There are provided methods and apparatus for transform selection in video coding. An apparatus includes a video encoder for encoding at least a block in a picture by selecting a transform to apply to a residue of the block from a set of two or more available transforms. The transform is selected based on at least one of an inter prediction mode used to predict at least one reference for the block, one or more values corresponding to a motion vector, a value of a residue of one or more previously encoded blocks, a value of prediction data for the block, one or more transform selections of one or more neighboring reconstructed blocks, and a quantization step applied to transform coefficients for the residue of the block.

The block-based discrete transform is a fundamental component of many image and video compression standards and recommendations including the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) Standard, the International Telecommunication Union, Telecommunication Sector (ITU-T) H.263 Recommendation (hereinafter the "H.263 Recommendation"), the International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) Moving Picture Experts Group-1 (MPEG-1) Standard, the MPEG-2 Standard, the ISO/IEC MPEG-4 Part 10 Advanced Video Coding (AVC) Standard/ITU-T H.264 Recommendation (hereinafter the "MPEG-4 AVC Standard"), and others, and it is used in a wide range of applications.
The discrete cosine transform (DCT) is the most extensively used block transform. The DCT scheme takes advantage of the local spatial correlation property of the image/frame by dividing the image/frame into blocks of pixels (usually 4×4 and 8×8), transforming each block from the spatial domain to the frequency domain using the discrete cosine transform, and quantizing the DCT coefficients. Most image and video compression standards use a fixed two-dimensional (2-D) separable DCT block transform. If several block sizes are allowed (typically, from 4×4 to 16×16 blocks), then they use a DCT having a size corresponding to the block. Nonetheless, there is only one possible transform for each block size.
However, the image and video content has data with varying statistics and properties. Thus, the availability of, and hence forced use of, a single transform per block size fails to realize any potential compression gains that could be available using a different transform than the single transform available per block size.
In the image and video coding standards such as, for example, the MPEG-4 AVC Standard, there is only one choice for the block transform to use for each block size. There is no selection of the transform.
Turning to FIG. 1, a video encoder capable of performing video encoding in accordance with the MPEG-4 AVC Standard is indicated generally by the reference numeral 100. The video encoder 100 includes a frame ordering buffer 110 having an output in signal communication with a non-inverting input of a combiner 185. An output of the combiner 185 is connected in signal communication with a first input of a transformer and quantizer 125. An output of the transformer and quantizer 125 is connected in signal communication with a first input of an entropy coder 145 and a first input of an inverse transformer and inverse quantizer 150. An output of the entropy coder 145 is connected in signal communication with a first non-inverting input of a combiner 190. An output of the combiner 190 is connected in signal communication with a first input of an output buffer 135.
A first output of an encoder controller 105 is connected in signal communication with a second input of the frame ordering buffer 110, a second input of the inverse transformer and inverse quantizer 150, an input of a picture-type decision module 115, a first input of a macroblock-type (MB-type) decision module 120, a second input of an intra prediction module 160, a second input of a deblocking filter 165, a first input of a motion compensator 170, a first input of a motion estimator 175, and a second input of a reference picture buffer 180.
A second output of the encoder controller 105 is connected in signal communication with a first input of a Supplemental Enhancement Information (SEI) inserter 130, a second input of the transformer and quantizer 125, a second input of the entropy coder 145, a second input of the output buffer 135, and an input of the Sequence Parameter Set (SPS) and Picture Parameter Set (PPS) inserter 140.
An output of the SEI inserter 130 is connected in signal communication with a second non-inverting input of the combiner 190.
A first output of the picture-type decision module 115 is connected in signal communication with a third input of the frame ordering buffer 110. A second output of the picture-type decision module 115 is connected in signal communication with a second input of a macroblock-type decision module 120.
An output of the Sequence Parameter Set (SPS) and Picture Parameter Set (PPS) inserter 140 is connected in signal communication with a third non-inverting input of the combiner 190.
An output of the inverse quantizer and inverse transformer 150 is connected in signal communication with a first non-inverting input of a combiner 119. An output of the combiner 119 is connected in signal communication with a first input of the intra prediction module 160 and a first input of the deblocking filter 165. An output of the deblocking filter 165 is connected in signal communication with a first input of a reference picture buffer 180. An output of the reference picture buffer 180 is connected in signal communication with a second input of the motion estimator 175 and a third input of the motion compensator 170. A first output of the motion estimator 175 is connected in signal communication with a second input of the motion compensator 170. A second output of the motion estimator 175 is connected in signal communication with a third input of the entropy coder 145.
An output of the motion compensator 170 is connected in signal communication with a first input of a switch 197. An output of the intra prediction module 160 is connected in signal communication with a second input of the switch 197. An output of the macroblock-type decision module 120 is connected in signal communication with a third input of the switch 197. The third input of the switch 197 determines whether or not the "data" input of the switch (as compared to the control input, i.e., the third input) is to be provided by the motion compensator 170 or the intra prediction module 160. The output of the switch 197 is connected in signal communication with a second non-inverting input of the combiner 119 and an inverting input of the combiner 185.
A first input of the frame ordering buffer 110 and an input of the encoder controller 105 are available as inputs of the encoder 100, for receiving an input picture. Moreover, a second input of the Supplemental Enhancement Information (SEI) inserter 130 is available as an input of the encoder 100, for receiving metadata. An output of the output buffer 135 is available as an output of the encoder 100, for outputting a bitstream.
Turning to FIG. 2, a video decoder capable of performing video decoding in accordance with the MPEG-4 AVC Standard is indicated generally by the reference numeral 200. The video decoder 200 includes an input buffer 210 having an output connected in signal communication with a first input of the entropy decoder 245. A first output of the entropy decoder 245 is connected in signal communication with a first input of an inverse transformer and inverse quantizer 250. An output of the inverse transformer and inverse quantizer 250 is connected in signal communication with a second non-inverting input of a combiner 225. An output of the combiner 225 is connected in signal communication with a second input of a deblocking filter 265 and a first input of an intra prediction module 260. A second output of the deblocking filter 265 is connected in signal communication with a first input of a reference picture buffer 280. An output of the reference picture buffer 280 is connected in signal communication with a second input of a motion compensator 270.
A second output of the entropy decoder 245 is connected in signal communication with a third input of the motion compensator 270 and a first input of the deblocking filter 265. A third output of the entropy decoder 245 is connected in signal communication with an input of a decoder controller 205. A first output of the decoder controller 205 is connected in signal communication with a second input of the entropy decoder 245. A second output of the decoder controller 205 is connected in signal communication with a second input of the inverse transformer and inverse quantizer 250. A third output of the decoder controller 205 is connected in signal communication with a third input of the deblocking filter 265. A fourth output of the decoder controller 205 is connected in signal communication with a second input of the intra prediction module 260, a first input of the motion compensator 270, and a second input of the reference picture buffer 280.
An output of the motion compensator 270 is connected in signal communication with a first input of a switch 297. An output of the intra prediction module 260 is connected in signal communication with a second input of the switch 297. An output of the switch 297 is connected in signal communication with a first non-inverting input of the combiner 225.
An input of the input buffer 210 is available as an input of the decoder 200, for receiving an input bitstream. A first output of the deblocking filter 265 is available as an output of the decoder 200, for outputting an output picture.
There have been some prior proposals for the use of multiple transforms in a single coding scheme. In a first prior art approach, an optimal linear transform is disclosed, which is referred to as the Karhunen Loeve Transform (KLT). KLT is employed to derive the best transform for each of the 9 intra prediction modes in the MPEG-4 AVC Standard. The statistics for each mode are extracted and the corresponding KLTs are derived. Each intra prediction residual is encoded with its KLT. The 9 intra modes partition the data space effectively, in such a way that the DCT is no longer close to the best transform, so a distinctive best transform can be derived and successfully applied. In sum, the proposal uses several transforms, but each of them is fixed to the intra prediction mode selected.
A second prior art approach proposes to modify the DCT transform to several frequencies, that is, changing the basis functions with different all-pass filters to attain a variety of warped frequency responses. The resulting transforms are called warped DCT (WDCT). An exhaustive rate distortion (R-D) search is performed for each block and the selected transform is indicated with side information. The idea is applied to image compression.
A third prior art approach describes using the WDCT and embedding the transform selection within the transformed coefficients themselves. The method shows good performance for low-bit rate image compression. Also, the method adds a post-filtering step that minimizes the mean square error (MSE). The filter is determined at the encoder and multiplexed into the bit-stream.
A fourth prior art approach proposes an algebraic optimization of a set of transforms for a large database. The set is partitioned iteratively until it reaches a stable point in which each transform is sparse-optimal for its particular subset of data. The coder indicates through a quad-tree which transform is used in each block. Thus, the transform choice is not done independently for each block.
A fifth prior art approach proposes an integer sine transform (IST) for inter frame mode. An inter frame residue has a low correlation, and the DCT is adequate only for highly correlated data. Therefore, it proposes a sine transform, which is efficient for data with a correlation from −0.5 to 0.5. The KLT coincides with the sine transform in part of this range. The IST is derived from the sine transform in exactly the same way as the integer cosine transform in the MPEG-4 AVC Standard. The fifth prior art approach has implemented the 4×4 and 8×8 IST versions. The same transform is applied for the whole macroblock, sending a flag, unless the macroblock is divided into 4 sub-macroblocks, then 4 flags are sent specifying the transform employed in each sub-macroblock.
A sixth prior art approach proposes a scheme similar to that proposed in the fifth prior art approach. The sixth prior art approach proposes an adaptive prediction error coding (APEC) scheme that enables adaptive prediction error coding in the spatial and frequency domain. For each block of the prediction error, either transform coding or spatial domain coding is applied. The algorithm with a lower rate-distortion cost is chosen.
The preceding approaches propose a limited range of choice of the best transform and do not fully exploit the available possibilities.

Methods and apparatus for transform selection in video encoding and decoding


The present invention relates to a system for preheating gas prior to entry into the carburetor and further preheating the air-fuel mixture passing from the carburetor into the intake manifold of the engine. In particular, the present invention entails a heat exchanger plate assembly disposed between the engine carburetor and the engine with openings provided therein for allowing the air-fuel mixture to pass therethrough. Additionally, the heat exchanger plate assembly includes a first compartment operatively connected to the engine cooling system and a second adjacent compartment operatively connected to the fuel supply line. The fuel is preheated by the exchange of heat between the first and second compartments, and further since the coolant fluid is circulated through the first compartment and the same is adjacent openings allowing the air-fuel mixture to pass from the carburetor to the engine, it follows that the air-fuel mixture itself is also heated by the heat exchanger plate assembly.

Over the past years, everyone has been made aware of the fact that our energy resources are limited and in some cases even scarce, and the fact that there is a great need to conserve energy. Nowhere has this been more dramatic and apparent than at gasoline service stations. The continuously rising cost of fuel and the scarcity that people have been exposed to, has made it very clear that there is a need to conserve fuel, and in the case of automobiles and other types of road vehicles, that there exists a need to develop more efficient operating engines.
Over the last few years, there has been a great deal of research and development work in the area of attempting to make internal combustion engines more efficient, or expressed in another way to achieve better gasoline mileage. The range of this work has been very extensive, but one area that has gained a great deal of attention is the area of attempting to preheat the gasoline prior to combustion in order to make greater use of the gasoline consumed.
While certain devices have been known and provided in the prior art for heating gasoline prior to a combustion, many such devices have not been practical and economical. In this regard, some have been very complex and expensive, and even some have not really effectively heated the gasoline prior to induction into the associated engine.
Consequently, there exists a need for a device or system that will effectively heat gasoline or fuel prior to its induction into an engine, and which is practical, easy to install and maintain, and which is relatively inexpensive.


The present invention is directed to methods to identify test compounds that alter circadian rhythms of mammals, and more specifically, directed to methods for determining the ability of a test compound to alter hCKI xcex4 and xcex5 phosphorylation of a human Period protein. The present invention is also directed to a method for determing the ability of a test compound to selectively alter phosphorylation, interaction with, or alternatively degradation, of one or more human Period proteins relative to its ability to alter phosphorylation, interaction with, or alternatively degradation, of a different human Period protein.

This invention relates to methods to identify test compounds that alter circadian rhythms of mammals, and more specifically that alter the ability of human casein kinase I xcex4 and/or xcex5 to phosphorylate the Human Clock proteins, human Period 1, human Period 2 and human Period 3.
Circadian rhythms generated by endogenous biological pacemakers are present in a number of diverse organisms including humans, fungi, insects and bacteria (Dunlap, J. C. (1999) Cell, 96, 271-290; Hastings, J. W., et al., (1991) in Neural and Integrative Animal Physiology, ed. Prosser, C. L. (New York: Wiley-Liss), pp.435-546; Allada, R., et al., (1998) Cell, 93, 791-804; Kondo, T., et al., (1994) Science, 266, 1233-1236; Crosthwaite, S. K., et al., (1997) Science, 276, 763-769). Circadian clocks are essential in maintaining biological rhythms. They are self-sustaining and constant even under conditions of total darkness but can be entrained by environmental signals such as light and temperature changes. Endogenous clocks control patterns of activity including daily fluctuations in behavior, food intake and sleep/wake cycle as well as physiological changes such as hormone secretion, and fluctuations in body temperature (Hastings, M., (1997) Trends Neurosci. 20, 459-464; Kondo, T., et al., (1993) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 90, 5672-5676.; Reppert, S. M., and Weaver, D. R. (1997) Cell, 89, 487-490).
Genetic and molecular studies in Drosophila have allowed for the elucidation of some of the genes involved in circadian rhythmicity. What has emerged from these studies is a pathway closely auto-regulated and comprised of a transcription/translation-based negative feed back loop (Dunlap, J. C. (1999) Cell, 96, 271-290; Dunlap, J. C. (1996) Annu. Rev. Genet. 30, 579-601; Hall, J. C. (1996) Neuron, 17, 799-802). Two critical components of the central clock are molecules termed Period or PER and Timeless or TIM.
The per locus, first discovered in Drosophila, is a necessary element in controlling circadian rhythms in adult eclosion behavior and locomotor activity (Konopka, R. J., and Benzer, S. (1971) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 68, 2112-2116). Missense mutations of PER can either shorten (perS) or lengthen (perL) the period of circadian rhythms, while nonsense mutations (pero) cause arrhythmicity in their behaviors (Hall, J. C. (1995) Trends Neurosci. 18, 230-240). In the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) of mammals, three PER homologues, per1, per2, and per3 have been identified. The protein products of these mammalian genes share several regions of homology to each other (Zylka, M. J., et al., (1998) Neuron 20, 1103-1110; Albrecht, U., et al., (1997) Cell 91, 1055-1064.). Per mRNA and protein levels oscillate during the daily cycle, but only PER1 and PER2 oscillate in response to light (Zylka, M. J., et al., (1998) Neuron 20, 1103-1110., Shearman, L. P., et al., (1997) Neuron 19, 1261-1269).
All PER proteins contain a protein/protein interacting region called the PAS domain that is necessary for dimer formation (Zylka, M. J., et al., (1998) Neuron 20, 1103-1110.). Another PAS containing protein, TIM was isolated by a yeast two-hybrid genetic screen using PER as a bait (Gekakis, N., et al., (1995) Science 270, 811-815). As PER protein levels increase, PER forms heterodimers with TIM. TIM/PER heterodimer formation is required for PER regulation because mutations in tim, cause a loss in circadian rhythm which is accompanied by a loss of per mRNA oscillation and the inability of PER to undergo nuclear translocation (Sangoram, A. M., et al., (1998) Neuron 21, 1101-1113; Zylka, M. J., et al., (1998) Neuron 21, 1115-1122).
Recently, several additional molecular components of circadian rhythmicity including CLOCK and BMAL/MOP3 have been discovered using genetic screening and biochemical characterization (Gekakis, N., et al., (1998) Science 280, 1564-1569; King, D. P., et al., (1997) Cell 89, 641-653; Allada, R., et al., (1998) Cell 93, 791-804).
Subsequent studies shed light on how PER is regulated at transcriptional levels. CLOCK and BMAL/MOP3, both contain basic-helix-loop-helix domain, a PAS domain, and form heterodimers to each other. Once PER is transcribed, translated and accumulated, PER translocates to the nucleus and binds to CLOCK through their common PAS domains and down regulates its own transcription, forming a negative feedback loop (Allada, R., et al., (1998) Cell 93, 791-804; Darlington, T. K., et al., (1998) Science 280, 1599-1603; Hao, H., et al., (1997) Mol. Cell. Biol. 17, 3687-3693; Jin, X., et al., (1999) Cell 96, 57-68.).
In addition, PER is modified and regulated at post-translational levels. Both PER and TIM appear to undergo phosphorylation which is effected by circadian oscillation (Edery, I., et al., (1994) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 91, 2260-2264; Lee, C., et al., (1998) Neuron 21, 857-867). A Drosophila kinase termed double time (DBT) was recently cloned (Price, J. L., et al., (1998) Cell 94, 83-95, Kloss, B., et al., (1998) Cell 94, 97-107). Mutations in DBT cause either shortened or lengthened period of the behavioral rhythm. A P-element insertion mutation in DBT abolishes the circadian oscillations of PER in larval brain, indicating that DBT is an essential component of the Drosophila clock. PER accumulates in these mutants to high levels and is hypophosphorylated. DBT has not been shown to directly phosphorylate PER. CKIxcex5 is a closely related homologue of DBT in mammals (Kloss, B., et al., (1998) Cell 94, 97-107). CKIxcex5 and DBT are 86% homologus at the amino acid level in the kinase domain. hCKIxcex5, first identified by Fish et al, is one of several CKI isoforms (xcex1, xcex2, xcex3, xcex4) which has serine/threonine protein kinase activity (Fish, K. J., et al., (1995) J. Biol. Chem. 270, 14875-14883; Rowles, J., et al., (1991) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 88, 9548-9552). CKIs are involved in regulation of cellular DNA metabolism. Saccharomyces mutants with defective a HRR25 gene, a homologue to mammalian CKI, show sensitivity to double-stranded DNA breaks (Hoekstra, M. F., et al., (1991) Science 253, 1031-1034). Several in vitro substrates for hCKI have been identified which include RNA polymerases I and II, p53, IkBxcex1, and simian virus 40 large T antigen. However, very little evidence exist which correlates hCKI phosphorylation to changes in substrate function, and to date, no clock genes have been shown to be hCKI xcex4 and xcex5 substrates.
Circadian rhythms are controlled by sequential phosphorylation of, and alterations of protein levels of, certain key proteins in the circadian pathway. Period (PER), a central component of the circadian clock pathway, undergoes daily oscillation in abundance and phosphorylation state. PER genes have been identified in Drosophila PER, designated dPER, mouse PER, designated mPER, and human PER, designated hPER. In Drosophila there is only one PER, which has most homology to the PER1 proteins. Both humans and mice have three PERs, designated PER 1, 2 and 3.
The present invention is directed to discovery that hCKI xcex4 and xcex5 phosphorylate human Period proteins and that phosphorylated human Period proteins are degraded. As a result, the present invention is directed to methods to identify test compounds that alter circadian rhythms of mammals, and more specifically, directed to methods for determining the ability of a test compound to alter hCKI xcex4 and xcex5 phosphorylation of a human Period protein. The present invention is also directed to a method for determining the ability of a test compound to alter degradation of a phosphorylated human Period protein. The present invention is also directed to a method for determing the ability of a test compound to selectively alter phosphorylation, or alternatively degradation, of one or more human Period proteins relative to its ability to alter phosphorylation, or alternatively degradation, of a different human Period protein and subsequently alter the circadian rhythm of a mnammal.

Screening methods for altering circadian rhythms and for human casein kinase I xcex4 and/or xcex5 phosphorylation of human clock proteins, period 1, -2 and -3


A process for bonding elastomeric material to a metal part includes coating a heat curable adhesive on surfaces of the metal part to be bonded, placing the metal part in a mold, preheating a bottom plate and an upper transfer pot of a transfer molding machine to a predetermined cure temperature, loading a predetermined quantity of uncured elastomeric material into the transfer pot, clamping the mold containing the adhesive coated metal part to the bottom plate, and almost contemporaneously, pressing the uncured elastomeric material into the mold while maintaining heat and pressure in the mold for a time sufficient to vulcanize and thereby cure the elastomeric material simultaneously with the adhesive, whereby contacting surfaces of the metal part are strongly bonded to the vulcanized elastomeric material.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to processes for bonding elastomers to metals and, more specifically, to a process which employs curable adhesives.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are numerous mechanical structures, particularly in the areas of shock and vibration dampening, wherein it becomes necessary to either adhere an elastomer to a metal substrate, or to interconnect two metal structures with an elastomer joint in which the elastomer is bonded to the surfaces of the two metal structures.
One type of structure is illustrated in FIG. 1, whereby a first metal part 10 is connected to a second metal part 12 by an elastomer joint 14. The metal part 10 has an arm 16 which extends between the arms 18 and 20 of a clevis-type structure.
In the past, to interconnect metal parts to an elastomer, the elastomer could be pre-vulcanized (meaning that an elastomeric block 14 could be fabricated prior to attachment) and then a low-temperature adhesive cure cycle would be used to attach the elastomeric block to a metal structure. For example, in the illustration of FIG. 1, the arm 18 and the elastomeric block 14 (in a pre-vulcanized condition) could be adhered together by applying an adhesive on the opposing surfaces of each. After curing, the interconnected structure would consist of a metal arm 18, an elastomeric block 14, and an intermediate thin layer of cured adhesive (not shown).
It has also been known in the past to vulcanize the elastomer 14 to a preheated adhesive surface. In other words, the various metal parts 10 and 12 could be placed in a mold cavity after applying an adhesive to the surfaces of the metal parts which would be in contact with elastomeric material, and then vulcanization would occur whereby elastomeric material is injected in to the mold at high pressure and temperature.
Disadvantages of the prior art are evident in the not so infrequent separation (de-bonding) of the metal parts from the corresponding elastomeric material. This can be a particularly hazardous problem when the metal parts are used in the aircraft industry, such as in the area of a helicopter rotor. In the one instance, prevulcanized elastomeric material adhered by an adhesive to the metal parts has been found to cause premature de-bonding and thus it can be said that a weak bond is created at the interface between the metal and the elastomer. Also, pre-vulcanizing results in excessive time and labor due to the numerous process steps individually required to accomplish the bond. Moreover, when separate vulcanization and bonding cycles are used, additional thermal and physical stresses on the materials and interfaces are imposed, thus enhancing the likelihood of a part failure such as premature de-bond.
Other bonding techniques have been noted from various U.S. patents. A brief description follows:
U.S. Pat. No.2,234,621, issued to Brous, discloses a method of adhering polyvinyl chloride to metal by means of a layer of halogenated rubber between the two materials. The process uses a heated press, but does not describe a situation where an adhesive and an elastomer are co-cured.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,765,248, issued to Beech et al, discloses a combined metal and plastic article formed in a mold, with the plastic used as a backing for a thin metal shell. The plastic is formed in the metal shell while the metal shell is still hot so that the resin tends to fill the open pores of the metal to form a band between the plastic and the shell.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,207,358, issued to Fliss, discloses a water storage tank that includes an internal plastic liner. A steel tank body is cleaned, grit-blasted, and then pre-heated. A spray gun uniformly applies an epoxy resin to the tank body. The epoxy resin is fully cured and becomes strongly adherent on the inner surface of the steel tank body by heating both the tank and the resin.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,243,321, issued to Rowand discloses a method of coating metal surfaces with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).
U.S. Pat. No. 3,481,812, issued to Holub et al, discloses a method of laminating metal substrates with a polymer of ethylene, particularly polyethylene. A peroxide is incorporated in the polyethylene so that it adheres to the metal surface during curing.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,514,312, issued to Gardiner, discloses a method of bonding plastisol material to a metal substrate. An adhesive coating on the metal substrate is heated before bonding.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,233,098, issued to Urbain, discloses a method of making metal-plastic skis which includes glueing coated metal sheets to a plastic material. The plastic and adhesive are not cured during the bonding process.
In none of the above patents are there any methods for molding an elastomer on a metal substrate with an adhesive, with simultaneous curing/vulcanization of the adhesive and elastomer. In summary, the previous methods of bonding elastomers to metal substrates include either using a low-temperature adhesive cure cycle while a previously vulcanized elastomer is bonded, or vulcanizing the elastomer occurs during the bonding process with a previously cured (pre-heated) adhesive surface. Both of these methods cause premature debonding of parts because of a weak bond interface between the metal and the elastomer. In the latter, the common practice is to place the mold containing the metal substrate in the press while the press plates are being heated so that the adhesive begins to cure prior to injection of the elastomeric material.

Process for bonding elastomers to metals

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


There is provided a bearing sealing device capable of substantially completely preventing a leak of grease. A taper end portion of an axial extension of the bearing sealing device has an opposite surface and a rake face that forms a specified rake angle with the opposite surface. The opposite surface forms a narrow passage between the opposite surface and an outer peripheral surface of an inner ring. The narrow passage allows air to pass easily, but it allows grease to hardly pass therethrough. Further, the axial extension includes part of a core metal that extends axially and has its foremost end located axially inside an axial outermost end of the outer peripheral surface of the inner ring. Grease moving axially outwardly on the outer peripheral surface is moved along the rake face of the taper end portion and then guided along a cover portion of the bearing sealing device to an outer ring. The part of the core metal prevents the axial extension from being bent radially outwardly by a centrifugal force.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bearing sealing device and a bearing sealing mechanism for outer ring rotating type bearings such as bearings for axles, and bearings for engine accessories like outer ring rotating type water pumps, idlers and tensioners.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, as a bearing sealing device of this type, there is one as shown in FIG. 9. The sealing device includes a main lip 73 that is put in slidable contact with a side surface 72A located axially outwardly of an annular groove 72 formed on an outer peripheral surface 71A of an inner ring 71, and an auxiliary lip 75 provided with interposition of a specified clearance to a slant side surface 72B arranged opposite to the side surface 72A. The main lip 73 and the auxiliary lip 75 are converged at their roots to be integrated into one body, and a radially outward end portion (not shown) thereof is fixed to an outer ring (not shown).
In the sealing device, the auxiliary lip 75 intercepts grease from inside the bearing. Further, the grease that has passed around the auxiliary lip 75 is intercepted by the main lip 73.
However, in the above prior art bearing sealing device, a pressure force exerted from the main lip 73 on the side surface 72A is sometimes weakened by a centrifugal force depending on use conditions, and therefore the grease that has passed around the auxiliary lip 75 possibly passes around the main lip 73. The above also results in the problem that the leak of the grease is incompletely prevented.

Bearing sealing device and bearing sealing mechanism capable of preventing the leakage of grease


A force supporting device for assisting a force required to move a flap of an overhead baggage compartment from an open position to a closed position includes a blockable piston cylinder unit attached to the flap for assisting the force required to move the flap, and a triggering device for blocking and releasing the blockable piston cylinder unit as a function of loading of the flap.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a force supporting device for assisting the force of an adjustment movement of a flap, in particular a chute of an overhead baggage compartment, from an open position into a closed position, with a triggering device for activating and deactivating the force supporting device as a function of loading of the flap.
2. Description of the Related Art
Force supporting devices are known. They are used, for example, to assist forces for overhead baggage compartments of passenger aircraft, the manual actuating force for closing the overhead baggage compartment being reduced. U.S. Pat. No. 5,244,269 discloses an overhead baggage compartment with a lowerable shell, in particular for a passenger aircraft, closing the baggage compartment requiring merely a low manual force which is substantially independent of the weight of the shell. DE 10 2004 049 700 A1 discloses a force supporting device with a load-dependent force supporting means, in particular for a lowerable overhead baggage compartment in an aircraft. DE 44 46 772 C1 discloses a device for guiding a lowerable shell for an overhead baggage compartment with a weigh plate and pressure transducers connected to an adjustment cylinder via at least one adjustment connection, an appropriate torque counteracting a load moment resulting from the weight of the shell. DE 43 35 151 A1 discloses an overhead baggage compartment with a lowerable shell having a supporting means which is activatable via a triggering mechanism.


A catheter and insertion needle assembly comprising a catheter having a catheter hub and an insertion needle for disposition within the catheter and catheter hub. The assembly further comprises a shielding means comprising a generally cylindrical sleeve and means for locking the needle within the shielding means so as to safely enclose the tip of the needle to prevent exposure to clinicians. The shielding means preferably includes a retainer ring externally positioned thereon, wherein the retainer ring is configured to engage a corresponding retainer depression in an internal wall of the catheter hub. The locking means includes a locking ring on the exterior of the needle and a short, generally cylindrical, rigid insert disposed tightly within the interior of the shielding means. The insert has a slight decreasing taper at its proximal end and comprises cantilevered segments that may be biased outward to form a spring to permit movement of the locking ring in one direction, but not the other. The rigid insert is preferably positioned so that, when the insertion needle and locking ring are withdrawn proximally through the insert, the locking ring may be axially restricted between the insert and the proximal end of the shielding means. Further pulling would dislodge the needle and shielding means from the catheter hub, leaving the tip of the needle shielded from inadvertent contact.

The present invention relates generally to a vascular catheter and insertion needle assembly and, more specifically, to an assembly that includes a tip protector that safely shields the insertion needle tip when withdrawn from the catheter.
Catheters are well known for being used to fluidly communicate with the vascular system of a patient in a minimally invasive procedure, whether to withdraw fluids from the patient or to infuse fluids into the patient. Catheters are generally short thin flexible tubes that are open at a distal end and secured within a hub at a proximal end. The hub serves as a quick disconnectable mechanical connector between the catheter and a delivery tube extending, for example, from a liquid source.
One typical catheter is an over-the needle style catheter that requires an insertion needle passing therethrough to penetrate the patient""s skin and advance the catheter into the patient""s vascular system. The needle comprises a beveled distal end to facilitate piercing the patient""s skin and a proximal end having a hub for handling purposes. When the distal end of the catheter is in place within the patient""s vascular system, the insertion needle may be withdrawn, leaving the catheter hub exposed at the proximal end to connect to a delivery tube. Pressure applied by the clinician to the blood vessel occludes blood flow, permitting the clinician to connect the catheter hub to the delivery tube either to withdraw blood or to infuse fluids into the patient.
Traditionally, once the insertion needle was withdrawn from the catheter, the sharp distal tip of the needle was left exposed to the clinician until properly disposed. This put the clinician at risk of being inadvertently xe2x80x9cstuckxe2x80x9d by the needle, causing injury and, more critically, to inadvertent internal exposure to the patient""s blood. Where a patient suffers from a communicable disease, particularly Acquired Immunosuppressive Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), that risk is unacceptable. Despite being aware of the need to properly handle blood contaminated needles, under certain circumstances, including emergency situations or inattention, inadvertent sticks of the insertion needle into the clinician still occur.
To address the problem, efforts have been made to shield the exposed tip of the needle when it is withdrawn from the patient. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,004,294 to Brimhall et al. discloses a needle shield that includes a leaf spring that engages a shoulder formed from a tapered section of the insertion needle to prevent axial movement of the insertion needle after it has been withdrawn to a certain position. While effective at shielding the needle tip, the Brimhall device is a somewhat complex arrangement of features that results in a more expensive and cumbersome assembly that can be misused. A simpler passive and more efficient tip protecting assembly is desired.
The present invention is a catheter and insertion needle assembly that overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art by providing a simpler, entirely passive, and more effective means for safely shielding the distal tip of the insertion needle as it is withdrawn from the catheter. The result is that the clinician may use the assembly without risk of inadvertent injuries and, more importantly, without risk of contracting a communicable disease from the patient undergoing treatment. The present invention is a catheter and insertion needle assembly that comprises a catheter with catheter hub, an insertion needle, means for shielding the tip of the needle, means for locking the needle within the shielding means and means for removably locking the shielding means within the catheter hub. Specifically, the preferred embodiment of the assembly comprises a soft resilient catheter that has preferably been treated at its distal end to create a relatively hard catheter tip for facilitating engagement with a patient, as described in co-pending applications, Ser. No. 09/146,451, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,500,157, and Ser. No. 09/524,039, entitled Hard Tip Over-The-Needle Intravenous Catheter and filed on Mar. 13, 2000, which are incorporated herein in their entirety by reference. The catheter further preferably includes an internal shoulder near the distal end thereof that may be provided by the techniques described in the referenced application.
The shielding means comprises a shield or tip protector comprising a generally cylindrical tube configured so as to be disconnectably disposed within the catheter hub. The tip protector preferably includes a retainer ring externally positioned thereon, wherein the retainer ring is configured to engage a corresponding retainer depression in an internal wall of the catheter hub. When the retainer ring is engaged with the retainer depression, the tip protector remains securely positioned within the catheter hub. When the retainer ring is not engaged with the retainer depression, the tip protector may be moved axially within the catheter hub. The proximal end of the tip protector has a small opening that is just large enough to permit the passage of the insertion needle through but small enough to preclude passage of the locking ring. The distal end has an internal diameter sufficiently large to permit passage of both the needle and the locking ring.
The insertion needle comprises a uniform diameter cannula that has a beveled tip at its distal end. The needle is sized to be axially disposed within the catheter and catheter hub. The means for locking the needle tip within the tip protector comprises in part a locking ring securely disposed over the needle near the distal end of the needle. The locking ring is positioned on the needle so as to permit the needle tip to project through the catheter sufficiently to provide effective penetration of the needle and catheter into a patient""s vascular system. The locking ring is also preferably positioned on the needle so as to abut the internal shoulder of the catheter when the insertion needle is fully inserted within the catheter.
The means for locking the needle tip within the tip protector further comprises an insert comprising a short, generally cylindrical, metal, collar disposed securely within the interior of the tip protector. The insert is intended to be immovable within the tip protector. The insert has a slight decreasing taper at its proximal end so that the interior diameter of the proximal end is large enough to permit the passage therethrough of the insertion needle but small enough to preclude easy passage of the locking ring, although it may be forced through, as explained below. The tapered end of insert is segmented into discrete cantilevered sections that may be biased outwardly when the locking ring is forced through the insert. It is intended that the metal insert be positioned within the tip protector so that, when the insertion needle and locking ring are withdrawn proximally and forcibly through the insert, the locking ring is restricted from further axial movement in either direction between the metal insert and the proximal end of the tip protector.
With the above arrangement, when the insertion needle is inserted within the catheter to its fullest extent, the locking ring abuts the internal shoulder of the catheter. The abutment helps to transfer forces from the needle to the catheter as the needle is pushed distally through the catheter and into the patient. The hard tip helps to advance the otherwise soft catheter into the patient""s vascular system. When the insertion needle is withdrawn from the patient, it moves axially through the tip protector so that the locking ring forcibly passes through the spring actuating metal insert. The locking ring then becomes lodged between the metal insert and the proximal end of the tip protector, preventing further axially movement of the needle within the tip protector. At this point, the insertion needle is, in effect, locked in place. By exerting additional pulling force on the insertion needle in the proximal direction, the pressure of the locking ring against the proximal end of the tip protector forces the tip protector to disengage from the catheter hub. Continued pulling results in the insertion needle being fully withdrawn from the catheter and catheter hub with the distal tip of the insertion needle securely shielded by the tip protector against inadvertent sticks by clinicians.

Insertion needle and soft catheter system with tip protector


Materials and methods for making and using cationic anti-microbial peptides (CAMPs), and compositions containing such peptides.

Before the discovery of antibiotics, community-acquired infections were a major threat to people's health and welfare. Such infections continue to be a major problem, however. Soon after the discovery of penicillin and widespread access to antibiotics in the 1940's, bacteria began to develop varied degrees of resistance to these drugs. While new drugs have been introduced since the discovery of penicillin, the majority of them are the result of varied combinations of substituents on one of nine molecular scaffolds (Barrett et al. (2003) Curr. Opin. Biotechnol., 14(6):621-626). Only two new classes of antibiotics have been introduced over the last thirty years, and only one of those, oxazolidinones, employs a novel anti-microbial mechanism (Norrby et al. (2005) Lancet Infect. Dis., 5(2):115-119). Therefore, it is hardly surprising that the number of microbes developing resistance is growing rapidly, and their resistance mechanisms are becoming more sophisticated (Tenover (2006) Am. J. Infect. Control, 34(5 Suppl. 1):S3-10 and S64-873). Antibiotic resistance initially was a problem associated with nosocomial infections, but occurrences of community-acquired cases are on the increase. Antibiotic resistance threatens the utility of "last resort" drugs such as vancomycin, the drug of choice for treating methicilin- and multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections (Levy and Marshall (2004) Nat. Med., 10(12 Suppl.):S122-129). Accordingly, there is urgent need for new antibiotics and therapeutic strategies for combating infections, especially those involving pathogens that are multidrug resistant.

Antimicrobial peptides and uses therefore


Mild detergent compositions which exhibit good cleaning performance comprise detergent surfactants and small amounts of protease. A preferred embodiment additionally contains suds boosters and divalent ions.

Light-duty liquid or gel dishwashing detergent compositions are well known in the art. Mildness is often achieved by the usage of certain surfactants such as sulfates of highly ethoxylated alcohols, (see e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 3,743,233, Rose & Thiele), and/or alkyl ethoxy carboxylates (See Japanese Patent Applications 48-60706 and 48-64102). Betaines have also been suggested for use in improving mildness as well as the sudsing of a liquid dishwashing composition.
Likewise, the art is replete with detergent compositions containing enzymes for cleaning (see e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 3,799,879, Francke et al; U.S. Pat. No. 3,634,266, Thiele et al; U.S. Pat. No. 3,707,505, Maeda et al; and 4,162,987, Maguire, Jr. et al and 4,101,457, Place).
It has been found that proteases added to a light-duty liquid or gel dishwashing detergent composition improves the mildness of the composition, even those compositions containing harsh surfactants, and surprisingly improves the dryness of skin.

Light duty liquid or gel dishwashing detergent compositions containing protease


A current sensor integrated circuit includes a lead frame having a primary conductor and at least one secondary lead, a semiconductor die disposed adjacent to the primary conductor, an insulation structure disposed between the primary conductor and the semiconductor die, and a non-conductive insulative material enclosing the semiconductor die, the insulation structure, a first portion of the primary conductor, and a first portion of the at least one secondary lead to form a package. The first portion of the at least one secondary lead (between a first end proximal to the primary conductor and a second end proximal to the second, exposed portion of the at least one secondary lead) has a thickness that is less than a thickness of the second, exposed portion of the least one secondary lead. A distance between the second, exposed portion of the primary conductor and the second, exposed portion of the at least one secondary lead is at least 7.2 mm.

Safety isolation is an important consideration in the design of any electrical product that can expose its users to potentially hazardous voltage levels. Manufacturers of such products need to ensure that their products are designed to adequately safeguard against electrical shock.
In any safety isolation scheme, there is a certain amount of insulation required to create a protective isolation barrier between primary and secondary circuits. A primary circuit is a circuit that is directly connected to line voltage and therefore has the potential to reach hazardous voltage levels. A secondary circuit is not electrically connected to the primary circuit (that is, there is no conductive connection between the secondary circuit and primary circuit) but could experience hazardous voltage levels if insulation fails.
Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) has developed a safety standard called UL 60950-1 (second edition), which specifies a high level of safety isolation to protect against risk of injury due to electric shock (herein, the "Standard"). The UL 60950-1 Standard is based on the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Standard, IEC 60950-1 (second edition). The UL 60950-1 Standard defines five categories of insulation: functional insulation; basic insulation; supplemental insulation; double insulation; and reinforced insulation. Functional insulation does not protect against electrical shock. Basic insulation is a single level of insulation that provides basic protection against electric shock. Supplemental insulation is independent insulation that can be applied in addition to basic insulation to reduce the risk of electrical shock in the event of a failure of the basic insulation. Double insulation comprises both basic insulation and supplemental insulation. Thus, basic insulation provides a single layer of insulating barrier between primary and secondary circuits, whereas double insulation provides two layers of insulating barrier between primary and secondary circuits. Reinforced insulation is a single insulation system that provides electrical shock protection equivalent to double insulation.
If a secondary circuit is not user accessible, a basic level of isolation protection, that is, basic insulation, may be acceptable. Safety needs for products that include user-accessible secondary circuits, on the other hand, demand two levels of protection provided by double insulation or its equivalent in reinforced insulation.
Although the UL 60950-1 Standard is intended for use with information technology equipment, it has been adopted for many other products and is considered the premier Standard for product designs that require galvanic isolation. One product that requires galvanic isolation is the current sensor.
Some current sensors use one or more magnetic field transducers, or sensing elements (for example, a Hall effect or magnetoresistive transducer) in proximity to a current conductor. The magnetic field transducer generates an output signal having a magnitude proportional to the magnetic field induced by a current that flows through the current conductor. Current sensors with integrated current conductors and magnetic field transducers have a primary conductor (i.e., the current conductor, which has leads connected to a high line voltage via an external current conductor) in close proximity to a secondary conductor (i.e., the lower voltage sensing circuits and signal pins). In applications where the device's primary conductor is connected to line voltages (e.g., 120, 240 or 480 VRMS), maintaining galvanic isolation between the primary and secondary conductors is important.
Some prior magnetic field current sensors are designed to provide basic insulation between the current conductor (which, as mentioned above, connects to line voltage and can be considered a primary conductor or circuit) and other conductive parts of the device that are electrically independent of the primary conductor (e.g., sensing circuits, interconnections and signal pins, which may be considered a secondary conductor or circuit) in the way they are constructed.
Various parameters characterize the performance of such current sensors, including sensitivity. Sensitivity is related to the magnitude of a change in output voltage from the magnetic field transducer in response to a sensed current. The sensitivity of a current sensor is related to a variety of factors. One important factor is the physical separation between the magnetic field transducer and the current conductor. Integration of the current conductor into an IC package allows for close and precise positioning of the current conductor relative to the magnetic field transducer.
The Standard does not specify a minimum thickness through insulation for basic insulation. For insulation to be considered supplemental or reinforced under the Standard, however, the insulation must have a minimum thickness of 0.4 mm. Insulation in the form of a thin sheet material, e.g., "thin film" material, may be used for supplemental and reinforced insulation, irrespective of its thickness, provided that at least two layers of such material are used.
The term "clearance" refers to the shortest distance through air between two conductive parts, such as the primary and secondary leads. The term "creepage" refers to the shortest distance between two conductive parts along the surface of any insulation material common to both parts. The spacing distance between components that are required to withstand a given working voltage (i.e., the highest voltage level that insulation under consideration can be subjected to when a device such as a current sensor is operating under normal use) is specified in terms of creepage and clearance. The creepage requirements and clearance requirements are specified in Table 2N and Tables 2K-2M (of the Standard), respectively. The minimum clearance required for high working voltage ratings is less than the creepage requirement and therefore easier to meet. According to Table 2N, to achieve a rating for an RMS working voltage of 500 V for reinforced or double insulation using a material in material group II, a minimum creepage of 7.2 mm must be achieved.


The invention relates to a power distribution system comprising a power providing device (3) for providing power and a powered device (4, 5, 6) like a luminaire to be powered by the power providing device. The power providing device and the powered device are operable in a maximum power mode and a normal operation mode, wherein in the maximum power mode the powered device consumes an amount of power maximally consumable by the powered device and the power providing device measures the power consumed by the powered device. This measured power allows for an allocation of an amount of power in the operational mode, which is really maximally needed, wherein it is not necessary to allocate a larger amount of power, which is large enough to consider, for instance, a maximally assumed length of an electrical connection (8) connecting the devices, thereby improving the power budget allocation.

According to the Power over Ethernet (PoE) IEEE Standard 802.3at a powered device (PD) is powered by power sourcing equipment (PSE) via an Ethernet cable. The PD is assigned to a power class and is adapted to indicate its power class to the PSE, wherein the PSE uses a lookup table for providing a predefined amount of power depending on the indicated power class of the PD. The predetermined amount of power provided by the PSE has to be relatively large, in order to ensure that the PD receives the amount of power, which is needed by the PD, even if the Ethernet cable has a maximally assumed cable length and thus maximally assumed cable losses are present. Since the length of the Ethernet cable between the PSE and the PD will generally be smaller than the maximally assumed cable length, the PSE generally provides unnecessarily an amount of power being larger than the amount of power required by the PD. Thus, the power budget allocation is not very good.


A transmitting/receiving system may include a transmission line, a transmitter circuit configured to transmit a clock to the transmission line and to adjust an amplitude of the clock in accordance with a logic level of data, and a receiver circuit configured to receive the clock transferred to the transmission line and to recover the data through detection of the amplitude of the clock.

1. Field
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a data transmitting/receiving technology.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various integrated circuit chips do not operate alone, but operate to send/receive data with peripheral chips. For example, memory chips, such as a DRAM and a flash memory, send/receive data with a memory controller, and a CPU also sends/receives data with various chips on a motherboard.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a data transmitting method between a transmitter circuit 110 and a receiver circuit 120 in the related art.
Referring to FIG. 1, the transmitter circuit 110 transmits data DATA1 and DATA2 to the receiver circuit 120 together with clocks CLK and CLKB. Then, the receiver circuit 120 receives the data DATA1 and DATA2 in synchronization with the clocks CLK and CLKB. In order to stably send/receive high-frequency (high-speed) data, clocks that are synchronized with the data are essential and most high-speed transmitting/receiving systems use the data transmitting method as illustrated in FIG. 1.
Some transmitting system transmits data without clock and corresponding receiving system recovers a clock included in the data transmitted from the transmitting system using a clock data recovery circuit, which consumes a large amount of current and performs unstable operation, such as a clock generator.

Transmitter circuit, receiver circuit, and transmitting/receiving system


A method and apparatus are provided for identifying contents of a nuclear waste container. The method includes the steps of forming an image of the contents of the container using digital radiography, visually comparing contents of the image with expected contents of the container and performing computer tomography on the container when the visual inspection reveals an inconsistency between the contents of the image and the expected contents of the container.

The field of the invention relates to nuclear waste and more particularly to methods of determining a content of nuclear waste containers.
Since the advent of the nuclear age, nuclear waste has been a significant impediment to the development of nuclear technology. In the last fifty years, nuclear waste has accumulated in significant quantities.
Nuclear waste is different than other types of waste in that it can kill without direct contact through the effects of radiation. Because of radiation, nuclear waste must be either shielded or stored in protected areas.
While shielding is effective, it also creates additional difficulty in storing and moving waste containers. It also adds to the bulk of storage containers.
When nuclear energy first became a factor during World War II (and to a lesser extend even now) nuclear waste was handled in a manner similar to other wastes. What makes nuclear waste more difficult to process than other wastes, however, is the difficulty of identifying and classifying the contents of nuclear waste containers.
In the past, the accepted method for identification of container content has relied upon the non-destructive examination of nuclear waste drums using x-ray inspection and real-time radiography (RTR). Standard RTR techniques have included the use of 450 kV (or less) constant potential x-ray sources. Image intensifiers have been used as live radiographic detectors for the video taping of drum content.
The use of RTR could be improved by varying the x-ray voltages and currents to optimize the viewing contrast for differing drum content. However, RTR still has limited inspection capability for the imaging of dense waste drum content like metals, cements and sludge because of the lack of x-ray penetration at 450 kV and a lack of dynamic range for an image intensifier of the x-ray detector. To aid in the analysis of nuclear waste, the Department of Energy (DOE) has published a number of procedures explaining the use of RTR for inspection for nuclear waste drums.
The limitations of RTR methods may be discerned from a recent RCRA permit from the state of New Mexico for the DOE""s WIPP site. The permit states that drums, which cannot be inspected by RTR (e.g., lead lined drums) must be opened for direct invasive inspection by visual examination. Invasive examination is much more costly than the method discussed below because of the need for operator protection from radiation using a protective enclosure (e.g., a glove box).
Since WWII thousands of nuclear waste containers have been filled and stored in a limited number of locations without regard to what such containers have stored inside them. In order to resolve the problem of nuclear waste, an effort must be made to classify nuclear waste as a first step in finding a final solution to disposal of such waste. Accordingly, a need exists for a safe and more reliable means of identifying and classifying nuclear waste.
A method and apparatus are provided for identifying a content of a nuclear waste container. The method includes the steps of forming an image of the contents of the container using digital radiography, visually comparing a content of the image with an expected content of the container and performing computer tomography on the container when the visual inspection reveals an inconsistency with the expected content.

Method of determining a content of a nuclear waste container


A light bulb assembly having a light bulb with the ability to change color. The light bulb assembly comprises a light bulb, a socket for containment of the light bulb, and a light switch assembly for selectively providing current to the socket and attached light bulb. The light bulb has three filaments which separately emit white light upon selective illumination. Two of the filaments, however, are separately encased by a sleeve of translucent, differently colored material. Accordingly, the white light emitted by each of the latter two filaments is filtered by the colored sleeves, and these filaments thereby produce colored light. The switch assembly has three switches, each of which selectively illuminates one of the filaments. The light bulb assembly is thereby able to selectively provide white light as well as differently colored light on different occasions.

The invention generally relates to a light bulb assembly, and in particular relates to a light bulb assembly having a light bulb with the ability to change color.
A preponderance of light bulbs are used to produce white light, which is the type of light most often used for conducting everyday activities. Certain activities, however, require colored lights. As one example, for decorative purposes, a user may want to utilize a colored light bulb for providing a particular ambience to a room, on a specific occasion. In order to illuminate the colored light bulb, the user must generally thread the colored light bulb within a socket. This often requires removing a white light bulb from a socket and replacing it with the colored light bulb. Alternately, this may require threading the colored light bulb into a separate, additional light bulb socket. Consequently, there is a need for a light bulb assembly having a light bulb with the ability to change color, so that a user does not have to interchange a white light bulb with a colored light bulb, or to use a separate socket for illumination of the colored light bulb.

Light bulb assembly having a light bulb with the ability to change color


An apparatus for measuring the frequency of a pulse train signal and method therefor applicable to a speedometer of a vehicle are disclosed in which a count value C of at least one counter which counts number of pulses in the pulse train signal for predetermined counting intervals of time .DELTA.T (=T/n, wherein T denotes a frequency measuring time interval and n denotes a calculation constant) is updated to a value related to the count value for each predetermined counting interval of time .DELTA.T and stored and outputted for each predetermined counting interval of time .DELTA.T so that the same or better performance as that using a stagger ring method can be achieved. The value is expressed by (C-C/.alpha.) in a first preferred embodiment (wherein .alpha. denotes the calculation constant preferably equal to n), by (C-C.times.m/.alpha.+D) in a second preferred embodiment (wherein m denotes the number of counters and D denotes the latest count values of the m counters during .DELTA.T at the time of update), by (C-M.sub.1 .times.C/.alpha.+M.sub.2 D) in a third preferred embodiment (wherein M.sub.1 and M.sub.2 denotes values determined according to a change rate of the count value C of the counter with respect to time and D denotes the latest count value of the counter for .DELTA.T at the time of update), and by (C-C/M) in a fourth preferred embodiment (wherein M denotes a value determined according to a change rate of the count value C of the counter with respect to time).

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for measuring the frequency of a pulse signal.
A Japanese publication "Patent Pulse Circuitry Technological Dictionary" (Tokkyo Pulse Kairo Gijyutsu Jiten) published on May 20, 1980 by Kabushiki Kaisha Ohm sha and edited by Yasuo Suzuki and Takehisa Higuchi (Page 520) exemplifies one of such pulse signal frequency measuring apparatus.
The pulse signal frequency measuring apparatus disclosed in the above-identified Japanese publication document includes a counter, an output register, and a timing controller.
The counter counts the input number of pulses within a predetermined counting interval of time. The counting interval of time is prescribed by means of the timing controller. In addition, the counting interval of time is set to a time interval required for a determined frequency measurement accuracy. The result of counting by the counter is latched and outputted in the output register at a time when the timing controller outputs a latch signal to the output register. At the same time, the timing controller outputs a reset signal to the counter to reset the counter. That is to say, the counting result Cn, i.e., the number of pulses counted during the predetermined counting time interval T.sub.n, is outputted from the output register while the counter counts the number of pulses during the next counting time interval, i.e., the time T.sub.n+1. In this way, the output contents of the output register is updated for each counting interval of time T (=T.sub.n =T.sub.n+1 =T.sub.n+2 . . . ). An interval for which the contents of the output register is updated, i.e., an output refreshing interval, is the counting interval of time T required to determine the frequency measurement accuracy.
Therefore, in a case where the above-described pulse signal frequency measuring apparatus is applied to an apparatus for indicating a vehicle speed in an analog form (speedometer), the counter counts the number of pulses derived from a vehicle speed sensor and a pointer of the speedometer is swung through an angle according to the output contents of the output register.
However, since, in this case, a period of time for moving an indicated position of the pointer becomes long as the above-described output refreshing interval becomes long, the output contents of the output register cannot follow up a change in the vehicle speed when the vehicle speed abruptly changes. Consequently, an indicated value of the pointer of the speedometer changes stepwise and does not change smoothly making it difficult for a vehicle driver to recognize the vehicle speed.
Such a problem as described above will be described in detail below.
Suppose that a maximum speed indicated value of the speedometer is 180 Km/h, the angle through which the pointer swings to indicate 180 Km/h is 270 degrees, and a required speed resolution is 0.3 degrees. In this case, a full scale of the speedometer needs to be divided into 270/0.3 =900 to indicate the vehicle speed. In addition, suppose that a pulse repetition rate of a digital vehicle speed sensor is about 500 Hz at the maximum speed 180 Km/h.
In the above-specified vehicle speed indicating apparatus, the time required to count 900 pulses at the maximum speed of 180 Km/h is 900.times.1/500=1.8 seconds. If the above-described time of 1.8 seconds is set as the counting interval, 1.8 seconds is the output refreshing interval of time for the output register. Hence, since the indicated value of the pointer of the speedometer changes after a period of 1.8 seconds, so that the movement of the pointer becomes extremely jerky or intermittent.
It is noted that since a duty ratio of each pulse derived from the vehicle speed sensor is approximately 50%, the countable frequency from the vehicle speed sensor for the counter can be changed to 1000 Hz if the counter counts the number of pulses on each rising or trailing edge of the pulse signal from the vehicle speed sensor. However, in this case, the counting interval of time T, i.e., refreshing interval becomes 0.9 seconds and it is insufficient to eliminate intermittent movement of the pointer.
A change of the indicated value by the pointer having a period of about 0.1 seconds gives a general feeling that the pointer smoothly moves. However, if the output refreshing interval is merely shortened, the counting interval of time T becomes simultaneously short. Consequently, the number of pulses counted during the counting interval of time becomes less and a resolution of the indicating apparatus becomes reduced. In the above-described example, if the counting interval of time T is set to 0.1 seconds, the number of pulses countable within 0.1 seconds is reduced from 900 to 50 at 180 Km/h and the resolution is extremely reduced to 270/50=5.4 degrees (180/50=3.6 Km/h).
Next, another pulse signal frequency measuring apparatus using a so called staggar ring method will be described below.
In the staggar ring method, n counters need to be connected in parallel to one another if a frequency measuring interval of time required from its resolution is T and the output refreshing interval of time is T/n. In detail, if a count value of each counter counted at the time interval T/n which is the same as the output refreshing interval of time is expressed as D.sub.j (j=1 to n) and an output data from the output register at a certain time is expressed as C.sub.i (i=1 to n), the output count data C.sub.i can be derived as follows: ##EQU1##
Thus, the output data C.sub.i is outputted for each output refreshing interval T/n.
In other words, the old count value before (n+1) time is sequentially deleted and in place of (n+1) time count value the latest count value is added to the count value.
Hence, since the sum of the count values in n number of times is outputted after the lapse of the frequency measuring interval T, the count value C.sub.i for each refreshing interval T/n indicates a value proportional to the frequency of the measured pulse signal.
Although in the staggar ring method the data C.sub.i can be refreshed for each desired output refreshing interval, in general n=9 or nearly 9 and therefore the number of parallel counters is accordingly increased. In addition, a multiplexer to select sequentially the output data of the counters needs to be added. Consequently, the construction of the whole circuitry becomes large-sized and complicated.

Apparatus and method for measuring the frequency of a pulse signal


A watch assembly is provided which comprises a watch sub assembly and a replaceable case whereby the watch sub assembly comprising a movement, a container for the movement, a face cover and a crown, is installed into the replaceable case, having a front aperture, a rear aperture and a means to receive a crown. The diameters of the face cover and the container for the movement are equal to the diameters of the front and rear apertures respectively to enable such installation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a watch assembly more particularly to a wrist watch assembly having a replaceable case capable of changing the appearance of the watch in which the crown of the watch is disposed within the case=of the watch where it is not a nuisance to the wearer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The watch assembly for a known type of wrist watch is shown in FIG. 1. In this kind of watch assembly and in the watch assembly of the present invention the body of the watch, hereinafter referred to as the watch mechanism, can be removed from its casing. This type of assembly is widely used by young people because the casing is interchangeable with other casings thereby allowing style and color changes. However the watch assembly known in the art has some drawbacks. The known watch assembly does not permit the wearer to substantially change the appearance of the watch, other than in the watch band and case. The bezel in the known assembly is not altered when the case and band are changed, therefore it is not possible to change the appearance of the front of the watch.
Another disadvantage associated with the known watch assembly is that the crown is exposed and can become a nuisance to the wearer, especially when the watch is worn on the wrist.
Another disadvantage is that in the known watch assembly the watch mechanism might easily fall out of its casing and subsequently be lost or damaged.


A retractable marking device comprising a casing holding a retractor, an engagement element, a fastener, and a barrel. The engagement element holds marking instruments having a variety of diameters, wherein the marking instruments may comprise, for example, pencils, pens, chalk, and the like. Additionally, the engagement element is secured to the retractor, wherein the retractor comprises a coil retractably wound around a reel, such that the engagement element can be repeatedly extended from and retracted to the casing. The fastener secures the device to a user's garb or working paraphernalia for ready accessibility. Furthermore, the barrel holds a sharpener, wherein the sharpener sharpens the marking instrument. Additionally, depending upon the particular embodiment, the retractable marking device may sharpen the marking instrument either manually or mechanically.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a marking device. More specifically, the present invention relates to a retractable marking device, which is attachable to a user's garb or working paraphernalia.
2. Background of the Invention.
Most people have experienced the inconvenience of requiring a marking instrument for a particular task and finding their marking instrument is not at hand. Such inconvenience is particularly acute for people whose jobs require them to write, mark and/or erase frequently, but who also are required to have free use of their hands at other times for non-writing tasks. These people include tradespeople, such as carpenters and contractors, that need a writing or marking instrument to mark wood and other building materials, make notes on plans, and perform other writing tasks on the jobsite. Such tradespeople also must perform non-writing tasks, such as building and assisting in construction.
To insure that a marking instrument is at hand, people often place the instrument in their clothing, such as in a pocket, or place the marking instrument behind an ear. This solution is less than ideal, as tradespeople may not have the proper clothing to store a marking instrument and those that put them behind their ear may find that they fall out when the user changes position to perform physical activities. Additionally, those that wear glasses or use large marking instruments may find that they do not fit behind their ears.
One potential solution is to place a writing/marking instrument on or near the writing surface or work station. However, marking instruments stored in this fashion may be removed by other workers from the work station or writing surface, or the user may move to other locations at the jobsite which are distant from the work station containing the marking instrument.
None of the aforementioned solutions are ideal for the tradesperson. Therefore, there exists a need for a retractable marking device that may be attached to the tradesperson's garb or working paraphernalia, e.g., the tradesperson's belt, pocket, tool belt, tool case, briefcase, and the like. Such a device will ensure that the tradesperson always has a marking instrument on their person that may be retracted merely by releasing their grip on the instrument. The ideal device is also secure, convenient and easy to use.
Additionally, there exists a need for a retractable marking device in which the marking instrument's writing end and, wherein applicable, erasing end are both exposed and available for use by a tradesperson. This is particularly important for the tradesperson working with a pencil and, for example, writing on a plan.
There also exists a need for a retractable marking device that includes a sharpener for enhancing the usability of the marking instrument when the need arises. The sharpener preferably would be removable so that when it dulls and becomes less effective, it may be replaced.


A high throughput, short batch cycle commercial ice making machine produces commercial ice which resists melting in convenient sizes for mobile food carts, market produce, or fish displays. The machine introduces super-cooled water, that is in a liquid state while exposed to a temperature below freezing, into a batch of pre-formed hollow molds of one or more horizontally oriented ice forming freezing trays oriented horizontally. Using vapor compression refrigeration, the machine produces a plurality of supercooled ice segments in pockets within the freezing tray. The supercooled ice segments are rapidly subjected to a short, temporary contact with a high heat source from a sleeve integral with the freezing tray compartments, along a peripheral bottom surface of the ice segment accommodating freezing tray molds. This temporarily melts a bottom surface of each ice segment, lubricating it and loosening it. Then the machine rotates the freezing tray containing the batch of ice segments about its horizontally oriented axis to a vertically oriented dump position, thereby dumping the temporarily heated ice segments into the freezing tray.

The present invention relates to making ice cubes in a horizontally oriented freezing tray having refrigerant and evaporator conduits integral with, and in intimate contact with, the ice cube mold compartments of a freezing tray, so that the resultant ice cubes have a long shelf life before melting.
Commercial ice in convenient sizes for mobile food carts, market produce, or fish displays is needed in large quantities. However, especially in warm weather, the ice melts quickly and must be replenished several times per day.
Many ice making machines make ice in vertically oriented freezing trays. In vertical dripping, the later dripped water freezes differently than the earlier dripped water in a vertical cascade. In addition, freezing is inhibited because the vertical inflow of water releases more energy as the water cascades down, thus slowing the freezing time due to the activity of the flowing, cascading water.
Among relevant vertically oriented ice making patents include U.S. Pat. No. 4,474,023 of Mullins for an ice making machine. In Mullins ""023, ice is formed by dripping water in vertically disposed trays, freezing the water into cubes, loosening the cubes by applying heat through adjacent evaporator conduits, then rotating the trays approximately 30 degrees downward from a vertical position, thereby dumping the formed ice cubes into a bin. Flexible hoses are used in Mullins ""023 for transporting both the water and the refrigerant in order to allow pivoting of the freezing tray from the vertical water loading position to the partially face-down dumping position. Mullins ""023 uses a high heat source in a cycle reversal for causing temporary loosening of the cubes from their individual molds within the tray, but the evaporator is attached to the tray, not integrally formed therewith. As a result, the tray contacting surface of the ice cubes is not uniformly and quickly heated for a quick melt and release therefrom.
A similar ice cube making machine with a vertically oriented freezing tray is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,459,824 of Krueger. However, the vertical orientation of Mullins ""023 and Krueger ""824 increases drip inflow time, which provides a barrier to super-cooling of the water for forming the ice.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,255,941 of Bouloy describes an ice making machine which is vertically oriented. In Bouloy ""941, there are shown two freezing trays 22 welded back-to-back, wherein the trays 22 with semi-circular molds 32 for each ice cube have spaces 48 between the trays 22 for a reverse flow of alternately flowing refrigerant and evaporator gas. The hot gas is used to melt the ice cubes 124 from their molds 32 in each of the two back-to-back freezing trays 22.
The spaces 48 of Bouloy ""941 are arcuate triangles formed between the rounded backs of the semi-circular molds 32 forming the ice cubes.
The disadvantage of Bouloy ""941 is that since the two molds are welded back-to-back, at the weld seams between the two molds each labeled 22, the refrigerant and alternately the hot gas can""t flow through these closed seams, so there is not uniform intimate contact of the hot gas with the bottom of each ice cube mold 32 of each of the freezing trays 22.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,199,956 of Lunde describes an ice cube making machine which requires an electronic sensor to interrupt the freezing cycle to thaw the cubes for dumping.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,233,964 of Ethington describes an ice cube making machine with a freezing cycle and a hot gas defrost valve used with a detector for detecting frozen ice. Ethington ""964 is similar to conventional ice making machines in hotels and other commercial establishments.
Among other U.S. Patents for loosening frozen ice cubes from a tray ice include U.S. Pat. No. 3,220,214 of Cornelius for a spray type ice cube maker.
Moreover, among patents which heat trays for loosening ice cubes include U.S. Pat. No. 5,582,754 of Smith, which uses electrical heating elements to thaw semi-circular ice cubes from a freezing tray. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 1,852,064 of Rosenberg, U.S. Pat. No. 3,318,105 of Burroughs, U.S. Pat. No. 2,112,263 of Bohannon U.S. Pat. No. 2,069,567 of White and U.S. Pat. No. 1,977,608 of Blystone also use electrical heating elements to thaw cubic ice cubes from a freezing tray. In Bohannon ""263, Burroughs ""105 and White ""567, the electrical heating elements are arrayed in longitudinally extending heating elements which extend adjacent to the sides and bottoms of ice cube freezing tray ice cube forming compartments, but the heating elements do not provide uniform heat all along an under-surface of each ice cube tray compartment.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,941,377 of Nelson uses serpentine conduits of evaporation fluid for loosening ice cubes, but only along the sides of the ice cube tray molds.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,781,541 of Einstein, U.S. Pat No. 5,218,830 of Martineau and U.S. Pat No. 5,666,819 of Rockenfeller and U.S. Pat. No. 4,055,053 of Elfving describe refrigeration units or ice making machines which utilize heat pumps for alternate heat and cooling.
Therefore, the prior art patents have the disadvantage of not allowing for supercooling of water on a horizontally oriented tray, and not allowing for rapid but effective heating of all of the undersurface of each ice cube from adjacent evaporator conduits conforming to the surface of the ice cube forming tray compartment molds, to provide only a slight melting of the undersurface of each ice cube for lubricating each cube prior to dumping in a supercooled state into a collection harvesting bin.
Furthermore, among the vertically oriented ice making machines such as of Mullins ""023 or Bouloy ""941, there is no way to use the freezing trays horizontally as a display counter, such as in a fish market or retail store.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide super-cooled ice cubes with a long shelf life before melting, and to improve over the disadvantages of the prior art.
It is yet another object of this invention to maximize the use of a horizontally oriented freezing tray of an ice making machine, wherein the horizontally oriented freezing tray has integral hollow sleeves in intimate contact with the freezing tray, to facilitate the rapid freezing and discharge of the ice from the freezing tray.
Other objects which become apparent from the following description of the present invention.
In keeping with these objects and others which may become apparent, the present invention is an efficient method of producing this commodity of melt-resistant ice is described by this invention. The method and apparatus of this invention uses one or more horizontally oriented freezing trays in combination with conventional vapor compression refrigeration using common refrigerants such as, for example, xe2x80x9cFree Environmental Refrigerant number 404Axe2x80x9d. The quality of the product is superior as the apparatus outputs ice segments that are supercooled (below or near 0 degrees F.) well below freezing temperature thus affording even more cooling capacity per pound than just the heat absorbed by the solid to liquid transition. The ice is produced in batches in horizontally oriented freezing trays, wherein the batches are then dumped automatically from the freezing trays.
Because the freezing trays are horizontally oriented, the water is dripped at a uniform rate, unlike cascading water flowing down vertically oriented freezing trays. These he horizontally oriented freezing trays can also be used as counters for displaying objects kept at cold temperatures, such as fish at a fish market or retail store. Moreover, these horizontally oriented freezing trays can be stacked horizontally one on top of each other for maximum use.
The rapid cycle time achieved insures very good capital efficiency as the weight of ice produced per day is high with respect to the cost of the apparatus.
Key elements of this invention that contribute to its superior performance include the design of the freezing trays which form an integral evaporator, as well as the method of dumping the ice product by rotating the tray from the horizontal to a vertical position. This rotation is facilitated by the use of flexible coolant hose connections to the freezing trays.
By cycle reversal (similar to a heat pump cycle), hot refrigerant is directed into the evaporation spaces in the trays for a brief xe2x80x9cthawxe2x80x9d cycle which creates a thin layer of water at the interface between the ice segment and the tray surface thereby dislodging the ice segment while the tray is in the vertical position with the water layer acting as a xe2x80x9clubricantxe2x80x9d to further aid in the dumping process. Since the xe2x80x9cthawxe2x80x9d cycle has very high heating power causing a high temperature difference between the heated tray surface and the ice segment, this cycle is short, and the heating of the ice surface is therefore localized to a thin liquid interface layer which quickly refreezes upon being dumped due to heat transfer to the interior of the supercooled ice segment.
Therefore, to summarize the key features, integral evaporation channels within the horizontally oriented freezing trays contribute to short freezing cycles; rotation of freezing trays is facilitated by coolant hose connections; dumping of ice product is accomplished by refrigeration cycle reversal heating freezing trays internally; product produced is convenient sized ice segments that are supercooled.

Commercial ice making apparatus and method


A method (300) of using hot isostatic pressing to join metallic members that form a component in a gas turbine engine is disclosed. The method (300) may include applying (306) a surface treatment to the outer surfaces (14, 15, 16, 20, 22, 24) of first and second metallic members (12, 18) based on whether a mechanical or metallurgical joint for the component is desired. Additionally, the method (300) may include aligning (310) the outer surfaces (14, 15, 16, 20, 22, 24) of the first and second metallic members (12, 18) to create a sealed cavity, which encompasses the joint, between the first and second metallic members (12, 18). Once the outer surfaces (14, 15, 16, 20, 22, 24) are aligned, the method (300) may include subjecting (314) the members (12, 18) to hot isostatic pressing such that material from the first metallic member (12) flows into a recess (26) within the second metallic member (18) so as to join the first and second metallic members (12, 18) to form a consolidated component (10). The consolidated component (10) may then be machined and finished (316) for use in a turbine engine.

Hot isostatic pressing is a well-known technique that is commonly used for the consolidation of powder particles in the field of powder metallurgy and for the densification of components after casting. Additionally, hot isostatic pressing has been used in the process of diffusion bonding. Notably, hot isostatic assembly processing provides for minimal additional manufacturing steps since the joining of the pieces of a component may occur concurrently with a hot isostatic densification process, which is typically used as a post-cast operation for structural cast parts. Thus, a need exists for a more robust method for assembling modular componentry that takes advantage of the properties of hot isostatic pressing.

Hot isostatic pressing system for the assembly of modular components usable in a turbine engine


An improved floor for a recovery boiler furnace having a flat floor has a number of tubes in the floor immediately adjacent each of the sidewalls of the furnace oriented at an oblique angle to horizontal. A method of replacing the floor is provided as well.

Kraft recovery boilers are used in the pulp and paper industry to recover usable energy from byproducts of the pulp making process. Kraft recovery boilers are similar to conventional fossil-fuel fired boilers. Black liquor fuel is introduced into the furnace along with combustion air. Inside the furnace, residual water is evaporated from the black liquor, and the organic material from the black liquor is combusted. The inorganic portions of the black liquor are recovered as sodium/sulfur compounds.
Gases generated by the black liquor combustion rise out of the furnace and flow across convection heat transfer surfaces. The vertical enclosure walls of the furnace are formed from heat transfer surfaces made of interconnected water tubes. Typically, feedwater enters the recovery boiler at the bottom of a first pass economizer, in which the water is heated as it flows to a steam drum. Saturated water is routed from the steam drum through pipe downcomers to lower furnace enclosure wall and floor inlet headers and a boiler bank. Natural circulation flow in the tubes is induced and driven by heat input to the vertical water cooled enclosure walls of the furnace from the combustion process.
Decanting floors in kraft recovery boilers are known for collecting and directing molten smelt from the black liquor combustion process to discharge openings in the boiler walls. The water tubes forming the floor are cooled by the circulation of water and/or a water/steam mixture through the tubes.
The floors of many known decanting recovery furnaces are essentially flat across the entire surface. Flat floors are subject to minor humping of the tubes, causing domes which form in the upper surfaces of the floor tubes. Steam can become trapped in these humps or domes (steam blanketing) which can cause the tubes to overheat and fail. More particularly, steam blanketing is where steam bubbles are not effectively entrained in the water moving through the tubes. In the flat floor tubes adjacent the furnace sidewalls, the heat input to the tubes may be lower. Since flow through the tubes is by natural circulation, the low heat input to these tubes results in lower fluid velocities and poor circulation in the tubes, which in turn causes steam blanketing.
Currently, the only known method for correcting this defect in flat floor furnaces is to replace the entire tube floor with a new floor. The new floor is sloped to increase the tolerance for heat absorption at lower fluid velocities and to permit venting of the minor humps which would otherwise trap steam and lead to tube overheat and failure. However, replacing the entire furnace floor is both time consuming and expensive, and a cost-effective solution would be welcomed by industry.


A reverse hip prosthesis comprising an acetabular cup for implanting in an acetabular socket. The acetabular cup is secured to the acetabular socket. The acetabular cup has a stem extending from the center of a concave portion thereof and an acetabular ball is attached to the stem. A femoral implant has a femoral cup attached to the proximal end thereof. The femoral cup has a stem which can be made with several stem lengths in order to accommodate the various sizing requirements of patients. After implantation of the acetabular cup and ball and the femoral cup, the members are assembled together so that the femoral cup can articulate on the acetabular ball. The prosthesis of the invention has a wide range of motion and substantially improved tribology.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to hip prostheses and more specifically to an interlocking reverse hip prosthesis allowing increased range of motion and stability during excessive range of motion.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It can be appreciated that several hip implants have been in use for years. Typically, conventional hip implants comprise a femoral component having an articular femoral ball attached to a stem. A femoral stem is inserted into the medullary canal of the femur after preparation and reaming using appropriate reamers by the operating surgeon. The stem can be secured with bone cement or press fit. An acetabular component having the shape of a cup is inserted into an acetabular socket after preparation and appropriate reaming and secured with cancellous screws through holes in the cup. It can also be secured with bone cement or press fit or a combination thereof.
The acetabular cup is metallic and it is internally lined with high-density polyethylene or ceramic. Said lining is secured into the acetabular cup by a press-fit mechanism.
The main problem with conventional hip implants is the instability of the prosthesis at the extreme range of motion, thereby allowing the articular femoral ball to dislodge and dislocate. Prior art teaches constrained and preassembled ball and cup devices or devices wherein the ball and cup members are implanted separately whereupon the ball element is forced into a resilient opening in the cup and thereafter held in place by the resilient material. Other constrained acetabular cups may include a locking ring such as the one described by Albertorio et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,527,808. In the case of cup elements having retaining rings, the ball member is forcefully inserted into the cup after the two elements are implanted. This constitutes a weak link where forces exerted on the prosthesis by ambulatory motion may exceed the forces used to assemble the implant thereby causing the ball to be separated from the cup.
While these devices may be suitable for the particular purpose which they address, they do not provide an interlocking mechanism as in the reverse hip implant design of the present invention. The very nature of applicant's design allows increased range of motion and increased stability at extreme ranges of motion thereby reducing the risk of dislocation.
In these respects, the interlocking reverse hip prosthesis according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art because the articular femoral ball of the prior art is replaced with an articular femoral cup and the acetabular cup is provided with an acetabular ball. Thus an apparatus is provided which is primarily developed for the purpose of reducing the risk of dislocation of hip implants at extreme ranges of motion.
Furthermore, since the articular surface of the femoral cup of the invention is fully in contact 100% of the time with the surface of the acetabular ball, it is clear that this will improve tribology because the weight bearing distribution is improved on the articular surfaces, thus decreasing the wear of the surfaces in contact and reducing the risk of wear particles being released in the joint. The later, being very detrimental to the proper function of the joint.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Interlocking reverese hip and revision prosthesis and method