An apparatus and method for cleaving an optical fiber waveguide comprises a support base, a fixed fiber support including a fixed fiber base and a self-aligning fiber holder, a fiber pull tension assembly including a tension assembly base and a rotatable pull clamp, a tension spring, and a scribing knife assembly. The self-aligning fiber holder and the pull clamp support the fiber in an adjustable tension applied by the tension spring. The knife assembly comprises a blade carriage reciprocally driven on a linear slide by a motor drive assembly through a crank and a crank actuator. On the blade carriage is mounted a scribing blade borne on a blade arm that is upwardly biased. A guide pin on the blade arm engages a generally parallelogram-shaped guide track in the fixed fiber base. The guide track has an upper track and a lower track. During forward motion of the blade carriage, the guide pin travels in the lower track, thereby depressing the blade arm. Throughout the rearward motion of the carriage, the blade arm remains in an upper position, wherein the scribing blade engages the fiber with a scribing force and scribes it. Preferably the scribing force is adjustable. The carriage further comprises a fiber tension profile bar which engages a roller on the pull clamp to limit the tension in the fiber that results from rotation of the pull clamp caused by the tension spring. Preferably the bar has a plurality of profile steps, whereby the tension is applied to the fiber at a plurality of levels during the rearward travel of the blade carriage. The levels preferably comprise a scribing level applied during the scribing and a fracture level applied subsequently. During scribing, the scribing level is sufficient to hold the fiber taut without substantially curling or rotating it. The fracture level is sufficiently higher than the scribing level to cause fracture of the fiber after scribing.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus for cleaving optical fiber waveguides; and more particularly, to an automatic apparatus for cleaving an optical fiber waveguide held in tension to produce a planar end surface perpendicular to the fiber axis and suitable for fusion splicing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Transmission of data by optical fiber waveguides, also called fiber optics or optical fibers, has become ubiquitous in the telecommunications and computer industries. Digital information in an electronic system is converted into a series of pulses of light generated by lasers or light emitting diodes (LED's), which are injected into long fibers of glass or polymeric materials. The fibers are capable of propagating the light with extremely low losses and acceptably low dispersion, whereby information embodied in the modulation pattern may be conveyed. The light that emerges from the other end of the fiber can be detected and reconverted into electronic signals that faithfully reproduce the original signal.
Fiber optic communication has a number of advantages over traditional transmission means such as hard-wired coaxial and twisted pair cable and lower frequency electromagnetic broadcasting such as radio and microwave. Foremost is the much larger bandwidth available. In addition, existing infrastructure such as cable ducts, utility poles, and the like presently used by telecommunications companies can be upgraded with relatively little disruption and moderate cost by substituting optical fiber cable for existing copper wire. Thus, dramatic increases in bandwidth needed to accommodate the needs of an information-based, Internet-driven society and commerce can be obtained with comparatively little disruption.
The bandwidth of a given optical communications system is further increased by the use of polarization-maintaining (PM), single mode optical fiber. Such PM fiber is characterized by some form of azimuthal asymmetry that results in very different propagation constant modes of two orthogonal polarizations. Cross-coupling of the modes is very low, typically at a level of −20 to −30 dB.
Implementation of fiber optic systems requires both the equipment for actual transmission and processing of the data, and the equipment needed to install and maintain the fiber optic system and its infrastructure. The transmission and processing equipment, such as the fiber itself and the corresponding components needed to generate, detect, and process optically-borne information, have been developed to an ever increasing level of sophistication. While certain systems for joining and splicing fiber optic cables have been developed, there remains a need in the art for improved equipment and methods for splicing that are reliable, economical, and which result in minimal loss of signal integrity and strength, especially for the polarization-maintaining fibers. Such systems, equipment, and methods are essential if the full inherent advantages of optical transmission are to be more widely implemented.
Together, these considerations call for splicing systems that are compact, portable, and able to be operated rapidly and reliably under adverse working conditions and with minimal slack cable. Moreover, it is desired that such a splicing system be capable of joining two fibers in a way that (i) causes minimal disruption discontinuity in the optical transmission, (ii) does not adversely increase the diameter and volume of the cable, and (iii) has a durability as close as possible to that of an original fiber. Systems are also desired that are simple and reliable enough to be used by technicians who lack extensive training. There remains an urgent need for optical splicing equipment satisfying these requirements.
Optical fiber waveguides in common use share a number of structural features. The waveguide almost invariably comprises a thin, elongated fiber core responsible for conducting the light and at least one additional layer. Most often the fiber core is highly pure glass surrounded by a first and intimately-bonded layer termed a cladding and an outer layer called a buffer. The cladding, usually also glass, has an index of refraction lower than that of the core to insure that light is constrained for transmission within the core by total internal reflection. Typically, the buffer is composed of plastic or polymer and serves to protect the inner layers mechanically and to prevent attack by moisture or other substances present in the fiber's environment. Commonly a plurality of individual fibers (in some cases as many as a thousand) constructed in this fashion is bundled together and enclosed in a protective jacket to form a cable.
Commonly used fibers may further be classified as multimode or single mode. Multimode fibers typically comprise cores having diameters of 50–62.5 μm but in some cases up to 100 μm. Single mode fibers generally have a much smaller core that may be 9 μm or less in diameter. The glass-cladding diameter is most commonly 125 μm but sometimes is 140 μm (with a 100 μm core). The exterior diameter is largely a function of the buffer coating, with 250 μm most common, although some fiber coatings may be as much as 900 μm in diameter.
Two general approaches for splicing optical fibers are in widespread use, viz. mechanical and fusion splicing. Mechanical splicing is accomplished by securing the ends of two fibers in intimate proximity with an aligning and holding structure. Often the fibers are inserted into the opposing ends of a precision ferrule, capillary tube, or comparable alignment structure. The fibers are then secured mechanically by crimping, clamping, or similar fastening. An adhesive is also commonly used. In some cases a transparent material such as a gel having an index of refraction similar to that of the fiber cores is used to bridge the gap between the fibers to minimize reflection losses associated with the splice. Mechanical splicing is conceptually simple, and minimal apparatus is required to effect splicing. However, even in the best case, a mechanical splice has relatively high and undesirable insertion loss, typically 0.20 dB. In addition, mechanical splices are generally vulnerable to degradation of the optical quality of the splice over time, especially under adverse environmental conditions such as varying temperatures and high humidity. Mechanical splices are generally regarded as being temporarily expedients at best and are not useful for high bandwidth systems or permanent joints.
Fusion splicing entails the welding of the two fiber ends to each other. That is, the ends are softened and brought into intimate contact. The softening is typically induced by a small electric arc struck between miniature pointed electrodes mounted in opposition and substantially perpendicular to the common axis of the fibers. Upon cooling, a strong, low-loss joint is formed. When properly carried out, fusion splices exhibit very low losses along with high stability and durability rivaling those of the uncut fiber.
Careful preparation of the ends of the fibers being joined is essential for forming low loss splices in both ordinary and polarization maintaining optical fibers. In particular, each fiber end ideally should be a planar surface perpendicular to the fiber axis. However it is frequently found that existing methods produce surfaces having a variety of defects compromising this ideal surface. The defects include non-perpendicular surfaces, non-planar depressions or protruding asperities, and chips off the periphery of the terminal end. Each of these defects adversely impacts the quality of a fusion splice. It is also known that the brittle fracture of the glass material of the fiber requires careful control of the mechanism used to induce the fracture.
A number of devices, both manual and automatic, have been proposed for carrying out the cleaving operation. In generally, they rely on using a knife blade or similar hard surfaced tool to induce a surface mechanical defect on the circumference of the fiber and imparting a mechanical force to cause a crack to propagate from the induced defect to sever an expendable portion and leave a mating face.
However, existing devices generally lack the degree of control and automation needed for reliably producing a planar, perpendicular mating face for proper fusion splicing. They are relatively complex in design, construction, and operation. The consistency of results is highly dependent on the skill and attention of the operator. As a result, there is a significant need for a system wherein the cleaving process is carried out consistently to eliminate the unpredictable effects of operator action.

Automatic apparatus for cleaving optical fiber waveguides


The invention relates to an easily mountable and highly dynamic radial bearing. According to the invention, a magnetic radial bearing for the rotatable mounting of a rotor (3) is provided, having a stator (2) that comprises several coil assemblies (6). The coil assemblies (6) are arranged around an axis (1) of the radial bearing in a circumferential direction. Each of the coil assemblies (6) has a laminated core (7) having single sheets. Each of the coil assemblies (6) further has an axial field coil (11) that is wound around the corresponding laminated core (7). The single sheets are stacked in the tangential direction in every laminated core (7).

The present invention relates to a magnetic radial bearing for the rotatable mounting of a rotor having a stator that comprises several coil assemblies, wherein the coil assemblies are arranged around an axis of the radial bearing in a circumferential direction, each of the coil assemblies has a laminated core with single sheets and each of the coil assemblies has a coil that is wound around the corresponding laminated core.
With a conventional magnetic radial bearing, the stator comprises coils directed radially inward toward the shaft to be mounted. This means the coil axes extend substantially radially.
Radial magnetic bearings with axial coils are also known from the book "Magnetic Bearings" by Gerhard Schweitzer and Eric H. Maslen, Springer Verlag Berlin, 2009, XV, pages 82 to 84 and 96. This means that the coil axes extend in parallel to the bearing axis. Correspondingly, the flux guidance in both the coils and the rotor takes place substantially in the axial direction.
Magnetic radial bearings have to be able to compensate highly dynamic disturbances. At the same time, the force should follow the current with the shortest possible delay.

Magnetic radial bearing having single sheets in the tangential direction


Devices for treating obstructive sleep apnea include appliances for securing to one or more teeth of a patient and connected to a lingual bridge configured to change shape and apply pressure to a patient's tongue, preventing backward movement of the tongue and blockage of the patient's airway. The lingual bridge is composed of a shape memory alloy to allow the bridge to change shape once deployed in a patient's oral cavity and exposed to increased temperature in the patient's mouth. Pulse generators and electrodes are included to electrically stimulate the nerves and muscles of the tongue to assist in keeping the tongue from moving backward in the mouth during sleep.

The syndrome of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common disorder, especially in middle-aged obese males. The syndrome arises due to complete or partial obstruction of a patient's pharyngeal airway during sleep. Usually airway obstruction results from an apposition of the rear portion of the tongue or soft palate with the posterior pharyngeal wall. Consequently, OSA patients experience severe interruption of sleep due to occurrence of greater intensity of asphyxia as the disease progresses. OSA, if not treated, results in reduced quality of life and increased risk of medical conditions such as hypertension, stroke, morning headaches and heart disease.
A standard treatment for OSA is continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). While CPAP is non-invasive it is not well tolerated by patients. Patient compliance for CPAP is often lacking. Also, CPAP involves cumbersome physical equipment rendering this solution to be satisfactory only for in-hospital management of patients, hence being practical for severely affected patients. Surgical treatment options for OSA are also available. However, these tend to be generally invasive, irreversible, and have poor and/or inconsistent efficacy.
Accordingly, there is a need for devices that treat OSA without being invasive and are also well tolerated by a patient. There is also a need for devices that directly engage the patient's tongue and maintain the patient's tongue and/or mandible in an anterior, protruded position to prevent obstruction of the pharyngeal airway during sleeping.


An improved planar diaphragm loudspeaker having a voice coil assembly coupled to the rear surface of a planar diaphragm formed of a pre-expanded cellular plastic material, in which a metal dissipator in the form of a disk is mounted between the voice coil assembly and the planar diaphragm to reduce the transfer of heat from the voice coil assembly to the planar diaphragm.

The present invention relates generally to loudspeakers, and, more particularly, to an improvement in planar-type loudspeakers utilizing a substantially flat diaphragm.
In recent years, certain advances in dynamic loudspeaker design have been provided by the advent of planar diaphragm loudspeakers. Such loudspeakers utilize a relatively stiff and substantially planar (or flat) diaphragm supported by a frame. A voice coil assembly or electromagnetic driver is coupled to the rear surface of the diaphragm. The voice coil or driver acts like a piston, pressing on a circular plate called a hammer, which, in turn, vibrates the diaphragm to produce sound. Typically, the planar diaphragm is constructed of a pre-expanded cellular plastic material, such as polystyrene or styrofoam. The frequency response of a planar diaphragm generally is determined by the type and density of its material, and the area, thickness and contour of its sound producing region. An example of such a planar diaphragm loudspeaker is shown and described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/153,925, filed Nov. 18, 1993 in the name of Alejandro Bertagni et al., which is incorporated herein by reference. Other examples of planar diaphragm loudspeakers are shown and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,003,449 and 4,997,058, both issued in the name of Jose J. Bertagni.
When electric signals are passed through the voice coil assembly, it vibrates the hammer and the diaphragm to produce sound. While the voice coil provides the vibrations necessary to generate sound, it also generates heat as a byproduct. Because the voice coil is coupled to the planar diaphragm, the heat from the voice coil can be conducted to and damage the planar diaphragm. In particular, it has been found that if the amount of heat conducted to the planar diaphragm causes its temperature to rise above approximately 85 degrees celsius, the diaphragm will cavitate or melt and the speaker will fail.
One attempt to avoid heat damage to the diaphragm material was to insert an insulating material, such as a combination of cork and neoprene, in the form of a disk between the hammer and the diaphragm. This insulating disk would act as a heat barrier or insulator to slow down the conduction of heat to the diaphragm. However, if the output power of the voice coil assembly was maintained or increased, the heat would rise sufficiently to cause failure of the diaphragm.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a planar diaphragm loudspeaker that conveys a reduced amount of heat through the coupling between its voice coil assembly and its planar diaphragm. The present invention fulfills this need.

Planar diaphragm speaker with heat dissipator


A system for use as part of a test management system for an integrated computing system may obtain a first object instance of the integrated computing system in which the first object instance generated by applying configuration attributes of the integrated computing system to an object model of the integrated computing system. The first object instance includes a plurality of hierarchally arranged sub-object instances representing a plurality of hierarchally arranged resources of the integrated computing system. The instructions also generate a second object instance from the first object instance, including, for each sub-object instance included within the second object instance, identifying one or more criteria associated with the sub-object instance, generating one or more test procedures to verify proper operation of the resources associated with the sub-object instance according to the one or more criteria, and including the generated test procedures in the sub-object instance of the second object instance.

Computing environments used by enterprises, such as corporations and universities, are often provided by multiple computing devices that function in a collaborative manner to meet the computing resource needs of the enterprise. Such collaborative computing arrangements are also useful in cloud computing environments where users of the cloud have differing needs for storage and compute resources, among others. Converged infrastructures, among other solutions, have been developed to provide a standardized package of resources combined into a single, optimized computing solution with a relatively high level of customizability. In general, any such computing system should be fully tested prior to deployment. Testing of such computing systems often involves development of test procedures, and then performing those test procedures on a target computing system to ensure that it meets one or more requirements specified by the customer, or other performance objectives that may be associated with the use of the integrated computing system.

Test management system and method for an integrated computing system


An integrated circuit may have a clock input pin coupled to a buffer (24). The buffer may supply a clock signal (28) to an integrated circuit chip such as the memory. To conserve power, the buffer is powered down. When ready for use, the buffer is quickly powered back up. In one embodiment, in response to a predetermined number of toggles Of the clock signal, the buffer is automatically powered up.

Typically, clock input buffers are used to control inputs to a variety of circuits. For example, in connection with a low power double data rate 2 (LPDDR2) synchronous dynamic random access memory (LPDDR2-S (SDRAM)) or non-volatile memory (LPDDR2-N), the input buffers of all signals, except the clock, can be disabled using a clock enable (CKE) input signal. The clock input buffer consumes power, even when the clock is stable, because the clock input buffer is implemented with a differential amplifier.


An audio riser active electrical supervision system includes a high-voltage audio alert system connected to a riser circuit. The high-voltage audio alert system disconnects a high-voltage analog signal from the riser circuit when the audio riser active electrical supervision system operates in a standby mode, and connects the high-voltage analog signal to the riser circuit when the audio riser active electrical supervision system operates in an active alert mode. A plurality of isolator modules operate in a closed state that connects a circuit node to the riser circuit and an open state that disconnects the respective circuit node from the riser circuit. A riser supervision circuit is connected to at least one isolator module to detect a circuit fault on the riser circuit when the audio riser active electrical supervision system operates in the standby mode and the active alert mode.

Emergency alarm systems such as fire alarm systems, for example, include various notification and input devices, which are powered through the use of input device circuits (IDCs) and notification appliance circuits (NACs). These circuits are typically installed in several individual zones, each of which contains one or more input and/or notification devices. The input devices include, for example, smoke detectors, and the notification devices include, for example, sirens and strobe lights. The IDCs and NACs are typically connected to a common riser or audio bus via a respective circuit node. The circuit nodes are typically connected to one another in series or in a daisy-chain configuration. When an alarm event is detected, an audio signal is typically generated, amplified, and output to the audio riser such that the audio alert is output via the notification devices. Due to this series configuration of the IDCs and NACs, however, a fault in any given zone or device will affect all other zones or devices in the circuit.

Audio riser active electrical supervision


A biopsy needle device includes a stem slidably inserted into a cannula. Both the stem and the cannula are slidably supported by a box-shaped case. The box-shaped case houses a first movable assembly; a second movable assembly; a charging mechanism associated to the first and the second movable assemblies; an unlocking element; and an enabling element. The first movable assembly supports the cannula and is subject to a first spring. The second movable assembly supports the stem and is subject to a second spring. The charging mechanism is operable from outside the case in order to charge the first spring and the second spring at a charging phase, wherein the movable assemblies are engaged with the case by hooking mechanisms. The unlocking element releases the hooking mechanisms at an intermediate phase, wherein the second spring is discharged, and at a discharging phase, wherein the first and the second springs are both discharged. The enabling element is rotatably supported by the case for enabling axial movement of the unlocking element when the device switches in sequence between the charging phase, the intermediate phase, and the discharging phase.

The known biopsy needle devices, to which will be shortly referred to as biopsy needles in the following description, comprise a needle consisting of a cannula, holding a slidable stem inside it. The distal end of said stem projects from the cannula distal end, and can arrange a portion of an organ to be sampled, after it has been cut from a guillotine-like point, located at the cannula distal end, because of the mutual approach of said distal ends The biopsy needles are then based on the principle of cutting a pre-defined organ portion by inserting them into the organ to be analysed, then arranging the cut tissue portion in the cavity which is comprised between the stem and the cannula, when this latter slides on the same stem.
The currently known biopsy needles are manually activated. Their cannula is locked to the needle support, while the stem proximal end is slidably supported by a movable assembly, fit to move the stem distal end with respect to the same end of the cannula.
The movable assembly stroke is adjustable in order to cut a pre-defined amount (in length) of the tissue sample to be taken.
Said manually activated needles are reasonably simple devices, but they lack in accuracy during the needle positioning and tissue sampling phases: in fact, it is difficult for an operator to coordinate by hand the mutual sliding of the needle stem and cannula, when both are independently movable and when the same operator must hold both with his hands.
Some biopsy needles which are automatically or semi-automatically operated are also known. They are manually pre-charged, and then inserted near the sampling area. They are then able to automatically carry out a first operating phase, wherein the distal stem cavity is ejected out of the cannula, and then a second operating phase, wherein a portion of tissue occupying the said cavity is cut by means of a guillotine-like effect when the cannula slides on the stem, until the cavity is totally enclosed into the cannula. The aforesaid needles can also work in a semi-automatic way, by executing the above described second operating phase not automatically, but by activating a manual control. This latter normally unlocks a locking member, which prevents said second phase from being activated.
In said biopsy needles the stem and cannula are supported each one by a respective assembly. Moreover, they are subject to elastic reaction forces, which are normally supplied by suitably arranged springs, in order to "charge" the needle, and then to be able to automatically or semi-automatically "shoot" with the same needle.
In the "charge" phase the stem cavity is placed inside the cannula, and the distal ends of said stem and cannula are held as close as possible to the needle body. This normally consists of a box-shaped case, which slidably supports the whole needle. It also contains the movable assemblies, the charge springs and further accessory members, e.g. safety devices fit to prevent any accidental needle "shooting". During said charging, phase the above safety devices are automatically connected, and some suitable springs are pre-charged in order to enable the needle for shooting.
During the shooting phase, after the security device has been disconnected and the needle has been put close to the organ to be analysed, it is possible, by operating the shooting "trigger", to eject the stem and then the cannula. This takes place because the springs acting on their respective movable assemblies are sequentially discharged. As described above, the shooting phase can take place in a semi-automatic way, by ejecting only the stem first, and then ejecting the cannula, after its locking device has been disconnected
A known kind of biopsy needle is charged by lifting from the needle body an element hinged thereon. Said element is connected to a mechanism operating on the springs to be charged, which is able to automatically insert the safety device, once the needle reaches its wide apart position, with respect to the same needle body.
In a further kind of known biopsy needle, the shooting springs are charged by mutually rotating two box-shaped cases, by means of a spring charging mechanism, which is operated by a plurality of helical guides. This kind of needle also comprises a shooting safety device, which is inserted once the charge operations have been completed.
A further known biopsy needle is charged by means of a cursor, which operates on the charging springs, arranged at the end of the biopsy needle body close to the outer needle portion. It is also axially slidable on that body. An operator charges the springs by pressing on the cursor head. This furthermore allows the safety device to be inserted.
The known biopsy needles have some common features, as the shooting "trigger", button or lever, which is placed near the free end of the needle body. They are also provided with means for adjusting the stem penetration depth and for defining the length of the tissue sample to be taken. A further common feature is that stem and cannula are charged simultaneously.
The main drawback of the above described biopsy needles is that their trigger can be placed only at the free end of the biopsy needle body, that is at a somewhat awkward position for an operator which wants to activate the needle during the shooting phase. In fact, the sample to be taken is at the opposite end with respect to said trigger, and operating this latter causes an axial force to be applied to the needle. This can displace the needle point from its correct position inside the sampled organ. In other words, the operator must hold the needle body with one hand, while operating the trigger with the other hand, in order to compensate the axial forces acting on the trigger and to prevent the needle point from being displaced. Thus, the operator cannot simultaneously use any other instrument (e.g. an ultrasound scanner probe), and the whole sampling operation decreases in accuracy. This lack of accuracy is especially evident when a small tissue area inside an organ must be sampled.
A further drawback is that the needle charge mechanisms are often very complex and of difficult operation, because operators have to study how the charging system works, and to acquire a good skill about its working.


An ignition system exciter circuit includes a storage capacitor; a charging circuit for charging the capacitor; a discharge circuit connectable to an igniter plug; and a first switching circuit for controlling discharge of the capacitor through the discharge circuit and plug; the discharge circuit comprising a step-up transformer for transforming voltage stored on the capacitor to a higher voltage across the igniter plug when the first switching circuit is closed; the transformer having a primary winding and a secondary winding, with the secondary winding having a first terminal that can be coupled to a first terminal of the igniter plug and a second terminal that can be coupled to a second terminal of the igniter plug; and a second switching circuit that is responsive to a voltage transition across the igniter plug and that prevents the transformer primary and secondary windings from conducting spark discharge current.

The invention relates generally to ignition systems such as can be used, for example, with gas turbine engines. More particularly, the invention relates to an exciter circuit for and ignition system with the use of an output step-up transformer in the discharge circuit of the exciter.
Conventional ignition systems typically include one or more igniters through which energy is discharged from an energy storage device such as a capacitor. The discharge is characterized by a high energy spark or plasma discharge that occurs following a high voltage ionization or breakdown across the igniter gap, including air gap and semiconductor gap igniter plugs.
A conventional ignition system for an internal combustion engine, such as, for example, a gas turbine aircraft engine, includes a charging circuit, a storage capacitor, a switching circuit, a discharge circuit and at least one igniter plug located in the combustion chamber. The switching circuit may include one or more switching devices connected in series between the capacitor and the discharge circuit and plug.
In a high voltage exciter circuit, such as is typically associated with the use of air gap and semiconductor igniter plugs, it is generally known to use a step-up transformer as part of the discharge circuit. A typical system is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,510,952 issued to Bonavia et al. In some applications, however, it is desired to minimize or eliminate the presence of the step-up transformer impedance in the discharge circuit after the spark discharge is initiated. One such attempt is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,084,800 issued to Hijikata. This effort falls short, however, of eliminating the transformer impedance from the discharge circuit during the spark discharge interval.
The objectives exist, therefore, for an exciter discharge circuit that provides a high voltage for an igniter plug but which exhibits no transformer impedance during the spark discharge period.


An injection device includes a syringe with a hollow needle and a stopper for sealing the syringe and displacing a medicament stored in the syringe. An arrangement for transferring a translation of a drive means to a plunger for pushing against the stopper includes a release latch pivoted at one end and connected to either the drive means or the plunger. The other end of the release latch engages the other one of the drive means or the plunger. The non-pivoted end of the release latch disengages by rotation upon contact between a ramp and another component when the stopper has displaced most of a predefined medicament dose. The release latch is long enough to provide a clearance between the plunger and the drive means when engaged to allow the plunger, stopper and needle to be retracted inside the syringe or a housing after disengaging the release latch.

Administering an injection is a process which presents a number of risks and challenges for users and healthcare professionals, both mental and physical.
Injection devices (i.e. devices capable of delivering medicaments from a medication container) typically fall into two categories—manual devices and auto-injectors.
In a manual device—the user must provide the mechanical energy to drive the fluid through the needle. This is typically done by some form of button/plunger that has to be continuously pressed by the user during the injection. There are numerous disadvantages to the user from this approach. If the user stops pressing the button/plunger then the injection will also stop. This means that the user can deliver an underdose if the device is not used properly (i.e. the plunger is not fully pressed to its end position). Injection forces may be too high for the user, in particular if the patient is elderly or has dexterity problems.
The extension of the button/plunger may be too great. Thus it can be inconvenient for the user to reach a fully extended button. The combination of injection force and button extension can cause trembling/shaking of the hand which in turn increases discomfort as the inserted needle moves.
Auto-injector devices aim to make self-administration of injected therapies easier for patients. Current therapies delivered by means of self-administered injections include drugs for diabetes (both insulin and newer GLP-1 class drugs), migraine, hormone therapies, anticoagulants etc.
Auto-injectors are devices which completely or partially replace activities involved in parenteral drug delivery from standard syringes. These activities may include removal of a protective syringe cap, insertion of a needle into a patient's skin, injection of the medicament, removal of the needle, shielding of the needle and preventing reuse of the device. This overcomes many of the disadvantages of manual devices. Forces required of the user/button extension, hand-shaking and the likelihood of delivering an incomplete dose are reduced. Triggering may be performed by numerous means, for example a trigger button, the action of placing the autoinjector against the skin or the action of the needle reaching its injection depth. In some devices the energy to deliver the fluid is provided by a spring.
Auto-injectors may be disposable or single use devices which may only be used to deliver one dose of medicament and which have to be disposed of after use. Other types of auto-injectors may be reusable. Usually they are arranged to allow a user to load and unload a standard syringe. The reusable auto-injector may be used to perform multiple parenteral drug deliveries, whereas the syringe is disposed after having been spent and unloaded from the auto-injector. The syringe may be packaged with additional parts to provide additional functionality.
US 2002/0095120 A1 discloses an automatic injection device which automatically injects a pre-measured quantity of fluid medicine when a tension spring is released. The tension spring moves an ampoule and the injection needle from a storage position to a deployed position when it is released. The content of the ampoule is thereafter expelled by the tension spring forcing a piston in a proximal direction inside the ampoule. After the fluid medicine has been injected energy stored in the tension spring is released and the injection needle is automatically retracted back to its original storage position.
In order to prevent post-injection needle stick injuries, syringes with needle retraction have been developed. These syringes comprise a stopper, a plunger connected to the stopper, a hollow injection needle and a needle retraction spring. When the stopper in such a syringe has bottomed out and displaced at least nearly all of the syringe's content it grips a part of the needle protruding into the interior of the syringe. The needle retraction spring pushes the plunger in distal direction, i.e. away from the injection site. The plunger then pulls the stopper and the needle in distal direction until the needle is hidden inside the syringe.
GB 2 447 339 A discloses an autoinjector comprising an outer housing in which is mounted a syringe comprising a barrel for holding a volume of medicament, a needle at one end of the barrel and a plunger axially-moveable in the barrel, the autoinjector further comprising an inner housing intermediate the outer housing and the syringe and an energy source in communication with said inner housing, wherein the inner housing is moveable by the energy source between three positions, namely a first position in which the inner housing is in communication with the barrel such that, in use, the plunger and barrel are moveable axially so as to move at least part of said needle out of the outer housing; a second position in which the inner housing is in communication with the plunger but not the barrel such that, in use, said plunger is moveable axially into said barrel so as to expel medicament through the needle; and a third position in which the inner housing is in communication with neither the plunger nor the barrel such that, in use, the plunger and barrel are able to retract in order to retract the needle into the outer housing, characterised in that the plunger includes biasing means for axially biasing the barrel, before activation of the energy source, to a position forward of the part of the inner housing which acts on the barrel in said first position.
US 2003/105430 A1 discloses an automatic injector in which the needle is injected automatically into the injection site (e.g., a patient's skin), delivery is initiated upon activation of the injector, and the needle is retracted after the end of delivery. Preferably the needle is not seen by the user prior to, during or after injection. Prior to and after injection, the needle is withdrawn into the device so as to avoid any potential injury or health risk to the user or health care provider. The injector includes a housing and a control unit arranged to slide within the housing to move a piston rod during drug delivery and to pivot within the housing for needle retraction. The injector may also include a back rod that moves the piston rod before activation of the injector for titration and reconstitution and automatically disengages from the piston rod upon activation of the injector. A needle-locking device can be used in any number of pen-like injectors or other types of injectors or syringes. The needle-locking device includes a clip that insures that a needle assembly within an injector is in a locked position before and after use.


Diagnostic data, such as a time increment corresponding to how long a thread waits to access a shared resource, is stored within a predetermined location in a data structure, such as a hash bucket in a hash table. The location is preferably correlated to the resource such that a display of the diagnostic data may be tailored to reflect a user-specified relationship between the data and resource.

The speed and efficiency of many computing applications depend in large part upon the availability of processing resources. To this end, computing architectures commonly incorporate multithreaded processes that enable sharing of resources. Such threading can accommodate multiple paths of execution within a computer/operating system. As such, a thread may be characterized as a separately executable portion of a process. Each thread typically has its own distinct program counter and represents a separate movement of a processor through program instruction space and storage. In this manner, a program may be broken-up into multiple different threads. Ideally, this segmentation avoids requiring a computer process to execute a single unitary process or program from start to finish with pronounced intervals of wasted processing time. As such, a thread continuously accesses a resource until either its execution is interrupted or that thread must wait for a resource it requires to become available.
To facilitate coordination of threads and associated resources, threads typically share a priority scheme or schedule that partially dictates allocation of processing cycles as between different threads. A task dispatcher program may use this scheme to assign and dispatch a central processing unit(s) (CPU), timeslice, or other resource to each thread. Such exemplary resources might include hardware registers, database files and other memory resources. Thus, multithreaded operation can provide the illusion of simultaneous execution of multiple programs, given the relatively high processing speeds relative to that of other resources in the computer.
However, despite the flexibility afforded by multithreaded systems, complications associated with resource allocation persist. Some such obstacles arise from the dynamic, intertwined processing requirements of operating systems. Namely, while each thread of an operating system may have access to the same resource at one time or another, only one thread can access the resource at a time. This provision is termed "serialization" and can prevent operating errors, such as two threads incrementing a counter out of sequence. Consequently, access to resources for many threads may be premised upon the prior execution of others. Such dependency may introduce its own complexity and inefficiency into a processing application. Compounded over multiple processing layers and iterations, thread inactivity translates into slow processing speeds due to wait periods.
A specific instance of such a wait time may occur where an accessing thread has locked access to a contentious resource to ensure its own exclusive processing. For instance, the thread may initiate a gate lock to prevent the task dispatcher from allowing access to another thread desiring the resource, thus satisfying the above discussed serialization requirement. As such, while one thread updates a resource, hundreds or thousands of others may wait for access. Such a lock may remain in force until a condition is met. Thus, the additional threads remain locked out of the resource by the operating system.
Exemplary conditions may include the thread accomplishing its task or being timed-out. A timed-out condition regards the task dispatcher removing a thread from a resource after the expiration of a predetermined duration. Once execution so ceases for a given thread, the computer system begins executing another thread then cued for execution through context switching.
While delays associated with contact switching may be relatively small as compared to the processing cycles that would otherwise be wasted during single task processing, advantages realized by multithreading have given rise to a demand for even greater efficiencies. To this end, inefficiencies associated with idle threads prompt programmers and network designers to minimize wait periods associated with the above discussed locks and context switching operations. Locating, analyzing and correcting suspected faults/contentious instances of a computer program is a process known as debugging.
One potential remedy for periods of excessive waiting may include shortening a path length to a resource, thereby decreasing associated processing cycles and time. Another solution may involve including multiple instances of a subroutine and/or resource throughout a system, increasing the accessibility of the contentious program function. Where a lock is attributable to a shortage of a hardware resources, the most feasible solution may involve integrating more hardware into the system. The inclusion of additional hardware may reduce the incidence of idle threads, facilitating more efficient utilization of CPU resources.
Implementing such solutions, however, presupposes the identification of contentious locking incidences. Locating a problematic task and/or resource can represent a daunting and painstaking undertaking for a programmer. To this end, debugging operations may utilize programs configured to assist the analysis of system processes. For example, a designer may rely on a task switch trace program to record switching occurrences relating to a particular thread. A task switch trace program creates a comprehensive history of all transition sequences relating to the thread.
Transitions tracked by the task switch trace program may include every incidence of where execution of a thread was halted. The task switch trace program generally responds to each transition occurrence by recording the time of a halting occurrence within a database exclusive to the thread. Due to the exhaustive volume of such occurrences that are typically associated with a single thread, the database populated by the task switch trace program may require substantial storage space. Such storage requirements can severely burden available resources of most systems if used with any frequency.
As such, databases generated by the task switch trace program may only be run for very short periods due to the large amount of data recorded by the program. The selective operation of the program further handicaps their usefulness with regard to program evaluation processing. For instance, the relatively short duration of coverage associated with the task switch trace program may be preclusive for applications that require more comprehensive analysis. That is, the task switch program may be limited to detecting transition occurrences coincident with its relatively narrow window of operation. As such, the tool may fail to assist the programmer in pinpointing a contentious event in a typical, moderately sized program.
The voluminous nature of the database generated by the task switch trace program further compounds efforts of programmers to efficiently analyze programs. The volume associated with a typical database can be overwhelming and largely superfluous to programmers faced with the meticulous and often tedious task of troubleshooting a program. Consequently, inefficient and problematic portions of a program may remain overlooked. As a related matter, a programmer utilizing a task switch trace program may be unable to employ the program in a dynamic fashion. A user is typically relegated to evaluating the programmatically constructed database only after the task switch trace has populated it in its entirety. As such, the programmer may be unable to view potential bottlenecks and other transition occurrences as they develop. Thus, the programmer is relegated to reconstructing the contentious sequence after viewing the entire database.
Consequently, what is needed is a more efficient and effective manner of analyzing program and system inefficiencies within a multithreaded environment.

Dynamic diagnostic program for determining thread wait time

International Business Machines Corporation


The present invention relates to novel polymorphic Form A of fluoxetine hydrochloride.

The present invention is generally concerned with a novel polymorphic form of fluoxetine hydrochloride, (xc2x1)-N-methyl-3-phenyl-2-[xcex1,xcex1,xcex1-trifluoro-p-tolyl) oxy]propylamine hydrochloride, which is marketed by Dista Products and Eli Lilly and Company (the xe2x80x9cInnovatorxe2x80x9d), Indianapolis, Ind., under the trade name Prozac(copyright). The present invention is further concerned with the preparation and use of the polymorphic form of fluoxetine hydrochloride now designated Form A (xe2x80x9cForm Axe2x80x9d).
Polymorphic forms of the same drug substance (also known as the active pharmaceutical ingredient or xe2x80x9cAPIxe2x80x9d), as administered by itself or formulated as a drug product (also known as the final or finished dosage form) are well known in the pharmaceutical art to affect, for example, the solubility, stability, flowability, fractability, and compressibility of drug substances and the safety and efficacy of drug products, (see, e.g. Knapman, K. Modern Drug Discoveries, March, 2000: 53). So critical are the potential effects of different polymorphic forms in a single drug substance on the safety and efficacy of the respective drug product(s) that the United States Food and Drug Administration (the xe2x80x9cFDAxe2x80x9d) requires each drug substance manufacturer, in the least, to control its synthetic processes such that the percentages of the various respective polymorphic forms, when present, must be consistent among batches and within the drug substance/product""s specification as approved by the FDA.
Left uncontrolled in synthetic processes, the percentage of a given polymorph outside of an FDA approved specification would render the adulterated batches unfit for commercial sale. Accordingly, the FDA requires fall characterization of each drug substance used in each drug product marketed in the United States, including the identification and control of polymorphic forms. The FDA further requires robust synthetic process specifications and controls which consistently produce the respective drug substance and drug product. Unfortunately, the detection of various polymorphic forms of a single drug substance is not always readily discernable by pharmaceutical chemists. Such a drug substance would not be manufactured with appropriate controls, potentially leaving the attendant safety and efficacy risks unaddressed.
It has been discovered that fluoxetine hydrochloride drug substance, generally used to prepare Prozac(copyright) and potential generic drugs thereto (fluoxetine hydrochloride API), has not been fully or completely characterized. It has been unexpectedly discovered that such fluoxetine hydrochloride API drug substance comprises at least three crystalline forms, which occur at varying and uncontrolled ratios from batch to batch. These three identified polymorphs have been designated Form A, Form B, and Form C, correlated to the relative proportion of each polymorph in fluoxetine hydrochloride, from greatest to least.
It has further been discovered that Form A can be prepared in pure or essentially pure polymorphic form in robust, controllable, synthetic processes.


The present invention provides a portable telephone comprising an openable/closable casing having a display 13a, a magnetic sensor 18b for detecting whether the casing is opened or closed, and a control circuit 10. When a message is received with the casing closed, the control circuit 10 displays the contents of the received message on the display 13a. When the casing in an opening state is thereafter detected, the control circuit 10 displays on the display 13a a reply-message-preparation screen for preparing a reply message to be sent to a sender of the received message.

A foldable portable telephone comprises an openable/closable casing. Arranged on an inner surface of the casing are a speech transmission portion and a speech reception portion, as well as a manipulation surface of a key input device and a screen of a display. When to be carried, the telephone is made compact by closing the casing. When the telephone is to send or receive signals, the manipulation surface of the key input device, the screen of the display, and the speech transmission portion and speech reception portion are exposed by opening the casing to thereby allow the user to make a call.
The portable telephones which have been in wide use in recent years have a function of sending and receiving a message. In receiving a message, the user of the foldable portable telephone having such a function opens the casing to thereby expose the manipulation surface of the key input device and the screen of the display, and thereafter manipulates a message-display key to thereby present the contents of the received message on the display. In this manner the user can read the received message.
In sending a reply message to the sender of the received message, as a first step the user manipulates a reply-message-preparation key with the contents of the received message displayed on the display as described above to present a reply-message-preparation screen on the display to thereby prepare a message to be sent by entering characters. As a last step the user manipulates a message-sending key to thereby send the prepared message to a communications equipment of the sender of the received message. In this way the user can send a reply message to the sender of the received message.
However, when the user of the conventional portable telephone sends a reply message to the sender of the received message, the user needs to perform a series of manipulations such as opening the casing, manipulating the message-display key, manipulating the reply-message-preparation key, entering characters, and manipulating the message-sending key as described above, entailing the problem of cumbersomeness of the series of manipulations.
An object of the present invention is to provide a portable telephone which more simplifies a series of manipulations of sending a message to the sender of a message when the message is received or to the other party than the sender of the received message than conventionally.


A manually operated trigger sprayer is constructed with a reduced number of parts and in a novel manner in which the conventional metal coil spring is replaced with a pair of plastic bowed springs that are integral with the piston rod and the pump piston is connected to the piston rod by a pivoting connection that prevents radial force components acting on the piston rod from the springs from being transferred to the pump piston.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the construction of a manually operated trigger sprayer in which the conventional metal coil spring is replaced with a plastic spring that is an integral part of the pump piston rod and the pump piston is connected to the piston rod by a pivoting connection.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Handheld and hand pumped liquid dispensers commonly known as trigger sprayers are used to dispense many household products and commercial cleaners. Trigger sprayers have been designed to selectively dispense the liquids in a spray, stream, or foaming discharge. The trigger sprayer is typically connected to a plastic bottle that contains the liquid dispensed by the sprayer.
A typical trigger sprayer includes a sprayer housing that is connected to the neck of the bottle by either a screw thread connection or a bayonet-type connection. The sprayer housing is formed with a pump chamber and a vent chamber, a liquid supply passage that communicates the pump chamber with a liquid inlet opening of the sprayer housing, and a liquid discharge passage that communicates the pump chamber with a liquid outlet opening of the sprayer housing. A dip tube is connected to the sprayer housing liquid inlet opening to communicate the pump chamber with the liquid contents of the bottle connected to the trigger sprayer.
A nozzle assembly is connected to the sprayer housing at the liquid outlet opening Some nozzle assemblies include a nozzle cap that is rotatable relative to the sprayer housing between an "off" position where liquid discharge from the trigger sprayer is prevented, and one or more "on" positions where liquid discharge from the trigger sprayer is permitted. In addition, known nozzle assemblies can affect the liquid discharged by the trigger sprayer to discharge the liquid in a spray pattern, in a stream pattern, or as a foam.
A pump piston is mounted in the sprayer housing pump chamber for reciprocating movement between charge and discharge positions of the piston relative to the pump chamber. When the pump piston is moved to its charge position, the piston is retracted out of the pump chamber. This creates a vacuum in the pump chamber that draws liquid from the bottle, through the dip tube and into the pump chamber. When the pump piston is moved to its discharge position, the piston is moved into the pump chamber. This compresses the liquid in the pump chamber and pumps the liquid from the pump chamber, through the liquid discharge passage of the sprayer housing and out of the trigger sprayer through the nozzle assembly.
A metal coil spring is positioned in the pump chamber and engages with the pump piston. The coil spring biases the pump piston to the discharge position of the piston.
A vent piston is often provided with the pump piston and is mounted in the vent chamber. The vent piston moves with the pump piston between a vent closed position and a vent opened position in the vent chamber. In the vent opened position, the interior volume of the bottle attached to the trigger sprayer is vented through the vent chamber to the exterior environment of the trigger sprayer. In the vent closed position, the venting path of air through the vent chamber is closed, preventing leakage of the liquid in the bottle through the venting flow path should the bottle and trigger sprayer be inverted or positioned on their sides.
A trigger is mounted on the sprayer housing for movement of the trigger relative to the trigger sprayer. The trigger is operatively connected to the pump piston to cause the reciprocating movement of the pump piston in the pump chamber in response to movement of the trigger. A user's hand squeezes the trigger toward the sprayer housing to move the trigger and move the pump piston toward the discharge position of the piston in the pump chamber. The metal coil spring in the pump chamber pushes the piston back to the discharge position of the piston relative to the pump chamber when the user's squeezing force on the trigger is released.
Inlet and outlet check valves are assembled into the respective liquid supply passage and liquid discharge passage of the trigger sprayer. The check valves control the flow of liquid from the bottle interior volume through the liquid supply passage and into the pump chamber, and then from the pump chamber and through the liquid discharge passage to the nozzle assembly of the trigger sprayer.
The typical construction of the trigger sprayer discussed above has several separate component parts. The manufacturing of each of these individual component parts contributes to the overall cost of manufacturing the trigger sprayer. Because trigger sprayers are manufactured and sold in very large numbers, even a slight reduction in the manufacturing costs of a trigger sprayer can result in a significant overall reduction in the cost of manufacturing a large number of trigger sprayers. As a result, pistons with integral plastic springs have been designed to eliminate the metal coil springs used in conventional trigger sprayers and to reduce the number of component parts of the trigger sprayers. However, it has been observed that with the spring integrally connected to the piston, on reciprocation of the piston in the liquid pump chamber, the spring will exert force components on the piston that will tend to move the piston away from its coaxially aligned position relative to the pump chamber. This could distort the sealing engagement of the piston in the pump chamber and cause liquid to leak from the pump chamber on reciprocating movements of the piston.

Trigger sprayer piston rod with integral spring and pivoting piston connection


A first intermediate direct voltage is generated from a current source or board voltage, and a second sinusoidal intermediate alternating voltage is generated with a current inverter. This intermediate alternating voltage is transformed by one or more transfer systems to the various triggering and maintaining voltages of different cold cathode discharge lamps. Frequency-synchronous dimming is regulated by the pulse-pause ratio of a pulse group regulator in a broad frame by optically commanded triacs which are triggered in the zero crossing. The preconditions for the starting and maintenance characteristics of the lamps are thus always ensured.

Because there is no heating spiral, these lamps are particularly suited for a long service life in a harsh environment. These lamps are used preferably in automobile design, for example, due to their lack of sensitivity to impacts and shaking.
The design of this illuminant allows it to be used for irregular geometries; thus tube-shaped designs with an outer diameter of 3-6 mm and a length of a few decimeters, for example, are known. The designs can be manufactured to be curved, coiled or meandering.
To start the discharge process, a high voltage, which can amount to several thousand Volt, is needed. The burn voltage after firing can still amount to several hundred Volt.
The necessary burn current is in a range between 1 to 20 mA, depending on the design of the lamp geometry.
The lamp is started simply by applying high-tension a.c. voltage, which may--as soon as the firing procedure is completed--be broken down to the burn voltage via the initial current.
The characteristic curve of the luminous intensity in relation to the temperature necessitates that the lamp burn current be tracked under certain extreme environmental conditions.
Since this characteristic curve does not run linearly and even exhibits turning points, it is only possible to fulfill the requirement for a constant light progression in the specified temperature range with great expense.
Due to the increasing use of cold cathode discharge lamps in the illumination of instruments in automobile design, a large setting range of brightness is required in order to ensure a corresponding darkening or dimming of the lighting during changing environmental brightness. Darkening values and dim rates from 1 to 1000 are required.
The firing voltages and burn currents are generally made available by means of varying transformatoric means. Solutions with freely-oscillating flyback converters or semiconductor-switched push-pull converters are known, which are self-controlled according to the current saturation principle and adjust to the respective operating conditions. One example of such circuitry is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,053,681, whereby relatively high-frequency operating currents from the a.c. voltage supply in the system are generated and distributed to feed the fluorescent lamps. However, these converters are very costly and inefficient for use in the broad voltage range needed in automobile design. Additionally, the control option for this type of converter is severely limited. Darkening and dimming are only possible by altering the voltage. Examples of this design are known from DE-A-42 04 020 and WO-A-83 02 537. The first specification relates to the phase control of neon tubes in luminary advertisements; the second specification comprises a fluorescent lamp ballast for gas-discharge lamps in which the brightness control of the lamps is achieved by altering the operating frequency.
If, however, to illuminate an instrument panel, for example, a plurality of lights with varying geometries and thus variable firing and burn voltages is used, and if the individual lamps are mounted far apart from one another, then an individual voltage source would be needed for each lamp. A joint dimming with the goal to darken or brighten all lights synchronously in the same way and with equal intensity can only be achieved via great expense and losses or is not possible at all.
A large number of freely-oscillating converters would make it very difficult or impossible to sufficiently eliminate interference in a high-frequency range with the varying frequencies for the various operating conditions.
Major problems are also caused by arranging a plurality of high-voltage lines parallel from one or a plurality of converters to the remotely-located lamps, particularly if the a.c. voltages are selected in the kHz range and these voltages have a phase relationship that deviates from one another.

Process and circuit arrangement for operating cold cathode discharge lamps

Patent-Treuhand-Gesellschaft fur elektrische Gluhlampen mbH


A rapid access vehicular gun case assembly capable of mounting and operating in any orientation is disclosed. An exemplary assembly can comprise a base plate mounted to the trunk lid of a vehicle, an outer shell, a door assembly, a locking mechanism, and a removable transportation bag. The assembly is configured to mount in unused spaces within vehicles and securely store a variety of weapons while also facilitating rapid access to authorized persons. The gun case can comprise a removable transportation bag allowing for the transfer of weapons between the assembly and other locations in a covert manner that does not require directly handling or exposing the weapon to public view. Upon activation of manual lock, momentary switch, or RFID module the gun case assembly will unlatch and the door will automatically deploy to expose the contents for rapid access. In other embodiments, the assembly may hold various other articles.

The present invention generally relates to vehicular gun storage devices, more particularly, to gun storage devices for law enforcement vehicles
Firearms must always be secured against unauthorized access when transported or stored in vehicles. However, authorized individuals must maintain the ability to rapidly gain access when needed. The necessity of balancing firearm security and firearm accessibility in this manner is readily apparent in law enforcement vehicles. Law enforcement officers must effectively secure their patrol rifles and other weapons against theft while also maintaining the ability to gain rapid access in case they must respond to an emergency. For this reason, a variety of vehicular gun storage devices exist for both law enforcement and civilian use.
Existing vehicular gun vaults and gun racks fail to provide an adequate balance of preventing theft, providing quick access, and efficiently utilizing space. Law enforcement officers are continually having to carry more and more equipment in their vehicles, which leaves limited space for the accessible storage of firearms. Traditional gun racks and gun vaults take up a substantial amount of usable space within vehicles and are too large and too heavy to mount out of the way in unutilized spaces inside vehicles such as on trunk lids, cargo hatches, folding seats, doors, vehicle ceilings, or on the side walls of the cargo area of sports utility vehicles. Furthermore, vehicular gun racks are falling out of favor as they leave firearms in plain view, which is a serious problem for both law enforcement officers and civilian gun owners aiming to conceal firearms inside vehicles in order to reduce the potential for theft. Consequently, gun vaults have gained popularity for securely transporting and storing firearms in vehicles, however these devices are more expensive, take up additional space, and are slower to access than vehicular gun racks. Finally, both existing vehicular gun racks and existing gun vaults fail to provide a means of transferring firearms between permanent storage enclosures inside buildings and rapid access storage devices in vehicles in a covert manner that keeps firearms concealed from public view.
Accordingly, an improved rapidly accessible gun storage device is needed that is lighter, more compact, is easily mountable in unutilized spaces inside vehicles, and also facilitates transferring firearms between permanent storage enclosures and vehicular storage devices in a covert manner that keeps firearms out of public view.
Vehicular gun racks and gun vaults are well known in the field and are commonly used by both armed professionals and responsible gun owners to securely transport and store firearms. These devices inherently take up a substantial amount of usable space within vehicles, and due to their excessive weight and size their installation is cumbersome and, in many cases, impossible in the tight, unutilized spaces where firearm storage is desirable. For example, such devices will impede the automatic operation of trunk lids, cargo hatches, and folding seats; and will cause manually operated trunk lids, cargo hatches, and vehicle seats to close under their weight.
Furthermore, existing devices in the field are limited to only a few methods of providing quicks access for authorized users. Many devices rely solely on a mechanical key or mechanical combination lock for opening which is unfeasible for quick access under stress. Alternatively, existing devices providing quick electronic opening most commonly utilize a solenoid for disengaging the locking mechanism, which can easily be compromised by unauthorized individuals through externally placing a permanent magnet in the proximity of the solenoid.
Additionally, existing devices commonly rely on the use of a momentary switch for providing quick electronic opening. This does not provide an adequate level of security as a momentary switch can easily be activated by an unauthorized individual. Consequently, if quick authenticated access is desired, existing devices must be retrofitted with an external user authentication module, such as a fingerprint scanner or RFID reader. In these cases, all electronic wiring connecting the storage device and user authentication module must be carefully shielded in order to prevent tampering and maintain the security of the system. Shielding all wiring in this manner is a time consuming, expensive, and difficult.

Mountable rapid access vehicular gun case


An inspection system based upon an enclosed conveyance such as a van, capable of road travel, for inspecting objects of inspection that may include persons. The conveyance is characterized by an enclosing body, or skin. A source of penetrating radiation and a spatial modulator for forming the penetrating radiation into a beam, both contained entirely within the body of the enclosed conveyance, irradiate an object with a time-variable scanning profile. A detector module generates a scatter signal based on penetrating radiation scattered by contents of the object, while a proximity sensor generates a relative motion signal based on a relative disposition of the conveyance and the inspected object. An image is formed of the contents of the object based in part on the scatter signal and the relative motion signal. A detector, which may be separate or part of the scatter detector module, may exhibit sensitivity to decay products of radioactive material.

X-rays are currently employed for the inspection of cargo containers, including motor vehicles, freight pallets, etc. Current technology, however, typically requires that some structure associated with the inspection system be disposed on either side of the inspected object. Thus, for example, a source of x-rays may be disposed distally with respect to the inspected object while a detection system disposed proximally to the inspected object characterizes the x-rays which have traversed the inspected object. In other modes of x-ray inspection, described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,292,533, issued Sep. 18, 2001 and incorporated herein by reference, a source of penetrating radiation is mounted on a moveable bed which is driven by a stationary cargo container, while a boom extends either a detector or a beam stop to the distal side of the cargo container. Current technology, in summary, requires that the inspected objects or persons either be moved through an inspection system or interposed between a proximal examining component and a distal examining component, one including a source and the other including a detector.
An effective means, however, is desirable for rapidly and non-intrusively examining personnel as well as the interior of vehicles, cargo containers, or other objects. In particular, with respect to cargo enclosures, it is desirable to detect the presence of people, potential contraband, threats, or other items of interest, without imposing the requirements and constraints of current systems. Combining such an examination with passive sensing of radioactive or fissile material would also be advantageous.


A graphical user interface system for displaying content on a user interface and for integrating and manipulating social network content includes a display window for displaying and manipulating content from at least one social network; a horizontal panel for manipulating content from at least one social network; and tabs on the horizontal panel and user-selectable for manipulating the content. The tabs disposed on the horizontal panel may include a post tab for selecting a type of content to be manipulated; a media tab for manipulating audio/visual media content; a social tab for manipulating one or more social media or communication content in the social network; a persona tab for configuring at least one user-persona associated with the content to be manipulated; and an account tab for managing at least one external user account or profile when interacting with the content.

More and more people are increasingly using virtual products and services on their personal computing devices, such as using electronic mail (i.e. e-mail) and instant messaging, to communicate with one another. Many people are also using Internet based social networking, content sharing and dating tools to network and interact with others. People are also increasingly using online banking tools to manage their personal finances without having to visit a physical bank branch. More and more people are also using virtual tools for entertainment and leisure activities, such as Internet based games, online movies, Internet music, virtual books and magazines, and news and sports score feeds. Moreover, people are increasingly using mobile computing devices, such as mobile phones, laptop computers, and tablets, to access and for use with these virtual products and services.
With the increasing popularity of using virtual products and services available on personal computing devices and desire to maintain one's privacy, anonymity, or to separate interaction with multiple different groups of people or spheres of interest, many people have developed multiple virtual personas for themselves, such as professional and personal personas. For example, many people use different email addresses to separate their professional and personal communication. Many people also create separate professional and personal profiles on social networks to maintain privacy between their professional and personal lives. Some people even maintain multiple professional or multiple personal personas. Managing these multiple personas in order to preserve personal privacy can be time consuming, inefficient, and frustrating. The present invention facilitates the ability to do these things quickly, efficiently, and simultaneously by eliminating the need to interact with multiple accounts, profiles or data sources and destinations separately.
For the purposes of the present application, a graphical user interface (GUI) refers to one or more of the interface components typically displayed on a display of a computing device that allow for interaction and manipulation by the a user and the data with which the user interacts. GUI interfaces may emulate a virtual desktop environment, display graphics, and allow interaction between a user and virtual profiles or accounts through, for example, a screen, a touchscreen, or an input device on a personal computing device.
For the purposes of the present application, an "icon" is a graphic image which may be displayed on a computer screen or other computing display device and usually corresponds in appearance to the type of information, system resource, or application which it provides access to when it is visible. It is a graphical object which represents and serves to identify information, system resources, applications, and the like, and may exist inside any particular window, including the virtual desktop itself. An icon may be associated with a particular collection of computer information, typically representing a "file" which may be a collection of data, a particular device or device handle, an application, program, and the like. An icon also may represent a window corresponding to, for example, an application in an active but "minimized" state.
A "file" generally refers to a collection of information or data which the user wishes to use, create or modify; each particular file has an associated unique name for identification by both the system and the user. Any given file may typically be located within the information management system by knowing a file name, an iconographic representation associated with the name, or a window name associated, for example, with a group of files which are stored together. All information (files) grouped within a particular window may be identified with that particular window's own identification location within the computer information management system. Accordingly, a user interface screen display, for example, may be broken down into multiple windows and graphic icons.
Another important element of some conventional user interfaces is a screen cursor. The cursor allows direct user control over the user interface and generally represents the point on the desktop which is presently "active", e.g. where input may be received, or output may be seen or taken. A user interface may be complemented with a "mouse" or other suitable pointing device and a corresponding "pointer" which makes up the cursor control device and provides the "point-and-click" user interface. The pointer may be used to change where on the desktop the active cursor is at a given time. A mouse may typically be an electromechanical device that translates two-dimensional mouse movement controlled by a user into a two-dimensional screen position movement represented by, for example, a pointer or arrowhead. The user may contact and direct the mouse while observing the position of the pointer on the screen thus bringing the user and the computer closer together via the interaction between the user, the mouse, the pointer and the display. When the mouse is moved signals are generated and input to the computer on an input port and the pointer moves correspondingly to a point on the display. Visual feedback may be used to control the exact location of the pointer by movement of the mouse. In addition, the computer may store the location of the pointer which corresponds to an exact location on the display. It should be noted that the computer may also store the location of each icon or other interactive object such that when the pointer and an icon location coincide, specific actions may be taken by the user to "activate" the icon as described in greater detail herein below. In other systems, such as those utilizing a touchscreen display device, pointing functionality may be substituted by the user touching the screen in a desired location with their finger, or other suitable stylus or pointing device, for example.
In systems using a mouse, the mouse may also be provided with one or more push buttons which may be used to effectuate control over the pointer by selecting or deselecting specific icons or other interactive tools. The mouse may be considered to be "activated" when the mouse button is depressed and the pointer remains active until the button is released. Pointer activation may also be initiated by sequences of mouse button presses, such as a "double click" interaction which involves rapidly pressing the mouse button press twice in sequence. By placing the pointer in a new location on the desktop and "clicking" or "double clicking", the location of the active cursor, for example, may be changed to a new window, or, for example, an application may be launched by "double clicking" on the application's icon. However, as the desktop-becomes increasingly crowded with icons, open windows and other selection options problems may arise. Analogously, in touchscreen systems, single or double touches of the screen may be used to activate user interface features, for example.
Toolbars offer easier and more direct access to key commands of an application by presenting these commands as buttons either as part of the application's primary task window or in a floating window. Toolbars are typically programmed by an application developer as part of an application program since the function associated with the toolbar selection is often closely tied to one or more functions performed by the application. Problems arise, however, in that if a configuration change is needed in the application requiring, for example, that new functions must be added to the application toolbar, a separate and complex human interface dedicated to the task of adding the new function is required. Often times, rebuilding of the application (e.g. compiling, linking, and the like) is needed to change the configuration of the toolbar. Moreover, as other, similar applications are used, a separate toolbar must be configured for each application and deliberately saved to preserve the new toolbar settings for the particular application.

System and method for interface and interaction with internet applications


One aspect of the present disclosure relates a method of diagnosis and/or treatment of a solid tumor. The method includes directly measuring neural activity within a solid tumor for a time and determining a state of the solid tumor based on the neural activity. The diagnosis and/or treatment can be determined based on the state of the solid tumor. In some instances, the neural activity can be used in a closed loop to detect the neural activity, determine the state, determine the risk, apply treatment, check again for neural activity, and cease treatment when the neural activity is gone.

A solid tumor is an abnormal mass of tissue that usually does not contain cysts or liquid areas. Solid tumors, which can be benign (not cancer), pre-malignant, or malignant (cancer), can be found in the brain, ovary, breast, colon, prostate, pancreas, and other tissues. A malignant solid tumor in the breast can be referred to as breast cancer.
Breast cancer is a global problem, accounting for nearly a quarter of all cancers in women worldwide. It is estimated that as many as 1.7 million women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year. One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer during her lifetime. An estimated 90% of deaths due to breast cancer are a consequence of metastatic disease, whether the cancer was metastatic at diagnosis or a metastatic recurrence developed later. Permanent treatments to eradicate metastasis do not exist. In fact, there is no cure once metastatic disease has occurred. The median survival with metastatic breast cancer is three years, and that number has had no statistically significant change in over twenty years.

Determining a state of a solid tumor based on neural activity within the solid tumor


A method of improving security of a luggage wrapping system. Firstly, apply at least one band around a piece of luggage. Secondly, apply a polymer plastic wrap to the luggage.

Over the past decade a number of airports have experimented with wrapping luggage in a transparent polymer plastic wrap. When first introduced, this practice was considered to provide a number of advantages. It provided a measure of protection against unauthorized tampering with the luggage. It protected the luggage from scrapes and abrasions during handling. It protected the luggage from water damage from rain or snow encountered during handling.
Two types of luggage wrap are used; a thin ply, cling type of wrap and a heavier ply shrink wrap. The heavier ply shrink wrap has proven to be more effective. It provides a greater measure of protection and a greater degree of tamper resistance. A number of machines for automatically applying protective shrink wrapping have been developed and are described in the patent literature. Each machine has a particular advantage for which patent protection was sought and obtained. U.S. Pat. No. 3,815,313 which issued to Heisler in 1974 discloses a method and apparatus for heat shrinking a film around a piece of luggage and at the same time providing an integrally attached handle to assist with handling. U.S. Pat. No. 4,783,950 which issued to Santagati in 1988 discloses a method and apparatus for detecting the dimensions of a piece of luggage moving along a conveyor toward the heat shrinking equipment and adjust heat sealing rods to accommodate the dimensions with a minimum of wastage. U.S. Pat. No. 5,299,406 which issued to Laury in 1994 discloses an apparatus for shrink wrapping a piece of luggage which leaves an opening to provide access to the luggage handle.
Through experience it has been determined that the wrapping of luggage did not provide the degree of security that was originally envisaged. The criminal element proved capable of keeping up with advances in technology and, when it suited their purpose, resealing the luggage to cover their activities.


The present invention disclosed a lubricant system and methods of use. Said lubricant system comprises siloxane polymers with viscosity greater than 100 centistokes and cross-linking agents that can promote siloxane polymers curing rapidly in ambient conditions. The lubricant system comprises further hydroxy siloxane polymers, siloxane coupling agent, catalyst and volatile carrier solvents. The surfaces of medical devices are coated at least once, a solid lubrication film can be quickly formed, and the film has a very excellent lubricating performance and wide applications. The methods of use are simple, easy to implement and control, and is particularly suitable for rapid automatic production lines, and thus is of great economic value.

For many medical devices, such as injection needles, surgical suture needles, scalpels, medical catheters and the like, their penetration, cutting and friction forces are directly related to patients' pain and/or discomfort when the medical devices are being used. In order to reduce these forces, coating lubricant on surfaces of medical devices has been very effective. Siloxanes are widely appreciated materials as coated lubricant. However, it is an ever-stop challenge to increase the binding forces of siloxanes with the surface of medical devices and simultaneously to minimize the frictional forces between the tissues and medical devices. Adopted in the prior art, the polydimethylsiloxane, such as Dow Corning DC-360, are used as lubricants to reduce frictional forces and are cross-linked to the surface of medical devices by siloxanes with amino functional groups, such as Dow Corning MDX-4159. Major drawbacks of this type of lubricants are their very long curing time. According to product literature of Dow Corning, the curing requires 7-10 days in ambient conditions. Attempts have been made to accelerate the curing process with different formulations and methods, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,911,711, heating was used to accelerate the cure of the first layer of coating, then low viscosity polydimethylsiloxane was coated on top of the first layer of coating to reduce friction. Even though the heating method accelerated the curing process, the production processes are still greatly restricted. Obviously the outer layer lubricant of such lubricant system is often liquid, most of which will be erased at the time of first use, if applied to the surgical suture needles and scalpels and the like which require repeated penetrating or cutting tissues, their lubricating performance is significantly reduced thereafter. Even when applied to injection needles, if liquid medicine needs to be drawn from the ampere bottles, most of the liquid lubricant will also be erased in first time penetration, then the tissue penetration forces during injection will be greatly increased. If applied to medical catheters, excess liquid siloxane at inner surface of catheters may also react with biological medications or proteins in body fluid. People also used multiple coating layers and long-time high-temperature heating method to implement a fully cured lubricating film, as described in US patent 2013/0209664a1, medical suture needles are coated with 2 to 3 layers, and each coating is often heated to around 200° C. for many hours, which inevitably increases the production cost. Obviously, medical catheters and plastic hubs of injection needles cannot be at such high temperature without deformation.
Invention
The present invention mainly solves the technical problem of providing a lubricant system and methods of use, the surfaces of medical devices are coated at least once, a solid lubrication film can be quickly formed in ambient conditions, and the film has a very excellent lubricating performance.
To solve the above technical problem, the present invention provides a medical device lubricant system comprises siloxane polymers with viscosity greater than 100 centistokes and cross-linking agents that can promote siloxane polymers curing rapidly in ambient conditions. Said ambient conditions are the clean environment necessary for medical device productions without further defining any environmental parameters. Said rapid curing can be realized within 5 minutes, and can also be realized according to different needs and applications within extended curing time.
In a preferred embodiment, said siloxane polymers comprise selected compounds defined by the following structure:
Wherein m+n is an integer between 6 to 2000; the chain length of R(1/2/3/4/5/6) is 1˜20; R group are an alkyl group, a cycloalkyl group, an aryl group and mixture thereof but not limited thereto; R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6 are the same or different.
In a preferred embodiment, said siloxane polymers' viscosity is between 100 centistokes to 30,000 centistokes at 25° C., and the weight average molecular weight of the siloxane polymers is between 6000 to 90000.
In a preferred embodiment, said siloxane polymers comprise selected hydroxy siloxane polymers defined by the following structure:

Wherein m+n is a integer between 150 to 1000; R group are an alkyl group, an aryl group, trifluoro propyl and mixture thereof but not limited thereto; R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6 are the same or different.
In a preferred embodiment, said hydroxy siloxane polymers' viscosity is between 1000 centistokes to 8000 centistokes at 25° C., and the weight average molecular weight of the siloxane polymers is between 30000 to 60000.
In a preferred embodiment, said lubricant further comprises siloxane coupling agent defined by the following structure:—SiRx1(OR2)3-x
Wherein X is an integer 0≤X<2; R1 are vinyl group, alkyl group terminated with amino, epoxy, halogenated groups but not limited thereto; R2 are methyl, ethyl groups but not limited thereto.
In a preferred embodiment, said cross-linking agents comprise selected compounds defined by the following structure:Ra1SiRb2(OR3)4-a-b Wherein a is an integer 0≤a≤2; b is an integer 0≤b<4; R1 are vinyl, alkyl, vinyl groups; R2 are amino group; R3 are alkyl, hydrogen, alkenyl, amino, acyl, aryl, carbonyl, and imine groups.
In a preferred embodiment, further comprises catalysts, wherein said catalysts are organic tin catalysts.
In a preferred embodiment, further comprises volatile carrier solvents, wherein said volatile carrier solvents are hydrofluoroether or chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) solvents.
The present invention provides the methods of use of a medical device lubricant system comprise coating at least one layer of said lubricant on the surface of medical devices, wherein said lubricant coatings comprise any compositions described previously and reactive product thereof.
In a preferred embodiment, comprise methods of dipping, spraying, brushing, painting and jet to coat said lubricant to the surface of medical devices.
In a preferred embodiment, comprise coating of said lubricant to the metallic and polymer surfaces of medical devices.
The present invention has the beneficial effects that said lubricant system only needs to be coated on the surfaces of medical devices at least once, a solid lubrication film can be quickly formed in ambient conditions, and the film has a very excellent lubricating performance and wide applications. The methods of use are simple, easy to implement and control, and is particularly suitable for rapid automatic production lines, and thus is of great economic value.

Medical device lubricant system and methods of use


A full bisection bandwidth network, having a plurality of nodes and a plurality of paths among the nodes, is divided into a plurality of Virtual Local Area Networks (“VLANs”) by assigning paths to the VLANs such that each VLAN satisfies a spanning tree protocol and all paths are active in at least one VLAN.

A device connected to a network, e.g., an Ethernet network, typically connects to a port on a network switch or hub. Network switches and hubs have a limited number of ports. Expanding the network to include a number of devices beyond the number of ports typically requires linking two or more switches or hubs. Redundant paths in the network are typically disabled by network protocol to prevent broadcast storms and loops in the topology. Making efficient use of such multiple-switch networks is a challenge.