Disclosed is a digital camera which does not need a dedicated exclusive lens barrier and permits use in compact states in normal photography. The digital camera comprises a camera body, a photographing lens which is provided on the front side of the camera body, an image display unit which displays taken images, and a movable unit which moves the image display unit between the front and rear positions of the camera body. The image display unit is set so that when moved to the front position, the display panel faces the front side of the camera body just like covering the photographing lens, and when moved to the rear position, the display panel is exposed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a camera with an image display unit whose position can be changed according to the position of a photographer, and in particular to a digital camera and a digital camera system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a digital camera has an image display unit comprising a liquid crystal display (LCD) for monitoring images. This image display unit is usually fixed to the rear part of the camera. Thus, when a photographer takes a picture at a low or high angle, or takes a self-portrait, it is sometimes difficult to confirm the photographed image.
To overcome the above inconvenience, a camera has been proposed (refer to Jpn. Pat Appln. KOKAI Publication Nos. 8-09213 and 4-100382). In this camera, a camera body and an image display unit comprising an LCD are combined through a hinge mechanism, so that the direction of the image display unit can be changed according to the photographing position.
There has been proposed another camera. In this camera, an image display unit is compatible with a lens barrier. The image display unit of this camera is placed at the front of the photographing lens as a lens barrier while the camera is not used, and raised so that it extend above the camera body when the camera is used (refer to Jpn. Pat Appln. KOKAI Publication Nos. 11-258657 and 8-331424).
In the cameras described in the above documents, the hinge mechanism for combining the image display unit with the camera body is provided at a position easy to find from the outside. The hinge mechanism is provided at the upper end or on the rear part of the camera body.

Digital camera having a movable image display screen


A method and system to arbitrate requests of a plurality of ports of an interconnect device are provided. Every port receives combined pending request data that includes a pending request indicator associated with each of the plurality of ports. Each pending request indicator specifies whether a corresponding port has a pending request that needs to be submitted to a request bus of the interconnect device. Further, at each port, a turn to submit a request to the request bus is allocated to one of the plurality of ports based on the combined pending request data, a set of values stored in a mask register and a priority scheme associated with the plurality of ports.

The present invention relates generally to the field of data communications and, more specifically, to controlling access of multiple ports to a crossbar resource of an interconnect device.
Existing networking and interconnect technologies have failed to keep pace with the development of computer systems, resulting in increased burdens being imposed upon data servers, application processing and enterprise computing. This problem has been exasperated by the popular success of the Internet. A number of computing technologies implemented to meet computing demands (e.g., clustering, fail-safe and 24xc3x977 availability) require increased capacity to move data between processing nodes (e.g., servers), as well as within a processing node between, for example, a Central Processing Unit (CPU) and Input/Output (I/O) devices.
With a view to meeting the above described challenges, a new interconnect technology, called the InfiniBand(trademark), has been proposed for interconnecting processing nodes and I/O nodes to form a System Area Network (SAN). This architecture has been designed to be independent of a host Operating System (OS) and processor platform. The InfiniBand(trademark) Architecture (IBA) is centered around a point-to-point, switched IP fabric whereby end node devices (e.g., inexpensive I/O devices such as a single chip SCSI or Ethernet adapter, or a complex computer system) may be interconnected utilizing a cascade of switch devices. The InfiniBand(trademark) Architecture is defined in the InfiniBand(trademark) Architecture Specification Volume 1, Release 1.0, released Oct. 24, 2000 by the InfiniBand Trade Association. The IBA supports a range of applications ranging from back plane interconnect of a single host, to complex system area networks, as illustrated in FIG. 1 (prior art). In a single host environment, each IBA switched fabric may serve as a private I/O interconnect for the host providing connectivity between a CPU and a number of I/O modules. When deployed to support a complex system area network, multiple IBA switch fabrics may be utilized to interconnect numerous hosts and various I/O units.
Within a switch fabric supporting a System Area Network, such as that shown in FIG. 1, there may be a number of devices having multiple input and output ports through which data (e.g., packets) is directed from a source to a destination. Such devices include, for example, switches, routers, repeaters and adapters (exemplary interconnect devices). Where data is processed through a device, it will be appreciated that multiple data transmission requests may compete for resources of the device. For example, where a switching device has multiple input ports and output ports coupled by a crossbar, packets received at multiple input ports of the switching device, and requiring direction to specific outputs ports of the switching device, compete for at least input, output and crossbar resources.
In order to facilitate multiple demands on device resources, an arbitration scheme is typically employed to arbitrate between competing requests for device resources. Such arbitration schemes are typically either (1) distributed arbitration schemes, whereby the arbitration process is distributed among multiple nodes, associated with respective resources, through the device or (2) centralized arbitration schemes whereby arbitration requests for all resources is handled at a central arbiter. An arbitration scheme may further employ one of a number of arbitration policies, including a round robin policy, a first-come-first-serve policy, a shortest message first policy or a priority based policy, to name but a few. The physical properties of the IBA interconnect technology have been designed to support both module-to-module (board) interconnects (e.g., computer systems that support I/O module add in slots) and chasis-to-chasis interconnects, as to provide to interconnect computer systems, external storage systems, external LAN/WAN access devices. For example, an IBA switch may be employed as interconnect technology within the chassis of a computer system to facilitate communications between devices that constitute the computer system. Similarly, an IBA switched fabric may be employed within a switch, or router, to facilitate network communications between network systems (e.g., processor nodes, storage subsystems, etc.). To this end, FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary System Area Network (SAN), as provided in the InfiniBand Architecture Specification, showing the interconnection of processor nodes and I/O nodes utilizing the IBA switched fabric.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method to arbitrate requests of a plurality of ports of an interconnect device. Every port receives combined pending request data that includes a pending request indicator associated with each of the plurality of ports. Each pending request indicator specifies whether a corresponding port has a pending request that needs to be submitted to a request bus of the interconnect device. Further, at each port, a turn to submit a request to the request bus is allocated to one of the plurality of ports based on the combined pending request data, a set of values stored in a mask register and a priority scheme associated with the plurality of ports.
Other features of the present invention will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and from the detailed description that follows.


The present invention is directed to a computer based control system for controlling hydraulic and electromechanical actuators on a power machine, such as a skid steer loader. The computer based control system is configured to implement a number of features to enhance certain operational aspects of the power machine. One such feature includes an operator actuable selector which provides a selector signal based on an operator input. A controller receives the selector signal and provides an auxiliary output signal to control an auxiliary valve in a selected one of an on/off mode and a proportional mode based on the selector signal.

The present invention generally relates to power machines. More specifically, the present invention relates to a main control computer for use with a power machine.
Power machines, such as skid steer loaders, typically have a frame which supports a cab and a movable lift arm which, in turn, supports a work tool such as a bucket. The movable lift arm is pivotally coupled to the frame of the skid steer loader by power actuators which are commonly hydraulic cylinders. In addition, the tool is coupled to the lift arm by one or more additional power actuators which are also commonly hydraulic cylinders. An operator manipulating the skid steer loader raises and lowers the lift arm, and manipulates the tool, by actuating the hydraulic cylinders coupled to the lift arm, and the hydraulic cylinders coupled to the tool. When the operator causes the hydraulic cylinders coupled to the lift arm to increase in length, the lift arm moves generally vertically upward. Conversely, when the operator causes the hydraulic cylinders coupled to the lift arm to decrease in length, the lift arm moves generally vertically downward. Similarly, the operator can manipulate the tool (e.g., tilt the bucket) by controlling the hydraulic cylinders coupled to the lift arm and the working tool to increase or decrease in length, as desired.
Skid steer loaders also commonly have an engine which drives a hydraulic pump to, in turn, power hydraulic traction motors which power movement of the skid steer loader. The traction motors are commonly coupled to the wheels through a drive mechanism such as a chain drive.

Features of main control computer for a power machine

701
FSC 184
FSC 37
FSC 74
FSC 172
FSC 298
FSC 702
FSC 137
FSC 60


A semiconductor device (200) having a substrate routed power supply voltage is disclosed. The semiconductor device (200) includes a relatively highly doped substrate (302) and an epitaxial layer (304) formed over the substrate (302). In one embodiment (200), a surrounding conductive structure (202) is formed on the peripheral edges of the semiconductor device (200) die. The surrounding conductive structure (202) is coupled to the substrate (302). In another embodiment, the back side of the die (404) is coupled to the conductive portion (402) of an integrated circuit package. The conductive portion (402) is coupled to a power supply voltage. In another embodiment (700), the surrounding conductive structure (702) is coupled to a power supply voltage by one or more bond pads (710) formed on, or coupled to, the surrounding conductive structure (702).

The present invention relates generally to semiconductor integrated circuit devices, and more particularly to power supply circuits for semiconductor integrated circuit devices.
The operation of most semiconductor integrated circuit devices relies on the application of a high power supply voltage and low power supply voltage. Such supply voltages allow nodes to be driven according to voltage and current switching actions, and thus provide the desired device functions. In addition, such supply voltages often serve to maintain a reverse bias condition at p-n junctions within the substrate. This allows circuit devices of opposite conductivity types, such as n-channel and p-channel metal(conductor)-oxide(insulator)-semiconductor (MOS) transistors, to be formed within the same semiconductor layer.
Conventionally, an integrated circuit device (sometimes referred to as a xe2x80x9cdiexe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cchipxe2x80x9d) is formed on and within a portion of a silicon wafer (also referred to as a xe2x80x9cslicexe2x80x9d). The die is then placed into some sort of package that provides electrical access to the die. Many types of packages will include a xe2x80x9clead frame.xe2x80x9d A lead frame typically includes a die paddle, which provides a planar surface for physically holding the die, and a number of conductive leads, which carry electrical signals to the die. The die is attached to the die paddle by a die attach material. The leads are then attached to the die by conductive bond wires. Thus, with such an arrangement, the high and low power supply voltages are then applied to the die by connecting selected leads to the power supply voltages. The power supply voltages are then carried to the die by their associated bond wires. Other signals, such as input and output signals, can be carried to and from the die by bond wire/lead combinations.
On the die itself, the bond wires are connected to the die at exposed portions of a conductive layer referred to as xe2x80x9cbond pads.xe2x80x9d In the case of power supply voltage bond pads, the power supply voltages are carried from the associated bond pads to various locations within the die by patterned conductive layers. Because of the dense arrangement of most integrated circuits, the power supply wiring requirements can often result in one conductive layer carrying one power supply voltage, while a second conductive layer carries the other power supply voltage.
It is also noted that the physical area required for bond pads can be considerable. Bond pads are relatively large structures as they must provide sufficient area for a bond wire to make a low resistance ohmic contact with a conductive layer on the die. Any approach to semiconductor device packaging that can reduce the number of bond pads would free up valuable area on the die. Such extra area can provide for more relaxed signal routing and device placement requirements.
Because a low power supply voltage (which is typically zero volts or xe2x80x9cgroundxe2x80x9d) is often used to establish a signal value (i.e., ground representing a logic xe2x80x9c0xe2x80x9d while the high power supply represents a logic xe2x80x9c1xe2x80x9d) it is important to have a low resistance to ground within a semiconductor device. In the event the resistance is too high, the discharge of a large capacitive load through the device (via a lead frame pin, for example) can lead to xe2x80x9cground bounce.xe2x80x9d Ground bounce results in the ground power supply potential rising above the zero volts level, and thus result in an erroneous signal value. The inherent inductance within the package wiring can also add to ground bounce effects.
High resistance paths to power supply voltages can also result in higher power consumption rates when nodes within a semiconductor device are charged and discharged.
Referring now to FIG. 1, a side cross sectional view of a portion of a prior art integrated circuit is set forth. The portion is designated by the general reference character 100 and illustrates an n-well complementary MOS (CMOS) arrangement. The integrated circuit portion 100 is formed on a relatively highly doped p-type substrate 102. According to well-known techniques, an epitaxial layer of relatively lightly doped p-type silicon 104 is grown over the substrate 102. An n-type well 106 is then formed within the epitaxial layer 104. Isolation structures 108 are formed within the epitaxial layer 104 and n-well 106, and thereby define xe2x80x9cactive areasxe2x80x9d in the surface of the semiconductor device. Circuit devices, such as transistors or the like, can then be formed in the active areas. The isolation structures 108 may be formed from a variety of isolation techniques, including the local oxidation of silicon (LOCOS) or silicon trench isolation (STI). Active areas within the epitaxial layer 104 include relatively highly doped p-type regions 110 and n-type regions 112. Similarly, the n-well 106 active areas also include relatively highly doped n-type regions 114 and p-type regions 116.
In a CMOS device, the p-type epitaxial layer 104 will be biased to a low power supply voltage. This is conventionally accomplished by coupling the epitaxial layer 104 to the low power supply voltage by way of a contact, such as the highly doped p-type region 110. Similarly, in order to maintain the n-well 106 at a reverse biased state with respect to the epitaxial layer 104, the n-well 106 will be biased to a high power supply voltage. Conventionally, this is accomplished by coupling the n-well 106 to a high power supply voltage by way of a contact, such as the highly doped n-type region 114. It is these types of biasing requirements that can result in dense power supply wiring requirements.
As noted above, the power supply wiring requirement can result in larger device sizes, due to the number of power supply contacts required. In addition, the need for low resistance paths to power supplies (to avoid ground bounce and reduce power consumption) and dense wiring constraints, can force multiple wiring layers, adding to the complexity and/or cost of the semiconductor device.
In light of the above drawbacks in existing power supply circuits, it would be desirable to have a power supply circuit arrangement that provides for a more compact and/or less complex semiconductor device.
Another aspect of semiconductor device packaging and operation arises out of the increasingly higher operating speed of such devices. In a conventional packaging arrangement, a bond wire carries the low power supply voltage to a conductive layer on the semiconductor device. Other signals, that vary in potential with respect to the low power supply level, are carried to the device by other bond wires. At lower frequencies (operating speeds) conventional packaging arrangements may provide sufficient performance. However, at higher frequencies transmission line effects can come into play, and it may be desirable to have specialized packaging that addresses such effects. Such xe2x80x9ctransmission linexe2x80x9d wiring approaches often rely on the presence of a xe2x80x9cgroundxe2x80x9d plane, such as a planar conductor coupled to the ground voltage. Unfortunately, conventional packaging arrangements are not conducive to such specialized wiring approaches, and do not provide a ground plane.
It would be desirable to provide an integrated circuit semiconductor device packaging arrangement that is conducive to transmission line-type wiring approaches.
Yet another aspect of semiconductor integrated circuits is that of signal routing. In more complex semiconductor devices, complex conductive layer wiring is often required. Such wiring is necessary, not only to ensure that circuit portions are properly connected, but that such connections have sufficiently low resistance and capacitance. Such wiring requirements often give rise to semiconductor devices with two or more metallization layers. Such additional conductive layers can add to the complexity and expense of the manufacturing process. In addition, such additional conductive layers can introduce a higher number of failing devices (reduce xe2x80x9cyieldxe2x80x9d).
Any approach to semiconductor devices that can reduce the complexity of the device wiring scheme can greatly benefit the device, as it can reduce the complexity of the device, and thereby provide greater leeway in placing and routing circuits. In addition, improvements in wiring approaches that eliminate a conductive layer can increase the yield in the device, as there is one less layer that can introduce defects.
According to the disclosed embodiments, a semiconductor device is formed on a highly doped substrate. The highly doped substrate serves to route a power supply voltage to the semiconductor device, thereby reducing the power supply routing requirements of conductive layers on the top of the semiconductor device.
According to one aspect of the disclosed embodiments, the highly doped substrate can be connected to the power supply voltage by a conductive die attach material.
According to another aspect of the disclosed embodiments, the semiconductor device includes a peripheral conductive layer that is coupled to the highly doped substrate. The peripheral conductive layer is also coupled to a power supply voltage by a number of bond wires.
An advantage of the disclosed embodiments is that it provides a semiconductor device that is more conducive to packages that include transmission line-type connections to the die.

Semiconductor device having power supply voltage routed through substrate


An acceleration sensor essentially consists of a cantilevered laterally bending beam arranged in a housing. Because of its mass inertia the bending beam is deflectable relative to the sensor housing in the plane of the acceleration to be measured. The bending beam has the design of a thin resilient strip which is wide relative to its thickness and is made of amorphous metal. The bending beam may have a one-layer or a multi-layer structure. In case of a multi-layer structure, the friction between the individual strips, causes the vibration to be damped. A small air gap between the walls of a closed housing and the bending beam additionally brings about an air damping of the bending beam's vibrations.

This invention relates to an acceleration sensor with a cantilevered bending beam, mounted in a housing, with the free end of the bending beam carrying a permanent magnet which functions both as inertial mass and as a signal generator. The beam is deflectable relative to the sensor housing in the plane of the acceleration to be measured. A measuring system for determining the beam deflection in response to an acceleration of the housing includes the permanent magnet(s) as well as one or more magnetic-field-sensitive position sensors (so-called elementary sensors) mounted in the housing, to produce a signal representative of the position or change in position of the permanent magnets.
An acceleration sensor of this general type is described in German Patent Specification (DE) No. 28 29 425 C2. In a closed housing, a seismic mass is mounted on a cantilevered leaf spring unilaterally clamped in the housing. The seismic mass is fixed on the free end of the leaf spring and consists of a moving iron part which, upon deflection, disturbs the magnetic field of a permanent magnet fixed to the housing on the level of the free end. Upon deflection of the mass, an electrical signal is generated by means of two magnetic-field-sensitive ohmic resistors, in particular magnetoresistors, arranged symmetrically to the rest position of the seismic mass and perpendicularly to the field lines of the magnetic field in the air gap between the permanent magnet or the permanent magnet's pole shoes and the seismic mass as well as perpendicularly to the direction of motion of the seismic mass. It is also possible to use a permanent magnet as the seismic mass instead of the moving iron part, in which case the iron parts are fixed to the housing.
A considerable manufacturing effort is required in order to gain a usable measured signal by means of such a device even in case of small accelerations. The forces required to deflect the leaf spring are relatively high which requires the use of a relatively large seismic mass. The selectivity of the deflection in the measuring direction leaves much to be desired. Therefore, such a sensor is not suitable for mass production such as for control engineering applications in automotive vehicles where generally a plurality of like sensors is needed and where the manufacturing price plays a decisive part.
German Patent Specification (DE) No. 31 33 056 C2 also discloses a bending beam sensor. Within a closed housing, there is arranged a bending beam in the form of a unilaterally clamped elastic arm of epoxy resin, vinyl chloride or beryllium copper fixed at one end to the housing. The free end of the elastic arm carries a weight. In the lower part, i.e., near the point where it is fastened to the housing, the elastic arm is surrounded by a coil. In that part of the arm lying within the coil, the arm carries a flat body of an amorphous low-retentivity metal. When the elastic arm is deflected by an acceleration or is caused to vibrate, the deformation will lead to a tensile or compressive load in the low-retentivity body, the load causing a corresponding electric signal at the coil. The signals are electronically transformed into acceleration or deceleration values. The expenditure for such sensors is also very high, particularly if there are demands for a high-degree of measuring accuracy and measuring sensitivity.
Further, a vehicular deceleration measuring device known from Published Patent Application (Offenlegungsschrift) (DE) No. 30 16 001 A1 has a unilaterally clamped leaf spring on the free end of which an inertial mass is mounted with a rod magnet being mounted on the inertial mass. The change of position of the rod magnet is determined by means of a Hall element. A second permanent magnet fastened to the housing is provided in order to tap a voltage at the Hall sensor when the bending beam is deflected, the voltage rising linearly with the deceleration.

Acceleration sensor with cantilevered bending beam


Lighting apparatus includes a casing (401) moulded from an electrically insulating and thermally conductive plastics material. It also includes a plurality of light emitting diode devices (501) configured to emit light in response to receiving electrical power. A plurality of metallic assemblies (601) are provided, in which each one provides electrical power to a respective one of the light emitting diodes. In addition, these assemblies conduct heat away from their respective light emitting diode to the casing. They are directly supported by the casing and allow each light emitting diode to be individually replaced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to lighting apparatus for illuminating accessible areas making use of a plurality of light emitting diode devices configured to emit light in response to receiving electrical power.
2. Description of the Related Art
Systems for lighting large areas that deploy light emitting diodes are known. These devices are known to be more efficient in terms of the amount of light emitted compared to the electrical energy consumed. However, given that such devices must be supported within a housing, they still generate a degree of heat energy which must be dissipated to atmosphere. Known apparatus include mountings fabricated from aluminium thereby providing a suitable heat sink. However, the production of such devices is expensive and requires the use of expensive materials. Furthermore, known fabrications do not facilitate the removal of individual LED devices.

Lighting apparatus for illuminating accessible areas


Atomized water is produced by an atomizer mounted on a drilling device and introduced through a mist flow passage formed in a hollow drill. By applying the atomized water flowing from the atomizer to a cutting bit at the leading end of the drill through the mist flow passage, the cutting bit heated and reaching a high temperature in drilling is cooled. Thus, a rigid material of concrete or the like can be efficiently drilled without being stained with wetting.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a drilling device for boring holes in a rigid material of a stone, concrete or the like while applying atomized water to the cutting bit of a drill, and more particularly to a mist-spouting type drilling device capable of cooling the cutting bit by spouting atomized water through a mist passage in the drill shank so as to efficiently bore a hole in the rigid material.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When boring a hole in a rigid material such as a stone and concrete by use of a drill with a cutting bit made from ultra-hard abrasive grains including diamond grains or the like, the cutting bit is heated and reaches as high as about 300.degree. C. to 600.degree. C. due to the heat of rolling friction caused between itself and the rigid material. The frictional heat generated in drilling increases remarkably the wear rate of the cutting bit thereby to shorten the life of the drill.
In order to prevent the cutting bit of the drill from reaching a high temperature in drilling, there have conventionally been employed various methods for cooling the cutting bit by use of a spout of water or air. In these methods, a hollow drill having an axial fluid passage is used and a cooling fluid such as water and air is spouted from the leading end of the drill through the axial fluid passage, thereby cooling effectively the cutting bit of the drill.
In the conventional drilling devices, a water-cooling method using water as coolant has an effect of sufficiently cooling the cutting drill. However, it entails a disadvantage in that the material to be bored and the circumferences thereof are considerably stained with the water spouted from the drill. If a hood cover encircling the drill is used for recovering the water spouted from the leading end of the drill, it adds to the size and complexity of the drilling device and renders the handling of the device difficult.
An air-cooling method of the drilling device, in which air is spouted from the leading end of the drill, cannot be expected to sufficiently cool the cutting bit. Furthermore, according to this method cutting chips produced in drilling are carried about in the air. Thus, an attempt has been made to prevent the cutting chips from being scattered in the air by use of an encircling cover for collecting cutting chips. It nevertheless suffers from operational inefficiency.
There has been a need for a drilling device having the distinctive features of the conventional drilling devices of the water-cooling type and air-cooling type which have opposite effects to other--namely, a drilling device having an effect of efficiently cooling the cutting bit and being easy to handle.


The present invention provides antibodies and antigen-binding fragments of antibodies that bind to leptin receptor (LEPR), and methods of using the same. According to certain embodiments, the invention includes antibodies and antigen-binding fragments of antibodies that bind LEPR and antagonize LEPR signaling. In certain embodiments, the invention includes antibodies and antigen-binding fragments of antibodies that bind LEPR in the presence or absence of leptin. In other embodiments, the invention includes antibodies and antigen-binding fragments of antibodies that exhibit partial agonism of LEPR signaling. The antibodies and antigen-binding fragments of the present invention are useful for the treatment of various conditions, including but not limited to congestive heart failure cachexia, pulmonary cachexia and cancer cachexia, autoimmune disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease, lupus erythematosus, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, cardiovascular diseases, elevated blood pressure, neurodegenerative disorders, depression, cancer such as hepatocellular carcinoma, melanoma, breast cancer, and other diseases and disorders associated with or caused by elevated leptin signaling.

Leptin is a polypeptide hormone predominantly expressed by adipose tissue and is involved in the regulation of metabolism, energy balance and food intake. Leptin activity is mediated by interaction with, and signaling through, the leptin receptor. Leptin receptor, (also known as "LEPR," "WSX," "OB receptor," "OB-R," and "CD295") is a single-pass transmembrane receptor of the class I cytokine receptor family with a large (818 amino acid) extracellular domain. Elevated expression of leptin, the Ob-R leptin receptor or both can contribute to multiple disorders including, but not limited to, anorexia or other psychiatric eating disorders, chronic kidney disease cachexia, other cachexias such as congestive heart failure cachexia, pulmonary cachexia, radiation cachexia, and cancer cachexia, autoimmune disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease, lupus erythematosus, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, cardiovascular diseases, elevated blood pressure, depression, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, neurodegenerative disorders, depression, cancer such as hepatocellular carcinoma, melanoma and breast cancer.
Proposed therapeutic approaches for addressing high leptin signaling include use of leptin receptor peptide antagonists and antagonist mutants such as soluble leptin receptor variants, competitive LEPR antagonists such as antibody 9F8 (Fazeli et al. (2006) J Immunological Methods 312, 190-200) or nanobodies targeting leptin receptor (McMurphy et al., PLOS One (2014) 9(2):e89895), fibronectin III domains, orexigenic substances (e.g., ghrelin and NPY), blockade of leptin's downstream mediators (e.g., melanocortin receptor 4) and/or lifestyle changes. Such approaches, however, have generally shown limited efficacy. Thus, a need exists in the art for alternative approaches to treating leptin resistance and other conditions associated with elevated serum leptin levels, and/or excessive LEPR signaling.

Antigen-binding proteins that antagonize leptin receptor


The present invention relates to a method in connection with smelt removal form a recovery boiler, whereby the smelt is removed from the boiler via a smelt spout surrounded outside the boiler by a hood and a dispersion medium, preferably steam, is fed into the smelt flow falling from the smelt spout for shattering the smelt flow. An essential characteristic is that at least one wall of the hood is washed with liquid so that the liquid first flows downwards on the outer surface of the hood wall and is led into the interior of the hood via at least one trough-like member arranged on the outer surface of the wall and openings in the wall so that the liquid further flows downwards on the inner surface of the wall. The invention also relates to an arrangement for washing the hood and the feeding device for the dispersion medium.

The present invention relates to a method and an arrangement in connection with smelt removal from a recovery boiler, whereby the smelt is removed from the boiler via a smelt spout surrounded outside the boiler by a hood, and a dispersion medium, preferably steam, is sprayed via a nozzle into the smelt flow falling from the smelt spout for shattering the smelt flow. Specifically, the invention relates to a washing arrangement for washing the hood and the feed device for the dispersion medium.
An essential apparatus in the recovery cycles of sulfate and other Na-based pulping processes is the recovery boiler for waste liquor containing cooking chemicals, such as a soda recovery boiler, wherein the chemicals are processed into a form suitable for recovery purposes. In a sulfate process, the most important chemicals are sodium and sulfur. Organic substances dissolved during the digestion in the waste liquor are combusted in the furnace of the boiler generating heat, which is utilized on one hand for converting inorganic compounds of the waste liquor back into chemicals to be used in cooking and on the other hand for generating steam. The inorganic substance in the waste liquor melts in the high temperature of the furnace and flows as smelt onto the bottom of the furnace.
From the bottom of the boiler the chemical smelt is led via cooled smelt spouts into a tank, where it is dissolved in water or weak white liquor for forming soda lye, i.e. green liquor. In the sulfate process, the main components of smelt and thus green liquor are sodium sulfide and sodium carbonate. The green liquor is then led to a causticizing plant, where white liquor is produced therefrom.
The hot smelt flow causes crashes or explosions when falling into a dissolver tank. The noise is due to explosion reactions between the smelt and water as the smelt gets into contact with the green liquor in the dissolver tank. The temperature of the smelt is in the order of 750-820° C., and the temperature of the green liquor (or weak white liquor), containing mainly water, in the dissolver tank is in the order of 70-100° C.
The intensity of the explosion reactions taking place in the dissolving tank may be regulated by shattering the smelt flow exiting the smelt spout into small parts before it gets into contact with the green liquor in the dissolving tank.
Smelt shattering is most often done by directing a steam jet and/or green liquor jet against the smelt flow exiting the smelt spout. Also a jet formed of mist generated from air and water has been suggested. The most common smelt shattering method practiced in Finland is the use of low or medium pressure steam.
The part of the smelt spout extending outside the furnace wall is usually surrounded by a closed hood, i.e. protective housing, which prevents liquid and smelt splashes and vent vapors from entering the surroundings. The bottom part of the hood is in connection with a smelt dissolving tank located underneath the smelt spout, which tank receives the smelt from the spout and in which tank the smelt is dissolved in liquid forming green liquor. The nozzles spraying the medium dispersing the smelt flow are typically installed in the hood and directed towards the smelt flow falling from the spout. Smelt splashes may enter and stick in the hood and on the walls of the dissolving tank. Smelt cakes thus formed cause explosions when falling in the dissolving tank. Thus, the hood is subject to hot and corroding conditions caused by the smelt. Therefore, the interior of the hood has been washed, typically with weak liquor. The circumference of the hood may be provided with wash distributor pipe for washing off splash smelt from the walls of the hood and for preventing smelt deposits.
Splash smelt can also enter a nozzle spraying a smelt flow dispersing medium, such as steam, and thus shorten the operating life of the nozzle.

Method and arrangement in connection with a chemical recovery boiler


An electrode comprising an electrically conducting diamond plate wherein the diamond plate comprises at least one elongate aperture and having an aperture edge length per unit working area of the diamond plate of greater than about 4 mm/mm2, electrolysis cells comprising such electrodes, methods of treating water using such electrolysis cells and a method of production of ozone are disclosed.

Ozone has a very strong oxidising power. It is used in a number of fields including sterilisation, decolourisation and deodorisation. Electrolysis of water, preferably pure water, produces ozone through the following anode reaction:3H2O→O3+6H++6e−
The ozone produced may be dissolved in water, so called ozone-water. Ozone-water has been used in sterilisation in fields such as food processing, sanitary facilities and medical services. Ozone sterilises by oxidation, which inhibits both organic and inorganic matter.
The use of ozone-water as a sterilising agent has a number of benefits including the release of non-toxic by-products, oxygen and water. In contrast, ethylene oxide, a common sterilisation agent for medical device sterilisation, is very toxic. Consequently, sterilisation with ethylene oxide requires a long aeration time.
It is conventional to use a PbO2 anode for ozone generation. This anode material is subject to erosion under the application of very large current densities. In addition, it is undesirable to treat drinking and washing water with an electrode comprising lead. Diamond electrodes, in particular boron-doped diamond electrodes, are useful for electrochemical applications owing to a number of properties, which are significantly different to the properties of other electrode materials such as glassy carbon or platinum. These properties include the high hardness, high thermal conductivity and chemical inertness associated with diamond and the wide electrochemical potential window of conductive diamond.


An apparatus and method are provided for a shape adaptive airfoil configured to be coupled with a tip of an airplane wing. In one embodiment, the shape adaptive airfoil is a blended winglet comprised of a base section coupled with the airplane wing, a blade section projecting in a vertical direction above the base section, and a radius section interconnecting the base and blade sections. Adaptive control structures may be incorporated into leading and trailing edges of the base section and the blade section. The adaptive control structures of the base section may facilitate changing a camber profile of the shape adaptive airfoil. The adaptive control structures of the blade section may enable changes to a toe angle of the blade section.

Current aircraft designs utilize a variety of airfoils on wings, horizontal stabilizers, canards, rotor blades, vertical stabilizers, and a variety of other structures consisting primarily of relatively fixed airfoil surfaces. Flying surfaces generally must be optimized for specific applications such as low-speed handling or improved high-speed aerodynamics. Aircraft configured to operate in several performance environments must often adopt airfoil surfaces that provide suitable characteristics in multiple environments. Such a compromise, however, typically diminishes the overall performance of the aircraft, as well as diminishing performance in specific flight conditions.
Conventional configurations often limit modification of the flying surfaces to that which may be achieved by way of mechanical moving surfaces. Mechanical actuators and linkage systems are utilized to effectuate changes in the airfoil surfaces to allow for enhanced low-speed flight and limited autopilot maneuvering. Military aircraft have utilized mechanically swept wings for improved aerodynamics during high speed flight. Although movable airfoil components may have a substantial effect on the aerodynamic flight characteristics of the airfoil, the shapes of the airfoil components generally are fixed. As such, further optimizing airfoils for performance over a larger range of the flight envelope typically requires incorporating additional airfoil components as well as all those certain components necessary to move the additional airfoil components. Including additional moveable airfoil components tends to be unappealing, however, due limited space and weight requirements associated with most aircraft.
Shape adaptive airfoils are an improved approach whereby the configuration of the airfoil may be optimized throughout the flight envelope of the aircraft. Modifying the shape of the airfoil enables the configuration of the airfoil to be optimized over most of the flight conditions of the aircraft. An optimized airfoil may provide better lift characteristics at lower speeds to allow greater take-off weight while providing lower drag at high speed to achieve a greater flight range. Thus, a modifiable airfoil capable of being optimized throughout the flight envelope is believed to provide improvements to aircraft performance.
While the present disclosure is subject to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. The invention should be understood to not be limited to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.


In a droplet ejector and an ink-jet printhead using the same, the droplet ejector includes a fluid path through which a fluid moves, a nozzle being formed on one end of the fluid path, a volumetric structure formed in the fluid path, the volumetric structure being sensitive to an external stimulus and being capable of varying in size to eject a droplet of the fluid through the nozzle, and a stimulus generator, which applies a stimulus to the volumetric structure to vary a size of the volumetric structure.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a droplet ejector and an ink-jet printhead using the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to a droplet ejector that ejects ink droplets by expanding and contracting a volumetric structure sensitive to an external stimulus, and an ink-jet printhead using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Typically, ink-jet printheads are devices for printing a predetermined image, color or black, by ejecting a small volume droplet of printing ink at a desired position on a recording sheet. Ink-jet printheads are largely categorized into two types depending on which ink droplet ejection mechanism is used. A first type is a thermally driven ink-jet printhead in which a heat source is employed to form and expand bubbles in ink causing ink droplets to be ejected. A second type is a piezoelectrically driven ink-jet printhead in which a piezoelectric material deforms to exert pressure on ink causing ink droplets to be ejected.
Hereinafter, the ink ejection mechanism in the thermally driven ink-jet printhead will be described in greater detail. When a pulse current flows through a heater formed of a resistance heating material, the heater generates heat and ink adjacent to the heater is instantaneously heated to about 300° C., thereby boiling the ink. The boiling of the ink causes bubbles to be generated, expand, and apply pressure to an interior of an ink chamber filled with ink. As a result, ink near a nozzle is ejected from the ink chamber in droplet form through the nozzle.
The thermal driving method includes a top-shooting method, a side-shooting method, and a back-shooting method depending on a growth direction of bubbles and an ejection direction of ink droplets.
The top-shooting method is a method in which the growth direction of bubbles is the same as the ejection direction of ink droplets. The side-shooting method is a method in which the growth direction of bubbles is perpendicular to the ejection direction of ink droplets. The back-shooting method is a method in which the growth direction of bubbles is opposite to the ejection direction of ink droplets.
FIG. 1 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a structure of a conventional thermally driven ink-jet printhead. Referring to FIG. 1, the thermally driven ink-jet printhead includes a base plate 30 formed by a plurality of material layers stacked on a substrate, a barrier layer 40 that is formed on the base plate 30 and defines an ink chamber 42, and a nozzle plate 50 stacked on the barrier layer 40. Ink fills the ink chamber 42, and a heater 33 that heats ink to generate bubbles in ink is installed under the ink chamber 42. Although FIG. 1 illustrates a single exemplary nozzle 52, a plurality of nozzles 52 through which ink is ejected may be formed in a position corresponding to each of a plurality of ink chambers 42.
The vertical structure of the ink-jet printhead described above will now be described in greater detail.
An insulating layer 32 formed of silicon is formed on a substrate 31 for providing insulation between a heater 33 and the substrate 31. The insulating layer 32 is formed by depositing a silicon oxide layer on the substrate 31. The heater 33, which heats ink in the ink chamber 42 to generate bubbles in ink, is formed on the insulating layer 32. The heater 33 is formed by depositing tantalum nitride (TaN) or thin-film tantalum-aluminum (TaAl) on the insulating layer 32 in a thin film shape. A conductor 34 for applying a current to the heater 33 is formed on the heater 33. The conductor 34 is made of a metallic material having good conductivity, such as aluminum (Al) or an aluminum (Al) alloy. Specifically, the conductor 34 is formed by depositing aluminum (Al) on the heater 33 to a predetermined thickness and patterning a deposited resultant in a predetermined shape.
A passivation layer 35 for passivating the heater 33 and the conductor 34 is formed on the heater 33 and the conductor 34. The passivation layer 35 prevents the heater 33 and the conductor 34 from oxidizing or directly contacting ink, and is formed by depositing silicon nitride. In addition, an anti-cavitation layer 36, on which the ink chamber 42 is to be formed, is formed on the passivation layer 35. A top surface of the anti-cavitation layer 36 forms a bottom surface of the ink chamber 42 and prevents damage to the heater 33 due to a high pressure caused by bubble collapse in the ink chamber 42. A tantalum thin film is used as the anti-cavitation layer 36.
In this configuration, a barrier layer 40 defining the ink chamber 42 is stacked on the base plate 30 formed of the plurality of material layers stacked on the substrate 31. The barrier layer 40 is formed by coating a photosensitive polymer on the base plate 30 through lamination and patterning a coated resultant. In this case, the thickness of the photosensitive polymer is determined by the height of the ink chamber 42 corresponding to the volume of ink droplets.
A nozzle plate 50, in which the nozzle 52 is formed, is stacked on the barrier layer 40. The nozzle plate 50 is formed of polyimide or nickel (Ni) and is attached to the barrier layer 40 using an adhering property of a photosensitive polymer.
In the thermally driven ink-jet printhead, however, a heater is heated at a high temperature to generate bubbles in ink, such that energy efficiency is low and a remaining energy should be dissipated.
FIG. 2 illustrates a general structure of a piezoelectrically driven ink-jet printhead. Referring to FIG. 2, a reservoir 2, a restrictor 3, a pressure chamber 4, and a nozzle 5, which collectively form an ink passage, are formed in a passage formation plate 1. A piezoelectric actuator 6 is formed on the passage formation plate 1. In operation, the reservoir 2 stores ink flowing from an ink container (not shown), and the restrictor 3 is a path through which ink flows from the reservoir 2 to the pressure chamber 4. The pressure chamber 4 is filled with ink to be ejected, and the volume of the pressure chamber 4 is varied by driving the piezoelectric actuator 6, which causes a variation in pressure for ejection or flow of ink.
The passage formation plate 1 is formed by cutting a plurality of thin plates formed of ceramic, metal, or synthetic resin, forming part of the ink passage, and depositing the plurality of thin plates. The piezoelectric actuator 6 is formed above the pressure chamber 4 and has a structure in which a piezoelectric thin plate and an electrode for applying a voltage to the piezoelectric thin plate are stacked. In this configuration, a portion of the passage formation plate 1 that forms upper walls of the pressure chamber 4 serves as a vibration plate 1a deformed by the piezoelectric actuator 6.
The operation of the piezoelectrically driven ink-jet printhead having the above structure will now be described.
When the vibration plate 1a is deformed by driving the piezoelectric actuator 6, the volume of the pressure chamber 4 is reduced. Subsequently, due to a variation in pressure in the pressure chamber 4 caused by a reduction in the volume of the pressure chamber 4, ink in the pressure chamber 4 is ejected through the nozzle 5. Subsequently, when the vibration plate 1a is restored to an original shape by driving the piezoelectric actuator 6, the volume of the pressure chamber 4 is increased. Due to a variation in pressure caused by an increase in the volume of the pressure chamber 4, ink stored in the reservoir 2 flows into the pressure chamber 4 through the restrictor 3.
FIG. 3 illustrates a structure of a conventional piezoelectrically driven ink-jet printhead. FIG. 4 illustrates a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 3.
Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the piezoelectrically driven ink-jet printhead is formed by stacking a plurality of thin plates and adhering them to one another. More specifically, a first plate 11, in which a nozzle 11a through which ink is ejected is formed, is disposed in a lowermost portion of a printhead, a second plate 12, in which a reservoir 12a and an ink outlet 12b are formed, is stacked on the first plate 11, and a third plate 13, in which an ink inlet 13a and an ink outlet 13b are formed, is stacked on the second plate 12. A fourth plate 14, in which an ink inlet 14a and an ink outlet 14b are formed, is stacked on the third plate 13, and a fifth plate 15, in which a pressure chamber 15a in communication with the ink inlet 14a and the ink outlet 14b is formed, is stacked on the fourth plate 14. The ink inlets 13a and 14a serve as a path through which ink flows from the reservoir 12a to the pressure chamber 15a. The ink outlets 12b, 13b, and 14b serve as a path through which ink is expelled from the pressure chamber 15a toward the nozzle 11a. A sixth plate 16, which closes an upper portion of the pressure chamber 15a, is stacked on the fifth plate 15. A driving electrode 20, which is a piezoelectric actuator, and a piezoelectric thin film 21 are formed on the sixth plate 16. Thus, the sixth plate 16 serves as a vibration plate that vibrates by the piezoelectric actuator, and the volume of the pressure chamber 15a formed under the sixth plate 16 is varied by deformation of the vibration plate.
In general, the first, second, and third plates 11, 12, and 13 are molded by etching or press-finishing a metallic thin plate, and the fourth, fifth, and sixth plates 14, 15, and 16 are molded by cutting thin-plate-shaped ceramic. In the piezoelectrically driven ink-jet printhead having the above structure, however, in order to obtain an effective displacement of a piezoelectric thin film for ejection of ink droplets, a size of a structure becomes larger. As such, the number of nozzles per unit area is limited. In addition, in order to manufacture the piezoelectrically driven ink-jet printhead, a variety of plates are separately processed using a variety of processing methods, and then, the plates are stacked and adhered to one another. Thus, the plates should be precisely disposed and adhered.
FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate a structure of another conventional ink-jet printhead.
Referring to FIGS. 5A and 5B, a nozzle 65a is formed on an end of a channel 65 filled with ink 60, and a polymer element 70 is formed around the nozzle 65a. The polymer element 70 may be in a hydrophilic or hydrophobic state according to a temperature value. In this configuration, a heating element 75 for providing temperature control is formed under the polymer element 70.
In the above structure, FIG. 5A illustrates an ink-jet printhead when the polymer element 70 is in a hydrophilic state. In this state, ink 60 contacts the polymer element 70 and stays in contact with the polymer element 70. However, if the heating element 75 increases the temperature of the polymer element 70 to more than a threshold temperature, as shown in FIG. 5B, the polymer element 70 is changed into a hydrophobic state. The threshold temperature is a phase transition temperature of a polymer. When the polymer element 70 is changed into the hydrophobic state, ink 60 is repelled from the polymer element 70. In this state, a predetermined pressure is applied to an ink supply unit 90. Thus, ink 60 is not returned to the ink supply unit 90 and is ejected in droplets through a nozzle 65a onto a sheet of paper 80.
Accordingly, this ink-jet printhead ejects ink droplets using a method of changing a polymer element in a hydrophobic or hydrophilic state depending on a temperature value.
However, unlike the above-described method, the present invention uses a method of ejecting ink droplets by expanding and contracting a volumetric structure sensitive to an external stimulus.

Droplet ejector and ink-jet printhead using the same


The present invention relates to compositions comprising Cannabidiol (CBD) or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, and bacitracin or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof and/or daptomycin or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof. The compositions show a synergistic effect in the inhibition of growth of Gram-positive bacteria. Thus, the compositions according to the invention may e.g. find use as medicaments in the treatment of Gram-positive bacterial infections.

Since the discovery of penicillin in 1928 by Sir Alexander Fleming, antibiotics have saved millions of lives worldwide. The causes of antibiotic resistance development have been known for a while, but the intent to solve the problem seems to be inadequate. Increasing demands for new antibacterial drugs have not been met due to growing numbers of multi drug resistant (MDR) bacteria. As development of new antimicrobial drugs is decreasing, we must turn to drugs which are already here.
This is where helper compounds come to use. Helper compounds are non-antibiotic compounds functioning as adjuvants for antibiotics to operate in synergy. Drugs found to contain helper compound properties were normally used for treatment of non-infectious diseases but might contain some degree of antibacterial activity itself. Since overuse of antibiotics is the main cause of antibiotic resistance, combining antibiotics with helper compounds would require less amount of antibiotic needed to achieve the same growth inhibition than seen when using higher concentration of the antibiotic alone and therefore decrease the likelihood of resistance development. Therefore, new helper compounds need to be found.
Cannabinoids may be categorized as either endogenous cannabinoids, which are cannabinoids produced by the human body, or exogenous cannabinoids which are produced either by plants such as Cannabis sativa or synthetically. Cannabinoids act on the endocannabinoid system of the human body consisting of two G-protein coupled receptors (GPCR). These are named cannabinoid type 1 and 2 (CB1 and CB2) receptors, and depending on the specific cannabinoid, the binding results in either an agonistic or antagonistic effect. Besides endocannabinoids being ligands for the endocannabinoid receptors, exogenous cannabinoids are also able to bind. One of the best characterized exogenous ligands is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). It is a partial agonist for both CB1 and CB2 receptor mediating effects such as analgesia, muscle relaxation, and antiemetic effects, but also results in negative effects such as anxiety, psychosis, and sedation. Another exogenous cannabinoid is cannabidiol (CBD), which has been observed to decrease the adverse negative effects of THC. CBD is an antagonist of both CB1 and CB2 receptor leading to the anti-sedative, antipsychotic, and anxiolytic effects. Furthermore, it has been observed to inhibit growth of bacteria (Appendino G et al. Antibacterial cannabinoids from Cannabis sativa: A structure-activity study. Journal of Natural Products. 2008; 71(8):1427-30). However, the use of cannabidiol as an antibiotic adjuvant has not been studied so far.
Hence, improved or new helper compounds would be advantageous, and in particular more efficient and/or reliable new helper compounds would be advantageous.

Bacitracin and/or daptomycin combined with cannabidiol for treatment of bacterial infections


The disclosure discloses a method for forming a doped epitaxial layer of contact image sensor. Epitaxial growth is performed in times. After each time of epitaxial growth, trench isolation and ion implantation are performed to form deep and shallow trench isolation running through a large-thickness doped epitaxial layer. Through cyclic operation of epitaxial growth, trench isolation and ion implantation, the photoresist and hard mask required at each time do not need to be too thick. In the process of trench isolation and ion implantation, the photoresist and etching morphologies are good, such that the lag problem of the prepared contact image sensor is improved. By forming the large-thickness doped epitaxial layer by adopting the method for forming the doped epitaxial layer of the contact image sensor, a high-performance contact image sensor applicable to high quantum efficiency, small pixel size and near infrared/infrared can be prepared.

With the development of contact image sensor (CIS) towards near infrared/infrared (NIR/IR), quantum efficiency has become a key factor restricting the continuous improvement of the performance of the contact image sensor (CIS). At present, the common method is to thicken the epitaxy (Epi) of the raw material of the contact image sensor (CIS), increase the relative implantation depth of the contact image sensor (CIS), and deepen the isolation. However, implantation and etching deepening cause the required photoresist to become thick, such that the photolithography and dry etching morphologies are poor, which influences the implantation efficiency and the distribution of implanted ions in a silicon wafer, leading to the lag problem and restricting the improvement of quantum efficiency.
Referring to FIG. 1, an existing method for forming a doped epitaxial layer of an image sensor with high quantum efficiency (high QE) and applicable to near infrared/infrared (NIR/IR) includes the following steps:
In step 1, an epitaxial layer in one time is grown.
In step 2, deep trench isolation is formed. The isolation runs through the epitaxial layer of a silicon wafer, and thick photoresist or a thick hard mask is adopted for etching.
In step 3, ion implantation (IMP) is performed to the epitaxial layer with thickness required for a photodiode. In order to deepen the photodiode, thick photoresist needs to be used, and for small-line-width implantation, Double Exposure (DE) is respectively performed on the wafer covered by the photoresist, and a double pattern is adopted.
Since the photoresist (PR) and hard mask (HM) are thick, the existing method for forming the doped epitaxial layer of the image sensors often has the problem of poor morphology, leading to the lag problem, and restricting the improvement of quantum efficiency and performance of the image sensor (CIS).
Hard mask is a kind of inorganic thin film material formed through Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD). Its main components usually include TiN, SiN, SiO2, etc.

Method for forming doped epitaxial layer of contact image sensor

Shanghai Huali Microelectronics Corporation


A monitoring device operates on a pressure signal from a blood processing apparatus which has an extracorporeal blood circuit for pumping blood through a dialyzer, and a treatment fluid supply system for pumping a treatment fluid through the dialyzer. The monitoring device has a first input block for obtaining a first pressure signal, and a second input block for obtaining a second pressure signal. An emulation block generates, as a function of the second pressure signal, an emulated first pressure signal which emulates a concurrent signal response of the first pressure sensor, and a filtering block generates a filtered signal as a function of the first pressure signal and the emulated first pressure signal, so as to suppress, in the filtered signal compared to the first pressure signal, signal interferences originating from the treatment fluid supply system. A pulse detection block processes the filtered signal for detection of subject pulses.

In extracorporeal blood processing, blood is taken out of a human or animal subject, processed (e.g. treated) and then reintroduced into the subject by means of an extracorporeal blood flow circuit ("EC blood circuit") which is part of a blood processing apparatus. Generally, the blood is circulated through the EC blood circuit by a blood pump. In certain types of extracorporeal blood processing, the EC blood circuit includes an access device for blood withdrawal (e.g. a so-called arterial needle) and an access device for blood reintroduction (e.g. a so-called venous needle), which are inserted into a dedicated blood vessel access (e.g. fistula or graft) on the subject. Such extracorporeal blood processing includes hemodialysis, hemodiafiltration, hemofiltration, plasmapheresis, etc.
In extracorporeal blood processing, it is vital to minimize the risk for malfunctions in the EC circuit, since these may lead to a potentially life-threatening condition of the subject. Serious conditions may e.g. arise if the EC blood circuit is disrupted downstream of the blood pump, e.g. by a VND event (VND—Venous Needle Dislodgement), in which the venous needle comes loose from the blood vessel access. Such a disruption may cause the subject to be drained of blood within minutes.
VND may be detected during blood processing based on a pressure signal from a pressure sensor ("venous pressure sensor") on the downstream side of the blood pump in the EC circuit. Conventionally, VND monitoring is carried out by comparing one or more measured static pressure levels with one or more threshold values. However, it may be difficult to set appropriate threshold values, since the static pressure in the EC blood circuit may vary between treatments, and also during a treatment, e.g. as a result of the subject moving. Further, if the venous needle comes loose and gets stuck in bed sheets or the subject's clothes, the measured static pressure level might not change enough to indicate the potentially dangerous situation.
WO97/10013 proposes alternative techniques for VND monitoring based on the venous pressure signal. In one alternative, VND monitoring is based on detection of heart pulses in the pressure signal. The heart pulses represent pressure pulses produced by a patient's heart and transmitted from the patient's circulatory system to the venous pressure sensor via the blood vessel access and the venous needle. An absence of heart pulses in the pressure signal is taken as an indication of a possible VND event.
US2005/0010118, WO2009/156174 and US2010/0234786 disclose similar or alternative techniques of VND monitoring based on detection of heart pulses in the venous pressure signal.
WO2010/149726 discloses techniques for VND monitoring based on detection of physiological pulses other than heart pulses in the venous pressure signal. Such physiological pulses originate from the human subject, e.g. from reflexes, voluntary muscle contractions, non-voluntary muscle contractions, the breathing system, the autonomous system for blood pressure regulation or the autonomous system for body temperature regulation.
In order to provide a consistent and reliable VND monitoring based on heart pulses or other physiological pulses, it is important to ensure that the pressure signal is substantially free from pulsations that may interfere with the detection of the physiological pulses. For example, it is known that strong repetitive pulsations from the blood pump ("pump pulses") may be present in the pressure signal at a rate similar to the heart pulsations. In this respect, WO2009/156175 proposes techniques for filtering a pressure signal in the time domain for the purpose of eliminating (or suppressing) the pump pulses while retaining the physiological pulses. These techniques involve estimating the shape of the pump pulses, by obtaining a "predicted signal profile", at the relevant operating condition of the EC blood circuit and by subtracting the predicted signal profile from the pressure signal. In one implementation, a library of predicted signal profiles is recorded from a pressure sensor in the EC blood circuit in a reference measurement before treatment, e.g. during a priming phase or during a simulated treatment, at a plurality of different operating conditions of the EC blood circuit. In another implementation, the library of predicted signal profiles is generated by simulations using a mathematical model of the EC blood circuit. Based on the current operating condition of the EC blood circuit, a predicted signal profile may be selected from the library and used for eliminating the pump pulses. As an alternative to using pre-recorded or pre-calculated signal profiles, WO2009/156175 proposes recording the predicted signal profile during regular operation of the EC blood circuit, specifically by obtaining a pressure signal from a so-called "system pressure sensor" which is located between the blood pump and the dialyzer in the EC blood circuit. If the blood pump is a peristaltic pump, the system pressure sensor may be substantially isolated from the heart pulses, such that its pressure signal contains pump pulses and no heart pulses, or heart pulses that are significantly suppressed. Thus, in this special situation, the predicted signal profile of the pump pulses may be inferred from the pressure signal of the system pressure sensor and used for filtering the pressure signal generated by the venous pressure sensor.
The present Applicant has realized that the venous pressure sensor may also be responsive to pressure variations with an origin outside of the EC blood circuit, specifically from a supply system for dialysis fluid which is connected in fluid communication with the dialyzer. Such a supply system typically includes one or more valves and one or more fluid pumps that may generate pressure variations in the dialysis fluid, and these pressure variations are propagated via the blood processing unit into the EC blood circuit, where they may be detected by the venous pressure sensor. Depending on supply system, the pressure variations may take the form of a continuous, more or less randomly varying pressure level, or they may be manifested as distinct pulses that are generated at regular intervals or more irregularly, or a combination of both. Experiments indicate that the pressure variations from the supply system may seriously interfere with the detection of physiological pulses in the pressure signal from the venous pressure sensor.
The Applicant has found it difficult to apply the teachings of aforesaid WO2009/156175 to eliminate or suppress the pressure variations that originate from the supply system. For example, it is non-trivial to utilize a library of predicted signal profiles if the supply system is operated independently of the EC blood circuit and information about the operational state of the supply system is unavailable or incomplete. Furthermore, the use of predicted signal profiles is likely to result in insufficient removal of pressure variations that are non-repetitive or random, no matter if the predicted signal profiles are generated by reference measurements before the treatment, by reference measurements using a system pressure sensor in the EC blood circuit during the treatment, or by simulations. Furthermore, there are EC blood circuits that have no system pressure sensor.
Recently, it has also been shown to be possible to monitor and analyze the behavior of physiological pressure generators such as the heart or respiratory system, based on pressure recordings in the EC blood circuit. Various applications are found in WO2010/149726, WO2011/080189, WO2011/080190, WO2011/080191 and WO2011/080194.
Furthermore, WO2011/080188 proposes a technique for identifying and signaling a reverse placement of the devices for blood withdrawal and blood reintroduction in the vascular access by detecting and analyzing physiological pulses in a pressure signal recorded in the EC blood circuit.
All of these monitoring techniques presume that the physiological pulses can be reliably detected in the pressure signal.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Detecting pressure pulses in a blood processing apparatus


In Universal Network, there is disclosed a method and system for realizing location management of multihomed terminals, the system comprises home domains and foreign domains, in which the home domains of a multihomed terminal refer to the domains managing the multihomed terminal; the other domains are the foreign domains of the multihomed terminal; each domain includes at least one Identifier Mapping Server and one Accessing-Switching Router; the Identifier Mapping Server memorizes and manages the mapping information; and the Accessing-Switching Router allocates the mapping information for multihomed terminals. This invention facilitates the implement of multihoming in the Internet and makes the network resources be used efficiently. Especially, the Internet service providers can manage the multihomed terminals easily and efficiently.

In the current Internet, the typical protocol supporting multihoming is the Level 3 Multihoming Shim Protocol for IPv6 (Shim6) at
http://www.ietf.org/html.charters/shim6-charter html. It is developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).
In Shim6, a shim layer providing a stable Upper Layer Identifier (ULID) for the upper protocol is added to the IP layer of the protocol stack in the terminal. When different IP addresses are selected to fulfill multihoming demand in the IP layer, the stability of the upper protocols is guaranteed by the uniform ULID.
However, since the Shim6 is a terminal based multihoming solution, it has several drawbacks: 1) the protocol stack of a terminal must be modified to fulfill multihoming requirements. Because the amount and categories of the multihomed terminals are very large, it will cost too much time to modify the protocol stacks of all terminals. 2) All terminals have to cooperate with each other to support multihoming, which will waste the link resources. In particular, the messages transmitting among the terminals will make the limited radio link resources more scarcely when the wireless links are used to connect the terminal with the network. 3) The terminal based multihoming scheme also brings negative impacts on the ISPs so that the behaviors of the terminal cannot be controlled and managed. Thus, for those ISPs, the difficulty to maintain the network and the cost to operate the network are all increased.

Method and system for realizing location management of multihomed terminals in universal network


A method of making a multilayer printed circuit board providing sufficient internal distributed capacitance so as to eliminate the need for the by-pass capacitor conventionally provided in the vicinity of each integrated circuit mounted to the board. The method includes providing one or more fully-cured power-ground plane sandwich components which are laminated together with other partially cured component layers of the board. Each sandwich component comprises a conductive power plane layer and a conductive ground plane layer having a fully cured dielectric material therebetween. The thickness of the dielectric layer of each sandwich is chosen sufficiently thin to provide the desired distributed capacitance.

The present invention relates to improved means and methods for providing multilayer printed circuit boards, such as are commonly employed in digital computers.
Multilayer printed circuit boards are widely used in computer systems for providing interconnections between integrated circuit (IC) chips and other components. As is well known, a multilayer printed circuit board typically comprises a board having a plurality of insulated conductive trace layers, including outer and inner conductive trace layers and power and ground planes. Components such as integrated circuits (ICs) are typically mounted on the outer board surfaces and electrically connected to trace layers formed on one or both of the outer surfaces. Interconnections between inner and outer trace layers and to power and ground planes are typically provided using plated-through holes or "vias." Some examples of prior art multilayer printed circuit boards are described and shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,328,531 and 4,560,962.
One of the problems associated with the use of multilayer printed circuit boards is that, during operation, the switching of ICs can cause high speed fluctuations in the voltage level between the power and ground planes. As a result, it is typical to provide a by-pass capacitor in the general vicinity of each IC connected between the power and ground planes in order to provide voltage stabilization. Besides the undesirability of having to provide such a by-pass capacitor in the general vicinity of each IC, this by-pass capacitor introduces its own problems, particularly at high frequencies. One reason is that, whether the capacitor is of the surface-mounted or through-hole type, its structure, and the necessary connection to power and ground planes through "vias" introduces a small amount of inductance which impedes the effectiveness of its by-passing action at high frequency thereby detracting from the voltage stabilization which can be provided between the power and ground planes at high frequencies. Furthermore, such high frequency noise is a primary source of radiated energy which increases the difficulty of meeting EMI requirements. Still further, these by-pass capacitors can typically constitute 40% to 50% of the parts installed on many boards, which can have a significant impact on scheduling, purchasing, stocking, inspection, assembly, testing, and production yields.

Method of making multilayer printed circuit board


The variable displacement gear pump for a loading system in an industrial vehicle has main and sub gear pump portions, suction, discharge and bypass passages, and check and opening valves. The main gear pump portion has main drive and driven gears, and has suction and discharge side spaces. The sub gear pump portion has sub drive and driven gears, and has suction and discharge side spaces. The bypass passage returns hydraulic fluid in the discharge-side space of the sub gear pump portion to the suction passage. The check valve prevents hydraulic fluid in the discharge-side space of the main gear pump portion from flowing to that of the sub gear pump portion. The opening valve is used for opening and closing the bypass passage, and closes the bypass passage due to a pressure in a discharge conduit of the loading system increased by the load applied to the loading system.

The present invention relates to a variable displacement gear pump.
A gear pump has a drive gear and a driven gear engaged with each other to raise a pressure and transferring fluid out of the pump. If the fluid to be pumped by the gear pump is a hydraulic fluid, the gear pump can actuate various hydraulic devices provided in a hydraulic circuit. The gear pump is simple in structure, easy to operate and maintain and low in cost in comparison with other types of pump. Additionally, the gear pump is hardly influenced by foreign matters contained in fluid, and suitable for reduction in size and weight. Thus, the gear pump is used advantageously, for example, for a hydraulic fluid pump driven by an internal combustion engine or an electric motor of an industrial vehicle such as a forklift truck.
The displacement of a gear pump is determined by its rotational speed and, therefore, it is difficult to change the displacement of the gear pump without consideration of the rotational speed of the gear pump. Excessive displacement will force the gear pump to do extra work. Therefore, a variable displacement gear pump has been proposed which changes the pump displacement by using a plurality of gear mechanisms. In this variable displacement gear pump, changing of the displacement is accomplished by changing between two mode operations. In one mode operation, a specific gear mechanism is used to pump and discharge fluid, and in the other mode operation, the pumped fluid is returned from the gear mechanism to an inlet port of the gear pump.
The Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-70757 discloses a variable displacement gear pump having in its casing a drive gear and two driven gears engaged with the drive gear thereby to form a main body of the gear pump. The main body of the gear pump has two pump lines including a first pump and a second pump, which functions as a double gear pump. Outlet and inlet ports of the second gear pump are connected with each other through an unload passage having therein an electromagnetic opening valve. When the electromagnetic opening valve is closed, the first and second pumps are operated in parallel, thereby increasing the displacement of the gear pump. During this operation, the gear pump is operating at a large displacement. When the electromagnetic opening valve is opened, the second pump is unloaded thereby to decrease the displacement of the gear pump. During this operation, the gear pump is operating at a small displacement.
In this type of variable displacement gear pump, the first and second pumps are arranged parallel to each other. Because of the rotational direction of the drive shaft, inlet and outlet ports of the first pump are located opposite to the inlet and outlet ports of the second pump, respectively. That is, the inlet port of the first pump and the outlet port of the second pump are located on one side of the gear pump, while the outlet port of the first pump and the inlet port of the second pump are located on the other side of the gear pump. The variable displacement gear pump has suction and discharge passages formed by merging passages on the suction and discharge sides of the first and second pumps, respectively.
In the variable displacement gear pump disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication 2002-70757, if the unload passage ensures sufficient flow rate for unloading, the unload passage must be formed with a large cross-section. Thus, an electromagnetic valve to be provided in the unload passage will become inevitably larger in size as the cross-section of the unload passage is increased.
The present invention which has been made in light of the above problems is directed to providing a variable displacement gear pump. The variable displacement gear pump is operated without using an electromagnetic valve serving as an opening valve in a bypass passage through which hydraulic fluid discharged to a discharge-side space of a sub gear pump portion is returned to a suction passage.


A torch operable to pivotally secure a lever on opposite sides of the torch. The torch may comprise a torch butt, a valve assembly, and a lever. The valve assembly may be operable to control a flow of a fluid through the torch butt. The lever may be selectively securable to a first portion of the torch butt and a second portion of the torch butt. The second portion of the torch butt may be disposed opposite the first portion of the torch butt. The valve assembly may be selectively securable within the torch butt to enable the lever to operate the valve assembly with the lever selected to pivot about the first portion of the torch butt and the second portion of the torch butt.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of cutting torches. More particularly, the invention relates to a technique for enabling a cutting torch to have a cutting oxygen lever that is may be positioned on a plurality of locations of the cutting torch.
2. Description of the Related Art
A cutting torch may be used to produce a flame to cut through a material. A typical torch system utilizes a flammable fuel and oxygen to produce the flame. The torch is supplied with pressurized fuel and oxygen. The typical cutting torch has a first throttle valve to reduce the pressure of the fuel flowing through the torch and a second throttle valve to reduce the pressure of the oxygen flowing through the torch. These two flows are mixed in or immediately after a cutting tip of the torch. This fuel and oxygen mixture is ignited to produce a flame at the cutting tip. This flame is known as the preheat flame and serves to warm the metal to a point just below the melting point of the metal to be cut.
In addition, the typical cutting torch is adapted to direct a flow of high pressure oxygen to the flame, bypassing the second throttle valve. This flow of oxygen is known as cutting oxygen. When the cutting oxygen flows to the flame, the temperature of the flame, and the metal, is taken quickly past the melting point of the metal. In addition, the force of the cutting oxygen carries the products of the cutting flame through the metal, facilitating the melting or even burning of the metal.
A typical cutting torch has a lever that is coupled to a cutting oxygen valve to control the flow of cutting oxygen through the torch. The lever typically is oriented such that the operator may hold the cutting torch and operate the lever with the same hand. Typically, the lever is pivoted towards the handle in a short arcing motion to open the cutting oxygen valve.
For ergonomic reasons, a torch may be designed to position the lever on the top of the torch or on the bottom of the torch. However, current designs utilize different components for each of these orientations of the lever. Thus, the same components cannot be used to assemble a torch with either lever configuration. This increases the overall cost of manufacturing both configurations of cutting torch. In addition, at some point in time a user may desire to reposition the lever from its original position. However, this may be impracticable if additional parts are needed to reposition the cutting oxygen lever on the torch.
There is a need therefore for a torch that enables the cutting oxygen lever to be positioned at different positions on the torch with the same parts. In addition, there is a need for a torch that enables a user to quickly and easily move the cutting oxygen lever from one location to another on the torch. In addition, there is a need for a torch handle with better ergonomic characteristics.

Torch operable to position a flow control lever at a plurality of locations on the torch


A capsule-based beverage production machine that comprises a module designed for producing a beverage on the basis of ingredients which are contained in a capsule. The module comprises: means for retaining the capsule in a fixed position, and means for perforation of the capsule, wherein the perforation means are controlled to perforate the capsule after the capsule is retained in the fixed position by the retaining means.

The present invention relates to the field beverages or other liquid comestibles (soups, of producing etc.) on the basis of ingredients which are contained in a capsule.
The capsule is inserted into the beverage production module of a beverage production machine (coffee machine, etc.). The module is designed to inject a liquid such as for example hot water under pressure into the capsule in order to have the liquid interact with the ingredients contained in the capsule.
Note that some beverage production techniques ask for a pressurized injection, others such as e.g. brewing tea can be made at ambient pressure. The invention can find application in both scenarios.
The result of the interaction, i.e. the produced beverage or liquid comestible is then drained from the capsule and fed to a receptacle such as e.g. a coffee cup placed below an outlet for the beverage.