An electromagnetic valve has a cylindrical-shaped valve housing, a fixing core; a movable core; a first return spring; a coil; a first valve mechanism including a movable seat member, a second return spring, a first valve part, a first valve seat, and a first valve hole, and a second valve mechanism including a cylindrical-shaped valve seat member, a second valve seat, a second valve hole, and a second valve part, wherein, on the movable seat member, a cylindrical-shaped guide part, when the second valve part is seated on the second valve seat, is cut off from the valve chamber but, when the second valve part is separated from the second valve seat, forms an annular-shaped passage communicating with the valve chamber and is slidably fitted into the second valve hole; and a communication passage for allowing the annular-shaped passage to communicate with the interior of the guide part is formed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electromagnetic valve and, in particular, to an improvement in an electromagnetic valve of a normally closed type structured such that, when it is open with a coil energized, the area of a flow passage can be varied according as the fluid pressure of an inlet port is high or low.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, an electromagnetic valve of this type is already known in, for example, the following JP-A-2000-219118. In JP-A-2000-219118, between a master cylinder and the suction port of a pump, there is interposed an electromagnetic valve and, when the electromagnetic valve is opened with a coil energized, in case where no liquid pressure is output from the master cylinder, first and second valve mechanisms are opened to thereby increase the flow passage area and, in case where the liquid pressure is output from the master cylinder, the second valve mechanism is closed but the first valve mechanism is opened to thereby reduce the flow passage area.
By the way, movable seat members, which respectively constitute part of the first and second valve mechanisms, are structured so as to be movable with respect to each other in the axial direction thereof in the range where they are restricted with respect to a movable core; and, in case where the axial lines of the movable seat members are inclined with respect to the movable core and second valve, in the case of the above-mentioned conventional structure, there is a possibility that either the sitting seal performance between the first valve part and first valve seat or the sitting seal performance between the second valve part and second valve seat can be impaired.
The present invention aims at eliminating the above drawbacks found in the conventional electromagnetic valve. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an electromagnetic valve which can prevent the axial lines of the movable seat members from inclining to thereby be able to positively maintain both of the sitting seal performance between the first valve part and first valve seat or the sitting seal performance between the second valve part and second valve seat.
In attaining the above object, according to the present invention as set forth in a first aspect, there is provided an electromagnetic valve having: a cylindrical-shaped valve housing including an outlet port in one end thereof and an inlet port in the side wall of the axial-direction middle portion thereof; a fixing core to be fixed to the valve housing so as to close the other end of the valve housing in a fluid-tight manner; a movable core stored in the valve housing so as to be opposed to the fixing core; a first return spring applying a spring force for moving the movable core so as to apart from the fixing core; a coil applying an electromagnetic force for attracting the movable core toward the fixing core in energized condition; and, first and second valve mechanisms respectively interposed between the inlet port and outlet port, the first valve mechanism including a movable seat member disposed opposed to the movable core on the opposite side of the fixing core so as to be moved in the axial direction thereof with respect to the movable core in a limited range, a second return spring for pushing the movable seat member to the side where the movable seat member is moved apart from the movable core, a first valve part disposed on the movable core within a valve chamber so formed in the interior of the valve housing as to be in communication with the inlet port, a first valve seat disposed on the movable seat member in such a manner that the first valve part is seated on the first valve seat, and a first valve hole formed in the movable seat member in such a manner that one end thereof is communicatable with the outlet port and the other end thereof is opened in the central portion of the first valve seat, the second valve mechanism including a cylindrical-shaped valve seat member fittable and fixable to one end side of the valve housing while forming the valve chamber between the movable core and itself, a second valve seat disposed on the valve seat member so as to be situated coaxially with the first valve seat and faces the valve chamber, a second valve hole formed in the valve seat member so as to be larger in diameter than the first valve hole, communicates with the outlet port and is opened in the central portion of the second valve seat, and a second valve part disposed on the outer periphery of the movable seat member so as to be seated on the second valve seat, wherein, on the movable seat member, there is integrally disposed a cylindrical-shaped guide part which, when the second valve part is seated on the second valve seat, is cut off from the valve chamber but, when the second valve part is separated from the second valve seat, forms an annular-shaped passage communicating with the valve chamber and is slidably fitted into the second valve hole; and, in the guide part, there is formed a communication passage for allowing the annular-shaped passage to communicate with the interior of the guide part.
According to the structure of the present invention as set forth in the first aspect, the movable seat member is guided by the guide part, which can be slidably fitted into the second valve hole, in such a manner that it is prevented from inclining with respect to the axial lines of the movable core and second valve seat, thereby being able to prevent the axial line of the movable seat member from inclining, which makes it possible to maintain positively not only the sitting seal performance between the first valve part and first valve seat but also the sitting seal performance between the second valve part and second valve seat. Also, in a state where the second valve part is rises up or is separated from the second valve seat and the second valve mechanism is thereby opened, there can be secured a flow passage which communicates from the valve chamber through the annular-shaped passage, communication passage and the interior of the guide part to the outlet port.
Also, according to the present invention as set forth in a second aspect, in addition to the structure of the present invention as set forth in the first aspect, an annular-shaped vacuum pressure chamber, which is situated between the second valve seat and annular-shaped passage while the second valve part is seated on the second valve seat, is formed between the inner surface of the second valve hole and the outer surface of the movable seat member in such a manner that pressure receive area thereof facing the movable seat member on the second valve seat side is set larger than pressure receive area thereof facing the movable seat member on the annular-shaped passage side; and, in the movable seat member, there is formed a communication hole for allowing the annular-shaped vacuum pressure chamber to communicate with the intermediate portion of the first valve hole. According to the present structure, a state, in which the first valve mechanism is open and the second valve mechanism is closed, can be maintained more positively. That is, the state, where the first valve mechanism is open and the second valve mechanism is closed, is maintained due to generation of a fluid pressure force which, due to a pressure difference between the fluid pressure on the valve chamber side and the fluid pressure on the outlet port side lower than the fluid pressure on the valve chamber side, presses the movable seat member toward the side where the second valve part can be seated on the second valve seat; but, in case where a pressure difference between the fluid pressure on the valve chamber and the fluid pressure on the outlet port side is small, there is a possibility that the closed state of the second valve mechanism cannot be maintained. However, since the fluid is sucked out from the annular-shaped vacuum pressure chamber through the communication hole to the first valve hole side as the fluid flows through the first valve hole, there can be generated a vacuum pressure force which attracts the movable seat member to the side where the second valve part can be seated on the second valve seat; and, therefore, even in case where the pressure difference between the fluid pressure on the valve chamber side and the fluid pressure on the outlet port side is small, the closed state of the second valve mechanism can be maintained more positively.


A compressor includes: a plurality of vanes at a vane stage provided to a rotor casing demarcating the primary duct; an air bleed chamber casing that demarcates an air bleed chamber interconnecting with the primary duct; and an air bleed tubing connected to the air bleed chamber casing. Of the plurality of vanes, when a plurality of vanes positioned at a region including the position in the peripheral direction corresponding to the air bleed tubing are a first vane group and a plurality of vanes other than the first vane group are a second vane group, the spacing between the ends at the outside in the radial direction of the vanes that are adjacent in the first vane group is closer than the spacing between the ends at the outside in the radial direction of the vanes that are adjacent in the second vane group.

A compressor which is provided in a gas turbine or the like, includes a rotor that rotates around an axis and a casing that surrounds the rotor from the outer peripheral side, and compresses a fluid such as air is known. There is a type of compressor that employs a bleed structure for guiding a portion of a compressed fluid to the outside of the compressor.
PTL 1 discloses a compressor which employs a bleed structure in which a bleed slot that extends in a circumferential direction to reduce energy loss during bleeding by a diffuser effect is provided on the outer band of a casing.

Compressor with stator vane configuration in vicinity of bleed structure, and gas turbine engine


A micro-needle is provided which is particularly useful for the minimally invasive sampling of a biological fluid and/or the minimally invasive delivery of a drug or other formulation across the skin. The micro-needle has a structure having a base at a proximal end and a vertex at a distal end, and an open lumen extending there through and through which fluid may be transferred. The structure defines a structural axis that intersects the lumenal axis defined by the open lumen. The point of intersection between these axes is at a point below the vertex of the micro-needle to provide a sharp apex at the distal end of the micro-needle and defines the general configuration of the distal end of the micro-needle, which may be selected or customized depending on the intended use of the microneedle. The micro-needle may be integral with a measurement device for measuring the concentration of a constituent within sampled biological fluid and/or with a fluid reservoir for containing a fluid to be delivered, and may also be used in conjunction with a remote control means. Methods of making and using the micro-needle of the present invention as well as kits comprising one or more of the micro-needles are also provided.

This invention is related to micro-needles, fabrication of micro-needles, and methods of using the micro-needles for obtaining biological fluid samples and for delivering drugs, agents, formulations or biological molecules across biological tissue barriers.
The detection of analytes in biological fluids is of ever increasing importance. Analyte detection assays find use in a variety of applications, including clinical laboratory testing, home testing, etc., where the results of such testing play a prominent role in the diagnosis and management of a variety of disease conditions. Common analytes of interest include glucose, cholesterol, and the like.
A common technique for collecting a sample of blood for analyte determination is to pierce the skin at least into the subcutaneous layer to access the underlining blood vessels in order to produce localized bleeding on the body surface. The accessed blood is then collected into a small tube for delivery and analyzed by testing equipment, often in the form of a hand-held instrument having a reagent sample onto which the blood sample is placed. The fingertip is the most frequently used site for this method of blood collection due to the large number of small blood vessels located therein. This method has the significant disadvantage of being painful because subcutaneous tissue of the fingertip has a large concentration of nerve endings. This technique of blood sampling also runs the risk of infection and the transmission of disease to the patient, particularly when done on a high-frequency basis. The problems with this technique are exacerbated by the fact that there is a limited amount of skin surface that can be used for the frequent sampling of blood. It is not uncommon for patients who require frequent monitoring of an analyte, to avoid having their blood sampled. With diabetics, for example, the failure to frequently measure their glucose level on a prescribed basis results in a lack of information necessary to properly control the level of glucose. Uncontrolled glucose levels can be very dangerous and even life-threatening.
Similarly, current methods of drug-delivery are invasive and suffer from the same disadvantages as current methods of biological fluid sampling.
To overcome the disadvantages of the above technique and others that are associated with a high degree of pain, certain analyte detection and drug delivery protocols and devices have been developed that use micro-needles, micro-piercing, or micro-cutting elements or analogous structures to penetrate the skin and other tissue barriers. Micro-needles may be combined with analyte measurement systems to provide a minimally invasive fluid retrieval and analyte sensing system. These systems may include one or more micro-needles that penetrate tissue to obtain body fluid samples.
Micro-needles are typically made from stainless steel or other metals. Metal needles are subject to numerous disadvantages. Some of the major disadvantages include the manufacturing complexities of metal needles, such as wire drawing, grinding, deburing and cleaning steps involved in the manufacturing process. Further, impurities in the metals can cause oxidation and deterioration of the needles. As such, the manufacturing process for metal micro-needles may also involve steps where impurities are eliminated from the metals. Another challenge is the difficulty in handling the micro-needles, which are very small and delicate, during each manufacturing step. It may be desirable to provide a certain feature, such as a customized or atypically designed needle tip, that is very difficult if not impossible to do in the conventional fabrication of metal needles. In such a case, the customized feature may require a means for providing or making such a feature which are not completely automated. Customization of metal micro-needles is difficult due to an increase in the number of steps involved in a manufacturing process, the cost of manufacturing and the probability for inconsistent products increase. As such, there is a need in the art for micro-needles that overcome the disadvantages of metal micro-needles.
Despite the work that has already been done in the area of micro-needles and the fabrication thereof, it is desirable to develop a micro-needle that is less expensive and easier to fabricate and customize.
Micro-needles and methods for making and using such micro-needles are provided for the sampling of biological fluid from tissue and/or for the delivery of drugs, etc. to within tissue. The subject micro-needles are useful in the context of analyte concentration measurement and is particularly suited for use in the measurement of glucose concentration in interstitial fluid. The subject micro-needles are also useful for the delivery of drugs for local or systemic therapy or diagnosis. Types of drugs and agents suitable for delivery with the devices of the present invention include, but are not limited to, nucleic acids, proteins, such as growth factors, and other agents such as antibiotics, steroids decongestants anesthetics, etc.
The subject micro-needle has a configuration optimized for minimally invasive sampling of biological fluids and, in particular, interstitial fluid sampling, as well as for the delivery of small doses of drugs or other formulations. A feature of the subject micro-needle is the superior sharpness of its distal tip which may be advantageous in minimizing and eliminating the pain felt by patients, for example, when delivering materials to or withdrawing materials from the skin.
The subject micro-needle is fabricated by means of micro-replication techniques, such as injection molding of a plastic material or the like. The plastic molded injection process allows flexibility in the design of the subject micro-needle and, in particular, allows it to be optimized or customized for a particular intended use.
The micro-needle of the present invention may be used in conjunction with a biological fluid sampling and analyte measuring device or system or with a drug or biological material reservoir or the like. The present invention further includes arrays of the subject micro-needle. Also provided by the present invention are methods of making, methods for using the micro-needle, and kits including one or more of the subject micro-needles or arrays thereof.
These and other features of the invention will become apparent to those persons skilled in the art upon reading the details of the present invention as more fully described below.

Micro-needles and methods of manufacture and use thereof


A roll paper cutting device is attachable to the main body of an image forming apparatus main body. The roll paper cutting device includes a cutter for cutting the paper of a roll of paper contained therein, as well as an arrangement for feeding the cut sheet to the image forming apparatus. The roll paper cutting device has at least one transport roller for transporting the roll paper, as well as a drive system for driving the transport roller, and a drive change device such as a clutch for selectively bringing the transport roller into idle rotation or into a driven state. A detector detects the travel of the roll paper. A control device such as a CPU controls the rotation of the transport rollers with predetermined timing based on the time when the travel of the roll paper is detected with all the transport rollers in idle rotation in a standby state for paper feeding.

The present invention relates to copying machines or like image forming apparatus for forming copy images, for example, on paper precut to a specified size and a roll paper cutting device for use with the apparatus.
As the means for feeding copy paper to the image forming position, image forming apparatus, such as copying machines, generally have incorporated therein a cassette for containing paper precut to a specified size and delivering the cut paper therefrom one sheet after another. Alternatively, sheets of such cut paper are manually inserted one by one into a copy paper inlet formed in the body of the apparatus.
However, the apparatus for use with such cut paper has the drawback of necessitating a large space for holding the paper therein when the paper to be used has a large size. Accordingly, paper in the form of a roll is usually set in a specific roll paper cutting device, cut to the desired size by the device and then fed to the image forming apparatus through a paper inlet.
This method is cumbersome and inefficient because the roll paper must be cut by the device before an image forming operation. The drawback can be overcome by incorporating a roll paper cutting mechanism into the image forming apparatus, such that when a roll paper mode is selected as the paper feed mode for the apparatus, cut paper is fed from the cutting mechanism. In this case, however, an image forming apparatus having a special and complex construction must be newly fabricated at an increased cost. Furthermore, the user possessing an apparatus not incorporating the cutting mechanism must purchase the new apparatus.
Conventional roll paper cutting devices are adapted to cut roll paper to a predetermined size but are unable to cut the roll paper in conformity with the size of documents fed to the image forming apparatus. Accordingly, the conventional device requires the cumbersome procedure of measuring the size of documents first and feeding the measurement to the cutting device as the desired cutting size.
Further in the case where the image forming apparatus is adapted to be equipped with the roll paper cutting device as an optional device, with signal communication effected to associate the device with the apparatus, the modification of the apparatus and wiring require much labor to impair the optionality. When the roll paper cutting device is to be used as such an optional device, the roll paper feed means within the device and the paper feed means within the apparatus must be adapted to transport paper at the same speed, whereas this encounters extreme difficulty. If there is a difference between the two feed means in transport speed, the roll paper is likely to become deflected or tensioned to produce an adverse effect on the formation of images especially when elongated documents are copied. Further when the two speeds are to be made identical, the drive source for the roll paper feed means, for example, must be finely adjusted, but the means for effecting the fine adjustment is expensive, consequently diminishing the advantage of the image forming apparatus.

Image Forming apparatus and roll paper cutting machine


A system for launching a projectile includes a source of stored energy such s a pressurized fluid, a projectile within a launch barrel which communicates with the source of pressurized fluid, a fluid flow path between the two having at least one flow port, an object for blocking the at least one flow port and a valve for moving the blocking object and thereby allowing the pressurized fluid to enter the launch barrel and initiate launch of the projectile. The valve for moving the blocking object communicates directly with the energy storage device of the launch system and is used to move the blocking means by introducing fluid against a rear face thereof. In one embodiment of the present invention, the blocking object may be a disposable poppet. In an alternative embodiment, it may be the projectile itself. The launch system of the present invention has the advantages of being relatively simple, quiet and highly reliable. It also has the advantage of very rapidly opening a flow port substantially equal in size to the projectile to be launched.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for launching projectiles and more particularly, to a valve used in a projectile launching system which has the capability to rapidly launch the projectile without substantial noise by utilizing the stored internal energy of the launcher system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Stored energy launcher systems for launching projectiles are known in the art. These systems typically use a stored pressurized fluid such as pressurized water to launch the projectile. They require a very fast opening, large diameter valve to effectively deliver the stored energy to the launched projectile. A slow opening valve can not be used in these systems because it throttles the pressurized fluid as it is being delivered to the projectile resulting in sluggish performance of the launch system.
At the present, stored energy launchers utilize a mechanical latch to restrain the projectile until time of firing. This type of mechanical latching arrangement is prone to failure due to the relatively large number of mechanical parts involved. Additionally, this arrangement suffers from the problem of generating high levels of acoustic noise as a result of friction, mechanical contact and vibration.
The size and speed of the mechanical valve required for a stored energy system can add tremendously to the complexity of the valve. A large flow port is required to minimize hydraulic losses. In addition, the time from initial opening to full opening of the valve must be minimized to enable a rapid launch of the projectile. High pressure, six-inch diameter ball valves used in launch systems with a hydraulic operator can take three to five seconds to open. Such opening times are unacceptable from the standpoint of having a rapid firing launching system.

Pressure balanced fast opening firing system for a stored energy launching system

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


Machine-based filtering of a pattern history table includes identifying a matching previous occurrence of a current branch instruction in an address history vector (AHV), the AHV storing addresses, or partial addresses, of most recently occurring branch instructions. In response to determining a direction history of the previous occurrence matches a direction history of the current branch, the machine-based filtering includes comparing the outcome of the previous occurrence with the outcome of the current branch instruction, and preventing the pattern history table from being updated with the outcome of the current branch instruction when the outcome of the previous occurrence does not match the outcome of the current branch instruction.

This invention relates generally to branch prediction, and more specifically, to state machine-based filtering in pattern history tables.
In computer architecture, a branch predictor is the part of a processor that determines whether or not a conditional branch in an instruction flow of a program is likely to be taken. Branch predictors allow processors to fetch and execute instructions without waiting for a branch to be resolved. One type of branch predictor is a bimodal predictor that utilizes a branch history table (BHT) of two-bit entries and is indexed with part or all of the instruction addresses. The bimodal predictor provides high accuracy on most branches, particularly those that are dominant. Dominant branches refer to those that often exhibit the same direction (i.e., taken/not taken). However, the bimodal predictor is known to be much less accurate in predicting non-dominant branches (which do not reliably exhibit the same direction) as compared with dominant branches.
Pattern-based prediction algorithms provide high accuracy for non-dominant branches but can be costly to implement in terms of chip area coverage and power consumption requirements. A branch predictor using a pattern history table (PHT) is based on paths leading up to the given branch. By basing the prediction value on the path that was taken to get to the given branch, the directionally guessed path is no longer based on the general occurrence for a given branch, but rather a path of previous taken and not taken branches leading to the given branch. Such paths can be global paths where the path of the last 'n' number of branches is used to determine the guess of the current branch. The histories of branches' outcomes for encountered paths are stored in the pattern history table.
Hybrid branch prediction schemes have been developed that take advantage of the strengths of different predictors. For example, state machine-based filtering, uses a pattern-based predictor (e.g., share) only on non-dominant branches, which allows the predictor to be implemented with a much smaller pattern history table (PHT) than would otherwise be possible if dominant branches were included. The prediction state associated with each branch is updated according to a state machine that attempts to recognize those branches that would benefit from the PHT.
The PHT is indexed as a function of the outcomes (taken vs. not-taken) of previous branches. A fixed number of such previous branch outcomes are used. In some cases, different outcomes of the same branch will have the same PHT index. Oftentimes this is due to limited history length. In such cases, the PHT is not able to effectively correlate the pattern history with the branch's outcome and it is disadvantageous to use the PHT for such branches, particularly in a hybrid configuration where that PHT resource could be more effectively used to predict another branch.

State machine-based filtering of pattern history tables based on distinguishable pattern detection

International Business Machines Corporation


A method for detecting, tracking and locating submarines (24) utilizes pulsed coherent radiation from a laser (12) that is projected down through a water column, with particles in the water producing speckle from backscatter of the random particle distribution, with correlation of two closely time-spaced particle-based speckle patterns providing an intensity measurement indicative of the presence of a submarine. Subsurface submarine movement provides a subsurface wake which causes movement of particles such that two closely-spaced “snapshots” of the returns from particles in the same water column can detect particle movement due to the wake. The magnitude of the speckle pattern change indicates particle movement. In one embodiment, the return signals are imaged onto an intensified CCD or APA array that capture two successive laser pulses through the utilization of dual pixel registered cameras. Note that in the subject system, phase information is converted to measurable intensity information relating to particle motion.

Detection and tracking of submarines has long been the goal of antisubmarine warfare. In the past, sonobuoys and the like have been used to sense the presence of submerged submarines through their deployment and the use of sophisticated sonar techniques. Additionally, worldwide hydrophone arrays have been utilized in an attempt to locate and track submarines.
However, with passive acoustic techniques, the development of noiseless or silent submarines oftentimes makes it impossible to detect such quiet submarines due to their quiet-running design. Moreover, installing or deploying hydrophone arrays to detect the presence of submarines is both costly and time-consuming, thus significantly limiting the search area.
With respect to magnetometers, in order to detect a magnetic anomaly, one must first have a magnetic map of the terrain against which to compare the magnetometer readings from an overlying aircraft. The development of these maps with sufficient accuracy has been problematic in the past and the isolation of the magnetometer from the aircraft itself, usually on a boom, presents it own problems.
As described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,893,294, a different system for detecting the presence of submarines by Donald A. Leonard and Harold E. Sweeney involves the sensing of thermoclines which are produced by sub-sea wake turbulence when a submarine moves through the water. As described in the Encyclopedia of Oceanography, Vol. 1, Rhodes Pairbridge Edition, pp. 402-408, Rhineholt Publishing Corporation of New York, 1996, subsurface waves are produced by the movement of a body through the water which creates so-called internal waves. The above patent describes a way to measure the internal waves by constructing a profile of ocean water temperatures as a function of depth. While techniques have been employed in the past for measuring these profiles involving the use of many temperature sensors, these are costly and time-consuming to deploy, making them unsuited to high spatial and temporal resolution coverage of large ocean areas.
In an effort to improve on the early techniques for measuring the thermoclines, thus to detect submarines by measurement of sub-surface ocean temperatures, the above-noted patent describes a system for remote temperature sensing by using a laser carried by an attack or search submarine. In this patent the remote temperature sensing device uses a pulsed laser to illuminate an area of interest which includes the thermocline region. Part of the temperature sensing device is an optical receiver which picks up the laser backscatter and uses the self-heterodyne of the wavelength-shifted Brillouin scatter with the unshifted Rayleigh scatter.
According to this patent the self-heterodyne action allows mixing of the above signals from each volume element of the illuminated water column independently by measuring the frequency of the heterodyne signal. Since the frequency is directly related to the water temperature and since time is directly proportional to depth, the resultant time-temperature pattern is said to be equivalent to a temperature test profile. Movement of a submarine through the water creates internal waves that affect this profile such that the above-noted technique is said to provide a long-persisting indication of movement of a submerged vessel.
It will be noted that the laser is a sub-sea laser which is to be mounted on a submarine that executes a search pattern in various sub-sea locations. This is inherently a slow process because of the relatively low top speed of a subsurface vessel. Secondly, the technique described in the above-mentioned patent detects a long-persisting temperature change and does not effectively locate the position of the submarine that is detected. Temperature changes persist over long periods of time such that the temperature changes engendered by the passage of a submarine can exist, for instance, over 20 miles, hardly a technique suitable for localization and tracking of a submarine. Thirdly, the system operates by detecting frequency shifts which are correlated to temperature changes. Thus, while the above technique may be able to detect wake, its ability to localize and track a submarine is questionable.

Method and apparatus for detecting submarines

BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc.


A non-invasive optical measurement system comprises a two-dimensional array of photonic integrated circuits (PICs) mechanically coupled to each other. Each PIC is configured for emitting sample light into an anatomical structure, such that the sample light is scattered by the anatomical structure, resulting in physiological-encoded signal light that exits the anatomical structure. Each PIC is further configured for detecting the signal light. The non-invasive optical measurement system further comprises processing circuitry configured for analyzing the detected signal light from each of the PICs, and based on this analysis, determining an occurrence and a three-dimensional spatial location of the physiological event in the anatomical structure.

Measuring neural activity in the brain is useful for medical diagnostics, neuromodulation therapies, neuroengineering, or brain-computer interfacing. Conventional methods for measuring neural activity in the brain include diffusive optical imaging techniques, which employ moderate amounts of near-infrared or visible light radiation, thus being comparatively safe and gentle for a biological subject in comparison to X-Ray Computed Tomography (CT) scans, positron emission tomography (PET), or other methods that use higher-energy and potentially harmful ionizing radiation. Moreover, in contrast to other known methods, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), these optically-based imaging methods do not require large magnets or magnetic shielding, and thus, can be scaled to wearable or portable form factors, which is especially important in applications, such as brain-computer interfacing.
However, because optical imaging techniques rely on light, which scatters many times inside brain, skull, dura, pia, and skin tissues, the light paths occurring in these techniques comprise random or "diffusive" walks, and therefore, only limited spatial resolution can be obtained by a conventional optical detector, often on the order of centimeters, with usable penetration depths being limited to a few millimeters. The reason for this limited spatial resolution is that the paths of photons striking the detector in such schemes are highly variable and difficult, and even impossible, to predict without detailed microscopic knowledge of the scattering characteristics of the brain volume of interest, which is typically unavailable in practice (i.e., in the setting of non-invasive measurements through skull for detecting neural activity in the brain for brain-computer interfacing). In summary, light scattering has presented challenges for optical detection techniques in achieving high spatial resolution deep inside tissue. Moreover, the diffusive nature of light propagation also creates challenges for measurements of fast changes in optical scattering inside tissue, since essentially all paths between source and detector are highly scattered to begin with.
Notwithstanding the foregoing challenges, the x-y (i.e., the plane of the surface of the skull) spatial resolution of diffusive optical imaging techniques has been increased by locating a multitude of optical sources and detectors along the surface of the head that, which despite the random propagation of light from the optical sources, can identify bundles through which photons are likely to travel during the random motion (see Gratton G., Fabiani M., "Fast-optical Imaging of Human Brain Function," Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, Vol. 4, Article 52, pp. 1-9 (June 2010) and Eggegracht A. T., et al., "Mapping Distributed Brain Function and Networks with Diffuse Optical Tomography," Nature Photonics 8 (2014)).
One commercially available non-invasive imaging method, referred to as optical coherence tomography (OCT), is capable of acquiring images with high z-resolution (depth), but at a relatively shallow depth (1 mm-2 mm). Traditional OCT systems u coherent light (typically light in the near-infrared spectrum) to capture sub-surface images within optical scattering media (such as biological tissue) at a micrometer-resolution. The OCT system directs an optical beam at biological tissue and collects a small portion of the light that reflects from sub-surface features of the biological tissue. Although most of the light directed at the biological tissue is not reflected, but rather, diffusively scatters and contributes to background that may obscure the image, OCT utilizes a holographic (or interferometric) technique to select, via optical path selection, the photons that directly reflect off of the sub-surface features (i.e., the ballistic backscattered photons), and reject photons that scatter multiple times in the biological tissue before detection.
In particular, in a traditional OCT system, light from a light source is split into two paths along two different arms of an interferometer: a reference arm and a sample arm. In the sample arm, sample light is backscattered through a sample medium, and in the reference arm, reference light is back-reflected by a mirror where it recombines with the backscattered sample light at a coupler. An interference light pattern is formed by any sample light that has an optical path length that matches, within the coherence length of the optical source, the optical path length traveled by the reference light. The intensity of the backscattering sample light having that optical path length can then be detected within the interference light pattern.
Previous commercial OCT systems acquire data in the time domain (TD-OCT), and coherence gates the backscattered light from various depths in the biological tissue by adjusting the position of the mirror to tune the optical path length of the reference, such that only sample light having the matching optical path length is selected for detection at any given time. An alternative approach to coherence gating, referred to as spectral domain OCT (SD-OCT) does not involve adjusting the delay of the reference arm, but rather involves acquiring an interferometric signal as a function of optical wavelength by combining the sample light and the reference light from a source with a finite spectral width at a fixed reference arm delay, and then Fourier-transforming the spectral or frequency-resolved interference as a function of photon time-of-flight to obtain the various depths in the biological tissue. Two distinct methods have been developed that employ the SD approach: 1) Fourier-domain (FD-OCT), which uses a broadband light source to achieve spectral discrimination; and (2) swept-source (SS-OCT), which time-encodes optical wavelengths by rapidly tuning a narrowband source through a broad optical bandwidth. It has been shown that SD-OCT has a significantly greater signal-to-noise (SNR) than TD-OCT (see Michael A. Choma, et al., "Sensitivity Advantage of Swept Source and Fourier Domain Optical Coherence Tomography," Optics Express, Vol. 11, No. 18, 8 Sep. 2003).
Regardless of the type, the depth at which an OCT system images biological tissue is limited, because at greater depths the proportion of light that escapes without scattering (i.e., the ballistic light) is too small to be detected. Thus, the clinical applications of OCT have, thus far, been limited to imaging sub-surface features, such as obtaining high-resolution ophthalmic images of the retina. As such, OCT is presently insufficient for measuring neural activity in the deeper regions of the brain (i.e., deeper than 2 mm).
Another type of diffusive optical imaging technique, referred to as interferometric Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (iNIRS) (see Borycki, Dawid, et al., "Interferometric Near-Infrared Spectroscopy(iNIRS) for Determination of Optical and Dynamical Properties of Turbid Media," Optics Express, Vol. 24, No. 1, Jan. 11, 2016), has been developed. While traditional OCT utilizes low-coherence interferometry to produce cross-sectional images of biological specimens with a resolution of few micrometers and an imaging range of 1-2 mm, the goal of iNIRS is to use high coherence interferometry to measure optical and dynamical properties of turbid media using high coherence interferometry at a depth on the order of a few centimeters, at the cost of reduced resolution.
Furthermore, the systems described above have not been demonstrated to measure fast-optical signals, which refers to changes in optical scattering that occur when light propagating through active neural tissue (e.g., active brain tissue) is perturbed through a variety of mechanisms, including, but not limited to, cell swelling, cell volume change, changes in membrane potential, changes in membrane geometry, ion redistribution, birefringence changes, etc. (see Hill D. K. and Keynes, R. D., "Opacity Changes in Stimulated Nerve," J. Physiol., Vol. 108, pp. 278-281 (1949); Foust A. J. and Rector D. M., "Optically Teasing Apart Neural Swelling and Depolarization," Neuroscience, Vol. 145, pp. 887-899 (2007)). Because fast-optical signals are associated with neuronal activity, rather than hemodynamic responses, fast-optical signals may be used to detect brain activity with relatively high temporal resolution.
Although traditional OCT and state of the art iNIRS systems are sufficient for their intended purposes, these techniques utilize holographic methods, mixing the detected light against a reference beam, thereby requiring a relatively complicated and expensive arrangement of components. Reference beams are notoriously challenging to keep stable in a stationary device, let alone a device that may be attached to a moving human body during operation, so a solution to this issue of stability is required to use OCT or iNIRS as a diagnostic tool. Further, while the iNIRS and OCT approaches are very sophisticated, they both require the detection and measurement of speckles, presenting challenges in a highly attenuating medium, such as the human body, due to the very low number of photons that reach each detector. Thus, a very large number of detectors (or pixels) are required to individually detect the speckles, thereby further increasing the complexity and expense of the system. This complexity and expense will, of course, be magnified as the OCT system or iNIRS system is scaled to increase the number of optical source-detector pairs for x-y (non-depth) spatial resolution.
There, thus, remains a need to provide a means for reducing the cost and complexity of an optical measurement system to non-invasively detect and localize a physiological event within an anatomical structure.

Interferometric frequency-swept source and detector in a photonic integrated circuit


Detection of under-expression of selected genes in NK cells is used to confirm a hypoxic tumor microenvironment that is ordinarily suppressive with respect to ADCC and cytotoxic cell killing of NK cells. Most notably, while hypoxia is known to upregulate HIF-1α and genes under the control of HIF-1α, hypoxia in a tumor microenvironment led to under-expression of selected genes, including HIF-1α. Thus, gene expression analysis of certain genes on NK cells can be used to detect conditions in a tumor that would indicate use of haNK cells.

The background description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
All publications and patent applications herein are incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application were specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. Where a definition or use of a term in an incorporated reference is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.
Immune therapy of cancer has recently gained significant attention, due to favorable treatment outcomes in at least some cases. However, it has also become apparent that the tumor microenvironment can undergo certain changes that result in immune evasion. Among other known mechanisms, escape from immune surveillance may be mediated by secretion of immune suppressive cytokines, secretion of one or more soluble immune checkpoint and/or NKG2D ligands, chemokine-based attraction of suppressor cells, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition. These factors are also in interplay with metabolic deprivation and hypoxia, which has been shown to render NK cells significantly less active in the tumor microenvironment. For example, hypoxia was shown to downregulate the expression of activating receptors involved in NK-cell-mediated target cell killing (see e.g., Eur. J. Immunol. 2013. 43: 2756-2764). Additionally, hypoxia was also demonstrated to downregulate NKG2D ligands on tumor cells (see e.g., Cell Stress and Chaperones (2015) 20:139-147), and to significantly impair or even block NK cell mediated cytotoxicity (see e.g., Front Immunol 2015, 6:482) in a variety of possible direct and indirect mechanisms.
To improve cytotoxicity, various attempts have been undertaken. For example, IL-12 was shown in vitro to enhance cytotoxicity of NK cells to different solid and hematological tumor cell lines and to promote interferon-gamma secretion by NK cells (see e.g., Hum Immunol. 2008 August; 69(8):490-500). However, the IL-12 concentrations used in vitro may not necessarily reflect achievable or even desirable levels in vivo. Similarly, doxorubicin plus IL-12 was shown in vitro to specifically increase expression of NKG2D in CD8+T cells but not in other types of immune cells, including NK cells, which naturally express NKG2D (see e.g., Molecular Cancer 2014 13:34). While at least somewhat effective in vivo for CD8+ T cells, no significant effect was shown for NK cells. Hypoxia induced impairment of NK cell cytotoxicity against multiple myeloma can be overcome by IL2 activation of the NK cells (see e.g., PLoS ONE 8(5): e64835). Unfortunately, IL2 is systemically not well tolerated at doses required to reactivate NK cells. To still further compound difficulties associated with a hypoxic tumor microenvironment, there is no reliable method to identify hypoxia in a tumor.
Therefore, there remains a need for compositions and methods to identify hypoxia and attendant reduction of NK cell activity in a tumor microenvironment, and for methods to take advantage of hypoxia resistant NK cells in such a microenvironment.


Methods, systems, and computer readable media can be operable to facilitate the processing and output of multiple audio streams associated with a piece of content. A multimedia device may identify and notify a user of multiple audio stream languages available for a received multimedia stream. Based upon user input, the multimedia device may identify a plurality of audio streams that are associated with user-selected languages, decode the identified audio streams, and output the decoded audio streams to one or more audio devices. The multimedia device may determine, for each audio stream, an audio device to which the audio stream is to be delivered. The multimedia device may output a video stream associated with the audio streams to a display device while outputting each respective audio stream of the multiple audio streams to the audio device designated for the respective audio stream.

Many households include members that speak more than one language, and typically, some members of a household are more proficient in one language while others are proficient in another language. Some members of a household may learn a foreign language that other members are not able to speak or understand. When members of a household that have differing language preferences gather together to enjoy a piece of multimedia content, some of the household members are able to enjoy the audio of the content while other members are unable to appreciate or understand the audio of the content. Moreover, individuals that have different tastes in music are left without a way to receive audio-only content of their own individual preference when gathered together within the same room or vehicle or when the content is received through a common receiver. Therefore, it is desirable to improve upon methods and systems for delivering different audio streams of a multimedia stream to different audio devices.
Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicate like elements.

Simultaneous output of multiple audio tracks


A bulk coin hopper and dispenser is provided with a pair of rotating discs at the bottom thereof. A baffle shields the discs from the weight of the coins within the hopper, while a flexible flap is maintained adjacent to the discs to urge coins into coin receiving bores within a top one of such discs. A stationary plate having a single bore therethrough is interposed between the two discs. Rotation of the two discs over the surfaces of the stationary plate allows for singular dispensing of coins from the bores through the plate.

Many known coin dispensing systems are presently available. Such coin dispensers are typically used in conjunction with currency validators, changers, vending systems, and the like. In some coin dispensing systems, the coins to be despensed are first escrowed and then dispensed at once into a receptacle for retrieval by the user. Other coin dispensing systems provide for the dispensing of coins from a bulk hopper, the dispensed coins being counted at the time of dispensing, obviating the need for an escrow position. Such coin dispensing systems are more versatile in operation than the escrow type, and are also more compact and simplistic in structure since the need for an escrow area is eliminated.
It has been found that dispensing systems which dispense coins directly from a bulk hopper are sometimes given to problems which, if unremedied, would render the system inoperative. If a coin jams between two members of the dispensing system, one or more of which is intended to rotate or move, further operation of the coin dispensing is prohibited. Further, it has been found that in such dispensers groups of coins will axially align as "rollers," rolling across a dispensing disc or other dispensing structure. These "rollers" assume a posture orthogonal to that which would be necessary for the actual dispensing operation and, by doing so, impede the dispensing operation. It is furthe known that coins in bulk hoppers will often "bridge" the dispensing area, by forming an array or mat of coins which prevents the ingress of other coins to the dispensing area, again preventing effective operation of the dispensing system. It has also been found in such systems that coins will often "wedge" in a dispensing cylinder or bore, lying therein in a vertical rather than horizontal position, not only inhibiting dispensing of that particular coin, but also the entry of other coins into the bore or cylinder.
It has also been found in coin dispensers, coin bulk hoppers and the like that the mass of weight imparted by the coins at the bottom of the hopper will often impede th effective operation of rotating discs or the like positioned at the bottom of the hopper for achieving the dispensing function. Further, such prior bulk hoppers have given little direction or assistance to coins in urging them into the dispensing bore or cylinder.


A building material adapted for controlling growth of vegetative fungi from spores having a compressed calcium sulfate layer, a paper layer over the sulfate layer, an adhesive for securing the paper layer to the sulfate layer; an amount of between about 30 wt % to 50 wt % of a salt of formic acid disposed on the paper layer thereby forming sheet rock with an ionic lattice on the surface to prevent vegetative growth from fungi spores, and a paint, an adhesive, a sealant, and an insulation each containing an antifungal amount of a salt of formic acid, such as potassium formate.

The present invention relates to products containing an anti-fungal amount of a salt of formic acid. The invention was designed to control the growth by killing the vegetative fungi or mold germinating from spores of the fungi with an additive that can be blended into commercially available paints, spackle, adhesives, grout, and sealants used in the home and commercial construction industry. The additive can also be used in the paper making industry to control growth of spores during the making of paper that causes spoilage. The additive can also be used to control the growth of bacterial in automotive and air conditioning end uses by adding it to lubrication systems of cars, compressors for oil field drilling, transmission systems or cars and other motors, air conditioning and heating systems and the like.
An object of the invention is to provide an easy to use, environmentally friendly additive which is cheaper than those currently commercially available.
Another object of the invention is to provide an additive that is light and easy to transport additive.
A final object of the invention is to provide and additive that does not cake or clog and can be easily flowed into a system in a continuous flow without the need to batch addition of the additive.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Products containing an anti-fungal amount of a salt of formic acid


A system for control of an internal combustion system having subsystems, each with different response times. Subsystems may include a fuel system, an air handling system, and an aftertreatment system, each being operated in response to a set of reference values generated by a respective target determiner. Calibration of each subsystem may be performed independently. The fuel system is controlled at a first time constant. The air handling system is controlled on the order of a second time constant slower than the first time constant. The aftertreatment system is controlled on the order of a third time constant slower than the second time constant. A subsystem manager is optionally in operative communication with each target determiner to coordinate control. Generally, dynamic parameters from slower subsystems are treated as static parameters when determining reference values for controlling a faster subsystem.

Engine systems including internal combustion engines are often required to meet performance in several areas. While delivering requested amounts of power, engines are also often required to operate efficiently in terms of resource consumption and meet low emission requirements, such as EPA Tier 4 Final requirements for smoke and NOX emissions. These goals are often governed by trade-offs, such as targeting greater power delivery while also targeting less fuel consumption. Engine systems are often calibrated to manage the trade-offs to achieve the overall goals.
An engine system often includes one or more subsystems, such as a fuel subsystem, an air handling subsystem, and an aftertreatment subsystem. Integrated calibration utilizing complex modeling of the entire engine system with all subsystems is often performed in order to adequately capture behavior and interactions between subsystems, which contributes to long calibration cycles. Another factor contributing to long calibration cycles is that engine systems are often calibrated to meet performance requirements under varying conditions, such as steady state, multiple transient states, and all at various altitudes. With ever more demanding performance goals, there remains a continuing need to robustly and time-efficiently calibrate engine systems and to control engine systems in operation to provide power, minimize resource consumption, and meet emissions requirements.

Hierarchical engine control systems and methods


An improved golf club shaft comprised of a flexible insert device that adds additional flexibility to said club shaft and creates one or more pivot points along said shaft. The increased flexibility of the golf club shaft enables a golfer to impart greater force on a golf ball, and also dampens or reduces the amount of vibration and/or shock otherwise imparted to the golfer when the golf club head strikes the golf ball.

Many individuals enjoy playing golf, and power, timing and focus are but a few of the skills that are imperative to the game of golf. However, some golfers put so much emphasis on the timing of their golf swing that they do not hit the golf ball with enough power. Other golfers overemphasize the need for power and swing too hard, thereby sacrificing the timing of their golf swing.
Additionally, traditional golf club are typically constructed of relatively rigid, hollow or solid golf club shafts, which are oftentimes comprised of graphite, plastic, fiberglass and the like. However, because these prior art designs are relatively rigid, a vibration or shock tends to travel up the club shaft and to the user when the golf club strikes the golf ball. Therefore, golfers may not be able to strike the golf ball very hard, especially if the individual is new to the sport and/or does not possess good form when swinging the golf club. This may be frustrating for the golfer, and discourage the individual from continuing with the sport and progressing. Additionally, prolonged exposure of the individual to the shock and/or vibrations generated by existing golf club shaft designs could lead to injury, such as stress fractures and the like.
Consequently, there exists in the art a long-felt need for an improved golf club shaft that is relatively flexible and that enables a golfer to impart greater force on a golf ball with a golf club, thereby improving the user's play and making the game more enjoyable. There also exists in the art a long felt need for an improved golf club shaft that dampens or reduces the amount of vibration and/or shock otherwise imparted to an individual holding a golf club when the golfer strikes the golf ball, thereby reducing the likelihood of injury and making the game more enjoyable. Finally, there is a long-felt need for an improved golf club shaft that accomplishes all of the forgoing objectives and that is relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and safe and easy to use.


A silver halide photographic light-sensitive material is disclosed, which comprises a support and provided thereon, a silver halide photographic emulsion layer and a protective layer in that order, wherein at least one layer of said emulsion layer and said protective layer contains a cyclodextrin compound and said emulsion layer contains a hydrazine derivative or a compound represented by the following formula (T): ##STR1##

The photomechanical process includes a step of transforming a continuous-gradation original image into a halftone-dot image. In the process there has hitherto been applied a super-high-contrast image producing photographic technique that employs an infectious development.
The emulsion of a lithographic silver halide light-sensitive material for use in the infectious development is a high-silver-chloride-content (at least 50 mol %) silver chlorobromide emulsion comprising uniformly shaped silver halide grains having an average grain size of about 0.2 .mu.m with a narrow grain size distribution. The lithographic silver halide light-sensitive material of this type, when processed in an alkaline hydroquinone developer solution having a low sulfate ion concentration, i.e., a lith-type developer solution, can provide an image having a high contrast, a high sharpness and a high resolution. The lith-type developer solution, however, is unpreservable because it is subject to degradation by oxidation, so it is difficult to keep its developability constant when used continuously.
On the other hand, there is known a method capable of rapidly forming a high-contrast image without using such an unpreservable lith-type developer solution; for example, a method in which a tetrazolium salt or a hydrazine derivative is added to the light-sensitive material. According to this technique, contrasty images can be obtained even by using a well preservable developer solution for rapid processing.
However, the printing industry seeks better-quality printed matter producing techniques, since there is a strong demand for better-finished photographic image quality, particularly having still more improved image sharpness than ever before.
The hydrazine-derivative-containing silver halide photographic light-sensitive material has a problem of its own that after being processed, sandy fine black spots, so-called pepper fog occurs on its unexposed area. However, no drastic measures for solving this problem have yet been found to date.
Where a tetrazolium salt is used to harden the light-sensitive material, a developer solution for use in processing the light-sensitive material must contain a development restrainer, but the development restrainer is so hardly soluble in water that it requires the use of a large amount of an organic solvent, which causes an environmental problem at the time of processing and waste developer disposal problem.

Black-and-white silver halide photographic light-sensitive material and a method for processing the same


A video image bank system for preparing an edit tape and associated edit list from a library of stock video image sequences uses a set of video disks with an associated library index. A microprocessor or personal computer is loaded with the library index, and an operator selects an initial set of image sequences from a menu or by using key words, specifically or highlighted in a word processor text file, for a desired effect. Groups of still frames, one from each identified image sequence, are displayed and the operator selects any one of the represented image sequences for addition to the edit tape and the associated edit list. Once all the desired stock video image sequences have been selected from the library and transferred to the edit tape and associated edit list, these sequences may readily be added to a production video sequence using normal editing procedures.

The present invention relates to video production, and more particularly to a video image bank that provides thousands of stock footage image sequences for immediate use by the producer of a video tape in preparing a story board and/or edit tape.
Television is a commonplace part of people's lives, and unless the video viewed is exciting people become bored. They expect all video to be up to the quality of normal broadcast programming. The cost of producing broadcast quality programming for a small producer, such as for industrial and training tapes, is quite high. Even attempts to highlight industrial productions by interjecting exciting stock footage are insufficient because the time and cost involved limits the use. Further the cost of just maintaining a library of such stock footage is in itself quite expensive for a small producer, as it requires many different reels of video tape to be maintained. These tapes are difficult and time consuming to use since, even if indexed, the tapes have to be searched for the desired footage before that footage can be edited into a production tape. As the video market continues to grow the need for inexpensive means of production continues to expand. The standard way of cutting production costs has been the use of stock footage, but the cost and time involved in locating and acquiring stock footage is a major problem for the small producer.
A related problem for the small producer, especially in the industrial production area, is that the producer is used to writing out copy, but is unfamiliar or uncomfortable with video concepts. Therefore such productions based upon such written copy tend to be stilted with all the drawbacks of non-broadcast quality video.
Therefore, what is desired is an apparatus for storing stock video footage in a compact, random access manner so that any footage desired may be retrieved virtually instantaneously to reduce the expense of storing the footage and the expense of producing video tapes that are interjected with such stock footages, including the ability to use written copy as an index into the stored stock video footage.

Video image bank for storing and retrieving video image sequences


The invention concerns recombinant gelatin monomers and recombinant gelatins comprising or consisting of multimers of the monomers. The recombinant gelatins are of particular use in several applications involving cell attachment such as in cell culture work and applications involving cell cultures of anchor dependent cells and also in a variety of medical applications.

Cell culture systems of animal cells, in particular mammalian cells (including human cells), are important for the production of many important (genetically engineered) biological materials such as vaccines, enzymes, hormones and antibodies. The majority of animal cells are anchorage-dependent and require attachment to a surface or cell culture support for their survival and growth.
Cell attachment also plays an important role in medical applications such as wound treatment (including artificial skin materials, but also sticking plasters or band-aids comprising compounds or compositions that promote healing and cell attachments), bone and cartilage (re)growth and implantations and artificial blood vessel materials. Thus in medical applications often the demand is that a material, such as an implant or transplant material, comprises a biocompatible coating in terms of cell attachment.
Another area of interest in relation to cell attachment is the blocking of attachment receptors of cells. For instance by blocking the attachment receptors cancer metastasis may be influenced or inhibited, platelet aggregation may be influenced in antithrombotic compositions and tissues adhesion may be prevented, e.g. after surgery, or may be promoted, e.g. for dental products or other medical products.
In US 2006/0241032 RGD-enriched gelatin-like proteins with a minimum (increased) level of RGD motifs and with a certain distribution of said RGD motifs are disclosed that were found to be highly suitable for cell adhesion and cell binding in medical and biotechnological applications. The cell binding peptides described therein have good cell attachment properties.
However, susceptibility to degradation has been a limiting factor in the ability to produce large amounts of recombinant gelatins.
EP 926543 and Werten et al. 1999 (Yeast 15, 1087-1096) describe a production method of recombinant gelatins, wherein high yields of non-hydroxylated fragments of the helical domain (consisting of Gly-Xaa-Yaa triplet repeats) of mouse type I (encoding a 21 kDa and 28 kDa, calculated mw, COL1A1 peptide and a 53 kDa COL1A2) and rat type III (COL3A1) are produced in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris. Yields were between 3-4 g/liter clarified broth and up to 14.8 g/liter for a multicopy transformant of COL3A1. For COL3A1 degradation could be reduced by changing the fermentation pH from pH 5 to pH 3. In contrast, this did not reduce degradation of COL1A1, which appeared to contain an endopeptidase motif (Met-Gly-Pro-Arg). Upon site-directed mutagenesis of this motif to Arg-Gly-Pro-Met, degradation was reduced and it was speculated that a Kex2 protease or a Kex2-like protease recognized the motif [Leu-Ile-Val-Met]-Xaa-Yaa-Arg. However, yields of COL1A1 sequences still need to be improved. Werten et al. hypothesize that the yield of COL1A1 remains below that of COL3A1 due to the codon usage of COL1A1 being different from that of highly expressed P. pastoris genes, while the codon usage of COL3A1 is similar to that of highly expressed P. pastoris genes.

Recombinant XRGD-enriched gelatins having high stability


A transducer for assisting in measuring displacement or strain in an object of interest is described. A plate has at least two end sections for mounting the transducer. It comprises a flexible connection between the two end sections. The flexible connection comprises a plurality of rigid portions and flexible interconnections between the rigid portions for allowing relative movement of the rigid portions with respect to each other. The flexible connection has a central section substantially having a U-shape comprising two rigid portions spaced from each other over a distance and adapted for positioning a strain sensing element at the spacing in between said two rigid portions. The rigid portions and flexible interconnections are arranged so that a displacement applied to the end sections results in a relative displacement at the spacing in the central section that is larger than the relative displacement applied to the end sections.

Poor maintenance of buildings and constructions can lead to catastrophic failure. Structural health monitoring helps to optimize maintenance strategies. Structural health monitoring helps in increasing the safety and the lifetime of the structures, it provides a possibility for real time condition assessment.
Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) based on in-situ and real-time monitoring of bridges, buildings, dams, wind turbines, tunnels or other civil engineering structures offers the possibility to readily detect any adverse change in their performance and condition as a result of damage. Non-destructive damage identification methods can be generally categorized either as local or global. Global methods can only determine whether or not damage is present in an entire structure, while local methods require that the vicinity of damage is known a priori and that the damaged area is accessible for testing. Vibration-based damage identification can potentially overcome both challenges: this approach relies on the principle that the modal characteristics of a structure are stiffness dependent. Changes in natural frequencies, damping ratios and modal strains, which are obtained from successive modal tests, can therefore be used as indicators to detect and to identify damage. Although vibration-based damage identification is conceptually very attractive, its application to civil structures under ambient excitation faces two major challenges: the sensitivity of dynamic characteristics to a certain type of damage may be low, and environmental factors such as temperature also influence the dynamic characteristics.
The sensitivity to damage can be improved with dynamic strain measurements, as modal strains or curvatures can be much more sensitive to local damage than most other dynamic characteristics. Whilst strain measurements typically rely on the use of resistive strain gauges, strain sensing systems based on optical fibers have received a continuously increasing popularity for civil structural health monitoring because of their immunity to electromagnetic interference, ability to measure over very long distances, and applicability in harsh environments. Optical sensors based on fiber Bragg grating (FBG) technology have an important additional advantage to offer, i.e. many of such sensors can be wavelength-multiplexed into the same optical fiber.
The typical strain sensitivity of a fiber Bragg grating with an operating wavelength around 1550 nm is 1.2 pm/microstrain (1 microstrain=1 με=a relative elongation of 10−6). In combination with commercially available FBG interrogators, the resulting strain resolution is typically in the order of 0.8 microstrain. This compromises direct in-situ measurements of dynamic strains on a civil engineering structure caused by ambient excitation such as wind or traffic, because the resulting strain amplitudes can be much lower and require strain sensor sensitivities of the order of 0.1 microstrain, or even better. Whereas there are many commercially available sensors that can measure strain on a structure (for example electrical strain gauges or fiber Bragg grating-based sensors), in practice only a handful of these allow measuring strain levels below 0.8 microstrain. A commercially available long gauge FBG strain sensor is known having a strain resolution of 0.4 με.
For some applications nevertheless, for example when measuring the strain in a large concrete structure such as a bridge, the target resolution for the strain sensitivity is at least an order of magnitude higher (12 pm/με) because one wants to be able to measure (dynamic) strain in the structure with amplitudes below 0.08 με.
One possibility to reach better strain sensitivity is to use a FBG interrogator with a higher Bragg wavelength resolution. Nevertheless, such devices typically cost a tenfold more than standard interrogators.
Existing approaches in the literature for mechanical strain amplification of FBG sensors, mostly rely on long-gauge packages via a reduced cross-section of the package. They typically do so via the combination of materials with different Young's modulus.
Jun He et al. Reported in "Study on a new kind of surface sticking strain sensor with sensitivity enhanced based on FBG", Proc. SPIE, vol. 6595 (2007) on a surface sticking strain sensor package with enhanced sensitivity. Strain was increased by the reduction of the cross-section at the location of the FBG, reaching a strain amplification 1.63.
Suzhen Li et al reported in "Sensitivity Enhancement of Long-gage FBG Sensors for Macro-strain Measurements" in Structural Health Monitoring, vol. 8 no. 6, (2009) pp 415-423 the use of two materials of different stiffness to package an FBG in a tube and transfer the deformation applied to the tube on the short-gage part with the FBG. This approach was demonstrated adopting two recoating materials tailored to a suitable length. The highest strain amplification of 4.4 was obtained for package measuring 600 mm in length where the part with the FBG measured 120 mm.
In 2014, Litong Li et al. developed an enhanced sensitivity FBG strain sensor with a cylindrical shell encapsulation, as described in "Design of an Enhanced Sensitivity FBG Strain Sensor and Application in Highway Bridge Engineering" Photonic Sensors. The strain sensor, which consists of three tubular structures, improves strain sensitivity through an uneven area of the cross-section in the zone of the strain concentration. The strain amplification of this sensor is equal to 2.3.
Consequently, there is still a need for more sensitive measurement systems.


The motorized animal-grooming brush is adapted for use with animals. The motorized animal-grooming brush is a rotating brush that is driven by an electric drive that is separated in distance from the rotating brush. The motorized animal-grooming brush comprises a brush device, an electric drive, and a drive line. The electric drive provides a motive force through the drive line to the brush device. The brush device receives the motive force from the electric drive and uses this motive force to rotate the grooming brush. The separation by distance between the electric drive and the rotating brush reduces the level of noise heard by the animal.

The present invention relates to the field of animal husbandry and the grooming and care of animals, more specifically, motorized brush.
The grooming of animals is a labor-intensive process. For many animals, the brushing of fur and hair is an especially important but time consuming task. While the use of motorized brushes can reduce the time required for the brushing of fur and hair, the noise generated by the motor driving the brush can make the animal being groomed skittish and uncooperative.


A method of controlling a hydraulic system having a variable displacement pump operatively coupled to an engine. The method includes detecting a speed of the engine, and determining a desired power value of the pump. The method also includes identifying an allowable power value that may be expended by the pump at the detected speed. The method also includes selecting a pump power value. The selected pump power value is the lower of the allowable power value and the desired power value. The method further includes adjusting the pump to deliver the selected pump power value.

Construction machines having hydraulically controlled implements often include one or more variable displacement hydraulic pumps that are driven by an internal combustion engine. As the operator manipulates the implements through levers or other input devices in the operator cabin, the hydraulic system responds by directing hydraulic fluid flow to appropriate hydraulic circuits. To move an implement carrying a load in a desired direction at a desired velocity, the operator may operate one or more levers that direct flow of a hydraulic fluid, to apply force, and move the implement. As the operator requested hydraulic effort increases, the hydraulic control system increases the displacement of the variable displacement hydraulic pump such that the amount of hydraulic flow increases. Since the amount of power required to drive the hydraulic pump is a function of pressure and flow, as flow increases, a higher amount of engine power is expended to operate the implement. Load on the engine, is therefore, a function of hydraulic flow and pressure. Under some operating conditions, the amount of hydraulic power exceeds the amount of power the engine is capable of producing at that engine speed. When this occurs, the rotational speed of the engine decreases along its lug curve. This condition is typically referred to as engine lug.
When the engine lugs, operator perception of engine power may be adversely affected. In extreme cases, the engine may even stall if the requested hydraulic power becomes too high. To reduce lug and avoid stalling the engine, the operator may reduce the amount of hydraulic power being requested when they sense a loss of engine speed. While this action avoids engine stall, the operator may overcompensate and reduce the amount of hydraulic work to a greater extent than needed to prevent stall. As a result, machine productivity may be reduced. Fuel combustion in the engine during lug may become less efficient, resulting in increased emissions and reduced fuel economy. As a result, it may also be desirable to reduce engine lug to decrease emissions and fuel consumption. Some level of engine lug, however, may be desirable to operate the machine at maximum capacity. Therefore, the hydraulic system may be controlled to ensure that the machine is working at maximum capacity while limiting emissions and fuel consumption.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,525,043 ('043 patent), issued to Lukich on Jun. 11, 1996 and assigned to the assignee of the current disclosure, describes a hydraulic control system to reduce engine lug. In the control system of the '043 patent, multiple sensors are used to detect various operating parameters of the hydraulic system including the pump and an engine driving the pump. Based on these sensor inputs, a parameter signal that indicates the load on the engine is calculated. When the load on the engine increases above a predefined level, the displacement of the variable displacement pump is reduced to allow the engine speed to increase to the predefined level. In the control system of the '043 patent, the parameter signal is determined based on a number of operating parameters of the hydraulic system to accurately control engine speed with a minimum amount of oscillation (overshoot and undershoot). While quick and accurate control of engine speed by preventing oscillations, as disclosed in the '043 patent, may be important in some applications, it may not be as important in other applications. Although the control system of the '043 patent may effectively control engine lug, the complexity of the methodology employed may make the system expensive for some applications. The present disclosure is directed to solving one or more of the problems set forth above and/or other problems in the relevant art.

Method of controlling a hydraulic system


Operative monitoring of track brakes involves passing an electric current through a winding of a brake magnet, measuring the electric current and comparing the temporal progression of the measured current with a saved temporal progression of a reference current. Comparison is achieved by calculating the difference between the measured current and the reference current. The difference between measured current and reference current may be temporally integrated and compared with a threshold value. To determine a magnetic coupling between track brake and track, a calculation may be made as to whether the measured current has local minima and/or local maxima during the activation of the track brake, only the temporal progression of the measured current as the current increases being subjected to a comparison with the reference current. The current may be activated in pulses, with the comparison of the measured current and the reference current being restarted with each pulse.

The disclosed embodiments relate to a method for the operative monitoring of track brakes for rail vehicles. Such a method is known from DE 101 55 143 A1.
Modern rail vehicles are usually equipped, in addition to a pneumatic brake system, with a magnetic track brake which is embodied as an eddy current brake or magnetic track brake.
In solid tracks, "suspension" is customary in which a brake magnet is held above the rails at a predetermined height of approximately 100 mm by springs. For the braking process, the spring forces are overcome by pneumatic activation cylinders, and the brake magnets are lowered onto the rail, into the work position, from the elevated position. At the same time, the brake is switched on electrically (cf. Wolfgang Hendrichs, "Das statische, dynamische and thermische Verhalten von Magnetschienenbremsen [The static, dynamic and thermal behavior of magnetic track brakes]", Elektrische Bahnen [Electric Railways], eb, 86th year, issue July 1988, pp. 224-228).
In traction vehicles, it is also possible to provide a combination of elevated suspension and low suspension. The magnets are then suspended from pressure cylinders or air bellows which are pressed by means of compressed air into the elevated position against a centering stop which is fixed to the truck. When the brakes are activated, the pressure cylinders or air bellows are then are vented, the magnets being lowered into the standby position. In urban network vehicles such as, for example, trams, low suspension is customary. When a magnetic track brake is in the braking position, the brake magnet is generally in frictional contact with the rail.
In contrast, it is also the case that, in what is referred to as a linear eddy current brake, the brake magnet is held at a distance from the rail, electric solenoids magnetizing pole cores so that when an eddy current brake is switched on (and there is a relative movement of the eddy current brake with respect to the rail owing to the changes in the magnetic flux over time), eddy currents are induced in the travel rail. These eddy currents generate a secondary magnetic field which is opposed to the magnetic field of the eddy current brake. This results in a horizontal braking force which acts in opposition to the direction of travel. However, this requires there to be magnetic coupling between the rail and the brake magnet which depends essentially on the air gap between the brake magnet and the rail.
In both types of magnet brakes, the effectiveness of the brake is essentially on the respectively correct distance between the brake magnet and rail.
DE 101 55 143, therefore, proposes a diagnostic and monitoring device for monitoring the distance between the magnetic brake and the travel rail which uses a plurality of distance sensors which measure the air gap between the magnetic brake and the upper side of the rail. As a result, in both types of magnetic brakes it is possible to continuously check both whether the brake magnet is in the travel position and whether it is at the correct distance from the rail in the braking position.
However, the sensors require additional expenditure and there is the risk that, in the event of failure or malfunction of the sensors, faults are not detected or inappropriate fault signals are generated.
DE 100 09 331 C2 also proposes the use of sensors which measure the distance between the magnetic brake and the upper edge of the rail and, as a function of the measurement signal, open-loop/closed-loop control device which adjust the distance between the magnetic brake and the upper edge of the rail using actuators.

Method for the operative monitoring of track brakes

Knorr-Bremse Systeme fur Schienenfahrzeuge GmbH


In a rear structure for an electric vehicle including, at the rear of the vehicle body, an article storage unit supported on a rear frame, and a first lid configured to cover the article storage unit from above, the electric vehicle includes sub batteries serving as a drive source thereof, the sub batteries are stored in a battery storage unit disposed below the article storage unit, the article storage unit and the battery storage unit include an upper opening and a lower opening, respectively, which are open to the rear side of the vehicle, and a second lid configured to cover the upper opening and the lower opening is formed as a member different from the first lid. Such a rear structure for a vehicle is easy to use, and allows many articles be loaded on the article storage unit and be stored therein.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rear structure for an electric vehicle, and to an electric vehicle including the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to a rear structure for an electric vehicle in which a battery storage unit is disposed below an article storage unit, and to an electric vehicle including the same.
2. Description of the Background Art
There is known a rear structure of a vehicle, in which, at the rear of the vehicle, a casing is provided, cooling units are disposed in the casing, and a refrigerator is provided above the casing. An example of such rear structure for a vehicle is disclosed in the Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-130894.
In the rear structure as disclosed in the Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-130894, the inside of the refrigerator is the only storage space from which articles can be taken in and out of. It is desirable to increase the storage capacity by making the structure such that articles can also be stored in the casing. Further, since the refrigerator greatly projects rearward as compared to the casing, there is a certain limit on the loading of baggage on top of the refrigerator, and it is desirable to increase the load weight. Furthermore, if the vehicle in the Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-130894 is an electric vehicle, a battery may be disposed at the part where the cooling units are disposed. In this case, an easy-to-use structure that allows the battery to be easily taken in and out is desirable.
An object of the present invention is to provide a rear structure for a vehicle which is easy to use and in which many articles can be stored in and loaded on.

Rear structure for electric vehicle, and electric vehicle including same


An adaptive interference canceller for use in a dual polarized radar system for receiving cross-polar and like-polar signals and generating an output signal corresponding to the received cross-polar signal with a like-polar interfering component cancelled therefrom. A modified adaptive filter is provided with a self-adjusting impulse response conforming to a least means square adjustment cancelling the influence of the like-polar signal, which is generally much stronger on the cross-point signal. The resulting output has a high target-to-clutter ratio and therefor a high probability of detection.

Dual polarized radar systems are well known for detecting targets in marine as well as other detection environments. Under normal operating conditions, a radar transmits a horizontally polarized pulse and receives both horizontal U.sub.hh (like-polar) and vertical Y.sub.hv (cross-polar) signals. However, such systems typically suffer from a cross-polar signal leakage problem due to performance limitations in the antenna and rotary joint of such prior art systems, as well as depolarization of the returned signal by the environment. The leakage transfer function can be modelled as a zero order system with varying gain.
One prior art technique for cancelling the cross-polar signal leakage comprises the step of simply subtracting the like-polar channel from the cross-polar channel arithmetically, thereby providing a measure of interference cancelling. However, as discussed above the signal leakage components typically vary depending on environmental conditions, etc. Thus, the simple arithmetic subtraction technique does not result in complete cancellation of the interference component.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,106,014 (Dunn) discloses a target signature analysis system for differentiating between targets based upon different effects of the return polarized signal. The pulse radar set transmits signals at +45.degree. linear polarization and receives both +45.degree. and -45.degree. linear polarized signals. A detection is registered when the orthogonal polarization exceeds the like polarization return signal. This occurs primarily for horizontal and vertical dipole-like edges found in military vehicles.
The main thrust of the radar set as disclosed by Dunn is to find vertical and horizontal dipoles in the environment. The method used is not adaptive to the environment and depends on the orthogonal polarization exceeding that of the like polarization return signal.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,490,719 (Botwin et al) d missile guidance system which uses a process for comparing a horizontally polarized radar map to a vertically polarized radar map, noting which points on the map have equal returns for both polarizations, and then conveying these points on to a map matcher. The resultant information is used by the missile guidance system.
The Botwin et al system is based on the assumption that man-made objects return horizontal and vertical polarized signals roughly equal. Since man-made objects are often good navigational references, this information can be used within a missile guidance system. However, there is no disclosure of enhancing the difference in polarization and suppressing commonality between horizontal and vertical channels.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,035,797 (Nagy) discloses a polarized radar system for determining the complexity of targets (e.g. automobiles) in order to identify and discriminate between them. The system uses two quadrature frequencies and orthogonal polarizations to create a complexity measure of a received target signal. The output of the system is a sum of the absolute values of the various polarization ratios, the derivative of which is normalized by the range rate of change of the target.
Although the system of Nagy is sensitive to polarization, it uses the ratios between different polarizations to create a discriminant based on change of polarization information in range.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,028,697 (Albanese et al) describes a dynamic signal processing system using an adaptive filter to achieve enhanced target discrimination in clutter. Processing of the signal involves a time varying filter which can adapt to changes in clutter spectrum. Although the Albanese et al patent discloses means for processing the return signals to achieve a maximum signal to interference ratio, it does not utilize any information in a cross polarization channel. The adaptive time varying filter only makes use of correlations in the like channels, and therefore is not relevant to the problem of cross-polar signal leakage.


A cutting point for a drill including a body having a periphery. The cutting point includes a leading cutting lip and a trailing cutting lip and a central chisel edge extending between the leading and trailing cutting lips and defining two symmetrical drill point halves. Each drill point half includes a primary relief surface, a secondary relief surface and a third relief surface. The third relief surface is inclined at an angle greater than the secondary relief surface and the secondary relief surface is inclined at an angle greater than primary relief surface.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cutting point for a drill. More particularly, the present invention relates to a modified s-shaped cutting point for a drill to provide improved thrust and drilling performance.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional twist drill comprises a cylindrical drill body provided with a pair of helical flutes defining fluted lands between them and extending from the cutting point of the drill to a shank at the other end, by which shank the drill is securable in a chuck, for example, of a hand tool, or a drilling machine. The cutting point of the drill is of generally conical-shape, with a central chisel edge from which a pair of diametrically opposed cutting edges defined by the leading faces of the fluted lands and the flanks of the drill point that form the end faces of the fluted lands. The outer periphery of each fluted land has at its leading edge a radial projection which is variously termed a land, a cylindrical land, a wear margin, or a support margin. These two support margins extend along the length of their fluted lands and are intended to guide the drill radially as it forms a hole.
It is generally known that the helical grinding of a twist drill in the vicinity of the chisel, or cutting, edge results in a greater clearance angle. This is favorable for easy, centered spot drilling but not favorable for high feed rates, particularly since it weakens the chisel edge. Thus, in order to improve cutting conditions in twist drills having helically ground faces, corrections are often made at the chisel edge, e.g. by making it pointed or by adapting the side rake angle to the material to be drilled, as disclosed in Stock-Taschenbuch by R. Stock AG [Handbook published by the R. Stock AG], Berlin, 3rd Edition of 1979, at page 40.
Briefly, according to this invention, there is provided a cutting point for a drill. The drill includes a body having at least two diametrically opposite flutes. The body further includes a periphery, a web and lands extending from the web and having margins at leading edges of the lands. The flutes are positioned between the land.
The cutting point includes a leading cutting lip and a trailing cutting lip and a central chisel edge extending between the leading and trailing cutting lips and defining two symmetrical drill point halves. Each drill point half includes a primary relief surface, a secondary relief surface and a third relief surface. The primary relief surface is inclined radially outwardly from the central chisel edge to the periphery of the body and downwardly from the leading cutting lip to the secondary relief surface. The secondary relief is inclined radially outwardly from the central chisel edge to the periphery of the body and downwardly from the primary relief surface to a rake surface of the flute. The third relief surface is inclined radially outwardly from the central chisel edge to the rake surface of the flute and downwardly from the central chisel edge to the secondary relief surface. The third relief surface is inclined at an angle greater than the secondary relief surface and the secondary relief surface is inclined at an angle greater than primary relief surface.