A surface acoustic wave device includes a micro-machined pressure transducer for monitoring tire pressure. The device is configured having a micro-machined cavity that is sealed with a flexible conductive membrane. When an external tire pressure equivalent to the cavity pressure is detected, the membrane makes contact with ridges on the backside of the surface acoustic wave device. The ridges are electrically connected to conductive fingers of the device. When the detected pressure is correct, selected fingers on the device will be grounded producing patterned acoustic reflections to an impulse RF signal. When the external tire pressure is less than the cavity reference pressure, a reduced reflected signal to the receiver results. The sensor may further be constructed so as to identify itself by a unique reflected identification pulse series.

Safe, efficient and economical operation of a motor vehicle depends, to a significant degree, on maintaining correct air pressure in all (each) of the tires of the vehicle. Operating the vehicle with low tire pressure may result in excessive tire wear, steering difficulties, poor road-handling, and poor gasoline mileage, all of which are exacerbated when the tire pressure goes to zero in the case of a "flat" tire.
The need to monitor tire pressure when the tire is in use is highlighted in the context of "run-flat" or extended mobility tires, tires which are capable of being used in a completely deflated condition. Such run-flat tires, as disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,368,082, incorporated herein by reference, may incorporate reinforced sidewalls, mechanisms for securing the tire bead to the rim, and a non-pneumatic tire within the pneumatic tire to enable a driver to maintain control over the vehicle after a catastrophic pressure loss, and have evolved to the point where it is becoming less and less noticeable to the driver that the tire has become deflated. The broad purpose behind using run-flat tires is to enable a driver of a vehicle to continue driving on a deflated pneumatic tire for a limited distance prior to repair of the deflated tire. Hence, it is generally desirable to provide a low tire pressure warning system within the vehicle to alert the driver by way of a light or an audible alarm to the loss of air pressure in a pneumatic tire. In a general sense, such a warning system may also be utilized to identify the particular tire experiencing the loss of air pressure and trigger automatic means for tracking the mileage that the tire has been driven in the deflated condition.
To this end, a number of electronic devices and systems are known for monitoring the pressure of pneumatic tires and providing the operator of the vehicle with either an indication of the current tire pressure or alerting the operator when the pressure has dropped below a predetermined threshold level. It is also known to monitor tire pressure with an electronic device that is not merely a passive resonant circuit, but rather is capable of transmitting a radio frequency (RF) signal indicative of the tire pressure to a remotely-located receiver. Such a "transmitting device" may have its own power supply or, alternatively, may be activated by an RF signal from the remote receiver. In the latter form, the transmitting device is said to be "passive".
A typical tire monitoring system will have a receiver with one or more antennas for receiving signals from the tags in each of the tires on the vehicle. The tags may be packaged and mounted within the tire cavity or, alternatively mounted to the valve stem in communication with the tire cavity. In order to report tire conditions that are properly identified with each of the tires on the vehicle, the monitoring system receiver must be able to determine from which tire the received RF signals originates. It is known, accordingly, to incorporate within each tag a unique identifying code (ID) and to configure the tag to include its ID within a data stream transmitted by the tag.
Various means for measuring air pressure are utilized within known tire pressure monitoring systems. It is known, as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,578,992, to use a pressure-sensitive capacitor forming a passive oscillatory circuit having a resonant frequency which varies with tire pressure. Other suitable pressure transducers known in the art include piezoelectric devices; silicon capacitive pressure transducers; variable-conductive laminates of conductance ink; and devices formed of a variable-conductance elastomeric composition. While functionally adequate in theory, such devices are relatively costly, and are less than satisfactory because of the difficulty in calibrating the devices and accurately and predictably measuring analog frequency or voltage variations. In addition, such known devices, in association with electronic circuitry for transmitting pressure data, have been plagued by difficulties inherent in the tire environment. Such difficulties include effectively and reliably coupling RF signals into and out of the tire, the rugged use the tire and electronic components are subjected to, as well as the possibility of deleterious effects on the tire from incorporation of the pressure transducer and electronics in a tire/wheel system. In the context of passive RF transponders that are powered by an external reader, another problem is generating predictable and stable voltage levels within the transponder so that the circuitry within the transponder can perform to its design specification.
It is further known to incorporate within surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices a programmable reflection pulse sequence by adding several sets of additional conductive stripes and then selectively floating and grounding them. A surface acoustic wave is reflected by any acoustic impedance discontinuity that it encounters in its path. By grounding the inter-digitated transducer on the surface of the device (i.e. in the path of the SAW wave), a change in the impedance discontinuity occurs and the acoustic reflection is increased. By electrically floating the inter-digitated transducer, the acoustic impedance discontinuity is reduced minimizing the acoustic reflection. Such devices are powered by an RF signal; data is stored on a read only memory (ROM); and the system is placed in position to be interrogated.
Such devices may have application, for example, in a high-speed rail traffic control system where a passing train interrogates a SAW device in the track as it passes. The reflection parameter from the SAW device is controlled by inputting the data stored on the ROM onto the reflection transducers. Thus, the reflection parameter signal is modulated as a function of time and the data is transferred thereby from the ROM via the SAW device to the train receiver. The data may describe the location and other information from the passive SAW device system to the train as it passes.


A process for operating a fuel cell installation and a fuel cell installation for carrying out the process include at least one fuel cell block. A process gas for the fuel cell block is fed into the fuel cell block with a liquid ring compressor. In this way, the process gas is humidified at the same time as it is compressed, thus using the compression heat simultaneously as evaporation enthalpy, as well as the heat from the cooling circuit of the fuel cell stack.

Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a process for operating a fuel cell installation and to a fuel cell installation for carrying out the process.
It is known that, during the electrolysis of water, the water molecules are decomposed by electric current into hydrogen and oxygen. In fuel cells, that process takes place in reverse. During the electrochemical combination of hydrogen and oxygen to form water, electric current is produced with high efficiency, and when pure hydrogen is used as a process gas, it is produced without the emission of pollutants and carbon dioxide. Even with technical process gases, for example natural gas or coal gas, and with air, or air enriched with O.sub.2 instead of pure oxygen, a fuel cell produces considerably less pollutants and less CO.sub.2 than other forms of energy production which operate by using fossil energy sources. The technical implementation of the fuel cell principle has given rise to a wide variety of solutions, and more precisely with different electrolytes and with operating temperatures of between 1000.degree. C. and 800.degree. C. Fuel cells are divided, depending on their operating temperature, into low, medium and high temperature fuel cells, which in turn differ through various technical embodiments.
A fuel cell block, which is also referred to as a "stack" in the specialist literature, is generally composed of a multiplicity of fuel cells stacked on one another.
A problem which arises in this case is that of humidifying and compressing the process gases before they enter the fuel cell block, since the enthalpy of vaporization needs to be provided for the humidification. Devices with membrane humidification or water injection after compression are known from the literature, for example from German Patent DE 43 18 818 C2. One aspect which cannot be ignored is, moreover, the overall size of the membrane humidifier, which is of the same order as that of the fuel cell block, and leads to an additional requirement for space. Both solutions are found to be cost-intensive.
Further, German Published, Non-Prosecuted Patent Application DE 42 01 632 A1 discloses a process for humidifying at least one reactant flowing to an acidic or alkaline fuel cell. That reactant is only separated from the same reactant flowing out of the fuel cell by a semipermeable membrane.
In addition, Published French Patent Application 2 349 221 describes a fuel cell installation in which two liquid ring pumps feed the gases into the fuel cells. The off-gases of the fuel cells are fed back in a circuit and separated from entrained potassium carbonate electrolyte as a result of the latter being transferred into the liquid ring by centrifugal force in the liquid ring pump.

Process for operating a fuel cell installation and fuel cell installation for carrying out the process


A belt slippage correcting device and method for correcting slippage of a belt which is transported in a predetermined direction. The belt slippage correcting device has a slippage detecting device for detecting slippage of the belt in a direction perpendicular to the belt transporting direction and a moving device for moving the belt in the direction perpendicular to the belt transporting direction and control device for controlling the moving device based on the detected slippage of the belt by the belt slippage detecting device The slippage of the belt is corrected while the moving velocity of the belt in the direction perpendicular to the belt transporting direction is maintained within a predetermined scope of velocity. The device and method may be used in an image forming apparatus, such as an electrophotographic image forming apparatus.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a belt slippage correcting device used to correct the slippage of a belt conveyed such that it circulates along a prescribed route. Belts that are conveyed such that they circulate along a prescribed route include, for example, in the area of electrophotographic image forming devices, a belt-shaped photosensitive member, an intermediate transfer belt and a fusing belt used in image formation.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, various types of devices have been proposed as belt slippage correcting devices to correct the slippage of a belt conveyed such that it circulates along a prescribed route. For example, in the area of electrophotographic image forming devices, many belt slippage correcting devices that correct the position of the belt by changing the tilt angle of one of the suspension rollers supporting the belt have been proposed, as belt slippage correcting devices to correct the slippage of a belt-shaped photosensitive member, intermediate transfer belt, fusion belt, etc. However, these belt slippage correcting devices have low correction accuracy and in particular, when used on belts used for image formation, such as a belt-shaped photosensitive member and intermediate transfer belt, there are cases where color discrepancies and image discrepancies occur due to said slippage.

Belt slippage correcting device which controls movement of the belt in a direction perpendicular to the belt transporting direction


An adjustable ankle compress (10) in the shape of a boot (12) with an ankle portion (18) and a foot portion (16) for receiving the ankle and foot and having a sole (14) on the boot (12) that is adjustable in width for varying the size of the boot (12) to accommodate a foot and ankle of various sizes. The boot (12) has a fluid-tight compartment (36) formed therein for substantially surrounding the ankle and the top of the foot.

The human ankle and foot may be injured by sprains, contusions, bruises, degenerative joint diseases, arthritis, and arthroscopic operations. Such injuries may cause hematomas and inflamed areas that need to be treated. In such cases, it has been found advantageous to apply a compress of some type to the injured area to effect more rapid healing. In some cases, the compress may include a cold, or sometimes hot, substance. Where a cold substance is required, ice packs have been used and more recently a compress of some type has been used that is filled with a cold liquid and the compress is then applied to the injured area. Some devices, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,900,035, form an elastic bandage for an ankle. The bandage has a shape to receive a foot and has a plurality of liquid pockets embedded in the elastic bandage to fit tightly to the foot and around the ankle. The pockets are filled with a material that can be cooled or heated.
A number of liquid filled devices of the prior art are in a form generally as rectangular bladders or U-shaped bladders which have either a filling cap through which the liquid is inserted or which has the liquid permanently sealed inside a cavity. With each of these devices, it is difficult to secure the bladder properly to the affected area so that proper healing can take place. Further, some of these devices have straps at fixed angles and yet have to accommodate many different sizes of ankles. Friction points result in some circumstances because the straps must be flexed to adjust an angle. Further, fixed straps do not always allow for complete overlap of Velcro areas and the exposed Velcro may rub against an outer garment and is a source of irritation.
Also, some of the prior art devices allow the liquid therein to be frozen by placing the device filled with the liquid in a conventional freezer compartment. The frozen package is then attached to the affected part of the body. These devices are disadvantageous because the frozen liquid prevents the bag from conforming to the shape of the affected area. Other devices have a relatively thin bladder which allows the layer of ice to be broken into smaller particles so that the bladder can be shaped to the area against which it is placed.
While the above-described devices illustrate a steady improvement in the art for treatment of ankle injuries, they are still lacking in many respects. For instance, there is still a problem with getting a thermal compression device to adequately contact the injured area of the body in a uniform manner. Also, it is desirable to vary the compression depending upon the injury being treated.
The present invention relates to an improved ankle sprain management system including a thermal compress in the shape of a boot that may be used to treat an injured ankle. The improved boot-shaped thermal compress is adjustable to accommodate a foot and ankle of various sizes. The boot-shaped body has an ankle portion and a foot portion for receiving the ankle and foot. A sole on the boot is adjustable in width for varying the size of the boot-shaped body to accommodate various size ankles and feet. The adjustable sole has an inner portion pivotally attached to one side of the bottom of the boot-shaped body and an outer portion pivotally attached to the other side of the bottom of the boot-shaped body and overlapping the inner portion. Hooks and loops mounted on the overlapping portions of the inner and outer sole portions allow the outer portion to overlap the inner portion in any desired amount so as to adjust the width of the boot. The novel boot contains a fluid-tight compartment for substantially surrounding the ankle and the top of the foot. It has closable access means coupled to the compartment for allowing a fluid of predetermined temperature to be entered into the compartment for aiding and treatment of the foot and ankle. An open toe is formed in the foot portion of the boot-shaped body and an elongated opening extends from the top of the front of the boot-shaped body to the open toe to facilitate placement of the foot in the boot-shaped body. A zipper closes the opening after the foot is inserted in the boot. A container holds a liquid such as ice water and a hose or conduit couples the container to the closable access means to enable the liquid from the container to enter the compartment in the boot-shaped body.
Thus, it is one aspect of the present invention to provide an adjustable ankle compress in the shape of a boot that has a sole on the boot that is adjustable in width for varying the size of the boot to accommodate a foot and ankle of various sizes.
It is another aspect of the present invention to provide an adjustable ankle compress in the shape of a boot that has an adjustable sole with an inner portion pivotally attached to one side of the botom of the boot and an outer portion pivotally attached to the other side of the bottom of the boot and overlapping the inner portion with hook and loops mounted on the overlapping portions to allow the outer portion to overlap the inner portion in any desired amount so as to adjust the width of the boot.
It is also an aspect of the present invention to provide an adjustable ankle compress in the shape of a boot having a fluid-tight compartment formed in the boot for substantially surrounding the ankle and the top of the foot with closable access means coupled to the compartment for allowing a fluid of predetermined temperature to be entered into the compartment for aiding in treatment of the foot and ankle.
It is still another aspect of the present invention to provide an adjustable ankle compress in the shape of a boot having an open toe and having a zipper extending from the top of the front of the boot to the open toe to facilitate placement of the foot in the boot.


A temperature sensing assembly includes a temperature sensor having a first end and a second end and an adjustable clamping mechanism configured to adjustably couple the temperature sensor to a tube of the temperature sensing assembly. The temperature sensing assembly further includes a thermowell having a proximal and distal end, the proximal end being configured to attach to an adapter of the temperature sensing assembly and the distal end being configured to receive the second end of the temperature sensor. In addition, the adjustable clamping mechanism may be configured to fix the temperature sensor to the tube at any point along the temperature sensor.

The present disclosure relates generally to temperature sensing assemblies for use with industrial processes. In particular, this disclosure relates to temperature sensors for use with thermowells.
Industrial process temperature sensing apparatuses may be used to sense a temperature of fluid flowing through a conduit or contained within a vessel. A temperature sensing apparatus includes a temperature sensor and may also include a protective container. The temperature sensor may have a temperature sensing device at or near a sensor tip and, if inserted into a protective container, may come into contact with a base of the protective container. The protective container is designed to be, in physical contact with the fluid to protect the temperature sensor within the protective container from physical or chemical damage from the fluid (e.g., impacts, corrosion, etc.), while efficiently conducting heat between the fluid and the temperature sensor tip. However, a lack of physical contact between the sensor tip and the base of the protective container may reduce the conduction efficiency, resulting in a slow response speed by the temperature sensor to changes in fluid temperature, and may also introduce an error in a temperature reading.

Adjustable spring loaded adapter for temperature sensor


Provided are a drive device and drive method for a vacuum fluorescent display that can suppress brightness variations in display images and improve display quality. A drive device for a vacuum fluorescent display is provided with a positive electrode unit in which a plurality of positive electrodes to which a phosphor is applied are disposed in a matrix shape and a negative electrode filament that discharges electrons toward the positive electrode unit. The device is provided with: a first magnetic field generating means that generates a first magnetic field perpendicular to the direction in which the positive electrode unit and the negative electrode filament face each other and that can periodically switch polarity; and a second magnetic field generating means that generates a second magnetic field that is perpendicular to the direction in which the positive electrode unit and the negative electrode filament face each other and crosses the first magnetic field and that can periodically switch polarity.

As an exemplary vacuum fluorescent display (VFD), a configuration disclosed in Patent Literature 1 is known. This vacuum fluorescent DISPLAY is an active matrix type vacuum fluorescent display in which a plurality of fluorescent substance-coated anodes are arranged in a matrix pattern, a positive voltage is selectively applied to these anodes to cause thermoelectrons emitted from a cathode filament to collide with the fluorescent substance on arbitrary anodes, whereby a luminous display of a desired image is performed.

Drive device and drive method for vacuum fluorescent display


Compounds which have enhanced affinity and selectivity for 5-HT6 receptors have been identified. These compounds can be used therapeutically in the treatment of mental disorders via administration in a pharmacologically acceptable delivery route to a patient in need thereof, or can be used to identify antagonists of 5-HT6 receptors by well known screening methodologies which could themselves be used in the treatment of mental disorders.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the synthesis of novel ligands selective for a subgroup of receptors for serotonin (5-HT). While there are seven subgroups of 5-HT receptors, this invention is selective for the 5-HT6 subgroup. This invention also relates to the synthesis of novel ligands selective for the 5-HT6 subgroup receptor that act as agonists to the natural ligands for this receptor. The invention also relates to the creation of novel ligands that act as antagonists to the 5-HT6 receptor. The invention further relates to use of said compounds to treat mammals adversely affected by conditions mediated by the 5-HT6 receptor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Serotonin receptors have been divided into a number of families and subfamilies (5-HT1-5-HT7) and approximately 14 populations have been cloned. One of the newest populations identified is the 5-HT6 subgroup. It has been observed that various tricyclic psychotropic agents (neuroleptics, antidepressants, and atypical neuroleptics agents) bind the 5-HT6 receptor with nanomolar affinities (Roth et al. J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 1994, 268, 1403-1410). A rat 5-HT6 receptor was first cloned in 1993 and, more recently, the same group described the cloning of a human 5-HT6 receptor. The 5-HT6 serotonin receptors are members of the G-protein superfamily, are positively coupled to an adenylate cyclase second messenger system. and are found primarily in the central nervous system. Serotonin bound to the 5-HT6 receptor subgroup causes an activation of the adenylate cyclase enyme, with concomitant increased levels of intracellular cAMP. Although the exact physiological function and clinical significance of the 5-HT6 receptor subgroup is not known, as noted above, many anti-psychotic agents bind these receptors with high affinity. Also, in rats that do not express 5-HT6 receptors, the animals behave in a manner that seems to involve an increase in cholinergic function, suggesting that 5-HT6 specific ligands might be of value in the treatment of anxiety-related disorders and memory deficits.
Upon binding to cellular receptors, ligands may act as agonists or antagonists to endogenous receptor-ligand function. In the case of the 5-HT6 receptor, several specific ligands have been discovered which act as 5-HT6 specific antagonists, but prior to the present invention, selective ligands which act as agonists to the 5-HT6 receptor were unknown.
It is an object of the invention to create derivatives of serotonin (5-HT) that specifically bind the 5-HT6 receptor subgroup of the serotonin receptor family. It is another object of this invention to create 5-HT6-selective ligands that act as agonists when bound to the 5-HT6 receptor. It is further an object of this invention to create 5-HT6-selective ligands that act as antagonists when bound to the 5-HT6 receptor. Furthermore, the compounds of the present invention that possess antagonist activity are tryptamine derivatives and are structurally unrelated to previously described 5-HT6 antagonists. It is further an object of this invention to administer 5-HT6 selective ligands to animals to determine the physiological and biochemical effects of specific activation and inhibition of 5-HT6 receptor function. Finally, it is an object of this invention to treat mental disorders mediated by 5-HT6 function by administering to treatment subjects the 5-HT6-selective agonists and antagonist compounds described herein.
Various indolealkylamines, including serotonin(5-HT) and 5-methoxytryptamine, have been observed to bind the 5-HT6 receptor with high affinity and produce a potent dose-dependent increase in cAMP levels. These tryptamines, however, are non-selective and bind at multiple families of 5-HT receptors. According to the invention, various modifications of 5-HT have been made to generate ligands with selectivity for the 5-HT6 receptor. An analog of 5-HT with a 2-methyl substituent introduced (2-methyly-5-HT) binds the 5-HT6 receptor with an affinity equivalent to that of the parent compound. The above analog is selective for the 5-HT6 and 5-HT3 receptors and binds at the 5-HT6 subgroup with a 20 fold greater affinity than at 5-HT3 receptors.
A 2-methyl analog of 5-methoxytryptamine, 5-methoxy-2-methyltryptamine, binds to the 5-HT6 receptor with an affinity comparable to 2-methyl-5-HT. However, 5-methoxy-2-methyltryptamine lacks affinity for 5-HT3 receptors. Thus, 5-methoxy-2-methyltryptamine presents a ligand with specificity for the 5-HT6 receptor subgroup. In the present invention, the 5-methoxy-2-methyltryptamine compound has been modified and several of its alkyl derivatives bind with comparable affinity and activate adenylate cyclase activity at levels comparable to serotonin. Furthermore, one derivative, 5-methoxy-2-phenylotryptamine, binds to the 5-HT6 receptor with a high affinity but the phenyl addition renders the compound an antagonist to 5-HT stimulated adenylate cyclase activity.


In a power supply controller 10 having a self-protective mechanism for performing, intermittently or periodically, a forced ON-OFF operation which causes a power MOSFET 15 to perform an automatically restorable primary disconnecting operation and a restoring operation when an overcurrent anomaly or an short-circuiting anomaly is detected, an automatically unrestorable secondary disconnecting operation is performed when the accumulated amount of the duration of the forced ON-OFF operation reaches an accumulation threshold.

A power supply controller, in which a high-power semiconductor switching element such as a power MOSFET is disposed on a current supply line connected between a power source and a load, is conventionally provided. The power supply to the load is controlled by switching the semiconductor switching element between ON and OFF. In such a power supply controller, it is known that a self-protective function is provided for protecting its own switching element described above by controlling the potential of the control terminal of the semiconductor switching element so as to turn off the switching element in response to an occurrence of overcurrent. Specifically, as shown in JP-A-2001-217696, a current detecting resistor is serially connected to the load terminal (e.g., the source or drain in the case of a MOSFET). The voltage drop in the resistor is detected, and the occurrence of overcurrent is determined if the voltage drop is larger than a predetermined level.
The current blocking due to the above-described self-protective function is automatically restored, that is, the switching element is turned on again, when a predetermined time has elapsed after the blocking. This is because the function is provided to prevent the semiconductor switching element itself from overheating and, when the abnormal current is blocked, the temperature of the semiconductor switching element should be immediately lowered by a heat radiator conventionally provided therein.
For example, in case that short-circuiting has occurred in an external circuit, i.e., a load of the power supply controller, the above means that an ON-OFF operation, in which the semiconductor switching element is immediately tuned off in response to the short-circuiting current and thereafter turned on when the predetermined time has elapsed, is repeated. According to this, the semiconductor switching element is likely to overheat and thereby damaged depending on the radiating characteristics, or an electric wire or the like in the external circuit connected to this power supply controller may be burnt out. Therefore a fuse element is conventionally provided in the external circuit in consideration of its resistance and thermal property, and the circuit is generally disconnected by burning out the fuse element at the time of occurrence of short-circuiting current or the like so as not to be automatically restored.
However, the additionally provided fuse element results in an overall larger device. Thus, the problem arises that the above device fails to meet the recently growing demand of miniaturization of the device or integration in the circuit construction.
The present invention was made in view of the foregoing circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a power supply controller capable of protecting an external circuit utilizing the self-protective function of a semiconductor switching element.


A wireless communication system has a queue information search unit for searching a queue-status information provided in a packet unit, a communication priority decision unit for deciding communication priority of external devices based on the queue-status information, giving a higher priority to the external device having a greater number of packets in queues, a communication initiation unit for initiating a communication with the external devices according to the communication priority, a counter for counting the number of times that the communication is initiated for each of the external devices, and a comparator for comparing a counter value of a first external device that corresponds to a transmitted data with a counter value of a second external device that has a maximum counter value. Accordingly, when the wireless communication device transmits and receives data with respect to the plural wireless communication devices, both high throughput and high fairness can be guaranteed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a remote wireless communication system such as a Bluetooth system and a communication method thereof, and more particularly, to a wireless communication system capable of guaranteeing both high throughput and fairness of wireless communication devices during data transmission and reception between one wireless communication device and plural wireless communication devices, and a communication method thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Bluetooth is a code name of a wireless data communication technology that is applied in the fields of electronics and telecommunications, networking, computing and consumables. The Bluetooth technology can replace various cables that otherwise would be required to be connected between the communication devices for each wireless communication connection, and enables wireless communication within short distances. For example, the Bluetooth technology applied in a mobile telephone and a laptop computer enables connection of the mobile phone and the laptop computer without requiring cables. Almost all digital devices, including a printer, a personal digital assistant, a desktop PC, a facsimile machine, a keyboard and a joystick, can be a part of the Bluetooth system.
Generally, Bluetooth operates with a maximum data transmission speed of 1 Mbps and at a maximum transmission distance of 10 m. As '1 Mbps' is a data transmission speed within the industrial scientific medical (ISM) frequency band of 2.4 GHz which can be used by a user without a license, the transmission speed can be easily achievable at low cost. The maximum transmission distance is also set as 10 m in consideration of the fact that 10 m is sufficient a distance in the office for a mobile device carried by a user and a PC on the desk to communicate.
Having been designed to operate in a radio frequency environment that is laden with noises, Bluetooth enables stable data transmission and reception even at a noisy wireless frequency by using frequency hopping with the hopping rate of 1600 hops per second. The frequency hopping is often called as a frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) scheme. In the FHSS scheme, a given frequency band is segmented into lots of hopping channels, so that when a firstly modulated signal (intermediate frequency) from a transmitter is converted into the radio frequency band of 2.4 GHz, the signals are appointed to different hopping channels in a predetermined order. Since signal appointing channels change at rapid speed, influences by multi-channel interference and narrow bandwidth impulse noise can be lessened. At a receiver's end, the original signals are recovered as the signals distributed to the hopping channels are connected with each other in the same order as at the transmitter's end. IEEE 802.11 uses 79 hopping channels, and each of the hopping channels is arranged at a 1 MHz interval. At least a 6 MHz interval is set between two temporally neighboring hopping channels so that inter-channel interference can be avoided when the signals are allotted with hopping over many channels. Speed of changing hopping channels (i.e., hopping rate) is also set to be more than 2.5 times per second.
In addition to one-to-one connection, the Bluetooth system also supports one-to-multi connection. As shown in the Bluetooth system of FIG. 1, there may be several piconets constructed and connected, while each piconet is characterized by the respective frequency hopping priorities. The piconet is one unit of Bluetooth system, in which more than one slave is connected to a single master. One piconet has one master, and can have up to 7 slaves. For example, FIG. 1 shows piconets A and B, piconet A having a master 10 and three slaves 13, and piconet B having a master 10 and one slave 13. The master device decides overall properties of the channels within the piconet. The Bluetooth device address (BD_ADDR) of the master determines frequency hop sequence and channel access code. In other words, the clock of the master determines a phase of hop sequence and sets timing. Also, the master controls traffic in the channels. Any digital device can be a master, and the role of a master and a slave can change after a piconet is established.
Basically, a master device and a slave device perform bi-directional communication by time division duplex (TDD) in the unit of 1 hopping slot (625 μs= 1/600 sec). A plurality of piconets connected in a certain structure is called a 'scatternet'.
FIG. 2 is a view showing the communications between the master and the slave by TDD. Referring to FIG. 2, the length of each channel allotted to a time slot is 625 μs. The number of time slots is decided according to the Bluetooth clock of the piconet master. The master and slave may selectively transmit packets by the time slots. That is, while the master transmits packets only in even-numbered time slots, the slave transmits packets only in odd-numbered time slots. Packets that are transmitted either by master or slave must be realized within the 5 time slots. A 'packet' refers to the unit of data being transmitted in the piconet channel.
When more than 2 slaves access 1 master in the piconet, the master assigns temporary 3-bit addresses to the slaves for later use to distinguish the slaves when they are activated. In other words, all the packets being exchanged between the master and the slaves carry AM_ADDR. The AM_ADDR is represented as the member address, which identifies active members participated in the piconet. Not only in the packet transmitted from the master to the slave, the AM_ADDR is also used in the packet transmitted from the slave to the master. The AM_ADDR is given up if it is assigned when the slave is not connected to the master, or when the slave is in a park mode. Then a new AM_ADDR is required to be assigned when the slave is re-connected to the master. One piconet has no more than one master and seven slaves because the AM_ADDR that the master assigns to the active slaves is set with 3-bits in length. In other words, since the address "000" among maximum 8 addresses is used for broadcasting from the master to the slave, the rest of the addresses, i.e., the 7 addresses from "001" to "111" can be used.
When one master transmits and receives data with more than two slaves in the piconet, the master segments time slot at uniform intervals and allocates the respective time slots to the slaves, and transmits and receives data through the allocated time slots. Accordingly, data collision is avoided.
Usually, the master transmits and receives data with the respective slaves wirelessly using the round-robin polling.
FIG. 3 is a view showing data transmission/reception by the round-robin polling in the case where one master communicates with 3 slaves. Referring to FIG. 3, the round-robin polling only allows the slave polled by the master to send the data. In other words, the master can transmit data in the even-numbered slots, while the slaves, which are polled by the master, can transmit data in the adjacent odd-numbered slots. The rest slaves, i.e., unpolled slaves, may not transmit the data in the corresponding slots. In this case, the master sequentially polls slave 1, slave 2 and slave 3, by which the respective master-slave pairs transmit and receive data in the transmission rate that is one third of the overall transmission rate.
According to the round-robin polling, there is no problem when the master-slave pairs respectively have the same transmission rate. However, if the transmission rate of each master-slave pair is not identical, system efficiency degrades. In other words, since each allotted slot is used for the exchange of POLL-NULL packets regardless of whether one master-slave pair has no, or less data transmission than the other master-slave pairs, slot wastage occurs, and as a result, overall performance of the system degrades.

Wireless communication system and method using the same


The present technique provides for the use of spectroscopic probes, such as Raman probes, within the conduits of a polyolefin production system. The Raman probe or other spectroscopic probes may be used to obtain spectroscopic measurements of the contents of the conduits. The spectroscopic measurements may be processed and analyzed to determine the composition of the conduit contents. In addition, the spectroscopic measurements may be used in conjunction with correlations or other statistical models to determine one or more properties of interest of a constituent of the conduit contents. One or more processes upstream and/or downstream of the conduit may be adjusted in response to the determined composition or composition properties.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the monitoring and/or control of chemical and petrochemical production and, more specifically, to the use of Raman spectrometry in the monitoring and/or control of polyolefin production.
2. Description of the Related Art
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present invention, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
As chemical and petrochemical technologies have advanced, the products of these technologies have become increasingly prevalent in society. In particular, as techniques for bonding simple molecular building blocks into longer chains, or polymers, have advanced, the polymer products, typically in the form of various plastics, have been increasingly incorporated into various everyday items. For example, polyolefin polymers, such as polyethylene and polypropylene and their copolymers, are used for retail and pharmaceutical packaging, food and beverage packaging (such as juice and soda bottles), household containers (such as pails and boxes), household items (such as appliances, furniture, carpeting, and toys), automobile components, pipes, conduits, and various industrial products.
Specific types of polyolefins, such as high density polyethylene (HDPE), have particular applications in the manufacture of blow-molded and injection-molded goods, such as food and beverage containers, film, and plastic pipe. Other types of polyolefins, such as low density polyethylene (LDPE), linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), isotactic polypropylene (iPP), and syndiotactic polypropylene (sPP) are also suited for similar applications. The mechanical requirements of the application, such as tensile strength and density, and/or the chemical requirements, such thermal stability, molecular weight, and chemical reactivity, typically determine what polyolefin or type of polyolefin is suitable.
One benefit of polyolefin construction, as may be deduced from the list of uses above, is that it is generally non-reactive with goods or products with which it is in contact. This allows polyolefin products to be used in residential, commercial, and industrial contexts, including food and beverage storage and transportation, consumer electronics, agriculture, shipping, and vehicular construction. The wide variety of residential, commercial and industrial uses for polyolefins has translated into a substantial demand for raw polyolefin which can be extruded, injected, blown or otherwise formed into a final consumable product or component.
To satisfy this demand, various processes exist by which olefins may be polymerized to form polyolefins. Typically, these processes are performed at petrochemical facilities, which have ready access to the short-chain olefin molecules such as ethylene, propylene, butene, pentene, hexene, octene, and other building blocks of the much longer polyolefin polymers. Regardless of which process is used, the polyolefin product may deviate from the desired product in various ways. For example, the polyolefin product may have a different mechanical properties, such as density, hardness, or flexibility, and/or chemical properties, such as melting temperature or melt flow index, than what is desired. These deviations may arise for various reasons, such as varying catalyst activity, reactant purity, improper reaction conditions, transitions between product grades, and so on. However, if the deviation is not discovered until late in the reaction process, significant resources, both in material and energy, may be spent producing an unacceptable polyolefin product.
Similarly, after the polyolefin product is produced, further downstream processing, such as extrusion and additive addition, may occur. These downstream processes offer further opportunity for deviation from the desired final product and may also result in wasted resources if the deviations are not discovered in a timely manner. Therefore, both in the production and in the processing of the polyolefin product, it is desirable to discover deviations as rapidly as possible and, where appropriate, to make corrections to the processes to minimize the waste of product or resources.

Method and apparatus for monitoring polyolefin production


A system and method are provided for remote notification, diagnostics, and remedy management. The method includes interfacing a monitored system for an enterprise via a carrier network, and when the monitored system detects a problem, notifying the selected appropriate user by sending a notification to the user's mobile device, and confirming delivery of the notification. The method also includes authenticating the user according to at least one of 1) the user's subscriber identifier, and 2) the user's mobile device identifier. Optionally, the user may be additionally authenticated at a second layer according to a user name password identifier provided by the user at a prompt. The method additionally includes enabling access via the mobile device to the monitored system using one or more customized applications that enable diagnosis and remediation of the problem.

With various technologies, today's workforce is becoming increasingly mobile. For example, telecommuting from a remote terminal located in an employee's home has become routine. Various telecommunications devices have enabled employees to send and receive emails, as well as receive and make telephone calls from remote locations as if made from the office.
These technologies have yet to fully mobilize the employee, in that for many enterprise-crucial activities including problem management, the employee must still log in to the enterprise network from a remote terminal. Individuals who serve as on-call problem management are still tied to the office or a remote terminal in their home in order to handle diagnostics and repairs upon discovery of a problem.

Systems and methods for remote notification, diagnostics and remedy management


A system for preventing inadvertent operation of remote keyless entry commands for a vehicle remote keyless entry system having a user interface located on the head of the vehicle ignition key. Whenever the ignition key is about to or has been inserted into the vehicle ignition, the user may inadvertently depress one or more of the command buttons of the keyhead. This accidental depression may occur before or during inserting the key, or after the key has been inserted and the key is being turned to activate the ignition. The system of the present invention selectively inhibits the vehicle from acting upon the commands when it is believed any of these situations may be occurring.

This invention relates to vehicle remote control, anti-theft or immobilizing systems and, more particularly, to a remote control key system having a key that incorporates remote control functions and immobilization features into the keyhead of the key and which prevents operation of the remote control functions at certain times.
A conventional remote keyless entry (RKE) transmitter is generally in the form of keyfob that hangs from a key ring. Typical RKE transmitters include a plurality of buttons or switches which, when depressed, initiate corresponding vehicle control functions remotely. For example, RKE transmitters may include four buttons: a door lock button for locking the vehicle doors, a door unlock button for unlocking the vehicle doors, a trunk release button for releasing the vehicle trunk, and a panic button for sounding the horn of the vehicle and/or flashing the vehicle""s lights to draw attention to the vehicle.
In addition to the convenience offered by RKE transmitters, anti-theft systems are commonly employed to immobilize a vehicle. A popular anti-theft system utilizes a transponder embedded in a keyhead portion of a key and a receiver located at the ignition lock. When the key is placed in the ignition lock, and if the identifying signal transmitted by the transponder and received by the receiver is determined not to be a match a preset identifying code stored at the vehicle, an immobilizing system is activated to prevent operation of the vehicle.
Integration of both the immobilizer system and the RKE system into a keyhead of a vehicle key has been proposed. However, when RKE buttons are integrated into a keyhead, there is a risk of pushing a transmitter button while turning the keyhead in the ignition lock, inadvertently initiating a vehicle control function. One approach to overcome this problem is to disable the RKE system as soon as the key is in the lock of as soon as the key is turned to the accessory or ignition position. However, even when these measures are taken, there is still a possibility of inadvertently pushing a transmitter button just before inserting the key into the lock or before turning the key to the ignition position and, in so doing, initiating a control function at an inappropriate time.
Accordingly, when RKE functions are provided in a keyhead of a vehicle key, there is a need to provide a means of preventing inadvertent RKE operations when the key is being handled to start the engine of the vehicle.
The present invention fulfills the need described above by providing a remote control system for a vehicle. The system includes a key having a keyplate to be received in the vehicle""s ignition lock and a keyhead coupled to the keyplate. At least one switch is on the keyhead to be digitally actuated to initiate a control function of the vehicle remotely. Transmission structure is disposed in the keyhead and is associated with the switch to transmit an atmospheric propagation signal containing an identification code. Receiving structure, located on the vehicle, receives the atmospheric propagation signal. A controller, provided on the vehicle, outputs a control signal for effecting the control function associated with the switch on the keyhead. Sensing structure, associated with the controller, indicates when a driver of the vehicle is in position to operate the vehicle. The controller prevents the control function form occurring upon actuation of the at least one switch when the sensing structure indicates that a driver is in position to operate the vehicle, this includes the times both prior to, during and immediately following insertion of the keyplate into the ignition lock.
In another aspect of the invention, the keyhead further includes a transponder having an associated code. The ignition lock includes a receiver associated with the controller. The controller compares a coded signal sent by the transponder and received by the receiver with a set point signal. If the coded signal matches the set point signal, the controller permits ignition to occur and, if the coded signal does not match the set point signal, the controller initiates a vehicle immobilizing system. The controller prevents control functions from occurring when communication between the transponder and the receiver can occur. This prevention may take effect before, during or after insertion of the key into the ignition lock.
Method of preventing inadvertent operation of remote keyless entry functions when a user is in position to operate the vehicle are also provided.
Other objects, features and characteristics of the present invention, as well as the methods of operation and the functions of the related elements of the structure, the combination of parts, and economics of manufacture will become more apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description and appended claims with reference to the accompanying drawing, all of which form a part of this specification.

Remote control key system having keyless entry functions and a vehicle immobilizing function in common keyhead


A breadmaker having a container sealingly mounted to the top of a housing and an electric heating element is mounted to an outside surface. A paddle is mounted at the bottom of the container and driven in use by an electric motor. Because the container is sealed in place in the housing, no foodstuff can enter the housing. Because the heating of the container is direct, less heat is wasted. The paddle may be lifted at the end of the baking cycle to aid removal of the cooled bread loaf. A hinged lid that is partially opened by a spring biassed plunger at the end of each baking cycle allows for ventilation of the container.

This invention relates to breadmakers, and more particularly to a breadmaker providing a ventilation system after the baking cycle.
There are already many electrical breadmakers available for making individual loaves of bread in the home. In each case the baking ingredients are normally placed in a bread pan or a container which is lowered into a compartment that is heated by an electrical element fitted in the compartment. The container includes a dough hook or paddle that can be mechanically coupled to a motor mounted below the container in the compartment. A bread making cycle usually includes a first mixing and kneading phase, an interval to allow the bread mix to rise, a second kneading phase and a second interval for a second rise, and finally a baking phase. Once the bread is baked the finished loaf and usually the container are removed from the compartment.
It is possible that some bread making ingredients are spilled outside the container and fall inside the compartment requiring special care when loading the container and difficulty in keeping the compartment clean. Spilled ingredients can become baked onto the surfaces of the compartment and difficult to remove. The heating of the container is also indirect, leading to inherent loss of heat, and indeed often general heating of the external surfaces of the breadmaker.


An incinerator for disposing of a syringe needle having a first pair of electrical contacts adapted to connect a source of electricity at approximately opposed positions across the width of the syringe needle such that the electricity will flow across the width between the positions for welding and sealing the needle, and a second pair of electrical contacts adapted to connect a source of electricity to flow across a portion of the length of the syringe needle for incineration of said portion. The present invention ensures that the end of the needle is completely sealed, i.e., sufficiently sealed to prevent any possible leakage of harmful quantities of fluid.

The present invention relates to an incinerator, and in particular to an incinerator for incineration (thermal degradation) of electrically conductive hollow articles such as medical needles.
Incinerators particularly adapted for the incineration (thermal degradation) of potentially hazardous used medical needles are disclosed in, for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,628,169 and South African Patent Specification 89/8607. Both documents disclose incinerators for thermally degrading spent syringe needles using a pair of spaced electrical contacts to pass a high current through an interposed medical needle.
We have now devised an improved incinerator which may be used for such purposes.

Advanced Disposal Systems International Limited


An apparatus verifies the correctness of a behavioral model of a microcode machine, where the microcode machine is operable in a native state and an emulated state. The apparatus includes means for producing the native state, means for producing the emulated state, and means for comparing the native state and the emulated state. Corresponding to the apparatus, a method verifies the correctness of a processor behavioral model, where the processor operates in a native mode state and an emulated mode state. The method includes determining if a macroinstruction to be executed is a native instruction, and, if the macroinstruction is a native instruction, executing the native instruction, the execution producing the native mode state of the processor. The method further includes, if the macroinstruction is not a native instruction, fetching the macroinstruction, providing microinstructions corresponding to the macroinstruction, and executing the microinstructions, the execution producing the native mode state of the processor. Finally, the method includes executing the macroinstruction, the execution producing an emulated state of the processor, and comparing the native mode state the of the processor with the emulated state of the processor.

Current computer architectural testing often involves comparing the results of instructions executed on a reference model and instructions executed on a behavioral model. A microcode based machine is one in which a user visible instruction (macroinstruction) is broken down into a sequence of microinstructions that emulate the behavior of the macroinstruction, and are not directly visible to the user. On a microcode based machine, such testing is completed without microinstruction modeling or checking. Because current systems do not include modeling on the microinstruction level, current systems are only capable of checking the behavioral model on the macroinstruction boundaries in the emulated instruction set, or on transitions between the microinstruction set and native mode instruction set. In addition, current systems have not been able to verify the correctness of the microinstruction sequence and control (aliasing) information. Furthermore, current microcode simulators can only execute microinstructions without faults or traps, or other dynamic information. These simulators were designed for performance analysis rather than checking correctness.

Method and apparatus for verifying the correctness of a processor behavioral model

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


In certain embodiments, a method of making a semiconductor structure suitable for transfer printing (e.g., micro-transfer printing) includes providing a support substrate and disposing and processing one or more semiconductor layers on the support substrate to make a completed semiconductor device. A patterned release layer and, optionally, a capping layer are disposed on or over the completed semiconductor device and the patterned release layer or capping layer, if present, are bonded to a handle substrate with a bonding layer. The support substrate is removed to expose the completed semiconductor device and, in some embodiments, a portion of the patterned release layer. In some embodiments, an entry path is formed to expose a portion of the patterned release layer. In some embodiments, the release layer is etched and the completed semiconductor devices transfer printed (e.g., micro-transfer printed) from the handle substrate to a destination substrate.

Integrated circuits (ICs) are widely used in electronic devices. Integrated circuits are typically formed on a semiconductor wafer using photolithographic processes and then packaged, for example in a ceramic or plastic package, with pins or bumps on the package providing externally accessible electrical connections to the integrated circuit. An unpackaged integrated circuit is often referred to as a die. Each die typically has electrical contact pads on the top of the integrated circuit that are electrically connected to electronic circuits in the integrated circuit. The die is placed in a cavity in the package, the electrical contact pads are wire-bonded to the package pins or bumps, and the package is sealed. Frequently, multiple identical devices are formed in the semiconductor wafer and the wafer is cut (for example by scribing-and-breaking or by sawing the wafer) into separate integrated circuit dies that are each individually packaged. The packages are then mounted and electrically connected on a printed circuit board to make an electronic system.
In an alternative flip-chip approach, small spheres of solder (solder bumps) are deposited on the integrated circuit contact pads and the integrated circuit is flipped over so that the top side of the die with the solder bumps is located adjacent to the package or other destination substrate. This approach is particularly useful for packages such as pin-grid array packages because they can require less space than a wire-bond process. However, flipping the integrated circuit over can be difficult for very small integrated circuits, for example having a dimension of less than 200, less than 50 microns, less than 20 microns, less than 10 microns, or less than 5 microns. Such small integrated circuit dies are not easily handled without loss or damage using conventional pick-and-place or vacuum tools.
In some applications, the bare integrated circuit dies are not separately packaged but are placed on a destination substrate and electrically connected on the destination substrate, for example using photolithographic or printed-circuit board methods, to form an electronic system. However, as with flip-chip handling, this can be difficult to accomplish when the integrated circuit dies are small. However, an efficient method of transferring bare dies from a relatively small and expensive source substrate (e.g., crystalline semiconductor) to a relatively large and inexpensive destination substrate (e.g., amorphous glass or plastic) is very desirable, since the integrated circuits can provide much higher data processing efficiency than thin-film semiconductor structures formed on large substrates.
In another method, a handle substrate is adhered to the side of the integrated circuits opposite the wafer (the top side), the wafer is removed, for example by grinding, the integrated circuits are adhered to the destination substrate, and the handle substrate is removed. In yet another variation, the handle substrate is the destination substrate and is not removed. In this case, the integrated circuit is flipped over so that the top side of the integrated circuit is adhered to the destination substrate.
In yet another method, epitaxial semiconductor layers are formed on a growth substrate, for example a sapphire substrate. A handle substrate is adhered to the top side of the semiconductor layers opposite the growth substrate, and the growth substrate is removed. The flipped semiconductor layers are then processed to form the integrated circuits. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,825,559 describes such a method to make light emitting diodes.
One approach to handling and placing small integrated circuits (e.g., chiplets) uses micro-transfer printing, for example as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,722,458, 7,622,367 and 8,506,867, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. In exemplary embodiments of these methods for printing integrated circuits, an integrated circuit is disposed (e.g., formed) on a source wafer, for example a semiconductor wafer, and undercut by etching a gap between a bottom side of the integrated circuit and the wafer. A stamp contacts a top side of the integrated circuit to adhere the integrated circuit to the stamp, the stamp and integrated circuit are transported to a destination substrate, for example a glass or plastic substrate, the integrated circuit is contacted and adhered to the destination substrate, and the stamp removed to "print" the integrated circuit from the source wafer to the destination substrate. Multiple integrated circuits can be "printed" in a common step with a single stamp. The integrated circuits can then be electrically connected, for example, using conventional photolithographic and printed-circuit board methods. These techniques have the advantage of enabling location of many (e.g., tens of thousands to millions) small integrated circuit devices on a destination substrate in a single print step. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,722,458 teaches, inter alia, transferring light-emitting, light-sensing, or light-collecting semiconductor elements from a wafer substrate to a destination substrate using a patterned elastomer stamp whose spatial pattern matches the location of the semiconductor elements on the wafer substrate.
None of the aforementioned flip-chip methods form a flipped integrated circuit that can be micro-transfer printed. Moreover, GaN micro-LEDs are typically formed on sapphire substrates since sapphire has a smaller crystal lattice mismatch with GaN than other materials, such as silicon. Thus, it is desirable to form printable integrated circuit structures, such as micro-LEDs, using a sapphire substrate. However, there is no available method for undercutting a chiplet formed on a sapphire substrate to enable release of the chiplet for micro-transfer printing.
There is a need, therefore, for wafer and integrated circuit structures and methods that provide flipped micro-transfer printable integrated circuits and for structures and methods that enable the construction of micro-LED chiplets formed on a sapphire substrate that can be micro-transfer printed. There is also a need for simple and inexpensive methods and structures having a reduced area that enable electrical interconnections for chiplets printed on destination substrates. Furthermore, there is a need for methods and structures that enable electrically connecting the electrical contacts of printed structures, such as printed LEDs, using fewer processing steps than conventional methods.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Micro-transfer-printable flip-chip structures and methods


A method and apparatus including a first circuit configured to receive multiple instructions including a first instruction having a first execution time, and to generate a first signal having a state dependent on the first execution time; a second circuit configured to receive the first signal and to generate a clock signal including a clock cycle having a period dependent on the state of the first signal; and a third circuit configured to receive the clock signal and execute a portion of the first instruction during the clock cycle, the first execution time corresponding to the portion of the first instruction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of microprocessors and microprocessor-based devices, such as flash memories; more particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for adjusting a clock period for a particular cycle dependent on one or more instructions to be performed during that cycle.
2. Description of Related Art
Microprocessors (including microcontrollers) execute instructions at a speed governed by the period of a clock signal. The performance of a microprocessor is generally increased by reducing the period (increasing the frequency) of the clock signal. As the clock period is reduced, the time allocated to perform each step of an instruction is reduced, thereby increasing performance. If the delay of the circuit used to perform a particular step of an instruction (execution time) is longer than the clock period, the results of that step will not be completed before the end of the clock period, thereby leading to malfunction. Thus, the minimum clock period is limited by the maximum execution time of any step of any instruction in the instruction set.
In a pipelined microprocessor, instructions are performed in multiple steps, such as a fetch cycle (in which instructions are retrieved from a memory), a decode cycle (in which instructions are decoded), one or more execute cycles (in instructions are executed) and a writeback cycle (in which results of the instructions are written in the memory). At a given time, one instruction may be fetched, a second instruction may be decoded, a third instruction may be executed, and the result of a fourth instruction may be written back. Since each of these steps are performed during a period of the clock signal (a clock cycle), the minimum clock period is the longest execution time of any step for all the instructions in the microprocessor's instruction set.
If the clock period is shorter than the longest execution time, the steps of instructions that have execution times greater than the clock period would not be completed in a clock cycle. If such an instruction is executed with a clock period that is not long enough to allow all its steps to complete, the microprocessor malfunctions.
The clock period is set at the longest execution time to allow the microprocessor time to complete all its steps but to reduce the time after the execution of the last step but before the end of the clock period. If the clock period is longer than the longest execution time, performance is reduced. In such a case, even the step with the longest execution time is completed a time before the end of the period. Thus, the circuit performing that step is idle for that time.
The steps of instructions are generally split up so that the execution times are approximately the same. If some execution times are much longer than the others, the clock period is set to be at the longest execution time, which is much longer than the others. Thus, when a circuit executes steps with shorter execution times, it is idle for much of the clock period.
If microprocessor instruction set includes an instruction having a step with an execution time that is larger than the longest execution time of any step for all the rest of the instructions in the microprocessor instruction set, the step is often split into two or more steps such that that step has an execution time that more closely matches the others. For example, if the execution time for a step of one instruction is 19 nanoseconds (ns) and the longest execution time of any step for all the rest of the instructions in the microprocessor instruction set is 10 ns, the minimum period of the microprocessor is 19 ns. If the step having an execution time of 19 ns is split into two steps each having an execution time of 9.5 ns, the minimum period of the microprocessor is reduced from 19 ns to 10 ns. In such a case, the performance increase associated with the reduction in the minimum period (19 ns to 10 ns) generally outweighs the performance decrease associated with the single 19 ns step that is split into two 10 ns steps (19 ns to 20 ns latency).
In some cases, splitting a step into two or more steps may not be desirable. For example, if the execution time for a step of one instruction is 12 nanoseconds (ns) and the longest execution time of any step for all the rest of the instructions in the microprocessor's instruction set is 10 ns, the minimum period of the microprocessor is 12 ns. If the step having an execution time of 12 ns is split into two steps each having an execution time of 6 ns, the minimum period of the microprocessor is reduced to 10 ns. In such a case, the performance increase associated with the reduction in the minimum period (12 ns to 10 ns) may not outweigh the performance decrease associated with the 12 ns step that is split into two 10 ns steps (12 ns to 20 ns delay).
What is needed is a method and apparatus to reduce the idle time of execution units in a microprocessor.


A system is provided for illuminating a levitating body, the system may include a base that has a light source, and a body that levitates over the base. The levitating body may have a bottom surface and an upper surface. The bottom surface may have at least one aperture to receive light from the stationary body. The levitating body may have internal transmissive surfaces to reflect and scatter the light throughout the levitating body to produce visual decorative displays.

1. Field
This invention is generally related to decorative levitating objects, and, more particularly, is related to systems and methods for lighting levitating objects.
2. Background of the Invention
The invention relates to a system and method for illumination of levitating bodies to produce visual displays and decorative effects. Decorative visual displays are common and widely used in households and business. They are used to create a pleasant and ambient environment and they may also be used for advertising purposes. Examples include U.S. Pat. No. 6,382,808, by Lin, entitled "Decorative lighting device having floating member," and U.S. Patent Application No. 2006/0087642, entitled "Polariscope toy and ornament with accompanying photoelastic and/or photoplastic devices," which are entirely incorporated herein by reference.
Common systems for illuminating levitating bodies use magnetic properties. For example, a stationary body may have a first magnet and a levitating body may include a secondary magnet, where the magnets are configured to repulse each other to cause the levitating body to float over the stationary body. The stationary body may include a light source to illuminate the levitating body.
One problem with prior art systems is that the secondary magnet in the levitating body tends to block the light and reduce the amount of light received by the levitating body. Another problem is that light may be reflected sharply from the levitating body causing glare and discomfort in the eyes of the beholder. An additional problem is that the levitating body may have only limited intense and bright light distributed throughout the body.
Other systems use batteries and or diodes in the levitating body to produce energy and light. As a result, the levitating body is typically heavy and only floats a few inches above the stationary body. Batteries and diodes are not durable and may break and fall apart. A further problem with all these systems is the lack of bright and intense lights inside the levitating body.
Accordingly, a system and method for illuminating levitating body is needed to address these problems with the prior art systems.

System and method for illumination of levitating bodies


A spacer includes a body having a first end, a second end, and an aperture open at the first end and at the second end. The spacer can be an element of a prosthetic joint component system that further includes a cement injection nozzle insertable through the aperture in the spacer and a sleeve disposable around at least a portion of the nozzle.

Disease and/or trauma cause deterioration of natural joints of the human body. Replacement of natural joints with joint prostheses can distinctly enhance the quality of life of an individual affected by such joint conditions. Various joint prostheses are known. Among the more common joint prostheses are those that replace all or part of the natural knee and hip joints.
Components of joint prostheses must be implanted and secured within existing bone. In the case of hip arthroplasty, a surgical technique in which the hip joint is replaced by a prosthetic joint, a cavity is prepared in a proximal portion of the patient's femur to receive a femoral stem (a portion of a prosthetic hip joint). Other joint replacement surgical techniques require the formation of similar cavities within existing bone for the installation of various prosthesis components.
Once such a cavity is prepared, the prosthesis component may be secured within the cavity by a number of techniques. For example, the prosthesis component may be cemented within the cavity, or it can be installed through mechanical fixation by a friction fit or the use of a fixation device.
When cement is used to secure a prosthetic component in place, it is usually desirable to create an even cement mantle around the component. One way to ensure a uniform cement mantle is to center the prosthetic component within the target cavity with the assistance of a mechanical guide secured to the prosthetic component. Such guides are commonly referred to as "spacers" or "centralizers." Known spacers for hip stems, for example, are snugly fitted to the distal end of the hip stem prior to the stem being plunged into a reamed femoral canal filled with bone cement.
Although the known spacers can be generally successful in centralizing the stem within the femoral canal, the configuration of the spacers and the techniques for using them cause a variety of problems with respect to the integrity of the cement mantle and the bond between the cement mantle and the prosthetic components. For example, depending on the bone cement selected, even a short delay from the time the cement is prepared and deposited into the canal, to the time that the stem and spacer are inserted therein, can allow the cement to cure or harden enough so that a sub-optimal bond between the cement and the spacer occurs. Additionally, the spacer can divide the cement mantle into three or four sections beyond the distal tip of the stem in a way such that the separated sections do not bond together.
Furthermore, as a mated stem and spacer are inserted into a bone cement filled canal, the spacer tends to drag air, in the form of small bubbles, from the surface of the cement at the point of insertion all the way to the final resting point of the spacer. The bubbles, many of which become trapped in the cement as it hardens, create discontinuities at the interface between the spacer/stem and cement that can lead to debonding. Because the spacer is at the distal end of the stem, bubbles are at the distal end; and the distal end is where the highest cement/stem interface stresses are produced. Also, when the cement hardens, it is likely that the spacer will not bond with the cement. Thus, not only do known techniques create the precursor of bonding failure, they do so in the most vulnerable location.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide additional structures and techniques that can be easily implemented and that address the challenges of hip stem fixation, and more particularly the problems associated with creating a robust cemented fixation.


An internal bone transport device and method for lengthen bone that, once surgically implanted will allow for a segment of bone to be transported along the length of the rod without changing the overall length of the rod. The segment from one bone end is transported to the other in a controlled fashion allowing for complete control of the rate of bone transport and adjusting this rate to the quality of the bone formation. The segment is moved either by the application of an externally applied magnetic force or by a fluid actuator in combination with a compression spring. It applies to patients in whom a segment of bone has been removed. This fully internal bone transport allows the bone transport to occur without any external fixation, thus eliminating the problems associated with pin tract infections and pain from the pins cutting through the soft tissue.

There are many means of stabilizing, moving, and lengthening bone. The need arises to stabilize, move and/or lengthen (collectively "lengthen") bone in a variety of situations, for example, to increase stature, even the length of a pair of limbs, and when a section of bone is removed following illness or trauma. Intercalary defects in long bones may occur as a result of trauma or after the resection of tumors or infection. With appropriate mechanical fixation, these defects may be managed by autogenous bone grafting, segmental allograft reconstruction, or reconstruction using endoprostheses. Autogenous bone grafting has the disadvantage of donor site morbidity including pain, increased blood loss, and surgical scarring. Furthermore, in the case of large defects it may be difficult or impossible to obtain an optimal volume of autogenous bone. While allografting eliminates the problem of adequate quantity, the incidence of complications such as infection, fracture, and non-union is increased. The risk of exposure to HIV or hepatitis is another concern.
In 1954 Ilizarov reported that mature bone can be elongated by gradual distraction of a fracture callus and called this process distraction osteogenesis. The application of this technique in the form of bone segment transport can obviate the need for open bone grafting in many large diaphyseal defects. However, transfixing wires used in this technique can cause significant complications including wire site infection, pain, and restricted joint motion due to the transfixation of tendons and muscles. These complications are particularly relevant when the Ilizarov device is applied to the femur.
In 1990 Brunner reported that distraction osteogenesis was achievable using intramedullary fixation in sheep tibiae. Brunner's method still relied on the use of an external fixator to provide the force necessary for bone transport. Brunner's work implied that transfixing wires used for internal fixation could potentially be eliminated.
Betz described the use of a telescoping intramedullary rod for distraction osteogenesis. With the Betz device, the patient apparently turned a small knob that protruded from the patient's hip in order to telescopically move the parts relative to one another.
Many bone lengthening devices have actuators or external fixators that penetrate the soft tissue of a patient and extend outside the body. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,429,638, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, including any references cited therein, discloses a device for bone transport requiring a cable mechanism. The cable mechanism includes a cable that extends through the soft tissue to just under the skin. The bone is lengthened by a magnet that activates the actuator located under the skin, which in turn causes the implanted device to extend. Such a mechanism can cause infection and discomfort at the site where the cable penetrates the soft tissue.
There are several internal lengthening devices that have been patented, but none of the devices address the problem of transfixing a moving middle segment of bone along the length of a rod without changing the overall length of the rod. U.S. Patent Application No. 20040138663, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, including any references cited therein, discloses a two-part telescopic intramedullary orthopedic device that connects two adjacent fractured or severed bones that can be moved toward or away from each other. The movement is actuated by an external magnetic field, such that one section may be moved axially in relation to the other section. U.S. Patent Application No. 20050261779, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety, including any references cited therein, discloses a rod-like prosthesis that can be expanded non-invasively by an externally applied magnetic field. The rod prosthesis is placed where a segment of bone was removed. The prosthesis is then extended.
Other patents and applications, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,704,939, 6,336,929, and 6,796,984; French Patent No. 2726460; European Patent No. 0869473; and PCT Application No. 0164119, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, including any references cited therein, disclose intramedullary devices that connect two bone segments and permit bone elongation between the two bone segments. However, none of them allow a third middle segment of bone to move in a bidirectional mode upon rotation of an external magnet.
Other patents, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,356,411, 5,626,581, and 5,704,938, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, including any references cited therein, disclose devices using fluid actuators having fluid containers which are filled by fluid reservoirs in order to cause one section of the device to be moved axially in relation to another section.
The pins, wires, cables, and other structures (herein collectively "pins") that penetrate the soft tissue in the prior art are sources of infection. This causes problems with joint contractures secondary to the transfixing of these soft tissues. The invention would allow for the middle segment of bone to be transported without the pins transversing the soft tissues, thus eliminating many post operative complications including pin tract infections, pain, and joint contractures. The pins dragging through the skin also causes large scar tracts to be formed which are unsightly and often require surgical excision. The invention eliminates this occurrence and thus the need for scar revision surgery.


A capo for an instrument having a plurality of strings elevated above a fingerboard such as a dobro or Hawaiian guitar. The capo has an assembly of a spacer member partially enclosing a rotatable string-support member, both of which slide between the strings and the fingerboard, said spacer member having a recess underneath it for fret clearance, and said string-support member having a rounded tip. The spacer member and string-support member assembly being the same or slightly higher in elevation than the strings on a dobro type instrument, the rounded tip and fret recess enables sliding the assembly under the strings directly over a fret, while allowing room for pitch adjustment within the fret recess. There are protrusions from the bottom of the spacer member which contact the side of the instrument neck, and/or fingerboard, functioning as a stop when the assembly is slid into position. Attached to the string-support member is a rigid frame member, part of which is covered by a damper-retainer member composed of a resilient rubber or plastic material. Attached to the frame member is a securing means which engages the damper-retainer member to the strings with some pressure, thereby damping the strings between the string-support member and the nut, and in anchoring the strings maintaining string spacing and preventing string rattle on the string-support member.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to capotasto devices for uniformly changing the pitch of all strings on a guitar simultaneously. More specifically it acts as a capo for a musical instrument with elevated strings such as a dobro or Hawaiian guitar.
2. Description of Prior Art
Capos are generally known for their application to guitars as an apparatus to uniformly raise the pitch of all the strings by clamping them directly in contact with the fingerboard, thereby engaging the strings onto a desired fret. These types of capos are typically represented by U.S. Pat. No. 390,612 to Moffat (1888), U.S. Pat. No. 1,788,636 to Russell (1927), U.S. Pat. No. 4,143,576 to Nichols (1979), and U.S. Pat. No. 4,583,440 to Myerson (1986). These designs are impractical for use on the typical dobro which has elevated strings, and is not fretted like a guitar, but is played using a solid slide bar. The dobro is generally held in a "flat" position with the neck and strings roughly perpendicular to the player's body. The player brings the slide bar into contact with the strings at a desired place with one hand, using the frets on the fingerboard as a positioning guide while plucking or strumming the strings with the other hand. This differs from a conventional guitar where strings are pressed into contact with frets to determine the pitch of the notes played.
The typical dobro also has some of its strings tuned to a higher pitch than a conventional guitar, thus making the strings more rigid and placing greater stress on the neck of the instrument. This stress is often dealt with by placing a stronger, "square" neck on the instrument, rather than the typical round style neck found on guitars.
A prior art capo for a dobro is represented by U.S. Pat. No. 4,671,156 to Hathcock (1987). This type of device clamps from above and below the strings above the desired fret, "hanging" onto the strings above the fingerboard.
One drawback is the obstruction it places on top of the strings. It is a common practice for the experienced player to hold the slide bar between the thumb, index and middle fingers. The thumb is in front of the bar (towards the body of the instrument), the index finger is on top, and the middle finger is behind the bar. The ring and little finger take up additional space behind the bar. These two fingers are often used to damp the strings behind the bar to eliminate string buzzing and overtones. When the structure of the capo extends above the fret being capoed to, it interferes with the player's middle, ring and little finger, as well as the slide bar, thus crowding and inhibiting movement.
Another unwanted effect occurs when the strings behind the capo (between the capo and the nut), begin to vibrate, creating undesirable overtones. The strings behind the capo vibrate during play, without being touched directly, by picking up the sound produced by the instrument through the air, the neck, the strings, and the capo itself.
A third problem occurs when one or more of the strings, for whatever reason, goes out of tune while the capo is attached. The capo clamps on tightly enough so that the strings do not react predictably when being adjusted by a tuning machine with the capo on. After adjusting a string or strings, they tend to continue stretching or contracting out of tune, while being played as they "settle in", under the pressure of the capo. This often creates a situation of tuning and retuning without satisfactory results. A player may then find it necessary to remove the capo, retune the instrument, and then reattach the capo, resulting in considerable time being wasted.
Another problem with the tight clamping effect of these types of capos is that if they are not clamped to the desired position accurately, they must be unclamped, repositioned, and then reclamped. The tight clamping forces prevent moving them easily (by sliding), to make slight adjustments in accurately setting the pitch. These types of capos also pinch the strings directly against a hard surface, flattening the windings, and otherwise damaging the strings.
There is also a muffling of the tonal quality from the suspended nature of the capo. The nut of an instrument helps in transferring the sound from the strings to the neck and on to the body of the instrument. This cannot be accomplished with a suspended type of capo. These capoes also move vertically, while the instrument is being played, since they "hang" from the strings and are not supported by the neck. The string bounce that this allows is undesirable to the player.
Another prior art is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,933,077 to Dunlop (1976). This device has a spacer member under the strings, with a pressure member above the strings that engages the strings to the spacer member by means of an elastic strap. The spacer member may have grooves to accommodate the strings.
As previously mentioned, dobro fingerboards have frets for the player to use as guides for positioning the slide bar. Dunlop does not show these frets in the drawing where his device is being used as a capo for Hawaiian type guitars. These instruments do have frets, however, and as his other drawing shows, the device must be positioned to one side of a fret due to the design of the spacer member. This makes it fundamentally impossible for the capo to retune the instrument accurately in relation to the desired fret. In addition, it renders all of the other frets out of true position since the capo cannot be accurately aligned with its own fret. The various forms of the spacer member may also set the strings back even further from the fret being capoed to. The higher the elevation of the strings above the fingerboard, the larger the diameter of the spacer required, resulting in greater offsets from the capoed fret and producing a larger error in pitch. In addition, the string grooves in the spacer may not match the string spacing on the player's instrument, creating a situation where the player is readjusting to this spacing which can vary when the capo is attached and removed.
Another problem lies in the short leg of the U-shaped member. This object interferes with the players bar hand as it slants above the strings to connect to the pressure member. The bar hand is also cramped by the pressure member which is in very close proximity to the spacer member.
A further problem also occurs with the spacer member. The spacer is designed to slide under the strings across the fingerboard of a dobro type of guitar. Its cylindrical shape has a narrow surface which contacts the fingerboard, a sharp leading edge, and grooves for strings. Repeated sliding and pressing of these surfaces against the fingerboard will cause damage to the surface of the fingerboard.
As such, there is a need for a dobro capo which imitates the nut of the instrument in tonal quality but does not hamper the players bar hand movements, does not muffle the strings, allow undesirable overtones, place more than acceptable wear and tear on the instrument or its strings, and is easily attached and adjusted during play.


A document management system of managing as inter-document relation information a plurality of keywords collected as a set for each document template type and managing link among said keywords includes the document file entry and update steps of selecting at least one of keywords based on a document template type in the inter-document relation information; linking the selected keyword with the document file; and detecting a document file influenced by the document entry and update by using the link between the selected keyword and the document file and the inter-document relation information.

The present invention relates to a document-update notice included in the document management technology.
There have been proposed the following conventional document management systems. The JP-A-10-269071 has stated that the update of a common document element is noticed to a user of a compound document if the document element is shared in the compound document.
Further, the JP-A-10-222534 has stated the system of noticing the update based on the relation among documents with analogous words. The JP-A-10-302014 has stated that the system of managing a user's document inspecting history as log information and providing a user who inspects the documents with a document-update notice if the document is updated.
The JP-A-11-15716 has stated the system of providing a client side with a document-update notice when a document managed on a Web server is updated. The U.S. Pat. No. 5,623,655 has stated the system of providing a user who refers to a common document with a document-update notice through an electronic mail or the like if the common document is updated.
The U.S. Pat. No. 6,088,707 has stated the system of noticing the update of the document managed on the Web server and displaying a list of updated sites and their updated contents.
Moreover, there has known a system of pre-creating a template document with the document relations defined on a document component element unit by using a structured document description language such as Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) and eXtensible Markup Language (XML) and managing a document on the foregoing template document.
In developing a new product in the fields of software and medicine, for carrying out a project of developing a new product, a plurality of workers may create many kinds of documents. For example, when developing a new product, a worker A creates a "project document" concerning a policy of an overall project and the other workers B and C create their own "subtask documents" for each subtask based on the "project document". The "project document" created by the worker A includes the overall schedule and the like. The worker B creates the "subtask document" as referring to the "project document". When the worker A changes the overall schedule in the "project document", the worker B changes the "subtask document" based on the updated content of the "project document". As described above, in a case that a plurality of workers creates the documents in concert, as the sorts of the created documents and the relation among the created documents are made sophisticated, one worker may forget a document-update notice to the other workers. As this result, the other workers perform the work based on the document of the previous version, which leads to the unnecessary work of creating a document. That is, since the document-update notice is not correctly given, the recreation of the document in the work of creating the document is made necessary.
The document-update notice of the prior art does not involve how the proper document-update notice is given to each worker. In a case of managing the foregoing "project document" in the conventional system, the creator of the project document and the user who constantly refers to it may accept the document-update notice. However, the document-update notice does not reach the creators of the subtask documents except the creator of the "project document". It means that such a creator of the subtask documents has to check the updated status of the document located out of his territory as being conscious of the documents related with his document. It means that lots of time and efforts and working steps are required for checking the state of the document located out of the creator's charge. No aiding function of easily checking the updated state of the related document has been prepared as a system function. Hence, the recreation of the document may disadvantageously take place in the work of creating the document.

Document management method and document management system