Embodiments of the disclosure generally set forth techniques for adjusting an estimate of scattered radiation of a target object. One example method includes generating a plurality of radiographic projections, selecting a first radiographic projection and a second radiographic projection of the target object from the plurality of radiographic projections, forming first estimates of scattered radiation in the first and second radiographic projections, applying the first estimates of scattered radiation to the first and second radiographic projections to generate a modified first radiographic projection and a modified second radiographic projection, comparing the modified first and second radiographic projections to generate correction modules, and applying one of the correction modules to a first subset of the plurality of radiographic projections and another of the correction modules to a second subset of the plurality of radiographic projections.

Referring to FIGS. 1a and 1b, computerized tomography (CT) involves the imaging of the internal structure of an object 102 by collecting several projection images ("radiographic projections") in a single scan operation ("scan"), and is widely used in the medical field to view the internal structure of selected portions of the human body. Typically, several two-dimensional projections are made of the object at different projection angles, and a three-dimensional representation of the object is constructed from the projections using various tomographic reconstruction methods. From the three-dimensional image, conventional axial, coronal, or sagittal CT slices through the object can be generated. The two-dimensional projections are typically created by transmitting radiation from a "point source" 105 through the object 102, which will absorb some of the radiation based on its size, density, and atomic composition, and collecting the non-absorbed radiation onto a two-dimensional imaging device, or imager 110, which comprises an array of pixel detectors (simply called "pixels"). In the typical CT system, the radiation source 105 and imaging detector 110 are mounted on a gantry 150 which rotates them around the object 102 being scanned. Such a system is shown in FIG. 1a. A line that goes through the point radiation source 105, the center of rotation (known as the isocenter), and is perpendicular to the two-dimensional imager 110 is called the projection axis 112. The point where the projection axis hits the detector is known as the piercing point of the detector. Typically, the detector piercing point is located at or near the center of the imager in full-fan geometry (also known as centered-detector geometry). Described below is a variation called half-fan (offset-detector) geometry, wherein the detector array is offset, thus allowing for an increase in the field-of-view (FOV) with a 360 degree scan rotation.
The source's radiation emanates toward the imaging device 105 in a volume of space defined by a right-circular, elliptical, or rectangular cone having its vertex at the point source and its base at the imaging device. For this reason, the radiation is often called cone-beam (CB) radiation. Most commonly, the beam is collimated near the source into a rectangular cone or pyramid so that, when no object is present, the beam radiation only falls on the detector and not outside the detector boundaries. Generally, when no object is present within the cone, the distribution of radiation is substantially uniform on the imager. However, the distribution of the radiation may be slightly non-uniform. In any event, any non-uniformity in the distribution can be measured in a calibration step and accounted for. The projection axis may not be at the center of the imager or the center of the object. It may pass through them at arbitrary locations including very near the edge.
FIG. 1b shows further aspects of the CT system of FIG. 1 a, including gantry 150 and controller 155. Controller 155 is coupled to radiation source 105, imaging device 110, and user interface 115. User interface 115 provides a human interface to controller 155 that enables the user to at least initiate a scan of the object, and to collect measured projection data from the imaging device. User interface 115 may be configured to present graphic representations of the measured data.
In an ideal imaging system, rays of radiation travel along respective straight-line transmission paths from the source, through the object (where they are partially absorbed), and then to respective pixel detectors without generating scattered rays that are detected. However, in real systems, when a quantum of radiation is absorbed by a portion of the object, one or more scattered rays are often generated that deviate from the transmission path of the incident radiation. These scattered rays are often received by "surrounding" detector elements that are not located on the transmission path that the initial quantum of radiation was transmitted on, thereby creating measurement errors.
The measurement errors created by scattered radiation cause artifacts and loss of spatial and contrast resolution in the radiographic projection data and the CT images produced by the radiation imaging system. The scattered radiation can also cause numerical errors in the image reconstruction algorithms (generally referred to as "CT number problems" in the art). All of the foregoing leads to image degradation.
Scattered radiation may arise from many sources. These may include: the bow-tie filter (if present), the object being scanned, an anti-scatter grid (if present), and the detector housing. One model for addressing these aforementioned scattering sources is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/125,053, filed on May 21, 2008, corresponding to patent publication number 20090290682, published Nov. 26, 2009. This application is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
As indicated by both experiment and by Monte Carlo simulations, different types of objects can have different scattering properties and if they are all in the imaging field-of-view at the same time, then they must be appropriately addressed by a scatter correction method. For example, a significant amount of scatter can come from objects (e.g., supporting structures) adjacent to the actual object(s) of interest (e.g., the human body). One type of supporting structure is the patient table which is commonly made of polycarbon, a light material having a high probability of Compton interactions. It has been found that the scatter correction method described in the incorporated application may not be optimized to effectively model scatter from sources such as the patient table, due to how its shape, position, density, and material composition differ from that of the human body. As a result, scatter is underestimated for some projections, and a cupping artifact is observed in patients below the isocenter region when using the half-fan geometry with an offset detector (described and shown in FIG. 2). A method and system for estimating and correcting for scatter from multiple types of objects including the patient table is described hereinafter.

Methods of scatter correction of X-ray projection data 1


Functional devices using charge transfer complexes formed as a layer on a substrate. In one embodiment of the invention, the device comprises a substrate, an electrode layer formed on one side of the substrate, at least one layer of a charge transfer complex capable of undergoing a variation in charge transferability by application of external energy, and another electrode layer formed on the complex layer. The charge transfer complex consists essentially of an electron donor and an electron acceptor, at least one of which is an organic compound having a long-chain alkyl substituent. In another embodiment, a charge transfer complex layer is provided on a substrate as polarized in one direction, in which the charge transfer complex does not necessarily contain such a substituted donor or acceptor compound as in the first embodiment but ordinary charge transfer complexes may be used. A pair of electrodes may be provided to sandwich the complex layer therebetween.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the use of charge transfer complexes and more particularly, to functional devices using such complexes in which variations of electric, optical or electromagnetic characteristics in the device are utilized when external energy such as electric, optical or electromagnetic energy, pressure and/or temperature is applied to the device. The functional device can be utilized by itself or in combination with other devices as switching devices, electric and optical memories, optical devices utilizing optical waveguide, a photovoltaic effect and photoconductivity, display devices and sensors.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As is well known in the art, organic charge transfer complexes have wide utility in various fields in which their specific characteristics including electric conductivity or semiconductivity, electromotive force, dielectric properties, photoconductivity or the like are utilized. For instance, the complexes are utilized as polarized or ionized. Alternatively, a neutral to ionic phase change of these complexes are used to make various electric, electronic, optical or electromagnetic devices.
It is known that a certain type of organic molecule crystal undergoes a phase transition of from a neutral crystal which may be a van der Waals crystal to an ionized crystal wherein most constituent molecules are substantially ionized. For instance, it has been found that a single crystal of a charge transfer complex, for example, of tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) and chloranyl (CA) undergoes the phase transition at a relatively low pressure of about 10 Kbar. In addition, when the temperature is lowered down to not higher than 80.degree. K. even at a normal pressure, this single crystal undergoes the neutral-ionic phase transition. The neutral-ionic phase transition is considered to result from the balance between an energy loss of I.sub.D -E.sub.A wherein I.sub.D is an ionization potential and E.sub.A is an electron affinity and a gain of the Madelung energy, aV wherein "a" is a Madelung constant and V is a coulomb energy of a D.sup.+ A.sup.- pair wherein D is an electron donor and A is an electron acceptor in case where the electron donor and the electron acceptor are converted from a neutral state (D.sup.o A.sup.o) into an ionized state (D.sup.+ A.sup.-). If I.sub.D -E.sub.A >aV, the complex is neutral and if I.sub.D -E.sub.A <aV, the complex is ionized. In this connection, however, it has been recently found that the neutral to ionic phase transition does not occur only by a simple change in the Madelung energy, but is greatly influenced by the charge transfer interaction between the donor and acceptor molecules and also by the electron-lattice interaction. For instance, the neutral-ionic phase transition of crystals of tetrathiafulvalene and chloranyl caused by application of temperature or pressure is accompanied by the dimerization lattice strain. This means that aside from the energy balance depending upon the coulomb force, the electron-lattice interaction which will cause Peierls deformation.
On the other hand, a Cu and tetracyanoquinodimethane (which may be hereinafter referred to simply as TCNQ) complex is considered to undergo the neutral-ionic phase transition at room temperature under normal pressures. This complex may be formed by dissolving TCNQ in acetonitrile and subjecting the solution to reaction with Cu. When the complex is sandwiched, as a layer, between Cu and Al electrodes and is applied with a voltage, a switching phenomenon is observed where the resistance is kept high by application of a voltage up to a certain voltage, and becomes low when the applied voltage exceeds the level. Presumably, this is because (Cu.sup.+ TCNQ.sup.-).sub.n is converted into a neutral phase where Cu.sub.x.sup.o and (TCNQ.sup.o).sub.x are formed. This ionic to neutral phase change may be caused by application of light.
With the organic molecule crystals such as, for example, of tetrathiafulvalene and chloranyl, however, low temperatures or application of high voltages is necessary to cause the phase transition to proceed.
On the other hand, crystals of (Cu.sup.+ TCNQ.sup.-).sub.n which undergo the phase transition at normal temperatures and pressures are relatively unstable and are not reliable with respect to reproducibility. In addition, it has been reported that the reason why the electric conductivity increases after the transition to the neutral phase by the switching phenomenon is due to an increase in amount of the Cu in the charge transfer complex because of the evaporation of the TCNQ molecules caused by the Joule heat. Accordingly, the reproducibility of the switching phenomenon is not necessarily reliable, thus presenting a practical problem in application of the complex as a functional device.
On the other hand, charge transfer complexes consisting of electron donors and acceptors are, in most cases, applied using their inherent electric, optical and physical properties without use of such a specific phase transition as described above. For instance, many reports have been made with respect to conductivity, electromotive force, dielectric properties and photoconductivity of charge transfer complexes. However, these complexes are usually polarized isotropically. When the direction of polarization is isotropic, any electric charge induced by the polarization do not produce, or the photovoltaic force is offset and lessened. In addition, dielectric characteristics are also offset.

Functional devices comprising a charge transfer complex layer

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A trainable transmitter comprises a transmitter, code-generation circuitry and a removable, plug-in data module. The data module includes information necessary for generating a code for a specific security system, such as a garage door opener. Preferably, the data includes a cryptographic algorithm and the frequency at which the wireless signal is to be generated. The code-generation circuitry accesses the data in the data module to generate a code, which is then transmitted by the transmitter. A variety of data modules are provided. A user installs a data module which corresponds to the security system to be accessed.

The present invention relates generally to wireless trainable transmitters, particularly for vehicles.
Increasing numbers of new vehicles are being sold with trainable transmitters permanently installed in the vehicle. The trainable transmitters allow consumers to train the transmitter to duplicate an existing transmitter, such as a garage door opener. This approach provides certain advantages. For example, since the transmitter is permanently installed, it is more difficult for a thief to steal the transmitter while obtaining the owner""s address from the glove compartment. Further, the current trainable transmitters pre-store a plurality of cryptographic algorithms allowing the trainable transmitter to be universal. This provides convenience to the consumer by allowing the trainable transmitter to be compatible with many home products, such as garage door openers.
However, a permanently installed trainable transmitter that pre-stores a plurality of cryptographic algorithms suffers from some disadvantages. The universal trainable transmitter, by virtue of its learning capability and pre-storing a plurality of cryptographic algorithms, is simply a universal code grabber. A person with basic electrical/electronic knowledge can increase the range with commercially available RF amplifiers to convert the trainable transmitter to a code grabber. A potential thief could construct such a code grabber and steal codes from a victim""s garage door opener transmitter. Since the universal trainable transmitter pre-stores a plurality of cryptographic algorithms, even advanced rolling codes could be compromised.
Further, current universal trainable transmitters cannot be upgraded to new cryptographic algorithms as the manufacturers of home products (e.g., garage doors, home security entry systems, and wireless switches) change existing codes. Additionally, a universal trainable transmitter would not be compatible with new wireless products by new manufacturers, since there is no common standard for rolling security codes. Since different manufacturers use different codes and encryption algorithms, the universal trainable transmitter cannot be 100% universal or upgradable.
The present invention provides a re-configurable trainable transmitter including a removable plug-in data module which contains a cryptographic algorithm and the other information necessary for generating a wireless signal containing a code associated with a specific security system. The trainable transmitter generally comprises a transmitter and code-generation circuitry, such as a microprocessor. The microprocessor generates a digital code based upon the data in the data module, including the cryptographic algorithm. The microprocessor determines a digital code based upon the cryptographic algorithm and the transmitter generates a wireless signal including the digital code at a frequency also specified by the data module.
Preferably, the data module is associated with a security system from a certain manufacturer or of a specified model or models. Initially, a user would obtain the correct data module necessary to operate the user""s security system, such as garage door opener or home security system, either from the manufacturer of the security system or the manufacturer of the vehicle. By providing the correct plug-in data module, no learning mode would be required. Further, it would not be necessary to store the cryptographic algorithms from the many manufacturers on the trainable transmitter. Only the cryptographic algorithm to be used would be stored on the trainable transmitter.

Reconfigurable universal trainable transmitter


An apparatus for full length and localized massage of a user's body includes a bed structure having a housing defining an interior chamber, a liquid reservoir basin beneath the chamber, and an upwardly-facing opening horizontally across which a resiliently flexible membrane is sealingly affixed in tensioned condition to form a user body support surface. The reservoir basin contains a quantity of a massage liquid, preferably water, with the remainder of the chamber being filled with air. A massage head having multiple liquid emission openings therein is disposed within the chamber for lengthwise traversing travel with the emission openings facing the membrane. A pump communicates with the reservoir basin and with a downstream series of conduits connected to the massage head for withdrawing the massage liquid from the reservoir basin and supplying the liquid under pressure to the massage head for emission against the underside of the membrane to transmit a massaging effect to the body of a user laying thereon.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for applying a massaging effect to the body of a user.
Massage is a time-honored and generally effective therapy for muscular injuries, strains and general soreness but, although massage is still recommended by many physicians for such purposes, this therapy is largely unavailable due to a scarcity of trained, qualified masseurs As a result, many devices and apparatus have been proposed in the past for producing a massage-like manipulation of a user's body by mechanically or electrically-generated vibrations or pulsations, usually accompanied by heating. In addition, massage-simulative devices utilizing pulsations of pressurized water have recently become popular, such as pulsation-type shower heads, whirlpool baths, and the like. U.S. Pat. No. 4,751,919 discloses another form of massaging apparatus wherein multiple pulsation-type shower heads are mounted for longitudinal movement back-and-forth within a water-tight enclosed lid pivoted to a horizontal bench for movement into and out of overlying relation to a user on the bench to provide the advantage of applying a massaging effect to the user's entire body without requiring the user to disrobe.


This invention provides a readily accessible easily manipulatable improved safety assembly for a firearm that can be easily retrofit on many existing firearms without special modification or adaption. By providing rotary action from a finger actuated safety lever operable with a trigger finger maintained adjacent the trigger, a rifle or shotgun may be easily moved without awkwardness from safe to fire condition in a moment of excitement when game or a moving target appears with less chance of awkwardness or an aborted shot.. The safety assembly provides in a lateral bore through the trigger guard cage adjacent to and rearward of the pivoted trigger a rotatable barrel like member blocking rearward trigger motion in one detented position and permitting the trigger to move and release the firing pin in a second detented position where a receptacle cavity in the barrel mates with a trigger extension finger and lets the trigger pivot. A rotating lever is thus placed in a position where it can be actuated by a middle finger with the trigger finger in place and the firearm being readied for a shot.

Safeties for firearms are provided in the prior art for various usage conditions and differing firearm trigger mechanisms. The primary purpose of the safety mechanism of this invention is to provide a safe trigger interlock on a rifle or shotgun with convenient and improved access for release when used for hunting and trap or skeet. Thus, the safety interlock can be left on for complete safety until game is observed or a clay target is about to be released. There is no known prior art safety assembly that sufficiently provides immediate and conveniently located access without use of the trigger finger. Thus for example with a hunting rifle, particularly in cold weather, a trigger finger may have to be maintained in an awkward position in a ready posture to operate the safety, thus exposing the finger to the cold. It is an object of this invention to provide a safety assembly that permits convenient operation while allowing the trigger finger to remain adjacent to the trigger in a ready posture.
Related safety mechanisms may be classified in two classes, namely axially movable bolt type action and rotary movement type action, this invention being of the latter type.
There are several deficiencies of prior art axially movable bolt type safety assemblies typified, for example, by U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,458,616, T. L. Maynor, Jan. 11, 1949; 2,225,583, C. E. Blizard, Dec. 17, 1940; 3,713,242, P. Seifried, Jan. 30, 1973; and 2,856,718, J. F. Fischer, Oct. 21, 1958. As aforesaid the primary deficiency is inaccessibility and awkwardness for use in the instant that game or a clay target appears. Thus, these prior art safety assemblies require in most cases a release of the safety by the trigger finger before grasping the trigger, and thus a good shot may be delayed or missed entirely because of the sudden excitement that may make an awkward safety movement abortive.
Furthermore, many of these types of safety assemblies are subject to wear or deterioration particularly when softer plastic materials are used which are otherwise desirable to manufacture and to move within restricted spaces without lubrication, which changes viscosity with temperature. Thus, if a safety assembly rubs metal on metal and requires lubrication it may take a different greater force to operate on a cold day than a warm day and thus change operating conditions enough to interfere with a good first shot. On the other hand, a plastic self-lubricating movable member such as "Nylon" or equivalent materials may tend to wear or indent from impact of a metallic trigger whenever the impact surfaces are over a limited contact area. Thus, a laterally movable bolt type safety assembly may present a limited area of trigger to safety lock contact.
Typical rotary type safety assemblies are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,538,940, A. F. C. Henckel, Jan. 23, 1951; 3,397,474, J. A. Badali, Aug. 20, 1968; and 2,225,583, C. E. Blizard, Dec. 17, 1940, are also provided with mechanisms of limited contact area subject to wear, awkward hard to reach actuating means requiring a trigger finger to be manipulated to release the safety and construction techniques not adaptable for replacement of slide-bolt assemblies on existing firearms. It is a most important feature of the present invention for example, that it may replace directly a sliding bolt assembly as used on "Remington" or like available brand firearms, for example that of U.S. Pat. No. 2,225,583, and need not require the redesign of the firing and safety system of such firearms which are quite adequate in other respects than the above-identified problems.
Accordingly, it is one object of this invention to provide an improved rotary action safety assembly as an accessory feature that can be exchanged for sliding bolt type safety assemblies on available commercial firearms.

Rotary action firearm safety assembly operable with finger on the trigger


A method of improving the linearity of a photo detector of the kind comprising a semiconductor wafer, two resistive layers, each one covering one side of said wafer, a p-n junction separating said two layers, and one pair of electrodes on each resistive layers, each pair of electrodes defining two opposite sides of a right-angled square, whereby two portions of the resistive layers are defined, within said square. Said portions within said square are delimited electrically from the rest of said layers and the p-n junction, for instance by etching, whereby the linearity within this square is increased, and thus the useful area of the detector.

The present invention concerns a method of improving the linearity of a photo detector of the kind in which electrical signals are used to define the position of a point illuminated on a detector surface included in the detector, said detector comprising a semiconductor plate, two resistive layers each one covering one side of the semiconductor plate, a p-n junction separating the two resistive layers and two pairs of electrodes arranged one at each resistive layer and which electrodes are of such a shape and are so positioned that each one of the two pairs defines two opposite sides of a right-angled square, said square defining two portions of the resistive layers which portions are positioned in opposite and parallel relationship.
Lateral photo detectors of the kind outlined above suffer from the disadvantage that the connection between the output signals and the coordinates relating to the position is non-linear, particularly close to the margin of the detector surface defined by the electrodes. For this reason it has unfortunately hitherto been necessary, in cases where the demand on linearity is strict, to limit oneself to the use of a minor portion of the detector surface positioned symmetrically relative to the centre thereof where the edge effects are not very noticeable. For instance, by giving to the electrodes a particular geometrical configuration, more precisely by allowing their ends to extend across and beyond the electrodes positioned at the opposite side it becomes possible to affect the edge effects to some extent by so to speak displace the margin, but in order to achieve real efficiency in this way the electrodes must be made of such a length that the detector becomes uncomfortably large in relation to the useful detector surface. In addition, the area of the p-n junction and the circumference of the semiconductor plate increases, which gives rise to a non-desirable increase of the leakage current through the p-n junction and over the margin thereof, with subsequent noise increase and of course a necessity for larger amounts of materials.

Method of improving the linearity of a double-face lateral photo detector for position determining purposes


A chuck is provided for receiving and holding inserts having a non-circular shaft. The chuck includes a body having a non-circular cavity, and a capping sleeve rotatable on the body and extending beyond an end of the body. A locking plate is provided in the portion of the capping sleeve which extends beyond the end of the body, the locking plate having a non-circular opening with a profile corresponding to the profile of the cavity. The capping sleeve may be rotated relative to the body to the place the profile of the locking plate selectively in registry, or not, with the profile of the cavity.

The invention relates to a chuck for tool inserts.
A chuck for tool inserts, especially screw driver bits, of this genus is described in DE 3,829,331 A1. In this chuck, the tool insert used is forcibly held in place by means of a self-locking ball, where the ball is clamped between one of the six faces of the shaft of the tool insert which is inserted into the chuck and the tapering wall surface of a capping sleeve which is displaceable in the axial direction. To withdraw the tool insert which may be a bit, the ball must be released by displacement of the capping sleeve.
A disadvantage with chucks of this kind is the use of a ball which can be displaced and clamped in the chuck. This necessitates a costly construction for guiding the ball; furthermore, the functioning of the ball can be impaired by contaminants (e.g. foreign bodies) which find their way into the chuck.
In accordance with German Standard DIN 3126-C, it is known to provide tool inserts with a shaft having a hexagonal cross-section, with notches in the longitudinal edges of this hexagonal shaft; these notches form a snap-fit groove in the circumference of the shaft. The hexagonal shaft engages in the hexagonal cavity of a chuck, where a lock washer seated in the hexagonal cavity enters into this snap-fit groove. It is further known form DE 3,538,675 A1 to turn down the hexagonal shaft of the tool insert, from the working end as far as this snap-fit groove, so that the lock washer of the chuck engages ahead of the turned-down hexagonal shaft.
In these chucks, the tool insert is held in place by the spring action of the lock washer. A high spring force of the lock washer makes it difficult to change the tool insert, while a weak spring force results in an unreliable retention of the tool insert. In addition, metal fatigue which develops in the lock washer also makes unreliable the retention of the tool insert.
The object of the invention is to provide a chuck of the above-indicated type, which offers high operating reliability, is simple to manipulate and has a simple form of construction.

Chuck for tool inserts, especially screwdriver bits


Disclosed is a shift register unit, a gate driving circuit and a driving method, as well as a display apparatus. The shift register unit has a working cycle including an input phase, an output phase, a reset phase and a maintaining phase. In the reset phase, a clock signal is transmitted to an output terminal to pull a voltage of the output terminal down to a reference voltage, and the pulled-down voltage of the output terminal is subsequently changed from the reference voltage to a gate-off voltage. In the maintaining phase, the voltage of the output terminal is maintained at the gate-off voltage. The reference voltage is smaller than the gate-off voltage.

With the development of the display technologies, increasing display apparatuses have been equipped with a Gate Driver On Array (GOA) technique where a gate driving circuit is integrated in a non-display area of an array substrate, thereby reducing a width of a bezel of the display apparatus. The gate driving circuit comprises several shift register units each providing a gate driving signal to a corresponding one of multiple gate lines on the array substrate.
A time interval allocated to each row of pixels in the display apparatus is fixed. In this fixed time interval, charging of the pixels and reset of the gate driving signal are to be completed. The display apparatus with a higher resolution may need a longer reset time interval for the gate driving signal, resulting in a short time interval for charging each row of pixels. This is unfavorable for the charging of the pixels.

Shift register unit, gate driving circuit and driving method thereof, and display apparatus


A mining machine having a control system for operating the mining machine, the control system having a vibration monitor. The mining machine comprising a mining machine, a sensor sensing vibration of a component of the mining machine, and a vibration module. The vibration module determining when the mining machine is moving in a predetermined cycle, obtaining vibration sensor data from the sensor based on determining that the mining machine is moving in a predetermined cycle, processing the vibration sensor data to generate processed vibration data, and outputting the processed vibration data.

The present invention relates to vibration monitoring and analysis for electric mining shovels. Two conventional types of vibration monitoring and analysis on mining machines include manual testing and primitive operational monitoring. Manual testing involved placing mining machines off-line and interrupting regular mining operations. Then, personnel would secure one or two vibration sensors on or near one or more moving components of the to-be-analyzed mining machine. The personnel would then instruct the operator of the mining machine to operate the mining machine in a particular way in order to capture vibration data. Thereafter, the captured data would be analyzed for diagnostic purposes. Manual testing was a labor intensive activity that required a high level of expertise for placement of vibration data sensors, vibration data collection, and vibration data analysis. Additionally, manual testing required interruption of mining operations for several hours. Primitive operational monitoring involved installing a vibration monitor for capture of vibration data during operation of the mining machine. The capture of vibration data was initiated based on two factors, motor speed and motor rotation direction. The capture of vibration data was not based on the shovel's operating cycle, but rather simply motor speed and rotational direction. This technique resulted not only in inefficient and inconsistent data capture, but collected vibration data that was difficult to analyze.

System and method for vibration monitoring of a mining machine


A method and apparatus for securing a fractured or sectioned sternum in a patient's body is disclosed. The apparatus can include an attachment member and an adjustable flexible member construct. The attachment member can have a flexible member holder. The adjustable flexible member construct can have first and second ends and a body defining at least one passage portion. The first and second ends can be passed into and through the at least one passage portion via first and second openings associated with the at least one passage portion of the adjustable flexible member construct to form a pair of loops. The attachment member can be configured to be coupled to at least one of the formed pair of loops. The adjustable flexible member construct can be positioned about the sternum and can be reduced to compress the fractured or sectioned sternum.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
After trauma or surgical intervention, there may be a need to fix bone fragments or portions together to immobilize the fragments and permit healing. Compressive force can be applied to the bone fragments by encircling the bone fragments or bridging the fragments together across a broken, sectioned (cut) or otherwise compromised portion of the bone. The compressive forces should be applied such that upon ingrowth of new bone, the fragments will heal together and restore strength to the site of trauma or surgical intervention.
Accordingly, there is a need for apparatus and methods to apply compressive force to a bone across a fracture or section (cut) to maintain alignment and assist healing. Further, there is a need for apparatus and methods that are easy to use intraoperatively to accommodate various bone sizes or shapes, or locations of bone fractures or sections.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and apparatus for sternal closure


A tokenless authorization of an electronic check between a payor and a payee using an electronic identicator and at least one payor bid biometric sample is described. The method comprises a payor registration step, wherein the payor registers with an electronic third party identicator at least one registration biometric sample, and at least one payor checking account data. An electronic financial transaction is formed between the payor and the payee, comprising at least one payor bid biometric sample, wherein the bid biometric sample is obtained from the payor""s person, in a transaction formation step. Preferably in one transmission step the payor bid biometric sample is electronically forwarded to the electronic identicator. A comparator engine or the identification module of the electronic identicator compares the bid biometric sample with at least one registered biometric sample for producing either a successful or failed identification of the payor. Once the electronic identicator successfully identifies the payor, the payor""s previously registered checking account data is retrieved, and a biometric-based authorization of an electronic check is authorized without the payor presenting any personalized man-made tokens such as paper checks or magnetic swipe cards.

This invention relates to the field of tokenless biometric financial transactions. Specifically, this invention is directed towards a system and method of using biometrics for processing electronic check financial transactions without requiring the payor to directly use or possess any man-made personalized tokens or paper checks. For any transaction designated to be processed as an electronic check, this invention provides a payor, whether an individual or a business, with the ability to pay for goods and services either at the retail point of sale or over the internet using only a biometric sample.
Traditionally, a person must directly possess a man-made personalized token whenever attempting authorization for an electronic financial transaction. Tokens such as magnetic ink encoded paper checks, smart cards, magnetic swipe cards, identification cards or even a personal computer programmed with resident user-specific account data, are xe2x80x9cpersonalizedxe2x80x9d because they are each programmed or encoded with data that is unique and personalized to the authorized user. For examples: at a retail point of sale, the user directly possesses and physically presents personalized checks or cards encoded with his unique account data to the merchant; or, over the internet, the user directly possesses and electronically presents his personal computer""s resident user-unique account data to the remote merchant. By contrast, as the disclosed invention is completely tokenless, it does not require the user to directly possess, carry or remember any personalized token that can be lost, stolen or damaged.
Of all such personalized man-made tokens, magnetic ink encoded paper checks have long been used as the token of choice in financial transactions. Currently, around 65 billion paper checks are written annually in the United States. These paper checks are time-consuming to write, costly for both consumers and businesses to handle and process, and prone to fraud. It is currently estimated that these inefficiencies annually cost consumers and businesses over $10 billion in fraud losses and over $40 billion in processing time and personnel resource costs. For example, paper checks are particularly vulnerable to fraud. Because they do not require the use of a personal identification number (xe2x80x9cPINxe2x80x9d), a lost or forged paper check can easily be turned into cash by a fraud perpetrator. Counterfeit checks can readily be created by acquiring an accountholder""s valid account number and bank routing code, then encoding those numbers as printed magnetic numerical characters on a blank check template. Valid paper checks that are stolen can be selectively moistened with solvents to retain authorized signatures and erase designated financial amounts in order to over-write them with a higher denomination value. These resultant fraudulent checks can then be presented to payees or businesses, with the transaction being charged to the rightful checking account. Check fraud may also be committed by authorized checkholders themselves, whereby they use a check of their own to make purchases, and subsequently claim the check had been lost or stolen, and used without their knowledge.
Of all payment modes, checks take the longest amount of time to complete, authenticate and process. They require additional time to process for deposit, and cost more money for banks to clear and settle. At the retail point of sale, submission of paper checks is often accompanied by a secondary token used for identification, such as a plastic driver""s license card, requiring more time and cost. All of these charges are paid by merchants or businesses, and are ultimately borne by the consumer.
Both at a retail site and over the internet, paper checks are presented for real-time remote access to financial accounts via magnetic ink character readers, with magnetic stripe or bar code readers sometimes being used to also automatically read identification cards like a driver""s license. In some instances on the Internet, the user""s personal checking account data is stored resident within the user""s personal computer. In this manner, a PC is the personalized man-made memory token that the user is required directly possessed each time he seeks to authorize an electronic check via the Internet.
Therefore, whether buying services or products, a consumer or a business must rely on the money transfer to be enabled by the consumer directly using personalized man-made memory tokens. The sole functions of such tokens are to attempt to identify both the user and the financial account being accessed to pay for the transaction. However, these tokens can be easily exchanged, either knowingly or unknowingly, between users, thereby de-coupling them from the original intended user. Because these encoded paper checks, identification cards or personal computers storing resident user data are ubiquitous in today""s consumer and business transactions as verification of the submitter""s check writing authority, and the attendant inconveniences and security vulnerabilities of such tokens are widespread.
Various token-based biometric technologies have been suggested in the prior art, using smart cards, magnetic swipe cards, or paper checks in conjunction with fingerprints, hand prints, voice prints, retinal images, facial scans or handwriting samples. However, because the biometrics are generally either: a) stored in electronic and reproducible form on the token itself, whereby a significant risk of fraud still exists because the comparison and verification process is not isolated from the hardware and software directly used by the payor attempting access, or; b) used in tandem with the user directly using magnetic swipe cards, paper checks or a PC with the user""s financial data stored resident therein. Examples of this approach to system security are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,821,118 to Lafreniere; U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,068 to Piosenka et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,995,086 to Lilley et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,089 to Uchida et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,095,194 to Barbanell; U.S. Pat. No. 5,109,427 to Yang; U.S. Pat. No. 5,109,428 to Igaki et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,144,680 to Kobayashi et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,146,102 to Higuchi et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,180,901 to Hiramatsu; U.S. Pat. No. 5,210,588 to Lee; U.S. Pat. No. 5,210,797 to Usui et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,222,152 to Fishbine et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,230,025 to Fishbine et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,241,606 to Horie; U.S. Pat. No. 5,265,162 to Bush et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,321,242 to Heath, Jr.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,325,442 to Knapp; U.S. Pat. No. 5,351,303 to Willmore; U.S. Pat. No. 5,832,464 to Houvener et al, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Uniformly, the above patents disclose financial systems that require the user""s presentation of personalized tokens to authorize each transaction, thereby teaching away from tokenless biometric financial transactions. To date, the consumer financial transaction industry has had a simple equation to balance: in order to reduce fraud, the cost and complexity of the personalized token directly possessed by the user must increase.
As a result, there is a need for a new electronic financial transactions system that is highly fraud-resistant, practical, convenient for the consumer, and yet cost-effective to deploy. More specifically, there is a need for an electronic check financial transaction system that relies solely on a payor""s biometric for transaction authorization, and does not require the payor to directly possess any personalized man-made memory tokens such as smart cards, magnetic swipe cards, encoded paper checks or personal computers for identification.
Lastly, such a system must be affordable and flexible enough to be operatively compatible with existing networks having a variety of electronic transaction devices and system configurations.
Accordingly, it is the objective of the present invention to provide a new system and method of tokenless biometric financial transactions for electronic checks.
As such, it is an objective of the invention to provide an electronic check financial transaction system and method that eliminates the need for a payor to directly possess any personalized man-made token which is encoded or programmed with data personal to or customized for a single authorized user. Further, it is an objective of the invention to provide an electronic financial transaction system that is capable of verifying a user""s identity based on one or more unique characteristics physically personal to the user, as opposed to verifying mere possession of personalized objectives and information.
Another objective of the invention is to provide an electronic financial transaction system that is practical, convenient, and easy to use, where payors no longer need to remember personal identification numbers to access their financial accounts.
Another objective of the invention is to provide increased security in a very cost-effective manner, by completely eliminating the need for the payor to directly use ever more complicated and expensive personalized tokens.
Another objective of the invention is to provide an electronic financial transaction system that is highly resistant to fraudulent access attempts by unauthorized users.
Another objective of the invention is to authenticate the system to the payor once the electronic financial transaction is complete, so the payor can detect any attempt by criminals to steal their authentication information.
Another objective of the invention is that the payee be identified by an electronic third party identicator, wherein the payee""s identification is verified. Optionally, therefore, the payee would register with the electronic third party identicator payee identification data, which optionally comprises, a payee hardware ID code, a payee phone number, a payee email address, a payee digital certificate code, a payee financial account number, a payee biometric, or a payee biometric and PIN combination.
Still, another objective of the invention is to be added in a simple and cost-effective manner to existing terminals currently installed at points of sale and used over the Internet around the world.
Yet another objective of the invention is to be efficiently and effectively operative with existing financial transactions systems and protocols, specifically as these systems and protocols pertain to processing of electronic checks.
The invention satisfies these needs by providing a method and device for tokenless authorization of an electronic check between a payor and a payee using an electronic identicator and at least one payor bid biometric sample. The method comprises a payor registration step, wherein the payor registers with an electronic identicator at least one registration biometric sample, and at least one payor checking account. An electronic financial transaction is formed between the payor and the payee, comprising at least one payor bid biometric sample, wherein the bid biometric sample is obtained from the payor""s person, in a transaction formation step. Preferably in one transmission step the payor bid biometric sample is electronically forwarded to the electronic identicator. A comparator engine or the identification module of the identicator compares the bid biometric sample with at least one registered biometric sample for producing either a successful or failed identification of the payor. Once the identicator successfully identifies the payor, the payor""s previously registered checking account data is retrieved, and a biometric-based authorization of an electronic check is issued without the payor presenting any personalized man-made tokens such as paper checks or magnetic swipe cards to transfer funds from the payor""s checking account to a payee financial account.
The transaction formation step may optionally include a transaction amount in the electronic financial transaction.
The method may also optionally include a step in which the payor""s previously registered checking account data is electronically displayed to the payor, or electronically forwarded to a financial transaction processor.
The payor registration step may optionally further comprise registering a payor personal identification number with the electronic identicator.
The authorization system alternatively further comprises a payor resource determination step, wherein it is determined if the payor""s financial account has sufficient resources to be debited for the transaction amount.
Optionally, in a payor account selection step, after the payor has been successfully identified in the payor identification step, the tokenless authorization system presents at least one financial account which was registered by the payor with the tokenless authorization system for selection of one of the checking accounts by the payor for debiting. In a transaction payment step, the transaction amount is debited from a payor""s financial account. Preferably, at the same time, the transaction amount is credited to the payee""s financial account.
The present invention as described satisfies these objectives in a number of ways. First, it is extremely easy and efficient for people to use because it eliminates the need to directly possess and safeguard any personalized tokens in order to access their authorized electronic financial accounts. Anyone who has lost a checkbook or had their personal computer damaged or stolen, knows well the keen anxiety caused by such tokens. This invention direct addresses these concerns. The payor is now uniquely empowered, to conveniently conduct personal and/or professional electronic transactions at any time without dependence upon any tokens that may be stolen, lost or damaged.
The invention is clearly advantageous from a convenience standpoint to payees and financial institutions by making electronic check purchases and other financial transactions less cumbersome and more spontaneous. The paperwork of financial transactions is significantly reduced as compared to standard paper or electronic check transactions wherein the copies of the check must often be retained by the payee, financial institutions and the payor. Further, because the method and system of this invention is designed to provide a person with simultaneous direct access to all of his financial accounts, the need for transactions involving paper checks, paper money, credit drafts and the like will be greatly reduced, thereby reducing the cost of equipment and staff required to collect, account, and process such transactions.
Further, the substantial manufacturing and distributing costs of issuing and reissuing all personalized tokens such as paper checks, magnetic swipe cards, and smart cards, thereby providing further economic savings to issuing banks, businesses, and ultimately to consumers. Even the traditional requirement for internet electronic transactions of the payor needing to directly possess and use the ultimate personalized token, a personal computer with resident payor identification data, will be eliminated.
Moreover, the invention is markedly advantageous and superior to existing systems in being highly fraud resistant by determining identity and transaction authorization solely from an analysis of a user""s unique biometric characteristics.
These and other advantages of the invention will become more fully apparent when the following detailed description of the invention is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Tokenless biometric electronic check transactions


A circuit for detecting an input voltage includes a voltage-to-current converter and a current comparator. The voltage-to-current converter is operable for generating a monitoring current that varies in accordance with the input voltage. The current comparator coupled to the voltage-to-current converter is operable for comparing the monitoring current to a threshold current proportional to the temperature of the circuit, and for generating a detection signal indicating a condition of the input voltage based on a result of the comparison.

Electronic devices may not operate properly if a voltage level of a power supply drops below a predetermined threshold. FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a conventional under-voltage detection circuit 100. The under-voltage detection circuit 100 can include a bandgap circuit 102, a voltage comparator 104, and a voltage divider 106. The bandgap circuit 102 can generate a reference bandgap voltage which remains substantially constant if temperature varies. The voltage divider 106 receives an input voltage VIN, and provides a sense voltage proportional to the input voltage VIN at a node 108. The voltage comparator 104 compares the sense voltage to the reference bandgap voltage, and generates a detection signal UVA indicating an under-voltage condition if the sense voltage is less than the reference bandgap voltage. However, since a level of a current flowing through the voltage divider 106 is proportional to a level of the input voltage VIN, power consumption of the under-voltage detection circuit 100 may be increased when the input voltage VIN is increased.
FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of another conventional under-voltage detection circuit 200. The under-voltage detection circuit 200 includes a current generator 208 and a voltage comparator 204. The current generator 208 generates a current proportional to temperature (e.g., absolute temperature) of the under-voltage detection circuit 200. A first bandgap voltage generator constituted by a bipolar transistor Q2 and a resistor R3 can receive the current and can provide a first bandgap voltage accordingly. Similarly, a second bandgap voltage generator constituted by a bipolar transistor Q6 and a resistor R2 can provide a second bandgap voltage. Therefore, a sense voltage, e.g., equal to the input voltage VIN minus the first bandgap voltage, is obtained at a node 202. A threshold voltage, e.g., equal to the second bandgap voltage, is obtained at a node 201. The voltage comparator 204 generates a detection signal UVA indicating an under-voltage condition if the sense voltage is less than the threshold voltage.
However, the voltage comparator, e.g., the voltage comparator 104 or 204, may increase the complexity and cost of the under-voltage detection circuit 100 or 200. Moreover, oscillations of the under-voltage detection circuit 100 or 200 may be triggered. For example, if the sense voltage is increased to be greater than the threshold voltage and then decreased to be less than the threshold voltage in a relatively short time period, e.g., caused by noise of the under-voltage detection circuit, the detection signal UVA may oscillate between two states, e.g., a high electrical level and a low electrical level. Thus, stability of the under-voltage detection circuit 100 or 200 may be decreased.

Circuits and methods for voltage detection


An air actuator has a rigid piston at one end and a rigid housing and end cap at the other end with an intervening elastomeric flexible sleeve extending therebetween which forms a fluid pressure chamber. The rigid piston, elastomeric flexible sleeve, and rigid housing are all injection or blow molded as one integral piece of preferably a thermoplastic elastomer, while the end cap is injection or blow molded as a second integral piece of preferably a thermoplastic elastomer that is thereafter welded to the rigid housing to define an internal chamber that is pressurizable. The first piece consisting of the piston, flexible membrane and housing, is configured such that the walls of the housing and piston are thick and rigid while the walls of the flexible membrane are thin and thus flexible, thereby allowing the membrane to roll and bend such that the piston may axially move in relation to the housing.

1. Technical Field
The invention relates to air actuators, including air springs. More particularly, the invention relates to thermoplastic elastomeric air springs having a molded part containing a cap or piston and a rolling membrane all of which are of a nonreinforced construction that is injection or blow molded, where the integral cap and/or piston of the assembly may include integral interface clips for attachment to machinery or brackets, and where a separate cap or piston is attachable to the molded part to complete the air spring assembly. Specifically, the invention is a thermoplastic elastomeric nonreinforced air spring of an injection or blow molded design with an integral cap and/or piston having integral interface clips thereon where the air spring includes a thick rigid housing with an integral snap-fit therein, a thick rigid piston with an integral snap-fit therein where the thick rigid piston has a lesser diameter than the thick rigid housing and is seatable therein, and a thin rolling membrane extending between the thick rigid piston and the thick rigid housing, thereby defining an internal fluid pressure chamber that is pressurizable with a compressed fluid when an end cap is welded to the thick rigid housing.
2. Background Information
Pneumatic assemblies such as air actuators and springs have been used for many years for various purposes. The air actuator usually consists of a flexible rubber sleeve or bellows containing a supply of compressed fluid and a feed for increasing or decreasing the compressed fluid therein. The flexible sleeve is formed of a flexible elastomeric material often containing reinforcing cords, where the flexibility of the material permits a first end cap to move axially with respect to another end cap secured within the ends of the sleeve as the amount of compressed fluid is changed. Since the air actuator is positioned in between a movable or actuatable object and typically a fixed object, the movable object moves in correlation to this axial movement.
As to pneumatic springs, commonly referred to as air springs, the construction is similar with a flexible rubber sleeve or bellows containing a supply of compressible fluid. However, the air spring has one or more pistons movable with respect to the flexible sleeve. This piston causes compression and expansion of the fluid within the sleeve as the sleeve stretches or retracts, respectively, thereby absorbing shock loads and/or dampening vibrations. The flexible sleeve is formed of a flexible elastomeric material containing reinforcing cords and this permits the piston to move axially with respect to another piston or end cap secured within open ends of the sleeve. One application for such air springs is with motor vehicles where the spring provides cushioning between movable parts of the vehicle, primarily to absorb shock loads impressed on the vehicle axles by the wheel striking an object in the road or falling into a depression.
The general state of the art in this industry of air springs involves the current technology of the flexible sleeve being constructed of rubber that is reinforced with nylon cord. This nylon reinforced rubber sleeve must be attached in some manner to the piston or end caps on each end; which is presently accomplished by various forms of clamp assemblies. However, often these clamp assemblies present a problem in that ineffective sealing and/or clamping of the flexible sleeve to the end caps causes a lack of an airtight seal, which is critical to the functioning of an air spring.
In addition, another problem with existing air actuators and springs is the requirement of reinforcing the rubber sleeve with nylon or equivalent reinforcing cords. This reinforcing step adds extra expense and time to the manufacturing process of the overall air spring.
These and other problems and disadvantages exist in the current technology of air springs and air actuators. One of skill in the art will recognize and understand the above listed problems as well as others not described at this time. For this reason, a new and improved air spring and/or air actuator is needed having the objectives and advantages listed below.

deceasedby Joseph L. Tazewell,, Jr., executor


One embodiment provides a system for scheduling I/O resources of a virtual machine. During operation, in response to receiving a plurality of I/O requests, the system identifies a plurality of target virtual disks to which the I/O requests are to be sent, wherein a virtual disk corresponds to a previously created I/O queue. The system assigns a respective I/O request to the corresponding I/O queue for an identified target virtual disk. The system schedules I/O resources to be used by the respective I/O request based on a scheduling parameter that corresponds to the identified target virtual disk.

Field
This disclosure is generally related to cloud computing technology. More specifically, this disclosure is related to a method and system for scheduling input/output resources of a virtual machine.
Related Art
In computing, virtualization is a technology for managing computer resources by abstracting various physical resources (such as operating systems, servers, networks, and storage devices) as logical resources. Virtualization provides a way to use the physical resources without being tied to the original configuration and location of the physical resources. Virtualization may include the creation of a virtual machine that acts like a real computer with an operating system, and software executed on these virtual machines is separated from the underlying hardware resources. Virtualization also enables cloud computing, which is an internet-based computing that provides shared processing resources and data to computers and other devices on demand.
Storage properties play an essential role in virtualization and cloud computing. For example, a Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) is a virtualization technology for the Linux kernel in which a plurality of operating systems can be run on one physical entity. In KVM storage virtualization, multiple virtual disks may be used to share one input/output (I/O) thread. These multiple virtual disks that share one I/O thread may also share the same I/O queue. When one of these virtual disks requires or consumes more I/O resources, the other virtual disks which share the same I/O thread have access to a decreased amount of resources. This may result in an imbalance in the use and availability of I/O resources among the multiple virtual disks. Furthermore, an I/O operation corresponding to a virtual disk may be an interactive operation performed by a user. An imbalance in the availability of I/O resources may also impact the user's experience.

Method and system for scheduling input/output resources of a virtual machine


A carburetion system for providing improved cold start engine operation comprises a carburetor having an air-fuel passage, an air inlet to the passage, a fuel inlet to the passage for mixing fuel and air in the passage, and an outlet from the passage for delivering a mixture of air and vaporized fuel to the engine. A heater comprising a ceramic resistor body of a material of positive temperature coefficient of resistivity has a plurality of passages extending through the body and has means directing electrical current through the body for heating the body. The heater is mounted at the outlet of the air fuel passage of the carburetor with the heater body passages aligned with the air-fuel passage to pass the air-fuel mixture through the heater passages in heat-transfer relation to the body to facilitate vaporization and mixing of the fuel in the air-fuel mixture.

In a conventional carburetion system for an automotive engine, gasoline and air are drawn into a carburetor and are mixed in appropriate proportions for delivery to the engine. In this arrangement, it is desirable that the gasoline fuel be fully vaporized and mixed with the air to assure maximum fuel efficiency and to avoid release of unburned hydrocarbon pollutants to the atmosphere in the engine exhaust. However, particularly where operation of the engine is initiated from a cold start under low ambient temperature conditions, it is difficult to achieve full fuel vaporization in a conventional carburetion system. That is, where the temperature of the air and fuel drawn into the carburetor is low, and where the engine itself is also at a low temperature, full fuel vaporization does not always occur and the air-fuel mixture delivered to the engine tends to include droplets of unvaporized fuel. In this regard, conventional carburetors are adapted to provide a fuel rich air-fuel mixture under such operating conditions to facilitate motor starting and this results in incorporation of even greater amounts of unvaporized fuel in the air-fuel mixture. Attempts have been made to preheat the air-fuel mixture delivered to an automotive engine, but these attempts have not been fully effective in transferring heat to the air-fuel mixture and have not usually been fully operative sometime often after initiation of engine operation.
It is an object of this invention to provide a novel and improved carburetion system for an automotive engine; to provide such an improved carburetion system which achieves improved vaporization and mixing of fuel with air for delivery to an automotive engine; to provide such an improved system which efficiently and effectively heats an air-fuel mixture for achieving fuel vaporization prior to delivery of the air-fuel mixture to the engine; to provide such a system which is operative to heat the air-fuel mixture almost immediately after initiation of engine operation and to provide such an improved carburetion system which is easily and economically manufactured and which adapted for use with conventional automotive engines.
Briefly described, the novel and improved carburetion system of this invention includes a carburetor of any conventional type having an air-fuel passage, having an air inlet to the air fuel passage, having a fuel inlet to the air-fuel passage for mixing fuel with air in the air-fuel passage, and an outlet from the air-fuel passage for delivering a mixture of air and vaporized fuel to an automotive engine. The improved carburetion system of this invention then further includes a heater means preferably comprising a body of ceramic resistor material of positive temperature coefficient of resistivity which is adapted to display a sharp, anomalous increase in resistivity when the body is heated to a selected temperature. The resistor body is provided with a plurality of passage extending through the body between opposite ends of the body and means are provided for directing electrical current through the body for heating the body. The heater means is then mounted relative to the carburetor so that at least part of at least one consitituent of the air-fuel mixture is passed through the heater passages in heat-transfer relation to the heater body for facilitating vaporization of the fuel constituent of the air-fuel mixture. Preferably, for example, the heater means is mounted on the carburetor at the outlet of the air-fuel passage with the heater passages aligned with the air-fuel passage so that the air-fuel mixture provided by the carburetor is directed through the heater passages in efficient heat-transfer relation to the heater body. In this way, highly effective vaporization of the fuel in the air-fuel mixture is achieved prior to delivery of the air-fuel mixture to the engine. Alternately, the heater means is disposed in the air inlet to the air-fuel passage or in the fuel inlet to the air-fuel passage for permitting the air or fuel to pass through the heater body passages in heat-transfer relation to the heater body.
In a preferred embodiment of this invention, where the heater means is mounted at the outlet of the air-fuel passage for passing the air-fuel mixture through the heater passages, a screen mesh is mounted at the inlet side of the heater passages for dispersing fuel droplets in the air-fuel mixture to assure that the droplets are fully vaporized in passing through the heater passages. Preferably also, a screen mesh is mounted at the outlet side of the heater body passages to prevent any chips of the ceramic resistor body falling into the automotive engine. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the heater body is provided with contacts in ohmic contact relation to the ceramic resistor body, the heater body is enclosed in a housing having apertures aligned with the heater body passages, and terminal means are connected to the ohmic contacts to extend exteriorly of the housing. The housing is then provided with means for mounting the housing at the outlet of the air-fuel passage of the carburetor sealed to the carburetor with the housing apertures and the heater body passages aligned with the air-fuel passage. .

Early fuel evaporation of carburetion system


A novel method and apparatus for cutting a slit in the grip of a golf club to facilitate the removal of a golf grip from a golf club is disclosed. The disclosed grip removing device includes a mountable base having a club receiving portion and a back portion; a cutting member secured to the mountable base proximate the club receiving portion of the mountable base; and an alignment member movably secured to the back end of the mountable base. The disclosed method includes inserting a butt end of a golf club into the grip receiving portion of the grip removing device, positioning the cutting member to engage the grip, and pulling the butt end of the golf club from the grip receiving portion of the grip removing device to slit the grip along a longitudinal line to facilitate removal of the grip from the shaft. The inserting step may further include inserting the butt end of the golf club into an alignment member and moving the golf club within the alignment member relative to the base of the grip removing device to position the butt end of the club proximate to the cutting member.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to the removal of grips from handles or shafts. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus and method for facilitating the removal of a golf grip from its associated golf club shaft.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hand grips are used for a variety of devices, including sporting goods equipment. Used and/or worn grips, particularly in the golf field, present problems during the removal process. As basic components, a golf club includes a club head, a shaft and a grip. A golf shaft is generally a hollow tube that is tapered from its butt end to its tip. The club head is attached to the tapered tip of the golf shaft and provides the ball striking surface. A golf grip is attached to the "fat" butt end of the club that exhibits a more or less constant diameter and provides the handle for the golfer's hands.
A grip is generally a rubber sheath that fits around the butt end of the shaft. To attach a grip to the shaft of the golf club, the shaft is usually first wrapped with double-sided tape over a length of the shaft equivalent to the length of the grip. A solvent is then used to dissolve and lubricate the adhesive on the outside of the double-sided tape and lubricate the internal portion of the grip. Finally, the grip is slid into place over the double-sided tape at the butt end of the club. Once the solvent dries and the adhesive sets again, the grip should not move so that the position of the grip on the shaft remains constant.
When one desires to remove a grip from a golf club, e.g., to regrip the golf club, the old grip must be separated from the double-sided tape. One technique for removing a grip is to cut a longitudinal slit in the grip with the tip of a knife blade, razor blade or other cutting utensil (referred to herein as the "slit technique"). Once the grip has been cut along its length, the grip may be peeled away from the double-sided tape. The double-sided tape may then be removed to expose the original, ungripped shaft.
A different technique for removing a grip is to strip a section of the grip off the shaft using the broad face of a horizontally positioned razor blade (referred to herein as the "strip technique"). Once the strip is removed, the rest of grip may be pulled away from the double-sided tape.
If the shaft is made of some sort of fibre, as opposed to steel, and penetration of the blade into the grip during a removal process is too deep, the cutting tool may score and thereby damage the underlying shaft of the golf club. Particularly, with graphite fibre shafts, this scoring may lead to subsequent, undesirable fractures of the shaft during use. Such a fracture necessarily leads to an expensive replacement of the golf club shaft.
An additional disadvantage of most previously known devices is that they use nonstationary or hand-held blades, which exposes the person removing the grip to the danger of minor cuts to severe lacerations if a blade or club slips during cutting.
One prior device provides a horizontally positioned razor blade that is adapted to the strip technique. In use, this prior art device is held in place by a vise, while the grip of a club is pulled against the broad face of the razor blade to strip a section of the grip down the full length of the grip. However, it is believed that this device requires greater force to effect the cut (than is used for the slit technique) because the blade must essentially cut through more of the grip to actually remove a strip of finite width. In turn, requirement of greater force increases the possibility that the application of such force could bend, break, or otherwise harm a club. It is therefore desirable to provide a device that requires less effort in handling.
In turn, the fact that the blade encounters more of the grip increases the likelihood that the blade might become dull and increases the need to repeatedly sharpen or replace the blade to maintain performance of the device. Absent such measures, such previously known devices might quickly deteriorate in use.
By the same token, while there exist devices that utilize the slit technique, it is believed that such devices fail to provide a means to maintain a constant orientation of the blade relative to the grip and shaft. The provision of such consistent orientation is desirable to enhance cutting efficiency and consistency. In turn, such efficiency and consistency is desirable both for providing consistent quality of grip replacement and for minimizing club damage or injury to those performing the grip replacement.
Thus, a device is needed to facilitate the removal of a grip from the shaft of a golf club without the associated problems of damage to the shaft or injury to the operator.

Method and apparatus for facilitating the removal of golf grips


System and methods for the sampling of an optical signal by generating a plurality of copies of the spectrum of the said optical signal including at least one sampling block for the convolution between the optical input spectrum and an optical comb; wherein the said sampling block includes a modulator, and a bias voltage generator, the said sampling block is driven by an electrical comb generator and a phase shifter, the said electrical comb generator being configured to generate a number of N lines, with N from one to infinity, in the radio frequency domain, equally spaced in frequency and locked in phase, the said modulator being configured to generate a plurality of 2N+1 copies of the input spectrum from (i) the signal spectrum and (ii) a number of N lines provided by the said electrical comb generator.

During recent years, many efforts to increase the sampling rate and the effective number of bit (ENOB) of analogue-to-digital converters (ADC) have been made. Analogue-to-digital converters are required for the conversion of analogue into digital signals. These analogue signals can be wireless, like radar signals, they can be electrical, or optical signals. The network nodes of the internet for instance, require extensive analogue-to-digital conversion of coherent signals. The most common sampling method is a sampling with electronically sample-and-hold circuits. Since the data rates in the worldwide networks increase every year, these circuits come to their limits, which is expressed in a drastically increase of the energy consumption.
For an ideal sampling the signal-to-sample is multiplied by a Dirac-Delta pulse sequence. As a result, every single pulse of the sequence is weighted with the value of the signal-to-sample at this distinct time. This amplitude value can correspond to a voltage, a current, an electrical or magnetical field or any other measuring value. However, a Dirac-Delta sequence is just a mathematical construct. Due to causality, it cannot be generated in practice.
Electronically sample-and-hold circuits open a gate for a distinct time and take the value from the signal-to-sample during the time of the opening of the gate. Electronically samplers can only process electrical signals (current, voltage). Optical signals have to be transformed to the electrical domain by a photodiode or a balanced photo-detector, for instance. The sampled value will be further processed by the following electronics to form a complete analog-to-digital converter. The opening of the gate can be approximated by a rectangular function. Thus contrary to an ideal sampling, the signal-to-sample is multiplied by a rectangular pulse sequence. This leads to a distortion of the sampled signal, which has to be compensated by energy consuming electronics. The higher the sampling rate, the higher is the energy consumption of electronic analog-to-digital converters. Additionally, the analogue bandwidth of electronic samplers is restricted to a few 10th of GHz.
In contrast, optical sampling methods can sample very high analogue bandwidths. In an optical sampler the optical signal-to-sample is multiplied by a pulse sequence, generated by an optical pulse source, typically a mode-locked laser. For the multiplication a nonlinear effect like four wave mixing or cross phase modulation in a nonlinear crystal or a nonlinear fiber can be used. Another possibility is the multiplication between the signal-to-sample and the pulse source in a modulator or a balanced-photodetector, or -receiver. However the nonlinearities in the modulator, the balanced-receiver or the nonlinear element lead to a distortion of the sampled signal. At the same time, mode-locked lasers are quite expensive and they hinder an integration of optical sampling on a chip together with the required electronics in order to build a complete analog-to-digital converter. For the multiplication between the signal-to-sample and the pulse source in a modulator or a balanced receiver, the analogue bandwidth of the signal-to-sample is restricted by the bandwidth of the modulator or balanced receiver.

System and method for optical sampling without an optical source


A method for determining a connective tissue breakdown product in a body fluid from an animal includes steps of providing a standard comprising the breakdown product having a radioactive label, the standard having a known specific radioactivity, combining the standard and a sample of the body fluid, removing from the combined standard and sample a purified breakdown product fraction containing labelled breakdown product from the standard together with breakdown product from the sample, and measuring the specific radioactivity of the fraction as a measure of the quantity of the breakdown product in the sample. Also, methods for assessing a condition of a selected connective tissue in an animal in vivo, and for assessing in vivo a disease process that includes destruction of a specified connective tissue component, and for assessing in vivo the efficacy of a therapy for treatment of such a disease process, include the steps of the method for determining a connective tissue breakdown product.

This invention relates to measuring connective tissue breakdown products in a body fluid from an animal.
A breakdown of connective tissue components is believed to be a component of the pathogenesis of some chronic diseases. In chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ("COPD") and in cystic fibrosis ("CF"), for instance, the elastase load in the lungs is increased, and elastin destruction in the lungs is believed to be an ongoing part of the disease process; and proteolytic digestion of lung elastin is thought to be a primary event of the alveolar wall destruction that occurs in the pathogenesis of pulmonary emphysema. In one hypothesis, a sensitive assay for elastin degradation products in urine or blood might provide an indication of the process of alveolar wall destruction. Desmosine ("DES") and isodesmosine ("IDES") are the principal cross-linking amino acids in elastin. Because DES and IDES are unique to elastin, they are recognized as established markers for elastin and elastin degradation products in mammalian tissues and fluids. Moreover, DES and IDES are not metabolized, and are passed directly to the urine, and for these reasons, some attempts to monitor elastin breakdown products as an indication of the condition of the alveolar walls have been directed to measuring urinary desmosine.
Measurements of urinary desmosine ("DES") by means of radioimmunoassay ("RIA"), however, have to date failed to support an elastase-antielastase hypothesis of emphysema, suggesting to some workers a failure of the hypothesis.

Measuring connective tissue breakdown products in body fluids