A device for cleaning, disinfecting, and/or drying an endoscope consists of a basin supported on a base. The basin forms a channel that defines a teardrop shape. The device includes a lid that sealingly engages the basin. During operation, the endoscope to be cleaned is completely immersed in cleaning solution in the basin. The basin includes injectors arranged so as to create a rotating flow of cleaning liquid and sterile rinsing water or recycled drying air within the channel. The vessel also includes injection nozzles that attach to various inlets of the endoscope to inject products at specified pressures and to continuously test the tightness of the seal.

Disinfection denotes the absence of pathogenic life forms. Sterilization connotes the absence of all life forms. Often, sterilization is measured against the elimination of bacterial endospores, which are the living organisms most resistant to conventional sterilants. "Decontamination" is used hereinafter to mean sterilization, disinfection or both.
Endoscopes are protectively encased bundles of flexible optical fibers used to transmit images to the operator at one end from otherwise inaccessible regions into which the opposite end of the instrument is inserted, so as to obtain a view of the structures surrounding such regions. Such an arrangement makes possible the visual examination, and even photographing, of structures surrounding cavities to which there is some external access, such access typically being a relatively small opening at some distance from the region of interest.
Not only can an endoscope be inserted into the region of interest and manipulated to permit viewing in different directions, but also such instruments are typically built to include means that allow the insertion of fluids into the region of interest. Often, there are also means for the removal of tissue from portions of the surrounding organ structures. Thus, in addition to the fiber optic bundle, there is usually provided a plurality of enclosed channels or passageways more or less paralleling the direction of the fiber optic bundle. These channels are also included within the enclosure that protects the fiber optic bundle. Specifically, such channels are typically provided to carry one or more of water, air and carbon dioxide gas. A further channel is often provided to permit the extension therethrough of the instrumentation needed to conduct a biopsy of tissue in the region of interest. This latter channel may also be connected to a vacuum source as a means for obtaining fluid samples. This biopsy/suction source typically has a larger diameter than the other channels.
Because endoscopes are complex, highly instrumented medical devices, they are too costly to be disposable. Therefore, it is desirable to reuse such devices. Because they are exposed to bodily fluids and tissue, both internally and externally, it is necessary to clean these devices thoroughly before they can be reused. The turn-around time on sterilization is relatively long, often on the order of days. This long turn-around time increases the need for medical decontamination equipment and requires a relatively high inventory of the devices themselves.
Medical equipment is commonly sterilized in a steam autoclave. Autoclaves kill life forms with a combination of high temperature and pressure. Autoclaves have several drawbacks. The high temperature pressure vessel tends to be bulky and heavy. Because the medical devices are made of rubber and plastic, the elevated temperature and pressure tend to reduce their durability and therefore their useful life.
Alternatively, medical equipment may be sterilized with an ethylene oxide gas, which is less damaging to the equipment than steam. However, ethylene oxide gas requires a relatively long exposure and an even longer degassing period. Also, ethylene oxide is toxic, volatile and relatively expensive.
In general, the equipment-decontamination devices presently used are generally very large machines, often of the dishwasher type variety. They are too bulky to fit easily into an endoscopy kit. In addition, they present the following disadvantages:
they require a significant volume of solution (in the order of at least 10 liters), and are therefore relatively costly to operate; PA1 they do not contain an integrated internal and external drying function; drying is performed in an additional module and typically lasts from 15 to 25 minutes; PA1 there is a risk of deterioration of the medical equipment, due to the lack of permanent control of its imperviousness throughout the disinfection cycle; PA1 rinsing is not performed with sterile water; PA1 there is a lack of automated disinfection of filters used in the device and filters clog frequently; PA1 there is incomplete immersion of the endoscope with mechanical washing effect; it is either immersed in a static solution or sprayed by rotating arms (dishwasher type), which does not ensure the efficient loosening and removal of organic matter; PA1 seals used to prevent leakage of the various solutions are insufficient for the use of foaming products; this lack of seal quality allows the disinfectant, which is generally noxious, to leak into the atmosphere; PA1 no safety controls are provided to prevent the operation of a cleaning cycle in the absence of sufficient disinfectant; and PA1 the machines are endoscope-specific and do not easily accommodate different medical devices.
The device according to this invention eliminates all of the disadvantages of the prior art. The invention provides a small, upgradable device which requires only simple and limited maintenance, uses a very small volume of solution in each full cycle and provides absolute safety, the complete removal of stains, and very fast integrated drying. In addition, because of its shorter cycle time, the device of this invention reduces the number of endoscopes needed. Further, the tightness of the seal of the device not only makes it possible to use foaming products, but also eliminates any release of disinfectant odors outside of the device itself.

Sealed endoscope decontamination, disinfection and drying device


A high-power broad-area semiconductor laser having a intracavity spatial phase controller is disclosed. The integrated intracavity spatial phase controller is easily formed by patterning an electrical contact metallization layer when fabricating the semiconductor laser. This spatial phase controller changes the normally broad far-field emission beam of such a laser into a single-lobed near-diffraction-limited beam at pulsed output powers of over 400 mW. Two operating modes, a thermal and a gain operating mode, exist for the phase controller, allowing for steering and switching the beam as the modes of operation are switched, and the emission beam may be scanned, for example, over a range of 1.4 degrees or switched by 8 degrees. More than one spatial phase controller may be integrated into the laser structure.

Semiconductor diode lasers provide an intense efficient source of laser radiation. Continuous Wave (cw) semiconductor lasers have achieved output power of several watts by using either a broad-area or an array geometry. Such devices generally emit their radiation in a broad twin-lobed far-field beam in the direction parallel to the active layer of the laser. This broad twin-lobed output beam limits the ability of these laser sources to be focused tightly or to be propagated over long distances.
Many potential applications of high-power diode lasers, such as optical radar, satellite communications, laser printers, optical information storage and retrieval, and laser-to-fiber couplings, require a near-diffraction-limited single-lobed output beam which can be angle-scanned or switched.
It is thus desirable to integrate the beam scanning and switching mechanism with the laser source to reduce system complexity and size, and to increase reliability and stability. In the case of low-power narrow-stripe diode lasers, this has been done by incorporating a spatial phase controller into the laser cavity. For twin-stripe lasers, differential pumping has been used for beam scanning and switching. For high-power ten-stripe diode laser arrays, a separate on-chip master laser may control the array and provide beam scanning.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,003,550 by Welch et. al. discloses an invention that uses a low power (10-100 mW) narrow-stripe (5 micron wide) single-mode laser as a master oscillator. The lasing output from this master oscillator is subsequently acted on by amplifiers and phase controllers which are located external to the laser cavity. The sole function of the phase control array of Welch et. al. is to provide lateral beam steering of the amplified output beam, but it in no way does the array control the lasing behavior of the master oscillator laser. The current invention discloses a high-power broad-area laser with an internal phase controller that phase locks the lasing beam.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,995,048 by Kuindersma et. al. discloses a phase controller serving a very different purpose than the invention disclosed herein. The Kuindersma invention relates to narrow-stripe (few micron wide) lasers of the double channel planar buried heterostructure and buried heterostructure types which, because of the narrowness of their waveguiding region, operate in a single lateral mode. The phase control section in this type of laser counteracts the longitudinal variation in the refractive index in the Bragg reflector to prevent mode oscillation or mode jumping of the longitudinal lasing mode. Because the phase shift generated by the phase control section is uniform in the lateral extent of the laser, no beam steering or switching is possible. Additionally, the type of laser differs between the instant invention and the Kuindersma invention. For example, the current invention discloses mirrors created by cleaving facets of the semiconductor material, whereas the Kuindersma invention uses a distributed Bragg reflector at one end of the laser.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,965,806 by Ashby et. al. discloses a broad-area semiconductor laser diode that includes a structure for controllably varying a lateral refractive index profile of the diode to substantially compensate for junction heating effects during operation. The invention only uses thermal mode of operation to phase-lock the laser. The invention disclosed herein combines thermal mode with gain mode for additional flexibility in angle-switching and scanning.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,303 by Abeles et. al. discloses a phase control array located external to the laser, although both the laser and phase control array may be formed on the same substrate. The essential feature of the waveguide array phase controller of Abeles et. al. is the nonconstant, i.e., linearly increasing, spacing between adjacent parallel equal-length waveguide elements essential for reducing the side lobe intensity of the output beam. Additionally, separate electrical contacts and circuitry for controlling the phase retardation are required for each of the many (from 12 to 400) waveguides. Finally, a far-field beam detector is an essential part of the system for phase sensing and feedback to the phase control circuitry.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,903,275 by Ettenberg et. al. discloses a laser structure having an array of two or more regularly spaced waveguides, each with separate electrical contacts extending parallel to the waveguides over the entire length of the array. Under normal operating conditions, i.e., with identical electrical currents to each separate waveguide in the array, the array is phase-locked to produce a single-lobed output beam. When the electrical current to one or more of the waveguides is altered from this normal operating condition, the array becomes dephased, resulting in a multiple-lobed output beam. Beam steering is possible by varying the electrical current to each of the separate waveguides to control the nature and number of the far-field emission lobes. The type of semiconductor diode laser used is of the index-guided type instead of the gain-guided type disclosed herein.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,847,856 by Sugimura et. al. discloses a laser using fixed one-quarter-wavelength phase shifts in at least three locations. The phase shift is constant across the lateral extent of the laser and is built into the distributed-feedback semiconductor diode laser structure. Note that because the phase shift generated by the phase control section is uniform in the lateral extent of the laser, no beam steering or switching is possible. Moreover, the application of electrical current to the phase-shift sections in the Sugimura laser results in a modulation of the lasing frequency. Finally the laser of Sugimura et. al. uses a distributed-feedback type laser instead of a gain-guided laser as disclosed herein.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,803,686 by Brock discloses techniques for wavefront sensing for adaptive optics. A semiconductor diode laser is used with a narrow entrance aperture and only supports a single transverse mode of oscillation. The laser requires injection from a weak input probe beam having wavefront aberrations. The laser acts principally to spatially filter this input probe beam, to amplify the beam via a nonlinear four-wave mixing process, and to generate a uniphase reference output beam for interfering with the aberrated beam in order to detect the wavefront aberrations.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,751,705 by Hadley et. al. discloses a semiconductor diode laser having a single-lobed far-field emission beam which can be scanned in angle. However, it too differs from the invention disclosed herein. It discloses a laser using injection locking techniques to control the phase tilt across a semiconductor diode laser array to produce a single-lobed far-field emission beam, scannable in angle. This method requires a separate single-frequency wavelength-tunable laser source for injection locking the array. The injected radiation is confined to a single end-element of the array. The array emission beam is scanned in angle either by varying the frequency of the injected light or by varying the electrical current to the diode laser array. In the latter case, varying the electrical current will alter the output power level which may be undesirable for many applications. Also, the beam scanning by Hadley et. al. is uni-directional, being determined by which side of the array is injected.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,719,636 by Yamaguchi discloses a laser with a uniform phase shift across the lateral extent of the laser. The phase control section performs no role in phase-locking the lateral modes of the laser or in steering or switching the output beam angle. This phase control section is used to accomplish continuous wavelength tuning, free from longitudinal cavity mode hopping. The successful operation of this device requires that the electrical current to the phase control section be related to the electrical current to the grating wavelength-tuning section in such a manner that their ratio remains constant. Finally, the semiconductor diode laser is a distributed Bragg reflector type in the patent of Yamaguchi.
An article titled High Power, High Brightness 2W and 3W cw AlGaAs Laser Diode Arrays with Long Lifetimes by M. Sakamoto et. al. in Electronics Letters, Vol. 26, No. 11, dated May 24, 1990, discloses two types of AlGaAs single-quantum-well separate-confinement heterostructure (SQW-SCH) cw high power lasers. No discussion is made of any attempt to phase-lock the resultant laser beams. No discussion is made of beam scanning or switching. It is presumed that the laser emits in a broad twin-lobed far-field beam.
An article titled Tilted-Mirror Semiconductor Lasers by J. Salzman et. al. in the Appl. Phys. Lett. Vol. 47, No. 1, dated Jul. 1, 1985, discloses a broad-area GaAs heterostructure laser with a titled mirror. The tilted mirror was fabricated by etching, and the laser is operated in a smooth and stable single lateral mode with a high degree of spatial coherence. Construction of these lasers differ significantly from the construction of the lasers disclosed herein. For example, the mirror surfaces of the disclosed laser are created by cleaving the semiconductor material.
An article titled Modal Analysis of Semiconductor Lasers with Nonplanar Mirrors by J. Salzman et. al. in the IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics, Vol. QE-22 No. 3, dated Mar. 3, 1986 discusses phase locking broad-area lasers with nonplanar mirrors. The disclosure is similar to that disclosed in the previous article by the same author disclosed herein.
An article titled Laser Beam Scanning Using a Local Deflector Integrated with an Effective Mode Filter by S. Mukai et. al. in Appl. Phys. Lett. Vol. 51 No. 25, dated Dec. 21, 1987 discloses semiconductor lasers where an injection-type deflector is combined with a long waveguide, resulting in an effective mode filter. The beam deflection mechanism of the device is prismlike when the deflector was short. The laser cavity consists of a beam-deflecting front part with twin nitride-stripe electrodes and a rear part with a very long mesa-striped waveguide. The invention disclosed herein only requires one electrode for beam scanning or switching.
An article titled Analysis of a Double-Heterostructure Spatial-Phase Controller for Diode-Laser Beam Steering by S. Mukai et. al. in the IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics, Vol. 24, No. 12 (December 1988) is another disclosure of the lasers discussed in the previously referenced article by S. Mukai. The phase controlled by two electrodes in a front part. The rear part of the laser is a longer mode filter.
An article titled Beam Scanning and Switching Characteristics of Twin-Striped Lasers with a Reduced Stripe Spacing by S. Mukai et. al. in Optical and Quantum Electronics 17 (1985), pp. 431-434, discusses output-beam scanning and switching characteristics of lasers with separately controlled twin-stripe electrodes. The spacing between the two stripes is small, 5 microns from center to center. No integrated phase controller is shown, and the invention disclosed therein does not require twin-stripe electrodes.
An article titled Beam Scanning with Twin-Strip Injection Lasers by D. Scifres et. al. in Appl. Phys. Lett. Vol. 33 No. 8, dated Oct. 15, 1978, discloses angular scanning of the far-field intensity peak of a GaAs/GaAlAs double heterostructure (DH) injection laser. The scan is accomplished by adjusting the current levels between two closely-spaced stripe contacts, thereby creating an asymmetric gain/refractive index profile through which the laser beam propagates. The laser disclosed herein allows beam scanning and switching through the use of an integrated phase controller without the necessity of using a double stripe.
An article titled Integrated Injection-Locking High-Power Diode Laser Arrays by J. P. Hohimer et. al. in Appl. Phys. Lett. Vol. 55 No. 6, dated Aug. 7, 1989, discloses an integrated injection-locked high-power cw diode laser array with an on-chip independently controlled master laser. The device emits a near-diffraction-limited single-lobed far-field emission beam at single-facet powers up to 125 mW. Additionally, beam steering is accomplished by current tuning the emission wavelength of the master laser. The device integrates a master laser (ML) on the same chip as the slave array (SA) while minimizing feedback effects to the ML. The invention disclosed herein does not utilize a ML to phase lock the laser.
An article titled Injection-Locking Characteristics of Gain-Guided Diode Laser Arrays with an "On-Chip" Master Laser by J. P. Hohimer et. al. in Appl. Phys. Lett. Vol. 56 No. 16, dated Apr. 16, 1990, reported measurements of the laser disclosed in the authors' previously mentioned article.
An article titled Interelement Coupling in Gain-Guided Diode Laser Arrays by J. P. Hohimer et. al. in Appl. Phys. Lett. Vol. 48 No. 22, dated Jun. 2, 1986, discusses the use of single-channel injection locking to study the interelement coupling behavior in a gain-guided diode laser array. This differs from the invention disclosed herein where the phase controller is integrated with the active laser.

Semiconductor diode laser having an intracavity spatial phase controller for beam control and switching

The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy


A bioptical holographic laser scanning system employing a plurality of laser scanning stations about a holographic scanning disc having scanning facets with high and low elevation angle characteristics, as well as positive, negative and zero skew angle characteristics which strategically cooperate with groups of beam folding mirrors having optimized surface geometry characteristics. The system has an ultra-compact construction, ideally suited for space-constrained retail scanning environments, and generate a 3-D omnidirectional laser scanning pattern between the bottom and side scanning windows during system operation. The laser scanning pattern of the present invention comprises a complex of pairs of quasi-orthogonal laser scanning planes, which include a plurality of substantially-vertical laser scanning planes for reading bar code symbols having bar code elements (i.e. ladder-type bar code symbols) that are oriented substantially horizontal with respect to the bottom scanning window, and a plurality of substantially-horizontal laser scanning planes for reading bar code symbols having bar code elements (i.e. picket-fence type bar code symbols) that are oriented substantially vertical with respect to the bottom scanning window.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to holographic laser scanners of ultra-compact design capable of reading bar code symbols in point-of-sale (POS) and other demanding scanning environments.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
The use of bar code symbols for product and article identification is well known in the art.
Presently, various types of bar code symbol scanners have been developed. In general, these bar code symbol readers can be classified into two distinct classes.
The first class of bar code symbol reader simultaneously illuminates all of the bars and spaces of a bar code symbol with light of a specific wavelength(s) in order to capture an image thereof for recognition and decoding purposes. Such scanners are commonly known as CCD scanners because they use CCD image detectors to detect images of the bar code symbols being read.
The second class of bar code symbol reader uses a focused light beam, typically a focused laser beam, to sequentially scan the bars and spaces of a bar code symbol to be read. This type of bar code symbol scanner is commonly called a "flying spot" scanner as the focused laser beam appears as "a spot of light that flies" across the bar code symbol being read. In general, laser bar code symbol scanners are subclassified further by the type of mechanism used to focus and scan the laser beam across bar code symbols.
Polygon-based laser scanning systems employ lenses and moving (i.e. rotating or oscillating) polygon mirrors and/or other optical elements in order to focus and scan laser beams across bar code symbols during code symbol reading operations. Examples of such polygon-based laser scanning systems is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,006,343; 4,093,865; 4,960,985; 5,073,702; 5,229,588; and JP-54-33740, each incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Holographic-based laser scanning systems employ lenses and moving (i.e. rotating) holographic elements and/or other optical elements in order to focus and scan laser beams across bar code symbols during code symbol reading operations. Examples of such holographic-based laser scanning systems is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,415,224; 4,758,058; 4,748,316; 4,591,242; 4,548,463; 4,652,732; 4,794,237; 4,647,143; 5,331,445; 5,416,505; 5,475,207; 5,705,802; 5,837,988; and JP64-48017, each incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
In demanding retail scanning environments, it is common to employ polygon-based laser scanning systems that have both bottom and side scanning windows to enable highly aggressive scanner performance, whereby the cashier need only drag a bar coded product past these scanning windows for the bar code thereon to be automatically read with minimal assistance of the cashier or checkout personal. Such dual scanning window systems are typically referred to as "bioptical" laser scanning systems as such systems employ two sets of optics disposed behind the bottom and side scanning windows thereof. Examples of polygon-based bioptical laser scanning systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,206,491; 5,229,588; 5,684,289; 5,705,802; 5,801,370; and 5,886,336, each incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
In general, prior art bioptical laser scanning systems are generally more aggressive that conventional single scanning window systems. For this reason, bioptical scanning system are often deployed in demanding retail environments, such as supermarkets and high-volume department stores, where high check-out throughput is critical to achieving store profitability and customer satisfaction.
While prior art bioptical scanning systems represent a technological advance over most single scanning window system, prior art bioptical scanning systems in general suffered from various shortcomings and drawbacks.
In particular, by virtue of the dual scanning windows and supporting optics required by prior art bioptical laser scanning systems, such scanning systems have been physically larger than many retail environments would otherwise desire, as space near the point-of-sale is the most valuable space within the retail environment. Also, the laser scanning patterns of prior art bioptical laser scanning systems are not optimized in terms of scanning coverage and performance, and are generally expensive to manufacture by virtue of the large number of optical components presently required to constructed such laser scanning systems.
Thus, there is a great need in the art for an improved bioptical-type laser scanning bar code symbol reading system, while avoiding the shortcomings and drawbacks of prior art laser scanning systems and methodologies.

Bioptical holographic laser scanning system


A system is provided for distributed sensing and flashing of a beacon or sign for alerting vehicle drivers. A version is provided where a solar flasher having a wireless receiver is configured with multiple strategically located sensors to detect pedestrian and vehicle motion and wirelessly transmit detections to the beacon or sign. A method of locating and processing the sensors is provided to enable detection of various dangerous pedestrian and vehicle motion patterns to thereby alert on-coming drivers.

One or more embodiments of the invention generally relate to a system and method for alerting vehicle drivers. More particularly, certain embodiments of the invention relate to a system and method for a distributed sensing flashing beacon for alerting vehicle drivers.
The following background information may present examples of specific aspects of the prior art (e.g., without limitation, approaches, facts, or common wisdom) that, while expected to be helpful to further educate the reader as to additional aspects of the prior art, is not to be construed as limiting the present invention, or any embodiments thereof, to anything stated or implied therein or inferred thereupon. Generally, vehicle drivers are alerted to certain traffic situations using beacon flashers. Typically the beacon flashers may fall into two categories, i.e., flashing continuously or flashing upon being triggered. For the flasher in the second category, a triggering sensor may be either embedded in a flasher housing or mounted near the flasher. Various studies have also indicated that the continuously flashing beacons do not necessarily attract driver's attention. In addition, they flash 24/7, day and night, even when there are no vehicles on the streets, which could introduce visual noises to the residents living nearby.
The following is an example of a specific aspect in the prior art that, while expected to be helpful to further educate the reader as to additional aspects of the prior art, is not to be construed as limiting the present invention, or any embodiments thereof, to anything stated or implied therein or inferred thereupon. By way of educational background, another aspect of the prior art generally useful to be aware of is that solar-powered beacon flashers have been installed in many cities world over. They are typically used to alert vehicle drivers about the pedestrians, signages, or road conditions in the path ahead of the vehicle drivers. Some solar-powered beacon flashers are flashing continuously, 24/7, day and night, even when there are no vehicles or pedestrians nearby (shown in prior art FIG. 1). To avoid flashing constantly, motion sensors and video cameras have been used as the triggering sensors which have dual functionalities shown in Prior Art FIG. 2, i.e., (1) detection of vehicles or pedestrians, and (2) activation of flasher.
It is believed that the sensor triggering approach may have very short sensing range. Accordingly, to detect a fast-moving vehicle, it may be essential to detect them as early as possible in order to ensure that the vehicle drivers will have sufficient time to see the flashing beacons and slow down their vehicles accordingly. This may require a long sensing range, which is typically very difficult to do for any solar-powered sensors. For the sensors shown in FIG. 2, it may be possible to adjust the view of motion sensor or video camera to cover a long distance, which may result in achieving early detection for both vehicles and pedestrians. One can expect that the failure to provide accuracy in the long range sensing achieved in this manner may result in many false detections, resulting in the beacon essentially flashing continuously. A system for monitoring and controlling activation of a warning system available in the art may typically include a sensor module locally coupled to the warning system for sensing and controlling a flashing light of the warning system, a transceiver responsive to a microcontroller, and a power line interface for interfacing between the transceiver and the power line servicing the warning system. The sensor module may include a sensor arranged for sensing the flashing light, the microcontroller coupled to the sensor, and a power supply for providing power to the sensor module. Some other systems in the prior part may provide pedestrian crossing with presence detector and warning, including an independent and transportable constructive element that may be easy to assemble and dismantle. These systems may be equipped with presence detectors, warning devices, power supply system, accumulators and electronic devices (circuitry, etc.), which may detect pedestrians, vehicles, or both, in a crossing zone, and alert both drivers and pedestrians themselves, of their respective presence on said crossing, or in the proximity thereto, and provide greater road safety. Further, To avoid flashing constantly, motion sensors, video cameras and pushbuttons have been used as the triggering sensors, in which sensors are attached to the flashers. It is believed that, these existing triggering methods may have limited detection range because the detectors are next to the flashers.
In view of the foregoing, it is clear that these traditional techniques are not perfect and leave room for more optimal approaches.
Unless otherwise indicated illustrations in the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale.

System and method for a distributed sensing flashing beacon for alerting vehicle drivers


A method for managing communications between a service origination node and a plurality of serving nodes where the serving nodes are simultaneously active for a particular trigger to thereby generate a reply to the service origination node. The method includes the step of determining control options for each trigger indicative of service categories by capturing service interaction principles supplied by a serving node services expert acting as a mentor. The service interaction principles are based upon a requirement of executing service categories in each of the serving nodes for each trigger. The method also includes the step of controlling execution of each of the service nodes and the service categories for the particular trigger with reference to the control options to generate the reply.

The AIN is a network architecture used by all modern telephone switching systems in the United States. The AIN is applicable to all telecommunications networks (e.g. Public Switched Telephone Networks (PSTNs) including Integrated Services Digital Networks (ISDNs)), narrowband, broadband, packet-switched public data networks, and mobile telephone networks. FIG. 1 represents a simplified diagram of the AIN configured by a Local Exchange Carrier (LEC). The components of the AIN include: (i) a central office 102 containing a switching system 104 such as a Service Switching Point (SSP); (ii) a signaling network 106 composed of a multi-level hierarchy of Signal Transfer Point (STPs) which act as intermediate switching nodes; and (iii) a Service Control Point 108 (SCP) which contains a centralized database. Each of the central offices 102 is equipped with a SSP 104. In, AIN, the SSP 104 is a switch that can recognize a call that requires AIN processing by the SCP 108.
To exemplify a service provided by the AIN, consider a customer placing a telephone call that requires special handling, such as a toll-free call (800 service). The call is intercepted by the switching system 104 which launches a query through the signaling network 106 to a centralized database located in the SCP 108. The database, in turn, retrieves the necessary information to handle the call, and performs a number translation to map the "logical" 800 number to a "physical" routing number. The physical routing information is returned through the signaling network 106 to the switching system 104 so that the call can be completed. Number translation is an example of one of a plurality of so-called service categories defined for the AIN. Each service category serviced by the SCP 108 is composed of the logic that handles the query/reply transaction between the SSP 104 and the SCP 108.
FIG. 1 also shows multiple subscriber lines 110, typically on the order of 10,000 to 70,000 lines, which are connected to each central office 102. Each of the subscriber lines 110 are connected to a terminating piece of telephone equipment 112. This telephone equipment 112 can include telephone sets, facsimile machines, computers, and automatic dialers. Trunk circuits 114 interconnect the central offices 102 and are the voice path that connect inter-office communications when calls are completed.
Triggering is the process used by the SSP 104 to identify calls that require special handling by the AIN. The SSP 104 has the appropriate hardware and software so that when a set of predetermined conditions are detected, the SSP 104 will encounter a trigger 116 in response to activity on the dialing lines. A trigger 116 is an event associated with a particular subscriber line 110 that generates a query to be sent to the SCP 108. A trigger detection point (TDP) is a point in call processing where service logic can receive notification of a given event and influence subsequent call processing. The trigger 116 includes information for identifying particular subscriber lines 110 when a piece of telephone equipment connected to a line goes off-hook, commences dialing, etc. Once a trigger 116 is encountered, the SSP 104 temporarily suspends call processing. Each trigger 116 generates a query in the form of a data packet launched by the SSP 104 to the SCP 108 to ask for instructions on how to handle the call and obtain the required call handling information. The data packet is first sent via bidirectional data links 118 utilizing the Signaling System 7 (SS7) protocol to the STP 106. The SS7 distributes data packets on an equal basis over multiple physical links that connect two points, namely the SCP 108 and STP 106. The STP 106 is a very high capacity, very reliable packet switch that can transport messages between network nodes such as the SSP 104 and SCP 108. The STP 106 essentially directs traffic on the network and routes the data packet to its intended destination (i.e. the SCP) via high speed data links 120.
The SCP 108 is a fault tolerant transaction processing system that contains various centralized databases that provide the appropriate call routing information and identify particular subscribers. The SCP 108 responds to a request (i.e. trigger) received from the SSP 104. The trigger 116 causes the SCP 108 to query its databases to determine whether some customer calling feature or enhanced service should be implemented for this particular call or whether conventional dial-up telephone service should provide for the call. The results of the database query are sent back in the form of a return packet over the data links 120 through the STP 106 and onward through data links 118 to the SSP 104. The return of the packet includes instructions to the SSP 104 on how to continue processing the call.
Open access to the AIN operated by LECs to third parties will exploit the capabilities and efficiencies of third party service providers and enable these third parties to provide competitive telephone related services to local LEC subscribers.
Representative of an approach of the prior art which relates to providing open access to the AIN to exploit third party capabilities and efficiencies is the paper entitled "Solutions for Mediated Access to the Intelligent Network" by Wayne Heinmiller, Ron Schwartz, and Marianne Stanke disclosed at ISS '95, April 1995, Vol. 2. The paper proposed a service architecture that allows access to the IN from a SCP belonging to any service provider and defines a set of new network functions referred to as mediation which reside in a network element labeled the mediation point (MP). The resulting logical network architecture is shown in FIG. 2. The key attribute of this architecture is the MP 200 which is the point of interconnection for the service provider's SCP (108, 202, and 204 respectively) and the SSP 104. The MP 200 is situated between the SSP 104 and a number of SCPs (SCP 108, SCP 202, and SCP 204). Data link 206 connects the MP 200 to the SSP 104. Data links 208, 210, and 212 connect the MP 200 to the SCP 108, 202 and 204 respectively. The MP is intended to be transparent to the transactions between the SSP and SCPs.
So-called "feature interactions" in a distributed call processing environment such as the IN become a problem when using the architecture depicted in FIG. 2. The phrase "feature interactions" describes, for example, the outcome of an action which invokes execution by a plurality of SCPs servicing the features. For instance, if A represents a feature serviced by one SCP and B another feature serviced by another SCP, then different outcomes are possible if A and B are queried: (i) sequentially with A first; (ii) sequentially with B first; or (iii) simultaneously. Regarding this problem, the paper states that a successful solution must prevent destructive side-effects, support multiple independent service providers, and have no knowledge of the actual service particulars while satisfying all of the users' service requirements--this is a very difficult, if not impossible, task. In addition, the ability to combine services must be customizable to meet the particular needs of each user, and the ability to do so should be open to competition and not be the sole purview of the telephone administration.
After considering the above mentioned factors, the authors of the paper conclude that the need for a universal, generic solution to feature interactions is not possible, and probably not even desirable. Service providers want the resolution of feature interactions to be located outside the network, where any service provider can work with users to customize solutions based on that user's needs. Alternatively, the user can work with a "services broker" who will consult with the user to select one or more service providers and consider appropriate interactions. Since feature interactions often require a greater degree of communications, the authors foresee the need for direct SCP-to-SCP connections among service providers to mitigate feature interaction effects. The SCP-to-SCP connections would occur if the service providers determine it is to their benefit to deliver improved feature interactions to their customers.
To date, much of the other work accomplished to provide open access to the AIN operated by LECs has assumed that for any given subscriber (i.e. LEC customer who subscribes to one or more service categories invoked by a particular trigger), all service categories invoked by encountering a particular trigger would have to be provided by the same service provider system. In other words, only a single SCP would have access to a specific trigger active on a given subscriber's line. A SCP can be owned by a LEC or a third party.
There are problems inherent in only a single SCP having access to a specific trigger active on a given subscriber's line. For example, this greatly limits the number of services or service combinations a subscriber may have, and diminishes the original intent of opening the AIN to third parties. In addition, it allows one service provider to monopolize a particular trigger active for a given subscriber, because no other service provider can subsequently provide a service to that subscriber using the same trigger. Thus, a need still exists to provide open access to the AIN so that capabilities and efficiencies of third parties can be exploited.
Moreover, as elucidated above, the teachings and suggestions in the prior art suggest a universal, generic solution to the feature interaction problem is virtually impossible. This pedagogy provided by the teachings and suggestions of the prior art serve as a point of departure from the art in accordance with the subject matter of the present invention. There are no known attempts to create a general methodology to generate and use controlling logic for management of communications among nodes in an AIN and, in particular, feature interactions in a SSP-multiple SCP environment.

Managing feature interactions in a telecommunications system such as an intelligent network


A lithium ion battery control system includes a degradation rate calculating unit, a degradation rate storage unit, a degradation rate comparing unit, a charging and discharging control circuit, and a rechargeable battery. The degradation rate calculating unit calculates a degradation rate when receiving a trigger for starting the check of the degradation rate of the battery. The degradation rate comparing unit receives a present degradation rate from the degradation rate calculating unit and a previous degradation rate from the degradation rate storage unit and compares both degradation rates. As a result, when the present degradation rate is greater than the previous degradation rate by a predetermined value, a charging and discharging condition is limited.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lithium ion battery control system controlling charging and discharging of a lithium ion battery.
2. Background Art
Since they have a high energy densities, lithium ion batteries have attracted attention as batteries used in vehicles such as railroad cars and automobiles or used to store power generated through photovoltaic power generation or wind power generation and to supply the power to power systems. For example, when a lithium ion battery (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as "battery") is mounted on a vehicle, examples of such a vehicle include zero-emission electric vehicles without an engine mounted, hybrid electric vehicles with both an engine and a rechargeable battery mounted, and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles charged directly from a system power source. Such batteries are expected to be used in a stationary power storage system supplying power at the time of emergency in which a normal power supply system is out of order.
Superior durability is required for batteries for such various uses. For example, even when the environmental temperature is raised or a charging-discharging cycle is repeated, it is necessary that the decreasing rate of rechargeable battery capacity (that is, battery capacity) is low and the retention rate of the battery capacity is high for a long period of time; The conservation characteristics and the cycle life, for example, under high-temperature circumstances of 60° C. or higher becomes significant requirements due to radiant heat from the road surface or heat conduction from the interior of the vehicle.
However, in the lithium ion batteries, a degradation in battery capacity is caused by exposing the lithium ion batteries to high-temperature circumstances or performing charging-discharging cycles on the lithium ion batteries. The degradation in capacity becomes marked when the lithium ion batteries are exposed to high voltages or the cycle is performed with a wide voltage range or with a large current.
In consideration of such situations, for example, JP-2008-192607 discloses a degradation suppressing method of calculating a degraded state (SOH: State Of Health) from a difference between a charging-discharging cutoff voltage and an open circuit voltage after the charging-discharging and changing the charging-discharging time and the charging-discharging cutoff voltage on the basis of the calculated SOH.

Lithium ion battery control system and assembled battery control system


A mounting web includes a matrix of transparent pockets mounted to the web, wherein the pockets each include an access opening slot permitting reception of a picture web within each pocket. The mounting web is arranged with support heads mounted to a rear wall of the web for securement within a hanger plate, with the hanger plate having a channel to resiliently engage and secure the mounting heads.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of invention relates to photo display structure, and more particularly pertains to a new and improved photo display arrangement permitting the ease of mounting and visual display of a matrix of photo webs.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Photo display structure is available in the prior art and exemplified by the U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,025,581; 4,450,638; 4,807,377; and 4,979,323.
The instant invention attempts to overcome deficiencies of the prior art by providing for a photo display arrangement enjoying ease of use as well as effectiveness in construction in the ease of display and the mounting of photos for visual observation and in this respect, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.


An ignition coil assembly for an engine includes an ignition coil for supplying a voltage to a spark plug, a housing supporting the ignition coil, a driving circuit board disposed on the housing and including a circuit unit controlling the ignition coil, and a center cover protecting the driving circuit board. The ignition coil is electrically connected to the driving circuit board.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ignition coil assembly for an engine, and more particularly, to an ignition coil assembly having a driving circuit board and a center cover, which are integrated with each other to prevent contact defect and accidental fire of an ignition coil due to a wiring harness short circuit.
(b) Description of the Related Art
In a conventional ignition coil assembly, ignition coils are individually mounted on a head cover of an engine and are supplied with electric power through a wiring harness. The wiring harness is generally fixed by a bracket and bolt and protected by a center cover.
However, since the ignition coils are installed in a very narrow space, it is very difficult to connect the wiring harness to the ignition coils.
The ignition coils may be integrated together and made as one assembly, which must be replaced as a whole, even when only one ignition coil malfunctions.
In another conventional ignition coil assembly, individual ignition coils are formed in a separable structure. Lots of components are employed, thereby increasing the production costs. In addition, since the electrical/mechanical coupling force is weak, it is difficult to obtain a desired high level of quality.
In both conventional ignition coil assemblies, the space for mounting the ignition coils is small and the chance of a short circuit between the connectors is high. In addition, since the assembling process is complicated, the production cost increases.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.


A dogging device includes a base mounted in a housing of a latch assembly. The base includes a hole through which a shaft rotatably extends. A limiting keyway extends from the hole and receives and limits rotation of a shaft key on the shaft. A dogging member includes a through-hole receiving the shaft. A keyway extends from the through-hole and receives the shaft key of the shaft, allowing joint rotation of the shaft and the dogging member. By engaging a tool with a driving groove in an end of the shaft or by utilizing a lock core key to turn a lock core that directly pivots the dogging member, the dogging member is pivotable between a first position engaged with a latching/unlatching control rod of the latch assembly to lock a latch bolt in a retracted state and a second position disengaged from the latching/unlatching control rod.

The present invention relates to a dogging device for a latch assembly and, more particularly, to a dogging device for a latch assembly for a panic exit door.
A panic exit door or a frequently opened/closed door generally includes a latch assembly having a latch bolt and a dogging device for locking the latch bolt in a retracted position to allow convenient access/exit through the door. U.S. Pat. No. 5,927,765 discloses a dogging device including a dogging adapter having a cylindrical body with an axial opening through which a dogging plate extends. The dogging hook is engaged with the dogging adapter and pivotable about an axis between a first position engaging a latching and unlatching control rod of the latch assembly and a second position not engaging the latching and unlatching control rod. An operator is coaxial with the dogging hook axis and engages with the dogging adaptor. A biasing spring biases the dogging hook in either of the first or second positions. A U-shaped spring clip axially retains the dogging adapter, the operator, and the dogging hook. The operator is a hex shaft or a locking cylinder one of which can be driven by a hex Allen wrench or a key. Such a dogging device allows easy field conversion from hex dogging to cylinder dogging. During the field conversion, an endcap and a coverplate of the latch assembly are first removed, and the hex shaft is pulled straight out. The cylinder adapter is then pressed over the U-shaped spring clip. The endcap is replaced along with a coverplate having a locking and unlocking device installed in the coverplate. However, several detaching procedures are still required for replacement, and it is still possible to assemble the dogging device incorrectly and, thus, renders the dogging device inoperable. Furthermore, such a dogging device is too complicated and expensive.
A need exists for a simple dogging device that can be operated by a toot or a key without the need of replacement elements.


An exercise and muscle toning apparatus includes a first inflated spherical balloon adapted to hold a predetermined volume of air for providing resilient support, a second inflated spherical balloon adapted to hold a predetermined volume of air for providing resilient support, and a contoured chair adjustably and removably positioned on the first and second spherical balloons in such a manner that a back portion of the contoured chair conforms to a curvilinear circumference of the first spherical balloon while a seat portion of the contoured chair conforms to a curvilinear circumference of the second spherical balloon. The exercise and muscle training apparatus further includes hook and loop fasteners and a mechanism for preventing the first and second spherical balloons from separating beyond a maximum spatial distance.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to exercise devices and, more particularly, to an exercise and muscle toning device that employs two inflatable balls and a support chair in cooperation therewith.
2. Prior Art
Due to increased public interest in fitness and health, a great variety of exercise equipment has been designed in recent years. Most exercise equipment includes a weight-resistance apparatus, a cycle apparatus, or both. Most of these prior art exercise devices are large and bulky and thus require a significant amount of floor space. Moreover, prior art equipment is typically manufactured with numerous moving parts formed of tubular steel or rubber and is thus unsightly. Accordingly, most prior art exercise equipment is primarily designed to be used in commercial fitness centers. Since many users are too busy to travel to fitness centers, commercial exercise equipment is often underutilized.
To meet the demand for more convenient exercise equipment, manufacturers have designed smaller units for residential use. Although these prior art devices are more convenient than large commercial devices, they suffer from many of the same limitations. For example, prior art residential exercisers are unattractive and too large to be placed in living areas of the home. Thus, the equipment is relegated to the basement where it is either used infrequently or totally forgotten.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,152,530 to Hsu discloses an article of inflatable furniture having independent air chambers for supporting body weight and typically used in the domestic environment, which includes a plurality of air pressurized subchambers particularly positioned within an outer enclosing chamber for modifying the shape of the outer enclosing chamber to obtain a cushioned, roll-up effect in the article of furniture. The article of inflatable furniture includes a bottom layer and a pressurized outer enclosing chamber sealed to the bottom layer. A seating surface is formed on the outer enclosing chamber for supporting the body weight of a person. A pair of independent, air pressurized subchambers is sealed to the bottom layer and extends upward into the outer enclosing chamber. The subchambers serve to increase the pressure within the outer enclosing chamber and to modify the shape of the outer enclosing chamber. A first alternative embodiment teaches the construction as applied to an inflatable sofa while a second alternative embodiment teaches the construction as applied to an inflatable mattress. Unfortunately, this prior art example does not enable a user to achieve an optimal workout while they watch television.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,328,385 to Lau discloses an inflatable chair with an outer chamber that defines the shape and size of the chair, and at least one support section positioned inside the outer chamber. The support section(s) provide the desired support at particular locations of the outer chamber so as to provide the necessary comfort and stability to the chair. Unfortunately, this prior art example does not eliminate the need for other workout regimens and trips to the gym.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,786,555 to Brook discloses a convertible inflatable furnishing. The furnishing can form a chair shape that can be converted into a supportive shape for massage and stretching by deflating and securing the backrest inside the furnishing. The chair is also capable of being rocked, reclined, and packed into itself. Unfortunately, this prior art example is not designed for allowing virtually any consumer to tone areas of the body at any time of day.
Accordingly, the present invention is disclosed in order to overcome the above noted shortcomings. The exercise and muscle toning apparatus is convenient and easy to use, lightweight yet durable in design, and designed for exercising and toning user muscles. The apparatus is simple to use, inexpensive, and designed for many years of repeated use.

Exercise and muscle toning device and associated method


Embodiments of the present invention relate to an organic electroluminescent device using different driving voltages according to sub-pixels. The organic electroluminescent device may include a panel, a driving voltage circuit and a driver. The panel may have a plurality of sub-pixels. The driving voltage circuit may generate a plurality of driving voltages. The driver may drive the sub-pixels by using the generated driving voltages. The organic electroluminescent device may use driving voltages corresponding to sub-pixels, and power consumption may be reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device and, more particularly, an organic electroluminescent device and a method of driving the same.
2. Background of Related Art
An organic electroluminescent device is a self light-emitting device that emits light having a predetermined wavelength when a certain voltage is applied thereto.
FIG. 1 is a plane view illustrating an organic electroluminescent device according to an example arrangement. Other arrangements are also possible. More specifically, FIG. 1 shows an organic electroluminescent device 100 that includes a panel 104 and an integrated circuit chip 106.
The panel 104 includes a cell circuit 108, data lines 118 and scan lines 120A and 120B. The cell circuit 108 has anode electrode layers 110 and cathode electrode layers 112.
A plurality of sub-pixels 114 are formed in cross areas of the anode electrode layers 110 and the cathode electrode layers 112. The sub-pixels 114 may include red sub-pixels, green sub-pixels and blue sub-pixels. A red sub-pixel, a green sub-pixel and a blue sub-pixel which are located in sequence form a pixel 116 as shown in FIG. 1.
The data lines 118 are connected to the anode electrode layers 110 and transmit data signals provided from the integrated circuit chip 106 to the sub-pixels 114. The scan lines 120A and 120B are connected to the cathode electrode layers 112, and transmit scan signals provided from the integrated circuit chip 106 to the sub-pixels 114. The integrated circuit chip 106 includes a driving voltage source 122 and a driver 124.
The driving voltage source 122 receives a voltage (for example 15V) from an apparatus for supplying power source (shown as element 102). The driver 124 drives the sub-pixels 114 by using a driving voltage (i.e., the voltage provided from the driving voltage source 122). Here, driving voltages for the sub-pixels are substantially different according to the sub-pixels.
Nevertheless, the organic electroluminescent device 100 may set a driving voltage for every sub-pixel 114. For example, although a green driving voltage of 12V may be required for the green sub-pixels, 15V corresponding to the red sub-pixels may be set as the green driving voltage. Accordingly, power consumption of the organic electroluminescent device may be increased.
In addition, the driver 124 may use a driving voltage source 122 irrespective of the sub-pixels 114, and therefore interference may be generated between sub-pixels. As a result, the sub-pixels may not display a desired image.

Organic electroluminescence device and method of driving the same


Tuning circuitry may include a controller that is configured to determine a phase difference for a pair of signals generated at different points in a master delay line of a master-slave delay locked loop (DLL) circuit. One of signals of the pair may be communicated through a slave delay line of the master-slave DLL circuit before the phase difference is determined. A programming delay value used to set a phase delay of the slave delay line may be adjusted or tuned based on the phase difference.

Master-slave delay locked loop (DLL) circuits may include a slave delay line that is configured to delay an input signal by a desired phase delay. As the architecture for master-slave DLL circuits moves toward lower geometries, phase delays associated with different slave delay lines, including those in different dies, may vary significantly. Accordingly, some slave delay lines may delay a received signal by an amount that is different than the desired phase delay. This difference or mismatch, referred to as static phase error, may reduce or limit performance, such as reducing timing margins to latch data.

Auto-phase synchronization in delay locked loops


An anaerobic process of desulfurizing a sour natural gas stream wherein a selected consortium of chemoautotrophic bacteria converts H.sub.2 S and other sulfur species into elemental sulfur, which is recovered as a product. The process is conducted at pressures of up to 1000 psi and temperatures up to 140.degree. F. (10.degree. C. to 60.degree. C.), and mitigates up to 10,000 ppm H.sub.2 S to pipeline standards of .ltoreq.4 ppm and up to 10% CO.sub.2 to .ltoreq.2% CO.sub.2.

The present invention relates to a process for removing H.sub.2 S and other sulfur species under anaerobic conditions from sour gases. In particular, the present invention relates to the microbiological treatment of sour natural gas to remove H.sub.2 S and other sulfur species, such as carbon disulfide, methyl mercaptan, ethyl mercaptan and dimethyl sulfide, from the natural gas stream, and recover elemental sulfur as a product of the process.
Natural gas reserves in the U.S. often contain hydrogen sulfide (H.sub.2 S) as a major contaminant. Hydrogen sulfide is an acid gas that is toxic and corrosive in the presence of water. A significant portion of total gas production does not meet pipeline standards and needs treatment to reduce the H.sub.2 S concentration to 1/4 grain per 100 standard cubic feet, or .ltoreq.4 ppm on a volume basis.
A commonly used commercial process for the removal of H.sub.2 S from the gas stream is the amine process, followed by the Claus process for sulfur recovery. In the amine process, the gas stream is contacted with the amine solvent to remove H.sub.2 S, then the amine solvent is heated to 90-150.degree. C. (194-302.degree. F.) to liberate H.sub.2 S and regenerate the solvent, which is recycled. Although the H.sub.2 S is removed from the natural gas stream, it still must be disposed of. Hydrogen sulfide generated during regeneration of the amine solvent can either be incinerated, which converts the hydrogen sulfide disposal problem into an air pollution problem due to the production of SO.sub.2, or treated by physicochemical methods such as the Claus process. In the Claus process, H.sub.2 S is fed into a reaction furnace, and the reaction gas is passed through a series of catalytic reactors to convert the H.sub.2 S into elemental sulfur. Although the Claus process produces a high quality elemental sulfur product, the process is often too expensive for small capacity plants (of less than 2 MM SCFd).
Several microbiological methods have been investigated for the treatment of gas streams containing sulfides. In one process, the anaerobic photosynthetic bacterium Chlorobium thiosulfatophilum is used to convert sulfides to sulfate. Cork, D. J. and Ma, S. "Acid-Gas Bioconversion Favors Sulfur Production", Biotech. and Bioeng. Symp. No. 12, 285-290 (1982).
In another process, which is the basis for a process known as Bio-SR, the Fe.sup.+2 formed during H.sub.2 S oxidation in accordance with Equation (1), is converted to Fe.sup.+3 by the bacterium Thiobacillus ferroxidans in accordance with Equation (2). EQU H.sub.2 S+Fe.sub.2 (SO.sub.4).sub.3 .fwdarw.FeSO.sub.4 +H.sub.2 SO.sub.4 +S(Equation 1) EQU 2 FeSO.sub.4 +H.sub.2 SO.sub.4 +1/2O.sub.2 .fwdarw.Fe.sub.2 (SO.sub.4).sub.3 +H.sub.2 O (Equation 2)
A number of bacteria (called chemoautotrophic) use reduced sulfur compounds as a source of energy, CO.sub.2 or bicarbonate as a source of carbon, and NH.sub.4.sup.+ as a source of reduced nitrogen. Thiobacillus denitrificans is one such organism. One process for the desulfurization of gas using Thiobacillus denitrificans is disclosed in Sublette, U.S. Pat. No. 4,760,027. That patent describes a process wherein bacteria of the Thiobacillus genus convert sulfides to sulfates under aerobic conditions and at a controlled temperature of about 30.degree. C.
Most of the studies on H.sub.2 S removal have been performed under aerobic conditions and at H.sub.2 S concentrations of <1000 ppm. Such methods, however, cannot be used for the direct removal of H.sub.2 S from sour natural gas because of the potential danger of explosion when methane and air are mixed.
The process of the present invention overcomes these limitations and problems of prior art H.sub.2 S removal processes because the process is carried out under anaerobic conditions. The process is known to be effective for treatment of inlet H.sub.2 S concentrations of up to 10,000 ppm (1%), at a pressure of 1,000 psi and at temperatures common to those required by the gas industry (e.g. 140.degree. F., 60.degree. C.). In addition, the process of the present invention reduces CO.sub.2 levels of from 5% to 10% down to 2%.
In earlier research, ARCTECH developed a microbial consortium, SSII, from ARCTECH'S Microbial Culture collection (AMCC) to reduce the H.sub.2 S concentrations of up to 10,000 ppm to pipeline specifications of .ltoreq.4 ppm. The biological and physiological characteristics of this consortium and technical feasibility of the consortium to mitigate 1% H.sub.2 S to .ltoreq.4 ppm are the subject of a separate patent application. The information from laboratory scale bioreactor experiments using SSII served as the basis for further research, which is the subject of the present invention. The preliminary data from the laboratory scale bioreactor experiments was presented at the 1992 GRI Liquid Redox Sulfur Recovery Conference, Austin, Tex. on Oct. 4-6, 1992, by K. C. Srivastava, and entitled "Biological Removal of H.sub.2 S From Sour Natural Gas", which paper is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. The results from this preliminary work provided the experimental proof of the concept of biological H.sub.2 S removal under anaerobic conditions on bench scale. Nevertheless, additional scaled-up processing information was necessary for delineating the process parameters.

Microbial process for the mitigation of sulfur compounds from natural gas


Systems and methods for digital video stabilization via constraint-based rotation smoothing are provided. Digital video data including a set of image frames having associated time stamps and a set of camera orientation data having associated time stamps may be provided. A smoothed set of camera orientation data may be generated by minimizing a rate of rotation between successive image frames while minimizing an amount of empty regions in a resulting set of smoothed image frames reoriented based on the smoothed set of camera orientation data.

Digital still cameras capable of capturing video have become widespread in recent years. While the resolution and image quality of these consumer devices has improved up to the point where they rival digital single-lens reflex cameras (DSLRs) in some settings, their video quality may still be significantly worse than that of film cameras. The reason for this gap in quality may be twofold. First, compared to film cameras, cell phones may be significantly lighter. As a result, hand-held video capture on such devices may exhibit a greater amount of camera shake. Second, cell-phone cameras may have sensors that make use of a rolling shutter (RS). In an RS camera, each image row may be exposed at a slightly different time, which, combined with undampened camera motion, may result in a "wobble" in the output video.
Video stabilization is a family of techniques used to reduce high-frequency frame-to-frame jitter produced by video camera shake. In professional cameras, mechanical image stabilization (MIS) systems are commonly used. For example, in an MIS system, the operator may wear a harness that separates the camera's motion from the operator's body motion. Other MIS systems stabilize the optics of the camera rather than the camera body itself. These systems may move the lens or sensor to compensate for small pitch and yaw motions. These techniques work in real time and do not require computation on the camera. However, they are not suitable for mobile devices and inexpensive cameras, because of their price and size. Digital video stabilization systems may employ feature trackers to stabilize videos post-capture. However, these systems may be sensitive to noise (e.g., fast moving foreground objects) and require distinctive features for tracking. As a result, digital stabilization based on feature tracking often breaks down, especially in adverse lighting conditions and excessive foreground motion. In addition, extracting and matching visual cues across frames can be computationally expensive. Furthermore, the expense grows with the resolution of the video. In some instances, this may be too costly to perform video stabilization in real time. Consequently, such approaches are rarely employed in current digital cameras. Instead, manufacturers can opt for more robust (and expensive) mechanical stabilization solutions for high-end DSLRs.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Discriminative methods for multipath fingerprinting, enabling single-site localization in rich multipath environments, are provided herein. In contrast to the existing descriptive method that uses only the data of each location for its fingerprint extraction, these methods use also the data of the other locations in the database, and leverage it to make the fingerprint as different as possible from the other fingerprints in the database. The performance of these methods, validated with both simulated and real data, is superior to the existing method, demonstrating localization accuracy of about 1 m in typical indoor environments.

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in location determination of emitters (e.g., transmitters) in urban canyons and in indoor venues where line of sight (LOS) conditions usually do not exist. In these cases, the propagation from the wireless emitter to the receiving antennas usually undergoes reflections from buildings and walls, referred to as multipath. Consequently, the multipath signals arriving at the receiving antennas may be very different from the LOS path. As a result, the classical position location techniques are not valid. Fingerprinting techniques have been developed to overcome this multipath problem.
Two types of fingerprinting techniques have been developed about the same time. The first is described by Wax et al. in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,026,304, 6,064,339, 6,112,095, and 6,249,680, which are all incorporated herein by reference. This technique is based on using the multipath characteristics coherently received by a multiple-antenna base station (BS) as the location fingerprint. The other fingerprinting technique is described by Bahl and Padmanabhan in "RADAR: an in-building RF-based user location and tracking system", INFOCOM 2000. Nineteenth Annual Joint Conference of the IEEE Computer and Communications Societies. Proceedings. IEEE, 2000, vol. 2, pp. 775-784. This technique is based on using the received signal strength (RSS) obtained at several BSs as the location fingerprint.
The basic premise of multipath fingerprinting is that, in rich multipath environments, the multipath characteristics of the signals impinging on an antenna array—the directions-of-arrival and the differential-delays of the impinging multipath reflections—provide a unique "fingerprint" of the emitter location. In other words, there exists a "one-to-one" correspondence between the location of the emitter and the characteristics of the multipath signals emitting from this location and impinging on antenna array.
Fingerprinting algorithms are based on the premise that there is a one-to-one correspondence between the emitter location and the signal characteristics of the received multipath signals, i.e., that a fingerprint (or signature) can be extracted from the signal and serve as a unique identifier of the location. The localization problem is casted as a pattern recognition problem, namely, a database of fingerprints (or a fingerprints database") is pre-collected in the desired area to be covered, and the location is determined by comparing the extracted fingerprint to the fingerprint database.
A key element in multipath fingerprinting is the fingerprint extraction method. Some extraction methods known in the art can be regarded as "descriptive methods". One such descriptive method, referred to as Signal-Subspace Projection (SSP), is based on a projecting the received data on a low-dimensional subspace wherein the multipath signals reside, referred to as the signal-subspace. This projection matrix provides an effective description of the multipath characteristics of each location. Yet, the fact that it captures only the description of each location, without taking into consideration the description of the other locations in the database, is a deficiency.

Method and system for multipath fingerprinting by maximum discrimination techniques


The invention relates to a method for the prediction of the size to be expected of the image of a stationary object associated with a road in a picture of the environment in the field of view of a camera device which is in particular arranged at a motor vehicle and which has an image plane including image elements, wherein at least one relevant spatial zone from the field of view of the camera device is determined; wherein boundaries of the calculated projection onto the image plane of the at least one relevant spatial zone are determined in order to determine at least one relevant image zone; wherein a directional beam is determined for each of the image elements in the at least one relevant image zone, said directional beam including those spatial points from the field of view which would be projected onto the respective image element on a projection onto the image plane; and wherein at least one value for the size to be expected of the image of a road sign in the respective image element is determined for each of the image elements in the relevant image zone.

Systems for the recognition of road signs can be used to inform the driver of a motor vehicle of the road signs at the road, for example by projection onto the windshield of the motor vehicle via a head-up display of a graphic representation of a road sign detected at the road. Systems for the recognition of road signs can, however, also be used as driver assistance systems, for example to automatically reduce the driving speed to the permitted maximum speed when speeding.
Cameras are used for road sign recognition which take the environment in front of the motor vehicle and examine it for the presence of road signs. A road sign recognition can, for example, be carried out in two stages. In a first stage (detection), it is then a question of locating potential candidates for images of road signs in a taken picture via a feature extraction. This can take place, for example, by means of a Hough transformation which serves for the recognition of geometrical shapes or by means of a color segmentation in which contiguous areas of the same color are recognized. The second stage (classification) has the object of first determining whether the respective candidate is actually an image of a road sign and, in the affirmative case, of then determining the type of the imaged road sign. This can be done, for example by means of template matching.
Such a road sign recognition, which is carried out by a data processing device, however, requires a high computing effort which results in a high computing time. The robustness of such a road sign recognition is furthermore insufficient.


A socket may receive both ball grid and land grid array packages. Thus, in some embodiments, the early package prototypes, without solder balls, may be packaged in the same socket design that is ultimately used for production devices using ball grid array packaging. Both land grid array and ball grid arrays may be self-centered on the socket in some embodiments. An S-shaped spring contact may be utilized to electrically connect to either solder balls or lands in a wiping action.

This invention relates generally to connecting integrated circuit packages to circuit boards.
A socket is a device that acts as an interface between a packaged integrated circuit and a printed circuit board. A socket provides both an electrical and a mechanical interface between the printed circuit board and the integrated circuit package.
Conventionally, sockets have been dedicated to certain package technologies. For example, sockets useful with ball grid array packages are dedicated in the sense that they do not receive land grid array packages and vice versa. As a result, it is necessary to change out the sockets when using different packages, even when the packaged die is the same.
In some cases, a prototype of an integrated circuit die may be packaged in a land grid array package. Later in development, the same integrated circuit die may be packaged in a ball grid array package. Conventionally, different sockets are needed for each of these stages.
Thus, there is a need for better ways for implementing sockets for connecting integrated circuits to printed circuit boards.

Making electrical connections between a circuit board and an integrated circuit


A method, system and apparatus for use in computer-aided design, computer-aided manufacturing, computer-aided engineering and product lifecycle management. An efficient, non-centralized communications framework makes “synchronous” collaborative design possible. Users are resident at workstations that are connected in a peer-to-peer arrangement. In a collaborative design session, the model is resident in memory at each workstation. Modifications are made at any workstation, and commands, which are interpreted at each workstation to effect the modifications, are transmitted over the network. In addition, cell descriptors may be used to identify one or more geometric cells of a model. The cell descriptors are in the form of scripts specifying constraints or filters for identifying cells. The constraints are based on characteristics of items in the model, or associations between items in a model, that are readily discernable to the user, and are therefore easily written and susceptible to easy distribution to other systems.

The present invention relates to the field computer-aided design (CAD), computer aided manufacturing (CAM), computer aided engineering (CAE), product lifecycle management (PLM), and product data management (PDM) systems (hereinafter "CAD" systems).
Rapid and clear exchange of ideas is of paramount importance when a design team is working on a project. However, unless members of a design team are working intimately and in close proximity, the exchange of ideas is often ineffective and incomplete. A design team may be spread across various departments within an organization, or in different geographic locations, so that team members cannot engage in a spontaneous dialogue. Increasingly, the members of a design team may be spread across different companies, in different countries, and even different industries. When a design team involves such a diversity of members, an efficient and spontaneous exchange of ideas is often non-existent.
In existing systems, ideas that underlie designs are often shared by a team in an anachronistic and time-consuming manner, such as by sketches sent by fax, or by verbal communications over the telephone. Much of the detail or rationale of a design is lost in this manner. Similarly, the intermediate steps that led to a design, including ideas that were considered but not explored, are not communicated. Thus, a member of a team in a location remote from the source of the idea may engage in a repetition of the design process that led to a design proposal, since he did not have the benefit of observing the evolution of the idea. To be more effective, some design teams may schedule periodic face-to-face meetings. However, such meetings lead to loss of productivity from travel time and costs.
Various attempts have been made to facilitate the exchange of ideas through a simultaneous design effort. For example, "asynchronous" collaborative design has been attempted, wherein a design is resident on a central server connected to several team members (clients). While this is helpful, it suffers from a number of drawbacks. Since the model is resident on the central server, all design activity ceases in the event that the server is not functioning. Also, in such a system, only one team member can modify the model at a time. Each team member must wait while a member of the team modifies the design, and each team member must wait for the server to transmit the results to each team member. The design can progress in only one direction at a time. Furthermore, the volume of data that must be transmitted is large, which slows the process substantially.
There is therefore a need for a system that allows true "synchronous" collaborative design, in which team members may work on a model simultaneously.
Known CAD/CAM/CAE/PLM systems generally include a geometric modeler, which is in charge of building and maintaining model geometry at all times. Each geometrical element of a model, that is to say each vertex, edge, face and each volume of the model, corresponds to a different cell in the geometric modeler. For example, a model of a square box would have a cell for each corner of the box (eight cells), each edge of the box (twelve cells), each face of the box (six cells), and the volume of the box (one cell). Generally, each cell has a unique identifier, and contains data defining the specific geometric feature with which it is associated.
More advanced known CAD systems build the geometry of a model from higher level specifications, called features, which are more intuitive for users and provide the user with a more flexible and more general way of defining the geometry he seeks to achieve. In such feature-based systems, a model is defined as a set of features. Examples of features are cylinders, holes, fillets on edges, or rectangular boxes.
Some feature-based CAD systems may have one or more interaction components, such as a "constraint solver". Generally, a constraint solver is a component of the CAD application that allows a user to define important functional aspects of a design, and allows the system to calculate other aspects of the design so that the crucial conditions are satisfied. To illustrate, there may be certain criteria that must be met for a model design to function properly in its environment, or to mate properly with other parts. For example, it may be absolutely necessary that two sides of an object be parallel, or that a certain side of a model have a certain length. The designer/user can specify these crucial design elements on a crude mock-up of a model, and then activate the constraint solver. The constraint solver will proceed to calculate other dimensions/criteria of the design so that the crucial conditions are met. Interaction components are so named because they interact with the feature modeler.
The geometry corresponding to a set of features is a set of cells, in which each vertex, each edge, each face and each volume corresponds to a specific cell. A model feature, depending on its character and complexity, when translated into cells, may translate into as few as no cells (as in the case of a non-geometrical feature, such as a geometrical constraint), one cell, or many geometrical cells. On the other hand, each geometrical cell may come from one or more features. In other words, two or more features of a model may have common cells. In feature-based CAD systems, the geometric modeler is usually associated with a component, sometimes called the topological journal, which keeps track of the history of topological modifications in the model, and another component, sometimes called the generic name server, discussed below.
Some features of a model can be expressed purely in terms of their geometrical characteristics. For example, a parallelepiped box can usually be characterized simply by its dimensions in an x, y, z coordinate system. Other features, however, cannot be so simply characterized. For example, a particular edge of the box referred to above cannot usually be identified purely by its geometrical characteristics. It is only by reference to the box and by additional specifications of its position on the box that the edge can be uniquely identified. Such a unique identifier of a cell containing this additional information is known as the "generic name" of the cell, and is generated by the generic name server. The generic name of a cell is stored in the model together with the cell itself.
Current generic naming schemes suffer from a lot of drawbacks. The generic names created by the system, when they can be accessed, are extremely complex to read so that it is almost impossible for all but the most experienced computer experts to read and/or write generic names. Also, they are based on system logic, which is usually quite different from the logic employed by users when envisioning models. These drawbacks make it very difficult if not impossible for users to write a script describing cells they want to act upon. This is a major disadvantage of current systems, particularly for users who want to design and modify a model by means of scripting language only. It also prevents users from using their own logic of the association between features by forcing them to rely on the associativity defined by the system's own logic. Furthermore, the generic names are not universal; they are specific to the geometric modeler and are therefore only understood by geometric modelers of the same type.
There is therefore a need for a system that would allow a user to easily identify a cell or set of cells of a model using simple and intuitive syntax, and that would provide a way for a geometric cell to be identified in a way that could be understood by different geometric modelers.


The present invention is directed to a method for fabricating a thermal management substrate having a Silicon (Si) layer on a polycrystalline diamond film, or on a diamond-like-carbon (DLC) film. The method comprises acts of fabricating a separation by implantation of oxygen (SIMOX) wafer; depositing a polycrystalline diamond film onto the SIMOX wafer; and removing various layers of the SIMOX wafer to leave a Si overlay layer that is epitaxially fused with the polycrystalline diamond film. In the case of the DLC film, the method comprises acts of ion-implanting a Si wafer; depositing an amorphous DLC film onto the Si wafer; and removing various layers of the Si wafer to leave a Si overlay structure epitaxially fused with the DLC film.

(1) Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a process used for fabricating Si-on-diamond or on diamond-like-carbon (DLC) wafers, and more particularly, Si-on-diamond or on DLC wafers that can be used as thermal management substrates.
(2) Description of Related Art
Silicon (Si) wafers have long been used as substrates for fabricating circuits, such as Ultra Large Scale of Integration (ULSI) circuits. The Si wafers have typically been homogeneous Si monocrystalline wafers and separation by implantation of oxygen (SIMOX) wafers.
High speed ULSI Complimentary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) digital Integrated Circuits (ICs) generate more heat per unit chip area as levels of integration and clock rates are increased. Heat management is currently one of the major considerations in designs of ULSI digital ICs. Effective heat management will become increasingly more important as IC integration starts expanding into a third dimension. The efficiency with which heat is dissipated from digital ICs is currently limited by thermal conductance properties of the Si substrate. A solution for solving heat management problems would be to fabricate Silicon based ICs on a substance with increased thermal conductor, such as diamond. The heat conductance of diamond of 20 W/(cmK) is higher than that of Silicon by a factor of 13.
There are several patents issued that are related to Silicon-on-diamond technology. U.S. Pat. No. 5,376,579, issued to Annamalai (hereinafter referred to as "The Annamalai Patent"), describes a process for fabricating Si-on-diamond substrates. However, the The Annamalai Patent, describes Si-on-diamond substrates being bonded to a carrier wafer, because they do not posses sufficient mechanical strength to survive normal handling. U.S. Pat. No. 5,782,975, issued to Linn (hereinafter referred to as "The Linn Patent"), describes a method for fabricating Si-on-diamond substrates by bonding of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamond to Silicon. However, the thermal contact between the Si and the diamond substrate taught by The Linn Patent does not provide for sufficient thermal contact because the two layers are not epitaxially fused together.
Thus, a continuing need exists for a fabrication process that forms a Si structure epitaxially fused to a diamond, or to a (diamond-like-carbon) substrate to increase thermal contact and that can used as a thermal management substrate.


The collapsible shelter includes a truss and a canopy framework that provides a flexible, collapsible canopy that is capable of flexing and moving, in whole or in part, between a raised position and lower positions having a reduced profile from the raised position. The collapsible shelter includes at least three legs supporting a flexible framework mounted to the tops of the legs and forming the framework of the canopy. Truss pairs of link members are connected to each of the legs on each side of the shelter between adjacent legs.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to folding, collapsible structures, and more particularly relates to a collapsible, field shelter structure having an elevated canopy.
2. Description of Related Art
Temporary shelters that can be easily transported and rapidly set up at emergency sites can be particularly useful in providing temporary care and housing. Such shelters can also be useful for non-emergency outdoor gatherings, such as for temporary military posts, field trips, and the like one such quickly erectable, collapsible shelter having a framework of X-shaped linkages, telescoping legs, and a canopy covering the framework is described in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,607,656. The legs of that shelter are capable of telescoping to about twice their stowed length, and the framework of X-shaped truss pairs is capable of horizontal extension between the legs to support a canopy. The framework can be constructed of lightweight material, and the telescoping legs can be extended to raise the framework of the shelter. However, the height of the canopy is limited to the extended length of the legs, and the canopy is essentially flat, allowing for collection of precipitation and debris on top of the canopy, which can promote leaks and tears in the canopy. In addition, the size and stability of such shelters, particularly in the face of strong winds, are generally limited by the strength of the framework.
It would be desirable to provide an improved collapsible shelter with a support framework for the canopy that rises above the supporting legs, to provide for more headroom within the structure, to shed precipitation and debris from the top of the shelter, and to allow for a reduction in the size and weight of the legs and framework required to achieve an adequate height of the canopy. It would also be desirable to provide a canopy that bends and collapses in strong winds, to reduce exposure of the shelter to the force of winds that can lift and topple the shelter, for improved strength and stability in strong winds, and to allow support of larger, lighter collapsible shelter structures. It would also be desirable if such a canopy were to be less expensive to construct than prior art canopies. The present invention meets these needs.

Collapsible shelter with flexible, collapsible canopy


A cooking stove in which an operation circuit board formed with an electrode pattern is placed on a back surface of a glass top plate so as to suppress the formation of an air layer. The cooking stove includes a display mark and a switch mark provided on a front surface of the glass top plate so as to have a first positional relationship, a case having a display opening corresponding to the display mark with the first positional relationship and an operation circuit board opening corresponding to the switch mark, the case being bonded to the uneven back surface of the glass top plate so that the display opening is positioned at the display mark, and a bonding layer that bonds the back surface of the glass top plate to a part of the operation circuit board in which an electrode pattern is formed, via the operation circuit board opening in the case so that depressed portions of the back surface of the glass top plate are filled with a double coated tape having a foam as a base material.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cooking stove comprising heating means, and in particular, to a cooking stove comprising an operation portion on a top surface of a glass top plate to give an instruction on actuation of heating means.
2. Description of the Related Art
A drop-in type cooking stove is conventionally known in which a cooking stove main body is embedded in an opening formed in a counter top of a system kitchen. In this cooking stove, a glass top plate covering a top surface of the cooking stove main body comprises a capacitive touch switch used to give an instruction on actuation of heating means (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-214677).
The capacitive touch switch is composed of a switch mark printed on a front surface of the glass top plate and an operation circuit board provided in proximity to the part of the back surface of the glass top plate which is opposite to the switch mark. An electrode pattern is formed on the operation circuit board to detect electrical capacitance. The operation circuit board is mounted so that the electrode pattern is located in the part of the back surface of the glass top plate which is opposite to the switch mark. Thus, when a user touches the switch mark, his or her finger, which is an electrostatic object, is detected via the electrode pattern.
Thus, in the conventional cooking stove, the circuit board formed with the electrode pattern is provided in proximity to the back surface of the flat glass top plate. In this case, since the glass top plate and the circuit board are both rigid, it is difficult to dispose the glass top plate and the circuit board so that the back surface of the glass top plate is in tight contact with the circuit board. Consequently, a gap, that is, an air layer is likely to be formed between the glass top plate and the circuit board.
In particular, if a glass top plate strengthened by making the back surface uneven is used, when the back surface of the glass top plate is contacted with the circuit board formed with the electrode pattern, the unevenness of the back surface increases the area of the air layer formed between the back surface and the circuit board. When the air layer is thus present between the back surface of the glass top plate and the circuit board, this may disadvantageously hinder the detection of an electrostatic object located on the front surface of the glass top plate.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a cooking stove in which an operation circuit board formed with an electrode pattern is provided on the back surface of the glass top plate so as to suppress the formation of an air layer.