A system for creating as-built or measured drawings is described herein. The invention allows an operator to collect a set of data at a job-site, in such a manner that individual components of the job-site are linked relative to one another and to use that data to create accurate measured drawings that reflect the structure and content layout of the site. A knowledge based system is used to parse the data in real-time to produce a visual indication that the data has been recorded correctly. Error minimizing functions are used to ensure data integrity. The data may then be uploaded to a central computer server, for content-checking, authorization, and archival purposes. Since the invention provides an integrated environment for recording data and creating drawings, the need to translate data between systems is minimized, reducing the possibility of errors due to operator mis-keying or mis-interpretation.

Measured drawings, commonly referred to as "as-builts", are a set of architectural line drawings that are made from measurements of existing structures or building sites. These drawings accurately delineate the subject buildings and sites in their current existing condition. Typically used to display information for structural and aesthetic evaluation they are the first documents required in the remodel construction permit process. Thus, a measured drawing is always created after a building or structure is completed, sometimes many weeks, months, or years later. Measured drawings can include a floor plan, site plan, section and elevation drawings as well as structural engineering drawings that illustrate foundation and roof framing details to name a few. As they are defined, measured drawings contrast with architectural construction documents commonly referred to as "blueprints" which are created before the building or structure is built.
Measured drawings are used by a variety of people for a wide range of tasks. They are used for rentable space calculations, real property legal records, facilities management databases, historic structure records and emergency access plans among others. For example, an obvious user is an architectural or construction firm that wishes to ensure a particular building or site was constructed according to the architectural blueprint or design plans. Civil engineers, factory and plant designers, and landscape designers use measured drawings for similar purposes. Other, less obvious users of measured drawings include building and office managers, who may for example wish to determine and track the layout of offices within a particular floor of a building; and facilities managers, who will typically use measured drawings as a precursor to adequately coordinate the installation of facilities (electrical, plumbing, air-conditioning, etc.) after a new building has been completed structurally. Measured drawings are also of great use to the legal and insurance industry for gathering an accurate assay of a building's structural composition; and to emergency (fire, police, rescue) departments for creating accurate maps of major buildings that may at some point be entered or searched. In an increasingly important field, measured drawings are also used prior to renovation of older and perhaps architecturally significant buildings to verify the current state of the building or job-site.
A great advantage of measured drawings over the more ubiquitous and commonly known "blueprint" style of drawing is that a measured drawing takes into account and reflects any changes made to the building or structure subsequent to the initial construction period. Blueprints are almost never updated to reflect minor structural changes, such as moving doorways or windows, and are rarely updated to reflect even major changes, such as wall and ceiling modifications, and "add-ons". For some buildings, such as an old or domestic residence, a blueprint may never have existed, and if one does exist it is likely to be out of date and unuseable. Additionally, measured drawings can include features such as cabinets, fittings, fixtures and furniture, that may never have been specified in a blueprint or original floor plan.
The traditional process of gathering data for these unique drawings has not changed, employing limited technology and no standard methodology. The practitioner, usually an engineer or architect, must rely on his or her own logic. The typical solution has been a two person team of operators, armed with a camera, tape measure, pencil and sketchpad, who visits the job-site (a building, plant, engineering project or work area). The team takes a variety of measurements at each location (in each room of a building for example), and sketches a diagram with annotations for every line on the paper. The structural data, in the form of these photos, notes and sketches is then taken back to the office for transcribing into measured drawings, with either pencil and straight edge, or with the aid of a computer aided drawing (CAD) application.
Clearly, the traditional process is lacking in a standard methodology in which data is collected and verified. There are no set rules as to whether a sketch should be created for every structural element prior to leaving the work site, and there are no fixed links between the data measured and the sketch drawn-both are somewhat subjectively generated and dependent on the skill of the measurer/drawer respectively. The accuracy of the final measured drawing is dependent on a number of factors:                First, the skill of the operator in taking the initial measurements, and the accuracy of his/her instruments may effect the accuracy of the data. Skilled operators will obviously take better measurements than un-skilled operators, but sometimes even operators of equal skill have to make judgment calls as to how to proceed, and at that point their determinations may differ. Since the traditional process affords no rigorous schema or guidelines for taking measurements, discrepancies may creep in when two or more operators are working on the same job-site (as is a common occurrence). Furthermore, using traditional methods, measurements are most often manually taken (for example with a measuring tape), and then manually recorded (on paper). Very little automatic measuring/recording is ever used.        Second, there is no link between taking measurements and linking the measurements of one structural feature or one object to another. The operator takes a set of measurements and records them on paper (such as for example, wall 1: length, 12 feet; height, 8 feet). The next entry maybe for another wall (wall 2: length, 8 feet; height, 8 feet), but no attempt is made to link or relate the two walls (entries) to one another. Typically, the only link that exists between two such entries is that the surveyor or operator personally knows them to be, say, at a right angle to each other, or has taken the foresight to sketch the walls appropriately. Such subjectiveness in linking structural components (walls, windows, and other objects such as doors and furniture) means that most often only the operator who sketched and noted the initial on-site measurements is fully knowledgeable or even capable of reading or deciphering those same measurements back in the office to create the final measured drawings.        Third, there is a loss of accuracy due to translation between systems. The traditional process of creating measured drawings involves a lot of translation between systems, some being manual (pen and paper-based) while others being automated or computerized (like CAD applications). The initial measurements are typically taken by a surveyor or contractor. As used herein the terms surveyor, contractor, and operator are used to refer to any person recording data for use in creating measured drawings, or using said data to actually create the drawings.
Sometimes more than one surveyor will work at a job-site and these surveyors may use different systems for taking measurements, and different notations, etc. At some point each note on every sketch must be translated to a data format that is compatible with the drawing system, be it man or machine. The individual measurements need to be collected and someone must manually translate the measurements into a cohesive, consistent format. Errors may often creep into the data at this point. The translation from sketch to CAD data is typically done by the CAD operator while creating the final CAD drawing. This is done according to his/her interpretation of the sketched drawing, one line at a time, which is again a potential source of error. When the sketch data does not translate to a perfect drawing, a skilled CAD operator will make adjustments, often according to their own subjectiveness to produce what appears to be the correct final drawing. Since so many individuals are involved, often using slightly different methods of interpretation, the traditional methods of creating measured drawings lack consistency, and it is not uncommon for two independent surveyors to create very different measured drawings for the exact same building.
There have been attempts to address the problems associated with the traditional measured drawings process. These include the PenMap application from Penmetrics, Inc. and the PlanSurveyor application from InfoQuest Technologies, Inc. Both of these systems utilize a computerized sketch pad and custom CAD software designed specifically to facilitate drawing of each element of a structure while walking the site. This approach does not provide a data acquisition procedure and requires the user to function as the data input/output, storage, KBS, and the draftsperson simultaneously. These systems replace the pencil and paper used in the traditional method, and as such are more convenient, but otherwise provide little other benefit. Other available systems incorporate automated measuring devices such as scanning lasers and photogrammetry, which are very sophisticated technology with limited application, are often difficult to use, and drive the cost of producing measured drawings upwards and beyond the reach of many potential consumers. What is needed is a system and a method that not only addresses the problems associated with the traditional method, namely the reliance on operator skill, the lack of relational linking between structural objects, and the loss of accuracy due to multiple translation between systems, but does so rapidly, conveniently, and at a cost that is desirable or accessible to the majority of consumers.


A portable, closed circuit, disposable device for post operatory surgical suction which comprised a bellows-shaped body receptacle for suctioned fluids, a threaded neck located on the upper surface of said bellows-shaped body suitable to receive a threaded cap; said cap being provided with a suction tube system connected through said cap into the bellows-shaped body, and said system of tubes is provided with a check-valve, wherein said bellows-shaped body is provided with a cannula in its lower surface, having a nearly rectangular longitudinal section, having a lower end wall, wherein the side wall of said cannula is provided with at least one opening located in a position close to said lower end wall of said cannula; where an elastic tube, with a longer extension than said cannula, is introduced under pressure in said cannula in order to close the at least one opening of said cannula, and wherein a tube of rigid or semi-rigid material is introduced in said cannula, fixing the elastic tube between its interior side wall and the exterior side wall of said cannula.

Known post operatory suction devices are based on a bellows-shaped body, which acts as the suction receptacle, normally provided with a threaded neck on its upper surface, said neck being apt to receive a threaded cap; wherein said cover is equipped with a system of suction tubes or pipes connected through said cover with the inside of said bellows-shaped body; said tube system being provided with a check valve, and since the system is sealed, when the bellows-shaped body is collapsed an internal negative pressure is generated in the interior of the bellows-shaped body providing suction capacity therein. The suction capacity will operate from the injury, through the tubes, and up to the bellows-shaped body where the suctioned liquids are deposited. Once the bellows-shaped body has recovered its maximum extended capacity, the device loses its suction capacity and the same contains the aspirated or suctioned liquids. It is then necessary to open the system--by separating the body from the tube system--in order to be able to empty the contents of said bellow-shaped body to a waste matter container. The device is provided with two access ports: a first port connected to the tube or tubes directed to the injury, through which tubes the fluids are drained to the inside of the device; and a second port provided with a cap or a plug, which may have various shapes depending on the specific design, for drainage of liquids suctioned cut of the wound.
Thus, the state-of-the art equipment presents two risk factors, namely: a) when the equipment is opened, the normal contaminating elements present in a post-operatory room, can penetrate into the collector device and, through the connection of the same, they may reach the wound; and b) the operator of the equipment, independent of careful handling, is highly exposed to contamination from the extracted fluids, which certainly present risk due to viruses such as hepatitis B, AIDS, and many others.

Portable disposable device for post-surgical suction


A router has a function of providing a label used for transferring a datalink frame by a cut-through operation (i.e., datalink-layer switching). Whether the cut-through operation is to be performed or not is indicated by a cut-through declarator described in a prescribed portion (e.g., OUI field) within an upper-layer-protocol identifying information region (e.g., SNAP field) of a received frame or signaling message. The information described in the remaining portion (e.g., PID field) within the upper-layer-protocol identifying information region and the information described in the destination or source datalink-layer address region of the received frame or signaling message are used as the label for identifying in the datalink layer a packet flow to which a received frame belongs.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a router that connects communication networks and to transfer frames, and also to a frame transfer method used in the router.
2. Description of the Related Art
Routers, which are used for connecting different local area networks (LANs), transfer datagrams from one LAN to another LAN. A datagram includes not only communication information to be transferred, but also communication network addresses (which are the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses if communications are made by the IP), such as a source address and a final destination address. By using the address information, the router determines its network interface through which the datagram is to be output and a next-hop nodes (a router or a host) to which the datagram is to be transferred.
In a typical conventional router, upon receiving from a LAN a datalink layer frame (for example, a Media Access Control (MAC) frame or an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) cell) defined by a datalink layer (for example, the MAC layer or the ATM layer), datalink layer processing is performed on the received frame, and then, the frame is converted into a packet (datagram) that can be handled in the network layer. Subsequently, the router determines, based on the network layer address of the final destination described in the datagram, the output interface of the router through which the datagram is to be output and the network layer address of the next-hop node to which the output datagram is to be transferred. The router then delivers the datagram to the determined output interface. The output interface determines the datalink layer address from the network layer address of the next-hop node, and constructs a datalink layer frame and outputs it to a LAN.
The conventional router transfers communication information according to the above-described procedure. In other words, after converting the received datalink layer frame into network layer packet, the router refers to the content of the packet, such as the final destination address and the source address, and then determines, based on the network layer routing table stored in the router, the output interface and the next-hop node to which the packet is to be transferred. Afterwards, the router re-converts the network layer packet into a datalink layer frame and then outputs it toward the next-hop node.
During the above transfer operation, a heavy load of processing is imposed on the router, such as conversion from the received datalink layer frame into a network layer packet, search through the network layer routing table, and re-conversion from the packet into a datalink frame, thereby increasing the processing time required for transferring the received datalink layer frame land the processing load within the router.
In order to reduce the processing load in the router, the following method has been proposed in which the next-hop node is determined in the datalink layer without referring to network layer information described In the packet. This transfer method is sometimes referred to as the xe2x80x9ccut-through transferxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9clabel switchingxe2x80x9d, or xe2x80x9cdatalink-layer switchingxe2x80x9d.
In a shared-media network, such as the Ethernet, there are two types of methods for implementing the xe2x80x9ccut-through transferxe2x80x9d function.
In one method, a specific field having a few bytes is installed between the datalink header of the MAC frame and network protocol data such as the IP data (See Y. Rekhter et al., xe2x80x9cTag Switching Architecturexe2x80x94Overviewxe2x80x9d, IETF Internet Draft draft-rekhter-tagswitch-arch-00.txt, January 1997). Then, a virtual identifier (corresponding to a xe2x80x9clabelxe2x80x9d, which will be described later) assigned in correspondence with a network layer packet flow (defined by, for example, the final destination information, or a combination of the destination information and the source information) is filled in the specific field, thereby determining the next-hop node based on the datalink layer frame itself (i.e., switching the frame in the datalink layer). According to this method, since a specific field is installed in a payload of the MAC frame, the length of the network protocol data in the frame which is to be transferred by using this xe2x80x9ccut-throughxe2x80x9d function is shorter than that in a typical frame whose next-hop node is to be determined in the network layer. It is thus necessary to re-adjust and modify the length of the datagram in the network layer in order to implement the aforementioned cut-through transfer function.
In the other method, the above-described virtual identifier is written into the MAC address (See U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/941,735 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,188,689). In this method, it is necessary to newly learn the MAC address which is actually the virtual identifier in the router or the host. This learning may also be necessary in a bridge device, an Ethernet switch, etc. in the shared-media network.
To implement the cut-through function in a virtual-connection network, such as an ATM network, a virtual connection within a LAN, which is supposed to transfer frames by the cut-through method, is uniquely identified by the nodes located at both ends of the virtual connection. After this identification of the virtual connection is completed in the both nodes, frames are transmitted and transferred by using the virtual connection corresponding to the network layer packet flow to which the frames belong. If an ATM switch is provided within the LAN (i.e., between an upstream node and a downstream node of one virtual connection), the ATM switch converts the Virtual Path Identifier/Virtual Connection Identifier (VPI/VCI) used in the ATM and, as a result, the upstream node and the downstream node cannot identify the virtual connection as the common value. To identify the virtual connection uniquely even in this kind of situation, there may be two methods available for sharing the virtual connection identifier by the two neighboring nodes.
In one method, an identifier that can be shared by the two neighboring nodes is sent through the virtual connection itself (i.e. the common identifier is sent by an inband message) (See K. Nagami et al., xe2x80x9cFlow Attribute Notification Protocol (FANP) Specificationxe2x80x9d, IETF Internet Draft draft-rfced-info-nagami-00.txt, February 1997). In this method, since a message including the identifier of the connection is sent onto the connection itself, the following problem is encountered, for example, when a point-multipoint connection is used in a switching function of the router. In this case, when a new leaf is added to an existing cut-through connection, the cut-through transfer operation is required to be temporarily halted in order to send a message including the common identifier onto the cut-through connection.
In the other method, a formal common identifier of a target virtual connection can be finally shared by the two neighboring nodes according to the following two steps of operation (See U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/038,159). A provisional common identifier whose size is shorter than that of the formal common identifier is initially shared by the two neighboring nodes, by writing the provisional common identifier into a field, which can be freely used by an user, in a signaling message for setting the target virtual connection. Then, a message for correlating the provisional identifier and the formal identifier of a sufficient length is sent onto a connection other than the target virtual (i.e., by an out-band message). This method is free from the problem encountered by the in-band message method. However, when the point-multipoint connection is used in a switching function of the router, the provisional identifier may need to be locked for a new leaf, which may be added to the existing connection later. In this case, there may become no more provisional identifier available for a new connection to be set.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a mechanism for enabling a router that connects shared-media networks, such as the Ethernet, to do the datalink-layer switching for high-speed, low-latency packet transfer, without needing to readjust or modify the packet length or to learn additional MAC addresses.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a mechanism for enabling a router that connects virtual-connection networks, such as ATM networks or frame relays, to use a signaling message itself for notifying a neighboring node of a common identifier of a sufficient size which identifies a virtual connection established by the signaling message and connected with the neighboring node, thereby realizing the datalink-layer switching through the established virtual connection.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a network interconnection apparatus (a router) comprising al memory for storing an identifier for identifying a packet-flow to which a datalink frame belongs and a datalink-layer address of a next-hop node to which the datalink frame belonging to the packet-flow is to be transferred; a receiving unit for receiving a datalink frame from one network; and a transfer unit for
1) examining information described in a prescribed portion (for example, an Organizationally Unique Identifier (OUI) field, whose value is assigned to an organization) within an upper-layer-protocol identifying information region (for example, a Sub-Network Access Point (SNAP) field) of the frame received by the receiving unit,
2) obtaining, when the information examined indicates that a datalink-layer switching (in other words, a frame transfer bypassing the network-layer processing) is to be performed, a datalink-layer address of a next-hop node corresponding to a packet-flow to which the frame received by the receiving unit belongs by referring to the memory based on information described in a remaining portion (for example, a Packet IDentifier (PID) field, which can be individually used according to a protocol created by the organization acquired the above OUI) other than the prescribed portion within the upper-layer-protocol identifying information region,
3) writing the datalink-layer address obtained into a destination address region of the frame, and
4) outputting the frame to another network.
With this arrangement, the information indicating whether the datalink-layer switching (cut-through transfer) is to be performed, and the identifier to be used in this datalink-layer switching, both can be carried while being included in the upper-layer-protocol identifying information region of the datalink frame, and then the length of the network protocol data (payload of the MAC frame) can be fixed irrespective of whether the datalink frame is to be transferred by the datalink-layer switching or the conventional network-layer processing. This eliminates the necessity of re-adjusting or modifying the maximum packet size, on performing the cut-through transfer. Also, regardless of whether the datalink-layer switching or the conventional network-layer processing is performed, the datalink-layer address (for example, the MAC address) of the source node (its own MAC address for the frame-outputting router/host) and the datalink-layer address of the next-hop node are written into the address regions of the datalink frame. That is, it is unnecessary for the node or the bridge to learn additional address information specially for the datalink-layer switching. As a whole, the cut-through transfer can be realized more easily and efficiently according to the present invention.
Information for identifying a packet-flow to which each datalink frame belongs may be referred to as a xe2x80x9clabelxe2x80x9d. According to the principle of the present invention, a label may be formed by a destination MAC address and the above-described PID field, or by a source MAC address and the PID field. By exchanging a message for correlating the label and the packet-flow represented by the label between the router and an upstream node, the router is able to store in the memory the correlation between the identifier (the label or a part of the label) for identifying the packet-flow and the datalink-layer address of the next-hop node toward which the frame of the packet-flow is to be transferred.
In a case (I) where the label is formed by the destination MAC address and the PID field, the information described in the PID field alone is sufficient to perform datalink-layer switching by identifying in the datalink layer the packet-flow to which the received frame belongs.
The above-described label is assigned between the router and the upstream node. If another label is assigned between the router and a downstream node in the case (I), the memory of the router may further store another identifier (downstream identifier) for allowing the next-hop (downstream) node to identify the packet-flow in the datalink layer in correspondence with the aforementioned identifier (upstream identifier) for the router to identify the packet-flow. This another identifier and the MAC address of the next-hop node form a downstream label. The transfer unit of the router may also write information indicating that a datalink-layer switching is to be performed into the prescribed portion (for example, the OUI field) in the upper-layer-protocol identifying information region of the frame, and also write the above another identifier into the remaining portion (for example the PID field) in the upper-layer-protocol identifying information region of the frame.
In this case (I), if there are a plurality of upstream nodes, the information described in the PID field may preferably be stored so that each packet-flow transferred from each upstream node is uniquely identified only by referring to the information of the PID field.
In a case (II) where the label is formed by the source MAC address and the PID field, not only the information described in the PID field but also the source MAC address (this combination forms an upstream label) are used in performing datalink-layer switching by identifying in the datalink layer the packet-flow to which the received frame belongs. That is, the transfer unit may refer to the memory by utilizing, as the identifier, a combination of the information stored in the remaining portion of the upper-layer-protocol identifying information region of the frame and the datalink-layer address of the previous-hop (upstream) node described in the source address region of the frame.
If another label is assigned between the router and a downstream node in the case (II), the memory of the router may further store another identifier (downstream identifier) for allowing the next-hop (downstream) node to identify the packet-flow in the datalink layer in correspondence with the aforementioned identifier (upstream identifier) for the router to identify the packet-flow. This another identifier and the MAC address of the router form the downstream label. The transfer unit of the router may also write information indicating that a datalink-layer switching is to be performed into the prescribed portion (for example, the OUI field) in the upper-layer-protocol identifying information region of the frame, write the above another identifier into the remaining portion (for example, the PID field) in the upper-layer-protocol identifying information region, and also write a datalink-layer address of the router into the source address region of the frame.
In this case(II), if there are a plurality of upstream nodes, the information described in the PID field may preferably be stored so that each packet-flow transferred from each upstream node is uniquely identified by a combination of the information of the PID field and the source MAC address.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a network interconnection apparatus (a router) comprising a receiving unit for receiving a signaling message for establishing a first virtual connection from a previous-hop node; a first registering unit for
1) examining information described in a prescribed portion (for example, the OUI field) of a network-layer-protocol identifying information region (for example, the SNAP field in a Broadband Low Layer Information (B-LLI) L3 field) of the signaling message received by the receiving unit, and
2) registering, when the information examined indicates that a datalink-layer switching (in other words, a frame transfer bypassing the network-layer processing) is to be performed, a first connection identifier (for example, a Virtual Connection IDentifier (VCID)) for identifying the first virtual connection in common with the previous-hop node by extracting information described in a remaining portion (for example, the PID field) other than the prescribed portion within the network-layer-protocol identifying information region; a second registering unit for
3) exchanging with the previous-hop node a flow-notifying message for correlating the first connection identifier and a packet-flow to be transferred through the first virtual connection, and
4) registering a correspondence between the first virtual connection and a second virtual connection to a next-hop node of the packet-flow indicated by the flow-notifying message; and
a transfer unit for transferring a frame received from the first virtual connection onto the second virtual connection by referring to the correspondence registered.
With this arrangement, by referring to the network-layer-protocol identifying information region in a received signaling message for establishing a virtual connection between the router and a neighboring node, the router is able to determine whether this virtual connection is to be established for the purpose of the datalink-layer switching (cut-through transfer) or for another purpose (for example, a network-layer transfer such as Classical IP over ATM). The signaling message also contains a sufficient length of a connection identifier (for example, a VCID) enabling both the router and the neighboring node to identify the virtual connection for the datalink-layer switching in common. Thus, by exchanging with the upstream node a flow-notifying message for correlating the virtual connection represented by the VCID (a kind of xe2x80x9clabelxe2x80x9d) notified by the signaling message and the corresponding packet-flow, the router is able to perform datalink-layer switching between the upstream virtual connection, which is dedicated to the packet-flow notified by the flow-notifying message, and a downstream virtual connection onto which this packet-flow is to be transferred.
If it is desired that the downstream virtual connection also be dedicated to the aforementioned packet-flow, the router may further comprise a transmitting unit for transmitting, in order to establish the second virtual connection to the next-hop node, a signaling message in which information indicating that the datalink-layer switching is to be performed is described in the prescribed portion (for example, the OUI field) of the network-layer-protocol identifying information region, and in which the second connection identifier for identifying the second virtual connection in common with the next-hop node is described using the remaining portion (for example, the PID field) of the network-layer-protocol identifying information region. The second registering unit may also transmits to or receives from the next-hop node a flow-notifying message for correlating the second connection identifier and the packet-flow to be transferred through the second virtual connection.
According to this second aspect of the present invention, as well as the first aspect of the present invention, the label (VCID) may be formed by a destination link address (for example, a destination ATM address) of the signaling message and the above-described PID field. Alternatively, the label (VCID) may be formed by a source link address (for example, a source ATM address) and the above-described PID field.
Here, only part (for example, the MAC address, which is uniquely assigned to the terminal) of the ATM address may be employed as the link address which constitutes the label.
In the router which may receive signaling messages containing different address formats, the address format type (which indicates whether the destination/source link address of the signaling Message is, for example, the ATM address or the E.164 address) may be included in the link address which constitutes the label.
In a case (I) where the destination link address is utilized in the label (VCID), the first registering unit of the router may register Was the first connection identifier the information in the PID field alone, or a combination of the information in the PID field and its own link address (which is described in the destination link address field of the signaling message from the upstream node).
If a downstream dedicated virtual connection is to be established in the case (I), the router determines as the second connection identifier a combination of a link address of the downstream node and information in the PID field which are to be written in the signaling message to the downstream node.
In a case (II) where the source link address is utilized in the label (VCID), the first registering unit may register as the first connection identifier a combination of the information described in the PID field and a link address of the upstream node (which is described in the source link address field of the signaling message from the upstream node).
If a downstream dedicated virtual connection is to be established in the case (II), the router may write its own link address into the source link address field of the signaling message to the downstream node as constituting the second connection identifier.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, datalink-layer switching is performed by reading the label or a part of the label. On the other hand, according to the second aspect of the present invention, datalink-layer switching may be performed, not by reading the VCID (label), but by reading an identifier described in the header of the datalink frame transferred through the virtual connection, for example, VPI/VCI (which will be converted at a datalink switch interposed on the virtual connection connecting the neighboring nodes). Accordingly, the second registering unit may register, as the correspondence between the first virtual connection and the second virtual connection, information (for example, VPI/VCI) described in a connection identifying information region of the upstream signaling message for establishing the first virtual connection and information (for example, VPI/VCI) described in a connection identifying information region of the downstream signaling message for establishing the second virtual connection, instead of the first connection identifier and the second connection identifier.
According to the first aspect of the present invention (corresponding to the shared-media network) and the second aspect of the present invention (corresponding to the virtual-connection network), in exchanging a message for correlating a label and a packet-flow represented by the label between neighboring nodes, the same type of message (label) format can be used. This type of label format defined by the principle of the present invention can also be used in a case where the neighboring nodes are connected by a point-to-point physical link that accommodates virtual connections. In this case, the VPI/VCI may be used as a label, and the VPI and VCI may be written into the link address and the PID field, respectively, of the same type of message format.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a frame transfer method comprising the steps of: storing in a memory an identifier for identifying a packet-flow to which a datalink frame from one logical network belongs and a datalink-layer address of a next-hop node in another logical network to which the datalink frame belonging to the packet-flow is to be transferred; receiving from said one logical network a datalink frame in which information described in a prescribed portion of an upper-layer-protocol identifying information region indicates that a datalink-layer switching is to be performed; writing the datalink-layer address obtained from the memory, by using information described in a remaining portion other than the prescribed portion of the upper-layer-protocol identifying information region as the identifier, into a destination address region of the received frame; and transmitting the frame to said another logical network.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a frame transfer method comprising the steps of: receiving a signaling message in which information described in a prescribed portion of a network-layer-protocol identifying information region indicates that a datalink-layer switching is to be performed, the signaling-message for establishing a first virtual connection from a previous-hop node; obtaining a first connection identifier for identifying the first virtual connection in common with the previous-hop node, by using information described in a remaining portion other than the prescribed portion of the network-layer-protocol identifying information region; receiving from and/or transmitting to the previous-hop node a flow-notifying message including the first connection identifier, the flow-notifying message for notifying a packet-flow to be transferred through the first virtual connection; storing in a memory information for switching the first virtual connection with a second virtual connection to a next-hop node of the notified packet-flow; and transferring a frame received from the first virtual connection onto the second virtual connection in accordance with the information stored in the memory.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer usable medium having computer readable program code embodied therein for a computer functioning as a network interconnection device which transfers datalink frames from one network to another network, the computer readable program code includes: first computer readable program code for causing said computer to register in a memory an identifier for identifying a packet-flow to which a datalink frame belongs and a datalink-layer address of a next-hop node to which the datalink frame belonging to the packet-flow is to be transferred; second computer readable program code for causing said computer to receive a frame in which information described in a prescribed portion of Ian upper-layer-protocol identifying information region indicates that a datalink-layer switching is to be performed; and third computer readable program code for causing said computer to write the datalink-layer address retrieved from the memory according to information described in a remaining portion other than the prescribed portion of the upper-layer-protocol identifying information region, into a destination address region of the received frame to be transferred.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer usable medium having computer readable program code embodied therein for a computer functioning as a network interconnection device which transfers datalink frames from a first virtual connection onto a second virtual connection, the computer readable program code includes: first computer readable program code for causing said computer to receive a signaling message in which information described in a prescribed portion of a network-layer-protocol identifying information region indicates that a datalink-layer switching is to be performed, the signaling message for establishing the first virtual connection from a previous-hop node; second computer readable program code for causing said computer to obtain a first connection identifier for identifying the first virtual connection in common with the previous-hop node, by using information described in a remaining portion other than the prescribed portion of the network-layer-protocol identifying information region; third computer readable program code for causing said computer to exchange with the previous-hop node a flow-notifying message including the first connection identifier, the flow-notifying message for notifying a packet-flow to be transferred through the first virtual connection; and fourth computer readable program code for causing said computer to register information for switching the first virtual connection with a second virtual connection to a next-hop node of the notified packet-flow.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying-drawings.
Both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description provide examples consistent with this invention and explain how to make and use systems, methods, and articles of manufacture consistent with the invention. These descriptions do not restrict the claimed invention.

Router apparatus and frame transfer method


A device for selectively compressing and decompressing an anti-sway bar. The device replaces the hand crank on traditional anti-sway bars and relieves drivers of having to get our to their vehicles to compress or decompress the anti-sway bar by hand. A lever is used to compress the anti-sway bar. The lever's head is attached to the anti-sway bar at the same position as the old hand crank, using the bolts and nuts from the hand crank. The lever is raised with the assistance of an electric motor that is controlled by a switch in the cab of the towing vehicle. The motor turns a screw that extends through a nut in the handle of the lever. Micro-switches are used to automatically stop the electric motor when the lever has reached a desired position.

The present invention relates generally to the field of anti-sway bars and more specifically to a device that can be added to a traditional anti-sway bar that allows for remote control of the clamping pressure applied to the anti-sway bar.
Anti-sway bars are routinely attached between vehicles and trailers to control swaying of trailers as they are towed behind the vehicles. An anti-sway bar is typically attached to the rear of the towing vehicle and the front of the trailer, on or near the main trailer hitch assembly. Traditional anti-sway bars have three basic parts: a large hollow (outer) bar that attaches to the trailer; a smaller solid (inner) bar that attaches to the vehicle, the inner bar being able to slide in and out of the outer bar; and a hand crank that can clamp down on the inner bar by applying pressure to a flexible surface on the outer bar. When the hand crank is tightened the clamping pressure exerted on the interior bar greatly reduces the movement of the interior bar. Instead of moving freely in and out of the outer bar, it now takes a great deal of force to make the inner bar slide. When the hand crank is loosened the inner bar is able to slide in and out of the outer bar with very little force. This allows the anti-sway bar to extend and contract between different lengths.
Prior to getting on a highway, or soon after entering a highway, drivers must get out of their cars and tighten the hand crank on traditional anti-sway bars. This holds the anti-sway bar in at a semi-fixed length and prevents the towed trailer from swaying back and forth behind the vehicle. In a similar fashion, prior to leaving a highway or soon after leaving the highway, drivers must pull over, get out of their vehicles again and loosen the hand crank on traditional anti-sway bars. This allows the driver to maneuver their vehicle and trailer through city streets and gas stations. If a driver forgets to loosen his anti-sway bar prior to maneuvering around corners, or through parking lots, the anti-sway bar may either bend or break, and will likely cause damage to the towing equipment.
Leverage is a principle of engineering that involves the use of a lever and a fulcrum. A lever is a simple machine usually consisting of a rigid bar or rod that is designed to rotate about a fixed point, the fulcrum. The effect of any force applied to a lever is to rotate the lever about the fulcrum. The rotational force is in direct proportion to the distance between the fulcrum and the applied force. For example, a mass of 1 kg, 2 m from the fulcrum, can balance a mass of 2 kg at a distance of 1 m from the fulcrum. In the crowbar, one type of lever, a relatively small effort is applied at the end farthest from the fulcrum to lift a heavy weight that is close to the fulcrum.
Electric motors are devices that can convert electrical energy into mechanical energy, by electromagnetic means. Electric motors take advantage of the principle of electromagnetic reaction, first observed by the French physicist André Marie Ampère in 1820, which states that if a current is passed through a conductor located in a magnetic field, the field exerts a mechanical force on it. Both motors and generators consist of two basic units, the field, which is the electromagnet with its coils, and the armature, the structure that supports the conductors, which cut the magnetic field and carry the exciting current in a motor. The armature is usually a laminated soft-iron core around which conducting wires are wound in coils.
When current is passed through the armature of a DC motor, a torque is generated by magnetic reaction, and the armature revolves. The action of the commutator and the connections of the field coils of motors are precisely the same as those used for generators. The revolution of the armature induces a voltage in the armature windings. This induced voltage is opposite in direction to the outside voltage applied to the armature, and hence is called back voltage or counter electromotive force (emf). As the motor rotates more rapidly, the back voltage rises until it is almost equal to the applied voltage. The current is then small, and the speed of the motor will remain constant as long as the motor is not under load and is performing no mechanical work except that required to turn the armature. Under load the armature turns more slowly, reducing the back voltage and permitting a larger current to flow in the armature. The motor is thus able to receive more electric power from the source supplying it and to do more mechanical work.
The speed at which a DC motor operates depends on the strength of the magnetic field acting on the armature, as well as on the armature current. The stronger the field, the slower is the rate of rotation needed to generate a back voltage large enough to counteract the applied voltage. For this reason the speed of DC motors can be controlled by varying the field current.
Micro-switches are small electromechanical devices that can be used to selectively complete a circuit and or break (open) a circuit. Micro-switches use some received mechanical force to either complete or open the circuit. A micro-switch placed at the bottom of a garage door can be used to shut off the motor used to close the garage door when the bottom of the door comes into contact with the floor of the garage. A trigger on the micro-switch, usually a small strip of metal that extends out of the switch, touches the garage floor just prior to the arrival of the door. The garage floor applies pressure on the switch's trigger, which completes a circuit for sending an "off" signal to the garage door motor.
A screw or bolt is mechanical fastening device consisting essentially of an inclined plane wound spirally around a cylinder or a cone. The ridges formed by the winding planes are called threads, and depending on the intended use, the threads may be square, triangular, or rounded in cross section. The distance between two corresponding points on adjacent threads is called the pitch. If the thread is on the outside of a cylinder, it is called a screw or male thread, and if it is on the inside of a cylinder, it is called a female screw or nut. Screws and bolts used in machines employ a cylindrical shaft with a constant inner or minor diameter. The use of the screw as a simple device realizes the mechanical advantage of the inclined plane. This advantage is increased by the leverage usually applied to the turning of the cylinder, but is decreased by the high frictional losses in a screw-type system. The frictional forces, however, make screws effective fasteners.
Screws have a wide variety of uses. Screw jacks enable a person to raise heavy objects such as automobiles off the ground. The screw can also provide carefully controlled forward and backward motion relative to a connected machine member, as in a micrometer, which can measure distances to within 2.54 micrometers ( 1/10,000 in). The controlled motion is also used in various machine tools, such as lathes, where the cutting tools can be advanced with a high degree of precision.
A gear is a toothed wheel or cylinder that is used to transmit rotary motion from one part of a machine to another. Two or more gears, transmitting motion from one shaft to another, constitute a gear train. The simplest gear is the spur gear, a wheel with teeth cut across its edge parallel to the axis. Spur gears transmit rotating motion between two shafts or other parts with parallel axes. In simple spur gearing, the driven shaft revolves in the opposite direction to the driving shaft. If rotation in the same direction is desired, an idler gear is placed between the driving gear and the driven gear. The idler revolves in the opposite direction to the driving gear and therefore turns the driven gear in the same direction as the driving gear. In any form of gearing the speed of the driven shaft depends on the number of teeth in each gear. A gear with 10 teeth driving a gear with 20 teeth will revolve twice as fast as the gear it is driving, and a 20-tooth gear driving a 10-tooth gear will revolve at half the speed. By using a train of several gears, the ratio of driving to driven speed may be varied within wide limits.


A surface-treated substrate consisting essentially of a substrate having at least two treated surface layers wherein the first layer constituting the outermost layer among the treated surface layers is a layer obtained by treatment with a compound (I) capable of forming a surface having a contact angle of at least 70.degree. against water and the second layer constituting an underlayer in contact with the outermost layer is a layer obtained by treatment with at least one reactive silane compound (II) selected from the group consisting of isocyanate silane compounds and hydrolyzable silane compounds.

Various substrates or various substrates having treated surface layers are used in various fields, and adverse effects brought about by water to the surface of such substrates are problematic.
For example, in transportation equipments such as electric cars, automobiles, ships or aircrafts, the surface of an exterior part such as an outer panel, a window glass, a mirror or a display surface material, an interior part such as an instrument panel, or other articles, is desired to be always clean. If rain drops, dusts or soils become attached, or moisture is condensed due to the temperature or humidity in the air, on the surface of an article in a transportation equipment, the outer appearance will be impaired. If such is a surface which is directly visually observed or a surface which is directly touched by a person, it may give an unpleasant feeling or may create a hygienic problem. Further, such may bring about a deterioration of the inherent function which the article for a transportation instrument has. Especially in a case where the article for the transportation equipment is an article for which transparency or see-through property is required (such as a window glass or a mirror), a deterioration of the transparency or see-through property may mean that the purpose intended by the article can not be attained, and may cause a serious accident.
A means to remove water drops (such as removal by wiping off or by means of a wiper) may sometimes impart fine scratch marks on the surface. Further, such scratch marks may sometimes be widened by foreign particles accompanying water drops. Furthermore, it is well known that when moisture is attached to a glass surface, glass components are likely to elute into the moisture, whereby the surface will be eroded, thus leading to so-called scorching. If the surface is strongly polished or abraded to remove this scorching, a fine roughness is likely to form. At the see-through portion made of glass having substantial scorching or a fine roughness on its surface, its basic function is lowered, and scattering of light on its surface is substantial, whereby it tends to be difficult to secure the field of view, and consequently there will be a problem in securing the safety.
Further, moisture is likely to hazardous by influence the surface of an article for a transportation instrument and to promote damage, soiling, yellowing or corrosion. Otherwise, it may induce a change in the electrical characteristics, the mechanical properties or the optical properties of the article for a transportation equipment. The adverse effects of this type brought by water are problematic not only in the field of articles for transportation equipments but also in various fields including articles for building or building decoration or articles for electric or electronic equipments.
Under these circumstances, it is desired to impart to the substrate surface a characteristic such that water drops scarcely attach to the substrate surface or attached water drops can easily be removed (such a characteristic will hereinafter be referred to simply as a water drop removal property). Heretofore, to impart a water drop removal property to a surface, surface treating agents for direct application, such as a surfactant and a silicone oil made of silicone wax or organo polysiloxane, have been proposed.
However, such surface treating agents require pretreatment for application in many cases, and have a problem that nonuniformity in application is likely to occur. Further, the adhesive properties of such treating agents to the substrates are rather poor, whereby the durability of the water drop removal property has been inadequate, and the application range has been rather limited.
When the influence of moisture is taken into consideration, it is necessary to establish a measure not only for various substrates to be produced in the future but also for various substrates already being used. In this case, it is necessary to impart the water drop removal property simply by direct application to various substrates at normal temperatures. For example, when a case is taken into account wherein such treatment is to be applied to an automobile front glass already being used, it is not economical to replace the front glass of every automobile, or it is not practical to conduct baking after the application. Also from such an aspect, it is practically difficult to solve the problems by the conventional treating agents.
The present invention has been accomplished in view of the above problems. Namely, during the course of the research and study for a treating agent which is capable of solving the drawbacks inherent to the conventional treating agents, the present inventors have found a treating agent which is applicable to various types of substrates and which exhibits an excellent water drop removal property, and have confirmed that various substrates treated by such a treating agent are suitable for use as substrates having a water drop removal property, particularly for transportation equipments or for building and building decoration. The present invention has been completed on the basis of these discoveries.


A physical quantity detector, such as a pressure sensor and a load sensor, includes a cylindrical part of which one end is closed with a strain generating part and a sensor part formed on the strain generating part. The cylindrical part is produced by melting an alloying material having a composition capable of yielding an amorphous alloy, injecting the resultant molten alloy into a metal mold, and cooling the molten alloy in the metal mold to confer amorphousness on the alloy. The metal mold includes a split mold having at least two split parts for forming a cavity and an insert pin to be inserted into the cavity so as to define the inner configuration of the cylindrical part, or further an insert core to be inserted into the mold so as to form the surface of the cavity corresponding to the surface of the strain generating part.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for the manufacture of a physical quantity detector for measuring fluid pressure, a load and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A pressure sensor, for example, which is a typical example of a physical quantity detector is equipped with a sensor member having a cylindrical part of which one end is closed with a strain generating part and adapted to use the strain generating part as a diaphragm.
This pressure sensor is manufactured by the following steps, as disclosed in JP 2004-45048A, for example.
First, a sensor member 1 is manufactured by machining or forging a metallic material, as shown in FIG. 1, and the surface 3a of a strain generating part (diaphragm) 3 of a cylindrical part 2 thereof is planished by polishing. An insulating film 5 of SiO2 etc. is formed on the polished surface 3a of the strain generating part (diaphragm) 3 by a CVD process or a sputtering process. Thereafter, a thin film of a metal or semi-conductor is formed on the insulating film 5 by a CVD process or a sputtering process and the formed film is etched to a predetermined pattern by means of a photolithographic technique to form a strain gauge 6 formed from the thin film of the metal or semi-conductor. Then, the electrodes 7 of gold, aluminum, etc. for connecting circuits thereto are formed on the strain gauge 6. Further, to finish it as a physical quantity detector, such as a pressure sensor and a load sensor, a protective coat 8, such as SiN, for protecting the strain gauge 6 from steam etc. is formed thereon to form a sensor part 4.
The pressure sensor manufactured in this manner is installed in a desired pressure detecting site by fixedly securing the cylindrical part 2 of the sensor member 1 to a pipe or the like. The fluid, such as gas and liquid, flowing over the pressure detecting site is introduced into the sensor member 1 through a bore 2a of the cylindrical part 2 serving as an introducing hole and reaches to the back surface of the strain generating part (diaphragm) 3. When the strain generating part (diaphragm) 3 is elastically deformed due to the fluid pressure, its deformation will be transmitted to the strain gauge 6 through the medium of the insulating film 5 and the resistance of the strain gauge 6 will vary depending on its deformation. Thereby, the strain gauge 6 transforms the change in pressure to the change in resistance and outputs this change as an electric signal. The output of the strain gauge 6 is taken out of the pressure sensor through a bonding wire, a relay board, an input/output terminals, etc. (not shown) and sent to a predetermined control unit as the information on the pressure of the fluid.
Further, it is known in the art to constitute the sensor part 4 mentioned above by two layers of thin conductor films. For instance, as disclosed in JP 2004-45048A mentioned above, a first thin conductor film is formed on the insulating film 5 formed on the surface of the strain generating part (diaphragm) 3 of the sensor member 1 and a second thin conductor film is further formed over the first thin conductor film at a predetermined height so as to oppose to the first thin conductor film. The second thin conductor film is formed on the inner surface of a cap which is fixedly secured to the insulating film and an electrode electrically connected to the second thin conductor film is formed on the outer surface of the cap. According to this pressure sensor, the first and second thin conductor films form a capacitor. When the diaphragm deforms elastically due to the pressure of the fluid flowed into the sensor member, the insulating film formed on the diaphragm and the first thin conductor film formed thereon elastically deforms accordingly. Owing to the deformation of the first thin conductor film, the distance between the first and second thin conductor films changes and the electrostatic capacity increases or decreases accordingly. As a result, the change in pressure or load depending on the change in electrostatic capacity is outputted.
Heretofore, the pressure sensor is adapted to cope with various pressure ranges by changing the thickness of the diaphragm with the same geometry of the sensor member. Precipitation hardening stainless steel SUS 630 is preponderantly used as a material of this sensor member and the manufacture thereof is performed by the machining of the material mentioned above. However, as the thickness of the diaphragm becomes thin, the maintaining of the machining precision becomes difficult. Further, since the machining and lapping are required to finish the sensor member into a predetermined configuration, there is a problem that a processing cost becomes high.
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, JP 2004-45048A mentioned above proposes to form the strain generating part by using an alloy of a composition which contains Zr, Ti, or Pd as a main component and is capable of producing metal glass (amorphous alloy) and forging the diaphragm part of the pressure sensor out of the alloy in the super-cooled liquid region thereof.
Since the method described in JP 2004-45048A mentioned above adopts the pressure forging process utilizing the super-cooled liquid region of an amorphous alloy, it gives such merits that the manufacturing steps may be considerably reduced as compared with the conventional manufacturing process by machining, such as cutting and grinding. In such a pressure forging process, however, since a bulk material of alloy is inserted into a concave of a metal mold, heated to a temperature in the super-cooled liquid region, and forged by pressing a molding punch in the concave, it often causes poor transfer of the inner surface. For example, wrinkles or the like occur in the inner surface of the strain generating part (back surface of the cylindrical part on the bore side) of the sensor member. Accordingly, it is required to further improve the surface smoothness of the strain generating part. Further, there is a limit to the thickness of the strain generating part which can be subjected to the pressure forging. The method incurs difficulty in controlling the forming conditions and therefore has room for further improvement in decreasing the frequency of occurrence of pores (cells) within the forged material and short molding. Particularly, the strain generating part which is an important part in the pressure sensor is required to have high dimensional accuracy and surface smoothness and further improved precision of transfer.

Method for manufacture of a physical quantity detector


An object of the present invention is to provide means for correctly measuring zygomycota. The present inventors have found that conventionally difficult zygomycota measurement can be performed through subjecting an untreated specimen to an acid treatment. The present invention provides a method for measuring zygomycota, the method including measuring zygomycota in a specimen that was subjected to an acid treatment; an agent for preparing a specimen for measurement of zygomycota; a method for preparing a specimen for measurement of zygomycota; and a reagent kit for measuring zygomycota.

Mycosis is defined as an infectious disease caused by fungi settled onto the skin, the organs, etc. of animals. Fungi collectively refer to living organisms belonging to the kingdom Fungi. Known types of mycosis include dermatomycosis (superficial mycosis), deep dermatomycosis (deep superficial mycosis), and deep-seated mycosis (systemic mycosis, visceral mycosis). Dermatomycosis is a type of mycosis localized on the skin, and known examples thereof include tinea alba, tinea versicolor, and skin candidosis. Deep dermatomycosis is a type of mycosis localized at the derma and subcutaneous tissue, and known examples thereof include sporotrichosis and entomophthoramycosis. Deep-seated mycosis is a type of mycosis localized at the organs, and examples thereof include aspergillosis, candidosis, cryptococcosis, and mucormycosis.
Among various types of mycosis, infectious diseases caused by Zygomycota are collectively called zygomycosis. Examples of zygomycosis include mucormycosis caused by zygomycota belonging to the subphylum Mucoromycotina, and entomophthoramycosis caused by zygomycota belonging to the subphylum Entomophthoromycotina.
In the cell wall of a fungus, chitosan and chitin are known to be present. More specifically, the cell walls of fungi belonging to the phylum Ascomycota, the phylum Basidiomycota, or the phylum Chytridiomycota contain chitin and (1→3)-β-D-glucan (hereinafter referred to simply as "β-glucan"), while the cell walls of fungi belonging to the phylum Zygomycota predominantly contain chitosan rather than chitin and substantially does not contain β-glucan.
Non-Patent Document 1 discloses that the number of cases of visceral mycosis (deep-seated mycosis) such as mucormycosis has been increasing, since an immunosuppressive therapy is widely conducted to cancers, blood diseases, etc. The document also discloses that mucormycosis is a fulminant mycosis with a death rate of about 60% of infected subjects, and that the rate of mucormycosis infection among total mycosis infections gradually increases. Further, the same document discloses that there is no serological diagnostic support for mucormycosis effective for an early diagnosis thereof, and this fact is increasingly problematic.
As described above, the present invention is related to means for measuring zygomycota. In this regards, Patent Document 1 discloses a microassay for saccharides such as chitosan by use of an anti-saccharide antibody, which can be used in high-sensitivity detection of a saccharide. However, Patent Document 1 is absolutely silent to a chitosan assay of biological samples by use of specific assay means.
Patent Document 2 discloses a method for detecting and identifying a fungus causing zygomycosis through PCR by use of a DNA fragment in a specimen as a template and a set of a sense primer and an anti-sense primer specific to the DNA fragment of the objective fungus causing zygomycosis. In the Examples of Patent Document 2, the specimen is pretreated with protease K.

Method for measuring zygomycota and reagent kit for measuring zygomycota


The present invention discloses a reflective type ferroelectric liquid crystal display and a driving method thereof. The reflective type ferroelectric liquid crystal display comprises a display panel which is disposed between a polarization beam splitter and a mirror to satisfy a quarter plate condition, and in which a liquid crystal layer formed between electrode layers is filled with half-V type ferroelectric liquid crystal having a bookshelf structure, the electrode layers being disposed between substrates to be orthogonal and opposite to each other; and a compensation panel which is disposed between the display panel and the polarization beam splitter to satisfy a half plate condition, and in which a liquid crystal layer formed between electrode layers is filled with half-V type ferroelectric liquid crystal having a bookshelf structure, the electrode layers being disposed between substrates to be opposite to each other. Therefore, the light loss can be reduced, and thus the gray scale display can be improved.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a reflective type ferroelectric liquid crystal display and a driving method thereof, more particularly, to a reflective type ferroelectric liquid crystal display in which a transmittance is increased and thus a luminance is increased, and a driving method thereof. The present application is based on Korean Patent Application 2001-62461, filed Oct. 10, 2001, which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
A liquid crystal display is a flat type display, which is widely used for a portable device. Due to the fast development in the scale-up technology, the liquid crystal display is rapidly replacing a conventional CRT (cathode ray tube) display.
There are various kinds of liquid crystal materials applied to the liquid crystal display.
A TN (twisted nematic) liquid crystal, which is generally used as the liquid crystal material, utilizes the interaction between dielectric anisotropy of liquid crystal molecules and electric field, causing several drawbacks like an inefficient display of moving pictures due to a slow reaction time of a few tens of milliseconds (ms), and a narrow visual angle. Also, since cross-talk occurs between the pixels within a certain distance, it is difficult to reduce the pixel size.
Meanwhile, an FLCD (ferroelectric liquid crystal display) utilizes the interaction between spontaneous polarization of ferroelectric liquid crystal and electric field, and provides a rapid response property of 1 ms or lower to display moving pictures without any difficulty. It also provides a wide visual angle. The pixel size, in which cross-talk between pixels does not occur, can be reduced due to the strong interaction between molecules in an FLCD, so that high resolution display is achieved. For the advantages as described above, the field of FLCD has been researched extensively as a next-generation display device.
As one of the ferroelectric liquid crystal materials, which is widely used, there is provided a liquid crystal material of a chiral smectic C-phase (SmC*) having a bistable property and a chevron structure.
In a fabricating process of the FLCD device using the liquid crystal material as described above, the liquid crystal material is injected into a cell between substrates, while being maintained at a desired temperature which is higher than a melting point thereof. Then, when the temperature is dropped, the liquid crystal material of chiral smectic C-phase (SmC*) is transformed to a chiral nematic phase (N*), and then to a smectic A-phase having a layer structure perpendicular to a rubbing direction, and then transformed back to the chiral smectic C-phase. In this process, a long-axis direction of a liquid crystal molecule in a liquid crystal layer is tilted to a desired angle relative to the rubbing direction, reducing the space between smectic layers. As a result, the smectic layer is bent in the liquid crystal layer in order to compensate for a change in volume. The bent layer structure is called the chevron structure, and domains are defined, each having a different long-axis direction according to the bending direction. On a boundary surface between the domains, there is formed a non-uniform orientation having a zigzag defect, a hair-pin defect and a mountain defect.
Due to the orientation property as described as above, a contrast ratio is remarkably lowered. If a DC (direct current) voltage is forcibly exerted in order to prevent the lowering of the contrast ratio, ions within the liquid crystal layer are accumulated on or adsorbed into a surface of an alignment film. Therefore, problems like afterimage effect occur, that is, the previous display pattern is dimly displayed on a current display pattern when a previous display state is changed into the current display state.
Further, a ferroelectric liquid crystal material for providing an AFLC (anti ferroelectric liquid crystal) mode, in which the threshold limit is reduced, is actively being researched. However, since it has a spontaneous polarization value of 100 nC/cm2, the ions are moved due to a depolarization field, and thus the afterimage can be generated. In addition, in the case where an active matrix driving method is applied where the liquid crystal is independently driven in each pixel using a TFT (thin film transistor), the leakage current can be generated by the large spontaneous polarization value. In order to restrict the leakage current, a capacitance has to be increased. However, in this case, since an aperture ratio is reduced, it is difficult to use it as a display device.
To solve the disadvantage of the ferroelectric liquid crystal, the ferroelectric liquid crystal material having a bookshelf structure has been steadily studied where AC (alternating current) driving can be performed and the afterimage is controlled.
There has been provided a ferroelectric liquid crystal having the bookshelf structure, in which the phase transformation is performed without transformation into the smectic A-phase in a crystallization process. That is, when dropping the temperature from an isotropic state of which the temperature is higher than a melting point, the phase is transformed through the chiral nematic phase (N*) and the chiral smectic C-phase (SmC*) in a crystallization process. As one of the liquid crystals in which the phase is transformed from the chiral nematic phase into the chiral smectic C-phase, there is a half-V type liquid crystal having a mono stable property.
In the half-V type liquid crystal, as shown in FIG. 1, when the potential is not applied, an optical axis of the liquid crystal is parallel to the rubbing direction of an alignment film. When the positive potential is applied, the long axis of the liquid crystal is tilted up to a maximum angle of 45°. In FIG. 1, a reference symbol Vsat designates a saturation voltage by which the liquid crystal is maximally tilted.
And when the negative potential is applied, the long axis of the liquid crystal is aligned in a direction which is the same as that of the long axis of the liquid crystal when the potential is not applied. The liquid crystal described above has a relationship between the applied potential and the transmittance, as shown in FIG. 2, i.e., the mono stable property.
Therefore, the liquid crystal has an advantage in that it is possible to perform the AC driving. It is called the half-V type liquid crystal in consideration of the applied potential versus transmittance property.
In the reflective type liquid crystal display in which the half-V type liquid crystal is applied, when the potential is not applied or the negative potential is applied, as shown in FIG. 3, S wave, which is incident to a polarization beam splitter (PBS) 1 and then reflected to a panel 2, maintains a polarized state even after being reflected by a mirror 3 and passing through the panel 2 again. Then, the S wave is reflected by the PBS 1 in the same direction as the light incident direction. In this case, since light is not transmitted in a display direction, perpendicular to the light incident direction, the display state becomes black. However, as shown in FIG. 4, if the positive potential, which is higher than the threshold voltage, is applied, the liquid crystal molecule is gradually tilted corresponding to the applied potential. The S wave, which is incident to the panel 2, is partially transformed into P wave while being reflected by the mirror 3 and passing through the panel 2. A part of the light passes through the PBS 1. The amount of light transmitted through the PBS 1 is increased according to an increase in the applied potential. As shown in FIG. 5, the light amount becomes maximum when the liquid crystal molecule is tilted at an angle of 45°. At this time, since the long axis of the liquid crystal is titled at the angle of 45° with respect to the rubbing direction, the S wave, which is incident through the PBS 1 to the panel 2, is transformed into the P wave while passing through the panel 2 from the mirror 3 in an opposite direction. Therefore, the entire light passes through the PBS 1 and the display state becomes white.
As described above, the half-V type liquid crystal has an advantage of the bookshelf structure. FIG. 6 shows a relationship with the transmittance when performing the AC driving in a cycle corresponding to a data displaying period. In the drawing, a solid line designates the applied voltage and a one-dotted line designates the transmittance.
As shown in FIG. 6, the light is blocked in a negative potential applied region during an AC driving period (T). Therefore, in case the saturation voltage for maximally tilting the liquid crystal is 3V, if a voltage, which is lower than the saturation voltage, is applied, as indicated in a region A during the AC driving period (T), a transmittance of 50% or below on the average is obtained. Further, if the saturation voltage (3V) is applied, as indicated in a region B, a transmittance of 50% on the average is obtained. The potential is not applied in a region C. In this case, the light is blocked. In the conventional half-V type liquid crystal display, as described above, in case the AC driving is performed to maintain stability of the liquid crystal, there is a disadvantage in that only a maximum average transmittance of 50% is obtained during the displaying period.
In order to restrict the light loss, if an asymmetric DC voltage is applied, ions in the liquid crystal accumulates on a surface, thereby generating the afterimage. Further, there is a problem that the liquid crystal is easily degenerated.

Reflective type ferroelectric liquid crystal display and driving method thereof


A polymer for liquid chromatography or solid phase extraction is provided. The polymer is prepared by polymerizing styrene and divinylbenzene to form a styrene-divinylbenzene copolymer; soaking the styrene-divinylbenzene copolymer in a swelling agent to form nano-scale micropores; and soaking the microporous styrene-divinylbenzene copolymer in methanol. When packed in a chromatographic column, the polymer can be used to produce produce natural health or medicinal products from Cannabis species, for example, industrial hemp.

Liquid chromatography and solid phase extraction are separation techniques. These techniques separate analytes by contacting an analyte-containing solution with a solid material. Liquid chromatography has been widely used in the pharmaceutical, food, and chemical industries. A liquid chromatography system has two phases: a stationary phase and a mobile phase. An analyte-containing solution is injected into the stationary phase and moved through the stationary phase by the mobile phase. As the mobile phase passes through the stationary phase, the mobile phase moves the analytes through the stationary phase at different speeds. The different speeds result from the fact that the analytes interact to varying degrees with the stationary phase. Analytes are separated based on their different physiochemical interactions with the mobile phase and the stationary phase. The different physiochemical interactions may be based on molecular size, charge, hydrophobicity, specific binding interactions and/or the like.
Solid phase extraction is an extraction technique, which typically relies on selective retention mechanisms. Similar to liquid chromatography, solid phase extraction also has two phases: a stationary phase and a mobile phase. Analytes are typically separated based on their partition coefficients and adsorption capacities. During a separation run, the composition of the mobile phase changes as the analytes partition between and interact with the two phases. An equilibrium condition is typically reached, such that the various analytes are retained by the stationary phase for different periods of time, thereby allowing the separation of the analytes as the mobile phase passes through the stationary phase.
Liquid chromatography and solid phase extraction share a number of similarities. For example, the same chromatographic principles apply to them in that separation occurs based on the differences in physical and/or chemical properties of the analytes.
Also, in both liquid chromatography and solid phase extraction, stationary phase selection is an important consideration to ensure the effective and precise separation of analytes. The stationary phase is often produced by suitable (e.g. chemical or physical) modification of particulate substrates. Such modified substrates may provide a high-surface structure to support the stationary phase. The physicochemical properties of substrates can directly affect the efficiency, selectivity and stability of the stationary phase. Some commonly used substrates include alumina, silica, titania/zirconia, and polymer substrates. The stationary phase substrates used in liquid chromatography can often be used in solid phase extraction.
There is a general desire for an improved polymer-based substrate for liquid chromatography and/or solid phase extraction. Such an improved polymer-based substrate may be useful to produce natural health or medicinal products from the Cannabis species, including, without limitation, industrial hemp. For example, such a polymer-based substrate may be used to obtain, isolate, and/or purify cannabis extracts or hemp extracts.
Public interest in the production of natural health and medicinal products from the Cannabis species has been growing. Cannabis (Cannabis sativa L.) is an herbaceous plant, which is believed to have originated in India, Iran, the Northwestern Himalayas, and China. The history of cannabis goes back thousands of years and has been used for medicinal, therapeutic, and spiritual purposes. Cannabis has long been considered to have medicinal properties, ranging from treatment of cramps, migraines, pain, and nausea. Despite the very long history of medicinal cannabis use, cannabis consumption and cultivation have been criminalized in many parts of the world. For example, cannabis is a "Schedule I substance" in the U.S.'s Controlled Substances Act meaning that cannabis is characterized as a highly dangerous substance with potential for addiction. Recently, there appears to be a trend towards cannabis legalization for both medicinal and recreational uses. For example, Canada legalized cannabis for recreational use in 2018.
Although cannabis has long been used as a hypnotic sedative for the treatment of hysteria, paranoia, epilepsy, neuropathic insomnia, migraine, pain, and dysmenorrhea, there is a desire for further research into the medicinal and therapeutic properties of cannabis. Cannabis contains a wide range of chemical compounds, including terpenes, phenols, fatty acids, amino acids, sugars and cannabinoids. More than 100 cannabinoids have been identified and some notable ones are (—)-trans-Δ-9tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD), cannabinol (CBN), cannabigerol(CBG), and cannabichromene(CBC). THC and CBD may be the most well-known cannabinoids. There is a desire to obtain high purity cannabinoids for many purposes, such as, by way of non-limiting example, to facilitate the development of pharmacological investigations. There is a general desire for an improved method for isolating and purifying cannabinoids.
The foregoing examples of the related art and limitations related thereto are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the drawings.

Polymer for separation of analytes and methods for preparation and use of same


A thin film deposition apparatus includes: a deposition source for discharging a deposition material; a deposition source nozzle unit disposed at a side of the deposition source and including a plurality of deposition source nozzles arranged in a first direction; a patterning slit sheet disposed opposite to the deposition source nozzle unit and having a plurality of patterning slits arranged in the first direction; a barrier plate assembly including a plurality of barrier plates that are disposed between the deposition source nozzle unit and the patterning slit sheet in the first direction, the plurality of barrier plates partitioning a deposition space between the deposition source nozzle unit and the patterning slit sheet into a plurality of sub-deposition spaces; and a capacitive vacuum gauge disposed at a side of the deposition source and configured to measure a pressure inside the deposition source.

1. Field
Embodiments of the present invention relate to a thin film deposition apparatus, a method of manufacturing an organic light-emitting display device by using the thin film deposition apparatus, and an organic light-emitting display device manufactured by using the method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Organic light-emitting display devices have a larger viewing angle, better contrast characteristics, and a faster response rate than other display devices, and thus have drawn attention as a next-generation display device.
The above information disclosed in this Related Art section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Thin film deposition apparatus, method of manufacturing organic light-emitting display device by using the apparatus, and organic light-emitting display device manufactured by using the method


A method and apparatus for determining the velocity of wind (or another fluid) in which one or more receiving acoustic detectors at (e.g. a location (A(r,t))) on the ground are arranged to measure the phase direction of arriving waves from one or more sound sources (at locations S(r,t)), all of which may be fixed or moving. A mean value of the wind and its gradient can be obtained along the sound rays (R) between the sources and the detectors. Typical sources may be aircraft or other flying vehicles or objects, or sound sources arranged particularly for the wind measurement. For example at airports, where conventionally the positions of the air vehicles are often rather accurately known, several sets of detectors can be provided for monitoring the wind conditions and for issuing alarms in the case where extreme winds or wind changes are detected.

When testing flight vehicles, it is often necessary or beneficial to obtain knowledge of the prevailing wind conditions near the flight path. Existing methods of wind measurement normally supply results in specific points that are either located at considerable distances from the actual flight path or do not give measurements at a the correct time. Around an airport or testing site there is a need for monitoring continuously the wind conditions.
The existing methods of wind measurement are based on a wide variety of principles. Typical meteorological methods include the use of different types of anemometers, balloons, etc. Special testing methods may use smoke emission or other optical means. Most known acoustic methods and devices are based, either on measuring the signal propagation speed, i.e. the speed of sound+the wind speed, or the Doppler effect. In particular, ultrasonic anemometers and sodar systems use these principles. Several such methods and suitable devices are disclosed in U.S. patents U.S. Pat. No. 3,379,060 (time), U.S. Pat. No. 4,031,756 (ultrasonic), U.S. Pat. No. 3,693,433 (ultrasonic anemometer), U.S. Pat. No. 4,038,870 (ultrasonic), the published West German patent application DE-A 1 523 248 (signal propagation time), U.S. patents U.S. Pat. No. 4,286,462 (sodar), U.S. Pat. No. 4,882,931 (air flow), U.S. Pat. No. 4,891,976 (resonance chamber), U.S. Pat. No. 4,890,488 (ultrasonic anemometer), and the French patents FR 1.012.054 and FR 1.142.353 (compressible air flow).

Method and a device for determining wind velocity or velocity of a fluid and use thereof


The present disclosure relates to a method for facilitating wireless communication. In particular, the present disclosure relates to a method for multiband communication based on communication criteria's set by the specific wireless environment and the geographical location where the wireless communication is to be performed. The disclosure also relates to a corresponding wireless communication device and to a wireless communication system comprising such a wireless communication device. Still further, the disclosure relates to a corresponding computer program product.

With the rapid development of new luminaires based on new emission technologies an increased number of control options become available within the entertainment, architectural, commercial, industrial, street and event industries. For controlling the different devices used, by means of e.g. digital control signals according to a predefined protocol, a mixture of wired and wireless technologies may be used, with a trend to move towards the sole use of wireless transmission technologies focusing mainly on transmission within the 900 MHz and 2.4 GHz frequency bands.
Generally, wireless communication systems comprises on one side a wireless transmitter module connected to a control device and on the other side one or a plurality of wireless receivers modules each connected to independently controllable devices, for example selected from the above mentioned luminaires, for allowing unidirectional transmission of control signals. Depending on the predefined protocol, both sides may instead (or also in a mixed manner) be equipped with wireless transceivers for allowing bi-directional transmission of control signals between the control device and the controllable device(s). Such a wireless communication system for the entertainment, architectural, commercial, industrial, street and event industries is well known by the skilled addressee, and is for example disclosed in US 2005/286646.
Even though the wireless communication systems disclosed in US 2005/286646 provides a possibility to move towards wireless control of e.g. luminaires and similar devices within the entertainment, architectural, commercial, industrial, street and event industries, they fails to provide solutions to the increasingly complex problem of crowded wireless transmission space is such specific environments, taking into account the further complexity with using the wireless communication systems in different geographical locations. Thus, there is a need for a more reliable wireless transmission method, specifically for providing increased reliability in relation to e.g. stage automation, industrial lighting, office lighting and home automation.

Method and system for wireless communication


An intraocular light probe has a mask or shield affixed at its distal end thereof which forms a directed light beam for intraocular application of light to target tissues or intraocular application of therapeutic light. The mask or shield serves to more fully focus, intensify and direct the beam toward the target tissues. The mask or shield also helps direct light away from other tissues and away from the eyes of the surgeon. By placing a light probe beneath a surgical instrument such as a phacoemulsifier or vitrector, laser, cutting instrument (e.g., scissors or knife), forceps or probe/manipulator, whether as part of or separate from an infusion sleeve, a mask or shield effect is created. This has the same benefits of directing the beam toward target tissues, away from other tissues and away from the eyes of the surgeon. The mask/shield can be removed from the fiberoptic light for sterilization. The device of the invention is preferably introduced into the eye via the primary or side-port incision to provide intraocular cross-lighting of tissues during surgical procedures such as cataract surgery, corneal surgery, vitrectomy, intraocular lens implantation, refractive surgery, glaucoma surgery and vitreo/retinal surgery.

Extraocular and intraocular slit beam illuminators are known and used in office and surgical settings for illuminating ocular structures, such as the cornea and lens surfaces and intraocular fluids and tissues including retina and vitreous. These structures, which are nearly-transparent, are difficult to distinguish using conventional illumination due to the small amount of light scatter which they produce when diffusely lit. The use of a slit-shaped beam allows selective, directed, and intense illumination of nearly-transparent tissues such that even a relatively small amount of scatter by such tissues allows them to be distinguished and otherwise observed or targeted for surgical modification or removal. The slit-illumination also provides a sense of depth, thickness, and three-dimensions to these transparent structures, especially when applied obliquely.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,080,143 and 5,630,809, commonly invented by the inventor of the present application and incorporated herein by reference, describe surgical illumination systems for providing illumination of intraocular target structures within an eye during surgical procedures for diagnosis or treatment of ocular conditions. The disclosed systems include an intraocular instrument having a distal end capable of insertion into the eye, the intraocular instrument having a light-conductor for transmitting a light beam, and a mask or other means for forming the light beam into a slit-shaped beam. The slit-shaped beam is emitted from the distal end of the instrument when the instrument is inserted into the eye such that intraocular slit-beam illumination of target structures is provided within the eye.
One drawback of conventional intraocular illuminators is that light directed into the eye from such illuminators is reflected off/from/through the patient's cornea/lens/retina or intraocular instruments, into the eyes of the surgeon, creating glare and lessening the quality/quantity of the illumination to target tissues.

Shielded intraocular probe for improved illumination or therapeutic application of light