A method in support of health management services acts upon active and passive data, in which the active data is communicated by a patient or healthcare professional and in which the passive data is detected by at least one sensor detectably coupled to the patient. These data are correlated with each other and if a predefined correlation is not met, further data can be solicited, patient-specific queries can be generated, alerts can be communicated, or a combination of these can be done in embodiments of the invention. Any Irregularity or trend in the data can be identified and processed in embodiments of the invention. Also in some embodiments, these data can be used in connection with intelligent, machine-based decisions to send communications concerning the provision of further healthcare resources to patients, such as in view of their relative acuity rank. Systems can be constructed to implement the methods described herein.

Technical advances and increasing ubiquity of mobile phones have paved the way for new advances in the treatment and management of chronic illnesses. Researchers and clinicians have identified several areas in which mobile phones could transform care for the chronic illness patient, including improved adherence, better data about what patients do and how they feel between visits, and feedback and tools to assist the patient in the management of their illness. However, presently available systems to date utilizing mobile phones are either non-scalable academic endeavors or unproven commercial applications, and do not adequately support the endeavors of healthcare providers.
In the current world of chronic illness management, patients typically are seen on a monthly to every-three-month clinical visit schedule. At the time of the visit, patients are typically surveyed about their symptoms and overall functional status over the time interval between visits. This is prone to errors of oversimplification and poor subjective recall. For example, patient recall of pain, affect, and satisfaction is notoriously poor. A patient may report that their pain over the last month was significant and that they were generally not very happy, but collected data may paint a very different picture.
Presently there are no suitable options for providing the patient and clinician/healthcare professional a more accurate view of how a patient is functioning in the presence of chronic illness. For example, chronic pain is ideally managed in a multi-modal fashion. In addition to prescribing analgesics, clinicians typically prescribe non-pharmacologic interventions like diet, exercise, physical therapy, etc. There is, however, no currently available means for providing support for all-encompassing health management services to help patients and clinicians manage all these related treatments.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the disclosure made herein is presented.

System and method for supporting health management services


An automated system for testing imaging sensors 10 is disclosed. The automated system 10 provides an accurate and repeatable method for testing imaging sensors. The automated system 10 includes an input circuit 20 for receiving input from an imaging sensor system and providing a signal in response thereto, a processor 30 for operating on said signal and generating data therefrom, and a computer 40 for providing output in response to the data. A specific teaching of the invention includes a method for obtaining data for the lookup table and calculating addresses for the data wherein the addresses are a function of the signal and noise components of the imaging sensor system output, while the data relates to actual responses of human observers.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to automated testing systems. More specifically, the present invention relates to automated systems for testing imaging sensors to qualify the sensor performance in the area of minimal resolvable signatures.
While the present invention is described herein with reference to a particular embodiment for an illustrative application, it is understood that the invention is not limited thereto. Those having ordinary skill in the art and access to the teachings provided herein will recognize additional modifications, applications and embodiments within the scope thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is currently common practice to use human observers to rate, evaluate and otherwise determine if an imaging sensor meets specifications. The use of human observers for testing the imaging sensor has several drawbacks.
In most cases, the human observer must be specially trained. This training is generally both time consuming and costly. In addition, human observers vary, even after such special training, in the determination of acceptable output for the sensor under test. The lack of repeatability of human perception of sensor output for both an individual human observer and between groups of human observers can increase the occurrence of improper rating of imaging sensors. Also, because imaging sensors are evaluated via subjective visual displays, it may be difficult to determine if the output from an imaging sensor meets objective specifications.
Applications for imaging sensors include infrared systems used by ground and airborne military personnel, radar systems for aircraft detection and navigation, and television systems for visual monitoring. Each application may impose a different set of requirements on the imaging sensor. Under these circumstances, when human observers are employed to test the sensors, it may be difficult to obtain an appropriate standard by which to measure sensor outputs.
In some cases, the standard by which the sensors are measured may be based on the perception of some specific group of the human observers over a given sample or time period. Unfortunately, as human observers vary, from day-to-day, in ability to properly evaluate a sensor, some sensors may be deemed acceptable, under such a standard, when the sensor is faulty, or vice versa.
In addition to the fact that the human determination of sensor acceptability can be time consuming, many adverse consequences are known to follow from an improper evaluation of a sensor. Acceptable sensors thought to be faulty can be costly to replace or repair. The identification and replacement of an improperly passed sensor by an end user may be costly as well. Additional expenses may be incurred in shipping, receiving, evaluating and reshipping such sensors.
Further, a human rating of an imaging sensor can typically be performed only when the sensor assembly is completed such that a visual output may be obtained. This late testing of sensors is problematic in that faults can not be detected early in the assembly of the sensor. Problems found in completed sensor assemblies are typically much more costly to correct than those discovered in subassemblies prior to integration. That is, faulty components may not be replaced and improper assembly may not be corrected prior to completion of the sensor assembly.
There is therefore a need in the art for a test system or method for accurately and repeatably determining the acceptability of sensor outputs rapidly and early in the manufacturing cycle. Ideally, the test system or method would provide a means for emulating a group of human observers to optimally determine the acceptability of an imaging sensor.

Automated system for testing an imaging sensor


Arthrodesis apparatus for first and second bones (2, 3), comprising a nail (5) and an instrument (20) for putting the nail (5) into place, the instrument comprising a base (21) and compression means (22, 23) comprising control means (22) for causing the nail to move relative to the base (21) and holder means (23) for holding the second bone (3) relative to the base (21); a guide (11) for the nail, the guide (11) and the holder (23) being arranged and shaped to cooperate together in such a manner to as allow the nail to move relative to the holder (23) and move the first bone (2) and the second bone (3) towards each other.

Arthrodesis is surgery for the purpose of almost completely eliminating the mobility of a joint by giving rise to "bone fusion". Such surgery can be necessary when the patient is suffering from severe and final arthrosis.
To perform such surgery, it is known to make use of arthrodesis apparatus comprising firstly an arthrodesis nail that is to be implanted within the joint, and secondly an instrument for putting the arthrodesis nail into place.
The arthrodesis nail is generally inserted into housings formed in succession through the various bones making up the joint, and the arthrodesis nail includes fastener holes that are designed to cooperate with fastener screws in order to secure the arthrodesis nail with the bones forming the joint.
In order to put such arthrodesis nails into place, it is known to use an instrument including compression means to move together the bones forming the joint and, for example, with an ankle joint, serving to bring the calcaneus closer to the tibia.
The compression step is very important in the surgery, insofar as this step determines the relative positioning of the bones constituting the joint, and poor positioning can constitute a difficulty for the patient.
Unfortunately, with the ankle joint the compression means are generally implemented with the help of a bearing surface arranged to bear against the heel and suitable for being moved in order to exert pressure thereagainst so as to move the calcaneus and the tibia closer together.
The operating technique generally used is as follows:                the surgeon uses a fastener screw to secure the arthrodesis nail to the tibia;        thereafter, the surgeon moves the bearing surface so that it comes to bear against the heel and compresses the joint, thereby moving the tibia and the calcaneus closer together; and        finally, the surgeon secures the nail to the calcaneus while maintaining the pressure exerted by the bearing surface against the heel.
Although arthrodesis apparatus in the prior art are advantageous in terms of preventing the joint from moving, the arthrodesis apparatus, nevertheless, suffers from drawbacks that are not negligible.
In particular, with prior art apparatus, there is a risk during the compression step of the nail going through the cortex of the calcaneus adjacent to the sole and projecting from the sole face.
With such an apparatus, the surgeon must take particular care not to apply excessive compression to the joint. Such a constraint constitutes a non-negligible drawback for the surgeon, particularly since it is often difficult or even impossible with prior art apparatus to monitor accurately the magnitude of the compression.
Furthermore, the use of apparatus of the prior art can lead to damage to the soft tissue of the face of the sole, tissue situated between the compression bearing surface and the calcaneus.
If the intensity of compression is too great, then the pressure exerted by the bearing surface can lead to necrosis of the skin on the heel.
Furthermore, fastener screws are mounted in the calcaneus and the talus after the compression step, i.e., after the talus and the calcaneus have moved relative to the tibia, so the fastener screws are poorly positioned in the bone, i.e., they can be positioned too close to the periphery of the bone or even positioned in the junction zone between two bones. An arthrodesis nail fastened in that way can then no longer hold the joint correctly.

Joint fusion apparatus for the ankle-type joint and arthrodetic pin for use in said apparatus


Disclosed is an apparatus for welding a weld stud to a substrate, comprising a welding gun which includes a casing and a stud holder for the weld stud, further comprising a gas container and a gas line for conducting gas from the gas container to the stud holder, the gas container being supported by the welding gun.

Quite a few apparatuses and methods are known with which various studs are fastened to a substrate in different applications. For example, a stud is brought into contact with the substrate and acted upon by electric current. As soon as the electric current flows between the stud and the substrate, the stud is lifted off from the underside, forming an arc. Due to the energy which is released, the material of the stud and of the substrate liquefies in part. Then the electric current is switched off and the stud is dipped into the liquefied material, while this material cools and becomes solid. The stud is then joined to the substrate in an integrally bonded manner.
In order to make available the necessary energy for liquefying the material of the stud and of the substrate in a sufficiently short time, apparatuses are known which generate an electric current with a very high current intensity and supply it to the stud by way of a correspondingly dimensioned electric cable. In order to avoid oxidation of the liquefied material, it is known to flush the contact point between the stud and the substrate with an inert gas. The inert gas to this end is provided in gas cylinders which together with the other components of the fastening apparatus have to be transported, and secured against falling over during the fastening operation.
In the case of applications for example in the construction industry or shipbuilding, studs are used in various sizes with a thread to which an object is screwed, in order to fasten the object to the substrate. Some parameters of the fastening method such as for example the duration and the electric power of the electric current have to be set on the apparatus, and adapted to the stud used, by a user. Finally, by means of visual inspection, the user assesses the quality of the join between the stud and the substrate. The join quality thus also depends on the experience and the capabilities of the user.


An image processing apparatus configured to form an image on a recording medium using a light emitting unit including a plurality of light emitting elements includes a determination unit configured to determine a referential position of a threshold matrix corresponding to input image data based on a usage situation of each of the plurality of light emitting elements, for each processing target block, and a quantization unit configured to compare the threshold matrix determined by the determination unit with the input image data to quantize the input image data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and a control method thereof for an image forming apparatus which forms an image by a light emitting unit using a plurality of light emitting elements.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the related art, an electrophotographic image forming apparatus which forms an image using a recording head including a plurality of light emitting elements such as a light emitting diode (LED) is known. The electrophotographic image forming apparatus, generally, forms an image through a plurality of processes such as charging, exposure, development, transferring, fixing, and cleaning.
Here, an image forming process in a general electrophotographic method will be described. First, a charging unit uniformly charges a photosensitive member, which is an image bearing member, and then a light emitting element, which is an exposure unit, exposes the photosensitive member according to an image signal to form an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive member. Further, a recording head including a light emitting element is disposed to be parallel to a rotational shaft of the photosensitive member. Thereafter, a development unit develops the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive member and forms a toner image on the photosensitive member. In this case, after the development unit charges toner, the toner is applied to the photosensitive member using a development roller rotating at a substantially constant speed, and the toner is attached onto the electrostatic latent image to form a toner image. In addition, the toner image on the photosensitive member is transferred and fixed onto a recording medium to form an image. Further, transfer residual toner remaining on the photosensitive member is collected by a cleaning unit.
In such an image forming apparatus, deterioration in an image quality such as a streak noise may occur due to deterioration of the light emitting element. Generally, a light emitting efficiency of the light emitting element such as an LED is lowered as the deterioration progresses. Therefore, if a light emitting frequency of a specific light emitting element among a plurality of light emitting elements of the recording head is high, a density of an image region formed by the corresponding light emitting element is lower than the density of an image region formed by other light emitting elements so that the image region formed by the specific light emitting element is considered as a streak noise.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-83558 discusses a method in which a lighting amount of the deteriorated light emitting element is increased more than a reference lighting amount to uniformize a variation of a light quantity of an LED head.
Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-267276 discusses a method in which input image data corresponding to a light emitting element is shifted in an arrangement direction of the light emitting element to prevent the light emitting frequency from being concentrated on a specific element.
However, according to the method discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-83558, the streak noise of the image may be suppressed but the deterioration of the light emitting element is sped up.
Further, according to the method discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-267276, even though the variation of a usage amount of the light emitting element is suppressed to uniformize a light emission amount of each of the light emitting elements, the image formed position on a recording medium is deviated. In addition, when an image is formed using a plurality of colors, if the correction is independently performed for each color, registration is deviated. In the meantime, if the same correction is performed for each color, a color of which variation of a usage amount of the light emitting element cannot be suppressed may be generated.

Image processing apparatus and control method thereof


A baggage cart is disclosed. The baggage cart is used for security inspection in an airport, comprising: a cart body, comprising at least one compartment having a door; and a locking device, coupled to the compartment and configured to lock the compartment in response to receiving an indication signal.

Currently, passengers at an airport mainly have activities comprising ticket purchasing, security inspection, check-in, baggage check-in, boarding, and other activities such as shopping, dining and the like at the airport. In order to solve the problem of storing the baggage, school bags, handbags and other items carried by passengers, the airport is generally equipped with carts for placing large and heavy baggage, so as to facilitate the activities of passengers in the airport. However, existing carts in the airport are always in an open state, causing the baggage or items on the existing carts easy to be taken out. Thus, the passengers need to take care of them, which may have a negative impact on the activities of the passenger in the airport, reducing the user experience.


A device for compacting a contoured elongate composite layup includes flexible first and second fiber reinforced resin flexible sections flexible along their lengths. The first section is flexible within a first plane and the second section is flexible within the first plane as well as within a second plane. The second section includes flexible joints reinforced by a spine.

1. Field
The present disclosure generally relates to the fabrication composite structures, and deals more particularly with a flexible compactor for transporting, placing and compacting contoured composite stiffeners.
2. Background
During the fabrication of contoured composite stiffeners such as stringers, a compactor may be used to compact a layup of the stringer against tool surfaces. In some cases, the tool surfaces may be contoured along one or more planes. Compactors have been developed that are flexible along a single plane of curvature, consequently where the stringer is contoured in more than one plane, the tool surfaces have relatively complex geometries that require the compaction process to be performed by hand.
When laying up compound contoured composite stringers by hand, wrinkles may form in the laminate plies which gather at various points in the layup and/or undesired fiber distortion may occur. Using hand layup techniques, the location of ply wrinkles and ply gathering is difficult to control, thus introducing variations in the finished part that may affect part performance. Also, the human factor involved in hand layup may introduce process variations that lead to undesired inconsistencies in the finished parts.
Another problem with flexible compactors relates to their durability. In areas of the compactor that are formed from rubber or a similar flexible material, repeated use of the compactor may result in undesired deformation or buckling of the rubber, causing kinking of the compactor. This deformation may alter the geometry of the compactor, such that area of the contact between the compactor and the stringer is reduced, and/or the manner in which loads are transmitted between the compactor and the stringer is altered.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method and device for compacting contoured composite stiffeners such as stringers which may consistently and predictably distribute ply wrinkles and gathering in a manner that improves part quality and/or performance. There is also a need for a compactor device that is durable and maintains its geometry as well as its load transfer properties after repeated use.

Flexible compactor with reinforcing spine


In one aspect the system serves as a transmitter and comprises an optics system; a plurality of source elements positioned on the focal plane; and, a small angle beam steerer. The plurality of source elements are each capable of providing a point source of radiation to the optics system. The optics system provides a collimated output. The small angle beam steerer receives the collimated output and redirects the collimated output through a small angular deviation. The redirected output is thus transmitted in a desired direction without a need for mechanical gimbals and is capable of covering a large angular range with respect to the optical axis of the optics system. The system can also be implemented as a receiver.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the steering of optical beams and more particularly to the steering thereof without the need for mechanical gimbals.
2. Description of the Related Art
Present methods for steering optical beams in laser radar of laser communication systems utilize mechanical gimbals to point a telescope assembly or a mirror in the appropriate direction for beam transmission or reception. Recent developments in liquid crystal optical phase shifting devices enable electronic steering of coherent optical beams. However, these devices permit steering only over small angles (approximately four degrees, one dimension) with efficiencies exceeding 50 percent. Since coverage angles in excess of 90 degrees in two dimensions are typically needed for laser communication and laser radar systems, these devices alone are insufficient in themselves to build a complex system without gimbals.
The article entitled Optical Phased Array Technology, Proceedings of the IEEE. VOL. 84, NO. 2, February 1996, pages 268-298, discloses an optical phased array beam steerer suitable for small angle beam steering. Section II, Overview of Liquid Crystal Optical Phased Array Concepts, shows that with current liquid crystal materials high efficiencies can only be achieved for small steering angles. As a specific example, a phased array with center-to-center spacing of 2 μm, a liquid crystal layer thickness of 5 μm, and operating at a wavelength of 1.55 μm will have an efficiency greater than 50% only for steering angles less than 5 degrees, based on the equations presented in this reference.

Optical beam steering using small angle beam steering device


A fire suppressor having a motor and a pump affixed to a tank for the fire suppressant mountable on the back of a user and which can be changed from a spray configuration to a fill configuration for fire site vicinity filling. A fuel tank for the motor mounted on the fire suppressant tank is enclosed to prevent sparks from reaching the fuel.

The present invention relates to fire fighting equipment and, more particularly, to portable fire fighting equipment for use at locations which may be at some distance from regular supplies.
Control of unwanted fires to minimize losses is usually the desired response to the occurrence of such fires. This is true even for fires occurring in more remote areas because of the potential harm they might do in addition to the actual harm being done, areas in which, however, there often is not a water supply system available. This is often the situation for grass fires and forest fires.
In such instances, individual fire fighters with some kind of a reservoir on their backs must be dispatched to the relatively remote location if control of such fires is to be achieved. Typically, the contents of the reservoir used as a fire suppressant are discharged toward the fire as it is approached by the user through a hand pump arrangement. An individual fire fighter can carry only a relatively small amount of fire suppressant in the reservoir, and will tire fairly quickly from both carrying and hand pumping such suppressant onto the fire. Thus, there is a desire for a portable fire suppressor which will allow for more effective suppression of such fires by individuals sent to them for the purpose of controlling same.


In one embodiment, a capture video is received that is captured during the playback of a trace video on a media player on a hardware platform. The capture video may be an external capture of a display of the trace video on the media player. To allow the external capture to be analyzed, the trace video may include visible codes on frames of the trace video that can be captured by a capture device. Particular embodiments analyze the frames of the capture video to extract identifiers associated with the visual codes on the frames. Events that occurred during playback are determined by analyzing a sequence of identifiers from the capture video to an expected sequence of identifiers from the trace video. Then, particular embodiments determine whether an API call from the media player was received that corresponds to the event while the media player was playing the trace video.

Delivery of video content is available through a variety of hardware platforms, such as mobile devices or living room-connected devices (e.g., gaming consoles, streaming devices, and smart televisions), laptop computers, etc. Different hardware platforms may have different media players, which may each be implemented differently. For example, the media players may have been developed internally by a media streaming service or may be pre-installed as part of the hardware platform. The different implementations may react to different streaming conditions differently. The media streaming service thus needs to test these different media player implementations to determine whether playback problems may occur.
The testing of the different media player implementations may be performed manually. For example, a tester may physically watch a video being played by the different platforms. However, testing the platforms in this way is very labor intensive.

Video capture and testing of media player playback of a video


A clamp device has a grip member for gripping the inner peripheral surface of a hole in a workpiece, a clamp rod having a tapered shaft portion that is fitted into and engaged with the grip member, a hydraulic cylinder for driving the grip member and the clamp rod forwards and backwards in the axial direction, and a main body member to which the above elements are mounted. A tubular cylindrical main body portion projecting upwards is provided at the center portion of an upper half portion of the main body member. The outer diameter of this tubular main body portion is set less than or equal to three times the outer diameter of the grip member in the unclamped state, and, in the unclamped state, the upper half portions of the grip member and the tapered shaft portion are made to project outward from the upper end of the tubular main body portion.

When performing machine processing of the upper surface of a workpiece, a clamp device of the type described above (i.e. so called hole clamp) is employed, since it is not possible to employ a clamp device of the type in which pressing force is exerted by a pressing member on an end portion of the workpiece from above. With such a clamp device, a seating surface on which the workpiece as an object of clamping is seated is formed on a main body member, and, when loading the workpiece, the workpiece is mounted on the seating surface and is supported thereby, and then the workpiece is fixed on the seating surface by inserting, into an aperture in the workpiece, a grip member and a tapered shaft portion of a clamp rod inserted through the grip member, by dilating grip claws with the tapered shaft portion so that they engage (i.e. grip) the inner circumferential surface of the aperture, and by then again pulling this grip member towards the seating surface. Clamp devices of this type are described in Patent Documents #1 and #2.
With the clamp devices described in these Patent Documents #1 and #2, the grip member and the tapered shaft portion are built so as to project for a predetermined short distance from the central portion of the main body member of the clamp device, and the diameter of the main body member is four times or more the diameter of the grip member.    Patent Document #1: Japanese Patent No. 3,550,010.    Patent Document #2: German Patent. No. 4,020,981.


A damping circuit for an energy storage device. The damping circuit comprises a current detection device designed to detect an output current of energy supply strings or the energy storage device and to generate an output current signal dependent on the output current. The damping circuit also includes a closed-loop control circuit coupled to the current detection device. The closed-loop control circuit designed to adjust the output current signal to a setpoint current signal and to output a corresponding current control signal. A first winding of a transformer is coupled to an output connection of the energy storage device. A second winding is galvanically isolated from the first winding. A compensation current generation device is coupled to the closed-loop control circuit, and is designed to feed a compensation current into the second winding of the transformer depending on the current control signal.

The invention relates to a damping circuit for an energy storage device and to a method for damping oscillations of the output current of an energy storage device, in particular for battery converter circuits for supplying voltage as a variable current source for loads occurring such as, for example, electric machines in drive systems of electrically operated watercraft or land vehicles.
It would appear that, in the future, electronic systems which combine novel energy storage technologies with electric drive technology will be used increasingly both in stationary applications, such as wind turbines or solar power installations, for example, and in vehicles such as hybrid or electric vehicles.
In order to feed alternating current into an electric machine, a DC voltage provided by a DC voltage intermediate circuit is conventionally converted into a three-phase AC voltage via a converter in the form of a pulse-controlled inverter. The DC voltage intermediate circuit is fed by a string of battery modules connected in series. In order to be able to meet the requirements placed on power and energy which are provided for a specific application, a plurality of battery modules are often connected in series in a traction battery. Such an energy storage system is often used, for example, in electrically operated vehicles.
A series circuit comprising a plurality of battery modules is associated with the problem that the entire string fails when a single battery module fails. Such a failure of the energy supply string can result in failure of the entire system. Furthermore, temporarily or permanently occurring reductions in power of a single battery module can result in reductions in power in the entire energy supply string.
Documents DE 10 2010 027 857 A1 and DE 10 2010 027 861 A1 disclose battery cells connected to one another in modular fashion in energy storage devices which can be coupled into or decoupled from the string of battery cells connected to one another in series selectively via suitable actuation of coupling units. Systems of this type are known under the name Battery Direct Converter (BDC). Such systems comprise DC sources in an energy storage module string which can be connected to a DC voltage intermediate circuit for supplying electrical energy to an electric machine or an electrical power supply system via a pulse-controlled inverter.
BDCs generally have increased efficiency and increased fail safety in comparison with conventional systems. The fail safety is ensured, inter alia, by virtue of the fact that defective, failed or incorrectly functioning battery cells can be disconnected from the energy supply strings by suitable bridging activation of the coupling units.
The energy storage module strings in this case have a plurality of energy storage modules connected in series, wherein each energy storage module has at least one battery cell and an associated controllable coupling unit, which makes it possible to bridge the respectively associated at least one battery cell or to connect the respectively associated at least one battery cell into the respective energy storage module string depending on control signals. Optionally, the coupling unit can be designed in such a way that it additionally makes it possible to connect the respectively associated at least one battery cell into the respective energy storage module string even with inverse polarity or else to interrupt the respective energy storage module string.
The total output voltage of BDCs is determined by the actuation state of the coupling unit and can be set gradually, wherein the graduation of the total output voltage is dependent on the individual voltages of the energy storage modules. Owing to intrinsic complex impedances of the energy storage modules and their components, the energy storage device acts with a downstream intermediate circuit capacitor as a resonant circuit. The resonant frequency of this resonant circuit can vary with the number, which differs depending on the voltage requirement, and the clock-pulse rate of the connected energy storage modules. This means that, when the energy storage device is coupled to a load acting as variable current source, such as an inverter and an electric machine connected downstream of the inverter, for example, undesired resonances can occur.
There is therefore a need for measures with which the occurrence of such resonances or current fluctuations during coupling of a BDC to an intermediate circuit capacitor for feeding a load acting as variable current source can be reduced or suppressed.

Damping circuit for an energy storage device and method for damping oscillations of the output current of an energy storage device


A sandwich-type graphene composite structure formed of carbon-coated silicon nanoparticles and graphene, and a method for manufacturing the same are provided. The sandwich-type graphene composite structure is formed of a carbon-coated silicon graphene through an environmentally friendly filtration process. The formed sandwich-type graphene composite structure relieves the volume expansion of the silicon. In addition, the carbon coated on the silicon surface improves electrical conductivity and may be used as a high-capacity anode material.

When silicon is used as a negative electrode material for a lithium-ion battery, there are limits caused by a high volume expansion rate and a low electrical conductivity of silicon itself. To solve the above-mentioned problems of silicon, conventionally, attempts have been made to solve the problems by coating a silicon structure with a carbon-based material, and it has been reported that, when graphene is introduced, due to high mechanical properties of the graphene, a lifespan characteristic is improved. However, the introduction of graphene to silicon has many difficulties. When a solution process using graphene oxide is used, adhesion between silicon and graphene is difficult because of the difference in a surface property caused by hydrophobicity of a silicon surface and hydrophilicity of a graphene oxide surface. In addition, when graphene and silicon are mechanically mixed, they are easily detached or the uniformity of the mixture is reduced.
Due to such problems, for conventional techniques for introducing graphene to a silicon surface, complicated, expensive and non-eco-friendly methods were used. For example, Lou et al. (J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 3 (2012) 1824-1829) dispersed silicon particles on a graphene layer using an ultrasonic homogenizer, but the process was complicated and required high processing costs. In addition, according to a report by Ran Yi (Nano Energy 6 (2014) 211-218), a composite of graphene, carbon and silicon was prepared, but there was a problem of the use of a non-eco-friendly method with high processing costs, for example, chemical vapor deposition and hydrofluoric acid etching.

Sandwich-type graphene composite structure for anode material of lithium ion secondary battery and manufacturing method thereof


A method of manufacturing together a support (10) and frame (20) of a container assembly (1), the method comprising:                providing a single mold (100) with a first cavity (110) defining the support (10) and a second cavity (120) defining the frame (20);        injecting first material into the first cavity (110); and        injecting second material into the second cavity (120);        wherein the first and second materials are different materials.

Hermetically sealed containers, such as trays with a flexible lid sealed around their edges, are widely used in the packaging of food products. This type of packaging offers several advantages: the rigidity of the container provides protection to the contents of the package during transportation, storage and handling, and the hermeticity of the seals contributes to the increase in the shelf-life of the product.
Reclosable packages are convenient for a variety of reasons. For example when the packaged product is not immediately consumed after opening of the package, it could undergo contamination and spoilage. To avoid this inconvenience consumers are often forced to time-consuming repackaging operations.
WO 2005/039997 discloses a reclosable rigid container assembly which comprises a support and a frame in which the support comprises a peripheral flange outwardly extending from the support. The frame comprises a rim and is shaped at its edge to co-operate with the flange to be realisably secured onto the support wherein the container assembly is in the closed state. The rim of the frame extends over a fraction of the flange thus leaving a central area of the support and the remaining part of the flange not covered by the rim of the frame. In one embodiment the frame is separate from the support and in another embodiment the frame is attached to the support by a hinge. A flexible cover is sealed to the frame and the peripheral flange and can be removed from the flange by removing the frame from the support. A difficulty with the container assembly of WO 2005/039997 is that either the container assembly is made of a single material in a one-step operation (which is undesirable because this does not enable the frame to be significantly less stiff than the support, thereby making opening of the container assembly problematic) or it requires the support and frame to be made separately and connected together in a further step (this being difficult to arrange and time consuming).
FR 2,618,411 describes a package composed of a rigid single-piece container having a ring moulded around its flange and a film sealed onto both the ring and the flange of the container. To open the package the ring is broken away from the flange of the container and the film peeled away from the flange. However, once reclosed, the package of this invention does not offer the required degree of reliability as there is no engagement between the frame and the flange of the container. A further difficulty with the container assembly of FR 2,618,411 is that the container assembly is made of a single material, thereby making it difficult to achieve the required degree of stiffness of the container whilst achieving the required degree of flexibility of the frame to allow peeling off of the film which seals the container assembly.
An object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a container assembly comprising a support and frame. Another objective is to provide a container assembly, preferably one which can be manufactured in a one-step manufacturing method.

Method of manufacturing a container assembly and a container assembly


A speech information processing method includes: determining text information corresponding to collected speech information according to a speech recognition technology, wherein the text information comprises a word; with the word in the text information as a target word, determining one or more fuzzy words corresponding to the target word according to a phoneme sequence corresponding to the target and a preset phonetic dictionary, wherein the phonetic dictionary comprises a plurality of words and phoneme sequences corresponding to the plurality of words; and outputting the target word and the one or more fuzzy words corresponding to the target word.

With the rapid development of information technologies, Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) technology has also developed rapidly. Speech recognition is a comprehensive application technology that uses computers to automatically convert from speech to text. The ASR technology integrates excellent results in a series of basic subjects including signal processing, pattern recognition, machine learning, numerical analysis, natural language processing, and high-performance computing, and the ASR technology is a interdisciplinary application-oriented research that has been widely used in language learning and other fields.

Speech information processing method, device and storage medium

BEIJING XIAOMI MOBILE SOFTWARE CO., LTD.


Disclosed is an expansion module for a mobile device including, a first section at which the mobile device is mounted, the first section obscured by one surface of the mobile device, a second section having a function unit configured to provide functions relating to the mobile device, the second section rotatably connected to the first section, a magnet mounted at the first section and configured to apply a magnetic force to a magnetic member coupled to the mobile device, and an alignment mechanism configured to align the first section, having the mobile device mounted thereat, in a direction intersecting with the second section in a first state.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a module for expanding a function of an electronic device and a mobile device having the same.
2. Background of the Invention
Electronic devices can be easily carried and have one or more of functions such as supporting voice and video telephony calls, inputting and/or outputting information, storing data and the like.
As it becomes multifunctional, the portable terminal can be allowed to capture still images or moving images, play music or video files, play games, receive broadcast and the like, so as to be implemented as an integrated multimedia player.
Various attempts have been done for the multimedia device by hardware or software in order to implement such complicated functions. For example, a user interface environment is provided in order for users to easily and conveniently retrieve or select functions.
However, the consideration of the portability of the mobile devices causes difficulty in installing components for input and output and the like, such as various user interfaces, in the mobile devices, thereby restricting users' various requirements for use of the terminals. Therefore, a function expanding device, by which the input/output functions and the like can be expanded and users can be provided with more appropriate usage environments, may be considered.

Expansion module for mobile device and mobile device having the same


According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the analyzer includes a reagent driving disk that accommodates a reagent configured for analysis and that transports the reagent to a desired position, and a fixed disk that has a reagent stand-by position in which to make a reagent container containing the reagent, temporarily stand by, and a magnetic particles stirring position for stirring magnetic particles. A portion of the reagent stand-by position is constituted by a loading system. A reagent container moving unit moves reagent containers containing the reagent, between the reagent driving unit and the fixed disk, according to analytical request status. Providing in a part of the fixed disk the loading system constructed so that reagent containers containing the reagent can be mounted therein during operation enables changing of reagent containers, irrespective of an operational status of the reagent driving disk, and the system to having cold-storage functionality.

Automatic analyzers that analyze blood and other biological samples automatically and output the results are among the apparatuses absolutely necessary to perform efficient analyses at the testing centers and other medical laboratory facilities that subcontract to test/examine samples on behalf of hospitals and clinics that have many patients. It is being desired that these automatic analyzers be more compact, capable of conducting more kinds of analyses, and have higher throughput.
If the reagent set up in the apparatus runs short during analysis, stopping the analysis before taking any necessary steps will reduce the efficiency of the analysis. Automatic analyzers are therefore designed so that if a shortage of reagent is likely, the apparatus will warn the operator about the shortage, thus avoiding the situation that the operator will have to stop the apparatus to replace the reagent with a new one of the same kind during the analysis.
JP 4033060 describes a more advanced technique for preventing a shortage of reagent from occurring during analysis. In the technique of JP 4033060, a first and a second reagent-container storage means are provided beforehand and if the reagent stored within the first reagent-container storage means runs short, a reagent container as a replacement is supplied from the second reagent-container storage means automatically.
According to the technique described in JP 4033060, although a plurality of reagent containers can be stored in the second reagent-container storage means, one reagent container can only be conveyed at a time from the second reagent-container storage means to the first reagent-container storage means. In addition, holding a plurality of reagent containers in the second reagent-container storage means for an extended time requires providing cold-storage means, the provision of which could result in an oversized apparatus structure.
Analyzers are known in various embodiments, e.g., from EP 0 703 457 B1, EP 1 275 966 B1, U.S. Pat. No. 7,547,414 B2 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,384,601 B2.
Those analyzers are used for automatically analyzing samples in order to determine the existence and particularly the concentration of specific components in the samples. Such analyzers are widely used in hospitals and clinical laboratories to analyze biological samples, namely body fluids collected from patients, such as blood and urine, in order to diagnose their morbidities.
A method for analyzing such a biological fluid sample by means of an analyzer of the above mentioned type is explained in, e.g., EP 1 051 621 B1.
The workflow of an analyzer of the above mentioned kind is usually completely sample orientated, i.e., analytical determinations are performed serially in a respective fluid sample, wherein for each analytical determination a set of different reagents is used to be added to a separated part of said sample. It is therefore required to provide a lot of different reagents on the turntable of the apparatus for providing reagents, and it is required that a fast access to particular reagent container assemblies on the turntable by treatment means such as pipetting means or agitating means is possible in order to achieve a high throughput of the analyzer. It is generally required that such an analyzer apparatus and particularly the apparatus for providing reagents has small dimensions to be space-saving.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


The present invention relates to a tool for machining a workpiece, comprising a tool body, a cutting tool and fastening means for fastening the cutting tool in an accommodating recess of the tool body, wherein the cutting tool has a cutting edge and a cutting tool through-bore, and wherein the tool body has a tool body through-bore opening into the accommodating recess. According to the invention, in order to provide a simple possibility of being able to change the cutting tool from both sides, depending on accessibility, the fastening means have a clamping bush provided with an internal thread and a clamping screw provided with an external thread corresponding with the internal thread of the clamping bush, the clamping screw is selectively either inserted through the cutting tool bore into the tool body bore and is screwed to the clamping bush or is inserted from the opposite side through the tool body bore into the cutting tool bore and is screwed to the clamping bush, wherein both ways of inserting of the clamping screw are enabled, and anti-rotation locking means are provided which prevent rotation of the clamping bush about the longitudinal axis thereof during the screwing-down and release by means of the clamping screw, wherein the anti-rotation locking means are formed by a tapered surface on the clamping hush and/or by a tapered surface on the clamping screw head, said tapered surfaces being adapted to at least part of the tool body bore and/or the cutting tool bore.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tool for machining a workpiece. The present invention relates in particular to a straight turning tool.
2. Related Prior Art
In known tools of this type, the cutting tool, for example a cutting insert, is fastened in the accommodating recess of the tool body by an internal thread being provided in the tool body bore. Engaging in this internal thread is a fastening screw having a corresponding external thread, and this fastening screw engages from the outside first of all through the cutting tool bore in the cutting tool and then engages in the tool body bore and is then tightened.
However, in straight turning automatic lathes, in which such tools, "straight turning tools", are frequently used, there is often little space for exchanging the cutting tool, which is a wearing part and frequently has to be changed, while the tool body remains clamped in the machine tool. However, since the screw with which the cutting tool is fastened to the tool body is only accessible from one side in the known tools, the entire tool, for changing the cutting tool, consequently often has to be removed from the machine tool and re-fitted again after the cutting tool change. This is awkward and leads to long setup times and is therefore to be avoided according to the invention.
A tool in which the fastening means for fastening the cutting tool to a tool body are accessible from two opposite sides and in which the problem described above is already solved in principle is known from WO 2003/074217. In this document, a special fastening element is used for fastening the cutting tool to the tool body, said fastening element having, at the front end thereof, special helical clamping wings which interact like a thread with corresponding support wings inside the cutting tool bore. The cutting tool is in this case fastened to the tool body by screwing this fastening element into the cutting tool bore, although the fastening element has to be turned by means of different keys from both sides for the tightening or release. The use of different keys is awkward and is therefore to be seen as a disadvantage in the manipulation of this tool.
Described in German Patent Application 10 2007 063 199.7-14 (date of filing: Dec. 19, 2007) and in the parallel application WO 2009/077060 A1 is a tool in which the problem described relating to the accessibility of the fastening means from two opposite sides is likewise solved in principle. Here, there is additionally the advantage that the tightening or release of the fastening means from both sides can be effected by means of the same key. The clamping means are realized here by a clamping screw and a clamping bush. So that counter-holding of the clamping bush is not necessary when screwing in the clamping screw and so that said clamping bush does not rotate, in particular a separate locking pin is provided as anti-rotation locking means.

Tool for machining, in particular straight turning tool

Hartmetall-Werkzeugfabrik Paul Horn GmbH