A patient support surface comprises a cover defining an interior region, a modifiable support layer situated in the interior region and having at least one air bladder, and a sensor layer situated in the interior region and having at least one sensor configured to detect a physiological parameter of a patient atop the patient support surface.

The present disclosure relates to controllable surfaces, and particularly to surfaces for preventing and treating pressure ulcers.
Pressure ulcers in bedridden patients can be caused by excessive forces between the patient and a surface upon which the patient is resting. It is known to provide controllable mattresses that allow for adjusting pressures within a mattress surface. For example, it is known to adjust air pressure within multiple chambers of an air mattress, to reduce interface forces over a given bony protuberance based on sensed air pressures within the chambers.
According to the present disclosure, an interface sensing system eliminates the need to conduct independent interface force testing for a patient at each body and bed position on an ongoing basis. An intelligent control system is provided for adjusting internal cushion pressures in a mattress surface based on interface force measurements.
In the present disclosure, a method of minimizing a force between a modifiable support surface and a patient located thereon includes the steps of establishing an initial recorded force between the patient and the support surface, performing a first procedure including modifying the support surface in a first manner for a predetermined time increment, measuring the current force between the patient and the surface, comparing the current force to the recorded force, and replacing the recorded force with the current force. The first procedure is repeated so long as the current force is less than the recorded force, then a second procedure is performed including modifying the support surface in a second manner for a predetermined time increment, measuring the current force between the patient and the support surface, comparing the current force to the recorded force, and replacing the recorded force with the current force. The second procedure is repeated so long as the current force is less than the recorded force.
In the present disclosure, a support surface apparatus includes at least one support member for supporting a person, and a force sensor located on the at least one support member. The force sensor is configured to measure a force between the person and the at least one support member. The apparatus also includes a mechanism configured to adjust a support characteristic of the at least one support member based upon the force detected by the force sensor to minimize the force between the person and the at least one support member.
In an illustrated embodiment of the present disclosure, a support surface apparatus includes at least one air bladder for supporting a person, a force sensor located on the at least one air bladder, an air supply coupled to the at least one air bladder, and a controller coupled to the force sensor. The force sensor is configured to measure a force between the person and the at least one air bladder. The controller is configured to adjust air pressure within the at least one air bladder based on the force detected by the force sensor to minimize the force between the person and the at least one bladder.
In addition, sensors contained within the force optimization surface of the present disclosure eliminate the need for individual equipment and monitors for measuring specific patient parameters such as heart rate, temperature, and respirations. An apnea monitor is provided to reduce and/or prevent occurrences of episodes of apnea. A built-in weight sensor system eliminates the need for external, cumbersome scales.
Additional features, which alone or in combination with any other feature(s), such as those listed above and those listed in the appended claims, may comprise patentable subject matter and will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the embodiments as presently perceived.

Patient support surface with physiological sensors


An abrasive film for polishing a workpiece, including: (a) a substrate; (b) a binder; (c) a multiplicity of abrasive grains which are fixed to a surface of the substrate by the binder; and (d) a water-soluble inorganic compound or a water-soluble organic acid alkali metal salt which is added to the binder. The water-soluble inorganic compound preferably consists of a weak-alkali metal salt or a weak-acid metal salt. The water-soluble organic acid alkali metal salt preferably consists of an anionic surface-active agent or a carboxylic acid alkali metal salt.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to an abrasive film, and more particularly to such an abrasive film which is advantageously used to polish a magnetic disk, an end face of an optical fiber or other object or workpiece with high precision.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
There is known an abrasive film which is used to polish a magnetic disk, an end face of an optical fiber or other object or workpiece, with application of a polishing fluid to the abrasive film and/or the workpiece. Such an abrasive film includes (a) a substrate, (b) a binder and (c) a multiplicity of abrasive grains which are fixed to a surface of the substrate by the binder, and is commonly formed to take a roll, sheet or disk shape. In a polishing operation with the abrasive film, the abrasive film and the workpiece are moved relative to each other while being forced to each other, with the application of the polishing fluid, so that the workpiece is polished by the abrasive film. As one example of such an abrasive film, JP-A-2000-354944 (publication of unexamined Japanese Patent Application laid open in 2000) discloses an abrasive film which is used to polish end faces of an optical fiber and a ferrule that is a component of a connector connecting the optical fiber with another optical fiber. In general, the size of the abrasive grains of the abrasive film is reduced with an increase in a required degree of surface smoothness of the workpiece to be polished. For polishing the end face of the ferrule which is commonly required to have a so-called xe2x80x9cmirror-finished surfacexe2x80x9d, for example, fine grains having an average size of not larger than 10 xcexcm are used as the abrasive grains of the abrasive films.
However, the applied polishing fluid is more likely to be repelled by a polishing surface of the abrasive film, as a degree of surface smoothness of the polishing surface is increased as a result of the reduction in the size of the abrasive grains. This means that the applied polishing fluid is less likely to be held between the polishing surface of the abrasive film and a surface of the workpiece that is to be polished during the polishing operation, whereby a frictional heat generating between the abrasive film and the workpiece is undesirably increased, thereby causing the resin binder to be fused and stuck onto the surface of the workpiece, causing the polishing surface to be glazed and/or causing the surface of the workpiece to be burnt. The sticking of the fused binder on the surface of the workpiece inevitably reduces the polishing performance, leading to a problematic reduction in a reliability of the polished workpiece as a product. For example, if the end face of the ferrule is polished in such a condition of the reduced polishing performance, there will be caused a considerable loss in an optical transmission between the optical fibers through the connector which is provided by the polished ferrule.
It might be possible to form pits and projections in the polishing surface of the abrasive film, for example, by roughening a surface of the substrate of the abrasive film, in the interest of facilitating the polishing fluid to be held between the abrasive film and the workpiece during the polishing operation. However, the roughened surface of the substrate is smoothed as the abrasive film is repeatedly used for the polishing operation. The polishing fluid can not be sufficiently held between the abrasive film and the workpiece, once the surface of the substrate of the abrasive film is smoothed. That is, the formation of the pits and projections in the polishing surface of the abrasive film does not provide a fundamental solution to the above-described problem.
It is therefore a first object of the present invention to provide an abrasive film which includes fine abrasive grains and which is capable of reliably exhibiting an excellent polishing performance without causing a binder to be fused to be stuck onto a polished surface of a workpiece and without causing the polished surface of the workpiece to be burnt, owing to provision for facilitating a polishing fluid to be held between the abrasive film and the polished workpiece in spite of the fineness of the abrasive grains. It is a second object to the invention to provide a polishing method by using the abrasive film having the above technical advantage. The first object may be achieved according to any one of first through tenth aspects of the invention which are described below. The second object may be achieved according to any one of eleventh through fourteenth aspects of the invention which are also described below.
The first aspect of this invention provides an abrasive film for grinding or polishing an object or workpiece, comprising: (a) a substrate; (b) a binder; (c) a multiplicity of abrasive grains which are fixed to a surface of the substrate by the binder; and (d) a water-soluble inorganic compound which is added to the binder.
According to the second aspect of the invention, in the abrasive film defined in the first aspect of the invention, the abrasive grains have an average size of not smaller than 0.01 xcexcm and not larger than 10 xcexcm.
According to the third aspect of the invention, in the abrasive film defined in the first or second aspect of the invention, the water-soluble inorganic compound is added in an amount of 1-15 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the binder.
According to the fourth aspect of the invention, in the abrasive film defined in any one of the first through third aspects of the invention, the water-soluble inorganic compound consists of a weak-alkali metal salt which is formed of a combination of an alkali metal and a weak acid.
According to the fifth aspect of the invention, in the abrasive film defined in any one of the first through third aspects of the invention, the water-soluble inorganic compound consists of a weak-acid metal salt which is formed of a combination of a metal and a strong acid.
The sixth aspect of the invention provides an abrasive film for grinding or polishing an object or workpiece, comprising: (a) a substrate; (b) a binder; (c) a multiplicity of abrasive grains which are fixed to a surface of the substrate by the binder; and (d) a water-soluble organic acid alkali metal salt which is added to the binder; wherein the water-soluble organic acid alkali metal salt is a solid at an ordinary temperature.
According to the seventh aspect of the invention, in the abrasive film defined in the sixth aspect of the invention, the abrasive grains have an average size of not smaller than 0.05 xcexcm and not larger than 10 xcexcm.
According to the eighth aspect of the invention, in the abrasive film defined in the sixth or seventh aspect of the invention, the water-soluble organic acid alkali metal salt is added in an amount of 1-10 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the binder.
According to the ninth aspect of the invention, in the abrasive film defined in any one of the sixth through eighth aspects of the invention, the water-soluble organic acid alkali metal salt consists of an anionic surface-active agent.
According to the tenth aspect of the invention, in the abrasive film defined in any one of the sixth through eighth aspects of the invention, the water-soluble organic acid alkali metal salt consists of a carboxylic acid alkali metal salt.
The eleventh aspect of this invention provides a method of grinding or polishing an object or workpiece, by using the abrasive film defined in any one of the first through fifth aspects of the invention. The method comprises steps of moving the workpiece and the abrasive film relative to each other, while forcing the workpiece and the abrasive film against each other; and applying a polishing fluid or liquid including a water, to at least one of the workpiece and the abrasive film.
According to the twelfth aspect of the invention, in the method defined in the eleventh aspect of the invention, the abrasive grains have an average size of not smaller than 0.05 xcexcm and not larger than 10 xcexcm.
The thirteenth aspect of this invention provides a method of grinding or polishing an object or workpiece, by using the abrasive film defined in any one of the sixth through tenth aspects of the invention. The method comprises steps of moving the workpiece and the abrasive film relative to each other, while forcing the workpiece and the abrasive film against each other; and applying a polishing fluid or liquid including a water, to at least one of the workpiece and the abrasive film.
According to the fourteenth aspect of the invention, in the method defined in the thirteenth aspect of the invention, the abrasive grains have an average size of not smaller than 0.05 xcexcm and not larger than 10 xcexcm.
In a wet polishing operation with the abrasive film defined in the first aspect of the invention, the water-soluble inorganic compound contained in the binder is dissolved into a water component of the polishing fluid, so that a degree of wettability of a polishing surface of the abrasive film with respect to the polishing fluid is increased whereby a sufficient amount of the polishing fluid is held between the abrasive film and the workpiece. The presence of the sufficient amount of the polishing fluid between the abrasive film and the workpiece makes it possible to minimize a temperature rise due to a frictional heat and to accordingly prevent fusion of the binder, glazing of the polishing surface and burning of the polished surface of the workpiece, thereby advantageously assuring an excellent polishing performance with a high stability.
As described above in the BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION, the applied polishing fluid is less likely to be held between the abrasive film and the workpiece, particularly, where the average size of the abrasive grains is so small as in the abrasive film defined in the second aspect of the invention. However, also in a wet polishing operation with the abrasive film defined in the second aspect of the invention, a sufficient amount of the polishing fluid is held between the abrasive film and the workpiece, owing to the water-soluble inorganic compound contained in the binder, whereby the fusion of the binder, the glazing of the polishing surface and the burning of the polished surface of the workpiece are prevented.
In the abrasive film defined in the third aspect of the invention in which the water-soluble inorganic compound is added in the amount of 1-15 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the binder, a sufficient amount of the polishing fluid is held between the abrasive film and the workpiece, and the fusion of the binder is accordingly prevented, without deteriorating the function of the binder, i.e., the function of holding the abrasive grains.
In the abrasive film defined in the fourth aspect of the invention, the water-soluble inorganic compound consists of the weak-alkali metal salt which is formed of the combination of an alkali metal and a weak acid. In the abrasive film defined in the fifth aspect of the invention, the water-soluble inorganic compound consists of the weak-acid metal salt which is formed of the combination of a metal and a strong acid. In either of the abrasive films defined in the respective fourth and fifth aspects-of the invention, the water-soluble inorganic compound contained in the binder is dissolved into the water component of the polishing fluid, so that the degree of wettability of the polishing surface of the abrasive film with respect to the polishing fluid is increased whereby a sufficient amount of the polishing fluid is held between the abrasive film and the workpiece.
The principle of the invention is advantageously applied to, particularly, an abrasive film which includes abrasive grains whose average size is not larger than 10 xcexcm, or not larger than 5 xcexcm, or not larger than 3 xcexcm, and which is used for polishing a magnetic disk or an end face of an optical fiber ferrule in a wet polishing operation with high precision. The ferrule consists of a tubular cylindrical sleeve which is formed of, for example, zirconium oxide or ceramics and which accommodates an optical fiber fixed in a hole of the sleeve. The ferrule is mirror-finished by the abrasive film such that a distal end face of the ferrule is provided by a smoothed, brightened, semi-spherical face. The polishing fluid may consist only of a water, or alternatively, may include a liquid component other than the water and also a solid component such as abrasive particles. It should be noted that the invention may be applied also to an abrasive film which includes abrasive grains whose average size is larger than 10 xcexcm, and to an abrasive film which is used for polishing workpieces other than the magnetic disk and the optical fiber ferrule.
The abrasive grains of the abrasive film are preferably provided by diamond abrasive grains, but may be provided by also silicon carbide abrasive grains, alumina abrasive grains or other known abrasive grains. The binder of the abrasive film is preferably provided by a resin binder which is formed of modified vinyl chloride resin or other resin having a high degree of water resistance. An abrasive structure or layer in which the abrasive grains are held together by the binder has a thickness which may be determined depending upon, for example, the size of the abrasive grains.
The substrate of the abrasive film is preferably provided by a thin plate, sheet or film which is formed of polyethylene terephthalate or other resin material which has a predetermined degree of mechanical strength and high degrees of water resistance and oil resistance.
If the amount in which the inorganic compound is added to the binder is smaller than 1 part by weight per 100 parts by weight of the binder, the polishing fluid would not be held necessarily in a sufficient amount between the abrasive film and the workpiece that is to be polished. If the amount in which the inorganic compound is added to the binder is larger than 15 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the binder, on the other hand, the function of the binder might be reduced due to possible reduction in holding strength with which the binder holds the abrasive grains, or due to possible deterioration of the binder as a result of deliquescence of the inorganic compound. Therefore, the amount in which the inorganic compound is added to the binder is preferably 1-15 parts, more preferably 3-10 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the binder, and is suitably determined depending upon the kind of added inorganic compound and the material of the binder such that the amount is held within the preferable range or more preferable range. However, it should be noted that the amount of the inorganic compound does not have to be necessarily held within the preferable range or more preferable range. That is, there are cases where it is possible to achieve the above-described object of the invention even if the amount of the inorganic compound is not held within the preferable range. It is also noted that other additives such as pigment, dispersing agent and antistatic agent may be also added as needed to the binder.
The inorganic compound may be a substance which takes the form of particles dispersed substantially evenly over the entirety of the binder, or alternatively may be a substance which is dissolved in the binder. In either of these cases, the content of the added inorganic compound can be measured or confirmed by a metal-ion analyzing device or other measuring device. Where the inorganic compound takes the form of particles in the binder, it is preferable that the size of each particle of the inorganic compound is smaller than the size of each of the abrasive grains, so that pits or recesses are not formed in the polishing surface of the abrasive film even when the inorganic compound is dissolved in the binder. This is because the formation of the pits or recess in the polishing surface of the abrasive film would lead to deterioration in the polishing performance of the abrasive film.
The inorganic compound preferably consists of the weak-alkali metal salt which is formed of a combination of an alkali metal and a weak acid, as in the abrasive film of the fourth aspect of the invention. The alkali metal may be, for example, sodium or potassium. The weak acid may be, for example, phosphoric acid, boric acid, carbonic acid or silicic acid. The weak-alkali metal salt may be, for example, potassium tertiary phosphate, sodium borate or sodium silicate, each of which can be formed of the corresponding combination of the alkali metal and the weak acid.
Alternatively, the inorganic compound preferably consists of the weak-acid metal salt which is formed of a combination of a metal and a strong acid, as in the abrasive film of the fifth aspect of the invention. The metal may be aluminum, copper, silver, nickel, cobalt, iron, silicon, zinc or other stable metallic element. The strong acid may be, for example, hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid or nitric acid. The weak-acid metallic may be, for example, an inorganic iron compound such as ferrous chloride, ferric chloride, ferric nitrate, ferrous sulfate and ferric sulfate, or alternatively, copper sulfate or copper nitrate, each of which can be formed of the corresponding combination of the metal and the strong acid.
In a wet polishing operation with the abrasive film defined in the sixth aspect of the invention, the water-soluble organic acid alkali metal salt contained in the binder is dissolved into a water component of the polishing fluid, so that a degree of wettability of a polishing surface of the abrasive film with respect to the polishing fluid is increased whereby a sufficient amount of the polishing fluid is held between the abrasive film and the workpiece. The presence of the sufficient amount of the polishing fluid between the abrasive film and the workpiece makes it possible to minimize a temperature rise due to a frictional heat and to accordingly prevent fusion of the binder, glazing of the polishing surface and burning of the polished surface of the workpiece, thereby advantageously assuring an excellent polishing performance with a high stability. Further, the abrasive film defined in the sixth aspect of the invention can be easily formed since the water-soluble organic acid alkali metal salt is a solid at an ordinary temperature. That is, it is possible to brake or crush the organic acid alkali metal salt into small particles, so as to directly add the organic acid alkali metal salt to the binder. If the additives take the form of a liquid rather than a solid, the additives would have to be added to the binder via a medium which is impregnated with the additives.
As described above in the BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION, the applied polishing fluid is less likely to be held between the abrasive film and the workpiece, particularly, where the average size of the abrasive grains is so small as in the abrasive film defined in the seventh aspect of the invention. However, also in a wet polishing operation with the abrasive film defined in the seventh aspect of the invention, a sufficient amount of the polishing fluid is held between the abrasive film and the workpiece, owing to the water-soluble organic acid alkali metal salt contained in the binder, whereby the fusion of the binder, the glazing of the polishing surface and the burning of the polished surface of the workpiece are prevented.
In the abrasive film defined in the eighth aspect of the invention in which the water-soluble organic acid alkali metal salt is added in the amount of 1-10 parts, preferably 3-5 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the binder, a sufficient amount of the polishing fluid is held between the abrasive film and the workpiece, so that the fusion of the binder is accordingly prevented, without deteriorating the function of the binder, i.e., the function of holding the abrasive grains.
The organic acid alkali metal salt preferably consists of an anionic surface-active agent, as in the abrasive film of the ninth aspect of the invention. The anionic surface-active agent may be, for example, fatty acid sodium, alpha olefin sulfonic acid sodium, lauryl sodium sulfate, or sodium stearate. The anionic surface-active agent is easily mixable into the resin binder and is not likely to be separated from the binder once the anionic surface-active agent is mixed into the binder. Further, the anionic surface-active agent has a high stability even at a high temperature, so that the anionic surface-active agent is not likely to chemically react with the binder even where the anionic surface-active agent is heated. Accordingly, in a wet polishing operation with the abrasive film of the ninth aspect of the invention, the anionic surface-active agent contained in the binder is dissolved into a water component of the polishing fluid, so that a degree of wettability of the polishing surface of the abrasive film with respect to the polishing fluid is increased whereby a sufficient amount of the polishing fluid is held between the abrasive film and the workpiece. The presence of the sufficient amount of the polishing fluid between the abrasive film and the workpiece makes it possible to prevent fusion of the binder, glazing of the polishing surface and burning of the polished surface of the workpiece.
Alternatively, the organic acid alkali metal salt preferably consists of a carboxylic acid alkali metal salt, as in the abrasive film of the tenth aspect of the invention. The carboxylic acid alkali metal salt may be, for example, sodium oxalate, sodium acetate, sodium succinate, sodium citrate, polyacrylic acid sodium, sodium benzoate, potassium oxalate, potassium acetate, potassium succinate, potassium citrate, polyacrylic acid potassium, or potassium benzoate. The carboxylic acid alkali metal salt is easily mixable into the resin binder and is not likely to be separated from the binder once the carboxylic acid alkali metal salt is mixed into the binder. Further, the carboxylic acid alkali metal salt has a high stability even at a high temperature, so that the carboxylic acid alkali metal salt is not likely to chemically react with the binder even where the carboxylic acid alkali metal salt is heated. Accordingly, in a wet polishing operation with the abrasive film of the tenth aspect of the invention, the carboxylic acid alkali metal salt contained in the binder is dissolved into a water component of the polishing fluid, so that a degree of wettability of the polishing surface of the abrasive film with respect to the polishing fluid is increased whereby a sufficient amount of the polishing fluid is held between the abrasive film and the workpiece. The presence of the sufficient amount of the polishing fluid between the abrasive film and the workpiece makes it possible to prevent fusion of the binder, glazing of the polishing surface and burning of the polished surface of the workpiece.

Abrasive film in which water-soluble inorganic compound is added to binder


A fault diagnosis method of diagnosing a fault related to a PV PCS 150, configured to perform an interconnected operation in which a PV 100 is interconnected to a grid 10: supplies power from independent operation output of the PV PCS 150 to a storage PCS 250 by an independent operation that does not interconnect the PV 100 to the grid 10 after the grid interconnection apparatus stops the interconnected operation by detecting abnormality; measures an output power state of the PV 100 and/or the PV PCS 150 when power is supplied to the storage PCS 250; and determines that the fault occurs and performs an error process for notification to a user when the measured output power state does not satisfy a predetermined condition.

In recent years, a photovoltaic cell that receives sunlight to generate power is becoming widely used among power consumers. Along with the wide use of the photovoltaic cell, a grid interconnection apparatus (so-called power conditioner) that interconnects the photovoltaic cell to a commercial power grid (hereinafter, "grid") to supply power to a load is also becoming widely used.
The grid interconnection apparatus has a grid interconnection relay for performing off-line of the photovoltaic cell from the grid (see Patent Literature 1, for example).

Fault diagnosis method, grid interconnection apparatus, and controller


A plastic foundation system for quickly providing a structural foundation. The plastic foundation system includes plastic components having heating elements selectively embedded within for fusing abutting portions of adjacent components. The components include wall portions having a flange for insertion into the keyway of a base portion. The base portions can be segmented to provide adjustability to various angles. Heating elements are provided to fuse the segments of the adjustable base portion together. The base portion is also segmented with apertures to permit drainage through the base portion. In an alternate embodiment, connecting rods extend between adjacent wall portions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to structural foundations and more particularly pertains to a new plastic foundation system for quickly providing a structural foundation.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of structural foundations is known in the prior art. More specifically, structural foundations heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 4,689,926; U.S. Pat. No. 5,416,139; U.S. Pat. No. 3,783,563; U.S. Pat. No. 2,365,579; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 389,201; U.S. Pat. No. 4,615,155; U.S. Pat. No. 4,777,774; U.S. Pat. No. 4,924,641; U.S. Pat. No. 5,331,782; U.S. Pat. No. 4,455,793; PCT Patent No. WO 93/11316; PCT Patent No. 88/01327; and European Patent No. 0 058 287.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a new plastic foundation system. The inventive device includes plastic components having heating elements selectively embedded within for fusing abutting portions of adjacent components.
In these respects, the plastic foundation system according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of quickly providing a structural foundation.


A device for supplying electrical energy to a load. A supporting element made of electrically insulating material is provided, which has at least one electrical strip conductor formed from an electrically conductive layer. At least one electrically conductive contact face per strip conductor is provided on the source side, via which the strip conductor is contactable with the voltage source. A flat plug that includes the load-side ends of the strip conductors is provided on the supporting element and effects the electrical connection to the load. A system for electrification of an electrical load on a furniture item is provided. At least one device, a support and at least one vertical profile are provided. The device is mounted on the support and the strip conductors of the support are electrified by inserting the support into the profile. For that purpose, the profile has at least one vertically arranged conductor rail.

The invention pertains to a device for supplying electrical energy to a load and to a system for electrifying at least one load by the use of a device of this type. Such devices are used to supply a load with electrical energy, for example. In particular, the load can be a lamp, a display, a loudspeaker, or even a ballast for another electrical load. The devices are often used in store fixtures, exhibition booth constructions, and generally in the field of interior furnishing.
EP 2 242 349 A2 describes a device for supplying electrical energy to a load. This device can also be used in store fixtures, exhibition booth constructions, and interior furnishing to provide lamps, for example, with electrical energy. The disadvantage of this device, however, is that the load must be connected to the load-side contact surfaces. This is usually done by means of soldering. Such soldered connections, however, must be produced by an expert. In addition, it can often happen that the soldering has weak spots. In addition, it is almost impossible to connect a different load to the device, because the soldered connection of the old load must be taken apart and any solder residues must be removed before a new load can be connected again by soldering.

Device for supplying electrical energy to a load, and system therefor


A vehicle accident notification device includes a processor that determines whether a vehicle accident occurs and a degree of the vehicle accident based on a sensing result of a sensor and vehicle information received from a device of the host vehicle and automatically provides a notification of the vehicle accident, a communicator that communicates with other devices, and a storage storing a collision reference value that is used to determine the degree of the vehicle accident in advance.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
A vehicle accident notification service (e.g., eCALL) of automatically making a call to the 119 center, the hospital, or the like in the event of a traffic accident to provide a notification of the accident has been provided.
Such a vehicle accident notification service may be provided by airbag deployment or button manipulation by a user. It is difficult to determine the seriousness of a traffic accident using only airbag deployment.
In other words, upon a real-end collision, when a host vehicle collides with a pedestrian or a two-wheeled vehicle, because the host vehicle has a relatively slighter damage than a target (e.g., a pedestrian, a two-wheeled vehicle, a vehicle behind the host vehicle, or the like) and because an airbag of the host vehicle is not deployed, the vehicle accident notification service is not enabled.
However, because casualties frequently occur although an airbag is not deployed in the event of a real accident, it is difficult to quickly rescue and treat the casualties due to the delay of the notification of a vehicle accident.
Furthermore, there is a limitation that the vehicle accident notification service proceeds to a next process through only a counselor and is provided in only some areas.

Vehicle accident notification device, system including the same, and method thereof


A facility and method for analyzing and classifying calls without transcription. The facility analyzes individual frames of an audio to identify speech and measure the amount of time spent in speech for each channel (e.g., caller channel, agent channel). Additional telephony metrics such as R-factor or MOS score and other metadata may be factored in as audio analysis inputs. The facility then analyzes the frames together as a whole and formulates a clustered-frame representation of a conversation to further identify dialogue patterns and characterize call classification. Based on the data in the clustered-frame representation, the facility is able to make estimations of call classification. The correlation of dialogue patterns to call classification may be utilized to develop targeted solutions for call classification issues, target certain advertising channels over others, evaluate advertising placements at scale, score callers, and to identify spammers.

Businesses in industries such as financial services, insurance, travel and hospitality, retail, cable and satellite television rely on voice contact with customers to answer client inquiries, make sales, and provide technical support. A greater utilization of smart phones and advanced mobile devices by customers has resulted in an increasing number of voice calls to such businesses. For such businesses, every contact with a customer is an opportunity to make a lasting impression, to gather customer data, or to strengthen a customer's loyalty to the business. With regard to customer calls, it is desirable to know whether customers are receiving quality customer service that includes accurate information, adherence to professional communication standards, and the conveyance of a feeling of being valued by the business.
One reporting tool used by businesses to track and analyze voice transactions is call recordation, with or without transcription. By listening to recorded customer calls (in their entirety or in samples), or reviewing the transcripts of recorded customer calls, businesses hope to gain insight from conversations with real customers. However, the recording of calls incurs several problems and disadvantages, such as agent and/or caller objections, legal and privacy concerns, and the need for expensive and specialized equipment.
Another technique which businesses utilize to evaluate calls and boost advertising performance is known as call mining or keyword spotting. In call mining, businesses identify key words and phrases to be tracked in every call (e.g., "credit card," "appointment," "thank you," "sale") so as to determine which calls were converted into sales or appointments, and caller intent, needs and pain points. The details of the calls can be accessed as needed by reading call transcripts and then listening to call recordings for granular details on specific calls.
While the aim of call mining is to find successful outcomes and conversions, call mining is based on the words spoken in the call, acquired in either a manual or automated fashion. Every call must generally be recorded, which can be costly or prohibited for various reasons. In some cases, a transcript can be inaccurate because it was transcribed with bad audio quality. At times, the vocabulary of the conversation can be foreign to a transcriber. Even when a set of vocabulary is provided or defined for a transcription broker, the results can still be unusable. Other schemes to analyze call outcomes such as live monitoring can also involve additional costs and drawbacks.
Thus, there is a need for an improved system and method that can automate the analysis of call outcomes without requiring either recording or transcription.

System and method for analyzing and classifying calls without transcription


A spin-valve magnetoresistive effect film includes a magnetization fixed layer, a magnetization free layer, and a nonmagnetic intermediate layer interposed therebetween. The nonmagnetic intermediate layer has a conduction part disposed in an insulation layer and made of a nonmagnetic metal material. The ferromagnetic film stacked on an upper side of the nonmagnetic intermediate layer, out of ferromagnetic films constituting the magnetization fixed layer and the magnetization free layer has a perpendicular orientation part which is disposed above the conduction part and whose crystal growth direction is substantially perpendicular to a film plane, and a non-perpendicular orientation part which exists in a portion other than the perpendicular orientation part. A magnetoresistive effect element has a pair of electrodes passing a sense current in a direction perpendicular to the film plane of the spin-valve magnetoresistive effect film.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetoresistive effect element, and a magnetic head and a magnetic reproducing apparatus including the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, the development of a magnetoresistive effect element has been progressing. In particular, in accordance with the development of a magnetoresistive effect film exhibiting a giant magnetoresistive effect (GMR), a magnetic device including the same, especially a magnetoresistive effect head (MR head) used as a magnetic head has made a remarkable improvement in its performance.
A spin-valve film is a known example of the GMR film. The spin-valve film has a nonmagnetic layer (called an intermediate layer, a spacer layer, or the like) interposed between two ferromagnetic layers. In such a structure, an exchange bias magnetic field is applied to one of the ferromagnetic layers (called a magnetization fixed layer, a pinned layer, or the like) so as to fix its magnetization, and the magnetization of the other ferromagnetic layer (called a magnetization free layer, a free layer, or the like) is inverted by an external magnetic field such as a signal magnetic field. Then, a relative angle of magnetization directions of the magnetization fixed layer and the magnetization free layer is changed, so that a high magnetoresistive effect can be obtained.
As a GMR element, there has been proposed an element having a so-called CPP (Current Perpendicular to Plane) structure in which a sense current is passed in a direction perpendicular to a film plane of a magnetoresistive effect film. In a spin-valve GMR element, an improvement in a MR change ratio by applying the CPP structure is also expected, and it has been reported that the CPP-GMR element has achieved a MR change ratio about ten times as large as that of a CIP (Current in Plane) GMR element. Further, the CPP-GMR element also has an advantage of having a lower resistance compared with that of a TMR element utilizing a tunnel effect.
In the spin-valve GMR element, the total thickness of spin-dependent layers is very small and the number of interfaces is also small. Therefore, when the CPP structure is applied thereto, the resistance of the element becomes small, resulting in a small output absolute value. For example, when a current is perpendicularly passed to a spin-valve GMR element in which the thickness of each of a magnetization fixed layer and a magnetization free layer is 5 nm, an output absolute value is as small as about 0.5 mΩ per 1 μm2. That is, in order to put the spin valve GMR element with the CPP structure into practical use, it is important to heighten a resistance value of a portion involved in spin-dependent conductance in the element to increase a resistance change amount, thereby making its output larger.
Regarding this point, a known method for improving a magnetoresistive effect is a method in which a resistance adjusting layer including an insulator is inserted as an intermediate layer in a spin-valve film (see J. Appl. Phys. 89, 6943 (2001), IEEE Trans. Mag. 38, 2777 (2000)). A spin-valve GMR element has portions where electrons make spin-dependent scattering (a magnetization fixed layer/an intermediate layer/a magnetization free layer) and portions with small spin-dependent scattering (a base layer, an antiferromagnetic layer, a protective layer, and so on). A magnetoresistive effect of the spin-valve GMR element (MR) can be expressed as MR=Rsd/(Rsd+Rsi) where Rsd is a resistance of the former and Rsi is a resistance of the latter. Therefore, MR is more enhanced as Rsd is larger than Rsi to a greater extent. The spin-valve GMR element with the CPP structure having the resistance adjusting layer including the insulator utilizes this effect.
In the spin-valve GMR element with the CPP structure, the resistance adjusting layer is composed of a complete insulator part where no current flows and a conduction part (metal path) allowing the current flow. In the vicinity of the resistance adjusting layer, the current is constricted toward the conduction part. In the spin-valve GMR element with the CPP structure as described above, owing to the current constriction effect, portions right above and right under the conduction part serve as current paths both in the magnetization fixed layer and the magnetization free layer. Therefore, controlling the state of the current paths including the conduction part is important in order to improve the magnetoresistive effect (MR). However, the conventional spin-valve GMR element only increases the resistance of the spin-dependent scattering part by the resistance adjusting layer (intermediate layer), and no control over the state of the current path is performed. Therefore, a large magnetoresistance effect (MR) owing to the adoption of the conduction part has not been achieved yet with good reproducibility.

Magnetoresistive effect element, and magnetic head and magnetic reproducing apparatus including the same


An enterprise system may separate the executable functionality existing in backend applications, and the separation may be at differing levels of granularity. The separated functions of the application may be registered in a catalog in the form of metadata objects. Once the executable functionality has been registered, the authorization information for each granular functional object may be associated with authorization information. In this manner, the authorization of a service of an application may be made on a feature by feature (or object by object) basis in a unified manner.

Organizations may use many applications, such as general purpose data centric applications using persistent data, within a computing environment to carry out daily operations. For example, multiple types of line of business (LOB) systems (e.g., business critical database application) may be implemented along with development applications, 'home-grown' applications, and the like. However, access to each of these heterogeneous applications by one or more users may require interactions with different information, in different formats, in different languages and/or semantics, with different log-on and authorization methods, with different connection requirements, with separate operational threads for each user on each application, and the like.

Unified authorization for heterogeneous applications


An engine is described having an engine control unit and two or more hydraulically operated wheels, wherein a fluid is flowed from an accumulator to the engine via the first wheel to assist in acceleration of the turbocharger in response to an acceleration signal from the engine control system and wherein the fluid is flowed from the engine to the accumulator via the second wheel to decelerate the turbocharger in response to a deceleration signal from the engine control unit. In one particular embodiment, the second wheel absorbs energy from the turbocharger in response to the deceleration signal from the engine control unit to decelerate the turbocharger. In some embodiments, the hydraulically operated wheels may be positioned on the same shaft of, and between, the turbine and compressor of the turbocharger.

As is known in the art, as turbocharged, downsized engines become a major strategy to improve vehicle fuel economy; improvement of their transient responses is very important. When a turbocharger is sized relatively small for rapid transient response, it may run out of flow capacity at high power thus limiting its rated power; on the other hand, when a turbocharger is sized large enough to deliver competitive power, it may perform very sluggishly during transients. There are several technologies that have been suggested to solve this dichotomy, e.g. use of a serial sequential turbocharger system, mechanical driven superchargers, or electrical driven superchargers or turbochargers.
As is also known, in conventional turbocharged engines, engine and turbocharger work independently with each other. The "lack of synchronization" pushes the compressor into a less efficient operating region during transient operation and drives the turbine to work with low speed ratios (U/C) (where U/C is the blade-speed ratio) thus operate in a lower efficiency operating region (i.e. the hydraulically governed turbocharger will allow the compressor and turbine to be designed for higher efficiency since they don't have to trade the efficiency for operation range).

Regenerative assisted turbocharger system


Pin bearing arrangement (10) for measuring loads in an aircraft landing gear (1), comprising a trailing arm (2), connected to at least one of the aircraft wheels (3), and a shock absorber (4), connected to the aircraft, whereby load (11) is transferred from the trailing arm (2) to the shock absorber (4), the trailing arm (2) being rotatable with respect to the shock absorber (4), the pin bearing arrangement (10) comprising at least one strain measuring element (12) attached to the pin bearing arrangement (10) in predetermined positions, these positions being selected such that the strain measuring element (12) gives at least a minimum detectable signal when the load (11) transferred is over a first threshold value, for any value of the angle (5) adopted by the trailing arm (2) with respect to the shock absorber (4). The invention also refers to a method for providing an indication of the on-ground condition of an aircraft, using a pin bearing arrangement (10) as the one described, and to a method for determining the positioning of the at least one strain measuring element (12) in such a pin bearing arrangement (10).

When an aircraft has landed and is on ground, the landing gear of said aircraft is subjected to ground loads. The landing gear comprises a trailing arm, connected to at least one of the aircraft wheels, and a shock absorber that dissipates most of the kinetic energy coming from the ground loads when the aircraft has touched the ground, the trailing arm usually being rotatable with respect to the shock absorber. The trailing arm of the landing gear usually comprises a pin bearing arrangement fixed to the trailing arm and located between the trailing arm and the shock absorber.
Aircraft landing gears usually comprise measuring elements to provide information for determining whether the aircraft is on ground or is still in flight.
In particular cases it can occur that, in some implementations of aircraft landing gears, the assembly formed by the trailing arm and the pin bearing arrangement does not rotate any angle up to a certain ground load level, when the aircraft has touched the ground. Thus, the measuring elements are not able to measure any rotation of the trailing arm, as it is inexistent, which makes that neither micro-switches nor proximity sensors can be used as valid measuring devices in landing gear pin bearings.
Pressure sensors that would be located inside the shock absorber cannot be used as valid measuring devices either because the internal mechanical structure construction of the shock absorber does not allow the correct installation of such pressure sensors.
According to what has been said, it shall be desirable to provide pin bearings with measuring devices that are able to reliably determine whether the aircraft is on ground or is still in flight.
The solution has then been found in the use of strain gauges located in the pin bearing arrangement. It is known in the state of the art, as per EP 1147384, the location of strain gauges in pin bearings, such that these gauges can detect a constant shear force applied in a certain region of the pin bearings. However, this document is silent about its use for indication of on-ground condition. Additionally, the correct location of these gauges is very complicated in practice, and in this document is focused on the use in testing ground loads.
One of the problems of the strain gauges in implementations on pin bearings of aircraft landing gears, where the assembly formed by the trailing arm and the pin bearing does not rotate any angle up to a certain ground load level, even when the aircraft has touched the ground earlier, is that these gauges have to be sensitive enough to detect a very low threshold load level in which the aircraft has already touched the ground. Thus, to work correctly in such cases, the gauges are to be located such that they can detect a lower load: the problem of this is that the gauges can give an indication that the aircraft is on flight, when it has already touched the ground.
However, if the gauges are located in the pin bearing arrangement in a location in which they can detect higher loads, they are then subjected to high stresses for a continued period of time, which originates strong fatigue problems in these gauges, therefore making the gauges have a short life. An additional problem is that the rotation of the trailing arm with respect to the shock absorber renders very variable the measuring conditions of the gauges in the pin.
It shall thus be desirable to provide a method for determining the positioning of the measuring elements in a pin bearing arrangements, as well as a method for providing an indication of the on-ground condition of an aircraft, using a pin bearing arrangement, in order to provide a suitable solution for the above-mentioned problems.

Pin bearing arrangement for aircraft landing gear


Superconducting cables and magnetic devices are disclosed.

The invention relates to superconductor cables and magnetic devices.
Multi-layer superconductor articles, such as tapes, having various architectures have been developed. Such articles often include a substrate and a superconductor layer. Typically, one or more buffer layers are disposed between the substrate and the superconductor layer.
In general, the invention relates to superconductor cables and magnetic devices.
In one aspect, the invention features an article that includes a first layer formed of a first superconductor material and a second layer formed of a first electrically conductive material. The article also includes a third layer formed of a second superconductor material and a fourth layer formed of a second electrically conductive material. The second layer is mechanically coupled to the first layer (e.g., mechanically coupled at points other than their ends), and the fourth layer is mechanically coupled to the third layer (e.g., mechanically coupled at points other than their ends). The second and fourth layers are in electrical communication. The first and second layers have a neutral mechanical axis when bent that is different than the neutral mechanical axis of the third and fourth layers when bent.
The phrase xe2x80x9cmechanically coupled,xe2x80x9d as used herein, refers to a force between (e.g., at the interface of) two layers that substantially reduces (e.g., eliminates) the ability of one layer to move independently of the other layer. One example of mechanically coupled layers is two layers that are chemically bonded together. Another example of mechanically coupled layer is two layers that are metallurgically bonded together. An additional example of mechanically coupled layers is two layers that are each adhered to an adhesive layer therebetween. It is to be noted that two layers (or other articles, such as tapes) generally are not mechanically coupled when the layers (or articles) are held in compression against each other by a force acting from outside (as opposed to at the interface of) the two layers. For example, if two tapes are wrapped within insulation that provides a compressive force that holds the tapes in proximity to each other, this force itself does not render the tapes mechanically coupled, although the tapes may otherwise be mechanically coupled (e.g., if the tapes are chemically or metallurgically bonded to each other).
The article can be configured so that the second and fourth layers can move independently of each other.
The first and second superconductor materials can be the same or different. For example, one or both of the superconductor materials can be a rare earth superconductor material, such as YBCO.
The first and second electrically conductive materials can be the same or different. For example, the first and second electrically conductive materials can be a metal (e.g., copper) or an alloy (e.g., a copper alloy).
The first and second layers can be in the form of a tape. The second and third layers can be in the form of a tape.
The article can further include first and second substrates. The first layer can be between the first substrate and the second layer, and the third layer can be between the second substrate and the fourth layer.
The article can further include first and second buffer layers. The first buffer layer can be between the first substrate and the first layer, and the second buffer layer can be between the second substrate and the third layer.
In some embodiments, the first substrate layer has a thickness that is about equal to a combined thickness of the first layer, the first buffer layer, and the second layer.
In certain embodiments, the fourth layer has a thickness that is about equal to a combined thickness of the third layer, the second buffer layer, and the second substrate layer.
The article can further include first and second cap layers. The first cap layer can be between the first and second layers, and the second cap layer can be between the third and fourth layers.
The article can further include an interfacial layer between the second and fourth layers. The interfacial layer is generally formed of an electrically conductive material and can be, for example, capable of reducing oxidation of the second and fourth layers, and/or reducing friction between the second and the fourth layer. In some embodiments, the interfacial layer is at least partially formed or graphite.
In another aspect, the invention features an article (e.g., a cable) that includes first and second helically wound superconductor tapes. The first tape includes a superconductor layer and an electrically conductive layer, and the second tape that includes a superconductor layer and an electrically conductive layer. The electrically conductive layers of the first and second tapes ar in electrical communication (e.g., in electrical communication at more than one position, such as by contacting each other in more than one location). The first helically wound superconductor tape has a neutral mechanical axis, and the second helically wound superconductor tape has a different neutral mechanical axis.
The first and second helically wound tapes can be configured so that they can move independently of each other.
The article can further include a forming element around which the first and second tapes are helically wound.
In some embodiments, the superconductor layers of the first and/or second superconductor tapes are mechanically compressed.
The first and second helically wound superconductor tapes can have a common helical axis.
In some embodiments, the article further includes third and fourth helically wound superconductor tapes. The third helically wound superconductor tape includes a superconductor layer and an electrically conductive layer, and the fourth helically wound superconductor tape includes a superconductor layer and an electrically conductive layer. The electrically conductive layers of the third and fourth superconductor tapes have more than one point of electrical communication (e.g., by contacting each other in more than one location). The third and fourth helically wound superconductor tapes can have a common helical axis.
In certain embodiments, the electrically conductive layers of the first and second superconductor tapes at least partially overlap. In some embodiments, the electrically conductive layers of the first and second superconductor tapes substantially entirely overlap.
In a further aspect, the invention features an article that includes first and second pluralities of helically wound tapes. In the first plurality of helically wound superconductor tapes, each tape includes a layer of a superconductor material and a layer of an electrically conductive material, and each tape is wound in parallel in a first direction. In the second plurality of helically wound superconductor tapes, each tape includes a layer of a superconductor material and a layer of an electrically conductive material, and each tape is wound in parallel in a second direction opposite the first direction. The layer of the electrically conductive materials in each tape in the first plurality of tapes has more than one position of electrical communication with the layer of electrically conductive material in each tape of the second plurality of tapes (e.g., by contacting each other in more than one location).
In some embodiments, the first and second pluralities of helically wound superconductor tapes have a common helical axis.
In certain embodiments, the electrically conductive layers of each tape in the first plurality of superconductor tapes at least partially overlap with the electrically conductive layers of each tape in the second plurality of superconductor tapes.
Each of the tapes in the article can have a different neutral mechanical axis when bent than the neutral mechanical axis of any of the other tapes when bent.
In an additional aspect, the invention features a superconducting magnetic coil that includes first and second coiled superconductor tapes. Each coiled superconductor tape is coiled about a respective coil axis. The first coiled superconductor tape includes a superconductor layer and an electrically conductive layer. The electrically conductive layer of the first coiled superconductor tape has a surface that forms an inner surface of the first coiled superconductor tape. The inner surface of the first coiled superconductor tape faces the coil axis of the first coiled superconductor tape. The second coiled superconductor includes a superconductor layer and an electrically conductive layer. The electrically conductive layer of the second coiled superconductor tape has a surface that forms an outer surface of the second coiled superconductor tape. The outer surface of the second coiled superconductor tape faces away from the coil axis of the second coiled superconductor tape. The first and second coiled superconductor tapes are configured so that inner surface of the first superconductor tape is adjacent the outer surface of the second superconductor tape.
The first and second superconductor tapes in the magnetic coil can have different neutral mechanical axes from each other.
In some embodiments, the first and second coiled superconductor tapes contact each other.
In certain embodiments, the first and second coiled superconductor tapes are wound together.
In some embodiments, the coil axis of the first superconductor tape is the same as the coil axis of the second superconductor tape.
In certain embodiments, the first and second superconductor tapes are coiled about each other.
In some embodiments, the superconductor layer and electrically conductive layer of the first superconductor tape are mechanically coupled (e.g., mechanically coupled at points other than their ends), and the superconductor layer and electrically conductive layer of the second superconductor tape are mechanically coupled (e.g., mechanically coupled at points other than their ends).
In certain embodiments, the superconductor layers of the first and/or second superconductor tapes are mechanically compressed.
The superconducting magnetic coil can further include an interfacial layer disposed between the adjacent first and second superconductor tapes.
The superconducting magnetic coil can further include third and fourth coiled superconductor tapes. Each of the third and fourth coiled superconductor tapes is coiled about a respective coil axis. The third coiled superconductor tape includes a superconductor layer and an electrically conductive layer. The electrically conductive layer of the third coiled superconductor tape has a surface that forms an inner surface of the third coiled superconductor tape. The inner surface of the third coiled superconductor tape faces the coil axis of the third coiled superconductor tape. The fourth coiled superconductor includes a superconductor layer and an electrically conductive layer. The electrically conductive layer of the fourth coiled superconductor tape has a surface that forms an outer surface of the fourth coiled superconductor tape. The outer surface of the fourth coiled superconductor tape faces away from the coil axis of the fourth coiled superconductor tape. The third and fourth coiled superconductor tapes are configured so that inner surface of the third superconductor tape is adjacent the outer surface of the fourth superconductor tape.
The architecture of the superconductor articles (e.g., tapes, cables and/or magnetic coils) can allow multiple superconductor layers to simultaneously be compressed (e.g., by being at or below the neutral mechanical axis) when the articles are bent.
The architecture of the superconductor articles (e.g., tapes, cables and/or magnetic coils) can reduce the risk of reduced current density due to, for example, the presence of defects (e.g., localized defects, such as a crack a grain boundary, or the like) in one or more of the superconductor layers.
The architecture of the superconductor articles (e.g., tapes, cables and/or magnetic coils) can result in current sharing through, for example, redundant conducting paths, lower hysteretic losses under alternating current conditions, enhanced electrical stability, and/or enhanced thermal stability.
The architecture of the superconductor articles (e.g., tapes, cables and/or magnetic coils) can result in a favorable stress profile and/or improved mechanical properties.
The architecture of the superconductor articles (e.g., tapes, cables, and/or magnetic coils) can provide improved mechanical stability, improved electrical stability, enhanced current carrying capacity, and/or favorable economy of manufacture.
The architecture of the superconductor articles (e.g., tapes, cables and/or magnetic coils) can reduce mechanical degradation of the operational superconductor layer(s) during bending.
The architecture of the superconductor articles (e.g., tapes, cables and/or magnetic coils) can make it relatively easy to splice the articles.
The architecture of the superconductor articles (e.g., tapes, cables and/or magnetic coils) can make it relatively easy to achieve termination of tape stack ups and/or conductor elements.
The architecture of the superconductor articles (e.g., tapes, cables and/or magnetic coils) can reduce heating due to, for example, localized defects in the superconductor material.
The superconductor articles (e.g., tapes, cables and/or magnetic coils) can be used in a variety of applications, including, for example, electrical, magnetic, electro-optic, dielectric, thermal, mechanical, and/or environmental (e.g., protective) applications.
Other features, objects, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

Superconductor cables and magnetic devices


Various embodiments are generally directed to techniques for selecting a user experience design in a time-critical environment, such as based on the results of multiple classification processes while maintaining appropriate responsiveness, for instance. Some embodiments are particularly directed to selecting a website design experience based on results, or lack thereof, provided by a plurality of inference processes of varying accuracy within a predefined amount of time. For example, a page request, or indication thereof, may be received by an inference manager from a client device. In response to the page request, the inference manager may initiate one or more inference processes, and based on the response, or lack thereof, from each of the one or more inference process within a predetermine amount of time, the inference manager may provide an indication to an experience design selector. The experience design selector may then select, based on the indication, from a plurality user experience designs to provide to the client device in a page response.

Generally, user experience may refer to a person's perceptions and responses that result from the use or anticipated use of a product, system, and/or service. This may include one or more of a user's emotions, beliefs, preferences, perceptions, physical responses, psychological responses, and behaviors that occur before, during, and after use. User experience design may refer to the process of enhancing user experience/satisfaction with a product, system, and/or service by improving the usability, accessibility, and desirability provided in the interaction with the product, system, and/or service. Typically, user experience design includes the practice of designing products, processes, services, event, omnichannel journeys, and/or environments with a focus placed on the quality of the user experience and culturally relevant solutions. For example, an enterprise may engage in user experience design to improve customer satisfaction.

Techniques for selecting a user experience design


Disclosed is a method of pasteurizing a liquid whole egg product in a continuous stream. The method comprises the steps of: (a) providing an egg yolk product stream and an egg white product stream; (b) heating the egg yolk product stream to a predetermined temperature greater than the highest temperature of the egg white product stream; and then (c) recombining the egg yolk product stream and the egg white product stream to form a whole egg product stream, the whole egg product stream having (e.g., equilibrating to) a second predetermined temperature; wherein the total thermal treatment received by the liquid whole egg product during the process is at least sufficient to pasteurize the product.

Large quantities of liquid egg products are pasteurized each year to produce products sold in refrigerated form with limited shelf life. See generally. Egg Pasteurization Manual (USDA Agricultural Research Service 1969). More recently, the provision of techniques for ultrapasteurizing liquid egg products has led to considerable interest in marketing liquid egg products which have extended shelf lives under refrigerated conditions.
M. Hamid-Samimi et al., in IUFOST Symposium on Aseptic Processing & Packaging of Foods Proceedings, 229 (Symposium held Sept. 9-12, 1985, in Tylosand, Sweden), concerns ultrapasteurizing liquid egg in which the egg is heated by contacting to a heated surface. See also U.S. Pat. No. 4,808,425, issued Feb. 28, 1989.
Eynon Jones U.S. Pat. No. 3,113,872 discloses a method of treating liquid egg products (shown schematically in FIG. 2 therein) which employs (a) a first heating step in which liquid egg is contacted to a heated surface, (b) a first vacuum evaporation and cooling step, (c) a second heating step in which liquid egg is contacted to steam, and (d) a second vacuum evaporation and cooling step.
T. Sugihara et al., Food Technology 20, 1 (1966) discloses a method of treating liquid whole egg (shown schematically in FIG. 1 on page 4 thereof) which employs (a) a first heating step in which liquid egg is contacted to a heated surface, (b) a second heating step in which the liquid egg is contacted to steam, and (c) a vacuum evaporation and cooling step. L. Kline et al., Food Technology, 105 (November 1965), at page 114, report a method of processing liquid egg white similar to the method of processing liquid whole egg disclosed by Sugihara et al., supra.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,957,760 of Swartzel, Ball, and Liebrecht, titled "Ultrapasteurization of Liquid Whole Egg Products with Direct Heat," and filed Feb. 16, 1989, discloses a method of ultrapasteurizing a liquid whole egg product in which the product is initially heated to a first predetermined temperature in a first heating step. The product is then maintained at the first predetermined temperature for a first predetermined holding time. Next, the product is heated to a second predetermined temperature in a direct heating step. The product is then maintained at the second predetermined temperature for a second predetermined holding time sufficient to cause the desired bacterial kill in the product. The product is then cooled and aseptically packaged to provide a packaged liquid whole egg product having a shelf life of at least four weeks under refrigerated conditions. In a preferred embodiment of the invention disclosed therein, the product is heated by steam injection in the direct heating step and then cooled without the use of a vacuum chamber.
Ultrapasteurization processes which contact the liquid whole egg product to a heated surface produce products of excellent quality, but have limited run times due to eventual fouling of the heated surface. Ultrapasteurization processes which contact the liquid whole egg product to steam make longer run times available, but the relative severity of the steam contact step usually results in a lower quality product. In view of the significant demand for ultrapasteurized liquid whole egg products, there is a need for new ultrapasteurization processes which provide greater control over the process so as to make longer run times with higher quality products possible. The present invention is based on our ongoing efforts to provide improved techniques for pasteurizing and ultrapasteurizing such products.

Method for pasteurizing liquid whole egg products


A device for biospecifically purifying a liquid having a first portion containing cellular elements and a second portion without cellular elements, the device comprising a casing, a duct for conducting the liquid into the casing, a filter disposed within the casing for tangentially filtering the liquid to separate first portion from the second portion, a filter disposed within the casing for transversely filtering the separated second portion to biospecifically purify the liquid after the separation of the cellular elements, ducts for evacuating the first portion and second portion from the casing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for treating biological liquids to remove undesirable substances contained therein, and more specifically to a device for filtering and biospecifically purifying biological liquid such as blood.
2. Description of The Related Art
At present there are many pathologies associated with the presence of undesirable components in the blood. It is, therefore, worthwhile to have the capability to selectively clear the blood of these substances. Many devices have been proposed for this purpose.
French patent application 2,035,134 proposes a device for eliminating proteins or specific amino acids from the blood by passing blood over an active substance. However, such a device carries major drawbacks such as the risk of degrading specific elements of the blood, particularly erythrocytes thus causing hemolysis.
Since the undesirable substances that one wishes to eliminate from the blood are present in the liquid fraction of the blood which is called blood plasma, it has been proposed to treat only the blood plasma. French Patent Application 2,325,390 discloses this type of a first device for separating the plasma from the specific elements of the blood and a second device in series with the first device for purifying the plasma. Although this system has the advantage of not requiring contact between the specific elements of the blood and the treatment agent contained in the purification device, it has the drawback of requiring the circulation of a considerable quantity of liquid plasma. Since this quantity is withdrawn from the patient's blood circulation, it is very important to minimize the amount withdrawn as much as possible.
In European Patent Application E-P 139,949 a device has been proposed comprising an internal bundle of hollow fibers constituting a semipermeable membrane, and intended to separate the plasma from the specific elements of the blood. This bundle of hollow fibers is surrounded by a treatment chamber containing an agent for treating the plasma. The blood, circulating inside the hollow fiber is treated through filtration by the agent. This device uses the processes of filtration and retrofiltration. As the blood to be treated enters the first section of the device, the pressure of the blood inside the fibers causes plasma to pass from the inside of the fibers towards the treatment chamber by convection. Conversely, in the second section, near the outlet of the device, the pressure of the blood inside the fibers is lower than the pressure of the plasma in the treatment chamber, causing the plasma to filter back and rejoin the blood enriched with specific elements. The plasma obtained by filtration of the blood through the wall of the hollow fibers is treated by an agent contained in the treatment chamber. Therefore, a recombination of the specific elements of the blood with the purified plasma is obtained in the second section of the device, and flows through the outlet.
Although this system remedies a certain number of drawbacks of the prior art, it has the disadvantage of being limited by the plasma filtration flow through the semi-permeable membrane. In fact, in order for the processes of filtration and retrofiltration to be used for plasmapheresis, the difference in pressure on either side of the membrane must cancel out at the center of the module, requiring a zero flow of filtration at that point.
To increase overall plasmafiltration flow, it is necessary to either increase the filtration surface, the blood flow, or the drop in pressure of the blood inside the device. In view of its limited filtration capacity, such a device does not make it possible to meet present performance requirements.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,361,484 proposes a blood purification device having a microporous membrane, wherein the pores on a portion of the membrane remote from the passing blood hold a biologically active substance. The patent also discloses a purification device comprising means for subjecting the blood to be purified to pressure variations so as to produce an alternating passing of a fraction of the blood through the micropores of the membrane. Thus, only the plasma fraction of the blood to be purified penetrates through the micropores of the membrane and comes into contact with the biologically active substances.
Such a device eliminates the preliminary stage of plasma filtration and prevents contact between the blood cells and the biologically active substances. However, apart from being complicated to operate, such a device presents serious manufacturing difficulties. Moreover, it seems difficult to attain an adequate purification rate with such a device.
Thus, the biospecific purification devices of the prior art do not allow for satisfactory treatment of a biological liquid such as blood.
An object of the present invention is to provide a biospecific purification device, not having the drawbacks of the prior art and permitting good purification of a biological liquid such as blood without the risk of destroying cells.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a biospecific purification device, not requiring the circulation of a large quantity of liquid.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a biospecific purification device that is easily manufactured at low cost.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a biospecific purification device with good efficiency relative to the size and bulk of the device.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a biospecific purification device which is simple to operate, reliable, and has all the necessary patient safeguards.
The foregoing objects are provided by a device for biospecifically purifying a liquid having a first portion containing cellular elements and a second portion without cellular elements, said device comprising, a casing means for conducting said liquid into said casing, means disposed within said casing for tangentially filtering said first portion from said second portion, means disposed within said casing for transversely filtering said second portion to biospecifically purify the liquid after the separation of said cellular elements, means for evacuating said first portion and said second portion from said casing.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Integrated device for the biospecific purification of a liquid containing cellular elements


A MOS transistor that includes: a semiconductor substrate; a well region formed in the semiconductor substrate, where a trench region is defined in the well region; an isolator formed on a corner of the trench region, where the trench region is filled with polysilicon; a gate conductor formed over the trench region; and source/drain regions formed within the well region laterally aligned to the gate conductor. A suitable method to form the MOS transistor includes the acts of: forming a well region in a semiconductor substrate; forming a trench region in the well region; forming an isolator in a corner of the trench region; filling the trench region with polysilicon; forming a gate conductor formed over the trench region; and forming source/drain regions within the well region on opposite sides of the gate conductor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for fabricating semiconductor devices, and more particularly, to a MOS transistor and a method for fabricating the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 shows a conventional MOS transistor. The conventional MOS transistor includes a P or N-type semiconductor substrate 1, a well region 3 formed in the semiconductor substrate 1 doped with impurities having conductivity opposite to those doped in the substrate 1, and isolation regions 2 realized by forming openings in the semiconductor substrate 1 and filling the openings with an oxide material (e.g. silicon oxide).
Formed over a "channel portion" of the well region 3 are a gate oxide layer 4 and a polysilicon gate structure 5 (hereinafter "gate conductor" refers to both gate oxide layer 4 and a polysilicon gate structure 5 together). Oxide spacers 7 are formed along sidewalls of the gate oxide layer 4 and the gate structure 5. Formed in the well region 3 between the gate structure 5 and the isolation regions 2 are source/drain region 6 into which impurities having a conductivity opposite to that of the impurities doped into the well region 3, are shallowly doped.
Where a channel length, i.e., the spacing between the source and drain regions (item C of FIG. 1) of the above described MOS transistor is less than 2 .mu.m, "short channel effects" such as punchthrough can occur. Punchthrough is associated with the merging of source and drain depletion layers, i.e., when the drain depletion layer extends across the substrate and reaches the source depletion layer, thereby causing a destructive conduction path or leakage current between the source and drain. A drain depletion layer forms and spreads as the voltage applied across the transistor from the drain to the source (hereinafter drain-source voltage V.sub.DS) is increased. At a certain drain-source voltage V.sub.DS called the punchthrough voltage, the width of the drain depletion layer approaches the channel length, and the depletion regions meet, resulting in punchthrough. Punchthrough results in, e.g., a constant drain current for increasing drain voltages.
Therefore, what is needed is a method and apparatus for controlling punchthrough in semiconductor devices.

MOS transistor that inhibits punchthrough and method for fabricating the same


A method and system for transporting objects without causing harmful physical contact is disclosed. The method and system can be used in a manufacturing process for fabricating spherical shaped semiconductor devices. The method cools the spherical shaped device and applies moisture such as de-ionized water. The moisture forms a coat of ice on an outer surface of the cooled spherical shaped device. The spherical shaped device with the coat of ice can then be easily transported, the ice preventing any harmful physical contact to the device. Once the spherical shaped device with the coat of ice has been transported, the device is heated to remove the coat of ice therefrom

The invention relates generally to device transportation systems, and in one embodiment, to a method and system for forming ice on spherical-shaped objects for use in the manufacture and transport of spherical-shaped semiconductor integrated circuits.
Conventional integrated circuits, or "chips," are formed from a flat surface semiconductor wafer. The semiconductor wafer is first manufactured in a semiconductor material manufacturing facility and is then provided to a fabrication facility. At the latter facility, several layers are processed onto the semiconductor wafer surface. Once completed, the wafer is then cut into one or more chips and assembled into packages. Although the processed chip includes several layers fabricated thereon, the chip still remains relatively flat.
A fabrication facility is relatively expensive due to the enormous effort and expense required for creating flat silicon wafers and chips. For example, manufacturing the wafers requires several high-precision steps including creating rod-form polycrystalline semiconductor material; precisely cutting ingots from the semiconductor rods; cleaning and drying the cut ingots; manufacturing a large single crystal from the ingots by melting them in a quartz crucible; grinding, etching, and cleaning the surface of the crystal; cutting, lapping and polishing wafers from the crystal; and heat processing the wafers. Moreover, the wafers produced by the above processes typically have many defects which are largely attributable to the difficulty in making a single, highly pure crystal due to the above cutting, grinding and cleaning processes as well as due to the impurities, including oxygen, associated with containers used in forming the crystals. These defects become more and more prevalent as the integrated circuits formed on these wafers become smaller.
Another major problem associated with modern fabrication facilities for flat chips is that they require extensive and expensive equipment. For example, dust-free clean rooms and temperature-controlled manufacturing and storage areas are necessary to prevent the wafers and chips from defecting and warping. Also, these types of fabrication facilities suffer from a relatively inefficient throughput as well as an inefficient use of the silicon. For example, because the wafers are round and the completed chips are rectangular, the peripheral portion of each wafer cannot be used.
Therefore, due to these and various other problems, only a few companies in the world today can successfully manufacture conventional flat chips. Furthermore, the chips must bear a high price to cover the costs of manufacturing, as well as the return on initial capital and investment.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,955,776, assigned to the same assignee as the present application and hereby incorporated by reference as if reproduced in its entirety, a method and system for manufacturing spherical-shaped semiconductor integrated circuits is disclosed. A manufacturing process disclosed in the aforementioned patent utilizes "tubes" to not only process the spherical-shaped semiconductor integrated circuits, but to transport them from process to process. By using tubes in this manner, a true pipeline production system is obtained, and conventional clean room requirements are significantly reduced.
Complicating the manufacturing process for spherical-shaped semiconductor integrated circuits are the special handling requirements which must be afforded the circuits during their manufacture. Unlike conventional integrated circuits formed on only one surface of a semiconductor wafer, the spherical-shaped semiconductor integrated circuit produced from a spherical-shaped substrate may consume the entire surface area of the substrate. Therefore, the spherical-shaped semiconductor integrated circuits cannot be placed on a conventional wafer chuck or carried in a conventional wafer boat. If this were done, at least a portion of the substrate's surface, and any integrated circuit produced thereon, would receive harmful physical contact. Furthermore, even tube processing and transporting, such as is disclosed in presently incorporated U.S. Pat. No. 5,955,776, may cause harmful physical contact. It is understood that although a moderate amount of contact may not be harmful, contact caused by bumping around a processing or transport tube can cause severe damage to the spherical-shaped semiconductor integrated circuits.
Thus, there remains a need for a system and method capable of readily transporting spherical-shaped objects without causing harmful physical contact.

Non-damage transport system by ice condensation


An electrical interconnect including a first circuitry layer with a first surface and a second surface. A first liquid dielectric layer is imaged directly on the first surface of the first circuitry layer to form a first dielectric layer with a plurality of first recesses. Conductive plating substantially fills a plurality of the first recesses to create a plurality of first solid copper conductive pillars electrically coupled to, and extending generally perpendicular to, the first circuitry layer. A second liquid dielectric layer is imaged directly on the first dielectric layer to form a second dielectric layer with a plurality of second recesses. Conductive plating substantially fills a plurality of the second recesses to form a plurality of second solid copper conductive pillars electrically coupled to, and extending parallel with, the first conductive pillars. An IC device is electrically coupled to a plurality of the second conductive pillars.

Traditional printed circuits are often constructed in what is commonly called rigid or flexible formats. The rigid versions are used in nearly every electronic system, where the printed circuit board (PCB) is essentially a laminate of materials and circuits that when built is relatively stiff or rigid and cannot be bent significantly without damage.
Flexible circuits have become very popular in many applications where the ability to bend the circuit to connect one member of a system to another has some benefit. These flexible circuits are made in a very similar fashion as rigid PCB's, where layers of circuitry and dielectric materials are laminated. The main difference is the material set used for construction. Typical flexible circuits start with a polymer film that is clad, laminated, or deposited with copper. A photolithography image with the desired circuitry geometry is printed onto the copper, and the polymer film is etched to remove the unwanted copper. Flexible circuits are very commonly used in many electronic systems such as notebook computers, medical devices, displays, handheld devices, autos, aircraft and many others.
Flexible circuits are processed similar to that of rigid PCB's with a series of imaging, masking, drilling, via creation, plating, and trimming steps. The resulting circuit can be bent, without damaging the copper circuitry. Flexible circuits are solderable, and can have devices attached to provide some desired function. The materials used to make flexible circuits can be used in high frequency applications where the material set and design features can often provide better electrical performance than a comparable rigid circuit.
Flexible circuits are connected to electrical system in a variety of ways. In most cases, a portion of the circuitry is exposed to create a connection point. Once exposed, the circuitry can be connected to another circuit or component by soldering, conductive adhesive, thermo-sonic welding, pressure or a mechanical connector. In general, the terminals are located on an end of the flexible circuit, where edge traces are exposed or in some cases an area array of terminals are exposed. Often there is some sort of mechanical enhancement at or near the connection to prevent the joints from being disconnected during use or flexure.
In general, flexible circuits are expensive compared to some rigid PCB products. Flexible circuits also have some limitations regarding layer count or feature registration, and are therefore generally only used for small or elongated applications.
Rigid PCBs and package substrates experience challenges as the feature sizes and line spacing are reduced to achieve further miniaturization and increased circuit density. The use of laser ablation has become increasingly used to create the via structures for fine line or fine pitch structures. The use of lasers allows localized structure creation, where the processed circuits are plated together to create via connections from one layer to another. As density increases, however, laser processed via structures can experience significant taper, carbon contamination, layer-to-layer shorting during the plating process due to registration issues, and high resistance interconnections that may be prone to result in reliability issues. The challenge of making fine line PCBs often relates to the difficulty in creating very small or blind and buried vias.

Copper pillar full metal via electrical circuit structure


In a power converting apparatus having a plurality of phases on an AC side and configured to perform conversion between DC power and AC power, a current detector detects currents flowing through a DC source line through which a plurality of phase currents commonly flow. A control unit sets a current detection period and a succeeding current control period in each successive control cycle. Using first gate signals based on reference gate signals for PWM control, the control unit calculates values of the individual phase currents from the first gate signals and the detected currents during the current detection period. Then, during the current control period, the control unit performs PWM control using phase voltage commands generated by correcting phase voltage target values so as to cancel out voltage errors that occur during the current detection period.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power converting apparatus for performing conversion between DC power and AC power by using a plurality of semiconductor switching devices and, more particularly, to a power converting apparatus configured to operate by pulse-width modulation (PWM) control operation while detecting a plurality of phase currents.
2. Description of the Background Art
A conventional arrangement for increasing an output of a power converting apparatus is to use a multiplex inverter in which a plurality of three-phase inverters are connected in parallel. This kind of multiplex inverter is provided with three-phase inverters each including three current detectors and operates by PWM control while detecting individual phase currents (refer to Japanese Patent No. 4625147 and Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2011-131860, for example).
A conventional arrangement for detecting phase currents of a three-phase inverter is as follows. A power converting apparatus repeatedly executes inverter control operation at intervals of an inverter control period having a specific length. A phase current detection period during which the phase currents are detected is provided between successive inverter control periods. The power converting apparatus controls switching states of individual switching devices of inverter circuits so that a shunt resistor outputs a voltage pulse having a pulse duration larger than that of a voltage pulse output during the inverter control period during each phase current detection period (refer to Japanese Patent No. 4671000, for example).
The conventional multiplex inverter like those of Japanese Patent No. 4625147 and Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2011-131860 cited above is provided with a plurality of three-phase inverters each including three current detectors. Thus, the total number of the current detectors required in each of such multiplex inverters is three times the number of the three-phase inverters. A problem of this arrangement is therefore an increase in size of the apparatus associated with an increase in manufacturing cost.
In the power converting apparatus described in Japanese Patent No. 4671000 cited above which is configured to detect the individual phase currents by using a single current detector, an output voltage of the current detector is kept at a fixed level during each phase current detection period. A problem of this arrangement is that voltage and current output waveforms can be distorted if the output voltage deviates from a desired voltage.


A system in one embodiment comprises a first endpoint device that is configured to communicate with a second endpoint device using a given communication protocol. The first endpoint device is configured to monitor a communication session under the given communication protocol and to generate monitoring data associated with the communication session. The first endpoint device is configured to determine that a designated network condition has occurred based at least in part on the monitoring data. The first endpoint device is configured to activate a performance monitoring component based at least in part on the determination that the designated network condition has occurred and to generate performance data utilizing the activated performance monitoring component. The first endpoint device is configured to anonymize and store the performance data.

The use of session encryption protocols in networking has resulted in increased security for communication sessions between devices in a network. However, session encryption protocols often limit the information that is available to an endpoint device for monitoring the condition of a network. For example, in a message transmitted under a session encrypted protocol, the available information for diagnosing and monitoring network conditions is often limited to the information found in the packet headers or the information that is directly available on the device receiving the message itself.