A method and apparatus for processing time windowing to transmit a signal in a Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) communication system based on Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA). A signal of a first interval included in a previous symbol prior to a current symbol is stored as a signal of a previous symbol interval. The current symbol includes a guard interval and an effective symbol interval subsequent to the guard interval. The current symbol is windowed by overlapping the stored signal of the first interval with a signal of a second interval included in the current symbol subsequent to the previous symbol. A windowed signal is transmitted.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a communication system, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for performing a time windowing process to transmit a signal in a Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) communication system based on an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) scheme.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) is a scheme for efficiently dividing and allocating frequency resources for users in a multi-user environment on the basis of an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) scheme. The OFDM scheme divides a data stream with a high transmission rate into multiple data streams with a low transmission rate and simultaneously transmits the multiple data streams in parallel using multiple subcarriers. This OFDM scheme has a high data rate and high spectral efficiency, and is robust to a frequency fading channel.
The OFDM scheme inserts a guard interval longer than the channel delay spread between OFDM symbols ("symbols") to prevent the orthogonality between subcarriers from being destroyed, thereby removing Inter-Symbol Interference (ISI). To ensure the continuity of a total symbol interval including the guard interval, a Cyclic Prefix (CP) is inserted into the guard interval. That is, when part of a symbol is copied and inserted into the guard interval as the CP and is added to a start part of the symbol, the symbol is cyclically extended, such that Inter-Carrier Interference (ICI) can be avoided.
The OFDM scheme implements a parallel subcarrier transmission with an Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) at a transmitting side and a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) at a receiving side. Subcarriers of an OFDM signal are constructed with a sinc function and overlap while maintaining the orthogonality between the subcarriers. Because the OFDM signal is not a band limited signal due to characteristics of the sinc function, it may interfere with an adjacent band.
To reduce the interference to the adjacent band, a method does not transmit data on all subcarriers in a frequency band, but never transmits a signal on some subcarriers at both ends of an associated band. However, because the side lobe of the sinc function itself is relatively large, the number of subcarriers on which no data is transmitted should significantly increase to remove the interference to the adjacent band. However, in this case, the spectral efficiency is significantly degraded.
Therefore, time windowing is mainly used to reduce interference with an adjacent band while maintaining the spectral efficiency. When the time windowing is used, the side lobe can be effectively reduced. Among many windows used in the windowing scheme, a raised cosine window is widely used.
Raised cosine windowing schemes using the raised cosine window are raised cosine windowing of a 1-symbol interval (a "1-symbol interval windowing scheme") and raised cosine windowing of a 3-symbol interval (a "3-symbol interval windowing scheme"). The 1-symbol interval windowing scheme will be described with reference to FIG. 1.
Referring to FIG. 1, Ts is a 1-symbol interval as a symbol period, Tg is a guard interval, and Tb is an effective symbol interval. As illustrated in FIG. 1, one symbol is constructed with the guard interval Tg and the effective symbol interval Tb subsequent thereto. As described above, a rear part to be used for the guard interval Tg within the effective symbol interval Tb is copied and inserted as a CP.
Assuming that a time domain OFDM signal to be transmitted is x(n), a transmission signal s(n) windowed in the 1-symbol interval windowing scheme is defined as shown in Equation (1). A time windowing coefficient w(n) is defined as shown in Equation (2).
                                          s                                      (              n              )                                =                                    w                                            (                n                )                                      ×                          x                                            (                n                )                                                    ,                              for                                                                                0                    ≤          n          ≤                                    N              s                        -            1                                              Equation                                                            (          1          )                                                  w                                (            n            )                          =                  (                                                                                0.5                    ×                                          (                                              1                        +                                                  cos                                                                                (                                                          π                              ×                                                              (                                                                  1                                  +                                                                      n                                    m                                                                                )                                                                                )                                                                                )                                                        ,                                                                              0                  ≤                  n                  ≤                  m                                                                                1                  ,                                                                              m                  ≤                  n                  <                                                            N                      s                                        -                    m                                                                                0.5                    ×                                          (                                              1                        +                                                  cos                                                                                (                                                          π                              ×                                                                                n                                  -                                                                      (                                                                                (                                                                                N                                            s                                                                                -                                          1                                                                                )                                                                            -                                      m                                                                        )                                                                                m                                                                                )                                                                                )                                                        ,                                                                                N                      s                                        -                    m                                    ≤                  n                  ≤                                                            N                      s                                        -                    1                                                                                Equation                                                            (          2          )
In Equations (1) and (2), Ns is the number of time samples with respect to the symbol period Ts, and m is a window size.
As shown in Equations (1) and (2), it can be seen that a transmitter of the OFDM system performs a windowing process of the 1-symbol interval by multiplying an interval from a start point of the symbol period Ts to a first window size m ("a first time") by
  0.5  ×      (          1      +              cos                          (                      π            ×                          (                              1                +                                  n                  m                                            )                                )                      )  with respect to a signal of the symbol period Ts in FIG. 1, multiplying an interval up to (Ns−m) ("a second time") after the first time by 1, and multiplying an interval up to an end of the symbol period after the second time by
  0.5  ×            (              1        +                  cos                                (                          π              ×                                                n                  -                                      (                                                                  (                                                                              N                            s                                                    -                          1                                                )                                            -                      m                                        )                                                  m                                      )                              )        .  Because the interval up to the second time after the first time is multiplied by 1, the resulting signal is equal to an original signal. The interval from the start of the symbol period Ts to the first time and the interval from the second time to the end of the second time are windowing intervals in which the original signal is actually distorted by the windowing.
The 3-symbol interval windowing scheme will be described with reference to FIG. 2.
Referring to FIG. 2, Ts is a 1-symbol interval as a symbol period, Tg is a guard interval, and Tb is an effective symbol interval. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the 3-symbol interval windowing scheme is a windowing scheme for overlapping a prefix Tprefix and postfix Tpostfix of the current symbol with a signal of the previous symbol and a signal of the next symbol.
Assuming that a time domain OFDM signal to be transmitted is x(n), a transmission signal s(n) windowed in the 3-symbol interval windowing scheme is defined as shown in Equation (3). A time windowing coefficient w(n) is defined as shown in Equation (4).
                                          s                                      (              n              )                                =                                    w                                            (                n                )                                      ×                                          ∑                                                      k                    =                                                                  -                                                  N                          used                                                                    /                      2                                                                            k                    ≠                    0                                                                                N                    used                                    /                  2                                                                                b                  k                                                                  exp                                                        (                                                                  (                                                  j2π                                                                                k                                                                                Δ                                                                                f                                                )                                                                                (                                                  n                          -                                                      N                            s                                                                          )                                                              )                                                                                ,                                                                                for                                                                          -            m                    ≤          n          ≤                                    N              s                        +            m                                              Equation                                                            (          3          )                                                  w                                (            n            )                          =                  (                                                                                0.5                    ×                                          (                                              1                        +                                                  cos                                                                                (                                                          π                              ×                                                              (                                                                  1                                  +                                                                                n                                      +                                      m                                                                                2                                                                            m                                                                                )                                                                                )                                                                                )                                                        ,                                                                                -                    m                                    ≤                  n                  <                  m                                                                                1                  ,                                                                              m                  ≤                  n                  ≤                                                            N                      s                                        -                    m                                                                                0.5                    ×                                          (                                              1                        +                                                  cos                                                                                (                                                          π                              ×                                                                                n                                  -                                                                      (                                                                                N                                        s                                                                            -                                      m                                                                        )                                                                                2                                                                    m                                                                                )                                                                                )                                                        ,                                                                                N                      s                                        -                    m                                    <                  n                  ≤                                                            N                      s                                        -                    m                                                                                Equation                                                            (          4          )
In Equations (3) and (4), Ns is the number of time samples with respect to the symbol period Ts, and m is a window size. bk is a frequency domain signal to be transmitted on a k-th subcarrier, Ng is the number of time samples during the guard interval Tg, and Nused is the number of subcarriers except virtual subcarriers on which no signal is transmitted among all subcarriers mapped to an IFFT size. That is, Nused is the number of subcarriers to which a pilot or data can be allocated among all the subcarriers mapped to the IFFT size.
Because a signal is artificially distorted in the above-described windowing scheme, there is a problem in that Error Vector Magnitude (EVM) of the system is degraded and hardware complexity increases due to windowing. Specifically, a scheme for performing a windowing process during a 1-symbol interval is simply implemented and has a superior effect on sidelobe attenuation, but has a bad effect on EVM performance.
In detail, EVM is defined as shown in Equation (5), and becomes a measure of modulation accuracy in a transmitter. EVM is an important parameter for implementing a transmission system together with a spectrum mask and should always satisfy conditions predefined in the standard of a particular OFDM system.
                    EVM        =                                                            1                N                                                                            ∑                  i                  N                                                                  (                                                            Δ                                                                                I                        2                                                              +                                          Δ                                                                                Q                        2                                                                              )                                                                    S              max              2                                                          Equation                                                            (          5          )
In Equation (5), Smax2 is the maximum magnitude of the outermost constellation point among constellation points, ΔI2 is an error vector of real, i.e., in-phase axes, ΔQ2 is an error vector of imaginary axes, i.e., quadrature phase axes, and N is the number of subcarriers.
FIG. 3 illustrates EVM measurement results according to window size of the 1-symbol interval windowing scheme.
Referring to FIG. 3, it can be seen that EVM degrades as the window size increases when the window size m is 4, 8, 12, 16, 24, and 32 with respect to a transmission signal of a modulation scheme such as Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) and Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM). Thus, it is difficult for the 1-symbol interval windowing scheme to satisfy the EVM condition.
On the other hand, the 3-symbol interval windowing scheme has a lower degradation level in the EVM performance in comparison with the 1-symbol interval windowing scheme, but has a problem in implementation. In other words, because the 3-symbol interval windowing scheme should know a signal of the next symbol to transmit the current symbol, a processing delay occurs during a 1-symbol interval. Thus, there is a problem in that control logic and buffer sizes increase. Furthermore, there is another problem in that hardware complexity increases when the 3-symbol interval windowing scheme is used.

Method and apparatus for transmitting a signal in a communication system


An inking unit for a printing press, having a plurality of inking rollers for feeding a required ink quantity from an ink fountain to a printing plate, at least one of the inking rollers being additionally capable of performing an axial movement during a press run, includes a drive for driving the inking rollers axially via push rods and rocking levers, the drive including a drive wheel carrying an eccentrically disposed journal pin, and an uncouplable eccentric assigned to and cooperating with the journal pin.

Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an inking unit for a printing press, having a plurality of inking rollers for feeding a required ink quantity from an ink fountain to a printing plate, at least one of the inking rollers being additionally capable of performing an axial movement during a press run, and a drive for driving the inking rollers axially via push rods and rocking levers.
The published German Patent Document DE 34 24 721 C2 discloses an inking unit with a drive of the foregoing general type for axially moving inking rollers, and by which a stroke movement is transmissable via a cam disk to a lever which, in turn, transmits the stroke movement to a respective one of the ink rollers via a push rod. The stroke can be set or adjusted between a maximum and a minimum via a ball joint. This conventional drive has a multiplicity of wear locations, so that no uniform axial stroke can be achieved permanently. Roller stopping periods may occur, particularly in the reversal region of the axial movement, which may result in a nonuniform supply of ink to the printing plate.
Proceeding from this state of the prior art, it is accordingly an object of the invention of the instant application to provide an inking unit for a printing press with a drive for driving inking rollers axially, the drive being able to perform a reversible axial stroke movement, largely free of play and with little wear, by relatively simple means.


A system for collecting traffic information that includes at least one first mobile node; at least one second mobile node; at least one data collection node; and a central processing station. At least one packet is transmitted between the first mobile node and the second node. The data collection node includes a packet search analyzer to determine an identifier that identifiers the first mobile node or the second mobile node from the at least one packet. The central processing station is linked to the data collection node and communicates traffic information associated with the identifier.

The field of the disclosure relates generally to traffic management systems. More specifically, the disclosure relates to a traffic management system that collects information using a network.
Currently, various types of information service providers (ISPs) provide traffic information to users. The various types of ISPs include traffic and map systems such as Westwood One, Traffic.com/Navteq, Clear Channel Traffic; portal systems such as Yahoo!, Google, MapQuest/AOL, MicroSoft MSN; wireless carriers such as Verizon Wireless, Cingular Wireless, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile; telematics and navigation systems—GM OnStar, Ford, Toyota, XM Satellite Radio, Sirius Satellite Radio, Garmin, TomTom, Magellen, Motorola, AAA; and media companies such as NBC, ABC, CBS, etc. With the improvement in the quality and the granularity of traffic and travel time information, ISPs attempt to provide route-specific travel time information and dynamic route guidance information to individual users to influence the individual's travel choices including departure time, arrival time, route, destination, etc. An individual traveler relies on the ISP's information and personal experiences and preferences to make individual decisions for their travel choices.
As ISPs provide route-specific travel time information and dynamic route guidance information to more and more individual users, market penetration of actionable traffic information services may increase rapidly. As this type of actionable traffic information provision market penetration reaches a critical threshold, users with similar traffic and travel time information may compete for the shortest travel time routes creating new congestion for these routes. For example, users in the San Francisco Bay Area typically choose US 101 to travel from San Francisco to San Jose. When severe congestion occurs on US 101, for example, due to a major traffic accident, many ISPs advise motorists to use alternate routes I-280 or El Camino Real to avoid major congestion on US 101. However, with the diversion of a large number of users from US 101 to I-280 or El Camino Real these routes quickly become congested.
In order to populate these systems, large amounts of traffic data need to be collected. The traffic and travel time information can also be used for traffic studies, for monitoring traffic flow, or for detecting accidents. However, it is expensive to collect the traffic information. Traffic information is typically collected by closed-circuit video cameras, observers or by axle counters. Video cameras can be used by employees to determine general traffic flow and detect problems like accidents. However, closed-circuit video systems are expensive to maintain and operate. Observer based studies are comprehensive but expensive to conduct over long periods. Axle counters can be deployed for long periods, but the counters must be collected for processing, Moreover, using current detection methods, travel times are inferred from speed detections which themselves are often derived from vehicle counts, yielding errors of up to 35-40%. Thus, improved systems and methods for collecting traffic data are needed.

Method and system for a traffic management network


The present application relates to methods for growing crystals of both the uncomplexed and complexed forms of β-secretase (BACE) polypeptide. The present application also relates to crystalline forms of uncomplexed BACE and the three-dimensional structure of BACE, as determined from the crystals. In addition, the present application relates to the use of crystalline forms of BACE to identify ligands, preferably inhibitors (antagonists), which bind to, and preferably inhibit the enzymatic activity of, BACE. Furthermore, the present application relates to nucleic acid sequences encoding BACE polypeptide, and methods for making BACE in greater quantity than prior methods, resulting in more effective crystallization.

All publications cited in the present application are incorporated in their entirety by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present application relates to nucleic acids encoding β-secretase (BACE) polypeptides, methods for making BACE polypeptides, methods for growing crystals is of BACE, crystalline BACE, the three-dimensional structure of BACE, and the use of the crystalline forms to identify ligands, such as antagonists, that bind to BACE.
2. Invention Background
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by neuronal loss due to the extracellular accumulation of amyloid plaques and intracellular accumulation of neurofibrillary tangles in the brain (reviewed by Selkoe, D. J. (1999) Nature 399: A23-31). Two major components of amyloid plaques are small peptide fragments Aβ40 and Aβ42, which are generated from cleavage of the membrane-anchored amyloid precursor protein (APP) by the proteolytic activity of β- and γ-secretases. APP is a type I integral membrane protein containing the Aβ segment, which begins at D672 in the longest isoform and spans the boundary of the exocytoplasmic region (28 amino acids) and the transmembrane domain (12-14 amino acids). The γ-secretase activity cleaves APP within the transmembrane domain to produce the carboxy-terminal end of Aβ polypeptide. The β-secretase activity (aspartic protease activity), identified in a protein that is known as "mamapsin 2", "human β-site APP-cleaving enzyme" or "BACE", and "Asp 2", cleaves APP on the extracellular side of the membrane to produce the amino-terminal end of Aβ. (Vassar, R. et al., (1999) Science 286,735, Sinha, S. et al., (1999) Nature 402,537, Yan, R. et al., (1999) Nature 402,522, Hussain, I. et al., (1999) Mol. cell Neurosci. 14, 419 and Lin, X. (2000) at al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 97, 1456, Another enzyme, known as α-secretase, cleaves APP at a position within the Aβ sequence to produce a soluble APPα (Esch et al., (1990) Science 248: 1122-1124).
During the course of AD, Aβ polypeptide accumulates extracellularly in the brain, and forms large, insoluble amyloid fibrils that elicit both cytotoxic and inflammatory responses. Thus, BACE and γ-secretase proteases are targets for potential inhibitor drugs (antagonists) against AD. Because it was discovered that BACE activity is the rate-limiting step in Aβ production in vivo (Sinha and Lieberburg, (1999) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 96: 11049), BACE has become a prime target for the development of inhibitors (antagonists) to treat AD.
The BACE gene encodes a 501 residue polypeptide having, from N- to C-terminus, an N-terminal signal sequence of 21 amino acids; a pro-protein domain of 22 to 45 residues, which is proteolytically removed by furin to generate mature β-secretase (Creemers, J. W., et al. (2001) J. Biol. Chem. 276: 4211-4217; Bennet, B. D., et al. (2000) J. Biol. Chem. 275: 37712-37717); a protease (catalytic) domain; a connecting strand, an integral membrane (transmembrane) domain of about 17 amino acids; and a short cytosolic C-terminal tail of 24 amino acids (Vassar et al., supra). Sequence analyses indicate that BACE belongs to a subfamily of membrane-bound and soluble proteases, and contains a classic consensus active site motif found in aspartyl proteases (D T/S G T/S) at positions 93 to 96 and 289 to 292. The entire BACE sequence displays only mild homology with known aspartyl proteases, approximately 30% identity and 37% similarity with members of the mammalian pepsin family, with the highest homology found in the central portion of the extracellular domain.
Accurate information regarding the three-dimensional structure of β-secretase is helpful in the design and identification of ligands, particularly inhibitors (antagonists), of BACE, and in the enzymatic characterization of the enzyme. This information may be provided using crystals of the protein in X-ray crytallographic analysis.
Crystallization of a protein is a very time consuming and complex process. Crystallization of a protein requires a precise set of reagents and reaction conditions that promote the growth of crystallized protein. For example, specific amounts of protein, buffer, precipitating agent and salt, at a precise temperature, are required to produce X-ray diffraction quality crystals. There are an infinite number of combinations of the above reagents and reaction conditions. Therefore, the number of different combinations that can be tested is limited by the amount of protein that can be produced. Because the precise set of conditions that will produce crystals can not be predicted, one is more likely to discover crystals as more reagents and reaction conditions are tested. As a result, effective crystallization requires a large amount of refolded protein, typically milligram quantities. This is problematic because current methods for expressing BACE in E. coli provide low yields of unfolded protein. In addition, large amounts of unfolded protein are required to optimize the protein's refolding procedures. Thus, there is a need for nucleic acids encoding BACE that are optimized for E. coli expression, which utilize codons that are preferred by E. coli, to produce large quantities of BACE to both discover optimal refolding conditions and so that many different combinations of the above reagents and reaction conditions may be tested in order to optimize the crystallization conditions for BACE.
A crystal form of β-secretase complexed to an inhibitor is described in Hong et al., (2000) Science 290:150-153. In addition, several international applications I5 published under the Patent Cooperation Treaty, international publication numbers WO 02/25276 A1, WO 01/00663 A2 and WO 01/00665 A2, provide crystal forms of BACE complexed to an inhibitor. Knowledge of the structure of a protein in both the uncomplexed and complexed forms allows one to determine how the three-dimensional structure of the protein changes upon binding to a ligand. This aids in structure based drug design because it provides more information regarding how a particular ligand may be altered to increase its binding to the protein. Thus, there is a need for crystals of β-secretase which have similar structure and activity to that of native BACE, and which can be produced in the uncomplexed form.

Refolded recombinant β-secretase crystals and methods for preparing and using the same


A semiconductor device includes a first substrate, a second substrate stacked over the first substrate, and a pillar member extending obliquely between the first and second substrates. The first substrate includes a mounting surface on which a semiconductor chip is mounted, with a resin interposed between the semiconductor chip and the mounting surface and extending beyond the periphery of the semiconductor chip on the mounting surface. The first substrate further includes a first pad forming part of the mounting surface and disposed outside the resin. The second substrate includes a second pad forming part of its surface facing toward the mounting surface. The second pad at least overlaps the resin when viewed in a direction in which the second substrate is stacked over the first substrate. The pillar member has first and second ends joined to the first and second pads, respectively, to electrically connect the first and second substrates.

In recent years, semiconductor devices in which a semiconductor chip is embedded have been proposed in view of downsizing and space saving.
According to such semiconductor devices, for example, a first semiconductor chip is mounted face down on a surface of a first substrate by flip chip bonding, a second substrate is stacked on the surface of the first substrate with substrate connecting members such as solder balls between the first and the second substrate, and the space between the first and the second substrate is filled with mold resin. A second semiconductor chip is mounted on the second substrate. (See, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2003-347722.)


A commode chair of unitary molded plastic construction having chair legs, a seat and a chair back. The seat comprises an upper and a lower seat section, at least one of which comprises a toilet seat with a central opening. The toilet seat has a seating surface sculpted and configured in molded form to accommodate and support the posterior of the human anatomy in the seating position. A commode bucket is provided which is supported by the lower seat section and depends downwardly through the central opening therein.

The present invention relates generally to a commode chair. More particularly, the invention is directed to a commode chair which is comfortable for the user and which may be used by hospital patients, disabled persons and invalids. Still more particularly, the invention is directed to a commode chair of substantially unitary construction which is made of light weight plastic, is stain resistant and readily cleanable.
The special needs of infirm or handicapped persons for comfortable and convenient toilet seating facilities have been known for a long time. However, many existing commode chairs are not comfortable for the long term user, are unsightly, and are constructed of materials and in designs which make them difficult to clean and maintain in sanitary condition. Commode chairs heretofore known are exemplified by the commode described in Bard, U.S. Pat. No. 276,931 which comprises a metal frame with a conventional toilet seat supported therein and a bucket disposed beneath the toilet seat. A portable commode chair designed to provide some degree of comfort and to be less conspicuous is described in Honeywell, U.S. Pat. No. 577,136 and Gozdziewski, U.S. Pat. No. 3,905,051. However, these commode chairs and others heretofore known do not provide the degree of comfort desired or the ability to readily maintain them in a sanitary condition. Furthermore, many of the known commode chairs do not have the capability of being useable both in conjunction with conventional toilet facilities and as bedside commodes as well.
In addition to the foregoing, existing commode chairs are not comfortable for the long term user because most body weight is typically supported under the ischial tuberosities when seated. On a toilet seat, the majority of weight is supported by only a narrow portion of the thighs, which exerts high pressures that may restrict blood flow. When seated for an extended time period, such a condition may cause extreme discomfort and possibly even physical damage. The risk of injury is increased further with toilet seats wherein the buttocks protrude through the central opening below the seat level causing even greater rearward angling of the thighs thereby transferring weight to the thighs and presenting a further potential risk of concentrating the load at a single area at the patient's legs in the front of the seat, which can reduce or cutoff blood circulation.
Many commode chairs previously known have been also designed with side arms or support rails which swing away from the seat or drop downwardly. In such devices, the arms have proven unstable and may cause the user to feel insecure due to excessive wobble in arm components. Such instability is quite undesirable because of the user's need for firm and reliable support. Thus, any instability or insecurity is not only dangerous to, but also produces considerable discomfort for, the invalid, infirm or handicapped person who must use the device.
An additional shortcoming of many existing chairs is that waste products may sometimes be left in the waste collecting bucket for extended periods. As a result, odors escape from the bucket creating an unpleasant environment and considerable discomfort for the user as well as others in the area.
Ease of use of the commode chair is also important. The chair design should enable the user to be easily seated on the commode and to get up from it. Thus, the armrests which are used for support during these actions should be designed to accommodate the user's needs in this regard as well.


A subunit vaccine for Tritrichomonas foetus and method for preparing such vaccine for use in immunizing and treating animals is provided. The method disclosed involves separating out the antigens by centrifuging homogenized Tritrichomonas foetus cells, preferably at about 830.times.g for about 15 minutes, solubilizing the antigen with an nonionic detergent and completing with saponin. Topical administration, such as intravaginal or intrapretutial administration, of such vaccine preparation in conjunction with subcutaneous administration in combination with other adjuvants is effective to eliminate infection.

Trichomoniasis is a venereal disease caused by the protozoan parasite, Tritrichomonas foetus. The infection is confined to the lower reproductive tract of the female; i.e., the uterus, cervix and vaginal vestibule. In the male, T. foetus is found in the preputial cavity and less commonly in the urethral orifice. Transmission is almost exclusively by coitus.
Trichomoniasis is a worldwide disease of cattle. In infected cows, clinical manifestations of the disease are: early embryonic death, abortion, pyometra, and infertility, all of which result in reduced calf production. Prevalence increases with the age of the bull, possibly due to deepening of crypts in the preputial epithelium. Therefore, older bulls tend to remain long-term carriers. Infection rates are similar in both Bos taurus and Bos indicus cattle Yule et al., Parasitol. Today, 5(12), 373-377 (1989)!. A suggestion that there is a breed difference is susceptibility to T. foetus has not been substantiated.
The prevalence of trichomoniasis in bulls within a herd reported from around the world varies from 5.8-38.5% in California and 26.4% in South Africa, to 30.6-50% in Australia Kimsey et al., J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc., 177, 616-619 (1980)!. Losses due to reduced milk and calf production in a California dairy were calculated at U.S. $665.00 per infected cow Goodger et al., J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc., 189, 772-776 (1986)!.
Although trichomoniasis is purely a localized infection, the parasite does come into close contact with epithelial tissue at the site of colonization. The presence of circulating anti-T. foetus antibodies has been established by several assay systems. Naturally infected cattle have low circulating antibody levels. Highest titers have been seen in animals experiencing abortion and pyometra. However, serological tests, including agglutination, complement fixation, and gel precipitation, have failed to detect naturally infected cattle. Adequate antibody levels have been induced in cattle by inoculation of live parasites as well as various killed preparations of T. foetus. Live parasites generally stimulate production of antibody at higher levels than killed preparations. The circulating antibodies, however, reportedly do not come into contact with the parasite and supposedly play no protective role B. M. Honigberg, "Trichomonads of Veterinary Importance, Trichomonads of Importance in Human Medicine", in Parasitic Protozoa, Vol. II, J. P. Kreier, ed. (1978)!.
A number of T. foetus vaccines have been described Yule et al., supra (1989); Clark et al., Aus. Vet. J., 60(6), 178-179 (1983); and Clark et al., Aus. Vet. J., 61(2), 65-66 (1984)!. However, a reliable and highly effective vaccine has not been produced. There is a need for a vaccine preparation that can effectively eliminate T. foetus infection from animals and immunize uninfected animals.

Method of administering a vaccine comprising tritrichomonas foetus membrane surface antigens between 45 and 300 kilopaltons


SIFT features are selected from an input image. A SIFT procedure is applied to the input image to obtain candidate keypoints. For each candidate keypoint, there is calculation of a first Laplacian value (Lu) for pixels in an upper Scale Space and a second Laplacian value (Ll) for pixels in a lower Scale Space, based on the position of the candidate keypoint. A candidate keypoint is discarded if a Laplacian value Lc of the keypoint position is less than or equal to either of Lu or Ll. In the case that the candidate keypoint is not discarded, the candidate keypoint's Laplacian strength (Ls) is calculated, based on a relative change in Laplacian value from Lc to Lu and from Lc to Ll. One or more candidate keypoints are selected as SIFT features based on the corresponding Laplacian strength.

In the field of image analysis and retrieval, it is common to extract local features of an image for comparison against extracted features of other images.
One approach previously considered for extracting local features is the Scale-Invariant Feature Transform (or SIFT) algorithm. Feature vectors extracted with SIFT are invariant to image translation, scaling, and rotation, are partially invariant to illumination changes, and are robust to local geometric distortion. Thus, they can be useful to represent an image for applications such as image matching.


A heating system is disclosed, which includes a main body having a duct formed therein, an air flowing guiding member, and a heating unit. The duct has an air inlet and an air outlet. The air flowing guiding member is disposed in the duct. The heating unit includes a substrate and a plurality of electronic components disposed on the substrate in a matrix form and embossed from a surface of the substrate, wherein each of the electronic components is capable of individually producing heat to directly heat up the air flowing in the duct. Also a heating system using the heating unit is disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic component of a heating system, and more particularly, to a heating unit of a heating system.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to measure particular values to determine if a person is at risk of disease, the whole blood or serum of a human is reacted with a chemical reagent to perform chemical reactions in a medical apparatus. Since the chemical reaction and chemical activity are directly affected by reacting temperature, a temperature control system is required in the medical apparatus so as to improve accuracy of the measured values. Additionally, due to the fact that the normal environmental temperature, especially in a place where the medical apparatus is used, is below 37° C., a temperature control system is generally configured to produce heat to facilitate the chemical reaction.
The conventional temperature control system generally includes a resistive heating plate and heat dissipating fins which are formed by aluminum extrusion type. The heating plate may be formed by silicon resin, PET, high temperature stable mica, or polyimide film, and the heating plate is attached to a flat surface of the heat dissipating fins. While operating, heat generated from the heating plate is conducted to the heat dissipating fins and transferred to air that is to be heated. However, the temperature distribution on the heat dissipating fins is not uniform (the region near the heating plate has higher temperatures, and the region away from the heating plate has lower temperatures) thereby decreasing heat exchange efficiency.
Thus, a need exists for a heating unit which has high heat exchange efficiency and low manufacturing costs.

Heating unit and heating system using the same


A cool white light source includes a reflectorized lamp which outputs light having a correlated color temperature of about 5830.degree. K., a first ultraviolet (UV) filter and a second infrared (IR) filter. The lamp reflector also acts as an initial IR filter and initially filters out about 80 percent or more of the infrared radiation spectrum of the lamp generated light before the lamp generated light is passed through the first UV filter and the second IR filter. The second IR filter has an effective filtration of about 90 percent at least above about 760 nm, suggestedly above about 720 nm and most desirably above about 700 nm. The UV filter has an effective UV reflectance of over 99 percent at least below about 375 nm and suggestedly below about 400 nm and desirably below about 420 nm. Since filtration occurs at the margins of the visible light spectrum, a high correlated color temperature is maintained, such that a balanced white light having a color temperature over 5000.degree. K. is delivered.

In order to perform ophthalmic surgery, adequate illumination of the eye is required. Such illumination is not adequately provided by a focused lamp located above the surgical area because the surgical field is within the eye. Rather, a beam of light is usually delivered to the surgical area with a fiber optic cable.
The quality of the light delivered to the surgical area is very important. In order to provide high clarity and vision in an anterior or posterior segment of the eye, it is preferred to deliver a bright, white light to the surgical area. The white light preferably does not include any hues which could make it difficult to distinguish areas within the eye. Typical light sources used in ophthalmic surgery have a correlated color temperature of about 3200.degree. K. (Kelvin). In contrast, sunlight, the standard for white light, has a color temperature of about 6800.degree. Kelvin. Such low color temperature lamps are used to avoid light toxicity to the eye. However, such low color temperature lamps do not provide a balanced white light, but rather the light includes red, orange or even yellow hues. The inclusion of such hues makes it difficult to view the retinal surface because a high percentage of the surface area of the retina is red. A light which includes a red hue brings out the red tissue of the skin, thereby making it harder to see subtle differences inside the eye. That is, visibility of the natural colors of the illuminated tissue is important for diagnostic purposes, and a color tinted light exacerbates the surgeon's ability to see the work area. Accordingly, it would be desirable to deliver a safe white light to a surgical area of the eye.


Distinct names of merchant entities in a transaction processing database are automatically corrected to standard names of entities by identifying non-standard features from the distinct names that do not uniquely identify the standard names of entities, and processing each distinct name with a selected regular expression tailored to remove the non-standard features and convent the names to a standard name format. Fuzzy matching is used to identify standard names of entities corresponding to the standard name formats.

This invention relates generally to computer implemented methods and systems for automatically standardizing data items that refer to the same thing but which appear in different distinct non-standard forms and formats in data collections, and more particularly to the automated standardization of unstructured non-standard names in big data databases.
Frequently, data items that refer to a common thing or to related entities of a group can appear in many different non-standard distinct forms in one or more collections of data. This occurs in many different areas and different kinds of data, including, for example, in transaction-related data in a relational database. Non-standard unstructured data items cause problems for automated data processing operations that run analytics on the database seeking to make associations between data items or to derive information from the data. They are particularly acute with regard to proper names that are used to identify entities, such as persons or businesses, because the names are unstructured and not standardized across single business entities. Names referring to the same entity may be spelled differently, may contain truncated or shortened words, and may contain special alphanumeric characters. For instance, a business named ACMEMART may appear in a database in many different forms such as "ACME MART", "ACMEMART, INC." or "Acme-Market", and if the business has stores in different locations or has separate departments in stores that are separate cost centers, each store or department may be designated separately, e.g., "ACMEMART #0267".
For analytics processing that requires a global view of an entire business, individual level labeling (non-standard naming) is limiting and requires pre-processing of the data to identify and aggregate the various names into a standardized format for processing. Typically, preprocessing is a manual operation to verify name assignment and correct for obscure or outlier differences. For small and conventional sized data sets, and for data that is not rapidly changing, this may be practical. However, for "big data" sets, and particularly for transactional data, such pre-processing is burdensome and may be impractical if not impossible. "Big Data" refers to large complex collections of data sets having a volume, velocity, and a variety that exceeds an organization's traditional storage or computing capacity for accurate and timely decision making. For some organizations, big data may be data exceeding hundreds of gigabytes. For others, it may be tens or hundreds of terabytes. Big data is difficult to work with using most relational database management systems and statistics and visualization packages. Instead, it may require massively parallel software running on tens, hundreds, or even thousands of servers.
It is desirable to provide systems and methods that can preprocess and automatically standardize data items, such as names, in a database to associate data items having distinct non-standard forms and formats to a common standard format so that the data can be aggregated, queried and analyzed to determine relationships and characteristics among standardized groups of data items. More particularly, it is desirable to afford an automated name standardization system and process that may be applied to big data, and it is to these ends that the present invention is directed.

Automated name standardization for big data


An improved door security device is for a door having a doorknob which consists of an elongated leg brace. A base is located on a lower end of the leg brace for frictional engagement upon a floor. A structure is located on an upper end of the leg brace for engaging the doorknob on the door, so as to prevent an unauthorized opening of the door.

1. Field of the Invention
The instant invention relates generally to door holders and more specifically it relates to an improved door security device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous door holders have been provided in prior art that are adapted to keep doors in closed positions and prevent the doors from being opened by unauthorized individuals. While these units may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described.


A linearizer particularly valuable for millimeter wave satellite communications is disclosed. A satellite (12) divides signal into linear (20) and nonlinear (32) paths which are converted to finline. A pair of beamlead PIN diodes (48) and a pair of varactor diodes (52) extend across the finline linear path to constitute an attenuator and phase shifter. A pair of anti-parallel Schottky diodes (60) and a pair of PIN diodes (64) extend across the nonlinear path to constitute a limiter and an attenuator. A combiner (30) combines the linear and nonlinear signals for input to an amplifier.

In order to overcome the nonlinearities of amplifiers, predistortion linearizers are commonly used. The purpose of a predistortion linearizer is to introduce distortion into a signal before it is amplified. The distortion is designed to cancel out or at least minimize the distortion into the signal by nonlinearities in the amplifier. The resulting signal is therefore much cleaner. In high frequency communications applications such as in satellite communications, predistortion linearizers must be capable of operating at microwave and higher frequencies including millimeter wave frequencies, as high as V-band. Linearizers for lower frequencies are known and can operate to frequencies as high as Ku-band, although many of these lower frequency linearizers use field effect transistors in their limiters. In order to adapt these designs for still higher frequencies, e.g. millimeter wave, hybrid electromagnetic transistors would be required. However, such small geometry devices become unreliable at high power levels. As a result, there is a need for an inexpensive, passive, predistortion linearizer for high frequency signals such as millimeter waves.


There is provided a system and method for visual search in a video media player. There is provided a computing device for performing a visual search in video files comprising a display, a memory, a video media player application in the memory, and a processor configured to store into the memory search terms by allowing a user to visually select objects as search terms using a user interface on the display, initiate a search using the search terms, obtain search results comprising time offsets and play durations within the video files, each play duration containing at least one frame corresponding to the search terms, and display navigational controls in the user interface for presenting the search results, including selectable graphical thumbnail images or preview videos. A user can select objects via outlined, highlighted, or otherwise visually identified objects in a video frame, the selecting enabled by associated search metadata.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to computer systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to systems for processing of computer data.
2. Background Art
With the vast selection of entertainment media and web sites currently available, competing for the attention of the video media viewer is now a daunting task. Although traditional written means of guidance for entertainment media selection such as reviews, episode guides, and summaries might suffice if the video media viewer is sufficiently motivated to conduct the required research, many others may be intimidated by the amount of effort required, even abandoning the whole enterprise of watching the video media in the first place. To make optimal use of limited leisure time, the video media viewer demands easy, instant access to media content that is custom tailored to the viewer's tastes and interests. Traditional entertainment delivery paradigms have so far largely failed to satisfy this demand, putting the onus of content selection on the viewer, often with limited guiding tools or assistance.
Even on-demand media delivery systems, such as Internet streaming video, suffer from a lack of tools facilitating easy selection of media content. For example, a television drama might have several episodes spanning several seasons, maybe even hundreds of episodes for particularly long running programs. Program direction, cast, storylines, and production values might vary wildly from one episode to another. A viewer facing this inscrutable mass of media content might decide to ignore it completely and do something else instead. Since the task of content selection is rendered so difficult by the sheer amount of media content and the lack of helpful guidance available, and only a small portion of the content may actually interest the viewer, a quick cost-benefit analysis may reveal that the time and effort spent to select the media content outweighs the rewards of viewership.
Accordingly, there is a need to overcome the drawbacks and deficiencies in the art by providing a system to allow easy selection and viewing of video media content that interests a viewer, without requiring undue effort from the viewer.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System and method for visual search in a video media player


This invention related to a multi-layered damped anchor shim adapted for use in a drum brake assembly. The anchor shim includes an inner surface and an outer surface which is adapted to contact the second ends of the brake shoes. The anchor shim includes a damping material applied to the inner surface thereof so as to be disposed between adjacent contacting areas of the outer surface of the inner retainer plate and the inner surface of the anchor shim to thereby reduce the transmission of noise from the brake shoes through the abutment assembly to the backing plate.

This invention relates in general to vehicle drum brake assemblies and in particular to an improved damped anchor shim for use in such a vehicle drum brake assembly.
Most vehicles are equipped with a brake system for slowing or stopping movement of the vehicle in a controlled manner. A typical brake system for an automobile or light truck includes a disc brake assembly for each of the front wheels and either a drum brake assembly or a disc brake assembly for each of the rear wheels. The brake assemblies can be actuated by hydraulic, pneumatic, or mechanical pressure generated by an operator of the vehicle depressing a foot pedal, pulling a hand lever, and the like. The structure and operation of both drum brake assemblies and disc brake assemblies, as well as the actuators therefor, are well known in the art.
A typical drum brake assembly includes a backing plate which is secured to a fixed, non-rotatable component of the vehicle, such as the vehicle axle housing, and an abutment assembly secured to the backing plate. A pair of opposed arcuate brake shoes are supported on the backing plate for selective movement relative thereto. Each of the brake shoes has a friction pad or lining secured thereto. Each of the brake shoes includes a lower end which engages a portion of the abutment assembly so as to pivotally support the brake shoes relative to the backing plate. In order to maintain the lower ends of the brake shoes in engagement with the abutment assembly, a spring is typically secured to the shoes adjacent the lower ends thereof and urges the shoes into engagement with the abutment assembly.
The drum brake assembly further includes a hollow cylindrical brake drum which is secured to the vehicle wheel for rotation therewith. The hollow interior of the brake drum defines an inner cylindrical braking surface. The brake drum is disposed adjacent to the backing plate such that the brake shoes extend within the cylindrical braking surface. To effect braking action, the brake shoes are moved outwardly apart from one another such that the friction pads frictionally engage the cylindrical braking surface of the brake drum. Such frictional engagement causes slowing or stopping of the rotational movement of the brake drum and, therefore, the wheel of the vehicle in a controlled manner.
One or more actuating mechanisms are provided in the drum brake assembly for selectively moving the brake shoes outwardly apart from one another into frictional engagement with the cylindrical braking surface of the brake drum. Usually, a hydraulically or pneumatically actuated service brake mechanism is provided for selectively actuating the drum brake assembly under normal operating conditions. Such a service brake mechanism can include a hydraulic cylinder having a pair of opposed pistons which abut and move the brake shoes apart from one another into frictional engagement with the cylindrical braking surface of the brake drum. A mechanically actuated parking and emergency brake mechanism is also usually provided for selectively actuating the drum brake assembly. The parking and service brake mechanism can include an actuating lever pivotally supported on one of the brake shoes. The actuating lever is connected to a cable which, when pulled, moves the brake shoes apart from one another into frictional engagement with the cylindrical braking surface of the brake drum.
As discussed above, the lower ends of the brake shoes are in engagement with the abutment assembly. Also, since the abutment assembly is operative to transfer braking torque during braking from the associated brake shoes to the frame of the vehicle, undesirable vibration, rattle or other noises may be transmitted to the frame during such braking. To prevent this from occurring, it is known to provide an anti-rattle clip in the drum brake assembly. The anti-rattle clip is typically embodied as a flat spring metal member attached to the abutment assembly. The anti-rattle clip is operative to exert a force against the associated brake shoes to prevent them from rattling while limiting pad sliding resistance to an optimum level when the drum brake assembly is disengaged. A number of anti-rattle clip structures are known in the art for use with the friction pads of drum brake assemblies.
This invention relates to an improved drum brake assembly having at least one damped brake shoe anchor shim support device secured to an associated backing plate which is effective to reduce brake noise during actuation of the drum brake assembly. The drum brake assembly includes a backing plate, a pair of brake shoes supported on the backing plate for selective movement into frictional engagement with a brake drum, a brake mechanism, and an abutment assembly secured to the backing plate. Each of the brake shoes includes a first end and an opposite second end. The drum brake assembly further includes a brake mechanism adapted to engage the first ends of the brake shoes so as to cause the brake shoes to move outwardly into frictional engagement with the brake drum. The abutment assembly includes an inner retainer plate disposed adjacent the backing plate, an outer retainer plate, and an anchor shim carried by the inner retainer plate and interposed between the backing plate and the retainer outer plate. The anchor shim includes an inner surface and an outer surface which is adapted to contact the second ends of the brake shoes. The anchor shim includes a damping material applied to the inner surface thereof so as to be disposed between adjacent contacting areas of the outer surface of the inner retainer plate and the inner surface of the anchor shim to thereby reduce the transmission of noise from the brake shoes through the abutment assembly to the backing plate.
Other advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, when read in light of the accompanying drawings.

Damped anchor shim for drum brake assembly


A method can be used for producing a powdery precursor material of the following general composition I or II or III or IV: I: (CaySr1−y) AlSiN3:X1 II:(CabSraLi1−a−b) AISi (N1−cFc)3:X2 III: Z5−δAl4−2δSi8+2δN18: X3 IV: (Zi−dLid)5−δAl4−2δSi8+2δ(N1−XFX)18: X4. The method includes A) producing a powdery mixture of starting materials, wherein the starting materials comprise ions of the aforementioned compositions I and/or II and/or III and/or IV, B) annealing the mixture under a protective gas atmosphere, subsequent milling. In method step A), at least one silicon nitride having a specific area of greater than or equal to 5 m2/g and smaller than or equal to 100 m2/g is selected as starting material. The annealing in method step B) is carried out at a temperature of less than or equal to 1550° C.

In optoelectronic components, for example, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), ceramic materials or ceramic luminophores are used, which convert radiation emitted by a radiation source at a first wavelength to a radiation having a second wavelength. One feature of the ceramic materials is a high thermal durability because of their good removal of heat. A ceramic preliminary material or luminophore precursor material or precursor material requires a small particle size for a high sintering capacity, in order to be able to subject it easily to ceramic processes such as tape casting or spark plasma sintering (SPS).

Method for producing a powdery precursor material, powdery precursor material and use thereof


Embodiments of the invention provide systems and methods for performing static analysis of query expressions embedded in programming language source code. According to one embodiment, performing static analysis of one or more query expressions embedded in programming language source code can comprise extracting the one or more query expressions from the programming language source code, performing the static analysis on the extracted one or more query expressions, and reporting results of performing the static analysis on the one or more query expressions, wherein the results relate errors and warning generated by performing the static analysis to the source code from which the one or more query expressions are extracted.

Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to methods and systems for performing a static analysis on software source code and more particularly to performing static analysis of query expressions embedded in programming language source code.
Applications that utilize a database are often developed with database commands, queries, and/or objects embedded in the source code of those applications. For example, Procedural Language/Structured Query Language (PL/SQL) is a programming language often embedded in applications utilizing databases. As a database implementation grows, the amount of business logic coded in it becomes quite significant. Additionally, for large applications such as enterprise applications, use of the database and the embedded SQL code for doing so can be extensive and voluminous. A need exists to improve the quality of the code used in such PL/SQL program units. However, current approaches to verifying or analyzing source code do not provide a way to also analyze the embedded database commands or queries. As a result, there is often a failure to verify the quality of PL/SQL or other embedded SQL code to locate potentially vulnerable code. The cost of bugs or vulnerabilities exponentially increases with the delay in finding them. Hence, there is a need for improved methods and systems for performing static analysis of query expressions embedded in programming language source code which would analyze PL/SQL in the source code files to find out both critical and trivial bugs which would be of useful to the developer to improve the quality of the code.

Static analysis of PL/SQL objects and SQL queries


A progressive power lens series in which the surface of each lens body has first and second vision portions which differ in power in accordance with a power curve which lies entirely in the y-z plane of a Cartesian coordinate system and which is the umbilical portion of the principal meridian of the progressive surface with the curvature of the surface in at least one of said vision portions spreading away from the power curve in accordance with a spreading function defined by the intersection of nested non-bipolar conic sections or nested hyperbolic cosines with the x-y plane of the coordinate system.

Presbyopia is a condition of the human eye which increases with age and which requires correction for near distance vision. An individual suffering from this condition may also require correction for far distance vision. In efforts to provide a single lens incorporating corrections for both near and far distance, there have been developed progressive lenses.
Winthrop U.S. Pat. No. 4,861,153 issued Aug. 29, 1989, discusses various progressive lens designs of the prior art. This patentee describes the defect of many such lenses as failing to provide visual continuity being, in effect, similar to trifocal lenses. Other efforts of the prior art to produce progressive lenses are said to produce results in which the aberration level is substantial or which are objectionably astigmatic.
With the foregoing in mind, Winthrop sets out to develop a progressive addition spectacle lens with the smoothest possible distribution of dioptric power and the lowest possible level of unwanted astigmatism. In so doing, Winthrop provides a family or series of lenses in which the entire progressive surface can be considered to be generated by the curve of intersection formed between a sphere of variable radius and a corresponding cylinder of variable diameter. In the resultant lens, the distance and near vision "areas" are mathematical points so that the astigmatism is distributed over the entire area of the lens and thus is minimized. These distance and near power points are connected by an umbilic line of progressive dioptric power. These points, moreover, comprise the poles of a bipolar system of surface power contours.
While Winthrop provides a progressive lens having visual continuity and a low level of unwanted astigmatism, his teaching is limited to a single family or series of progressive lenses having the characteristics discussed hereinabove.


A motor driving apparatus which makes it possible to continue a suppressed power supply to an electric motor even when a detected value (Id) of a current flowing to an H-bridge circuit indicates abnormality, to thereby prevent occurrence of shock in a system in which the motor is employed as a drive source. The apparatus includes a current detecting device (12) for detecting an electric current (I) flowing to an H-bridge circuit (1), and a control device (20) which includes an abnormality decision device (24) for determining abnormality of the detected current value (Id) outputted from the current detecting device (12). When the detected current value (Id) indicates abnormality, both of the ones (Q1; Q4) of the transistors (Q1; Q2 and Q3; Q4) inserted at the side of the power supply source (3) and the ground (GND), respectively, are driven under the PWM control.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a motor driving apparatus including an H-bridge circuit constituted by a plurality of transistors some of which are driven under the control of a pulse-width modulated signal of which duty ratio is controllable (hereinafter, such driving will be referred to as the driving under PWM control or PWM-driving or the like). More specifically, the invention is concerned with a motor driving apparatus which is capable of continuing or stopping selectively and effectively operation of an electric motor employed as a drive source in dependence on abnormal conditions prevailing upon occurrence of a short-circuit fault in a transistor circuit. The invention can profitably find application to a motor-driven power steering system of a motor vehicle, being understood, however, that the invention is never restricted thereto.
2. Description of Related Art
For having better understanding of the invention, description will first be directed to the technical background thereof. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing generally a circuit configuration of a conventional motor driving apparatus known heretofore. In this case, it is assumed that the motor driving apparatus is adapted for driving an electric motor employed for generating an assist torque in a motor-driven power steering system of an automobile or motor vehicle for assisting a driver in manipulating a steering wheel. A typical example of such motor driving apparatus is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 158455/1990 (JP-A-2-158455).
Referring to FIG. 4, an electric motor 2 whose operation is to be controlled is connected between output terminals 1a and 1b of an H-bridge circuit 1 which in turn is constituted by a plurality of transistors such as FETs (field-effect transistor). In the illustrated circuit, there are employed four transistors or FETs Q1 to Q4, wherein a diode is connected in parallel to each of the transistors Q1 to Q4 in order to allow a motor current IM generated upon stopping of the electric motor 2 to flow through the diodes.
The H-bridge circuit 1 has one end 1c connected to a power supply source 3 which may be constituted, for example, by an onboard battery of a motor vehicle, wherein a relay 4 is inserted between the one end 1c of the H-bridge circuit 1 and the power supply source 3 for the purpose of controlling (i.e., enabling or disabling) the power supply to the electric motor 2. Further, the H-bridge circuit 1 has the other end 1d connected to the ground potential GND, wherein a shunt resistor 5 is inserted between the other end 1d and the ground GND for detecting an electric current I flowing to or through the H-bridge circuit 1.
There are provided a plurality of driving circuits 6 to 9 in correspondence to the transistors (FETs) Q1 to Q4, respectively, wherein PWM signals (or on-signals, i.e., signal for operating the transistor in the constantly or continuously conducting state which may also be referred to as the on state) P1 to P4 are selectively applied to the individual transistors Q1 to Q4.
A voltage detecting circuit 11 is provided for detecting a relay contact voltage VR applied to the one end 1c of the H-bridge circuit 1, while a current detecting circuit 12 is provided for detecting a current value Id on the basis of a voltage appearing at one end of the shunt resistor 5. Further, a torque sensor 30 is provided for detecting a steering torque T applied to a steering system by a driver through a steering wheel in the assumed case where the electric motor 2 is employed for generating an steering assist torque, as mentioned previously.
A control means 20 implemented by using a microcomputer fetches the detected current value Id, the relay contact voltage VR and the output of the torque sensor 30 indicative of the applied steering torque T to thereby output a stop signal S for on/off control of the relay 4 as well as drive control command signals C1 to C4 for controlling the driving circuits 6 to 9, respectively.
Next, referring to FIG. 4, description will be made of operation of the conventional motor driving apparatus on the assumption that the motor driving apparatus is applied to a motor-driven power steering system of a motor vehicle for generating an assist torque for assisting a driver in manipulation of a steering wheel.
For generating a desired assist torque in dependence on the applied steering torque T as detected, the control means 20 first determines selectively the transistors (e.g. transistors Q1 and Q4) to be driven under the PWM control on one hand and to be driven in the on-state on the other hand and at the same time determines a desired duty ratio value of a PWM signal (P1) for the transistor selected for the PWM-driving (e.g. Q1).
More specifically, one (e.g. transistor Q2) of the transistors Q1 and Q2 connected to the power supply source 3 and one (e.g. transistor Q3) of the transistors Q3 and Q4 connected to the ground GND are turned off. In this state, the other one (e.g. transistor Q1) of the transistors Q1 and Q2 connected to the power supply source 3 is driven under the PWM control with the other one (e.g. transistor Q4) of the transistors Q3 and Q4 connected to the ground GND is driven continuously in the on-state.
Thus, the electric motor 2 connected between the output terminals 1a and 1b of the H-bridge circuit 1 is driven for an angular distance in a direction under supply of a motor current IM as commanded by the control means 20.
In that case, in order to enhance the controllability of the duty ratio of each of transistors Q1 to Q4 while suppressing generation of heat and noise upon turning on/off of the transistors, only the transistor Q1 connected to the power supply source 3 is driven under the PWM control with the transistor Q4 connected to the ground GND being maintained steadily in the conducting state (i.e., on state).
Parenthetically, when the electric motor 2 is to be driven in the reverse direction, then the operating states of the transistors are so reversed that the transistors Q2 and Q3 are driven with only the transistor Q2 being driven under the PWM control while the transistors Q1 and Q4 are both turned off.
At this juncture, it is noted that when a short-circuit fault occurs in any one of the transistors Q1 and Q4 or Q2 and Q3 during operation of the electric motor 2, the electric current I flowing through the H-bridge circuit 1 or the motor current IM becomes excessively large. To say in another way, an overcurrent flows through the H-bridge circuit 1 and hence through the electric motor 2.
Such overcurrent is then detected by the current detecting circuit 12, and the detected current value Id indicating the overcurrent is supplied to the control means 20 from the current detecting circuit 12. In response, the control means 20 generates immediately a stop signal S for interrupting application of the PWM signal to the H-bridge circuit 1 to thereby stop operation of the electric motor 2 in order to protect the H-bridge circuit 1, the electric motor 2, the power supply source 3, the relay 4, a fuse (not shown) and so forth from injury or damage due to the overcurrent.
However, when the motor driving apparatus is employed in association with the motor-driven power steering system of a motor vehicle with the electric motor 2 generating an assist torque for the motor-driven power steering system, the stop processing executed by the control means 20 as mentioned above means that the assist torque applied to the steering wheel of the motor vehicle is abruptly reduced to zero during operation of the motor vehicle, which will give rise to not a little shock and uneasiness to the driver or operator. For this reason, the processing for generating the stop signal S immediately in response to occurrence of the short-circuit fault is not preferred.
As is apparent from the above description, the motor driving apparatus known heretofore suffers a problem that because the electric motor 2 is stopped abruptly by interrupting immediately the power supply to the electric motor 2 when the detected current value Id indicates abnormality during operation of the electric motor 2, inconveniences such as mentioned above may arise, although it depends on the applications for which the electric motor 2 is employed.


An image display device displays an image such that a pair of reference symmetric structure portions, e.g. a pair of guide pins, are included in a captured image displayed on a display section, the pair of reference symmetric structure portions being located symmetrically with respect to a second virtual plane which extends in the opening direction and the vertical direction and includes a virtual center line of the molding apparatus which extends in the opening direction. A teaching execution section is used to determine the lateral position of an approach frame in the take-out operation by changing the position of the approach frame such that the center of an imaging range is located at a middle position between the pair of reference symmetric structure portions included in the captured image.

An apparatus for taking out molded product repeatedly performs operation to receive a molded product at a product take-out position in a die of a molding apparatus using a take-out head, and release the molded product at a product release position outside the molding apparatus. The operation or operating sequence of an apparatus for taking our molded product is taught by using a so-called teaching program. To suction a product, it is normally necessary to perform teaching so as to bring a take-out head, which is mounted to the distal end of an approach frame of the apparatus for taking out molded product, closer to the die by positioning the take-out head in three directions, that is, a lateral direction (a direction that is orthogonal to the direction in which the die is opened and closed and the up-down direction), a pull-out direction (the direction in which the die is opened and closed), and the up-down direction. Finally, it is necessary to make an adjustment such that there is no deviation from a suctioned surface by pressing the head so as to align a suctioning portion or a grasping portion (in general, the center of the head) of the head with an appropriate position (e.g. the center of the molded product) of the molded product. When aligning the center of the take-out head with the center of the molded product, an adjustment can be made for the pull-out direction and the up-down direction through visual observation from an operation position on a side surface with respect to the longitudinal direction of the molding apparatus. For the lateral direction, however, an adjustment cannot be easily made through visual observation because of the "depth", and the die and the head occasionally contact each other. Thus, in the conventional art, the adjustment depends on the skills of an operator, who often climbs on top of the molding apparatus and makes an alignment in the lateral direction while viewing downward. However, such a teaching method involves the risk of a fall, and may unnecessarily extend the operation time as well. The conventional teaching method also depends on the skills of the operator.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2018-114752 (JP 2018-114752 A) describes a teaching method for a system for taking out molded product, the system including a plurality of imaging devices configured to capture images around a fixed frame and images around moving frames and an image display device configured to display an integrated captured image obtained by integrating the images (including both moving images and still images) captured by the plurality of imaging devices, the teaching method including an operator performing teaching of an operating sequence while viewing the integrated captured image displayed on the image display device.

Teaching method for system for taking out molded product and apparatus for taking out molded product


The present disclosure is directed to a method of enabling an application programmed on a mobile device to collect data. The application may operate in the background of the mobile device and be temporarily activated, and may be capable of collecting data while activated. The method may include receiving location data indicating a current location of the mobile device, generating a set of custom virtual borders around the current location, and instructing an operating system of the mobile device to temporarily activate the application when the mobile device crosses one or more of the custom virtual borders. The method is repeated upon temporary activation of the application, such that an updated set of custom virtual borders is generated when the mobile device crosses one or more of the previous custom virtual borders.

Mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets are configured to allow users to install and run several third-party application programs, or apps. Some apps take advantage of the mobile device's preexisting hardware in order to improve the user's experience with the app. For instance, many smartphone apps collect, with the user's consent, location information using the smartphone's built-in location-determining hardware (e.g., global positioning system (GPS), indoor positioning system (IPS), etc.) in order to provide the user with an improved experience tailored to the user's specific location. Similarly, the apps can collect other types of data or information using other sensors or hardware included in the smartphone.
Device manufacturers and vendors often wish to retain the ability to fully control and manage what happens on the device. Moreover, continuously collecting data using a device's built-in hardware can drain the device's battery quickly. Therefore, mobile device operating systems are often configured to restrict apps from directly accessing the hardware. Instead, an app must send a request to collect data to the operating system, and the operating system determines when the app is permitted to run its code and collect data.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of a mobile device 100 with an application program (app) 140 running in the background. In the example, the app 140 includes a data collection module 142 that requests to collect data using hardware 120 (e.g., GPS) included in the mobile device. The request is sent to the operating system 110 via an application program interface (API) 130. The operating system 110 includes a program activation module 112 that determines whether or not to permit the app 140 to "wake up" and collect data while remaining in the background. The app 140 cannot interface with the hardware 120 via the API 130 unless the program activation module 112 permits it to do so. As a result, when the app 140 is running in the background of the mobile device 100, the app 140 is limited in terms of how frequently it can collect data, and thus how much data it can collect.

Systems and methods to collect location data by using a dynamic geofencing methodology


A cardiac stimulator lead is provided that includes a lead body that has a connector for coupling to a cardiac stimulator and a flexible insulating sleeve that has a first outer diameter. An electrode is coupled to the insulating sleeve. A conductor wire is coupled between the connector and the electrode. An annular seat is coupled to the lead body and is composed of a thermally-sensitive shape-memory polymeric material whereby the seal is deformable in situ from a temporary shape with a second outer diameter to a permanent shape with a third outer diameter that is greater than the second outer diameter. A shape-memory polymeric suture sleeve may be included that can tightly clamp the lead sleeve in situ.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to cardiac stimulator leads, and more particularly to a cardiac stimulator lead that includes a lead body with a shape-memory polymeric annular seal and a shape-memory polymeric suture sleeve.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional cardiac stimulator systems consist of a cardiac stimulator and an elongated flexible cardiac lead that is connected proximally to a header structure on the cardiac stimulator and is implanted distally at one or more sites within the heart requiring cardiac stimulation or sensing. Most such leads include an elongated flexible tubular, electrically insulating sleeve that is connected proximally to a connector that is adapted to couple to the header of the cardiac stimulator can, and distally to a tip electrode that is positioned near the tissue requiring stimulation. The cardiac stimulator is normally a pacemaker, a cardioverter/defibrillator, a sensing instrument, or some combination of these devices.
At the time of implantation, the distal end of a cardiac lead is inserted through an incision in the chest and manipulated by the physician to the site requiring electrical stimulation with the aid of a flexible stylet that is removed prior to closure. At the site requiring electrical stimulation, the distal end of the lead is anchored to the endocardium by an active mechanism, such as a screw-in electrode tip, or alternatively, by a passive mechanism, such as one or more radially spaced tines that engage the endocardium. The proximal end of the lead is then connected to the cardiac stimulator and the incision is closed. The implantation route and site are usually imaged in real time by fluoroscopy to confirm proper manipulation and placement of the lead.
Prior to closure, a suture sleeve (if not already in place) is slipped over the lead sleeve, positioned proximal to the site of transvenous entry, and sutured in place to body tissue. The suture sleeve is designed to anchor a portion of the lead to a preselected portion of tissue proximal to the site of transvenous entry and to restrict the longitudinal movement of the lead following implantation. The design goal is not to eliminate all longitudinal movement of the lead since some longitudinal movement thereof is inevitable due to normal chest and heart movements and to physical exertion. Rather, the aim is to prevent radical longitudinal movements of the lead that could dislodge the tip electrode from the endocardium or even fracture the conductor wires inside the lead. The movement restricting function of conventional suture sleeves is accomplished by tying one or more ligature sutures around the suture sleeve that clamp the suture sleeve to the exterior of the lead sleeve.
One difficulty associated with conventional suture sleeve design is the potential for stress risers created by the ligature sutures that clamp the suture sleeve to the lead sleeve. The crimping action of a ligature suture is spread over a very small area. Thus, the ligature point can act as a fulcrum for bending movement of the wires inside the lead sleeve. Fatigue failure of the wires can result. If the suture is tied too tightly, metal fatigue may be accelerated or worse, the wires may be damaged at the time of implantation. While a skilled physician can often avoid overtightening, there remains the residual problem of a large crimping force applied to a very small area.
In addition to irregular stresses imparted on the lead, conventional suture sleeves are susceptible to becoming unclamped from the lead sleeve. The problems stems from the gradual loosening of the ligature sutures over time. A suture may loosen due to a variety of causes, such as improper suturing by the physician, stretching of the suture material, heavy exertion by the patient or other causes. Regardless of the particular origin, an unclamped suture sleeve can no longer prevent the implanted lead from making large longitudinal movements. Such unchecked movements may result in the tip electrode detaching from the endocardium.
As noted above, the lead must be connected to the cardiac stimulator prior to closure. This entails inserting the connector into a passage in the header of the cardiac stimulator and manipulating some type of anchoring mechanism, such as a set screw, to hold the connector in place. Most conventional connectors include one or more external O-rings to provide a seal against the penetration of body fluids into the passage after implantation. Like many types of O-rings used as fluid seals in other industrial applications, conventional connector O-rings are molded with a circular or elliptical profile and an outer diameter based on an anticipated inner diameter of the header passage. The outer diameter of the O-ring is chosen to be slightly larger than the inner diameter of the passage. When the connector is pushed into the passage, the O-rings elastically deform to conform to the passage. Some effort is normally required to insert the connector even where the dimensions of the O-rings and the passage are closely matched.
Difficulties arise with conventional connector O-rings where the dimensions of the O-rings, the header passage, or both fall outside manufacturing tolerances. Where the O-rings are too large in relation to the passage, insertion may be difficult and require force that may ultimately damage the O-rings. Where the O-rings are too small in relation to the passage, an inadequate seal may be formed. Because of the rather small dimensions involved, even a small imperfection in the seal of the O-ring is often amplified due to capillary action.
The present invention is directed to overcoming or reducing the effects of one or more of the foregoing disadvantages.

Cardiac lead with shape-memory structure