A method for monitoring conveyance of fluid in a device for extracorporeal blood treatment, whereby fluid is conveyed by a peristaltic pump in a fluid system from a low-pressure side to a high-pressure side in that an elastically deformable fluid line positioned between the low-pressure side and the high-pressure side is deformed between a support surface and at least two squeeze elements of a rotor rotating opposite the support surface in such a way that a conveyance volume section is formed between the squeeze elements, whereby a fluid pressure value in the fluid system is detected for the conveyance volume section that is specific to the conveyance volume section, and whereby the detected conveyance-volume-specific fluid pressure value of a conveyance cycle n is compared with the detected conveyance-volume-specific fluid pressure value of a previous conveyance cycle n−x.

Known peristaltic pumps in medical devices for extracorporeal blood treatment generally consist of a rotor, a pump housing and a pump line arranged between these as a fluid line and they convey a defined volume of a medium, such as blood or dialysis fluid, from the low-pressure side, normally the arterial side, to the high-pressure side, normally the venous side. The peristaltic pump works by deforming and pinching the elastically deformable fluid line with the squeeze elements. These are pre-tensioned against the fluid line and are moved along the latter on rotation of the rotor, thereby causing elastic deformation of the fluid line in a cross-sectional direction. As a result of this, fluid is pressed out of the fluid line in the direction of conveyance. Replenishing fluid is drawn into the line with low pressure, in particular vacuum, which is created due to the elastic reshaping of the fluid line after deformation by the squeeze elements.
It is known that pre-tensioning of the squeeze elements against the fluid line can be effected with springs, for example. These are designed in such a way that the cross-section of the fluid line can be fully pinched, in other words the cross-section of the fluid line can be fully closed with the squeeze elements. If the pump functions properly, therefore, pressure differences are not transferred from the arterial side to the venous side.
When the conveyance volume is opened, i.e. at the transition of the fluid line cross-section from occlusive to non-occlusive, pulsation occurs on the high-pressure side. This effect is caused by the fact that on the low-pressure side a volume section of the elastic fluid line is pinched and the fluid volume enclosed inside it is conveyed in the direction of the high-pressure side with rotation of the rotor and the shifting of the squeeze point of the fluid line towards the high-pressure side. When the conveyance volume section is pinched, the volume enclosed inside it is under the pressure of the low-pressure side. It is conveyed under this pressure to the high-pressure side, where, by contrast, high pressure prevails. If the conveyance volume section is opened to the high-pressure side as part of the conveyance process, fluid flow occurs from the high-pressure side into the conveyance volume section due to the pressure difference between the high-pressure side and the conveyance volume section. This return flow lasts until pressure balance is established. The result is a momentary interruption of the pressure on the high-pressure side and a pulsation occurs on the high-pressure side.
In the case of a conveyance of blood as the fluid, it can occur during the pressure balance described above and as a result of the fluid line cross-section not being fully closed by the squeeze elements (insufficient sealing of the conveyance volume section) that blood is squeezed through the bottleneck that exists or is formed between the conveyance volume section and the high-pressure side. This normally results in the partial destruction of blood cells, generally referred to as haemolysis. In order to avoid haemolysis, the squeeze elements, the fluid line and the support surface of the peristaltic pump are harmonized in such a way that the cross-section of the fluid line is expanded as quickly as possible when opening the conveyance volume section to the high-pressure side, i.e. the transition between the states occluded and non-occluded is effected as swiftly as possible and also the cross-section is sealed as tightly as possible during conveyance.
It is a disadvantage of known methods for conveying fluid, in particular blood, that wear or failure can occur during the service life of such a peristaltic pump, leading to complete wearing out of the cross-section of the fluid line so that a swift transition from occluded to non-occluded cannot be ensured. Haemolysis can therefore not be reliably ruled out. It is further a disadvantage that a failure of a spring pre-tensioning a squeeze element against the fluid line in conventional methods can only be detected if it happens so completely that the required pressure levels can no longer be established. An undetected failure of the kind described here can potentially cause massive harm to a patient since increased haemolysis can occur.

Fluid conveyance monitoring system in an extracorporeal blood treatment device


A fuel sender including a container in a fuel tank of a motor vehicle and, in the container, a filter, a fuel pump, a jet pump, and a pressure regulator. An upstream side of the filter and the fuel pump are connected through a first passage in a first end wall of the container. A downstream side of the filter is connected to an interior volume of the container through a convoluted second passage on a second end wall of the container. A pressure regulator on the second end wall of the container maintains fuel pressure at a substantially constant magnitude by variably restricting flow through the second passage. A venturi throat in the second passage aspirates fuel from the fuel tank into the container. The efficiency of the jet pump is maximized by minimizing the length of the convoluted second passage. Vibration isolating seals minimize the transfer of vibrations and pressure pulsations to the container. In a preferred embodiment, the filter has electrically conductive elements which are connected to a ground circuit of the motor vehicle for protection against static discharge.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,494 describes a fuel sender in a fuel tank of a motor vehicle including a container, a fuel pump in the container, a filter in the container, a pressure regulator in the container, and flexible hoses between the fuel pump, the filter, and the pressure regulator. Fuel from inside the container is pumped by the fuel pump through the filter to a fuel rail of a fuel injection system of the motor vehicle. The pressure regulator recirculates a fraction of the discharge of the fuel pump directly back into the container to maintain the pressure of the fuel downstream of the filter at a constant differential relative to a manifold pressure of a motor of the motor vehicle. International Patent Application No. WO 95/29075 describes a fuel sender in a fuel tank of a motor vehicle including a container, an annular filter in the container, a fuel pump in the center of the filter, and a flexible hose between the fuel pump and the filter. A publicly displayed fuel sender similar to that described in the aforesaid International Patent Application No. WO 95/29075 includes a pressure regulator in the container and a jet pump which uses the fraction of the fuel recirculated by the pressure regulator to aspirate new fuel from the fuel tank into the container.


A hinge-EMI grounding conductor is disclosed for an electronic device which has hinged operating portions, for example, a portable computer having a display housing hingedly attached to a main body housing. The present invention not only allows the angle between the two portable computer housings be rotably adjusted for optimal user operations but also provides a compact and economical way of implementing a conductive grounding path for purposes such as EMI shielding.

1. Field of Invention
This invention generally relates to electronic devices having hinges and, more particularly, to those hinges also serving as conductors for providing electrical paths between hinged means.
2. Description of Related Art
Portable computers are common in the market today. These portable computers, often referred to as notebook and sub-notebook computers, are versatile in that these computers may be used in "mobile" locations without AC power such as within a bus or an airplane. Because of their portability, weight and size are important considerations for their designs. As a result, a portable computer typically has a display housing brakingly engaged to a main body housing via one or more hinges enabling the two housings to fold against each other for ease of transport. But when in use, an optimal angle between the housings can be similarly rotably adjusted for user operations.
A problem for these portable computers is electromagnetic interference. Electromagnetic interference (EMI) or electrical noise disrupts the normal operation of electronic devices. Such disruption may be caused by its external cabling, power supplies, electronic components, display screen and the like. Such a disruption may even be caused by its external environment because an electronic device that radiates electrical noise is also susceptible to electrical noises from other sources. Therefore, ensuring the electronic devices to have a proper EMI shield and associated grounding path is one typical way for reducing the effects of EMI. But for those devices with hinged housings such as portable computers and cellular telephones, the EMI shield grounding path between the two EMI shielded housings is typically implemented in an unsatisfactory manner.
One known method is to make use of specifically configured conductive connectors making contact between the two housing shields. Unfortunately, these connectors themselves are typically susceptible to EMI absorption. Furthermore, they tend to be bulky, heavy and expensive. Another existing method is to use copper cladded and ferrite beaded cables. On the one hand, the extra copper shield on the cables makes the cables too stiff to withstand the rigors of portable computing. On the other hand, the bulk of the ferrite beads uses up premium real estate inside the housing. Furthermore, both of these methods have been used in parallel in the past with limited success.
Therefore, when designing an electronic equipment having hinged housings and where each housing provides EMI shielding, it is desirable for implementing a shield grounding path between the housings in a light, compact, and economical manner. In cases where EMI shields are not in place for those hinged housings having metallic enclosures, it is also desirable to provide a ground path implementation for the housing enclosures.


A bowel management system includes a rectal catheter; and at least one physiologic sensor. The rectal catheter has a portion in contact with a patient's body internally thereof during use of the system, to thereby determine a preselected physiologic parameter of a patient having the rectal catheter inserted into the patient's bowel. The position of the sensor relative to the rectal catheter portion is such that the sensor is disposed in close proximity to the internal tissue of the patient, or within the fecal flow, when the bowel management system is place for use within the patient.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to bowel management systems including rectal catheters, and, more particularly, to system wherein the rectal catheter has sensors embedded therein for physiologic monitoring/detection, screening of body state conditions such as temperature, oxygen saturation, infection, diseases, or other abnormalities, via interface with intestinal and intestinal contents whether solid, liquid or gas for example.
2. Related Art
Rectal thermometry and stool sampling are well known in the art of bowel management. However, current rectal thermometers require either repeated placement of a thermometer into the rectal vault for a short duration in order to get a temperature reading. Similarly, stool sampling techniques known in the art generally involve a messy process of either sampling stool that has been deposited by the patient in a receptacle such as a bed and bed pan or collection reservoir, or in some situations by physically removing stool from a patient. Both methods are unclean, messy, inexact, and unnecessarily expose the caregiver to the stool, which could contain hazardous infectious organisms and contaminated blood, and may also be extremely uncomfortable or hazardous for the patient.
There are many known catheter systems with physiologic sensing capability embedded in them for measuring pressure in the body and there are known rectal temperature probes. However, there are no known combination bowel management systems with both indwelling catheter portions and physiologic sensing capabilities.
The current devices to measure rectal temperature are inconsistent (due to uncontrolled placement of the temperature probe during each reading) and do not always gather an accurate measurement. None of these known rectally inserted probes can accurately interface with the anal canal. Other physiologic measurements such as oxygen saturation are usually done elsewhere on the body and while accurate, the methods include the caregiver managing additional equipment and may subject the patient to multiple tests. No known oxygen saturation monitors can simultaneously give measurements from the portal or mesenteric and the systemic circulations. Also, no known probes are for recording oxygen saturation from the portal or mesenteric circulation. Known stool sampling devices and methods are inconsistent, messy and subject the caregiver to unnecessary biological hazards.
The Bowel Management System (BMS) catheter which is used in patients to manage the output of stool resides atraumatically in the anorectum of the human and makes contact with the surrounding mucosa of the rectum and/or anal canal. This system is ideally of the basic type described in U.S. Ser. No. 10/225,820, pending, published Feb. 26, 2004, as Pub. No. US 2004/0039348A1, and owned by the assignee of the present invention, and the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Alternatively, the system of the present invention can include a rectal catheter (but without the cuff-shaped balloon-like bolster of FIG. 1), for example as of the type shown in FIG. 2, although not limited thereto. These locations of contact have proven to be preferred locations for sensing physiologic conditions such as temperature and oxygen saturation levels (experimentally). Dual sensors that measure portal or mesenteric (rectal) and systemic (anal canal) indices would have potential comparative values. Also due to the controlled passage of stool through the BMS, the BMS presents a more controlled way to sample the content of the stool when the stool is first exiting the anorectum for infections and blood content. Because the BMS resides in a patient's anal canal for up to about 29 days and has a portion that exits the anal canal within easy view of the caregiver, the BMS allows for placement of one or more physiologic sensors, in keeping with the present invention, in or attached to the indwelling portion of the catheter with corresponding readout device of the sensors outside the body of the patient by the caregiver.
Previously known devices to measure rectal temperature are inconsistent in performance (due to uncontrolled placement of the temperature probe during each reading) and do not always gather an accurate measurement. None of these known rectally inserted probes can accurately interface the anal canal. Other physiologic measurements such as oxygen saturation are usually done elsewhere on the body and while accurate, the methods include the caregiver managing additional equipment and possibly subjecting the patient to multiple tests. No known oxygen saturation monitors can simultaneously give measurements from the portal or mesenteric and the systemic circulations. Also, there are no known probes for recording oxygen saturation from the portal or mesenteric circulation. Known stool sampling devices and methods are messy and subject the caregiver to unnecessary hazards.

Bowel management system with physiologic sensors


A glue roller assembly for use in a labeling machine includes a drive shaft mounted rotatably in the machine frame and coupled with the machine drive by a transmission. A glue roller barrel is adjustable relative to the glue segments of the labeling machine and is mounted to permit radial adjustment thereof via a hollow shaft disposed substantially concentrically around the drive shaft of the glue roller and fixed to the machine frame. The barrel is coupled to the hollow shaft to permit the radial adjustment of the glue roller barrel with respect thereto and the glue roller barrel is coupled to the drive shaft in the circumferential direction.

The invention relates to a glue roller in a labeling machine, whose central drive shaft rotatably mounted in the machine frame is coupled with the machine drive through a transmission, especially a gear transmission, and whose periphery is adjustable relative to the glue segments of the labeling machine.
To assume the faultless application of glue to the glue segments by the glue roller, it is necessary that the glue segments roll with their entire glue-bearing surface against the glue roller, the distance between the glue roller and the glue-bearing surface remaining constant with the greatest possible accuracy. To satisfy this requirement the glue roller must be aligned with the glue segments.
In a known glue roller of the kind mentioned above, the barrel of the glue roller is mounted directly on the drive shaft. Any necessary adjustment is performed with the drive shaft. The fact that the dynamic coupling between the drive shaft and the machine is not optimum in every case when such adjustments are made is tolerated. In the case of low machine capacities, the less than perfect meshing of the gears of the drive is tolerated. However, in the case of high capacities of 50,000 label applications per hour, such as are often used today, these irregularities are no longer acceptable since the gear train would wear too quickly.


Systems and methods consistent with the invention may include generating, via a processor, an entity relationship model to indicate a plurality of types of relationships between the entities, determining relationships between the database tables corresponding to the entities by using the entity relationship model, wherein the database tables are stored in a computer memory device, generating a graph based on the entity relationship model, generating sets of database elements representing the entities and corresponding data objects stored in the database tables, wherein the element sets are generated based on the generated graph, assigning ordering numbers to the database element sets and database elements included in the database element sets and executing the query transaction by using the data objects in an order based on the ordering numbers.

1. Relevant Field
Systems and methods consistent with the present invention generally relate to the management of database objects and/or entries. More particularly, systems and methods consistent with the invention relate to the managing data objects by resolving foreign key constraints to process database queries.
2. Background Information
Businesses and other organizations generate and/or receive a variety of entries, data items and electronic information (broadly referred to hereafter as "data objects") during the course of their operation. These data objects may belong to different classes and may be generated and/or received from various locations in different regions and/or countries. To organize and manage operations of the organization, data objects may be stored in storage devices located in a variety of locations. These storage devices may include relational databases that store the data objects as tables of data, where the tables may consist of rows and columns and may represent relations between the stored data.
The relationships between data objects stored in various database tables may be constrained by using foreign keys. For example, a foreign key may be used to establish and enforce a link between data objects stored in two tables. A foreign key may be a referential constraint between two tables that may identify a column or a set of columns in a referencing database table that may refer to a column or set of columns of a referenced table. Foreign keys may be used to enforce constraints by linking information together and may provide database normalization during processing of database transactions.
During operation, customers or employees of an organization may need to issue queries and process query transactions by using data objects that may be in relational databases. Mainly, an entity may enter a query such as a Structured Query Language (SQL) statement to insert, and/or update, and/or delete one or more data objects from a database. In conventional systems the execution of such a query may fail when a constraint enforced by a foreign key may be violated. Conventional systems, therefore, may execute statements in a particular order and to resolve foreign key constraints before execution of a query.
For example, FIG. 1 illustrates a database system 100, in which database tables 102 and 104 that may be linked together by relationship 106. As is illustrated in FIG. 1, the name of database table 102 may be "EMPLOYEE" such that database table 102 belongs to class "EMPLOYEE" and includes data objects describing information with respect to employees of an organization. The class of a database table may also be referred to as an entity such that each entity may have one database table that may be used to store data objects of the entity. The data objects of an entity may also be referred to as instances of the entity. For example, the columns of database table 102 may include instances "EMPLOYEE ID," "EMPLOYEE NAME," "COMPENSATION," "DEPARTMENT," and "DUTIES," of the entity "EMPLOYEE."
The name of database table 104 may be "EMPLOYEE EVALUATION" such that database table 104 belongs to entity "EMPLOYEE EVALUATION" and includes data objects describing information with respect to evaluations of employees of the organization. The columns of database table 104 may include instances "EVALUATION ID," "EMPLOYEE ID," "EMPLOYEE SALES," "HOURS," "ATTENDANCE," and "LAST YEAR RANK" of the entity "EMPLOYEE EVALUATION." Database table 104 may have a link 106 to database table 102 because there is a relationship between "EMPLOYEE" and "EMPLOYEE EVALUATION." The "EMPLOYEE ID" column in database table 104 may match the "EMPLOYEE ID" column in database table 102, where the "EMPLOYEE ID" column of database table 102 may be a primary key column 108 of database table 102 and the "EMPLOYEE ID" column of database table 104 may be a foreign key column 110 to database table 102.
Foreign key column 110 may ensure that changes may not be made to data in database table 102 if those changes may invalidate link 106. To process queries or perform query transaction that may require the insertion, deletion, and/or updating of data objects or instances stored in database tables 102 and 104, a constraint enforced by foreign key column 110 may need to be resolved first. Similarly, database tables 102 and 104 may have multiple foreign keys (not shown), and each foreign key constraint may reference a different table. Each foreign key constraint may then be resolved independently by database system 100 and resolution of constraints may require execution of statements in a specific order. Such techniques may require resource intensive computations and may lead to delay in execution of issued queries and SQL statements.
In view of the foregoing, it is desirable to provide methods and systems for reducing the time and computations required to execute queries that may require data objects stored in relational databases. For example, there is a need for improved methods and systems to resolve foreign key constraints more efficiently and by using less resource intensive techniques.

Systems and methods for managing foreign key constraints


A pain comforter system for providing pain relieving medication to a patient at a rate which is variable as a function of changes in conditions, this system comprising a line for feeding medication from a source to the patient; a pump to feed the medication; means to sense the conditions of the patient and the medication; and a controller coupled to the sensors adapted to energize and de-energize the pump as a result of the sensed conditions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to pain comforter system and more particularly to a system with a line for feeding pain relieving medication from a source to a needle inserted in the patient with means to sense the temperature of the patient and the concentration of the medication and to initiate or terminate the feeding of the medication as a function of the sensed condition.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of pain comforter systems is known in the prior art. More specifically, pain comforter systems heretofore devised and utilized for the purpose of relieving pain are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
In this respect, the pain relieving system according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of relieving pain in response to sensed conditions and under the control of the physician and patient.
For example, medication injecting systems utilizing gravity for the establishment of a saline line are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,465,471 to Harris; 4,915,688 to Bischof; and 4,973,328 to Smith. None of these systems are controlled by a computer or modified in response to changing conditions of the medication concentration or patient temperature. U.S. Pat. No. 4,206,757 to Grandadam discloses apparatus for inserting pain relieving medication to a patient but it has no controls whatsoever. U.S. Pat. No. 3,888,253 to Ridgway discloses the providing of medication but such providing of medication is done orally. Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,451,253 to Harman discloses the injecting of solid medication through a device similar to a hypodermic needle but having no controls whatsoever.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for new and improved pain comforter systems. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.


A method for capturing an image using an image capturing module with multiple pixels configured in a 2-dimensional matrix and a focal plane electronic shutter function which sequentially slides the exposure timing by constant interval by pixel group which is a unit of predetermined number of the pixels while scanning; the method includes an image data input process for detecting shutter operation, obtaining a reference image while skipping one or more of the pixel groups by sequentially sliding the exposure timing by the constant interval, and obtaining a target image while not skipping pixel groups to be captured, a motion data detection process for calculating the motion data of the target image based on the reference image, and a distortion compensation process for compensating for distortion in the target image according to the motion data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to image capturing method and image capturing apparatus that compensates for distortions from such causes as camera-shake in an image captured by an image capturing device equipped with a CMOS type image capturing module, and creates a high quality distortion-compensated image.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, image capturing module based on CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) sensors, which is smaller and requires less power compared to CCD (Charge Coupled Device), have been utilized in image capturing devices such as mobile phones and digital cameras.
However, in a CMOS sensor image capturing module the focal plane electronic shutter system, which exposes and scans individual pixels and accumulated charges are output sequentially, is often used instead of the global electronic shutter system such as a CCD which simultaneously transfers every pixel charge accumulated for an entire image when an electronic shutter has been operated.
Therefore, in a CMOS sensor, the timing of the output signal becomes delayed depending on the output electrical charge, which can cause an image to be distorted in the direction of the scan if camera-shake occurs during scanning.
For existing technologies that compensate this image distortion, Patent Documents 1 and 2 propose technologies that utilize gyro sensors to detect camera-shake and compensate captured images. Also, Patent Document 3 proposes circuitry design that allow full screen simultaneous image capturing on a CMOS sensor. However, these technologies require additional circuitry which is costly.
Also, Patent Documents 4 through 6 propose technologies that compensate for distortions in images captured using focal plane electronic shutter system with software processing where the correlation with the previous frame or adjoining horizontal groups is computed, or interpolation is performed based on the preceding and succeeding frames. However, these methods require heavy CPU load, and they have limited accuracy in their compensation when a captured image is blurred at the time of it being captured.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2007-235819
Patent Document 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-074678
Patent Document 3: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2007-142587
Patent Document 4: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2007-208580
Patent Document 5: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-148496
Patent Document 6: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-363869

Method and apparatus for capturing an image


A holder for receiving and retaining small objects comprises two substantially planar sheets, the sheets being joined to each other along a majority of their perimeters and separated along a minority of their perimeters to form a pocket between the sheets having a deformable aperture defined by the separated perimeters. The aperture and the pocket are sized to receive and hold the small objects. The holder further comprises a notch at each end of and contiguous with the aperture so that upon application of opposing pressure at the ends of the aperture, the holder is deformed to provide an opening for receiving or releasing the small objects.

The present invention relates to a holder for holding small articles such as coins and the like.
Small plastic coin holders are presently commercially available, however these holders are of a generally circular or oval shape and the aperture for receiving the coins extends across the flat diameter of the holder in the case of the circular holder, and lengthwise across the flat surface of the oval holder. Such holders are not secure in that the aperture represents a relatively large opening which can be easily deformed to accidentally release the contents of the holder. Thus, it would be desirable to create a holder for coins and other small articles which has a maximum volume for holding the articles while having a minimum aperture for receiving the articles thereby improving the retentive characteristics of the holder with respect to its contents.

Holder for receiving and retaining small articles


In a method for limiting loading of an elevator assembly, a limit value for a maximum permitted loading is set for one or more parts of the elevator assembly, and a loading of the one or more parts of the elevator assembly is determined. A movement magnitude value of the elevator car in the movement profile of the elevator car is modified to limit the loading of the one or more parts of the elevator assembly if the loading of the one or more parts of the elevator assembly exceeds the limit value for the maximum permitted loading.

An elevator assembly of a building can comprise a number of elevators. Each of the elevators normally comprises an elevator car and also an electric drive for moving the elevator car. The electric drive comprises a hoisting machine of the elevator and also a power supply apparatus, such as a frequency converter, of the hoisting machine. The elevator car is moved in the elevator hoistway e.g. with suspension ropes traveling via the traction sheave of the hoisting machine of the elevator.
The loading of an elevator assembly varies according to the operating situation. The elevator car and the counterweight are suspended on different sides of the traction sheave such that their weight difference produces a force difference acting on the traction sheave, which force difference in turn affects the magnitude of the torque needed from the elevator motor when driving the elevator. When the torque requirement of the elevator motor increases, the current of the elevator motor also increases. Simultaneously the number and load of the elevators in operation therefore affect e.g. the magnitude of the current needed from the electricity supply of the elevator assembly. On the other hand, an increase in the current of the elevator motor increases the loading exerted on the elevator motor and also on e.g. the frequency converter supplying power to the elevator motor. When the current increases the copper losses of the elevator motor increase; likewise, the current of the solid-state switches, such as IGBT transistors, of the frequency converter increases when the current of the elevator motor increases.
The aim is to increase the performance of an elevator assembly by increasing e.g. the speed and acceleration of the elevator car to as close as possible to the maximum possible value set by the dimensioning of the elevator assembly. Increasing the speed/acceleration of the elevator car, however, increases the loading exerted on the different parts of the elevator assembly. Attempts to improve the performance of an elevator assembly might result in service outages owing to overloading of the elevator assembly.
Experts subordinate to, and under the direction of, the applicant are thus continuously striving to develop control methods and operating methods of an elevator motor for improving the performance of an elevator assembly.

Method and elevator assemblies limiting loading of elevators by modifying movement magnitude value


A method and system for automatically detecting deviations in a data table comprising a multitude of records and a multitude of columns. A column of the data table is selected as a classification column and a classification tree is calculated with respect to the classification column. Each edge of the classification tree is associated with a predicate. The leaf nodes of the classification tree are associated with a leaf record set comprising the subset of records for which the class predicate comprising all predicates along a path from a root node of the classification tree to the leaf nodes evaluates to TRUE. Leaf nodes are associated with a leaf label representing an expected value in the classification column for the corresponding leaf record sets. From the leaf record sets all records deviating with respect to the corresponding classification column from the leaf label are determined as deviation sets.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to computer databases. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and system for detecting data deviations in a large database.
2. Description of the Related Art
The importance of detecting deviations or exceptions to data in a database has been recognized in the past, especially in the fields of machine learning and maintaining data integrity in large databases. Deviations are often viewed as outliers, errors, or noise in the data. As a related art, statistical methods have been used for identifying outliers in numerical data. See, for example, "Understanding Robust and Exploratory Data Analysis," D. C. Hoaglin et al., 1983. Typically, these methods first compute the average and standard deviation of the data values in the data set. The data values that lie beyond three standard deviations from the average are considered deviations. However, such detection methods suffer two major limitations. They assume that a metrical distance function exists, and they are only applicable to numerical values.
Another approach to detecting deviations in a database is to use explicit information residing outside the data such as data integrity constraints or predefined error/non-error patterns. Detection methods using integrity constraints are described, for instance, in "Using the New DB2: IBM's Object-Relational Database System," Morgan Kaufman, 1996. As an example of constraint-based detection, assuming that one of the attributes of the data is a person's age, an integrity constraint may be that the value of the attribute age must be less than 90. When this constraint is applied to the data, any person having the age of 90 or more will be detected as a deviation.
For deviation detection methods based on error patterns, an example of the error patterns would be a regular expression of the form [a-z, A-Z]+, meaning that a valid character string consists only of letters. By applying this pattern to the data, one can isolate those strings which do not follow this pattern as deviations. A drawback of this approach is that its success depends on the knowledge of the person specifying the error pattern concerning the target data. Such knowledge must be available to that person from a source external to the data, rather than from the data itself.
Alternatively, the problem of detecting deviations can be considered as a special case of clustering of data. In the case of deviation detection, the data is clustered into two groups: deviations and non-deviations. However, the usual clustering methods are biased toward discarding deviations as noise. Consequently, a direct application of these methods will not yield the desired deviations in the database.
As an example of this limitation, consider a popular clustering algorithm in which k clusters are to be found from the data. The algorithm starts by randomly choosing k points (or data items) as cluster centers and then examines the rest of the data points one after another. For each data point, the algorithm finds the cluster center nearest to the examined data point and assigns it to the corresponding data cluster. Once a data point is assigned to a cluster, the center for that data cluster is recomputed. If this algorithm is used to find two clusters, we are likely to end up with two clusters, each having a concentration of a substantial portion of the data points, rather than two clusters where one contains deviations (a small minority) and the other one contains non-deviations (the large majority). In addition to not yielding desired deviations, another limitation of the clustering methods is that they generally require a metrical distance function.
Another approach to the problem of deviation detection is proposed by A. Arning et al., "Method and System for Linearly Detecting Data Deviations in a Large Database", U.S. Pat. No. 5,813,002. Though this teaching does not require a metrical distance function having certain properties regarding the metrical distance between data elements in the database, it is forced to assume existence of a so-called "dissimilarity" function. For each itemset, defined as a set of one or more data items associated with attribute values, the dissimilarity function allows one to determine its dissimilarity based on a statistical analysis of the attribute values. By tentatively removing all potential subsets from that itemset and determining the influence of this removal on the dissimilarity value the teaching is able to identify deviating data items. However, as admitted by the authors, selection of the particular dissimilarity function is crucial to the success of the proposed method. A priori knowledge seems to be required to select a dissimilarity function in view of the nature of the particular itemset; the authors do not believe in a universal similarity function that works well for all types of itemsets.
Therefore, there remains a significant need for a method for detecting deviations in a database that does not require any a priori knowledge of the database to be analyzed for determining any type of "distance function", "dissimilarity function" or the like.

Method and system for detecting deviations in data tables

International Business Machines Corporation


An apparatus for measuring the Sulfur component contained in oil includes an X-ray tube having a target made of Titanium or Scandium, a filter made of Titanium or Scandium for filtering said X-ray radiated from the X-ray tube, a measurement cell for introducing a sample to be measured therein, and a detector for detecting fluorescent X-rays radiated from the sample. According to the invention, the X-ray tube has a target made of Titanium or Scandium and the X-rays generated from the X-ray tube are filtered by the filter, which is made of Titanium or Scandium, so that the background of the X-rays for the measurement against the fluorescent X-rays of the Sulfur is reduced and therefore even a small amount of Sulfur contained in the sample can be correctly detected.

1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for measuring the Sulfur component contained in oil. Particularly, the invention relates to an apparatus for measuring the concentration of the Sulfur component contained in oil products such as kerosene and gasoline, and raw material of oil such as crude petroleum, or intermediate products thereof.
2) Related Art
Crude petroleum, the raw material of oil products, contains some Sulfur components; also kerosene and gasoline, which are refined products of crude petroleum, contain small amounts of Sulfur component therein. Since an allowable upper limit of the Sulfur component contained in the refined products of oil is determined by standards according to each country, it is important to measure the concentration of the Sulfur component contained in such products during or after refining the crude petroleum in order to manage or control the concentration of said Sulfur component.
There are previously known many methods for measuring the Sulfur component contained in the refined products of crude petroleum or in the refined products of oil, such as a micro coulometric titration oxidation method, an X-ray absorption method, a wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescent analyzing system (WDS), or an energy dispersive X-ray fluorescent analyzing system(EDS).
Out of these conventional methods, a direct excitation type energy dispersive X-ray fluorescent analyzing system was well developed. According to this system, X-rays are directly applied onto a sample without changing the X-rays into monochrometric X-rays with the aid of a monochrometer, so that the sulfur component contained in oil can be easily measured on the spot, such as an oil factory, without applying any pre-operation to the sample; and it is not necessary to make the size of the apparatus large and the construction complex.
However, this type of system has a drawback in that it has a low measurement accuracy, which does not meet with the recent requirements in the measurement of the Sulfur component in oil. Therefore, it has been desired for a long time to develop an apparatus for measuring the Sulfur component contained in oil by which the Sulfur component can be measured with high accuracy.
The reason why a sufficient measurement accuracy cannot be obtained in the conventional direct excitation type energy dispersive X-ray fluorescent analyzing system will be explained below, referring to an apparatus where Molybdenum is used as a material of the target for the X-ray tube thereof. FIG. 1 shows a spectrum of energy of an X-ray radiated from the X-ray tube in which Molybdenum is used as a material of the target thereof. In FIG. 1, the energy of the X-rays radiated from the X-ray tube is taken on a horizontal axis and an intensity (brightness) thereof on a vertical axis. As shown in FIG. 1, the spectrum of the X-ray radiated from the X-ray tube is determined by a voltage for accelerating electronic beams to be applied on the target and the material of the target. When the electronic beams hit the target, characteristic X-rays of the material of the target and continuous X-rays (white X-rays) are generated from the X-ray tube. When the analysis is conducted using fluorescent X-rays, such characteristic X-rays are applied to the sample to excite an objective substance to be measured; and then fluorescent X-rays (characteristic X-rays) radiated from the objective substance are detected to know the concentration of the objective substance contained in the sample. In order to excite the objective substance in the measurement, it is necessary to apply X-rays having a greater energy than that of the objective substance in the measurement at an X-ray absorption edge thereof.
In the case that the objective substance to be measured is Sulfur, the energy at an X-ray absorption edge of the K-shell of a Sulfur atom is 2.47 keV. It is well known that if white X-rays having a peak energy of about 4.5-5 keV are applied on the Sulfur atom, the characteristic X-rays radiated from the K-shell of the Sulfur atom are excited in an effective manner. In the conventional measurement apparatus, however, the white X-rays used for exciting the characteristic X-rays have a considerably greater energy width, as shown in FIG. 1, when the electronic beams are accelerated at a voltage of 10 kV, for instance. That means during the period when the electronic beams are applied on the target, the energy around 2.31 keV, i.e. the energy of the K-shell characteristic X-rays of the Sulfur atom, is also radiated from the target, being included in the white X-rays. Therefore, when the white X-rays are applied on the sample oil, X-rays are scattered by the sample, and the scattered sample includes the K-shell characteristic X-rays of the Sulfur atoms; and such X-rays become a large background against the characteristic X-rays to be measured. Thus, if the concentration of the Sulfur component contained in the sample is low, it is difficult to measure it correctly. For instance, when the concentration of Sulfur component to be measured is several tens ppm, a large fluctuation of about 10 ppm is generated, working as the background.
That is to say, since radiations are generated as a probability phenomenon during the period when X-rays are measured (radiations are measured), a fluctuation would statistically appear in the measurement values. Therefore, if the background component is great, the background per se would statistically have a fluctuation; and if the signal generated from the objective substance to be measured is not sufficiently greater than the width of the fluctuation of the background, the signal to be detected would be varied in the fluctuation of the background. As stated above, in the conventional apparatus, when the signal obtained from the objective substance to be measured is small, it is difficult to measure the substance correctly. Therefore, in order to correctly measure a very small amount of a component contained in the sample, it is necessary to reduce the background as much as possible.

Apparatus for measuring the sulfur component contained in oil


A powdered graphite and a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery are provided. A nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery is provided which has a highly efficient charge and discharge performance and superior cycle properties. Spheroidizing treatment is appropriately performed for natural graphite having a high capacity by grinding and/or applying impact to form a negative electrode active material, and a negative electrode active layer formed therefrom is provided on a metal electrode foil. Subsequently, the metal electrode foil is applied with a magnetic field so that the spheroidized natural graphite is oriented, followed by drying and compression molding, thereby forming a negative electrode. By the use of this negative electrode, a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery can be formed having superior battery properties such as the cycle properties and peeling strength.

The present invention relates to powdered graphite and a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery, and more particularly, relates to powdered graphite used for a negative electrode of a lithium ion secondary battery and a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery using the same.
In recent years, concomitant with the advancement of portable information apparatuses such as notebook personal computers and mobile phones, the demand of batteries has been rapidly increasing, and the application thereof also has been expanded. Under these circumstances, besides the trend toward miniaturization and reduction in weight of batteries, the increase in energy density of batteries has been demanded. In addition, from an energy conservation point of view, a high performance secondary battery which can repeatedly perform charge and discharge has also been desired.
As a secondary battery which can satisfy the demands described above, a lithium ion secondary battery has been widely used. Since obtaining a high energy density as compared to a lead secondary battery and a nickel-cadmium secondary battery, which are common aqueous electrolyte secondary batteries, the lithium ion secondary battery has been widely used, and intensive research and development attempting to realize higher performances has been carried out.
As a negative electrode active material used in a lithium ion secondary battery, a carbonaceous material such as non-graphitizable carbon or graphite has been used, and superior cycle properties have been obtained. Natural graphite has a scale shape, and due to its high crystallinity, a capacity close to the theoretical capacity (372 mAh/g) can be realized. Compared to a common capacity of artificial graphite in the range of 330 to 350 mAh/g, the capacity of natural graphite is 360 to 370 mAh/g, and hence a graphite negative electrode is most advantageously formed by filling natural graphite at a high volume density.
When artificial graphite is used, lithium ions are intercalated and deintercalated from various surfaces. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, in natural graphite, carbon atoms form a network structure, and a number of AB planes (layer planes) spreading along the plane direction are laminated to each other to form a bulk shape. A surface formed by the layers thus laminated to each other is called an edge. When natural graphite is used for a negative electrode of a battery, lithium ions are intercalated from the edge in charging and are then diffused between the AB planes. In addition, in discharging, lithium ions are deintercalated and released from the edge.
An electrode used in a lithium ion secondary battery is generally composed of a metal thin film functioning as a collector and at least one active material layer provided on one side or both sides of the above metal thin-film. This active material layer is composed of carbon functioning as an active material, a conducting agent, and a binder binding the above materials to the collector, and the electrode is formed by the steps of applying an active material paste to the metal thin film to form an electrode plate, and drying the electrode plate, followed by appropriate rolling thereof. In this case, scale-shaped graphite having a high capacity tends to be oriented along the longitudinal direction of the electrode. In addition, the above graphite is very soft due to its high crystallinity, and the number of void portions present in the electrode is reduced since the filling properties of the graphite are improved by too much; hence, as a result, when the electrode is formed, an electrolyte may not permeate the electrode in some cases. In the case described above, intercalation/deintercalation reaction of lithium ions in the graphite occurs only at the surface of the electrode, and highly efficient charge and discharge may not be preferably performed.
Accordingly, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication Nos. 2003-197182 and 2003-197189, a method has been disclosed in which lithium ions are smoothly intercalated between layers of graphite and deintercalated therefrom by disposing the edges parallel to the electrode surface (scale-shaped graphite being disposed perpendicular to the electrode surface) as shown in FIG. 2 using the magnetic field orientation properties of the graphite.
However, when scale-shaped graphite is used for a negative electrode active material of a lithium ion secondary battery, the scale-shaped graphite tends to aggregate, and as a result, a problem may arise in some cases in that a uniformly blended paste is not obtained. The active material paste applied onto the collector for forming the negative electrode preferably has a viscosity of 3 to 12 Pa·s and a solid component content of 40% to 50%. However, in the case of a paste made from scale-shaped graphite, the graphite forms flocks (aggregates) at a solid component content of 40% to 50%, and as a result, application of the paste onto a metal foil may not be performed. In addition, when the solid component content of scale-shaped graphite is 35% or less, the viscosity is rapidly decreased to 1 Pa·s or less. In an electrode formed by applying the paste as described above, the active material layer is very liable to be peeled away, and as a result, the electrode thus prepared may not be easily used in practice.
In addition, when scale-shaped graphite is used without any modification thereof, since the area of the graphite is large, and a large amount of a binder adheres to the graphite, the binding between the active material layer and the metal is weak, and hence the active material layer is liable to be peeled away. Furthermore, when the amount of the binder is increased, the ratio of the active material is decreased, and as a result, the battery properties are degraded.

Powdered graphite and nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery


Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for metering water are disclosed. In one aspect, a method includes the actions of receiving, from a first meter that is connected to a first pipe, first audio data collected during a time period and first temperature data collected during the time period. The actions further include receiving, from a second meter that is connected to a second pipe, second audio data collected during the time period and second temperature data collected during the time period. The actions further include, based on the first audio data, the first temperature data, the second audio data, and the second temperature data, determining a first amount of material that has flowed through the first pipe during the time period relative to a second amount of material that has flowed through the second pipe.

Water metering is the process of measuring water use. Water meters may be used to measure the volume of water used by residential and commercial buildings that are supplied with water by a public water supply system. Water meters can also be used at the water source, well, or throughout a water system to determine flow through a particular portion of the system.


Disclosed is a drive circuit for driving a light emitting diode in a pulse oximeter comprising at least two light emitting elements different in wavelength for irradiating a living tissue containing an arterial blood; a light receiving element for receiving light containing one of a reflected light and a transmitted light irradiated from the light emitting elements; a power supply for applying intermittently an inverse bias voltage toward the light emitting elements; and an inductor for applying an inverse electromotive voltage to the light emitting elements, the inductor being connected to the light emitting elements in parallel, wherein a ratio between light absorption change with respect to two wavelengths obtained from optical outputs of the light receiving element so as to obtain a degree of oxygen saturation of arterial blood.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a pulse oximeter for continuously measuring a degree of oxygen saturation of arterial blood of living tissue by light emitting and receiving elements in non-invasive condition, more specifically, relates to a drive circuit, used for the pulse oximeter, for driving two light beams emitting elements to transmit two light having different in wavelength to the living tissue.
2. Prior Art
In the conventional art, a pulse oximeter is used for measuring an oxygen saturation of arterial blood in non-invasive condition. This type of the pulse oximeter operates to measure the oxygen saturation as follows. Red and infrared light different in wavelength have been irradiated to an object and the oxygen saturation is continuously measured in non-invasive condition on the basis of ratio of change of the light absorption of two light beams.
This measurement is performed by fitting a probe to finger or an earlobe. The probe is provided with two light emitting elements (such as light emitting diode) for irradiating red and infrared light different in wavelength and a light receiving element (photodiode or the like) for outputting a photoelectric transfer signal in accordance with a light receiving level of a reflected light or a transmitted light of two light emitting elements, respectively. For example, a wavelength (.lambda.) of 660 nm is used for the red light and a wavelength (.lambda.) of 940 nm is used for the infrared light. The two light beams are irradiated to the living tissue on a time sharing basis.
After that, a degree S of the oxygen saturation is measured from a ratio of a light absorption change which is calculated on the basis of the photoelectric transfer signal relating to each wavelength. The ratio .phi. between the light absorption of the two different wavelengths and the degree S of the oxygen saturation are expressed by the following equation (1) and (2), respectively: EQU .phi.=A1/A2 (1)
A1: light absorption change of wavelength of red light
A2: light absorption change of wavelength of infrared light EQU S=f (.phi.) (2)
f: function of ratio .phi. between light absorption between two wavelengths.
Next, a drive circuit for driving two light-emitting diodes on the time sharing basis is described hereinafter.
FIG. 8 is showing a circuit diagram indicating conventional drive circuit for driving the light emitting element on the pulse oximeter. As shown in FIG. 8, a red and an infrared light emitting diodes are driven by two independent drive circuits, respectively. This drive circuit corresponds to a transistor switching circuit as generally used. A light emitting diode 21a for emitting a red light is connected in a forward direction between the collector of switching transistor 20a and a supply end of the direct current voltage supply VDD. An emitter of a switching transistor 20b is grounded and a base of the switching transistor 20b is connected in series to a resister R22a for inputting a control pulse PR therein.
A light emitting diode 21b for emitting an infrared light is connected in a forward direction between the collector of switching transistor 20b and a supply end of the direct current voltage supply VDD. An emitter of a switching transistor 20b is grounded and a base of the switching transistor 20b is connected in series to a resister R22b for inputting a control pulse PR therein.
Next the operation of the conventional drive circuit is described hereinafter.
FIG. 9 is a timing chart showing a light emission timing of each light emitting diode operated by a control pulse. Control pulses PR and PR shown in FIGS. (a) and (c), respectively, are changed to a high level (H) or a low level (L) for irradiating the light emitting diode on the time basis. Namely, when the control pulse PR is in the high level, the switching transistor 20a turns on (conducting) so that the light emitting diode 21a is irradiated as shown in FIG. 9(b) and when the control pulse PR is in the low level, the switching transistor 20a turns off (non-conducting) so that light emitting diode 21a is in non-light emission condition.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9(d), when the control pulse PIR is in the high level (H), the switching transistor 20b turns on so that the light emitting diode 21b is irradiated. Further, the control pulse PIR is in the low level (L) so that the switching transistor 20b turns off so that the light emitting diode 21b is in non-irradiative condition. In this case, the two light emitting diodes are alternatively irradiated with a light emission ratio being not more than 50%.
In the conventional device, the starting emission voltage for the light emitting diode is about 2 V. However, it is necessary to apply a high voltage (DC power supply VDD) to the switching transistor in the consideration of a variation of the forward direction characteristic of the light emitting diode and a voltage drop occurred by an internal resistance when the switching transistor 20 turns on. Therefore, the conventional device employs a power supply circuit for converting a commercial AC power supply to DC power.
In the conventional drive circuit for driving the light emitting diode in the pulse oximeter, when the high voltage (DC voltage VDD) is applied to the switching transistor in consideration of the variation of the forward direction characteristic of the light emitting diode and the voltage drop occurred by the internal resistance when the switching transistor 20 turns on, a power supply utilization efficiency is insufficient.
For example, when DC voltage 9 V is applied to an anode of the light emitting diode, a cathode voltage thereof is in approximately 7 V when the light emitting diode is irradiated. Assuming that a current flowing to the light emitting diode considers i, a total power consumption becomes 9.times.i (W). 7.times.i (W) is consumed from the total power consumption 9.times.i (W) when the switching transistor turns on. Since a power consumption of the light-emitting diode is 2.times.i (W), the power utilization efficiency remains at approximately 22% only.
As a result, in the conventional pulse oximeter, notwithstanding it is required to decrease power to be uselessly consumed in the conventional device, it is impossible to decrease the total power consumption.
Although attempts have been made to lower the light emission duty ratio so as to decrease the power consumption, the S/N ratio is reduced. Thus, the measurement of the oxygen saturation may not be performed in accuracy. For the reason described above, there is not provided a portable pulse oximeter which is capable of long measurement with a cell.

Drive circuit for light-emitting diode in pulse oximeter


A cross-ignition assembly with a cross-fire tube supported intermediate two adjacent combustors by mounting plates affixed thereto so as to provide a conduit for the flow of hot combustion gases therebetween. The cross-fire tube comprises coaxial telescoping tubular members. A leaf spring retains the outer end of each tubular member in its operative position to effect a cantilever support for each end of the cross-fire tube. A series of cooperating air passageways and channels allow cooling air to flow across the outside and along the inside of the cross-fire tube.

This invention relates to an interconnected combustion system and more particularly to a cross-ignition assembly for interconnecting adjacent combustors in a gas turbine.
A combustion system for a gas turbine commonly includes a number of generally cylindrical combustors disposed about the turbine in an annular arrangement, with each combustor supplying a motive fluid to an arcuate section of a turbine nozzle. It is common practice to interconnect the combustion chambers of adjoining combustors by means of short conduits or "cross-fire tubes" as part of a cross-ignition assembly, the purpose of which is to provide for the ignition of fuel in one chamber from ignited fuel in an adjacent chamber in order to obviate the need for providing a spark plug or the like for each combustor. Additionally, the cross-ignition assembly to some extent also effects an equilization of pressures in adjacent combustors.
A conventional cross-ignition assembly includes cross-fire tubes extending between adjacent combustors. The cross-fire tubes are generally held in place by mounting means which position the opposite ends of the cross-fire tubes in fluid passages formed in the combustion chambers. However, in some such conventional arrangements, the mounting means can inaccurately position the tube ends with respect to the combustion chambers, extending them too far into the combustion gas flow paths therein. This results in damage of cross-fire tubes in the form of end burning. Additionally, cross-fire tubes are often loosely retained in their respective mounting means and are subject to vibration and rotation therein. Typically these mounting means are also loosely affixed to their respective combustor housings or combustion chamber liners, and they are induced to vibrate therein by the oscillation of the retained cross-fire tubes. Such vibration of cross-fire tubes and the mounting means has been found to cause wear and distortion in the cooperating combustor housings and chamber liners, requiring their repair or replacement.
The maximum operating temperature of a cross-fire tube is typically located at its midsection. This is also the most highly stressed structural section of a tube in a conventional cross-ignition assembly wherein the tube is supported at both ends. This combination of temperature and stress makes the cross-fire tube prone to collapse at its midsection. Upon collapse of a cross-fire tube, the combustion gases normally channeled thereby between adjacent combustors may be released to impinge upon the combustor housings. In the past this has lead to overheating and rupture of combustor housings. In an attempt to lower the operating temperature at the midsection of the cross-fire tube, cooling holes or apertures have been provided around the midsection to enable cooling air to enter the tube at that section; however, the cooling obtained by this approach is non-uniform. Additionally, attempts have been made to locate the critical structural sections of cross-fire tubes away from their midsections. This typically has involved use of a cantilever support design wherein the tube members are welded to combustor housings. Such an assembly is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,001,366 issued Sept. 26, 1961, to L. W. Shutts. However, the welding of a cross-fire tube to a combustor housing gives rise to costly weld repairs, made necessary by thermal cracking or handling damage at the welds, which complicates cross-fire tube replacement.
Furthermore, combustor maintenance in a conventional interconnected combustion system requires that the cross-fire tube ends cooperating with the combustor of interest be withdrawn therefrom. In those systems employing single piece cross-fire tubes, the withdrawl of the tubes from one combustor necessitates their further insertion into the adjacent interconnected combustors. This in turn requires the disassembly of the mounting means in the interconnected combustors in order to obtain access to the combustor of interest, which procedure greatly complicates maintenance efforts.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved cross-ignition assembly for interconnecting adjacent combustors in a gas turbine.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved cross-ignition assembly including a cross-fire tube especially adapted for facilitating combustion system maintenance.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved cross-ignition assembly for reducing cross-fire tube end burning and vibration induced wear problems.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a cross-ignition assembly including improved means for supporting the ends of the cross-fire tube and for cooling the midsection thereof in a manner effective for preventing tube collapse and the attendant damage to combustor housings.

Cross-ignition assembly for combustion apparatus


A drag mechanism for a fishing reel, comprising a rotor for applying a tension to a fishing line, rotatably supported on a support shaft of a reel body. A support cylinder is slidably fitted on and supported by the support shaft and braking plates are mounted around the support cylinder for frictionally connecting the rotor to the support cylinder. The braking plates are piled on the support cylinder in a predetermined number and prevented from falling off of the support cylinder. A manipulator for depressing the braking plates is mounted on the support cylinder, and is threadingly engaged with the support shaft. The support cylinder and braking plates comprise an integral unit removably attached onto the support shaft.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a drag mechanism for a fishing reel and, more particularly, to a drag mechanism in which braking plates for braking a rotation of a spool are easily exchanged for new ones.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, there exists drag mechanisms for fishing reels in which drag force producing members, i.e. braking members, can be exchanged for new ones.
For example, the Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Sho. 55-17824 discloses a drag mechanism for a spinning reel, having a casing for accommodating the braking plates therein. The casing accommodating the braking plates therein can be fitted in a recess portion formed in an intermediate portion of a spool and can be engaged therewith so as to prevent the casing from being rotated relative to the spool and to allow the casing to be removed from the recess portion.
The Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Sho. 57-56710 also discloses a drag mechanism for a fishing reel the spool shaft of which is supported at both ends. The drag mechanism has a support cylinder for accommodating braking plates. The support cylinder is integrally formed on a periphery of a drive gear wheel meshed with a pinion provided on a spool so that the support cylinder extends from the periphery, and a ring-shaped reception member through which an open end of the support cylinder is supported on a outer side plate so that the support cylinder is rotatable. Due to this arrangement, the braking plates can be removed from the fishing reel together with the support cylinder integrally formed on the drive gear wheel, and a handle shaft supporting the drive gear wheel, when the braking plates are to be exchanged.
The prior art mentioned above, however, has some problems.
In the former case, the casing is inserted in the recess portion with accommodating the braking plates therein, so that the casing is interposed between the braking plates and the recess portion. Therefore, it is necessary to manufacture the braking plates with reduced diameter. As a result, the braking force caused by the braking plates is undesirably reduced. Further, when the braking plates are exchanged, the braking plates are detached from and attached onto the recess portion and a spool shaft in a state that the braking plates are accommodated in the casing, so that if non-circular holes formed on some braking plates, which are to be securely fixed on a spool shaft so as to prevent a rotation relative to the spool shaft, are shifted out of place, it is difficult to insert the spool shaft into the holes. Therefore, the casing accommodating the braking plates cannot be easily mounted on the spool shaft.
In the latter case, since the support cylinder accommodating the braking plates therein is integrally formed on the drive gear wheel, the drive gear wheel must be attached to and detached from the fishing reel when the braking plates are exchanged. Therefore, teeth of the pinion and the drive gear wheel are damaged and the foreign matter is adhered onto the tooth surfaces thereof when the braking plates are exchanged. As a result, the meshing relationship between the drive gear wheel and the pinion is deteriorated.


A gimbal mount system is configured to a couple to a gimbal coupled to and securing a camera. The gimbal mount system includes a handle, a power source, a user interface, a mounting interface, a communication interface, and a communication bus. The mounting interface is located within an end of the gimbal mount system and includes an opening configured to receive a reciprocal mounting protrusion of the gimbal. A locking mechanism removably couples the gimbal to the gimbal mount system. The communication interface is located within the mounting interface and is configured to couple to a reciprocal communication interface of the gimbal. The communication bus is coupled to the power source, user interface, and communication interface and is configured to provide power from the power source to the gimbal. The communication bus may provide instructions to the gimbal based on user input received via the user interface.

Technical Field
This disclosure relates to camera gimbals, and in particular, to gimbal mount systems configured to power and control cameras and gimbals coupled to the gimbal mount system.
Description of the Related Art
Digital cameras are increasingly used in outdoors and sports environments. In these environments, digital cameras may be held by a user performing an activity or may be mounted to an object in motion. As a result, the motion may affect the quality of the media captured by the digital camera, causing blurry pictures, shaky footage, or other low-quality media. To ensure that high quality media is captured, a user may secure a digital camera to a gimbal, a mechanical device that includes inertial measurement units and motors and can sense and manipulate the orientation of the digital camera to correct for movement. However, existing gimbals may not be configured to be handheld by a user or may not be user-friendly. As such, a gimbal mount system that secures a gimbal and enables a user to easily hold and control the functions of the gimbal and/or camera is desired.


A system and methods for autonomously tracking and simultaneously providing surveillance of a target from air vehicles. In one embodiment the system receives inputs from outside sources, creates tracks, identifies the targets and generates flight plans for unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) and camera controls for surveillance of the targets. The system uses predictive algorithms and aircraft control laws. The system comprises a plurality of modules configured to accomplish these tasks. One embodiment comprises an automatic target recognition (ATR) module configured to receive video information, process the video information, and produce ATR information including target information. The embodiment further comprises a multisensor integrator (MSI) module configured to receive the ATR information, an air vehicle state input and a target state input, process the inputs and produce track information for the target. The embodiment further comprises a target module configured to receive the track information, process the track information, and produce predicted future state target information. The embodiment further comprises an ownship module configured to receive the track information, process the track information, and produce predicted future state air vehicle information. The embodiment further comprises a planner module configured to receive the predicted future state target information and the predicted future state air vehicle information and generate travel path information including flight and camera steering commands for the air vehicle.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to control of unmanned air vehicles (UAVs), tracking moving targets, surveilling areas, stationary targets and moving targets, protecting assets and people, and providing communications between individuals or groups.
2. Description of Related Art
Aerial surveillance and tracking includes the use of unmanned air vehicles. Currently, human operators remotely control UAVs. The operators must steer both the UAV and the camera/surveillance payload in order to maintain tracking and positive identification of a moving target. Positive identification may require no interruptions or obstructions in visual observation of the target. This practice is labor intensive, and therefore expensive. Usually two operators track a single target, enabling one operator to control flight and the other operator to control camera pointing, focus, zoom, etc. And in military applications involving high value targets, such as known terrorists, usually two UAVs are dedicated to the target, thus requiring four operators. Remotely controlling UAVs with human operators is also prone to loss of positive identification due to bad vehicle position or bad camera angle. Current methods also do not adequately support real time collection of target attribute data. In addition, the operators must pay special attention to no fly zones, restricted airspace and obstructions, further increasing the difficulty of maintaining an uninterrupted track.

Methods for autonomous tracking and surveillance


A system and method for generating lateral guidance image data and presenting information representative of the image data is disclosed. A system is disclosed for determining lateral guidance information based upon the elevation of terrain cells and a level of terrain threat associated with the elevation. A left or right turn angle, or both could be formed between a projected flight path and a vector extending to a tangent point of a terrain boundary to the left and right, respectively. The degree of angle could be determined for each, and lateral guidance image data based upon the boundary location of a level of terrain threat with respect to the projected flight path determined. A lateral processor provides an alert signal associated with the generation of the lateral guidance information and provide such signal to a crew visual and aural alerting system.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to the terrain awareness and warning system of an aircraft.
2. Description of the Related Art
Beginning in the early 1970's, a number of studies looked at the occurrence of "controlled flight into terrain" (CFIT)-type accidents, where a properly functioning airplane under the control of a fully qualified and certificated crew is flown into terrain (or water or obstacles) with no apparent awareness on the part of the crew. Findings from these studies indicated that many such accidents could have been avoided if a warning device called a ground proximity warning system ("GPWS") was used. There have been numerous patents issued in the field of GPWS and related art. A sampling of patents issued in the art and related art include U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,839,080; 6,092,009; 6,122,570; 6,138,060; 6,219,592; and 7,145,501.
Advances in technology have permitted vendors and designers of avionics equipment to develop newer type of GPWS that provides greater situational awareness for flight crews. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration ("FAA") has classified such systems as Terrain Awareness and Warning Systems ("TAWS"). The advancement of technologies—more precise navigation systems, increased computer memory storage, and better display technology—have allowed further development of in the common features of TAWS: (1) use of airplane position information from the aircraft's navigation system(s), (2) an onboard terrain database, and (3) a means of displaying the surrounding terrain. Aircraft position information from the aircraft's navigation system is fed to a TAWS computer. The TAWS computer compares the airplane's current position and flight path with the terrain database associated with the system. If there is a potential threat of collision with terrain, the TAWS computer sends warning alerts to the airplane's audio system.
Manufactures have produced cockpit indicators for presenting terrain information to the pilot. For instance terrain information may be depicted in three colors (e.g., red, yellow, and green) and variable density dot patterns. Each of the colors and patterns, such as those discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,122,570, could indicate a different level of terrain threat in front of the aircraft. For example, a high density dot pattern that could be associated with a first level of terrain threat may be defined as a function of the altitude. A high density dot pattern could be associated with a color such as red, a color traditionally associated with a warning alert of TAWS. Likewise, medium and low density dot patterns that could be associated with second and third levels of terrain threat, respectively, may be defined as a function of the altitude. Medium and low density dot patterns could be associated with different colors such as amber and green, where amber is a color traditionally associated with a caution alert of TAWS.
Although the use of levels of terrain threat has been used to depict terrain on an indicator, lateral terrain guidance is generally not. The embodiments disclosed herein present novel and non-trivial system and method for generating and presenting lateral guidance image data based upon locations of terrain cells associated with a level of terrain threat.

Generating lateral guidance image data in a terrain awareness and warning system


A turbine acceleration control system for a transmission in a vehicle determines a desired turbine acceleration based on a downshift type and an altitude of the vehicle. The turbine acceleration control system determines a downshift type that results from one of a throttle increase, a manual downshift, or vehicle deceleration. An altitude module determines an altitude of the vehicle. A vehicle controller communicates with one or more lookup tables to determine the desired turbine acceleration based on the downshift type and the altitude. Additionally, current turbine speed and torque converter slip are considered by the controller in determining the desired turbine acceleration.

A transmission in a vehicle downshifts to a lower gear in response to various vehicle or driver behavior. For example, the transmission may downshift to a lower gear when the driver increases the throttle by a particular degree. In this instance, a throttle increase indicates a desire to accelerate the vehicle. A decrease in the speed of the vehicle may result in a coast downshift. During a coast downshift, the transmission detects that the vehicle has slowed below a certain threshold for the current gear and downshifts to a lower gear. Additionally, a manual downshift initiated by the driver causes the transmission to downshift to a lower gear. A driver may initiate a manual downshift to improve engine braking.
During a transmission downshift, the transmission turbine must accelerate to a speed level that is appropriate for the target gear. The transmission turbine spins at the same speed as the input of the transmission and determines how quickly the transmission is able to shift from one gear to another. Therefore, determining the appropriate acceleration of the turbine is important in order to establish effective downshifts. Various vehicle and environment conditions may affect the ability of the transmission turbine to accelerate properly. For example, the altitude of the vehicle affects air pressure and transmission performance. Current vehicle speed, transmission turbine speed, and torque converter slip also affect the appropriate turbine acceleration.


Methods, tools and systems for patterning of substrates using charged particle beams without photomasks, without a resist layer, using multiple different processes (different chemistry processes and/or different ones of material deposition, removal and/or modification) in the same vacuum space, wherein said processes are performed independently (without cross-interference) and simultaneously. As a result, the number of process steps can be reduced and some lithography steps can be eliminated, reducing manufacturing cycle time and increasing yield by lowering the probability of defect introduction. Also, because such processes are resist-less, layer-to-layer registration and other column control processes can be performed by imaging previous-layer features local to (or in contact with) features to be written in a next layer as designated by the design layout database.

The present application relates to systems, devices and methods for maskless substrate material deposition, removal and modification using charged particle beams; and more particularly to directly and precisely manufacturing patterned substrates as defined in a design layout database using multiple, matched charged particle beams, with the assistance of gas and/or photon injection, and/or of gas and/or photon process control, metrology and endpoint detection, such that multiple different processes using multiple different chemistries can be performed independently and simultaneously in the same vacuum space.
Note that the points discussed below may reflect the hindsight gained from the disclosed inventions, and are not necessarily admitted to be prior art.
FIG. 2A shows an example of a wafer 200 being scanned by multiple charged particle beams 204 emitted by respective miniature electrostatically-deflected beam columns 206. Individual columns 206 are able to target a portion of the substrate surface 706, called herein a "writing area" 202, with their respectively emitted beams 204.
FIG. 2B shows an example of a wafer 200. Example die 208 size and column 206 center-to-center spacing 210 (column separation) are shown. A regular grid of columns 206 (schematically indicated in FIG. 2B via their center positions, represented here as plusses) can use different spacing 210 in different (generally, orthogonal) directions. Die 208 size and column separation 210 are not required to (and generally, will not) correspond. Column separation 210 generally corresponds to the "writing area" 202 of corresponding columns 206. A column's 206 "writing area" 202 is defined as the substrate area 202 targetable by a charged particle beam 204 emitted from the column 206, taking into account stage 404 movement.
The multiple column 206 array 402 comprises miniature (small enough to fit multiple columns 206 in an array 402) charged particle beam columns 206 arranged in a regular grid. For example, column 206 arrays with center-to-center column spacing 210 of 30 mm×30 mm have been implemented, though other column spacings 210 (e.g., 24 mm×33 mm) can also be used.
A stripe is the portion of the wafer 200 surface that a charged particle beam can target while the stage 404 is moving predominantly in a single direction, i.e., before the stage 404 moves laterally and switches predominant directions to give the beam access to a different stripe. A "frame" 710 is defined herein as the portion of the wafer 200 (or other substrate 704) surface that a beam 204 can target at a given time, corresponding to the main-field deflection area 710 at that time, as designated by the design layout database. A frame 710 is typically designated to be rectangular, for convenience (e.g., to tile the writing area 202); and smaller than the furthest extent to which the beam 204 can be deflected (e.g., to preserve beam 204 targeting accuracy).
"1-D" refers to 1-D gridded design rule. In a 1-D layout, optical pattern design is restricted to lines running in a single direction, with features perpendicular to the 1-D optical design formed in a complementary lithography step known as "cutting". The complementary step can be performed using a charged particle beam lithography tool comprising an array of columns 206—for example, electrostatically-controlled miniature electron beam columns 206. A 1-D layout is separated in the design layout database into a "line pattern" and a "cut pattern". The design layout database contains the information needed by lithography tools to pattern one or more layers on a substrate 704. A line pattern generally comprises an array of unidirectional lines. Cut patterns generally comprise line-cuts and holes.
Generally, line patterns are written by an optical lithography system, which can be followed by other process steps to increase the density of lines on the substrate 704. Cut patterns are written by a complementary (generally higher-resolution) process, such as electron beam lithography. Use of electron beam lithography for this complementary process is also called complementary e-beam lithography, or CEBL. The combination of the line-forming process followed by line-cuts written with CEBL to pattern a substrate layer is called complementary lithography.
FIG. 2C shows an example of a prior art process for removing material from a substrate surface 706.
Typically, as shown in FIG. 2C, a design layout database is accessed 212 to designate where substrate surface 706 material should be removed (e.g., to form new pattern or repair previously-formed pattern). One or more optical masks are fabricated based on the design layout database 214 using a mask making tool 216. Fabrication of a set of optical masks for one microchip design typically takes weeks and costs millions of dollars at advanced process nodes.
A hard mask is blanket deposited on the substrate surface 706 in step 218 by a deposition tool 220, and a photoresist layer is blanket deposited on the substrate surface 706 in step 222 by a resist deposition tool 224.
"Blanket" deposition and etch generally refers to deposition and etch on the entire surface 706 of the substrate 704.
"Resist" refers herein to a class of materials used in substrate lithography. When a resist is deposited on a substrate 704 and exposed to an energy source corresponding to the type of resist (e.g., photons for a photoresist) in a chosen pattern, its chemical properties change such that when the resist is developed (in ways similar to developing a photographic film), a portion of the resist corresponding to a positive or negative image of the pattern (depending on the type of resist) will remain, allowing the pattern to be expressed in the material underlying the resist, e.g., using etch steps.
The photoresist is then exposed using the optical mask(s) 226 by an optical lithography tool 228. The exposed portion of the resist layer (as designated by the optical mask(s)) is removed 230 using a resist developing tool 232, and the resulting patterned resist layer is inspected for defects and process control metrology (After Develop Inspection (ADI) and metrology) 234 by an inspection tool 236. Yield-reducing errors can be reduced by other tools, adding additional steps, and potentially additional defects.
The hard mask is then blanket etched through the pattern expressed in the resist layer 238, by an etch tool 240, to express (substantially) the same pattern in the hard mask layer. The resist layer is then removed 242 by a resist removal tool 244, and the material underlying the hard mask is blanket etched through the pattern expressed in the hard mask 246, using an etch tool 248 (e.g., a reactive-ion etch or ion milling tool, generally the same type of tool as etch tool 240), to express (substantially) the same pattern in the underlying material.
FIG. 2D shows an example of a prior art process for depositing material onto a substrate surface 706.
Typically, as shown in FIG. 2D, a design layout database is used to designate 212 where on a substrate surface 706 material should be deposited (e.g., to form new pattern or repair previously-formed pattern). One or more optical masks are fabricated based on the design layout database 214 using a mask making tool 216.
A pattern material is blanket deposited 250 and a hard mask is blanket deposited 218 on the substrate surface by a deposition tool 220. A photoresist layer is blanket deposited on the substrate surface 706 in step 222 by a resist deposition tool 224. The photoresist is then exposed using the optical mask(s) 226 by an optical lithography tool 228. The exposed portion of the resist layer (as designated by the optical mask(s)) is removed 230 using a resist developing tool 232, and the resulting patterned resist layer is inspected for defects and process control metrology (After Develop Inspection (ADI) and metrology) 234 by an inspection tool 236.
The hard mask is then blanket etched through the pattern expressed in the resist layer 238 by an etch tool 240 to express (substantially) the same pattern in the hard mask layer. The resist layer is then removed 242 by a resist removal tool 244, and the material underlying the hard mask is blanket etched through the pattern expressed in the hard mask 246, using an etch tool 248, to express (substantially) the same pattern in the underlying (pattern) material (added in step 250). The hard mask is then removed 252 using a hard mask removal tool 254.
FIG. 2E shows an example of a prior art process for modifying material on (or in) a substrate 704 using ion implantation.
Typically, as shown in FIG. 2C, a design layout database is used to designate 212 where on a substrate 704 material should be modified (e.g., to form transistor active areas through ion implantation). One or more optical masks are fabricated based on the design layout database 214 using a mask making tool 216.
A photoresist layer is blanket deposited on the substrate surface 706 in step 222 by a resist deposition tool 224. The photoresist is then exposed using the optical mask(s) 226 by an optical lithography tool 228. The exposed portion of the resist layer (as designated by the optical mask(s)) is removed 230 using a resist developing tool 232, and the resulting patterned resist layer is inspected for defects and process control metrology (After Develop Inspection (ADI) and metrology) 234 by an inspection tool 236.
The substrate surface 706 is then blanket modified 256 (using ion implantation), through the pattern expressed in the resist layer by steps 226 and 230, using an ion implantation tool 258 to express (substantially) the same pattern in the underlying material. The resist layer is then removed 242 by a resist removal tool 244.
Typically, functional substrate devices are built using a combination of material removal, deposition and modification processes.
FIG. 2F shows an example of a prior art process for etching differentiated-profile structures that are then uniformly filled. Etch structures can be manufactured to one depth using a mask set in an iteration of the steps shown in FIG. 2C; additional etch structures can be manufactured to different depths using additional mask sets (typically, a mask set per depth) using additional iterations of the FIG. 2C steps. Once the desired etch structures have been manufactured, one or more desired fill materials are blanket deposited 250 and the substrate surface 706 undergoes chemical mechanical planarization 256 (in a chemical mechanical planarization tool).
FIG. 2G shows an example of a prior art process for etching differentiated-profile structures that are then differently filled. As in the process shown in FIG. 2F, differentiated-profile etch structures can be manufactured using multiple masks in multiple iterations of the steps shown in FIG. 2C. Etch structures can then be differently filled using multiple masks in multiple iterations of the steps shown in FIG. 2D.
Process iterations required by the prior art processes shown in and described with respect to FIGS. 2F and 2G add concomitant overhead and defect susceptibility per iteration, corresponding to, for example, tool process cycles and tool transfers.
Ti represents the amount of time added by a corresponding process step. Yi represents the yield impact of a corresponding process step (one minus probability of introducing one or more yield-reducing defects). Where T is the total time taken by one or more material deposition, removal or modification processes, and Y is the expected yield following such material processes:
                    T        =                              ∑                          i              =              1                        N                                          T            i                                              Equation                                                  1                                Y        =                              ∏                          i              =              1                        N                                                                                Y            i                                              Equation                                                  2
Numerous steps in conventional semiconductor lithography material deposition, removal and modification processes are expensive and time consuming, and potentially introduce defects into the desired pattern, lowering yield. Process-induced defects can be introduced by, for example, wafer handling, resist spin and heating, lithography, resist development, etch, deposition, inspection, implantation, thermal processing, and chemical-mechanical polishing.

Precision substrate material multi-processing using miniature-column charged particle beam arrays