System and method for performing one or more relevant measurements at a target site in an animal body, using a probe. One or more of a group of selected internal measurements is performed at the target site, is optionally combined with one or more selected external measurements, and is optionally combined with one or more selected heuristic information items, in order to reduce to a relatively small number the probable medical conditions associated with the target site. One or more of the internal measurements is optionally used to navigate the probe to the target site. Neural net information processing is performed to provide a reduced set of probable medical conditions associated with the target site.

Use of a conventional surgical procedure to provide a diagnosis and/or prognosis on a patient is necessarily invasive. Where a surgical probe is used to reduce the invasiveness, the procedure is often performed blindly or with indirect image guidance, with little accurate information on the location of the probe and/or whether the probe has located, navigated to or reached the target site. One result of a conventional approach is an increased number of false positive test results and false negative test results that directly affect the diagnostic results and the results of subsequent surgery at the target site. For example, about 37 percent of patients undergoing epidural anesthesia require three or more attempts at epidural placement. In another direction, about 20 percent of instances of prostate cancer are missed (false negative test result) by performance of a blind biopsy.
What is needed is a system and associated method that allows navigation to a target site and uses results from several different tests to identify a malignancy, a disease, a benign condition, a normal condition or any other medical condition (collectively referred to as "medical conditions" herein) at the target site from a reduced group of such conditions that may be present, consistent with the data obtained from various measurements and other information. Preferably, the system should work with quantitative measurements, with qualitative measurements and with other relevant information on the subject and the subject's family. Preferably, the system should allow inclusion or exclusion of one or more selected measurements and information items without reconfiguration of the analysis of the data presented and should allow assignment of selected weights to different data items, corresponding to the importance of a data item in identifying presence of a particular medical condition.

The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration


This relates to testing the impedance and common mode rejection characteristics of multi-channel seismic data gathering apparatuses. The apparatus embodying the invention includes a signal recording and computing system with a plurality of input channels; a plurality of geophone channels, each with a high wire and a low wire; a high bus and a low bus; a plurality of reference impedances; and a signal generator with two output terminals. Each geophone channel comprises one or more geophones which are connected by the wires to the input channels of the recording and computing system. Additionally, the high wire of each channel is connected through a reference impedance to the high bus and the low wire of each channel is connected through a reference impedance to the low bus. The apparatus also includes switching means for selectively controlling the connections between the buses, the generator and ground. For gathering seismic data, a first setting of the switching means connects both buses to ground and disconnects both buses from the generator. A second setting for testing the impedances of the geophone channels disconnects the buses from ground and connects them to the generator so that a known test signal is applied to the geophone channels simultaneously and the voltage developed across the wires of each channel is measured and used as a basis for computing the impedance of each channel. A third setting for measuring the common mode rejection of each channel disconnects both buses from ground and connects them to one of the terminals of the generator and connects the other terminal of the generator to ground. The voltage developed across each pair of wires under these conditions is a measure of the common mode rejection of the geophone channels.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to seismic data gathering devices or apparatuses. More particularly, it relates to testing the impedances and common mode rejections of geophone channels of such apparatuses. This invention is applicable to apparatuses for gathering seismic data on land, as well as to marine seismic data gathering apparatuses. However, for clarity the description herein will be directed primarily to land seismic data gathering apparatuses, with the understanding that the invention is not limited to land applications.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A land seismic data gathering apparatus comprises a plurality of geophone channels and a multi-channel signal recording and digital computing system which typically is mounted on a truck, and may be referred to simply as a recording and computing system. Each geophone channel includes one or more geophones and a plurality of wires connecting the geophones to the recording and computing system. Typically each channel includes two wires, which may be referred to as the high wire and low wire, respectively. Each wire has two ends, which may be referred to for convenience as the near end and the far end, respectively. With the recording and computing system as a reference point, the near end of each wire is connected to the recording and computing system and the geophones are connected to the wires at their far ends or at points between the two ends. The geophones detect vibrations in the earth and generate electric signals representative of such vibrations. The signals re transmitted by the wires to the recording and computing system for recordation and processing.
The accuracy and ease of interpretation of the seismic data gathered by the recording and computing system depends to a great extent on whether the impedances and common mode rejections of each of the geophone channels remain reasonably constant. Under normal conditions, the impendance of each geophone channel varies primarily with the length of its wires and with the condition of the geophones and their connections to the wires. The common mode rejection of each geophone channel varies primarily with the leakage from the wires to the earth. The leakage is to a great extent influenced by moisture on the earth. Therefore, the impedance and the common mode rejection of each geophone channel should be tested periodically between shots.
A commonly practiced method for making such impedance tests involves using complex switching means together with a resistance meter or ohmmeter. The geophone channels are tested seriatim by individually measuring the resistance across each channel with a resistance meter. The switching means are used to connect and disconnect each geophone channel to and from the recording and computing system and to and from the resistance meter according to the channel to be tested. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,917,706 (1959) to Thompson and FIG. 1 and the accompanying description below.
Other proposed geophone channel impedance testing methods employ a response test wherein switching means are used first for disconnecting the geophone channels from the recording and computing system and then for connecting the channels to a signal generator which simultaneously transmits a test signal to all the channels. Thereafter, the geophone channels are reconnected to the recording and computing system which simultaneously records the response signals of all the geophone channels. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,858,169 (1974) to Bardeen. See also U.S. Pat. No. 3,717,810 (1973) to Spanbauer which proposes driving the geophone channels with a constant RMS voltage or current and deriving the impedance from a measurement of the RMS value of the other of the voltage or current. Another proposed system involves impressing AC and DC currents of predetermined amplitudes on said geophone channels and detecting the excess of peak voltage produced by the AC current over the DC voltage generated by the DC current. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,052,694 (1977) to Fredriksson.
In the known prior art, the common mode rejection of the geophone channels has not been measured directly, but has been measured indirectly by use of an ammeter to measure leakage to the earth for each channel.
In a modern seismic data gathering apparatus up to several hundred geophone channels may be employed. Because all known prior art methods for measuring geophone channel impedance and common mode rejection involve at least one switch for each channel, therefore, a large number of switches are required. These switches are relatively expensive and are subject to failure under adverse field conditions. Further, the testing of the geophone channels seriatim, for those systems which require such a procedure, can be quite time consuming, particularly if one or more switches must be repaired. Such delays can be quite expensive, because the task of gathering seismic data is halted while such tests are being conducted.

Impedance and common mode rejection testing of a multi-channel seismic data gathering apparatus


Irradiated material solids are thermally treated using a heat transfer liquid to improve the physical, chemical, mechanical and/or biochemical properties of the irradiated material solids.

Many types of products are created or improved by electron beam (e-beam), or other high-energy radiation, processing. Products include appliance parts, gaskets, manifolds, tubing, electrical connectors, molded parts, resin pellets, etc. The possibilities are endless because, in many products, property improvements can be attained through e-beam processing. Commodity resins and polymeric materials including polyethylene, ethylene vinyl acetate, polyvinyl chloride, polyamides, and certain types of rubber, such as neoprene, silicone, and ethylene-propylene rubbers, can all realize substantial property enhancement. Property improvements of these polymeric materials may include an increase in tensile strength, impact strength, abrasion resistance, chemical resistance, heat deflection, modulus, hardness, service temperature, barrier properties, crack-resistance, creep resistance, and fatigue resistance. Other special attributes can be imparted to polymers, such as heat-shrink properties, positive temperature coefficient properties, and various other special properties achieved by crosslinking or scission of polymers. Often these property improvements are achieved by the e-beam processing of formed parts.
A number of patents have been granted for processing polymeric bulk material solids, such as polypropylene, and other polyolefin polymers, to improve melt strength, heat resistance, or other physical properties, including U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,916,198; 5,047,446; 5,047,485; 5,541,236; 5,554,668; 5,591,785; 5,605,936; and 5,731,362. In general, the processes described in these patents involve treatment of finely divided polymeric material, which is layered on a traveling belt in the required environment. The speed of the traveling belt is selected so that the layer of finely divided polymeric material passes through the electron beams at a rate to receive the desired dose of radiation. Other process steps may be involved such as treatment of the irradiated polymers in a fluidized bed with nitrogen or other inert gas. Expensive equipment is employed to process the polymeric particles in the environmentally-controlled zone.
Polymeric material solids and other material solids often require thermal treatment subsequent to irradiation. Heat treating irradiated material solids is commonly accomplished in an oven, a fluidized bed reactor, or other equipment using gas as the heat transfer fluid. A number of patents have been granted. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,220,511, heat treatment in a gas-based oven promotes the desired chemical reaction with free radicals furthering the chain scission of the polymer. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,340,718, involving the irradiation of polytetrafluoroethylene, there is a post-irradiation cooling step which takes place in a closed loop pneumatic path, i.e. gas-based cooling step. In the case of high-melt strength polypropylene, the free radicals imparted by irradiation are quenched at elevated temperature in a fluid bed reactor using nitrogen as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,916,198 and 5,047,446. Other patents and applications relate to high-melt strength polypropylene, and envision the use of gas-based heat treatment methods as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,220,226 and 8,399,536.
In the case of high molecular weight polyethylene (HMWPE) which is treated with irradiation to improve the physical properties, the polymeric material is subsequently heated in an oven circulating air, nitrogen or, in some cases, a gas containing a reactant like acetylene. Undesirable free radicals remaining in HMWPE after the irradiation step are quenched by heat.
Thus, irradiation of high molecular weight solid organic polymers with high-energy radiation to improve the physical and mechanical properties, followed by additional processing, with a circulation oven or similar heating device are well developed in the patent art. Almost universally, the heat treatment methods specified in the prior art patents and implemented in commercial practice utilize hot air or other gas in an oven or a fluidized bed. The elimination of expensive equipment and the simplification of the processing steps currently used would be highly desirable.

Thermal treatment of irradiated material solids using a heat transfer liquid


A request message is generated with a trusted network entity executing trusted code on a first network layer. The request message to target a non-trusted network entity executing non-trusted code on a second network layer. The request message is transmitted from the trusted network entity to the non-trusted network entity through at least a policy enforcement entity. The policy enforcement entity applies one or more network traffic rules to enforce a unidirectional flow of traffic from the first network layer to the second network layer. A response check message is generated with the trusted network entity. The response check message to determine whether response information is available on the non-trusted network entity in response to the request message. The response check message is transmitted from the trusted network entity to the non-trusted network entity through at least the policy enforcement entity. The response check message to determine whether the response information is stored in a conceptual mailbox on the non-trusted network entity.

Within complex computing networks there is a need to provide sufficient security so that sensitive data is maintained in a secure manner. As computing systems and networks become more complex and more layered, this becomes an increasingly difficult task. In some environments, trusted components must communicate with untrusted components. With this communication there is risk that the untrusted component is malicious.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Systems and methods for utilizing uni-directional inter-host communication in an air gap environment


An anchor-valve stem assembly has a valve stem, having a bore formed therethrough and a valve formed within the valve stem, preferably a check valve. At least one attachment member or anchor is formed upon the valve stem so as to facilitate attachment to at least one tether, preferably formed of elastic. The anchor(s) preferably comprise generally cylindrical arms and are preferably formed integrally with the valve stem. A cap is optionally attached, preferably via a tether, to the valve stem so as to close the bore thereof. The use of such an anchor-valve stem assembly facilitates the efficient fabrication of inflatable items such as balls to which it is desirable to attach at least one tether.

Inflatable items, particularly toys, are well known. Such inflatable items commonly comprise balls, floats, and air mattresses, as well as a wide variety of fanciful and realistic inflatable animals.
Inflatable balls include those which are intended for free use, i.e., throwing, kicking, bouncing, etc., as well as those which are tethered and intended for use in specific games. One example of such a tethered ball is the common tether ball, which is attached via a non-elastic tether to a pole wherein each of two players attempts to cause the ball to wrap around the pole in each of two different directions. Conventional tethered balls comprise separate attachment members or anchors for facilitating attachment thereof to the tether and valve stems for facilitating filling of the ball with air. Typically, the anchor comprises a loop or eyelet formed of a durable plastic through which the tether is tied. The attachment member is typically formed as a portion of, or attached directly to, the ball.
Various different stem arrangements, i.e., check valves, for filling and discharging air from such inflatable items are well known. Such valve stems typically comprise a hollow elongate member having a check valve, i.e., a duckbill valve disposed at the inner end thereof, such that air may be forced through the valve stem to inflate the inflatable item and the air remains therein until the duckbill valve is manually maintained in an open position so as to facilitate discharging of the air from within the inflatable item.
The duckbill valve is maintained in an open position to facilitate discharging of the air. The duckbill valve may be maintained in an open position via deformation thereof, i.e., by manually compressing or deforming the valve stem or by inserting an elongate member through the valve stem so as to prevent sealing of the check valve.
Occasionally it is desirable to attach a tether to a ball having a thin wall which prohibits exterior attachment of an anchor thereto in the manner of a contemporary tether ball. Such thin-wall construction is utilized in inflatable balls which are intended to be utilized in games wherein a player attempts to strike an opponent with the ball. Such thin-wall construction makes the ball more resilient, and thus less likely to cause pain or injury upon impact.
It is generally desirable to form thin-walled balls via low cost rotocasting. However, an anchor cannot be formed directly on a thin-walled ball via the rotocasting method since rotocasting results in a substantially even, i.e., uniform thickness, deposition of material about the surface of the mold. Since it is desirable to form the anchor of a greater wall thickness (or even as a solid member) than the thin-walled ball itself, rotocasting is unable to accomplish such construction. As such, thin-walled tether balls and the like cannot be rotocast as an integral unit. Thus, contemporary thin-walled balls are typically formed by attaching a separately fabricated anchor to a rotocast thin-walled ball.
However, such thin-wall construction necessitates that the forces generated at the attachment point during use be spread over a larger area, so as to reduce the stresses induced thereby and consequently reduce the probability of damaging the ball during use. Thus, a means for attaching one or more tethers to a ball having thin-wall construction is desirable. Such construction is particularly desirable wherein the anchor is combined with the inflation valve stem assembly so as to facilitate the use of a tether with a contemporary ball, without modification thereof,
Furthermore, the use of separate anchors and valve stem assemblies increases the cost of the inflatable item by requiring the purchase and assembly of both items into the finished product. Thus, although such contemporary inflatable items having separate anchors and valve stem assemblies have proven generally suitable for their intended purposes, they possess inherent deficiencies which detract from their overall effectiveness in the marketplace.

Anchor-valve stem assembly for inflatable ball


A dog pack harness providing a dog with the ability to carry various items that might become necessary or desirable to have while walking a dog. The dog pack harness is comprised of a base member positioned on the back and the sides of the dog, a plurality of pocket and holding elements for storing of various items, a ventral strap assembly means securing the base member to the dog, a dorsal strap assembly device for securing the base member to the collar, and a collar element having a slidable collar attachment wherein the color attachment is used for securing of the collar element to the dorsal strap assembly device.

This invention relates to dog harnesses and specifically to harnesses that allow dogs to carry useful items that might become necessary during walking of a dog.
When a dog is taken for a walk, there are a number of items that many dog owners need to take along with them. Such items include a water bottle, a water dish, a dog toy, a dog brush, a bag to pick up dog droppings, and even medication for the dog. Instead of making the dog owner into a dog""s accessory carrier, it is by far more convenient to let the dog carry its own equipment.
In the past, a number of solutions were provided wherein the dog was equipped with means for carrying various objects. One such solution is demonstrated in a U.S. Pat. No. 5,887,772 where supply bags could be attached to a dog harness. Another is a U.S. Pat. No. 5,664,902 where a specific strap assembly is used for maintaining packs on the dog""s back.
What is lacking in the above-cited inventions is an arrangement wherein the dog pack is integrated with a collar thus allowing the dog owner to control the dog on the leash while ensuring that the loads mounted on a dog remain centered and do not slide to the sides of the dog. Another missing feature is an ability to provide a carrying means for a wide variety of items that might be desirable for storage on a dog. In addition, the disclosed invention differs in its structure and concept from the known prior art.
The present invention represents a dog pack harness that allows a dog to carry its own necessary items when it is taken for a walk thus freeing the dog owner from having to carry extra loads.
The dog pack harness is comprised of a base member, which is positioned on the back and side of a dog. There are numerous pocket elements and holding elements attached to the base member for storage of various items, which might be needed during the duration of an excursion with the dog. The base member is secured to the dog via two separate strap assembly means. The first one is a ventral strap assembly means which loops around the underside of the dog. The second one is a dorsal strap assembly means which connects the base member to the collar element. Together, the two strap assembly means ensure that the base member remains stable on the back of the dog and does not slide back or to the sides of the dog.
Since various breeds of dogs have greatly varying neck sizes, a special feature is introduced in the collar element. Normally, a collar size could be adjusted to change its diameter to accommodate varying sizes of dogs. Additionally, many dog collars have buckles. Normally the buckle is the heaviest part of the collar and it will naturally slide down to be positioned on the front of the dog""s neck. However, in the present invention, the back of the collar has a collar attachment to which one end of the dorsal strap assembly means is secured. This creates a problem since a perfectly centered collar and a ventral strap assembly means would slide sideways on a different sized dog, since the buckle will move to a side due to an adjustment in the size of the collar. Therefore, a special mechanism is incorporated into the invention to allow slidability of the collar attachment along the length of the collar while allowing securing of the collar attachment to the collar at any portion of the collar.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved dog pack harness.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a dog pack harness that has an ability to fit on different sized dogs while remaining centered on the body of the dog.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent by reference to the following description of the invention, description of a preferred embodiment, appended claims, and accompanying drawings.


Example embodiments provide methods of handling a request for location information for a mobile device attached to a wireless system that supports multiple types of radio access technology. In one embodiment, the mobile device is triggered, by a network element, to send location information without causing the mobile to fall back from a first network of the wireless system to a second network of the wireless system, the first network conforming to a later generation of radio access technology than the second network.

1. Field
Example embodiments of the present invention relate generally to wireless systems and handling requests for location information of mobile devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Wireless systems can include multiple types of radio access technology. 3GPP standards define a method in which a user equipment (UE) that is camped on 4G technology can obtain certain circuit-switched (3G/2G) services without having to leave 4G technology. The circuit-switched information is passed through a defined interface, the SGs interface, between the mobile switching center (MSC) and the mobility management entity (MME). Examples of circuit-switched services include SMS handling and location updating.
For other circuit-switched core services, including making and receiving voice calls, carrying out supplementary service invocation, and providing location information to the circuit-switched core network, the UE must leave 4G radio coverage and move to 3G/2G radio coverage to complete the service. The process of leaving 4G radio coverage and moving to 3G/2G coverage to complete a circuit-switched service is referred to as "falling back". A potential problem that arises when the UE "falls back" to 3G/2G technology to carry out circuit-switched services is the necessity for the UE to register with the corresponding MSC whenever the UE "falls back" in a new MSC location area as defined by cell broadcasts associated with the MSC. The process of registering with the corresponding MSC can result in extra traffic being generated on the wireless system.

Method and system of handling requests for location information of mobile devices


This disclosure relates to network data communication. Some embodiments include initiating a network connection between an original source and an ultimate destination, transmitting a block of data from the original source to the ultimate destination on the network, requesting retransmission of lost blocks from the ultimate destination to the source and retransmitting the lost blocks from source to the ultimate destination. These embodiments further include measuring round-trip time of a retransmit request, the round-trip time measured from a time of transmission of a retransmit request from the ultimate destination to a time of reception at the ultimate destination after retransmission from the original source and setting the round-trip time as a minimum retransmission request time for the network connection, wherein the round-trip time includes latencies of the network connection and in data processes at the original source and at the ultimate destination.

With recent increases in network bandwidth, the ubiquitous interconnectedness of users through the global Internet, and the increasing volume of digital data processed by business and consumer users, the demands for network-based transfer of bulk data (files and directories) are ever growing. In particular, users desire to transfer larger files, over networks of ever higher bandwidths, and at ever longer distances.
Such data transfer paths not only experience high bottleneck bandwidths and round-trip delays due to geographical distance, but they also experience periods of packet losses, and variable delays due to the media itself (e.g. wireless), and to variable and sometimes excessive, traffic congestion.
Conventional bulk data transfer protocols based on the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) suffer from severe performance limitations over typical global Internet paths, due to the poor performance of TCP over networks with high bandwidth-delay products. Much attention has focused on implementations and alternative transport protocols for improving performance (transfer speed and bandwidth utilization) for bulk data transfer on high-bandwidth, high-delay networks. However, current approaches offer improved throughputs and bandwidth utilization primarily on links in the Internet core, which have relatively low bit error rates (BER) and have an abundance of bandwidth, avoiding traffic congestion. However, the majority of user data transfers span the network edge-to-edge, and not only experience high round-trip delays due to geographical distance, but also experience periods of packet losses and variable delay characteristic of the typical "edge" network. On typical edge networks, current approaches fail to achieve full bandwidth utilization, suffer from variable throughputs as congestion increases, and can not provide sufficient guarantees on transfer times required by time-critical business processes and demanding consumer users. Furthermore, in the limited cases where current approaches do improve throughput, they do so at the expense of fair sharing of bandwidth with other network applications, and provide the end user no control over the bandwidth sharing. The end user is forced to choose between a poorly performing but "fair" standard TCP implementation, or an alternative new protocol that provides improved throughput in limited cases but at the expense of bandwidth fairness. While this may be acceptable in the Internet core, it is not acceptable on the often over-subscribed edge networks where data transfers are admitted to networks with limited available bandwidth. There is a need in the art for a system for data transfer that addresses the foregoing concerns and provides improved throughput, predictable transfer speeds independent of the network distance or congestion (and associated delays and packet losses), automatic full utilization of bandwidth, and the ability to share bandwidth proportionally with other traffic when no bandwidth is unused, taking into account both current and future implementations of the TCP protocol.


A system and method for determining pointer contacts on a touch surface includes a touch surface to be contacted by a pointer. At least one imaging device having a field of view looks generally along the touch surface. At least one processor communicates with the at least one imaging device and analyzes images acquired by the at least one imaging device to detect the relative positions of a pointer and a reflection of the pointer therein and thereby determine if a pointer contact with the touch surface has been made.

Touch systems are well known in the art and typically include a touch screen having a touch surface on which contacts are made using a pointer. Pointer contacts with the touch surface are detected and are used to generate corresponding output pointer position data representing areas of the touch surface where the pointer contacts are made. There are basically two general types of touch systems available and they can be broadly classified as "active" touch systems and "passive" touch systems.
Active touch systems allow a user to generate pointer position data by contacting the touch surface with a special pointer that usually requires some form of on-board power source, typically batteries. The special pointer emits signals such as infrared light, visible light, ultrasonic frequencies, electromagnetic frequencies, etc. that activate the touch surface.
Passive touch systems allow a user to generate pointer position data by contacting the touch surface with a passive pointer and do not require the use of special pointers in order to activate the touch surface. A passive pointer can be a finger, a cylinder of some material, or any other suitable object that can be used to contact some predetermined area of interest on the touch surface. Since special active pointers are not necessary in passive touch systems, battery power levels and/or pointer damage, theft, or pointer misplacement are of no concern to users.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,448,263 to Martin, assigned to SMART Technologies, Inc., assignee of the present invention, discloses a passive touch system including an analog resistive touch screen coupled to a computer. Image data generated by the computer is conveyed to a projector, which in turn projects a corresponding image on the touch surface of the touch screen. When a user contacts the touch surface of the touch screen, the touch screen generates pointer position data that is conveyed to the computer. Depending on the mode of operation of the touch system, the computer either records the pointer position data as writing or uses the pointer position data to control execution of an application program executed by the computer. The computer also updates the image data so that the image presented on the touch surface by the projector reflects the pointer activity.
Since pointer position data is generated by the touch screen when a user presses on the touch surface hard enough to bring the layers of the touch screen together, pointer contacts with the touch surface that result in pointer position data being generated can always be determined. Pointer contacts with the touch surface that do not result in pointer position data being generated cannot be determined.
International PCT Application No. PCT/CA01/00980 filed on Jul. 5, 2001 and published under number WO 02/03316 on Jan. 10, 2002, assigned to SMART Technologies, Inc., assignee of the present invention, discloses a camera-based touch system comprising a touch screen that includes a passive touch surface on which a computer-generated image is presented. A rectangular bezel or frame surrounds the touch surface and supports digital cameras at its corners. The digital cameras have overlapping fields of view that encompass and look along the touch surface. The digital cameras acquire images from different locations and generate image data. The image data acquired by the cameras is processed by digital signal processors to determine if a pointer exists in the captured image data. When it is determined that a pointer exists in the captured image data, the digital signal processors convey pointer characteristic data to a master controller, which in turn processes the pointer characteristic data to determine the location of the pointer relative to the touch surface using triangulation. The pointer location data is conveyed to a computer executing one or more application programs. The computer uses the pointer location data to update the computer-generated image that is presented on the touch surface. Pointer contacts on the touch surface can therefore be recorded as writing or used to control execution of an application program executed by the computer.
In order to determine when a pointer contacts the touch surface the pixel rows of the digital cameras that correspond to the touch surface are determined. When a pointer exists in captured images a check is made to determine if the pointer extends into the pixel rows corresponding to the touch surface location. If so, a pointer contact with the touch surface is deemed to have been made. If desired, the three-dimensional profile of the touch surface can be mapped to improve accuracy in the determination of pointer contacts.
Although the above touch systems allow pointer contacts with the touch surface to be determined, alternative methods to determine pointer contacts on a touch surface are desired. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a novel touch system and method for determining pointer contacts on a touch surface.

Touch system and method for determining pointer contacts on a touch surface


A method of manufacturing produces a plurality of contact terminals (26) in a continuous, uninterrupted strip form. The method comprises the steps of: stamping a contact electrical terminal (26) from conductive material having certain desired spring characteristics, so that the contact terminal (26) has a spring end (30) and a crimp end (34) having a crimp opening (42) therein, crimping the contact terminal crimp end (34) onto a continuous length of electrically insulating material (66), and repeating the above steps until a plurality of spaced apart contact terminals (26) is provided in a continuous, uninterrupted strip.

It has been the practice in the prior art to stamp and form electrical contacts or terminals from a continuous strip of metal. The contacts at first were individually assembled to a printed circuit board and then soldered in place. The disadvantage of such a technique involved a requirement for hand labor to sort the contacts from one another, to assemble the contacts in desired alignment within the board, and to straighten the contacts in their final desired positions after soldering the contacts in place. Because hand labor is costly, there has been considerable effort directed toward reducing the amount of hand labor required for assembly of contacts to a printed circuit board. One of the first improvements to result from such effort resided in locating the terminals serially along a common carrier strip which was formed integral with the terminals during the stamping and forming process. This permitted the carrier strip to be fed into an insertion machine which individually severed a terminal from the strip and forcibly inserted it into a printed circuit board. The prior art further evolved into a technique whereby a plurality of electrical terminals along a common carrier strip were located within a cob-type tool which aligned the plurality of terminals for simultaneous insertion within corresponding locations in a circuit board. Using this technique, insertion of a larger number of terminals were simultaneously inserted, the common carrier strip served to align the terminals while the terminals were soldered in place within the printed circuit board. Subsequently, the carrier strip was removed from the terminals, leaving the terminals individually located within the printed circuit board.
Another version of the above techniques is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,618,207 wherein a plurality of terminals, which extend transversely from a common carrier strip, has a body of insulating material molded transversely across the contacts. This molding is done using an intermittent molding process which provides individual housings.
Another prior art connector is the AMPLIFLEX Surface-To-Surface Connector sold by AMP Incorporated. The AMPLIFLEX connector is a thin flexible polyimide film on which individual parallel lines of etched cooper circuitry plated with gold over nickel is wrapped around a soft, non-conducting silicone rubber core. The core is formulated to resist permanent set under long term compression. When the connector is compressed between two flat planes, the plated circuit lines interconnect circuit pads on each plane. The resiliency of the connector core accommodates irregular and warped surfaces.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,245,876 discloses a continuous strip of electrical terminals which is formed by stamping rectangular openings in a strip of metal. A strip of dielectric material is then adhered to the metal strips, after which the metal strips are formed into electrical terminals of a selected configuration. Discrete lengths of the formed terminals in strip form are held together as separate terminals via the dielectric material which can be severed from the continuous strip for specified uses.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,769,908 discloses a method of producing a plurality of identical electrical terminals from a metal strip having the desired spring and conductive characteristics. At least one row of rectangular openings is stamped in the metal strip. The rectangular openings are positioned such that the longitudinal axis of the openings are essentially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the metal strip. After the openings have been stamped, a web of insulation material is molded onto the strip of metal in alignment with each row of openings.

Connector and a method of manufacturing a plurality of contact terminals mounted on a continuous carrier strip


The password entry device includes a first display control unit, a tap determination unit, a second display control unit, and a password-entry acceptance unit. The tap determination unit determines which of the characters displayed in the first style by the first display control unit have been tapped. The second display control unit performs control operations to display the characters, which are determined by the tap determination unit that they were tapped, in a second area, which differs from the first area of the touch panel, in a second style, which differs from the first style. The password-entry acceptance unit accepts the entry of the characters that make up the password with the characters displayed in the second style by the second display control unit.

The present disclosure relates to a password entry device and an image processing apparatus.
Image processing apparatuses, typified by multifunction peripherals, read an image of an original document by using an image reading unit, and then emit light to a photoreceptor in an image forming unit based on the read image to form an electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor. Then, the image processing apparatuses apply charged toner onto the formed electrostatic latent image to make it into a visible image that is in turn transferred onto a sheet of paper and fixed, and eject the sheet outside the image processing apparatuses.
There are some information processing apparatuses, including image processing apparatuses and computers, that permit only specific users who are authenticated through login authentication to use or operate specific functions of the information processing apparatuses. The specific users are determined by verifying a password entered by each of the users using a keyboard or other input devices against registered passwords. Some techniques relating information input devices to enter passwords are conventionally well known.
A typical information input device includes a display means that displays an information input screen through which information is input, and an input means that is arranged over the display means and locates specified positions on the image input screen. The information input device is characterized in that the display means displays a first screen when a predetermined key is pressed. The first screen contains a predetermined area including at least one of a character, a symbol, and a figure. The information input device is also characterized in that the display means displays a second screen when the input means locates a position in the predetermined area, and the predetermined area does not indicate information about the transition to the second screen.

Password entry device and image processing apparatus


The invention provides a chemical-mechanical polishing composition comprising (a) wet-process ceria, (b) a water-soluble cationic polymer or copolymer, (c) an aromatic carboxylic acid or heteroaromatic carboxylic acid, and (d) water, wherein the polishing composition has a pH of about 3 to about 6. The invention further provides a method of chemically-mechanically polishing a substrate with the inventive chemical-mechanical polishing composition. Typically, the substrate contains silicon oxide.

During the fabrication of integrated circuits, chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) processes are typically utilized in order to form planar surfaces for a semiconductor device structure. Polishing compositions (also known as polishing slurries) typically contain an abrasive material in a liquid carrier along with other chemical components and are applied to a surface by contacting the surface with a rotating polishing pad saturated with the polishing composition. The chemical components chemically modify at least some of the substrate material to promote physical removal by the combination of the abrasive and the polishing pad. In some instances, the chemical components may also promote removal of material.
In microelectronic structures such as CMOS transistors and NAND gates, substrate features such as metal gates are often overlaid with a layer of a dielectric material, which is then planarized to expose the metal gates separated by the dielectric material. Prior to planarization, the substrate surface is characterized by "high" areas overlying the gates and "low" areas which lie between the gates. Initially, the high areas are removed more quickly than the low areas because the pressure exerted by the polishing pad is directed primarily at the high areas. As the planarization proceeds, due in part to the deformability of the polishing pad, the low areas experience material removal, resulting in what is referred to as trench loss.
Polishing compositions comprising ceria abrasives have been explored for polishing such dielectric-layered substrates. While dielectric removal rates can be improved, trench loss becomes increasing significant as the removal rate increases. Thus, there is a need in the art for dielectric polishing compositions exhibiting good removal rates while also exhibiting reduced trench loss.

Polishing composition comprising cationic polymer additive


A method and apparatus implements a signal quality measurement (706) in a radio communication system for delivering a message (528) to a subscriber unit (122) in a coverage zone (402). In a fixed portion (102) of the system, for each coverage zone (402) of a group including the coverage zone (402) and other coverage zones (402) that are first tier co-channel interferers thereof, a silence slot is assigned in one of a plurality of synchronized signal quality measurement (SQM) slots. The assignment is such that within the group no two coverage zones (402) have the silence slot assigned to an identical one of the SQM slots. The fixed portion (102) transmits a silent signal from selected ones of the coverage zones (402) of the group in the silence slot assigned thereto, and transmits a predetermined signal from the selected ones in a remainder of the SQM slots not assigned thereto as the silence slot, and thereafter transmits the message (528).

A radio communication system with two-way communication between base stations and portable subscriber units provides an important means for the base stations to determine the reliability of a message transaction. Digital error detection techniques have worked well for prior art systems which use frequency modulation (FM) for digital message communication. Such messages are typically numeric or alpha-numeric messages. With today's technology improvements in speech algorithms and microcomputer processing, the demand for new services which require higher data rates makes standard FM modulation no longer suitable. To resolve this problem, other prior art systems have developed modulation signaling formats, such as mixed signaling systems which use both FM and linear modulation schemes.
Base stations which deliver mixed digital and analog messages to portable subscriber units can no longer rely on digital error detection techniques to determine if the message transaction is reliable. These systems still utilize conventional error detection or error correction techniques for the digital message portion. This, however, only allows the portable subscriber unit to verify that the digital message portion has been received reliably without any indication of the state of the analog message portion.
Thus, what is needed is a method and apparatus in a radio communication system for implementing a received signal quality measurement. In particular, a method and apparatus is needed that can determine the signal quality level of the analog message portion.

Method and apparatus for implementing a received signal quality measurement in a radio communication system


A metallic foil is laminated to a transparent substrate with a photopolymerizable adhesive. An outer layer of photoresist is used in etching a pattern in the foil. The etched foil itself is then used as a resist in the complete removal of the uncovered portions of the adhesive, leaving the transparency of the revealed substrate material totally unimpaired. Finally, the remaining adhesive is hardened by polymerization resulting from exposure to ultraviolet light passed through the substrate from the unlaminated side.

This invention relates to methods for producing metallic patterns upon substrates. The invention is especially advantageous in applications requiring dimensional control and positional stability of a conductive metallic pattern upon a transparent substrate. The pattern so produced might simply remain on one side of a transparent substrate, as in some electric defrosters for automotive windows. Alternatively, it might be sandwiched between two substrates subsequently laminated together, as in some radio antennae imbedded within automotive windshields. A further example is a digitizer platen suitable for rear projection of images to be digitized. The dimensional accuracy and relative position of the conductive grids within such a digitizer platen must be carefully controlled if the digitizer is to be accurate. Furthermore, the method of producing the grids must not interfere with the transparency of the platen.
There exist techniques for vapor deposition of a metallic film upon a substrate. These techniques suffer from a number of disadvantages: high cost; low yield; poor adhesion of the metal to certain substrates, such as glass; lack of uniform thickness of the deposited metal; and, lack of solderability to the resulting pattern. Sputtering techniques suffer similar disadvantages. In addition, both these techniques suffer from the additional disadvantage that only relatively thin conductors can be reliably produced, rendering the conductors unsuitable for use in high current applications.
There are techniques for attaching a metal foil to a substrate with a resin. However, after the foil is etched to produce the desired pattern the resin itself remains. The resin interferes substantially with the transparency of transparent substrates, and its continued presence may be unwanted even with nontransparent substrates. The resin is extremely difficult to remove since solvents that remove the resin also loosen the foil.
There are also techniques for simply placing a pre-formed metallic foil, or a pattern wound from wire, between two transparent substrates before they are laminated together with a transparent adhesive. The main disadvantage with this technique is that the adhesive material used to laminate the substrates may flow substantially during the lamination process, and may carry the pattern with it and prevent the pattern from having precise dimensional and positional characteristics.
Because of these difficulties, transparent digitizer platens have heretofore either been difficult to produce or of less than optimum transparency.
Accordingly, a primary object of the invention is to provide a method for accurately producing a metallic pattern of good dimensional stability upon a transparent substrate without interfering with the transparency of the substrate in those regions where the metallic pattern is absent.
A further object of the invention is to provide a method for producing upon a transparent substrate a solderable metallic pattern having good adhesion to the substrate, without interfering with the transparency of the substrate in those regions where the metallic pattern is absent.
Another object of the invention is to provide a method for producing upon a transparent substrate a metallic pattern having electrical properties that are uniformly controllable without interfering with the transparency of the substrate in those regions where the metallic pattern is absent.
A further object of the invention is to provide a method for producing highly accurate metallic grids sandwiched between plates of transparent material, for use as a platen in a digitizer.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a method for attaching a metal foil to a substrate such that no undesirable residue remains after portions of the foil are etched away.
These and other objects of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art as the summary and detailed description of the invention proceed.
A summary of a preferred method of practicing the invention is as follows. First, a transparent substrate upon which a metallic pattern is to be produced is thoroughly cleaned. The substrate then has laminated to it a layer of photopolymerizable adhesive. Next, a layer of metal foil is laminated to the layer of photopolymerizable adhesive. A layer of photosensitive resist is then applied to the exterior side of the metal foil. The layer of photosensitive resist is exposed according to the desired pattern and the unwanted metal in the foil is uncovered by removal of the corresponding portions of the photosensitive resist. This is done without exposing the layer of photopolymerizable adhesive. Next, the unwanted metal is etched away, uncovering portions of the layer of unexposed photopolymerizable adhesive.
Finally, the method includes removal of the uncovered portions of the photopolymerizable adhesive. Since the adhesive layer is still unexposed it is still removable by etching in a suitable solution. The metallic pattern itself serves as a resist in the removal of the uncovered portions of the adhesive layer. The unremoved adhesive is hardened by at last exposing the remaining portions of the adhesive layer. This is easily done by using the transparency of the substrate to illuminate the adhesive with actinic radiation from the unlaminated side of the substrate. This polymerizes the adhesive and renders it hard.
In the case where a digitizer platen is being constructed, two such metallic patterns, each in the form of a grid, are produced. One is produced upon the underside of an upper piece of glass, and the other is produced on the upper side of a lower piece of glass. Ribbon conductors are soldered to the grids for connecting them to the circuitry of the digitizer. Finally, the two pieces of glass are registered and laminated together with an intermediate layer of polyvinyl butyral resin to form a single piece of safety glass. The resin not only causes adhesion between the two pieces of glass, but also insulates the upper and lower metallic grids from each other.

Method for producing a metallic pattern upon a substrate


In case the size of the transistor is enlarged, power consumption of the transistor is increased. Thus, the present invention provides a display device capable of preventing a current from flowing to a display element in signal writing operation without varying potentials of power source lines for supplying a current to the display element per row. In setting a gate-source voltage of a transistor by applying a predetermined current to the transistor, a potential of a gate terminal of the transistor is adjusted so as to prevent a current from flowing to a load connected to a source terminal of the transistor. Therefore, a potential of a wire connected to the gate terminal of the transistor is differentiated from a potential of a wire connected to a drain terminal of the transistor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device having a function to control a current to be supplied to a load by a transistor, and a display device including a pixel formed of a current driven display element in which luminance is changed in accordance with a signal, and a signal line driver circuit and a scan line driver circuit for driving the pixel. Further, the present invention relates to a driving method of the display device. Furthermore, the present invention relates to an electronic appliance having the display device as a display portion.
2. Description of the Related Art
A liquid crystal display (LCD) which is a display device formed of a display element such as a liquid crystal is widely used. On the other hand, in recent years, a so-called self-light emitting display device having a pixel which is formed of a display element such as a light emitting diode (LED) has been attracting attention. As a display element used for such a self-light emitting display device, an organic light emitting diode (OLED) (also referred to as an organic EL element, electroluminescence (EL) element, or the like) has been attracting attentions, and they have been used for an EL display and the like. A display element such as an OLED is self-light emitting, therefore, it has advantages such as higher visibility of pixels, no backlight, and higher response compared to a liquid crystal display. Note that the luminance of a display element is generally controlled by a current value flowing through it.
As a driving method for expressing a gray scale of such a display device, there are a digital gray scale method and an analog gray scale method. By the digital gray scale method, a display element is turned on/off by being controlled in a digital manner to express a gray scale. In the case of the digital gray-scale method, the uniformity in luminance of each pixel is excellent; however, only two gray scale levels can be expressed if nothing is done since there are only two states, that is, light emission and non-light emission. Therefore, another method is used in combination to realize a multi-level gray scale. There is an area gray-scale method to express a gray scale by selecting the weighted light emission areas of pixels and a time gray-scale method to express a gray scale by selecting the weighted light emission time. Further, in the case of the digital gray-scale method, a time gray-scale method which is appropriate for achieving high definition is often employed. On the other hand, as the analog gray-scale method, there are a method of controlling the light emission intensity of a display element in an analog manner, and a method of controlling the light emission time of a display element in an analog manner. As the analog gray scale method, often employed is a method to control light emission intensity of a display element in an analog manner. As the method to control light emission intensity in an analog manner, often employed is a current input current driving method which is hardly affected by variations in characteristics of a thin film transistor (hereinafter also referred to as a TFT) of each pixel.
A current input current driven pixel including a unipolar transistor, that is, a transistor having one of a p-channel polarity or an n-channel polarity is disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Non-Patent Document 1.    [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-021219    [Non-Patent Document 1] SID 04 DIGEST p. 1516-p. 1519

Semiconductor device, display device, and electronic appliance

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


A feedthrough device having a ground wire that is coupled to both a metallic ferrule and to an insulating material and methods of making the device are provided. The ground wire is coupled or brazed between, adjacent to, or otherwise in direct contact with the metallic ferrule and the insulating material, for example, in a gap between the insulating material and the ferrule, or directly to the side of the insulating material and abutting the surface of the ferrule. If the ground wire is coupled or brazed in a gap, the gap may be formed by a notch in either the insulating material, the ferrule or both.

This invention is directed to feedthrough devices having grounded leads. In particular, the invention relates m to feedthrough devices with grounded leads that are suitable for use in medical implant devices or implantable pulse generators, such as pacemakers.
It is desirable that feedthrough devices for such uses be of reduced size while maintaining a hermetic seal. There are numerous applications where it is desirable to carry electrical signals through a metal casing and to ground the electronic devices inside to the metal casing using ceramic-to-metal or glass-to-metal seals. For certain electrical devices, especially those for use in a living body, it is necessary to pass a wire into the housing of the device while maintaining a hermetic seal. For example, pacemakers designed for implantation in a living body require an opening in the housing of the device in order to pass conductive wires to the internal electric components. Because there is an absolute need to prevent body fluids from entering the interior of the device, the pass-through opening in the housing must be sealed in a gas-tight and liquid-tight manner.
In many instances, the size of the feed-through must be minimized due to constraints on the size of the completed device. This is particularly applicable, but not limited to the situations encountered in implantable devices such as cardiac pacemakers, cardiac defibrillators, cochlear implants, implantable hearing devices, and the like. Feed-through devices and the leads attached thereto must be robust enough to withstand manufacturing processes and the usage of the devices, and at the same time be made economically. The size of the feedthrough device limits how small an implantable device can be, because the width of a pacemaker or defibrillator case must be, at minimum, slightly larger than the width of the feedthrough.
Conventional feedthrough devices typically include a metallic ferrule, an insulating material, and at least one wire lead. If the feedthrough is used in a medical implant, the materials used should be biocompatible and resistant to corrosion, because the feedthrough becomes part of a case that protects the electronics inside the body.
More particularly, feedthrough devices have been employed in implantable devices, as disclosed and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,905,627; 5,896,267; 5,825,608; 5,650,759; 4,940,858; and 5,866,851 as examples, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference. Typically, feedthrough devices include a metallic ferrule, which may have one or more flanges formed therein to facilitate mounting the device to the implantable medical device. The ferrule also has one or more openings through which a lead wire (or wires) may extend. Each lead wire is encapsulated and hermetically sealed within an insulating material that fills the remainder of the opening in the ferrule. The insulating material is bonded to both the lead wire and ferrule by glass sealing or brazing. The coupling of the above components must be done in such a way as to maintain a hermetic seal between each lead wire and the insulating material, and between the insulating material and the ferrule.
Some of the current practices employed for grounding electronic devices to a case in these feedthrough assemblies involve steps that use unnecessary space, are inefficient, and may cause yield problems. For example, one current practice includes attaching a lead directly to the case of the device, either by brazing or welding. However, in many instances, it is desirable for a lead to be grounded to the feedthrough upon delivery to an upper level assembly manufacturer. By having the ground wire in place prior to being delivered to an upper level assembly manufacturer, the upper level manufacturer is able to test the feedthrough device and any potentially attached electronics, rather than jeopardize the entire upper level assembly or case to which the device would be attached.
Current practice also involves welding a ground wire directly to a ferrule, away from the insulating material. Welding, however, is more labor intensive and expensive than brazing. A brazed joint is typically sturdier than a welded joint as well. Additionally, either brazing or welding the ground wire directly to the ferrule takes up a significant amount of space on the ferrule, because such a procedure requires an additional braze or weld joint. It also makes orienting the lead more difficult, because there is nothing supporting the sides of the ground wire. This additional braze joint must also be spatially separated from the original braze joints (those associated with the insulating material to metallic ferrule joints securing the wire lead) because the ground wire/ferrule braze joint can exert stress on the original braze joints, thus weakening both joints.
Additionally, brazing a ground wire into a separate opening on the ferrule also requires a separate braze load to be placed at the ground wire/ferrule interface. See, for to example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,905,627 issued to Brendel et al. Passing a ground wire through the ferrule in this manner, thus requiring an additional braze joint to be made, may adversely affect yields. As stated, a high integrity hermetic seal for medical implant devices is critical in order to prevent body fluids from penetrating the implanted device. Additionally, if the ground wire is to be placed in a thin area of the ferrule due to space constraints, assembly is more difficult because of the fixtures that would be required to hold the lead in position.
Furthermore, welding a ground wire to the ferrule after assembly of the feedthrough is also labor intensive and not as reliable. Welding a ground wire to the ferrule followed by brazing is more reliable but still labor intensive. This again requires a significant amount of space on the ferrule due to the additional braze joint that is necessary. In addition, this arrangement will not allow the ground wire to pass through the ferrule, which may be necessary for some implant devices.
In the special case in which a grounded lead must pass through the insulating material, present technology includes welding the ground wire to the ferrule or medical device case after assembly. For example, in the instance where a ground wire must pass through insulating material to ease attachment of a capacitor, it may be preferable to test the feedthrough/capacitor prior to welding the feedthrough assembly into the case that protects the electronics inside the body, as described above. This testing is impractical when the ground wire is welded to the case. If the ground wire is welded separately to the ferrule, the device requires more space.
There is also an industry practice of grounding a lead that is brazed to a ceramic. This involves laying a metallization layer or conductive member between the ferrule and the ground wire, across the surface of the ceramic, prior to brazing. The use of this procedure can cause yield problems due to braze flow between the ferrule and the ground wire, as capillary action may cause braze material to wick between the distinct braze joints, causing one or the other joint to have too much or too little braze.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a feedthrough device having a ground wire electrically coupled to the ferrule and located at an interface or opening of the ferrule and the insulating material. This has the advantages of minimizing the total space required for the device, providing efficient assembly, and minimizing the number of separate braze joints, thus improving the yield of the device while providing a reliable hermetic seal.
The present invention relates to a feedthrough device comprising a metallic ferrule, an insulating material, and a ground wire that is coupled to both the metallic ferrule and to the insulating material. The ground wire is preferably brazed to the metallic ferrule and to the insulating material, creating a single braze joint. The invention also relates to methods of coupling the ground wire to the ferrule and insulating material, and to medical devices containing the feedthrough device.
A feedthrough device according to one embodiment of the present invention has a metallic ferrule with an opening of sufficient size and shape to accommodate a lead wire and an insulating material; an insulating material disposed in the opening in the metallic ferrule, adapted to accommodate a lead wire and to support the lead wire in a nonconductive relation to the metallic ferrule; and a ground wire that is coupled, for example, by brazing, to the metallic ferrule and to the insulating material. The ground wire may be brazed in a gap between the insulating material and the ferrule, the ground wire being in contact with both the metallic ferrule and the insulating material. The gap may be formed by a notch in the insulating material, the metallic ferrule, or both. In another embodiment, the ground wire may be brazed directly to the surface of an insulating material and abut the surface of the ferrule, remaining in contact with both the metallic ferrule and insulating material.
The present invention also relates to methods of making a feedthrough device, comprising coupling a ground wire to a metallic ferrule and to an insulating material. More specifically, the invention relates to a method of coupling a ground wire to a feedthrough device comprising optionally metallizing a ceramic insulator if necessary, electrically isolating a wire lead within the ceramic insulator, positioning the metallized ceramic insulator and the lead wire within an opening in a metallic ferrule, positioning at least a portion of a ground wire between, adjacent to, or otherwise in direct contact with the metallized ceramic insulator and the metallic ferrule, and brazing all components together. The brazing step may be performed simultaneously. For example, once the components of the device have been assembled and the brazing material is put in place, the device may be placed in a furnace at appropriate brazing temperatures in order to melt the brazing material.
The invention also relates to a medical implant device comprising the above-described feedthrough device. The medical implant device comprises a housing and a feedthrough device coupled to the housing. The feedthrough device forms a hermetic seal with the housing while allowing the lead wire to pass into the housing.
One advantage of this invention is that it does not require an additional braze seal to secure the ground wire in position, since there is a single braze joint between the ground wire, the ferrule, and the insulating material. Furthermore, brazing the ground wire in a gap between the ferrule and the insulating material holds the lead in place more securely.
A further advantage of this invention is that less space is taken up on the feedthrough device. Another advantage of this invention is that it may be practiced using the same ferrule or insulator outline that may currently be in use. In other words, this invention potentially eliminates the need to retool ferrules or insulators, reducing costs to implement and to practice the invention.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example only, features of the present invention and are not intended to limit the invention in any way.


An electronic sphygmomanometer includes CPU-controlled peripheral elements such as a pump, an amplifier, an A/D converter and a printer. During measurement of blood pressure, power consumption is reduced by supplying power to these peripheral elements only when they are driven or operated. When a blood pressure measurement or a print-out of measured values ends, the CPU acts to cut off its own power to reduce power consumption further. The sphygmomanometer further includes a timer constantly supplied with power for the purpose of preserving time information. Operating power is supplied to the CPU in synchronism with a pulse signal outputted by the timer every minute. When the pulse signal arrives, the CPU reads in time information from the timer, causes the time information to be displayed by a display device, then cuts off its own power and waits for the next pulse signal. By repeating such processing, time is displayed while power consumption is minimized.

This invention relates to an electronic sphygmomanometer and, more particularly, to an electronic sphygmomanometer in which power consumed due to activation of a plurality of independent circuits and peripheral devices is reduced.
In a conventional electronic sphygmomanometer, measurement processing is performed following introduction of electric power to various independent circuits and peripheral devices by a manual operation. The manual introduction of power to the peripheral devices is a troublesome operation. Moreover, during measurement or the printing out of results, the particular processing is executed while power remains applied to devices or circuits which are not participating. Power consumption is high as a result.
In particular, an electronic sphygmomanometer having a timekeeping function is adapted to display date and time information when blood pressure is measured. Since the time, for example, is displayed in a display window constantly regardless of whether the window cover is open or closed, the amount of power consumed by the display is significant. Though it has been contemplated to display the time information in the display window only when the cover is open, power continues to be supplied to the control unit (namely a CPU and its peripheral circuitry) during the time that a switch or the like for starting blood pressure measurement is in the ON state. For this reason, the reduction in power consumption is still inadequate.


A dual use belly dumping and end dumping vehicle is provided, including a frame, having left and right side beams connected together to form an opening therebetween. The frame is mounted on rear wheels for transport. A hopper with sides, ends and an openable bottom is carried in the opening between the left and right side beams in the frame. Rollers are mounted to the sides of the hopper for rollingly supporting the hopper on top of the left and right side beams of the frame. Pivot bars are mounted on the frame above the rear wheels. Pivot-engaging sockets are mounted on the hopper for engaging the pivot bars when the hopper is rolled rearward along the side beams, constructed for releasably engaged pivoting of the hopper about the pivot bars to a dumping position at which an end of the hopper dumps the content thereof behind the rear wheels to which the frame is mounted. Hydraulic cylinders are mounted between the sides of the frame and the sides of the hopper for retractably rolling the hopper from a first transport position to a second pivot engagement position and to a third pivoted dumping position.

In the past, vehicles for the purpose of transporting sand, gravel, paving materials and other loose materials which are relatively heavy have often been required to be specialized, either for the type of materials which must be carried or for the particular conditions under which the vehicles must operate. Many vehicles are primarily used in general construction for conveying, moving or delivering large quantities of sand, concrete, rocks, earth or paving materials. Often, large quantities of materials must be transported long distances over existing roadways. Depending upon the particular application, the transported materials may need to be dumped from the belly of the vehicle. Sometimes, vehicles may be required which allow the materials to be dumped from the end of the vehicle. In the past, vehicles which dumped from the belly typically required one specific type of construction. Other vehicles which dumped from the end, as by raising the front end of a truck bed and letting the contents slide through a tailgate, required a different type of construction.
Some types of work or construction may have enough use for a particular specialized dumping activity to justify constructing a particular type of vehicle for the intended purpose, whether belly dumping or end dumping. Other jobs may require more than one specialized dumping capability. Often, there is a need to have one or only a few transport and dumping vehicles which might be useful for multiple purposes. Most available trailers and vehicles are only for one particular purpose, as, for example, the end-dumping trailers shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,718,429; 2,983,548; and 3,232,666. Most of such end-dumping vehicles are entirely without belly-dumping capabilities. Belly-dumping vehicles have also been known; however, such vehicles typically are highly specialized for the particular belly-dumping operation intended, without end-dumping capabilities.
An early attempt to overcome the drawbacks of separate vehicles for specialized purposes included a combination belly-dump/end-dump vehicle for hauling materials, which was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,289,353. This disclosure showed a vehicle which was intended to be capable of either end dumping or belly dumping. The disclosure showed a vehicle, which included a frame mounted upon wheels and which provided a first pivot support and a second pivot support, with the first pivot support at least level with or lower than the second pivot support. A hopper for containing the materials to be transported and dumped was carried by the frame. The hopper was described as having a gate means located at the bottom for belly dumping. In its lowered or transport position, an arm from the rear of the hopper engaged the first pivot support. A telescopic ram was provided between the front of the frame and the front of the hopper for raising the front end of the hopper and for lifting the hopper rotatably about the first pivot support. After pivoting to a particular angle and before dumping was initiated, a top edge of the hopper became pivotably engaged with the second pivot support. The first and second pivots were alternately engaged upon hydraulically raising the front end of the hopper so that the materials dumped out of the rear of the hopper over the rear of the frame, preferably only after the second pivot engagement occurred. The vehicle disclosed provided the first pivot support ahead of the rear wheels. The second pivot support was shown positioned behind the rear wheels of the vehicle to permit dumping the contents behind the vehicle, not on the frame or rear wheels. Thus, unless the trailer vehicle was securely attached downward in the front, a heavy load in a fully tilted hopper acted downward on a "lever" extending behind the rear axle and that tended to lift the front end of the trailer. Also, the telescopic hydraulic cylinder was attached ahead of the hopper, apparently for maximum leverage when pivoting the hopper. This construction required an extremely long hydraulic cylinder stroke to fully pivot the hopper. A hydraulic cylinder with a large number of telescoping hydraulic stages would be required for a vehicle with this design. Also, the frame for the vehicle, as disclosed, was of a construction requiring multiple side beams extending from the front to the rear of the vehicle along the sides of the hopper to be supported. Upper and lower parallel side beams were provided on each side of the hopper, apparently to provide adequate strength and stability for a fully loaded hopper.
Further, the alternatingly engageable pivot support connections were depicted as including round bar stock pivot bars attached to the hopper and semicircular sockets secured, upwardly directed, on the vehicle for pivotably receiving the pivot bars of the hopper. These upwardly directed sockets did not hold the hopper downward in place when transporting. The weight of the hopper and payload and the hydraulic cylinder attachment were relied upon for holding the hopper down into the frame during transport. Further, when the hopper pivot bars were not engaged in the upwardly opened pivot sockets, the sockets could accumulate rocks, gravel or other materials, as, for example, from loading or unloading the payload. Thus, the lower pivot supports or sockets could accumulate debris when the hopper was pivoted rearward and engaged in the upper pivot sockets for end dumping. The upper sockets could accumulate debris when the hopper is in its lowered/non-pivoted position. When the pivot bars engaged and rotated in the sockets, unnecessary wear and abrasion resulted.
Prior trailers, having belly-dumping capability, were typically provided with bay doors, which typically had to be continuously maintained in a closed position with externally applied force, as with a pneumatic cylinder. The doors were typically actuated to either a fully closed position for filling and transport or to a fully open position for dumping the load of material. The weight of the load in such prior hopper designs continuously acted to push the doors to an open position.
In some alternative of hopper doors, such as those depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 4,289,353, a "clamshell gate" was described as being operated, either hydraulically or pneumatically. The means of operation was not fully described in the '353 patent, as it was said that the operation thereof was known in the art. However, as depicted in the drawings of the '353 patent, the clamshell gates had a substantially continuous arcuate shape, with the lowest part of the arc along the center line of the hopper. Large actuating cylinders were provided to pivot the clamshells either fully closed or fully open. The actuating cylinders were typically air-operated cylinders, which were convenient for purposes of the use of tractor/trailer rigs of the type commonly fitted with air brakes and a corresponding air pressure-generating system. Such pneumatic cylinders did not lend themselves to partial opening, but rather were either fully actuated to an open position or fully actuated to a closed position. Unless a mechanical latch was also used to maintain the clamshell gate into a closed position, the air-operated cylinders would need to maintain a seal so that either pressure or vacuum, depending on the configuration, kept the doors in a closed position until such time as the doors were to be opened, when the cylinders would be actuated so that the gates or the doors would be moved outward to a fully open position. Thus, in these devices, it appears that the forces of granular material against the clamshell doors continuously tended to open the doors.
The opening of the doors with "on" or "off" pneumatic type actuators was sufficiently quick so that one need not be concerned with which of the doors opened first or fastest. Both of the doors, if operating properly, moved swiftly to the fully open position to allow for complete dumping.
Most earlier trailers, of all types, which have had multiple rear wheel assemblies, have had a plurality of vertically extending support struts, typically interposed between each axle, or each set of wheels. The support struts were constructed of a rigid material, supported from a horizontal frame member, above. These support struts were typically made in pairs, one on either side of the trailer. At the lower end of each support strut was a fastening means at which a spring, such as a leaf spring, was connected and suspended between a support strut ahead of an axle and a support strut behind an axle. In the case of two rear axles, typically three pairs of left and right support struts were used: one front pair, one middle pair and one rear pair. The leaf springs were suspended from the middle struts toward the front strut and from the middle strut toward the rear strut. Attached to each of the leaf springs was an axle, and a shock absorber mechanism was also appropriately affixed. Because of the large diameter of the tires, the support struts were required to extend a substantial distance from the upper horizontal frame member, thereby requiring both substantial strengthening of the horizontal member, as well as substantial strengthening of the vertical struts. The vertical struts had to be designed against cantilever forces, acting at a significant lever arm distance from the attachment point at the horizontal frame member.
Many of the drawbacks of the early prior trailers were overcome by aspects of U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,749,595, 5,551,759 and 5,549,359. The dual use vehicle or trailer described and claimed in those prior patents continued to require a significant amount of heavy structure to provide proper dual use capabilities. Because of certain physical and regulatory limitations for roads and bridges, the amount of weight of the trailer structure reduced the payload that could be carried.

Dual use vehicle with rolling hopper and method


Methods of a network node may provide listen-before-talk (LBT) functionality in a telecommunications system. Such methods may include associating a user equipment (UE) within the network node's coverage to a group of UEs. In addition, a clear channel assessment (CCA) of an unlicensed channel may be provided for the group of UEs. Related network nodes and UEs are also discussed.

The ongoing 3GPP Rel-13 study item "Licensed-Assisted Access" (LAA) intends to allow LTE equipment to also operate in the unlicensed 5 GHz radio spectrum. The unlicensed 5 GHz spectrum is used as a complement to the licensed spectrum. Accordingly, devices connect in the licensed spectrum (primary cell or PCell) and use carrier aggregation to benefit from additional transmission capacity in the unlicensed spectrum (secondary cell or SCell). To reduce the changes required for aggregating licensed and unlicensed spectrum, the LTE frame timing in the primary cell is simultaneously used in the secondary cell.
Regulatory requirements, however, may not permit transmissions in the unlicensed spectrum without prior channel sensing. Since the unlicensed spectrum must be shared with other radios of similar or dissimilar wireless technologies, a so called listen-before-talk (LBT) method needs to be applied. LBT involves sensing the medium for a pre-defined minimum amount of time and backing off if the channel is busy. Today, the unlicensed 5 GHz spectrum is mainly used by equipment implementing the IEEE 802.11 Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) standard. This standard is known under its marketing brand "Wi-Fi."
Due to the LBT procedure, the first slot in which the LAA SCell or LAA User Equipment (UE) is permitted to transmit cannot be predicted in advance. This makes it difficult to pre-compute the data payload since several parameters are currently dependent on the slot number in which data is transmitted.
In the unlicensed band, a node performs LBT for accessing the channel for transmission. In downlink, an E-UTRAN Node B (eNB or eNodeB) performs LBT and upon its success, downlink transmission is permitted and can be initiated to one or multiple UEs. In uplink, different UEs perform LBT individually and hence compete with each other in accessing the unlicensed channel which may be inefficient, especially in high load systems with a large number of users each having small amounts of data to transmit, resulting in collisions and a highly congested and inefficient system. Another consequence is that if an eNB schedules two UEs simultaneously at the same time but on different physical resource blocks (PRB), those UEs would compete with each other to access the channel. Hence multi-user scheduling for uplink transmission will be problematic and inefficient.
The approaches described in the Background section could be pursued, but are not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in the Background section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in the Background section.

Methods providing listen-before-talk and related UEs and network nodes


A sanitary fitting adapted to be rotatably mounted to a sanitary fixture is disclosed. The sanitary fitting includes a valve body and spout assembly and may be of unitary design. The valve body and spout assembly is rotatably mounted on a tubular manifold which is rigidly mounted to the sanitary fixture. Flexible hose means is coupled between a supply source and the valve body. Special seal means, such as O-rings, lubricants or the like, is not required since the flexible hose means is coupled to the valve body whereby water does not contact the rotatable connection.

In the manufacture of sanitary fittings, it has been the practice to design a valve for a kitchen or lavatory fixture so that the spout swivels or rotates about the valve body. One disadvantage encountered by such a design is that the water carrying part, that is the spout, is rotated about the valve body and requires a water tight seal. This is generally accomplished by use of O-rings, lubricants, etc.; however, they are subject to wear or the lubricant is lost through the joint connection. In designs of this type the spout is generally difficult to rotate about the valve body because it must be constructed with close tolerances to prevent leaking.


A portable auxiliary locking device for securing an inwardly opening door of a room or building against unauthorized entry is disclosed. The locking device includes a threaded rod which terminates in an axially extending plate region having a hook-like flange formed at the distal end thereof. The threaded rod passes coaxially through a central opening within a tubular body member having an end face that is configured for abutment with the inner surface of the door. A locking barrel, rotatably interconnected with the second end of the body member, includes a quick-release latch that is spring-loaded into engagement with the threaded rod. In operation, the door is closed with the hook-like flange extending into the opening within the strike plate of the door frame and the threaded rod extending inwardly into the room that is to be secured. The quick-release latch is then depressed and the body member slid into abutment with the surface of the door. The locking barrel is then rotated to clamp the door in the closed position.

This invention relates to portable door securing devices that can be temporarily installed to the inside of an inwardly swinging entrance door for preventing unauthorized entry into a room or building. More particularly, this invention relates to improved portable door locks of the type wherein the lock is installed to extend between a door and the associated frame with a first portion of the lock being engaged with the opening within a conventional frame-mounted strike plate and a second portion of the lock being moved into abutment with and secured against the surface of the door.
The need for and desirability of portable door locks that can be used by the occupants of a building or room for securing the entrance thereof against unauthorized entry has long been recognized. Such locks are, for example, especially advantageous as a supplemental lock for temporary quarters such as a hotel or motel room since the occupants of such premises have no control over access to the keys for operating the conventionally provided locking devices. Further, although various permanently mounted auxiliary locks are sometimes provided, such devices do not necessarily provide the desired degree of protection and are not always maintained in proper operating condition.
A variety of supplemental locking devices that are easily stored and/or carried in a suitcase, purse or other container have been proposed in the prior art. With respect to the present invention, such prior art devices include auxiliary locking arrangements in which a hook-like extension in the end portion of a relatively thin locking bar is inserted in the strike plate opening of the door frame with the locking bar extending between the door and door frame and a blocking member is moved along the locking bar and secured in abutment with the inner surface of the door. Examples of devices which fall into this general classification, and because of similarity in function and use provide background for the present invention, are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 633,078; 3,416,333; 3,423,968; 3,429,151; 3,451,235; 3,475,929; and 3,596,961.
Although the locking devices disclosed in the above-referenced patents operate satisfactorily in some respects and under some conditions, presently available devices present several disadvantages and drawbacks. In this regard, the shortcomings of such prior art devices primarily result because of compromises that have heretofore been necessary in attempting to satisfy several somewhat conflicting design considerations. More specifically, a portable locking device of the type addressed by the present invention should be relatively simple and economical yet provide a high degree of security and reliability. Further, such a device should not only be configured for ease of installation and operation but should be arranged for rapid removal to permit authorized entry and allow an occupant of a locked room to quickly disengage the device and evacuate the room or building in case of fire or other emergency. Additionally, a locking device of this type must not mar or otherwise damage a door and should be configured and arranged for use with entrance doors having variously configured trim or decorative molding.
The auxiliary locks disclosed in the previously referenced U.S. patents do not appear to simultaneously satisfy or fully meet the above-mentioned design goals. For example, with the exception of U.S. Pat. No. 3,596,961, each of these references disclose locking devices in which the component that abuts the inner surface of the door extends directly outward across the adjacent door frame without accommodation for molding or trim that often surrounds the periphery of conventional entrance doors. Further, of the above-cited patents, only U.S. Pat. No. 3,596,961 and U.S. Pat. No. 633,078 disclose locking arrangements that do not require an additional device such as a padlock or integrally contained key-operated lock for maintaining the disclosed device in the fully-engaged and locked condition. Although devices employing key-operated and auxiliary locks have application to additional situations wherein a room, showcase, cabinet or other enclosure is to be locked from the outside, this feature is a distinct disadvantage when the device is used to temporarily secure the door of an occupied room or building. In particular, it is not only possible to at least temporarily misplace the necessary key, but the additional operation required to disengage the device makes it cumbersome to admit welcome or authorized persons and can make it difficult to quickly open the door should an emergency evacuation be necessary.
In addition, the prior art has not generally obtained the desired degree of security in that such devices are not arranged to withstand forces that can be exerted by a determined intruder. For example, in many of the prior art devices the component that is intended to abut the inner surface of the door must be secured in one of several predetermined positions. Oftentimes the available positions do not secure the door tightly against the frame and, when force is exerted on the outside of the door, bending moments or other concentrated forces are coupled to the locking device thereby causing the device to fail. In this regard, although previously referenced U.S. Pat. No. 3,429,151 discloses an arrangement in which the member that abuts the inner surface of the door can be tightened beyond a position in which such member is simply in contacting juxtaposition therewith, only very limited tightening or clamping action can be attained. More specifically, in the device disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 3,429,151, the component that engages the strike plate is a flat elongated locking bar having teeth or serrations in the oppositely disposed longitudinal edges which are engaged by threads within a nut-like locking member. To provide ease of operation, the nut-like locking member includes two oppositely disposed radially extending slots that extend through the root region of the threads and permit the locking member to be slid axially along the locking bar. With this arrangement the nut-like member is rotated 90.degree. L after being urged into abutment with the door and limited tightening or clamping action is affected. The amount of tightening that is provided does not, however, exert substantial compressive force on the door and this device is further subject to the various previously-described disadvantages.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a portable auxiliary door lock which can be used by the occupant of a room or building to securely fasten an inwardly swinging frame-mounted entrance door in a closed position; such door lock being of the type in which the a first portion of the lock engages with a strike plate or other stationary portion of the door frame and a second portion of the lock is positionable against the interior surface of the door.
It is an associated object of this invention to provide a supplemental door lock of the above-mentioned type wherein the lock is configured and arranged to permit the exertion of compressive force between the door and the adjoining region of the frame to thereby tightly clamp the door in a locked position and attain a high degree of security.
It is another object of this invention to provide a portable auxiliary door lock which is relatively simple in structure and economical to manufacture.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a supplemental door lock that is easily operated and configured for rapid installation and removal.
Still further it is an object of this invention to provide a portable door lock that is usable with conventional inwardly swinging doors which include a variety of frame-mounted trim or decorative moldings.