The present invention relates to protease resistant mutants of human growth hormone, which contain newly introduced proteolysis resistant mutations and N-linked or O-linked glycosylation site(s), such that these recombinantly produced polypeptides have glycosylation patterns distinctly different from that of the naturally occurring human growth hormone. The polynucleotide coding sequences for the mutants, expression cassettes comprising the coding sequences, cells expressing the mutants, and methods for producing the mutants are also disclosed. Further disclosed are pharmaceutical compositions comprising the mutants and method for using the mutants.

Human growth hormone (hGH) and agonist variants thereof are members of a family of recombinant proteins, described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,658,021 and 5,633,352. Their recombinant production and methods of use are detailed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,342,832, 4,601,980; 4,898,830; 5,424,199; and 5,795,745. Human growth hormone participates in various aspects of the regulation of normal human growth and development. Through interaction with its receptors, this 22 kDa pituitary hormone modulates a multitude of biological effects, such as linear growth (somatogenesis), lactation, activation of macrophages, and insulin-like and diabetogenic effects. Chawla, Annu. Rev. Med., 34: 519 (1983); Edwards et al., Science, 239: 769 (1988); Isaksson et al., Annu. Rev. Physiol., 47: 483 (1985); Thomer and Vance, J. Clin. Invest., 82: 745 (1988); Hughes and Friesen, Annu. Rev. Physiol., 47: 469 (1985).
The administration of glycosylated and non-glycosylated peptides for engendering a particular physiological response is well known in the medicinal arts. Both purified and recombinant hGH have been used for treating conditions and diseases due to hGH deficiency, e.g., dwarfism in children. A principal factor that has limited the use of therapeutic peptides is the immunogenic nature of most peptides. In a patient, an immunogenic response to an administered peptide can neutralize the peptide and/or lead to the development of an allergic response in the patient. Other deficiencies of therapeutic glycopeptides include suboptimal potency and rapid clearance rates. The problems inherent in peptide therapeutics are recognized in the art, and various methods of eliminating the problems have been investigated. For example, to provide soluble peptide therapeutics, synthetic polymers have been attached to the peptide backbone.
The attachment of synthetic polymers to the peptide backbone to improve the pharmacokinetic properties of glycoprotein therapeutics is known in the art. An exemplary polymer that has been conjugated to peptides is poly(ethylene glycol) ("PEG"). The use of PEG to derivatize peptide therapeutics has been demonstrated to reduce the immunogenicity of the peptides. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,179,337 (Davis et al.) discloses non-immunogenic polypeptides such as enzymes and peptide hormones coupled to polyethylene glycol (PEG) or polypropylene glycol. Between 10 and 100 moles of polymer are used per mole of polypeptide and at least 15% of the physiological activity is maintained. In addition to reduced immunogenicity, the clearance time in circulation is prolonged due to the increased size of the PEG-conjugate of the polypeptides in question.
The principal mode of attachment of PEG, and its derivatives, to peptides is a non-specific bonding through a peptide amino acid residue (see e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,088,538 4,496,689, 4,414,147, 4,055,635, and PCT WO 87/00056). Another mode of PEG-to-peptide attachment is through the non-specific oxidation of glycosyl residues on a glycopeptide (see e.g., WO 94/05332).
In many chemical PEGylation methods, poly(ethyleneglycol) is added in a random, non-specific manner to reactive residues on a peptide backbone. The random addition of PEG molecules has its inherent disadvantages, including, e.g. the lack of homogeneity in the final product and potential for reduction in the biological or enzymatic activity of the peptide. Therefore, a derivitization strategy that results in the formation of a specifically labeled, readily characterizable, essentially homogeneous product is far superior in the context of therapeutic peptide production. Such methods have been developed.
Specifically labeled, homogeneous peptide therapeutics can be produced in vitro through the action of enzymes. Unlike the typical non-specific methods for attaching a synthetic polymer or other label to a peptide, enzyme-based syntheses have the advantages of regioselectivity and stereoselectivity. Two principal classes of enzymes that can be employed in the synthesis of labeled peptides are glycosyltransferases (e.g., sialyltransferases, oligosaccharyltransferases, N-acetylglucosaminyltransferases) and glycosidases. These enzymes can be used for the specific attachment of sugars which can be subsequently modified to comprise a therapeutic moiety. Alternatively, glycosyltransferases and modified glycosidases can be used to directly transfer modified sugars to a peptide backbone (see e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,399,336, and U.S. Patent Application Publications 20030040037, 20040132640, 20040137557, 20040126838, and 20040142856). Methods combining both chemical and enzymatic synthetic elements are also known (see e.g., Yamamoto et al. Carbohydr. Res. 305: 415-422 (1998) and U.S. Patent Application Publication 20040137557).
In response to the need for improved therapeutic hGH, the present invention provides a glycopegylated hGH that is therapeutically active and which has pharmacokinetic parameters and properties that are improved relative to an identical, or closely analogous, hGH peptide that is not glycopegylated. Furthermore, the present invention provides cost-effective methods by which improved hGH peptides can be produced on an industrial scale.
Glycosyl residues have also been modified to bear ketone groups. For example, Mahal and co-workers (Science 276: 1125 (1997)) have prepared N-levulinoyl mannosamine ("ManLev"), which has a ketone functionality at the position normally occupied by the acetyl group in the natural substrate. Cells were treated with the ManLev, thereby incorporating a ketone group onto the cell surface. See, also Saxon et al., Science 287: 2007 (2000); Hang et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 123: 1242 (2001); Yarema et al., J. Biol. Chem. 273: 31168 (1998); and Charter et al., Glycobiology 10: 1049 (2000).
Carbohydrates are attached to glycopeptides in several ways of which N-linked to asparagine and mucin-type O-linked to serine and threonine are the most relevant for recombinant glycoprotein therapeutics. A determining factor for initiation of glycosylation of a protein is the primary sequence context, although clearly other factors including protein region and conformation have their roles. N-linked glycosylation occurs at the consensus sequence NXS/T, where X can be any amino acid but proline.
As previously mentioned, rapid in vivo degradation and clearance rate are other well-known problems that interfere with the optimal desired physiological effects of administered polypeptides. Soon after injection, polypeptides such as human growth hormone are readily proteolyzed by numerous proteases in the blood and lymphatic system. These proteases cleave the human growth hormone in both the amino internal and carboxy terminal regions, thereby fragmenting the protein and reducing the growth effects of hGH. The proteolysis also facilitates clearance of the degraded protein, dramatically reducing the residence time in the body after injection. In light of the above, there is a need for polypeptides with protease resistance and method of producing such polypeptides.
The methods discussed above do not provide access to industrially relevant quantities of modified peptides that substantially retain the pharmacological activity of their unmodified analogues and possess protease resistance.
The present invention answers these needs by providing hGH mutants that contain newly introduced O-linked glycosylation sites, providing flexibility in glycosylation and/or glycoconjugation, e.g., glycoPEGylation of these recombinant hGH mutants. The O-glycosylation mutants optionally further include one or more proteolysis resistant mutation or sites for chemical PEGylation of region(s) most susceptible to proteases. Moreover, the invention provides an industrially practical method for the modification of N- or O-linked mutant hGH peptides with modifying groups such as water-soluble polymers, therapeutic moieties, biomolecules, and the like. Of particular interest are methods in which the modified mutant hGH has improved properties, which enhance its use as a therapeutic or diagnostic agent.

Compositions and methods for the preparation of protease resistant human growth hormone glycosylation mutants


A coaxial connector with a connector body provided with a connector body bore. The outer conductor electrically coupled to the connector body. An insulator supporting an inner contact coaxial with the connector body bore. A grip ring seated in an annular grip ring groove of the inner contact. The grip ring groove provided with a wedge surface having a taper between the connector end of the wedge surface and the cable end of the wedge surface. The grip ring movable along the wedge surface, longitudinally within the grip ring groove. The grip ring provided with a grip surface oriented to engage a surface area of the inner conductor as the inner contact is coupled with the inner conductor by insertion of the coaxial cable into the connector body bore. The grip surface dimensioned to couple with the surface area, inhibiting removal of the inner conductor towards the cable end.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electrical cable connectors. More particularly, the invention relates to a coaxial cable connector with an inner conductor to inner contact longitudinal retention interconnection.
2. Description of Related Art
Coaxial cable connectors are used, for example, in communication systems requiring a high level of precision and reliability.
To create a secure mechanical and optimized electrical interconnection between the cable and the connector, prior coaxial connectors have utilized circumferential contact between a leading edge of the coaxial cable outer conductor and the connector body, such as a flared end of the outer conductor that is clamped against an annular wedge surface of the connector body, via a coupling nut. With the outer conductor mechanically secured, the inner conductor may be allowed to longitudinally float, electrically contacted by a bias-type contact mechanism such as spring fingers engaging the inner conductor along an outer diameter surface, or, if the inner conductor is hollow, along an inner sidewall of the inner conductor bore. Representative of this technology is commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,795,188 issued Aug. 18, 1998 to Harwath.
Where the attached coaxial cable has an extended length, variances between the thermal expansion characteristics of the inner and outer conductor may become significant, resulting in unacceptable longitudinal movement of the inner conductor with respect to the inner contact. Also, longitudinal movement of the inner conductor with respect to the inner contact may introduce undesirable passive intermodulation (PIM) distortion.
Alternatively, prior connectors have provided mechanical interconnections between the inner conductor and the inner contact via a thread-driven radial expansion and/or direct threading of the inner contact into the bore of a hollow inner conductor. The threaded elements and/or screws required for these configurations may increase manufacturing costs and/or installation complexity.
Competition in the coaxial cable connector market has focused attention on improving electrical performance and minimization of overall costs, including materials costs, training requirements for installation personnel, reduction of dedicated installation tooling and the total number of required installation steps and/or operations.
Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide a coupling nut that overcomes deficiencies in the prior art.

Inner conductor wedge attachment coupling coaxial connector


This invention provides for compounds of the formula:

Animals, such as mammals and birds, are often susceptible to parasite infestations. These parasites may be ectoparasites, such as fleas and ticks. Animals and humans also suffer from endoparasitic infections including, for example, helminthiasis which is most frequently caused by a group of parasitic worms described as nematodes or roundworms. These parasites cause severe economic losses in pigs, sheep, horses, and cattle as well as affecting companion animals (e.g. cats and dogs) and poultry. Other parasites include those which occur in the gastrointestinal tract of animals and humans such as Ancylostoma, Necator, Ascaris, Strongyloides, Trichinella, Capillaria, Toxocara, Toxascaris, Trichuris and Enterobius. Other parasites which are found in the blood or other tissues and organs include filarial worms and the extra intestinal stages of Strongyloides and Trichinella.
One type of endoparasite which seriously harms mammals is Dirofilaria immitis, also known as Heartworm. Other filarial endoparasites include Dirofilaria repens and Dirofilaria honkongensis, which can also infect humans. The most common hosts are dogs and cats but other mammals such as ferrets and raccoons may also be infected. Heartworms go through several life stages before they become adults infecting the pulmonary artery of the host mammal. The worms require the mosquito as an intermediate host to complete their life cycle. The period between the initial infection when the dog is bitten by a mosquito and the maturation of the worms into adults living in the heart and pulmonary arteries is six to seven months in dogs and is known as the "prepatent period." L3 larvae migrate during blood feeding of the mosquito to the tip of the mosquito's mouth parts (labium), leave the mosquito and are deposited on the skin of the dog where they then migrate through the bite wound into the host. Most L3 larvae molt to fourth-stage larvae (L4s) in canine subcutaneous tissues within 1-3 days after infection. Then, they migrate to the muscles of the chest and abdomen, and 45 to 60 days after infection, molt to the fifth stage (L5, immature adult). Between 75 and 120 days after infection, these immature heartworms then enter the bloodstream and are carried through the heart to reside in the pulmonary artery. Around seven months after infection, Dirofilaria immitis adults reach maturity and sexually reproduce in the pulmonary arteries and right ventricle. Adult males are around 15 cm in length, and females are around 25 cm in length and their normal life span as adults is calculated to be about 5 years.
Heartworm infection is a severe and life-threatening disease. Canine heartworm infection is preventable and prophylaxis treatment is a priority in heartworm endemic areas. Treatment of mature heartworm infection with an adulticide (e.g. melarsomine dihydrochloride) is costly and can cause serious adverse side effects, thus prevention by monthly administration of drugs that interrupt larvae development is widely used. The goal of marketed heartworm preventive therapies in dogs is to prevent the development of the parasite to adult heartworms by interrupting the Dirofilaria immitis life cycle post-infection.
The macrocyclic lactones (MLs, e.g. ivermectin, eprinomectin, milbemycin oxime, moxidectin, and selamectin) are the most commonly used chemoprophylaxis agents and are administered at monthly or six-month intervals. These drugs have been effective against Dirofilaria immitis infective third-stage larvae (L3) deposited by the mosquito as well as maturing fourth-stage larvae (L4). When administered monthly, MLs kill L3 and L4 larvae acquired within the previous 30 days, and thus prevent disease caused by adult worms. MLs can also be used monthly in infected dogs to suppress reproduction in adult worms and remove microfilariae, thereby reducing transmission and gradually causing the attrition of adult worms (Vet. Parasitol. 2005 Oct. 24 133(2-3) 197-206).
In recent years, an increased number of lack of efficacy (LOE) cases have been reported, in which dogs develop mature heartworm infections despite receiving monthly prophylactic doses of macrocyclic lactones drugs. For example, Atkins et al., (Vet. Parasitol. 206 (2014) 106-113) recently reported that an increasing number of cases of dogs that tested heartworm antigen positive while receiving heartworm preventive medication which suggests that some populations of Dirofilaria immitis have developed selectional resistance to heartworm preventives (American Heartworm Society, 2010. Heartworm Preventive Resistance. Is it Possible, vol. 37. Bulletin of the American Heartworm Society, pp. 5.). Thus, there is an ongoing need to develop new anthelmintic agents with improved activity against Dirofilaria immitis and other endoparasites.
WO 2017/178416 A1 provides pyrazolopyrimidine derivatives for the control, treatment and/or prevention of helminths. WO 2018/197401 A1 provides bicyclic pyrazole derivatives for the control, treatment and/or prevention of helminths. WO 2018/087036 A1 provides quinolone-3-carboxamide derivatives for the control, treatment and/or prevention of helminths. WO 2019/025341 provides quinoline compounds for the treatment, control and/or prevention of helminth infections and WO 2019/002132 A1 azaquinone derivatives for the control, treatment and/or prevention of helminths. All these publications are to Bayer Animal Health GmbH and are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
More recently WO 2020/014068 A1 (incorporated herein by reference) describes anthelmintic heterocyclic compounds that were found to be active against Dirofilaria immitis.
It is expressly noted that citation or identification of any document in this application is not an admission that such document is available as prior art to the present description. Any foregoing applications, and all documents cited therein or during their prosecution ("application cited documents") and all documents cited or referenced in the application cited documents, and all documents cited or referenced herein ("herein cited documents"), and all documents cited or referenced in herein cited documents, together with any manufacturer's instructions, descriptions, product specifications, and product sheets for any products mentioned herein or in any document incorporated by reference herein, are hereby incorporated herein by reference, and may be employed in the practice of the description.

Anthelmintic aza-benzothiophene and aza-benzofuran compounds

Abstract: wherein the variables are defined herein, or a stereoisomer, tautomer, N-oxide, hydrate, solvate, or salt thereof, compositions comprising these compounds, and method for the treatment, control or prevention of a parasitic infestation or infection in an animal in need thereof by administering an effective amount of these compounds to said animal.


Methods and systems are disclosed for processing a product order. In one implementation, a method is provided that includes receiving a product order from a customer and determining, based on the received product order, at least one of a date on which the products should be available at a location and a date by which the products should be issued out of the location. The method may also include calculating, based on the determined date, a sourcing due date on which to initiate sourcing, and performing an availability check for the ordered products on the basis of the dates when the sourcing due date is earlier than a predetermined date.

The success of a business depends essentially on the requirement that customer demands for goods and/or services be fulfilled precisely, cost-efficiently, and on time. Therefore, many businesses make use of a supply chain management system to control and optimize their production and delivery processes.
Supply chain management may include the process of coordinating the flow of goods, services, information and/or finances between the involved parties, such as manufactures, suppliers, wholesalers, retailers, and consumers. This process may include, for example, order processing, information feedback, and timely delivery of ordered goods and/or services.
One process within supply chain management is checking whether a quantity of products ordered by a customer is available at some location at a given date. This check is also referred to as an available-to-promise (ATP) check.
A future demand for a product may consume the available quantity of the product during an ATP check. As a result, the ATP check of another requirement for the same product that is needed by a customer earlier may not be completely confirmed because the previously checked ATP requirement may have consumed the available quantity.

Systems and methods for time-dependent protection of available quantities


Retractable cord reels are disclosed. The retractable cord reels include a housing portion and a spool disposed within the housing portion. The spool has an outer surface associated with an expansion chamber within the housing portion, an inner channel configured to hold a wound length of flat electrical cable and a passage extending between the outer surface and the inner channel. The retractable cord reels also include a flat electrical cable having a first portion disposed in the expansion chamber, a second portion disposed in the inner channel, and a third portion disposed in the passage to follow a path from the outer surface of the spool to the inner channel.

Retractable cord reels are commonly used in a wide variety of applications involving a wide range of environmental conditions, electrical signal types and numbers, and expected or required extension/retraction cycles. For example, retractable cord reels may be used in hazardous environments such as those that expose the cord reel to explosive gases, combustible fluids, etc., may be used in wet environments such as marine or other outdoor environments, may be used in environments that expose the cord reel to other contaminants such as dust, corrosive gases, oil, etc., to name a few. Additionally, some cord reels are used in applications involving a relatively large number of low power signals such as, for example, telephone applications, data transmission applications, etc. Many of these low power applications subject the cord reel to a relatively large number of extension/retraction cycles. Other cord reel applications involve a relatively small number of high power signals such as, for example, line voltage extension cord applications.
In any event, conventional retractable cord reel devices typically include a fixed portion of electrical cable and an extendable portion of cable. The extendable portion of electrical cable is usually wound on a spring-loaded spool and, thus, may be withdrawn or extended from the cord reel and, if desired, retracted back into the cord reel. As the extendable cable portion is withdrawn, it typically rotates the spool against the force of a spring. The energy stored in the spring may subsequently be used to rotate the spool in the opposite direction to retract the extendable cable portion into the cord reel. Of course, providing a continuous electrical connection between the fixed and extendable cable portions is not a simple matter, particularly due to the relative rotation between the fixed cable portion and the spool carrying the extendable cable portion.
Some known retractable cord reels utilize rotating contacts such as, for example, brushes and commutating rings, to provide electrical continuity between the fixed cable portion and the rotating spool on which the extendable cable portion is wound. With these types of cord reels, the extendable cable portion is usually electrically coupled to commutating rings that are integral to the rotating spool and the fixed cable portion is electrically coupled to brushes that are fixed to the cord reel housing and urged against the commutating rings. Unfortunately, such moving or rotating contacts are subject to wear and, thus, significantly reduce the life cycle of the cord reel. Further, these moving or rotating contacts have a propensity to generate sparks, which is unacceptable for use in hazardous environments and are prone to contamination from dirt, dust, liquids, etc. that may be common in many cord reel applications. Still further, rotating or moving contacts are electrically noisy, difficult to shield from environmentally induced noise and, as a result, are generally unsuitable for carrying low power, low-level signals.
More recently, some cord reels have been developed that eliminate the need for moving or rotating contacts. These cord reels utilize a substantially continuous cable having a flat portion and a round portion. The round portion of the cable is wound on a rotatable spool and the flat portion of the cable is spirally wound in an expansion chamber adjacent to a hub of the spool. As the round cable portion is withdrawn or extended form the cord reel, the spirally wound flat cable portion first unwinds or expands and then is rewound or contracts about a hub or other feature of the spool. One example of such a cord reel is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,372,988 to Burke et al.
While cord reels having a substantially continuous electrical cable including a round extendable portion and a flat fixed portion have proved useful in a wide variety of applications including, for example, applications involving telephone signals, audio signals, data signals, etc., the cable used in such devices is typically relatively complicated and expensive to manufacture. Furthermore, while the types of cables used for many low power applications such as those noted above can be formed to have a relatively flat portion and a relatively round portion along a continuous length of cable, many cables such as, for example, heavy-gauge power cables are difficult, if not impossible, to modify in this manner. Still further, due to safety requirements, much heavy gauge flat cable utilizes a relatively thick and rigid jacket or insulation. As a result, a fixed portion made of such heavy gauge cable may fail prematurely, because when it transitions between the contraction and expansion modes within the expansion chamber bending stresses are typically concentrated at a single point or area of the cable over an approximately one hundred-eighty degree bending cycle.

Retractable cord reels for use with flat electrical cable


A one-shot structure for controlling pulse widths on integrated circuit chips by using a reference oscillator to compensate the rate at which a capacitor is discharged through a transistor in a reference pulse generator. Compensation is accomplished by using a feedback circuit to control the voltage applied to the transistor in the reference pulse generator. The reference oscillator is used with the reference pulse generator to generate a control voltage which matches the reference pulse to the reference oscillator. The same control voltage is then applied to a desired pulse generator. The desired pulse generator has the same one-shot structure as the reference pulse generator, namely a capacitor and a discharge transistor. The pulse width of the desired pulse generator is determined by scaling the geometry of the capacitor and the discharge transistor in the desired pulse generator relative to the geometry of the corresponding components in the reference pulse generator. These relative geometries remain consistent within relatively small tolerances for a chip in a typical integrated circuit process, compared to relatively large variances between design values and absolute chip geometries.

1. Field of the invention
The present invention generally relates to single shot structures for generating electrical pulses, and in particular for generating pulses having a desired width.
2. Background Description
It is often necessary to produce a pulse with a given width based on an input to a single shot structure. The width is commonly controlled by discharging a capacitor C with a known current I. To first order, the time will be proportional to the C/I ratio. However, it is very difficult to accurately control the absolute value of on-chip capacitors or currents, hence there is large variability in the resultant pulse width.
In general, circuits for producing pulses of specified widths are well known in the art. However, semiconductor manufacturing processes do not permit the values of specific circuit components to be controlled precisely. One attempt to address this problem is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,580,065 to Haque. Haque discloses a circuit fabricated as an integrated circuit and which uses analog feedback and voltage references to obtain a constant duty cycle. The Haque patent generates positive and negative voltage references on-chip having a ratio proportional to the desired duty cycle, and requires a connection to an off-chip capacitor. The disclosed circuit controls the duty cycle of a periodic pulse, not the width of a single shot event.

Single shot with pulse width controlled by reference oscillator

International Business Machines Corporation


A method and computer program product for acquiring service in a border area that is serviced by two communications systems that share the same frequencies. The method of the present invention includes the steps of scanning a predetermined range of control channels in order to determine the first and second strongest control channels. A determination is then made as to whether a first system identification code (SID) associated with a signal received over the strongest control channel is acceptable. This can be accomplished, for example, by comparing the first SID to a list of acceptable SIDs. Conventionally, if the SID associated with a signal received over the strongest control channel is not acceptable, the system acquisition process will be aborted. However, in the present invention, the probability of acquiring service is increased because a determination is made whether a SID associated with the signal received over the second strongest control channel is acceptable, if the first SID was found not to be acceptable. Similarly, the second strongest paging channel can be used to increase the probability of acquiring service.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to wireless communication systems, and more specifically, to a method and apparatus for improving the probability of acquiring service in a xe2x80x9cborder areaxe2x80x9d between two service areas.
2. Related Art
A cellular communications system typically provides services to a geographic service area that includes many smaller geographic areas, known as cells. Each cell is serviced by a transmitter-receiver station, also known as a cell site or base station. The cell sites are connected through land lines, or other communication links, such as microwave links, to a mobile telephone switching office (MTSO). The MTSO is connected to the public switched telephone network.
Under current FCC rules, any given geographic service area may be serviced by up to two competing providers of cellular airtime communications services (also referred to as service providers, system providers, cellular carriers or simply xe2x80x9ccarriersxe2x80x9d). Each of the two carriers in any given geographic location, which are commonly referred to as xe2x80x9cAxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cBxe2x80x9d carriers, is associated with a system identification code (SID) that uniquely identifies the carrier. For example, carrier A may be Bell Atlantic and may have a SID=46, and carrier B may be Cellular One and have a SID=25. The two service providers in any given geographic service area are assigned different groups (or sets) of frequencies through which services are provided. That is, the A carrier is assigned a first set of frequencies and the B carrier is assigned a second set of frequencies that do not overlap the A set of frequencies.
Each given geographic service area typically has one or more neighboring geographic service areas. Each neighboring geographic service area is also serviced by two carriers, which shall be referred to as xe2x80x9cAxe2x80x2xe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cBxe2x80x2xe2x80x9d carriers. The A carrier and the Axe2x80x2 each have a different SID. Similarly the B carrier and the Bxe2x80x2 carrier each have a different SID. However, the A carrier and the Axe2x80x2 carrier both provide service using the same set of frequencies. Similarly, the B carrier and the Bxe2x80x2 carrier both provide service using the same set of frequencies. The area where two geographic service areas meet (for example, where a cell of carrier A overlaps a cell of carrier Axe2x80x2) is often referred to as a xe2x80x9cborder areaxe2x80x9d. As will be described below, a user terminal may experience problems acquiring service within such border areas. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to improve system acquisition in these xe2x80x9cborder areas.xe2x80x9d
The present invention is directed toward a method and apparatus for acquiring service in a border area that is serviced by two communications systems that share the same frequencies. The method of the present invention includes the steps of scanning a predetermined range of control channels in order to determine the first and second strongest control channels. A determination is then made as to whether a first system identification code (SID) associated with a signal received over the strongest control channel is acceptable. This can be accomplished, for example, by comparing the first SID to a list of acceptable SIDs. Conventionally, if the SID associated with the signal received over the strongest control channel is not acceptable, the system acquisition process will be aborted. However, in the present invention, the probability of acquiring service is increased because a determination is made of whether a SID associated with the signal received over the second strongest control channel is acceptable, if the first SID was found not to be acceptable.
Conventionally, the SID associated with the signal received over the second strongest control channel is only determined if the signal received over the strongest control channel cannot be successfully demodulated. For example, this can occur if the signal received over the strongest control channel is a signal made up of noise rather than a control signal. In contrast, in the method of the present invention, the SID of the second strongest channel is considered even if the signal received over the strongest channel was successfully demodulated (associated with an unacceptable SID). This inventive method significantly increases the probability that a user terminal will acquire service in an area where the strongest control signal received by a user terminal is associated with an unacceptable SID (in other words, associated with an unacceptable carrier).
The method of the present invention further comprises the steps of saving the first SID, if the first SID is acceptable. If the first SID is found not to be acceptable, the second SID is saved if the second SID is found to be acceptable.
Paging channels are then scanned and the strongest and second strongest paging channels are determined. Conventionally, if the signal received over the strongest paging channel is actually a paging signal, system acquisition will be aborted if the SID associated with the strongest paging channel is not equal to the saved SID. The present invention increases the probability that the user terminal (UT) will acquire service by determining whether the SID associated with the second strongest paging channel is equal to the saved SID, if the SID associated with the strongest channel was not equal to the saved SID.
Conventionally, the SID associated with the signal received over the second strongest paging channel is only determined if the signal received over the strongest paging channel was not actually a paging signal. For example, this can occur if the signal received over the strongest paging channel is a signal made up of noise rather than a paging signal. In contrast, in the method of the present invention, the SID of the second strongest paging channel is considered even if the signal received over the strongest paging channel was actually a paging signal (e.g., the strongest paging channel was associated with a SID which was not equal to the saved SID).
The probability of acquiring service can be even further increased by having the UT look beyond the second strongest channels (control and/or paging). This and other features of the present invention are disclosed in more detail below.

Method and apparatus for acquiring service in a xe2x80x9cborder areaxe2x80x9d


A panoramic camera has a camera housing having a cylinder segment provided with an image window, an objective drum which is rotatable relative to the cylinder segment about a rotary axis, the cylinder segment having segment flanks located laterally near the image window, the segment flanks being provided with light catching grooves extending parallel to the rotary axis of the objective drum and ending at an angular distance from the outer edges of the cylinder segment, covered by a curvature of the drum.

The present invention relates to a panoramic camera with an objective drum which is rotatable relative to a cylinder segment of the camera housing provided with an image window.
Panoramic cameras of the above-mentioned general type are known in the art. In a known panoramic camera which is disclosed for example in the German document DE-PS 1 173 331, felt inserts are provided for blocking undesired light impingement. The felt inserts mounted in the camera housing rub during the receipt against the casing of the drum and brake the drum turning, which must be compensated by higher force application during driving. Moreover, the felt inserts have a tendency for embedding dust particles which further increase the above-mentioned braking friction and in addition cause scratching traces on the objective drum.


A tank venting filter is provided with a housing extending in a direction of a longitudinal filter axis and provided with a bottom side and a topside opposite the bottom side. A filter element is arranged in the housing. The housing has an air inlet at the bottom side and an air outlet at the topside. The air inlet is provided in the housing transverse to the longitudinal filter axis. The housing has a housing bottom at the bottom side, wherein the housing bottom closes off a filter interior of the housing in a downward direction and is positioned at a spacing from the filter element. The housing bottom has an inner side facing the filter interior. The inner side ends in the air inlet and is positioned at least sectionwise at an obtuse angle relative to the longitudinal filter axis.

The invention concerns a tank venting filter comprising a housing that is extending in the direction of its longitudinal filter axis and comprising a filter element arranged in the housing.
When from a tank, for example, a fuel tank or urea tank of a motor vehicle, a liquid is removed, the tank must be vented in order to avoid underpressure within the tank. The tank venting device enables sucking in ambient air into the tank upon removal of the liquid. When sucking in the ambient air, foreign matter, in particular dust, dirt or water, may however pass into the tank. Primarily when driving in rain, high water introduction may occur. In order for the foreign matter not to reach the tank, the tank venting device has in general a tank venting filter. Such a tank venting filter is the subject matter of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,546,853 A discloses a filter extending in longitudinal direction which has intake openings at its bottom side. A filter element introduced into the filter is substantially cylindrical. Inflow of the medium to be filtered occurs against the outer cylindrical wall surface of the filter element.
GB 773 490 A discloses an intake device for a liquid. Upon sucking in the liquid, air is sucked in at the top side of the intake device. In the intake device, a filter element for filtering the liquid is provided.
Finally, US 2006/0081634 A1 discloses a filter for a tank venting device. The filter has air inlets at the top side. The connecting socket to the tank is embodied at the bottom side of the filter.
The filters known from the prior art have the disadvantage that the filter elements in the filter clog relatively quickly with dust, dirt, or water.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a constructively simple tank venting filter whose filter element will clog significantly more slowly with dust, dirt or water.


A signal generator includes: a dual-port RAM for digitally storing multiple waveforms in a predefined temporal resolution; multiple channels for modeling in each case one signal pattern from at least one of the waveforms; and multiple digital-analog converters for analog output of the signal patterns in the temporal resolution.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a signal generator, a method for generating signal patterns, a corresponding computer program, and a machine-readable memory medium which includes such a program.
2. Description of the Related Art
So-called arbitrary waveform generators (AWGs) with analog output via digital-analog converters (DACs) are well known. These types of devices typically operate according to the basic principle of direct digital synthesis (DDS), which may be implemented not only by conventional digital signal processors (DSPs) or application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), but also with the aid of a field-programmable gate array (FPGA).
Published Chinese patent application CN 103176503 A (published Jun. 26, 2013) provides a DDS signal generator and an amplitude control method for this purpose. The DDS signal generator includes a main control unit, an FPGA module connected thereto, and a composite DAC which in turn is connected to the FPGA module, the main control unit being used for assigning amplitude compensation coefficients and reference voltage values to allow a sum of a bit width of the amplitude compensation coefficients and the bit width of the reference voltage values to be greater than or equal to the bit width of the waveform scanning points. The FPGA module includes a waveform memory for storing waveform scanning points, and a digital multiplier used for multiplying the waveform scanning points by the amplitude compensation coefficients in order to obtain a digital waveform variable and transmit the digital waveform variable to a data DAC installed within the composite DAC. A signal program initiation control module is used for converting the reference voltage values into an SPI form and transmitting them to an amplifier DAC within the composite DAC. Lastly, the composite DAC converts waveform values in the data DAC into analog values according to the reference voltage values in the amplifier DAC.

Signal generator and method for generating signal patterns


The present invention provides an apparatus and method of phase correction whereby changes in phase characteristics are measured during data acquisition and, accordingly, phase correction parameters that are applied during image reconstruction are updated in real-time. This adaptive and dynamic phase correction reduces variability in image fidelity during the course of long MR scans, such as EPI scans, and provides consistent artifact reduction during the course of an MR scan.

The present invention relates generally to magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus of determining phase correction coefficients for echo planar imaging (EPI) phase correction and updating those phase correction coefficients in real-time.
When a substance such as human tissue is subjected to a uniform magnetic field (polarizing field B0), the individual magnetic moments of the spins in the tissue attempt to align with this polarizing field, but precess about it in random order at their characteristic Larmor frequency. If the substance, or tissue, is subjected to a magnetic field (excitation field B1) which is in the x-y plane and which is near the Larmor frequency, the net aligned moment, or "longitudinal magnetization", MZ, may be rotated, or "tipped", into the x-y plane to produce a net transverse magnetic moment Mt. A signal is emitted by the excited spins after the excitation signal B1 is terminated and this signal may be received and processed to form an image.
When utilizing these signals to produce images, magnetic field gradients (Gx, Gy, and Gz) are employed. Typically, the region to be imaged is scanned by a sequence of measurement cycles in which these gradients vary according to the particular localization method being used. The resulting set of received NMR signals are digitized and processed to reconstruct the image using one of many well known reconstruction techniques.
Echo Planar Imaging (EPI) is used for many MR imaging applications, including Diffusion Weighted Imaging (DWI), Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI), and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), because of its ability to rapidly acquire diagnostic images. Echo Planar Imaging relies upon bi-polar magnetic gradient fields to acquire MR data. More particularly, EPI is a rapid imaging technique that records an entire image in a repetition interval or TR period. An EPI pulse sequence is generally characterized by a 90° slice selective RF pulse that is applied in conjunction with a slice selection gradient. An initial phase encoding gradient pulse and an initial frequency encoding gradient pulse is used to position spins at a corner of k-space, the matrix that is used to define the relative position of acquired signals along a phase encoding and a frequency encoding direction. A 180° pulse is then applied. Typically, this 180° pulse is not slice selective. The phase and frequency encoding directions are then cycled using phase encoding and readout pulses so as to transverse k-space. In this regard, a frequency encoding gradient follows a phase encoding gradient to record a time signal. Another phase encoding gradient is then applied followed by a reverse polarity frequency gradient during which another time signal is recorded. This cycling continues until k-space is filled. Because k-space can be rapidly traversed in this fashion, images can be acquired at a rate similar to video rates, e.g. 15-30 images per second, or faster.
EPI has been successfully used for a number of clinical applications, and is particularly useful in studies involving the human brain. DWI and DTI are imaging sequences that can be used to obtain useful diagnostic information, e.g. localization of areas damaged by ischemia or hemorrhagic stroke, creation of anisotropic diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps, enhanced anisotropic diffusion coefficient (eADC) maps, and tractography images.
Another important EPI application is FMRI of the brain. Brain fMRI is an imaging technique that relates functional activity occurring in specific locations of the brain to various stimuli, such as speech, motor functions, or visual stimulus. With fMRI it is possible to measure momentary increases in blood flow to specific thought or motor control centers that occur in response to a stimulus. For example, in response to movement of the right index finger, a rapid momentary increase in blood circulation of the specific part of the brain controlling finger movement occurs. Such an increase in blood circulation also yields an increase in oxygen which is paramagnetic and thus affects spin-lattice and spin-spin relaxation times of local brain tissues. These differences in relaxation times manifest themselves as variations in image contrast and can then be exploited with EPI to measure brain function.
Notwithstanding its numerous achievements, a drawback of EPI is that phase errors that lead to image artifacts when not removed from the raw data may be introduced during data acquisition. EPI sequences use a single RF pulse followed by multiple data acquisition windows to encode multiple frames of MR data per RF excitation. While this speeds the rate of data collection, EPI data contains phase errors that result in "Nyquist" ghosting in the phase encoding direction. For a single-shot EPI data collection, Nyquist ghosting manifests itself as an artifact resembling the original image shifted and split in the phase direction.
A number of processes have been developed to correct for these phase errors. Known processes are predicated upon the acquisition of non-phase-encoded reference data, determining phase errors in the reference data, and correcting phase-encoded data based on the phase errors present in the reference data. While these processes have been fruitful in reducing phase errors in EPI, there still remains a need for further improvement in phase error reduction with EPI.
Specifically, it is well-known that data acquisition for EPI scans, such as fMRI and DTI, are often lengthy. As a result, phase characteristics can change during the course of the scan. For example, the gradient coils, which heat during data acquisition, can heat up to levels that change phase characteristics of the data acquired during the scan. In conventional EPI phase corrections, the phase correction coefficients are determined prior to the EPI scan and used regardless of changing phase characteristics that occur during the scan. As a result, image quality deteriorates over time and, specifically, ghosting increases over time.
It would therefore be desirable to have an apparatus and method that accounts for phase characteristic changes, such as those caused by changes in gradient coil thermal characteristics during data acquisition, for phase correction.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and apparatus of echo planar imaging with real-time determination of phase correction coefficients


A multifunction tool according to the present disclosure is formed in a generally “Y” shape to provide leverage and control when the tools included in the first arm or the second arm are employed. The main stem includes a ratchet assembly for a male drive element. The male drive element is specifically sized to drive a wobble socket as well as function as a bearing press for skateboard wheels. The wobble socket has offset pivot points to suitably engage the deck fasteners securing the trucks. The first and second arms each include sockets specifically sized for skateboard fasteners. Each arm socket extends from it's respective arm a suitable distance to engage wheel nuts without interference. The intersection of the first and second arms may also include a recess for engaging a separate drive tool for philips head screws and or other suitable recessed drive fasteners such as allen, hex, torx or other fasteners.

Skateboards have evolved from handmade contraptions made from rollerskate parts attached to a board into specifically engineered and manufactured vehicles capable of impressive performance under the guidance of a skilled rider. The evolution of skateboards and their component parts has made it possible for average and recreational skaters to improve their experience and performance with the use of specifically engineered parts.
While the skateboard components have been evolving, the tools to assemble, maintain and repair them generally remain conventional mechanical tools such as sockets, screwdrivers and the like. With the variety of fastener types and sizes used in a conventional skateboard, a rider usually must have available an appropriate selection of tools to assemble, maintain and repair a skateboard. A suitable selection of tools may be bulky and or expensive and may not be adapted for the geometry of a skateboard.
What is needed is a multifunction tool having appropriate tool elements for all skateboard fasteners that is adapted to the geometry of a skateboard.


A safety pay telephone using conventional telephone mechanical and electrical components mounted within a telephone housing, typically mounted on a wall, with the earpiece and mouthpiece mounted within the telephone. To operate, the user deposits the proper amount of currency and pushes an on/off switch, dials his number, and then places his ear next to the fixed earpiece. A method of retrofitting a conventional telephone with a retrofit housing member that permits that existing handset to be protected within a retrofit housing member. The safety phone is designed for use in prisons so inmates within a prison cannot hang themselves with a handset cord or break a handset and handset cord off for use as a weapon. The safety telephone is also designed for use in environments wherein the telephone is subject to abuse. The safety telephone design reduces the cost of maintenance by eliminating the need to fix and replace telephone components.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to telephone equipment and more specifically to a structure and method for retrofit of a pay telephone for use by inmates or in other environments wherein the telephone is subject to abuse (hereinafter referred to as a safety phone).
2. Description of the Related Art
Numerous hands-free telephone equipment systems have been taught in prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 2,277,907, issued to Goodale, Jr. et al., discloses a speaker attachment for a conventional telephone. U.S. Pat. No. 3,144,513, issued to Sherron, teaches a partially enclosed telephone stall with a microphone and speaker mounted in the enclosure wall of the booth. U.S. Pat. No. 4,101,735, issued to Bridenbaugh, uses a shared transducer, alternately functioning as a speaker and a microphone, connected to a conventional telephone. U.S. Pat. No. 4,104,485, issued to Pessel et at, discloses a loudspeaker system mounted over a conventional telephone. U.S. Pat. No. 5,371,790, issued to Nevo et at, discloses a telephone such that a mouthpiece, an earpiece, an electronic circuit board, a push-button dialing pad and a dial tone actuating switch are contained in a single housing and which places the entire phone in a housing similar to a conventional telephone handset. The Nevo '790 patent does not teach safety and vandal resistance elements; in fact, the entire phone or alternatively the exterior connection cable may easily be used as a weapon. None of the prior art utilizes a design for a telephone that can be securely mounted to a wall or other support structure, and is self-contained with minimal external parts, as described herein.

Abuse resistant safety telephone and method of adaptation


A glider device includes a pair of swingably mounted foot platforms pivotally supported by links at their heel ends. A spring cage, in one embodiment, includes a tension spring in each link to resiliently support the heel end of the foot platform. The spring cage limits displacement of the tension spring and includes a compression spring that cushions the displacement of the tension spring. In the a second, preferred embodiment, a stack of rubber bushings is supported in the spring cage and compress and decompress to provide a cushioning action to the foot platform.

This invention relates in general to glider type exercise equipment, such as the equipment described and claimed in the inventor's U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,795,268, 5,857,940, D390,628 and D403,033, and in particular to a novel suspension system for such equipment. The patented exercise gliders feature very low impact in a device that simulates a full range of natural striding motion, including aggressive striding, for achieving both upper and lower body workouts.
With the patented exercise devices, a full range of striding motion is very closely simulated while impact on the user's body is practically eliminated. Significantly, the aerobic effect experienced is readily controllable by merely accelerating the striding action and lengthening the stride, precisely as can be done when aggressively striding over a stationary surface. However, unlike striding, with the inventive device a user can lean backward and forward to transfer significant weight to his arms, chest and back without loss of balance or control. This not only increases the aerobic effort and enables an upper body workout, but also varies the muscle groups that are being exercised.
The spring suspension system of the present invention incorporates a shock absorbing arrangement that adds a slight cushion effect to the rear of each foot platform for enhancing the gliding action. Essentially, springs permit the heel ends of the foot platforms to move up and down (within defined limits) to resiliently modify the radial paths traversed by the foot platforms. The effect is to further reduce the stress on both the user's body and the exercise machine structure. The novel suspension system is achieved with a simple, low cost, shock absorbing arrangement that may be readily added to the patented gliders.

Suspension system for glider exercise device


Electrical connection system comprising a primary connection device and a secondary connection device, the primary connection device comprising a shielded cap and primary conductive contacts which extend at least partially inside the shielded cap, the secondary connection device comprising a secondary electrical board which has a secondary mass surface, secondary conductive contacts which extend from an installation surface of the secondary electrical board which is surrounded by the secondary mass surface, and a resilient conductive material which is attached to the secondary mass surface, the electrical connection system being arranged so that the primary conductive contacts are electrically connected to the secondary electrical contacts inside the shielded cap and the shielded cap extends on the resilient conductive material by compressing it.

Electrical equipment is frequently designed to comprise two electric circuit cards that are plugged together in releasable manner via an electrical connection system. In the electrical connection system, ground continuity between the two circuit cards is difficult to achieve in a manner that is reliable and repeatable.
It is appropriate to ensure that signals transmitted through the electrical connection system, and in particular signals that are fast, do not disturb the operation of components internal to the electrical equipment that incorporates the electrical connection system, or indeed components of external electrical equipment. By way of example, internal components and external electrical equipment may include radio receivers that are thus situated inside or outside the equipment in question and that might be disturbed by interference signals generated by fast signals transiting between the two circuit cards. The frequency band concerned then corresponds to the working band of the radio receivers (e.g. up to 6 gigahertz (GHz) for Wi-Fi radios).
However, protection against the propagation of the electromagnetic noise generated by the signals being conveyed depends on the quality of ground continuity.
In order to connect two circuit cards together, it is known to use a rigid ribbon provided at each of its ends with a connector, the rigid ribbon being shielded over its entire length and where it is fastened to the connectors. Such a rigid ribbon is expensive and complicated to use industrially.
Electrical connection systems similar to the system shown in FIG. 1 are also known for the purpose of connecting together a primary circuit card 1 and a secondary circuit card 2 in mutually orthogonal manner. The primary circuit card 1 has a male connector 3 for connecting in a female connector 4 of the secondary circuit card 2. The primary circuit card 1 includes a generally rigid primary shielding device 5, and the secondary circuit card 2 includes a secondary shielding device 6 comprising a plurality of shielded elements, each including a compliant portion. By way of example, the shielded elements may be mutually parallel fingers. At the time the primary circuit card 1 and the secondary circuit card 2 are connected together, the primary shielding device 5 slides on and rubs against the shielded elements of the secondary shielding device 6.
That solution presents a certain number of drawbacks. It is necessary to provide the primary shielding device 5 with a stroke over the shielded elements of the secondary shielding device 6 that presents a portion of sufficient length to ensure sufficient contact in the connected position. There also exist major constraints on the tolerance for manufacturing the shielded elements, since they need to be sufficiently compliant to enable the primary shielding device 5 to be inserted easily while simultaneously ensuring contact that is sufficient. Furthermore, continuity of contact is generally provided poorly or not at all in corner zones of the primary shielding device 5 and of the secondary shielding device 6. Finally, a potentially problematic wear phenomenon is frequently observed to occur at the interface between the primary shielding device 5 and the secondary shielding device 6.


A differential level hydrometer reduces the possibility for user error and provides an accurate, predictable, easy to use, reliable instrument for measuring the density (specific gravity) of a liquid. The differential level hydrometer works by automatically measuring the level of a liquid within a vessel and floating, in the liquid, a calibrated float having a precisely known volume and density. The instrument automatically measures the level of the liquid within the vessel while the float is floating in the liquid, and automatically calculates the density (specific gravity) of the liquid based on the two measured levels and the volume and density of the float. Temperature and meniscus correction may be used to improve repeatability and accuracy.

We can identify a liquid by sensing its properties. For example, tap water flows relatively freely, has little or no flavor, and is colorless. Cooking oil flows more slowly, may have a golden or yellowish tint, and (depending on the kind of oil) may have a certain characteristic flavor and/or odor. Molasses has a still different characteristic color, odor, and taste, and is more resistant to flow.
In addition to color, odor, flavor and flow resistance, people interested in the properties of liquids are often concerned about the density of the liquid. For example, we all know that oak is more dense than balsa wood. Similarly, different liquids can have different densities. Knowing the density of a liquid is often very important.
As one example, salt water is more dense than fresh water because the dissolved salt increases the water's density. It is possible to determine the amount of salt dissolved in a solution by measuring the density of the liquid solution. It is usually most convenient to determine the density of a liquid relative to the density of pure water. This relative density is called "specific gravity." An instrument called a "hydrometer" is used to measure specific gravity.
Some non-technical people may never have heard of a hydrometer, and might think that it is a highly technical instrument found only in the laboratory. But hydrometers are actually quite common. For example, auto mechanics use a kind of hydrometer to check whether car batteries are fully charged. The mechanic inserts the hydrometer tube into the battery and withdraws a small amount of the battery acid. Small floating balls within the hydrometer tube indicate the specific gravity of the battery acid. This tells the mechanic how strong or weak the battery acid is (strong acid means a strong charge, weak acid means a weak charge).
Home hobbyists sometimes also use hydrometers. For example, people who keep salt water aquariums sometimes use a hydrometer to test how the saltiness of their aquarium water is compared with ocean water. As another example, people who brew their own beer or ferment their own wine can use a hydrometer to find out how much sugar is dissolved in the liquid. This can be useful for knowing when to stop the fermentation process, for example.
Measuring a liquid's specific gravity is also very important to some businesses. For example, it is possible to estimate the quality of crude oil by measuring its specific gravity. Lighter crude oil is good for making gasoline, butane and other light petroleum products; heavier crude oil is good for making asphalt and thick lubricating oil. The density of crude oil often determines its price. A hydrometer can be used to measure how dense (light or heavy) the crude oil is.
The basic design of laboratory hydrometers hasn't changed for a hundred years. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 576,537 to John Barry (1897). FIG. 1 of Mr. Barry's patent is reproduced as "prior art" FIG. 1 of this patent. The hydrometer 10 shown in Mr. Barry's patent works on the principle that a floating object displaces its weight in liquid--and will therefore float higher in liquids with greater densities. A scale 12 on Mr. Barry's hydrometer 10 indicates how high the object floats in the liquid. The scale is calibrated based on how high the object would float in pure water. One can determine the liquid's specific gravity by reading the scale to see how high the object floats in the liquid.
In more detail, prior art FIG. 1 hydrometer 10 is a sealed, graduated tube weighted at one end 14 and having a stem 16 at the other end. A graduated scale 12 is placed on or within the stem of the tube. The hydrometer 10 floats in the liquid but sinks to a depth that depends on the liquid's specific gravity. The more of stem 16 that sticks out of the liquid, the more dense the liquid. Reading the level of the liquid's surface on the stem's scale 12 indicates the liquid's specific gravity.
The prior art FIG. 1 apparatus is a "thermo-hydrometer" because it also has a thermometer 20 in the liquid. The density of a liquid can be affected by temperature. Scientists define "density" as the mass of a substance per unit volume under a specified pressure and temperature. Although changes in atmospheric pressure can generally be ignored, specific gravity is technically determined based on the density of pure water at a specific temperature (4 degrees Centigrade). To make very accurate specific gravity measurements, the scale reading must be corrected based on the temperature of the liquid being measured. Some modern hydrometers have a built-in thermometer to avoid the need for a separate thermometer.
One of the problems with the prior art FIG. 1 (or like) design is that the scale 12 on the stem 16 must be read at the air-liquid interface 22. This creates the possibility of user error. Many liquids (water, for example) tend to "wet" (stick to) the sides of both the container 24 and the sides of the hydrometer's stem 16. This means that the liquid's surface is not completely flat, but instead curves downwardly away from those surfaces to form what is called a "meniscus" (liquids that do not "wet" the container sides have an upwardly extending curved meniscus). Parallax errors and difficulties reading "through" the meniscus (especially when the liquid is not transparent) make it difficult for the user to make a correct reading. In addition to this problem, a thermo-hydrometer requires the user to read a thermometer encapsulated within the hydrometer or a separate thermometer within the liquid. This requires additional time and creates the possibility of additional user error.
In contrast, the present invention provides a differential level hydrometer that reduces the possibility for user error and provides an accurate, predictable, easy to use, reliable instrument for measuring the density (specific gravity) of a liquid.
Briefly, the differential level hydrometer provided by the present invention works by:
(a) automatically measuring the level of a liquid within a vessel; PA0 (b) floating, in the liquid, a calibrated float having a precisely known volume and density; PA0 (c) automatically measuring the level of the liquid within the vessel while the float is floating in the liquid; and PA0 (d) automatically calculating the density (specific gravity) of the liquid based on the change in levels and the volume and density of the float. PA0 The float with a calibrated volume and density can be marked with electronically readable code providing the necessary data for a density calculation. PA0 The instrument may include a device for automatically reading the code disposed on the float. PA0 A suitable device for reading electronically encoded material (e.g., bar code or magnetic media) may be placed near the top of the open vessel to recognize the coded information on the float--thus avoiding manual user entry and associated error. PA0 The vessel used to hold the liquid during measurement may be an open liquid vessel having a precise surface area perpendicular to the bottom of the vessel. PA0 The open vessel should have a precision volume, but can be of any shape so long as the surface of the area of the contained liquid is uniform and perpendicular with the bottom. PA0 A cylindrical tube shape is most likely the simplest, common volume which can be made with precise dimensions. PA0 As one example, common laboratory glassware such as a graduated cylinder could be used for the liquid vessel. PA0 A device may be coupled to the vessel to ensure the vessel is precisely aligned with the earth's gravitational pull (for example, a bubble level indicator may be used to ensure that the liquid surface is horizontal). PA0 The vessel may include a liquid interface (e.g., level) sensor which is also aligned to be perpendicular to the vessel's bottom (for example, the liquid interface sensor may be placed along one vertical side of the vessel). PA0 The instrument's liquid level interface sensor may work on optical, conductive, capacitive, sonic or other principles. PA0 A simple optical, refractive-reflective sensor capable of determining a liquid-air interface anywhere along its length, is probably the easiest and most economical device to use. However, any sensor which can accurately determine liquid level changes will work. PA0 The system may include a means for compensating for a meniscus that forms around the float. Although the liquid level sensor is exposed to the liquid and any meniscus remains constant throughout the level change, the meniscus which forms around the float must be compensated for (The height of the float's meniscus will vary with the properties of the subject liquid, and therefore cannot be assumed to be constant for different liquids). PA0 By lowering the float until the bottom contacts the liquid's surface, the volume of the float meniscus can be calculated and corrected for by the level sensor and functional logic. PA0 Other methods of meniscus correction may be made by placing gaps of known volume in the float and calculating the difference in level fluctuation as the float is lowered into the vessel. PA0 A temperature sensor disposed within the vessel may provide a temperature signal input to make appropriate temperature correction adjustments to the specific gravity reading. PA0 Since many liquids have their own temperature-density characteristics, the user can determine which temperature correction algorithm is best suited for the subject liquid. PA0 Once functional logic registers the initial liquid level, the density and volume specifications of the float, the second liquid level, meniscus correction and the temperature, the logic can calculate the density (specific gravity) and display or otherwise provide this value to the user. PA0 In the case where the user may wish to use different liquid vessels, uncoded floats, change units, choose the correct temperature algorithm, etc., a keyboard and/or computer interface may be used. PA0 The differential level hydrometer may be made as a stand alone instrument, or it may be made to interface to a computer with appropriate hardware, or it may provide both modes. PA0 In one example, the various sensors are attached to the liquid vessel in a manner which allows them to be easily removed. This makes the instrument easy to clean.
In more detail, the differential level hydrometer provided in accordance with the present invention may include a vessel having known cross-sectional characteristics. The liquid the specific gravity of which is to be measured is placed into the vessel. A gravitational reference device (e.g., a bubble level or other leveling device) may be used to ensure that the vessel is precisely aligned with reference to the earth's gravitational pull. A liquid level sensor disposed within the vessel measures the "starting" level of the liquid.
Then, a float of known dimensions and density is placed into the subject liquid to be measured. When the float has been inserted into the liquid and has come to rest, the liquid level sensor measures the level the liquid has risen to. A float of a given volume and density will float higher in (and displace less volume of) more dense liquids--causing denser liquids to rise in level less than less dense liquids.
Electronics automatically calculate and display the liquid density based on the liquid's starting level, the liquid's level with the float floating in the liquid, and the dimensions and density of the float.
The following are additional features and advantages provided in accordance with various aspects of a presently preferred example embodiment of the present invention:


Electric circuity (45) in a lighted vanity mirror module (5) for an automobile sun visor (40) is mounted on the backside of an appearance bezel (10), thereby obviating the necessity for a separate housing. A wire wound resistor (80) is employed in a lamp dimmer (37) and, with the bezel, retains a sliding contact which controls lamp intensity.

Vanity mirrors which mount to sun visors have long been a popular accessory in passenger automobiles. Typically, the mirror is mounted on the upper surface of the sun visor, so that when the sun visor is swung downwardly to a sun shading position, the mirror is aligned with the face of the driver or passenger for uses such as personal grooming and the like. Certain of such vanity mirrors have been provided in packages with electric lighting which illuminates the users face for night time operation or to approximate ambient light conditions to be encountered by the user at his or her destination. One known type of lighted vanity mirror includes a pair of electric lamps disposed at opposite ends of the mirror and a pivotable cover for covering the mirror and lights when not in use. Circuitry for connection of the lights to the automobile's electrical system, including an on/off switch and often times a dimming control, is also provided in the module.
It has been found that such lighted vanity mirror modules can be improved upon in a number of respects. One potential area of improvement lies in the packaging of the electrical circuitry employed in the module. Traditionally, most illuminated vanity mirror modules comprise a shallow housing covered by an appearance bezel which usually supports the mirror, lid, and lenses for the electric lamps and the mirror. The electrical circuitry consisting of an on/off switch in some cases a dimming control, a pair of bulbs, and electrical conductors comprising metallic stampings or wires including the bulbs, switch and dimmer, are disposed in the housing beneath the bezel. Where the circuit conductors comprise metallic stampings, such stampings are often heat staked to, or molded within a base plate of the housing.
Such constructions are disadvantageous in a number of respects. For example, the housing and bezel tend to be heavy and bulky, thereby adding significantly to the weight and bulk of the visor on which they are attached. This renders the visor cumbersome to operate and dimensionally, quite thick thereby reducing passenger head room in the automobile. Molding the metallic stampings into the housing base plate when the base plate, adds significantly to the cost of molding the housing and risks unacceptable warpage of the base plate during manufacture.
In an effort to reduce the bulk and weight of the lighted mirror module, it is sometimes the practice to mount the electrical circuit components directly to a molded sun visor blade. While this construction eliminates the need for a housing and base plate, it limits the type of visors to which the module is adaptable and, therefore, may not be useful with the padded and upholstered visors found in current luxury automobiles. Moreover, if the lighted mirror module requires service, the entire visor must be serviced since that the module is an integral part of the visor and is not conveniently removable therefrom for servicing.
Another area of improvement in current lighted vanity mirror modules lies in the construction of the dimming control. Certain mirror modules employ resistors connected along the length thereof to a plurality of contacts formed into a metallic stamping and a movable wiper contact which rides along the contacts to adjust the amount of resistance in the lamp circuit and thus control the lamp intensity. Such a construction is found in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/357,652. While such a construction has proven to be effective and reliable, the metallic stamping employed into which the resistor contacts are employed, is rather complex in shape, somewhat costly, and therefore not as economical as may be desired. Other lighted mirror modules such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,879,637 employ specialized resistors comprising resistive coatings on a circuit board. However, such resistors can be prohibitively expensive and may require multiple contacts similar to those discussed hereinabove and, therefore, are also characterized by some significant cost and complexity.
Accordingly, a lighted vanity mirror module characterized by enhanced compactness, simplicity of construction and economy of manufacture is highly desirable.

Automobile sun visor vanity mirror module


A backlight assembly and a display device having the backlight assembly are provided where the backlight assembly includes a plurality of light sources for emitting light and a plurality of metal core printed circuit boards on which the light sources are mounted. The metal core printed circuit boards are directly connected to each other in predetermined regions to emit light in a surface direction. A method of assembling the backlight assembly is further provided.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a backlight assembly, a display device having the backlight assembly, and a method thereof, and more particularly, the present invention relates to a backlight assembly with an improved connection structure of a metal core printed circuit board ("PCB"), a display device having the backlight assembly, and a method of assembling the backlight assembly.
(b) Description of the Related Art
As semiconductor techniques are rapidly developed, demands for lightweight, compact display devices has increased.
Examples of the display devices include liquid crystal display ("LCD") devices, plasma display panel ("PDP") devices, and organic light emitting display ("OLED") apparatuses.
Since such lightweight, compact display devices also display relatively clear images, these display devices have been gradually used as a substitute for a conventional cathode ray tube ("CRT"). Recently, these display devices have been used for display devices including TV sets, monitors, and mobile phones.
The LCD device cannot emit light by itself. The LCD device mainly includes an LCD panel and a backlight assembly for supplying light to the LCD panel. The backlight assembly includes a light source for emitting light. Examples of the light source include a cold cathode fluorescent lamp ("CCFL") and an external electrode fluorescent lamp ("EEFL"). Recently, instead of such lamps, a light emitting diode ("LED") has been used.
In general, LEDs are mounted on metal core printed circuit boards ("PCBs"). Conductive portions formed on the metal core PCBs are electrically connected to the LEDs to supply driving power thereto. In a backlight assembly using the LEDs, a plurality of the metal core PCBs are used. The metal core PCBs are connected to each other with connectors or cables.
When the metal core PCBs are connected to each other with cables, performing a connection process is time consuming, and interconnection is complicated, so that it is difficult to assemble the backlight assembly. In addition, rework for the backlight assembly is complicated, and, due to the connectors and cables, it is difficult to implement an entirely planarized light source.
Also, since the connectors and cables may deteriorate due to heat released from the light source, the performance of the backlight assembly is reduced. Furthermore, due to the connectors and cables, it is impossible to effectively use the light emitting from the light source.

Backlight assembly, display device having the same, and method thereof


There is provided a variable delay circuit to be implemented in an integrated circuit, the variable delay circuit including: a variable delay assigning section that assigns a variable time delay to an input signal in an actual operation of the integrated circuit, the variable time delay being varied within a predetermined range in accordance with a time delay inherent in an implementation level; and a verification delay assigning section that assigns a predetermined fixed time delay to the input signal in low-speed logic verification and/or in a low-speed selection test of the integrated circuit. For example, the time delay assigned by the verification delay assigning section is larger than a maximum value of the time delay assigned by the variable delay assigning section.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a variable delay circuit to be implemented to an integrated circuit, a recording medium storing therein a program that operates a computer as a logic verification apparatus that conducts logic verification directed to an integrated circuit to which a variable delay circuit is implemented, a logic verification method for device data with use of the variable delay circuit, and an electronic device using the variable delay circuit.
2. Related Art
Recently, computer-aided designing (CAD) has been adopted in an integrated circuit constituted by numerous circuit devices such as transistors, since it is difficult to design all the concrete circuit structures of such an integrated circuit manually. The development stage that uses the CAD is performed as follows; using so-called hardware description language based on the decided specification, abstract circuit data is defined in accordance with a function of an integrated circuit to be developed; a logic circuit is generated by performing logic synthesis or the like based on the defined circuit data; and the concrete circuit structure is thereafter defined to be implemented onto a chip (e.g. see the Japanese Patent Application Publication No. H10-283388.)
In an integrated circuit manufactured by undergoing such a design stage, verification operations both in logic level and in actual operation level are generally performed during the manufacturing stage. For example, logic verification is conducted using a low-speed inspection apparatus in the wafer level stage thereby expelling defective items, and the actual operation verification is performed in the stage after the packaging of chips is completed, so that only products judged as non-defective are shipped.
In the stage of actually forming designed circuits onto a semiconductor substrate, it is not easy to fully reproduce the electric characteristics of the designed circuit structure, due to process variations and the like. There are cases where the characteristic is different between the designed circuit and the implemented circuit. It will cause no problem in practical sense if such a characteristic difference is minor. However, in such sections as operating in high speed, there are cases where the operations are adversely affected due to a difference in time delay caused by wiring length variations and the like.
So as to counter this problem, there have been already proposed integrated circuits incorporating therein a variable delay circuit for assigning a variable time delay for absorbing fluctuation in time delay attributable to process variations and the like and for realizing characteristics as designed. By adjusting the time delay with use of such a variable delay circuit, it becomes possible to absorb time delay fluctuation attributable to process variations and the like, and further to improve yield of the integrated circuits.
However, an integrated circuit incorporating therein a conventional variable delay circuit has a problem that logic verification by means of a low-speed inspection apparatus is difficult. This problem is detailed as follows.
FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing one example of a circuit structure that uses a conventional variable delay circuit The circuit illustrated in FIG. 9 is composed of a variable delay circuit 101, a flip-flop circuits 102 and 103, and delay circuits 104 and 105. The following problem arises when low-speed verification is performed on such a circuit using a low-speed inspection apparatus.
Conventional variable delay circuits cannot define the time delay at a certain value even in the low-speed verification because the time delay amount to be assigned is variable. Accordingly, when for example such a variable delay circuit is adopted in the circuit structure as shown in FIG. 9, it is not certain whether it is possible to provide a sufficient hold time for holding the data to be inputted to the flip-flop circuit 102 that is positioned in the later stage. Accordingly, when a circuit structure as shown in FIG. 9 is realized using a conventional variable delay circuit, sometimes low-speed verification may find it a defective item even if the flip-flop circuit 102 itself does not have any problem and can operate without trouble if using a variable delay circuit after adjustment of the time delay, which means deterioration in verification accuracy.
This also applies to logic verification in the designing stage. It is difficult to adopt integrated circuits incorporating therein conventional variable delay circuits to a normal logic design environment, and the number of processes required for analogue verification greatly increases.

Variable delay circuit, recording medium, logic verification method and electronic device


An apparatus and method for building three-dimensional spatial power combiners for efficiently combining power from a large number of active devices are being disclosed. The apparatus discloses a plurality of grid amplifiers, each having a major surface, the plurality of grid amplifiers are arranged along an axis that is perpendicular to the major surface of each grid amplifier and spatially separated from each other by a selected resonant distance to generate a standing wave between adjacent grid amplifiers. The method discloses selecting a plurality of grid amplifiers each having a major surface, arranging the plurality of grid amplifiers along an axis that is perpendicular to the major surface of each grid amplifier, selecting a resonance distance, and spatially separating said plurality of grid amplifiers by the resonant distance to generate a standing wave between adjacent grid amplifiers.

Broadband communications, radar and other imaging systems require the generation and transmission of radio frequency ("RF") signals in the microwave and millimeter wave bands. In order to efficiently achieve the levels of output transmission power needed for many-applications at these high frequencies, a technique called "power combining" has been employed, whereby the output power of individual components are coupled, or combined, thereby creating a single power output that is greater than an individual component can supply. Conventionally, power combining has used resonant waveguide cavities or transmission-line feed networks. These approaches, however, have a number of shortcomings that become especially apparent at higher frequencies. First, conductor losses in the waveguide walls or transmission lines tend to increase with frequency, eventually limiting the combining efficiency. Second, these resonant waveguide cavities or transmission-line combiners become increasingly difficult to machine as the wavelength gets smaller. Third, in waveguide systems, each device often must be inserted and tuned manually. This is labor-intensive and only practical for a relatively small number of devices.
Several years ago, "spatial power-combining" was proposed as a potential solution to these problems. Spatial power combining provides enhanced RF efficiency by coupling the components to beams or modes in free space rather than via transmission lines in corporate combining structures.
If components are combined using transmission line circuits there is an upper limit to the number of elements (and hence a limit to the power which can be generated) due to transmission line and combining structure losses that depend on the number of elements in a nonlinear relation or due to the accumulating complexity of the circuit. FIGS. 1a and 1b capture the concepts of corporate and spatial power combining, respectively. FIG. 1a shows a circuit for a corporate combiner of power amplifiers integrated on a planar geometry. It can be seen that as additional elements are added the lengths of transmission line and the number of nodal combining circuits increases. The losses in the added line and combining circuits accumulate. They reduce and eventually eliminate the advantages of the combined power. Hence, it becomes necessary to use a spatially combined architecture as shown in FIG. 1b.
FIGS. 2a, 2b and 2c depict several spatially combined configurations to control the RF EM field of spacefed active arrays. FIG. 2a shows a quasi-optical system using lenses and polarizers to control the RF field. Similar configurations can use an open array with no lenses and may use phase control circuitry in each of the active antenna elements to provide beam control. FIG. 2b portrays an active array inside a waveguide, where the waveguide walls controls the EM field and defines its modal structure. FIG. 2c presents a waveguiding structure controlling EM field, but expanding to allow a larger number of amplifier elements to be combined.
Active arrays for space-fed spatial combining systems have been demonstrated in the two classic array topologies—tile and tray—shown in FIGS. 3a and 3b, respectively. In the case of the tile approach shown in FIG. 3a, two distinct design approaches have been developed, shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b. In the Rutledge "grid" array of FIG. 4a, active devices are integrated at the vertical and horizontal intersections of a metallic mesh. The vertical wires connect either the input circuits or the output circuits of the amplifiers, while the horizontal wires connect the other circuit. An incoming wave can thus be polarized to interact only with the amplifiers input circuits, while the outgoing wave will be orthogonally polarized. Polarizer grids used on either side of the grid array insure isolation between input and output circuits. In the grid array, the active elements are generally spaced much closer than a half wavelength. The entire length of the grid wires act as single antenna elements. In the active antenna array of FIG. 4b, separate antenna elements are integrated directly with active devices or a MMIC amplifier, with each element acting as an independent cell. The array acts as a periodic antenna array with the elements spaced at roughly half wavelength intervals. The EM wave is received on one side of the array, active devices can be placed on either or both sides of the array, and the array radiates on the other side. The antenna elements can be various combinations of patch and slot elements, with the possibility that in some configurations a common ground plane can isolate the input from the output. The tray approach, illustrated in FIG. 3b, uses a tray of end-fire antenna elements, with multiple trays stacked to provide a 2-dimensional array. The tray then acts to receive an input signal, to excite an electrical circuit that runs perpendicular to the plane of the antenna array, and to radiate from the other side of the trays.
Conventional spatial power-combiners do not efficiently combine power from a large number of active devices; do not obtain an equal share of power from each of the active device, irrespective of where the active device is located within the grid, and delivering the sum of the individual contributions to a load; and in high-power, high-frequency applications drawing heat away from spatial power combiners also remains a problem.
To overcome the problem of insufficient heat sinking a three-dimensional power combiner has been proposed as shown in FIGS. 5a and 5b. See W. A. Shiroma, B. L. Shaw and Z. B. Popovic, "Three-Dimensional Power Combiners," 1994 IEEE MTT-S Int. Microwave Symp. Dig., pp. 831–834, May 1994; and W. A. Shiroma, B. L. Shaw and Z. B. Popovic, "A 100-Transistor Quadruple Grid Oscillator," IEEE Microwave and guided Wave Lett., vol. 4, no. 10, pp. 350–351, October 1994. FIG. 5a depicts two planar oscillator grids placed back to back against a dielectric spacer and FIG. 5b depicts four planar oscillator grids separated by dielectric spacers.
However, there is still a need to more efficiently combine power from a large number of active devices. The present description addresses these problems by disclosing a three-dimensional power combiner to efficiently combine power from a large number of active devices (e.g. transistors, negative resistance diodes) in a series manner while obtaining an equal share of power from each active device, independent of where the active device is located along the series chain, and delivering the sum of the individual contributions to a load.

Standing wave amplifiers and oscillators