat removal and better electrical operation of the fabricated IC devices. In one example, GaAs wafers are thinned down to 25 micrometers to fabricate power CMOS devices with improved heat removal. Wafer thinning also contributes to a reduction of the device capacitance and to an increase of its impedance, both of which result in an overall size reduction of the fabricated device. In other applications, wafer thinning is used for 3D-Integration bonding and for fabricating through wafer vias.
Wafer thinning is usually performed via back-grinding and/or chemical mechanical polishing (CMP). CMP involves bringing the wafer surface into contact with a hard and flat rotating horizontal platter in the presence of liquid slurry. The slurry usually contains abrasive powders, such as diamond or silicon carbide, along with chemical etchants such as ammonia, fluoride, or combinations thereof. The abrasives cause substrate thinning, while the etchants polish the substrate surface at the submicron level. The wafer is maintained in contact with the abrasives until a certain amount of substrate has been removed in order to achieve a targeted thickness.
For wafer thicknesses of over 200 micrometers, the wafer is usually held in place with a fixture that utilizes a vacuum chuck or some other means of mechanical attachment. However, for wafer thicknesses of less than 200 micrometers and especially for wafers of less than 100 micrometers, it becomes increasingly difficult to mechanically hold the wafers and to maintain control of the planarity and integrity of the wafers during thinning. In these cases, it is actually common for wafers to develop microfractures and to break during CMP.
An alternative to mechanical holding of the wafers during thinning involves attaching a first surface of the device wafer (i.e., wafer processed into a device) onto a carrier wafer and then thinning down the exposed opposite device wafer surface. The bond between the carrier wafer and the device wafer is temporary and is removed upon completion of the thinning and any other processing steps. In some temporary bonding processes, an adhesive layer is used for bonding the carrier wafer to the device wafer. After processing the device wafer, the carrier wafer is debonded and the adhesive layer that remains on the surface of the ultra thin device wafer is removed.
Several methods and equipment have been suggested for removing the adhesive layer from the surface of the ultra thin device wafer. However, in many cases the thinned wafers break during the removing of the adhesive layer. Accordingly, there is a need for controlled removal of the adhesive layer from the surface of ultra thin wafers in order to avoid breakage of the thinned wafers.

Apparatus and method for detaping an adhesive layer from the surface of ultra thin wafers