The present invention is a work support attachment for use with conventional hoists. The work support attachment comprises a top portion, a middle portion, and a lower portion. The top portion is secured to the conventional hoist device and the lower portion is adapted to be removably receiving an attaching element, such as a hook. This lower portion can rotate freely.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a work support attachment for hoisting units and more particularly to a support attachment for hoists which enables a lifted object or load, such as an engine or the like, to be lifted and during the lifting process will prevent the item from twisting, shifting or spinning, such as during the removal or replacement of the engine to a vehicle, yet enables the user to freely rotated the item when in a raised and fixed position.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hoists and devices used with conventional hoists have been around for used. As is known, hoists are extremely helpful in lifting and supporting extremely heavy items or loads, such as engines, industrial items and the like. Though the years, devices and been developed to enhance the conventional hoists to provide a final product that increases the safety of the use of the hoists as well as provide an environment which will increase the work efficiency when the hoist is utilized.
For example in U.S. Pat. No. 2,215,431 issued to Sloan et al there is disclosed a device to be used in combination with a conventional hoists. This device is specifically used for lowering pieces of work and placing them in position for the operation of machine tools. Thereby providing a device geared at safety as well as efficiency.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,995,903 to Ernst there is disclosed an engine lift tool connected to a lift hoist via brackets and a yoke member. This engine lift tool tools is constructed in such a way that its parts are inseparable from the other. Thereby providing a device that reduces time generally associated with engine lift tools of the type including lift bails or brackets.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,671,960 issued to Chyz there is disclosed an engine balancing lifting device consisting of a main beam and two cross beams. The purpose of this device is to lift and install engines.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,800,000 issued to Shockley discloses a load adjusting device for use with a hoisting unit. This device is designed to orientate the object for proper handling, installing and use.
None of these devices, however, provides a device which enables a load to be hoisted without twisting, spinning, shifting. In addition a device is needed that will allow for a smooth rotation of the lifted item, when the hoist is in a fixed and upright position. Such a unit will allow for loads to be safely removed and replaced in the appropriate machinery, as well as enable the load to be upright and observed at all and any angle.
As will be seen, the present invention achieves its intended purposes, objectives and advantages by accomplishing the needs as identified above, through a new, useful and unobvious combination of component elements, which is simple to use, with the utilization of a minimum number of functioning parts, at a reasonable cost to manufacture, assemble, test and by employing only readily available material.
The present invention is a work support attachment that is designed and configured to be used with a conventional hoisting unit. This apparatus is ideally suited for lifting and/or raising any large bulky machine item, such as engines or the like, and will enable a load to be hoisted in a safer manner by alleviating the twisting, turning and spinning of the item being held, such as a engine or the like. In addition, the present invention will offer a means of rotation, which will allow for the item to be rotated when desired, and thus provide the user to rotate the item held, so as to be adequately viewed and/or serviced.
To enable such an arrangement, the work support attachment of the present invention is comprised of a top portion, middle portion and a lower portion. The top portion of the present invention contains an attaching/engagement member for receiving a lifting mechanism, such as a chain from the conventional hoist. Generally, this attaching/engagement member comprises two elongated flanges disposed parallel to each for innately forming a U-shaped configuration. Extending though the flanges are alignable holes that will removable receive a pin or the like. Thus in use, the lifting mechanism, such as chain link, is placed between the flanges. The pin is inserted into the holes and through the chain link. The pin is locked into place via conventional means, such as the use of the cotter pin or the like. Thereby, providing for the work support attachment to be secured to the conventional hoist.
The middle portion of the instant invention includes a hollow cylindrical body. This hollow cylindrical body houses a conventional bearing. The conventional bearing will receive a shank that extends outwardly and downwardly from the hollow cylindrical body. This outward extension provides for the lower portion of the present invention.
Secured to the shank, at the lower portion is an engagement member. This engagement member is preferably a hook. This hook will act as a hook generally used and located on conventional hoists units, and thus will receive the particular load. Thereby, when lifting the load will remain stationary. When the lifting process is terminated, and the hoisting unit ceases operation, the load will remain stationary. At this point, the bearing will permit for the shank to turn freely (360 degrees).
The top portion is secured to the cylindrical body via conventional means. This attachment is such that it will restrict the upward movement of the shank. The shank is machined to connect to the lower portion engagement member.
Accordingly, it is the object of the present invention to provide a work support attachment that is designed and configured to be used with a conventional hoisting unit which will overcome the deficiencies, shortcomings, and drawbacks of the prior hoisting attachments and methods thereof, and one that can easily and readily be used and installed in conventional hoisting units.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a work support attachment used with a conventional hoisting unit that will prevent twisting of the load, such as an engine or the like, during the installation or removal process.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a work support attachment to be used with a conventional hoisting unit that offers a safe means of lifting a load and one which will inherently eliminate damage to lifted items and its components, during the hoisting process.
Still another object of the instant invention is to provide a means that will enable the lifted item to be turn at any desired location thereby expediting access to all sides of the item lifted, such as a motor engine or the like.
Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide for a work support attachment to be used with a conventional hoisting unit that will assist in machinery repairs, consequently providing an expeditious and efficient process for removing, viewing, repairing and installed the particular item.
A final object of the present invention, to be specifically enumerated herein, is to provide a work support attachment that is designed and configured to be used with a conventional hoisting unit in accordance with the preceding objects and which will conform to conventional forms of manufacture, be of simple construction and easy to use so as to provide a device that would be economically feasible, long lasting and relatively trouble free in operation.
Although there have been many engine hoist devices, none of the inventions address the need of having a unit that will enable safe hoisting as well as adequate rotational possibility. The present invention meets the requirements of the simplified design, compact size, low initial cost, low operating cost, ease of installation and maintainability, and minimal amount of training to successfully employ the invention.
The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects of the invention. These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and application of the intended invention. Many other beneficial results can be obtained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the detailed description of the preferred embodiments in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. dr
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the work support attachment device of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a front planar view of the work support attachment device of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a side planar view of the work support attachment device of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the work support attachment device of the present invention.


A preferred method for manufacturing a transformer winding includes winding an electrical conductor into a first plurality of turns, placing an electrically insulating material having adhesive thereon over the first plurality of turns, and winding the electrical conductor into a second plurality of turns over the electrically insulating material. The preferred method also includes melting and curing the adhesive by energizing the electrical conductor so that a current greater than a rated current of the transformer winding flows through the electrical conductor.

Transformer windings are typically formed by winding an electrical conductor, such as copper or aluminum wire, on a continuous basis. The electrical conductor can be wound around a mandrel, or a directly onto a winding leg of the transformer. The electrical conductor is wound into a plurality of turns in side by side relationship to form a first layer of turns. A first layer of insulating material is subsequently placed around the first layer of turns. The electrical conductor is wound into a second plurality of turns over the first layer of insulating material, thereby forming a second layer of turns.
A second layer of insulating material is subsequently placed over the second layer of turns. The electrical conductor is then wound into a third plurality of turns over the second layer of insulation, thereby forming a third layer or turns. The above procedure can be repeated until a predetermined number of turn layers have been formed.
Heat-curable epoxy diamond pattern coated kraft paper (commonly referred to as "DPP paper") is commonly used as the insulating material in transformer windings. A transformer winding comprising DPP paper is typically heated after being wound in the above-described manner. The heating is necessary to melt and cure the epoxy adhesive on the DPP paper and thereby bond the DPP paper to the adjacent layer or layers of the electrical conductor. The transformer winding can be heated by placing the transformer winding in a hot-air convection oven (or other suitable heating device) for a predetermined period of time.
Transferring the transformer winding to a hot-air convection, and the subsequent heating process can increase the cycle time associated with the manufacture of the transformer winding. Moreover, the energy requirements of the hot-air convection oven can increase the overall manufacturing cost of the transformer winding. Also, it can be difficult to achieve uniform heating (and curing of the adhesive) throughout the transformer winding using a hot-air convection oven. Hence, adequate bonding between specific layers of the insulating material and the electrical conductor can be difficult to obtain (particularly between the innermost layers of the insulating material and the electrical conductor).

Method for manufacturing a transformer winding


A rotary shelf for use within a cabinet which has first and second mounting brackets spaced apart and opposing each other attached to the bottom and to the top of the inside of the cabinet. The mechanism includes integrally formed shelves, a shelf and post securing mechanism wherein a notched member affixed to a mounting bracket cooperatively receives an engaging member to secure the post and shelves in a stationary position. The mechanism also includes a shelf and cabinet opening adjustment mechanism to permit threadable adjustment of the post and carried shelves with respect to the cabinet opening.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to lazy susan devices and more particularly to a rotary shelf mechanism for use within a cabinet whose post and shelves can be locked positively in a storing position, whose post and shelves can be adjusted with respect to the cabinet opening, and whose shelves are integrally formed.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It has been common practice to provide in corner kitchen cabinets, shelves of a rotatable or lazy susan type. This shelving has become popular because without it, considerable cabinet space in the corner, either above or below the kitchen counter is wasted due to the inaccessibility of items well back in the corner. A considerable number of rotatable corner shelf units are based on the structure wherein a tubular element forms a vertical rotatable axis attached to the shelves. Since the door formed within the structure of the shelving must align with the cabinet opening for an attractive and professional fit, a number of methods have been employed to secure that appearance, often requiring adjustment means to bring the structure back into proper alignment in the event it becomes altered for whatever reason.
Various adjustment devices have been provided to align the shelf mechanism. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,127,994; 4,433,885; 4,486,107 and 4,688,686.
Unfortunately, correction of this alignment problem within such prior art assemblies have not been fully successful to enable the components within the cabinet to conform to the opening, and adjustment frequently requires partial disassembly of the shelf assembly which necessitates removal of all or most of the stored goods therein. These adjustments and efforts are troublesome, time-consuming and often laborious.
Moreover, prior art means for adjusting the shelf assembly require the use of tools, and often the prior art adjusting mechanism is not easily accessible for adjustment.
Finally, all prior shelving formed from plastic-like materials has been made up of numerous components assembled together to fit in a proper manner about the shaft which are joined together by pins or screws in a manner to assure that the shelf is securely attached to the post and moves uniformly when the post is rotated. Shelves formed of numerous components are expensive to assemble and often do not fit properly because of the many components that are joined together to form the completed shelf.
Thus, there is still a need for smooth and quiet shelf movement and locking action, adjustments to align the shelves and supporting posts with the cabinet opening, and improvements in the complicated structure of the lazy susan shelving. It is to these needs that the present invention is directed.
The present invention is an improvement in lazy susan devices and, more particularly, in a rotary shelf mechanism for use within a cabinet which has first and second mounting brackets spaced apart and opposing each other, shelf and post securement means which includes a notched plate affixed to a mounting bracket and post insert means having a bracket engaging element cooperatively received by the mounting bracket plate and operable with a noise absorbing member to quietly secure the post in a stationary position. The shelf and opening adjustment means includes a mounting bracket adjustment plate carrying a threadable insert cooperatively receiving the threaded adjusting member to cause the adjusting plate, when the adjusting member is rotated, to move with respect to the mounting bracket to adjust the post and shelves with respect to the opening. Of significant importance is the provision of an integrally formed (molded one piece) shelf, thus avoiding the problems associated with assembled shelf components that are selectively positioned on the length of the post to received goods for storage or to collapse and provide a more efficient shipping package.
From the summary of the invention described, it will be apparent that a primary object of the present invention is to provide a lazy susan assembly having a rotary shelf mechanism for use within a kitchen cabinet that utilizes integrally formed shelves to significantly reduce the cost of shelving previously used.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a rotary shelf mechanism for use within the cabinet that includes a shelf and post securing means to provide an efficient, smooth and silent engagement with a spring biased member and a mounting bracket plate notch to secure the post and sleeves in a stationary position.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a shelf and opening adjustment means that will enable a single threaded engagement member to align the post and shelves with the cabinet opening.
Yet still another object of the present invention is to provide an alternative shelf and post securing means wherein a plate engagement element has a recess therein and an upstanding plate and cooperative flexing member engage the recess and secure the post and shelves in a stationary position.
Yet still another further object of the present invention is to provide a noise absorbing member operable with the upstanding plate and flexing member to reduce wear and noise upon movement of the post and shelves.
Thus, there has been outlined the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description that follows may be better understood and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways.
It is also to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the concept upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for designing other structures, methods, systems and in carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent methods and products resulting therefrom so long as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The application is neither intended to define the invention which is measured by its claims nor to limit its scope in any way.
For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages, and the specific results obtained by its use, reference should be made to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like characters of reference designate like parts throughout the several views.


A series of quantum well laser chips is mounted on a frame disposed in an external cavity opposite a tuning element. Selected chips are optically pumped by a diode laser or diode laser array. The laser light from one of the facets of a selected chip is collimated by a lens onto the tuning element. The tuning element disperses the light and a portion of the dispersed light at the single frequency is coupled back to the facet causing the chip to generate single frequency TEM.sub.00 radiation.

This invention relates generally to lasers and, more specifically, to semiconductor lasers operated in an external cavity.
A laser is a device which has the ability to produce monochromatic, coherent light through the stimulated emission of photons from atoms, molecules or ions of an active gain medium which have typically been excited from a ground state to a higher energy level by an input of energy. Such a device contains an optical cavity or resonator which is defined by highly reflecting surfaces which form a closed round trip path for light. The active gain medium is contained within the optical cavity.
If a population inversion is created by excitation of the active medium, the spontaneous emission of a photon from an excited atom, molecule or ion undergoing transition to a lower energy state can stimulate the emission of photons of substantially identical energy from other excited atoms, molecules or ions. As a consequence, the initial photon creates a cascade of photons between the reflecting surfaces of the optical cavity which are of substantially identical energy and exactly in phase. This multiplication effect causes light inside the cavity to undergo gain, which, along with the feedback provided by the resonator, constitutes a laser oscillator. A portion of this cascade of photons is then discharged out of the optical cavity, for example, by transmission through one or more of the reflecting surfaces of the cavity. These discharged photons constitute the laser output.
Excitation of the active medium of a laser can be accomplished by a variety of methods. However, the most common methods are optical pumping, use of an electrical discharge, and the passage of an electric current through the p-n junction of a semiconductor laser.
Semiconductor lasers contain a p-n junction which forms a diode, and this junction functions as the active medium of the laser. Such devices, which are also referred to as diode lasers, are typically constructed from materials such as gallium arsenide and aluminum gallium arsenide alloys. The efficiency of such lasers in converting electrical power to output radiation is relatively high and, for example, can be in excess of 40 percent.
In recent years, improvements in laser performance have resulted from the fabrication of so-called "superlattice" and quantum-well (QW) structures. A lattice is formed of alternate layers of thin (5-40 nm) epitaxial films of semiconductor material of different band gap to form a plurality of heterojunction interfaces. A thin film of narrow band gap material, e.g., GaAs, is sandwiched between thin films of wider band gap material, e.g., Al.sub.x Ga.sub.(1-x) As to form potential wells. Such wells restrict or limit carrier/electron movement to two dimensions. Such a multilayer is referred to as a two-dimensional quantum-well, or simply a quantum-well. In the example given, the electron motion is restricted in the direction perpendicular to the heterojunction interfaces, while the electrons are free to move in the other two directions.
Quantum-well lasers generally exhibit lower threshold than bulk crystal heterostructures. Devices are usually formed of multiple layers of quantum-wells and when the barrier thickness between quantum-wells is reduced, so that well wave functions couple, a "superlattice" is formed.
Generally, the materials of choice for superlattice and/or quantum-well structures are the Group III and V elements and, in particular, GaAs and Al alloys thereof. These materials are closely lattice matched, yet the difference in the band gaps of the GaAs versus the alloy Al.sub.x Ga.sub.(1-x) As can vary at room temperature from 0 eV to as much as 0.75 eV (as x increases from 0 to 1). The first property simplifies heterostructure fabrication, while the second property makes fabrication of quantum-wells possible.

Multi-element optically pumped external cavity laser system


A method for displaying a combination of an icon and a message in a selective call receiver is disclosed. A notification mode is designated through a key input section. When receiving information including icon specifying information and a message, an icon corresponding to the icon specifying information is selected from a plurality of predetermined icons stored in a memory. The selected icon and the message are displayed on screen and the selected icon is displayed with designated color, designated position and/or blinking.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a selective call receiver having a display section, and, more particularly, to a method of displaying reception information on the display section.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, radio selective call receivers called pagers are desirably small and light in consideration of portability. In this respect, a liquid crystal display (LCD) cannot have a large display area. Some schemes are therefore needed to effectively transmit information to users with a limited display screen size.
For example, Japanese Utility-model Unexamined Publication (Kokai) No. 7-43280 discloses a receiver which has an icon display section capable of displaying a plurality of command icons on a display so that information is displayed in the form of icons.
Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication (Kokai) No. 8-294152 describes a multi-function pager. When detecting an incoming call in a mode other than the call standby mode, e.g., in a schedule function mode, this pager informs an incoming call by flickering or blinking an icon corresponding to the type of reception data on a part of the schedule display screen.
While the use of icons can permit effective transmission of information as mentioned above, the prior art displays an icon at a predetermined position on the display screen and thus suffers limited display information. To display an icon and character information in separate areas, a receiver needs an LCD with a larger display screen, which stands in the way of making receivers more compact and lighter.
Further, a selective call receiver with display function is described in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 8-317438. On the color LCD of the radio selective call receiver, the picture information is displayed on the full screen in a color different from the display color of the letter characters on the background.
Furthermore, a selective call receiver and its message display method are described in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 10-023492. According to the conventional message display method, a plurality of routine message icons each indicating objective information are arranged at predetermined positions on screen and one of them is selected and displayed at the corresponding position depending on the icon designation data included in a received signal.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method capable of effectively displaying information in a limited display screen.
It is another object of this invention to provide a selective call receiver capable of effectively displaying plural pieces of received information in a single display screen.
It is a still another object of the present invention to provide a method and a selective call receiver which are capable of displaying received information in a user-friendly display mode.
According to the present invention, there is provided a method for displaying received information in a selective call receiver, which includes a display section, an input section, and a memory having a plurality of predetermined icons stored therein. A notification mode is designated through the input section. When receiving information including icon specifying information and display information, an icon corresponding to the icon specifying information is selected from the plurality of predetermined icons stored in the memory. The selected icon and the display information are displayed on the display section, wherein the selected icon is displayed in a designated notification mode.
The designated notification mode preferably determines a position of the selected icon and further determines a color of the selected icon which is different from that of the display information. The designated notification mode may further determine whether the selected icon blinks.
In the case where the selected icon and the display information overlap each other, the display information may be displayed in a foreground of the selected icon.
Since a selected icon is displayed on the display screen in the designated notification mode, the selected icon and the display information can easily be distinguished from each other. By designating the notification mode, the selected icon can be displayed in a user-designated mode. What is more, two kinds of information can be displayed on a single screen. This can permit information to be effectively displayed in a limited display screen.
Further, it is desirable to give the display information priority over the icon to ensure information transmission. Further, an icon may be displayed in a blinking manner. This further enhances the visual effect to help catch user""s attention.


An automatic injector separately stores liquid and dry components in respective compartments. When the injector is activated, a fluid-directing member between the liquid and dry compartments causes the liquid component to form a vortex as the liquid flows into the dry compartment. This allows the two components to combine more thoroughly and quickly to form a liquid solution that is delivered to an injection site.

An automatic injector is a device that enables intramuscular or subcutaneous administration of a therapeutic agent. An advantage of automatic injectors is that they contain a measured dose of a therapeutic agent in a sealed sterile cartridge. As such, automatic injectors can be used in emergency situations to quickly and simply inject the therapeutic agent without having to measure dosages. Another advantage of automatic injectors is that the administration of the therapeutic agent is accomplished without the user initially seeing the hypodermic needle through which the therapeutic agent is delivered, and without the user having to manually force the needle into the patient. This is particularly advantageous when the therapeutic agent is being self-administered.
In some automatic injectors, the therapeutic agent is stored as a liquid solution which is then injected. However, the long-term storage of a therapeutic agent as a liquid solution has drawbacks. For instance, some therapeutic agents are not stable in solution and thus have a shorter shelf-life than their solid counterparts. To address this concern, automatic injectors have been developed that store the therapeutic agent in solid form and mix the solid therapeutic agent with a liquid immediately prior to injection. Such devices are generally referred to as wet/dry injectors. An example of such an injector is found in U.S. Reissue Pat. No. RE 35,986, entitled "Multiple Chamber Automatic Injector," the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. These injectors require the user to manually rupture a sealing member between the solid and liquid components and then manually shake the injector body to expedite dissolution of the solid component prior to injection. Unfortunately, steps such as manually shaking the injector increase the time needed to administer a dose of the therapeutic agent, which is undesirable in many emergency medical situations where rapid delivery of the therapeutic agent is needed (e.g., nerve gas and chemical agent poisoning).
Therefore, a need exists for a cost-effective automatic injector that stores a therapeutic agent in solid form, does not require manual premixing by the user, and quickly and effectively automatically mixes and delivers the therapeutic agent in a liquid solution.


A detecting reagent for an antiplatelet antibody, comprises a carrier particle, and a platelet antigen component immobilized on a surface of the carrier particle. The reagent particles do not agglutinate with each other, contrary to the platelets subjected to natural agglutination, probably because the platelet membrane antigen component immobilized on the carrier particle is solubilized in advance.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a detecting reagent for an antiplatelet antibody. This detecting reagent is used to detect an antiplatelet antibody present in a blood of a patient at the time of, e.g., platelet transfusion.
2. Description of the Related Art
Platelets are akaryocites which are present in a blood and each of which has a diameter of 2 to 3 .mu.m. The platelets are produced by fragmentation of megakaryocytes present in the bone marrow. When platelet in a blood are brought into contact with damaged hemangioendothelial cells, they agglutinate with each other and play an important role for hemostasis.
In recent years, a platelet transfusion therapy has been made to aim at hemostasis and hemorrhagic prevention for patients who have a hemorrhagic tendency caused by thrombocytopenia or thrombopathy. By this therapy, many lot of patients are saved from death caused by hemorrhage, and their lives can be saved or prolonged. The amount of a platelet preparation used has been abruptly increased, with development of platelet transfusion.
An antibody against the antigen present on a surface membrane of the transfused platelet is produced in case that a large amount of platelets must be frequently transfused over a long period of time. Examples of such case is the platelet transfusion therapy for patients who suffer from acute leukemia and asplastic anemia. When this occurs, platelets transfused from random donors cannot cause any desired response of the patients, and no increase in the number of platelets is found after platelet transfusion. When platelet transfusion does not function well due to the reason described above, platelets having an antigen type which does not react with an antiplatelet antibody of such a patient must be transfused to this patient.
Antiplatelet antibodies are classified into an alloantibody and an autoantibody.
The antiplatelet alloantibody is produced by the above-mentioned platelet transfusion or pregnancy. The isoantibody does not only influence an effect of platelet transfusion described above but also causes post-transfusion purpura and neonatal thrombocytopenic purpura.
On the other hand, the antiplatelet autoantibody is produced in a patient who suffers from an autoimmune disease such as idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura. The autoantibody is deemed to be a substance which causes an autoimmune disease.
Various conventional methods are available to detect the antiplatelet antibody as follows:
(1) Agglutination Assay
This method is the first method developed to detect the antiplatelet antibody and is originally used to detect a P1.sup.A antigen series and a Ko antigen series. According to this method, an IgM antibody is mainly detected, but an IgG antibody is rarely detected. This method tends to cause nonspecific agglutination caused by natural agglutination of platelets and has a low sensitivity.
(2) Complement-Fixation Reaction
After a sample serum, platelets, and a complement are reacted with each other, hemolysin labeled sheep blood cell are added to the reaction mixture, and an amount of consumption of the complement is determined from a degree of hemolysis of the hemolysin labeled sheep blood cell. This method can detect an HLA antigen on a surface membrane of the platelet and a blood group antigen of ABO type, but has a low sensitivity. In addition, it is difficult to detect the antiplatelet antibody if a sample serum has anticomplement activity.
(3) Antiglobuline Consumption Test
After platelets are reacted with an inactivated sample serum, the reaction mixture is washed. After an antiglobulin serum is added to the mixture, the mixture is subjected to a centrifugal operation. An anti-D antibody labeled blood cell is added to and reacted with the supernatant of the reaction mixture to detect an antiplatelet antibody in accordance with an antiglobulin titer of the supernatant. This method tends to cause pseudopositive determination and has a low sensitivity.
(4) RIA (Radioimmuneoassay)
The RIA is an antiglobulin test using an anti-human IgG labeled with a radioactive isotope. The isotope-labeled anti-human IgG is coupled to an antiplatelet antibody of a platelet of a patient, and the radioactive isotope elements coupled to the platelets are counted.
(5) MPHA (Mixed passive haemagglutination)
Platelets of solid phase are formed on the well wall of a U-shaped microplate, and a sample serum is added to and reacted with the platelets. After the well is washed, anti-human IgG labeled sheep red cell is added to the reaction mixture and is reacted with it. An agglutination pattern in which the sheep red cells collect in a central portion of the well is determined to be negative, and an agglutination pattern in which sheep red cells are scattered on the entire area is determined to be positive, thereby detecting a platelet antibody.
Of the conventional methods described above, the agglutination assay (1) requires only one step for the entire reaction and has simple test procedures. The agglutination assay, however, has disadvantages in that the IgG class antibodies cannot be detected and nonspecific agglutination tends to occur. Therefore, the agglutination assay is not suitable for practical applications.
Other conventional methods, i.e., the complement-fixation reaction (2) to the MPHA (5) require two or more steps each in the measurement. Therefore, the measurement time is prolonged, and the measuring operations are complicated.

Detecting reagent for antiplatelet antibody


The invention provides a method of manufacturing golf balls composed of a core and one or more cover layer which encloses the core, at least one cover layer being a thin layer having a thickness of 1.0 mm or less. The thin layer is formed to a desired thickness on a surface of a core or spherical body by holding within a mold cavity the core or a spherical body composed of the core enclosed by a cover layer and injecting a synthetic resin material into a space defined by a surface of the core or spherical body and an inner face of the mold cavity so as to form a cover layer on the surface of the core or spherical body, then grinding the resulting cover layer to a thickness of at least 0.1 mm with a specific type of grinder. Golf balls obtained in this way can be provided with a good sphericity even when the cover is formed to a very small thickness.

Golf balls lately have not been limited only to one-piece golf balls and two-piece golf balls; a variety of balls having multilayer structures that include a multilayer cover or multiple covers have been proposed. Active efforts are being made to develop golf balls in which the formation of such a multilayer cover or multiple covers dramatically increases flight performance and also provides numerous advantages overall relating to, for instance, the feel of the ball when played, controllability on approach shots, and durability. In balls having multiple covers or a multi-layer cover, a smaller thickness per cover layer increases the degree of freedom in ball design, enabling golf balls of outstanding flight performance and other properties to be obtained. Such a golf ball having a thin cover is manufactured by supporting the core within a mold cavity and injection molding the cover into what remains of the cavity. However, the molten resin often does not flow well throughout the cavity, resulting in molding defects detrimental to the physical properties of the ball. It is particularly difficult to injection mold a very thin cover having a thickness of 1.0 mm or less, and so obtaining high-quality balls with satisfactory ball characteristics such as sphericity has been a challenge. To this end, various innovations, such as modifying the mold configuration by changing the size and increasing the number of mold parts, e.g., injection gates and vent pins, have been proposed. Unfortunately, this approach leads to higher mold fabrication costs and increases the labor associated with the manufacturing process.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,640,028 and JP-A 2000-14832 disclose grinding methods for removing molding flash from the surface of a golf ball or core and for reducing the ball or core diameter. However, these are not suitable as grinding methods for creating high-precision, ultrathin covers. That is, an excessive grinding force is unnecessary and inappropriate for deflashing. Diameter reduction does require a certain degree of grinding force, but such prior-art grinding methods are ill-suited for precisely finishing the entire spherical surface of the cover to a small thickness.
JP-A 2001-309996 describes the formation of a cover to a predetermined thickness by machining, but does not disclose a manufacturing method for obtaining balls of a high sphericity. Moreover, it is not possible to achieve a high sphericity simply by randomly grinding the surface of the cover layer. Because even a slight departure from a spherical shape may very well destabilize the flight performance and roll of a golf ball, and also decrease the rebound, worsen the feel on impact and reduce the durability, there exists a need to obtain balls of high sphericity.


A method is for simultaneously operating the tray of an optical disk system and the front panel of the computer cabinet wherein the optical disk system is housed. In the method, the tray of the optical disk system is ejected immediately after the front panel of the computer case is completely opened when a tray operation instruction is issued and the front panel is currently at a close state. Additionally, the tray is retracted into the optical disk system before the front panel of the computer case is closed when a tray operation instruction is issued again and the front panel is currently at an open state so that the optical disk system may been closed inside a computer cabinet of the computer including HI-FI stereo. In the embodiment, the tray operation instruction is delivered via an output pin of the computer including HI-FI stereo and one of the reserved output pin of the optical disk system.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention generally relates to an optical disk system, and more particularly, to a method for simultaneously operating the tray of an optical disk system and the front panel of the computer case where the optical disk system is housed.
2. Description of Related Art
In line with the technological advancement, the computer has become an absolute necessity of modern lives, for example, a truth is that computers take a position getting more and more important in peoples daily works and family lives.
Computer hardware has had great advancement in computing speed and data processing power recently. Nowadays, computers have treated as a widely used multimedia AV equipment with the helps of the technology advancements regarding the field of optical disk systems used for data storage media. However, although modern computers have performance no worse than that of the legacy mainframe systems, which still offers unsatisfied AV effects due to their limited architecture. Although many engineers have offered lots of developments in sound cards and make their designs being more powerful than before. However, any listener cannot be satisfied with the playing AV effects offered by the modern computer system since the playing ones are far less than that of a 5.1 channel audio system. On the other hand, the commonly used cabinets of the conventional computer systems contain fixed front panel and any housed peripheral device such as a CD-ROM drive may expose its front panel to facilitate the tray movements. The computer cabinet cannot be designed with more aesthetically appealing modeling, which makes the appearances of the conventional computer systems far away from a commonly used stereo system.
Furthermore, it is significant a time-costly way for employing a general-purpose computer used as an AV stereo system because the general-purpose computer system cannot play AV data until computer operating system such as the commonly used Windows system being started up completely. Customers" patients are seriously challenged since they must cost a long time to wait for the prolonged procedure while booting the operating system. Moreover, since the optical disk system inside the computer demands a space for ejecting its tray, the modeling design of the computer cabinet is impacted. This is a disadvantage when designing a computer including HI-FI stereo with an aesthetically appealing cabinet.

Method for operating the tray of an optical disk system


Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) readers with a directional coupler. At least one embodiment of the present invention provides an RFID reader designed to use a directional coupler to receive signals from an antenna which is connected to a radio frequency source of the reader to transmit signals. The directional coupler samples the signals received at the antenna and provides the received signal to a receiver of the RFID reader. In one example, the receiver of the RFID reader compares a portion of the signals from the radio frequency source with the received signal from the directional coupler to receive data from RF tags.

Multiple wireless Tags can be interrogated by sending from an interrogating transmitter (e.g., a Reader) a code and having information transmitted by the Tag in response. This is commonly accomplished by having the Tag listen for an interrogation message and for it to respond with a unique serial number and/or other information. The Tags typically have limited power available for transmitting data wirelessly to the Reader. It is desirable to extend the range of wireless Tags so that it is not necessary to bring each Tag close to a Reader for reading.
Conventional RFID readers are typically designed to use one of three general approaches to transmit signals to and receive signals from one or more tag, including a single-channel homodyne technique, a two-antenna bi-static technique, and a technique to use a circulator device.
FIG. 4 shows one standard approach for an RFID reader to read a beam-powered tag in which a homodyne receiver is used. The term "homodyne receiver" refers to the fact that there is but a single channel for both the transmitted signal and the received signal and a direct down conversion of the data to baseband. This technique of a homodyne receiver is quite common and has the advantage of simplicity. It has the disadvantage of creating noise and lower sensitivity if it is not perfectly tuned. For example, the reader module 401 in FIG. 4 has an antenna 407 coupled to both a radio frequency (RF) source 403 and a receiver 405. Using the signal from the frequency source 403, the receiver 405 directly down converts the data received from the antenna 407.
FIG. 5 shows an approach of a bi-static design where a separate antenna is used for both transmit and receive. For example, a reader module 421 in FIG. 5 has a radio frequency source 423 coupled to its own antenna 427 to transmit signals and a receiver 425 coupled to its own antenna 429 to receive signals. This technique of bi-static design has at least two disadvantages. First, there is the added cost of two antennas instead of one. Since microwave antennas of some gain are expensive, the added cost of an additional antenna can be a major problem. Secondly, there is a requirement to have both antennas overlapping in pattern.
FIG. 6 shows a conventional technique to have a circulator in the reader to separate the incoming signal (to receive) from the outgoing signal (to transmit). A circulator couples the powers in a preferred direction so that the receiver retains backscatter information and the transmitter powers the tag. For example, the reader module 441 in FIG. 6 has a circulator 449 which couples power in a preferred direction, forward for transmit and power, and to the receiver for the receive or reflected portion. Power to the tag passes through to antenna 447 and received power from the tag is channeled toward the receiver block after being reflected by the tag. In FIG. 6, the circulator 449 couples port 2 to port 1 to transmit signals and couples port 2 to port 3 to receive signals. This approach also is quite common but has the disadvantage of requiring the circulator that is an expensive device.


A telephone call on a remote line (190) is initiated by establishing a simultaneous voice and data connection with a slave processor (180) tied to the remote line. The slave processor is responsive to commands received on the data connection, including an off hook command signaling the slave processor to go off-hook on both the voice connection and remote line. Thereafter, the slave processor (180) bridges the voice connection and remote line. Upon receipt of the digits of a telephone number entered on the voice connection, the slave processor, in turn will dial the digits on the remote line, thereby initiating a call on that line.

Inter-exchange carriers, such as AT&T, provide both domestic and international telecommunications services. Invariably, the telecommunications services provided by inter-exchange carriers utilize telephone lines maintained by the inter-exchange carrier itself as well as lines maintained by other carriers. In the case of an international service, an inter-exchange carrier will utilize lines maintained by foreign carrier, such as a governmental Postal Telephone and Telegraph (PTT). To ensure high quality service, AT&T constantly tests its lines and associated equipment, making sure that each operates properly. However, the ability to test the lines of other carriers, particularly, foreign carriers, is often limited.
Testing another carrier's lines generally requires an ability to initiate a call on that line. Initiating a call on a domestic carrier's line is usually straightforward. Initiating a call on a line maintained by a foreign location carrier for testing purposes is much more difficult. Depending on the foreign location, there may be a language barrier as well as a difference in time. Sending an individual to a foreign location simply to initiate a call from a line at that location for testing purposes is not cost justified.
Thus, there is a need for a technique for remotely initiating a call from a foreign location without the need for any human intervention.

Method for initiating a telephone call on a remote line


Described is a drain board (100) for a device for applying a liquid film to a web (8) of textile material. The drain board (100) comprises a support (1), on which a strip (10), which constitutes the draining surface (A) and is made of planar material is held flat, for example by magnets (3), by means of a vacuum or by a contact adhesive. The liquid is poured out at point (4) on to the draining surface (A); it flows down and falls off the lower edge (6) of the strip (10) in a falling film (7) or veil on to the fabric web (8). As a result of the magnetic retention, the strip cannot be replaced (FIG. 1).

The invention relates generally to drain boards and more particularly to a drain board for applying a liquid film to a web of textile material.
These types of devices are used, for example, in the dyeing of webs of carpet. The liquid dye is applied to the drain board, whether it be by applying it with a doctor blade or by pouring it over the plate, and it runs over the drain board, which is tilted down at an angle over the web of textile material, in a uniform layer, to then fall from the lower edge of the drain board in a uniform film or veil on to the web, whose height of fall amounts to about 0-10 cm. That is the lower edge of the drain board takes up a position over the web that lies somewhere between nearly touching and being slightly above the web. The height must not be so great that the veil again loses uniformity in the fall and comes together to form individual concentrated threads of stream or strands.
When coating devices of this type are used, the quantities of liquid dye required for dyeing carpet are able to be quantitatively regulated with a high degree of accuracy and when they are applied to the fabric web running past under the drain board. However, to ensure a level application, the lower edge of the drain board must be especially uniform and the drain board must be particularly even. Even irregularities, such as a ground down rivet head or a welding spot, can already cause disturbances in the uniform run-off of the liquid, giving rise to inhomogeneities in the falling liquid veil and thus to visible streakiness in the final look of the dyed fabric.
In practice, it is not easy to optimally do justice to the important requirements. Carpet webs have a width of up to five meters and, therefore, the support for the run-off surface must cover the carpet web over this width without sagging, without vibrating during operation, and without showing any waviness or other disturbance, in particular in the lower edge of the run-off surface.
Up until now, one mostly manufactured the run-off surfaces out of sheet metal, connected them to the support, and then assembled them together with this support. Often enough, when the sensitive run-off surface experienced impacts when it was mounted on the support, which had to be quite heavy for reasons of stability, these impacts led to deformations, dents, etc. The runoff surface then had to be disassembled, which involved costly work, and be replaced by a new one, whereby in many cases even the support had to be completely removed. Also, a careful enough handling of the run-off surface during operation could not always be guaranteed, so that cumbersome replacements likewise had to be made. The same was true, for example, when the transition had to be made from a drain board with a straight edge to a drain board with a toothed or jagged edge, when the application called for a liquid dye with different physical properties.
The device underlying the introductory part of claim 1 can be inferred from the German Patent 28 12 219. In the case of the known device, the drain board consists of a baffle plate tilted downwards, whose lower edge section adjacent to the web is formed by a relatively thin, stretched foil, whose lower edge constitutes the run-off rim for the thin liquid film. The baffle plate, together with its thin foil, forms a plane, which is inclined in the requisite manner with respect to the horizontal plane.
From the German Patent 28 12 219, one cannot infer in detail how the foil is supposed to be tensioned. In any case, however, the flatness of the foil is supposed to be produced by the tensioning action, so that the foil must exhibit appropriate deformability, which makes the configuration highly sensitive in a mechanical respect.
The object of the invention is to create an operationally reliable device of this type, in which the run-off surface can be easily replaced.

Drain board for a device for applying a liquid film to a web of textile material

Eduard Kusters Maschinenfabrik GmbH & Co. KG


A probe card assembly for testing circuit boards is disclosed. In some embodiments, the assembly includes the following: a multi-layered dielectric plate aligned with an integrated circuit, the integrated circuit having on its surface a first plurality of electrical contacts arranged in a pattern, the dielectric plate having arrayed upon its surface a second plurality of electrical contacts arranged in a pattern substantially matching the first plurality of electrical contacts; a nanotube interposer interposed between the dielectric plate and the integrated circuit, the nanotube interposer having compliant carbon nanotubes that are arranged to match the pattern of electrical contacts on the integrated circuit and the dielectric plate; and a plurality of vertical probes arrayed upon the nanotube interposer and joined with the nanotubes, the vertical probes making electrical contact with the first plurality of electrical contacts and the second plurality of electrical contacts via the nanotubes.

In the computer chip manufacturing industry, it is necessary to test the performance of integrated circuits (IC's) at various points in the manufacturing process, in order to weed out defective components and to monitor the manufacturing process. Various technologies have been employed for this purpose, though all are challenged due to the increasing demands of the IC manufacturing process.
In order to electrically test the circuitry, it is necessary to make contact with pads on the IC, i.e., to "probe" the IC. The probes must be able to align very accurately with the IC pads to be tested, and to provide sufficient current to power the IC as well as provide reliable, low resistance electrical contact at low inductance such that the test signals are not distorted. As IC manufacturing progresses to increasingly smaller geometries, increasing number of transistors, and higher clock frequencies, it challenges the abilities of existing technologies to probe the IC. The smaller geometries result in reduced test pad dimensions, which then require the probes to be better aligned to insure that they do not miss the pads. The increasing number of transistors and higher clock frequencies require that the probes be able to provide an increasing amount of current without burning up or "fusing" the probe, or reducing the probes physical characteristics such as spring force and fatigue life.
IC manufacturers increasingly desire that the IC's be tested at elevated ambient temperature to better simulate worst-case environmental conditions or to perform accelerated life testing. This places an increasing burden on the probe to be able to provide the high current levels at elevated temperatures of 150 degrees Celsius. The increased processing speed of the IC's further requires that the probes have low inductance so as not to distort the clock and signal waveforms that are fed to the IC, and to accurately transfer the waveforms from the IC to the monitoring test equipment.
Some designs in the art include assemblies that combine known conventional vertical buckling beam (VBB) sort interface unit assemblies where the probe head includes an array of curved probes. In such designs, one end of the probes (the "tips") makes contact with the wafer being tested and the other end (the "head") makes contact with the array of contact pads on the "C4" side of the space transformer. The curved shape of the wires allows them to flex and act as springs when making contact with the wafer. The compression of the wires allows them to compensate for wafer height and planarity variations without damaging the wafer pads. The requirement that the probes be flexible complicates the manufacturing of the probes and the assembly of the probe head. It also requires that the wires be relatively long (about ¼″) in order to limit the mechanical stress in the wire as it flexes.
There are many known testing devices that do not include the use of carbon nanotubes. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,906,540, 6,756,797, and 6,297,657, each of which is incorporated by reference as if disclosed herein in its entirety all teach various IC testing devices that do not include the use of carbon nanotube technology. Other assemblies include the use of carbon nanotube bundle probes. Such assemblies can provide unique fabrication challenges and difficult repair challenges.

Probe card assemblies and probe pins including carbon nanotubes


The present invention relates to animated devices that include one or more electroactive polymer transducers. When actuated by electrical energy, an electroactive polymer produces mechanical deflection in one or more directions. This deflection may be used to produce motion of a feature included in an animated device. Electroactive polymer transducers offer customizable shapes and deflections. Combining different ways to configure and constrain a polymer, different ways to arrange active areas on a single polymer, different animated device designs, and different polymer orientations, permits a broad range of animated devices that use an electroactive polymer transducer to produce motion. These animated devices find use in a wide range of animated device applications.

An animatronic device is an animated device with motion likeness of a human, creature, or animal. Conventional animatronic devices include animatronic puppets, robots, creatures, special effects make-up, scenic props, sets, etc. These devices find wide use in themed rides, dark walks, scenery, and special effects for the film and television industries.
Motion for an animatronic device is typically powered by an electric or mechanical source. The most common source of power for an animatronic device is electric motors such as AC, DC, servo, and stepper motors. Compressed air and pressurized hydraulic fluid are also used to power air and hydraulic motors in larger animatronic devices. Each of these forms of power has advantages and disadvantages that determines its usage.
AC and DC motors provide continuous rotary output, which is often not suitable for simple animatronic devices. For example, a simple animatronic device may require a lead screw and other mechanical assistance to convert continuous rotary output of a motor into simple linear motion. AC motors provide continuous rotary motion but are limited to a few speeds that are a function of the AC line frequency, e.g., 1800 and 3600 rpm based on 60 Hz in the U.S. If other outputs speeds are desired for an animatronic device, a gearbox speed reducer is required; thus further complicating the animatronic device. Servomotors are fast response, closed loop control motors capable of providing programmed motion. In addition to the above rotary to linear complications, these devices are also very expensive. Unlike servomotors, stepper motors are open loop, meaning they receive no feedback as to whether the output device has responded as requested. While being relatively good at holding an output in one position, stepper motors often are poor with motion, get out of phase with a desired control, moderately expensive, require special controllers, and thus not ideal for many animatronic devices.
Air and hydraulic motors have more limited application in animatronics than electric motors since they require the availability of a compressed air or hydraulic source. The additional weight, complexity and relative inefficiency of the power source makes these devices unsuitable for many animatronic applications, particularly for small mobile devices, since extremely small compressors and valves are currently unobtainable. Although individual air motors and air cylinders are relatively cheap, these pneumatic systems are also quite expensive when the cost of all the ancillary equipment is considered.
In addition to the specific drawbacks discussed with respect to each source of power, all of the above systems are generally heavy, bulky and not suitable for many applications where light weight and small size is desirable. Conventional electromagnetic technologies also typically do not have sufficient energy densities (the work output on a per volume or per mass basis) to construct many animatronic devices. The deficiency of many conventional devices is greater at small scales. As electromagnetic devices are scaled-down in size, their efficiency decreases. Further, the above technologies provide strict mechanical output. Many animatronic applications require a high degree of mobility or dexterity that is difficult to achieve with conventional actuation technologies.
In view of the foregoing, alternative devices that convert from an input energy to mechanical energy would be desirable.


A personal computer system is operated to concurrently execute threads of multitasking operations to capture motion video data from a video source, compress such data, and record the compressed data in a file. Compression is selectively done in either one of two modes, an inter-frame compression mode and a intra-frame compression mode, both modes being block-oriented. During intra-frame compression, homogenous blocks are used to represent four pixel values with a single pixel value when the four pixels in a block are perceptually similar. During inter-frame compression, unchanged blocks are used to represent four pixel values as unchanged from the preceding frame when the four pixels are perceptually similar to the same four pixels in the preceding frame. Additionally, inter-frame compressed video frames use homogenous blocks to represent four pixel values with a single pixel when the four pixel values in a block are perceptually similar to each other but are perceptually different from the same four pixels in the previous frame.

This invention relates to the field of data processing, and, more particularly to improvements in a personal computer system and method of operating the system to provide for the real time capture, compression, and recording of motion video.
Recording of digital motion video in real time without compression produces an excessively high data rate that exceeds the file I/O transfer capabilities of many personal computer systems. A high data rate produces large files that quickly exhaust disk storage thereby reducing the length of recordings that can be made with a given amount of disk storage. While real time compression of motion video during recording can be accomplished with compression assisted by specialized hardware, a software motion video compression algorithm that executes in real time in the main processor of a personal computer is required to make motion video recording practical when low-cost video capture devices, without hardware compression, are used.
Since the computational complexity of most software-only motion video compression algorithms is too great to execute in real time, motion video recording is often performed frame-by-frame, and the image data is compressed during the capture process. While this method generally produces high quality and compression, it has the disadvantage that recording requires costlier "frame stepping" source devices such as video disks which may also entail conversion of source media. This method of recording is time consuming and precludes capture from "live" sources such as video cameras.
Real time capture can be accomplished in a software only environment by capturing raw data and transferring it to disk, compressing it later in non- real time. One drawback to such approach is that capturing raw motion video data at an acceptable resolution and frame rate results in an excessively high data rate. For example, capturing a 160.times.120 image with 16-bits per pixel at 15 frames per second, results in a raw data capture rate of 576,000 bytes per second. This data rate exceeds the available disk file I/O rate of many commonly available personal computer systems. Furthermore, motion video capture is usually accompanied by a digital audio capture which further increases the data rate. Even in systems that can sustain the required data transfer rates, the volume of data that is produced limits the length of time that can be recorded. A 200 megabyte hard disk holds only about five minutes at 576,000 bytes per second. Another drawback is that second pass compression, which is generally acceptable for capturing recorded video data, does not work for live video capture/playback applications such as video conferencing.
Specialized digital video capture adapters with hardware support for compression solve these problems by enabling real time capture with compression. However, such adapters are relatively costly and have a smaller installed base that the more common video capture adapters that do not support specialized hardware-based compression.

Method and apparatus for improved compression and recording of color video data in a personal computer using a plurality of lookup tables

International Business Machines Corporation


A dosing control system comprises a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) analysis module, a dosing management module, an adjustment module, and an error module. The SCR analysis module estimates ammonia (NH3) stored by an SCR catalyst, a maximum NH3 storage capacity of the SCR catalyst, and a nitrogen oxides (NOx) measurement for a NOx sensor downstream of the SCR catalyst. The dosing management module controls dosing agent injection upstream of the SCR catalyst based on the maximum NH3 storage capacity and the NH3 stored. The adjustment module outputs an adjusted estimate of the NOx measurement based on the estimate of the NOx measurement, cross-sensitivity of the NOx sensor, and a delay period for exhaust flow. The error module selectively adjusts at least one of the NH3 stored and the maximum NH3 storage capacity based on a difference between the adjusted estimate and NOx measured by the NOx sensor.

The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Referring now to FIG. 1, a functional block diagram of an engine system 100 is presented. Air is drawn into an engine 102 through an intake manifold 104. A throttle valve 106 controls airflow into the engine 102. An electronic throttle controller (ETC) 108 controls the throttle valve 106 and, therefore, the airflow into the engine 102. The air mixes with fuel from one or more fuel injectors 110 to form an air/fuel mixture. The air/fuel mixture is combusted within one or more cylinders of the engine 102, such as cylinder 112. Combustion of the air/fuel mixture generates torque.
Exhaust resulting from the combustion of the air/fuel mixture is expelled from the cylinders to an exhaust system 113. The exhaust may include particulate matter (PM) and gas. The exhaust gas includes nitrogen oxides (NOx), such as nitrogen oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). The exhaust system 113 includes a treatment system 114 that reduces the respective amounts of NOx and PM in the exhaust.
The treatment system 114 includes a diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC) 116, a dosing agent injector 118, and a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) catalyst 120. The exhaust flows from the engine 102 to the DOC 116. The DOC 116 removes hydrocarbons and/or carbon oxides from the exhaust. The dosing agent injector 118 injects a dosing agent into the exhaust stream, upstream of the SCR catalyst 120. NH3 provided by the dosing agent is absorbed by the SCR catalyst 120. NH3 reacts with NOx in the exhaust passing the SCR catalyst 120.
An engine control module (ECM) 130 controls the torque output of the engine 102. The ECM 130 includes a dosing module 140 that controls the mass flow rate of dosing agent injected by the dosing agent injector 118. In this manner, the dosing module 140 controls NH3 supplied to the SCR catalyst 120. Specifically, the dosing module 140 controls NH3 supplied to the SCR catalyst 120 to control the amount of oxygen stored by the SCR catalyst 120.
The dosing module 140 controls the mass flowrate of dosing agent injected based upon signals from various sensors. For example only, the sensors include: one or more NOx sensors, such as NOx sensors 142 and 144; one or more temperature sensors, such as temperature sensors 146, 148, and 150; and/or one or more oxygen sensors, such as oxygen sensor 152.
The dosing module 140 may control NH3 supplied to the SCR catalyst 120 further based on signals from other sensors 154. For example only, the other sensors 154 may include a manifold absolute pressure (MAP) sensor, a mass air flow (MAF) sensor, a throttle position sensor (TPS), an intake air temperature (IAT) sensor, and/or other suitable sensor(s).
The amount of NH3 stored by the SCR catalyst 120 is referred to as current storage (mols). The percentage of NOx that is removed from the exhaust is referred to as the conversion efficiency or the NOx conversion rate. The NOx conversion rate is directly related to the current storage of the SCR catalyst 120. For example, the NOx conversion rate increases as the current storage of the SCR catalyst 120 increases. The dosing module 140 controls NH3 supplied in a manner that maximizes the NOx conversion rate.

Nitrogen oxide estimation downstream of a selective catalytic reduction catalyst


A bifunctional compound and a method for manufacturing the same are revealed. The structural formula of the compound includes two main functional groups. One functional group is a diamide dithiolate (N2S2) ligand able to bind with radioisotopes. The other functional group is polybasic carboxylic acid that binds to biochemical substances. Based on properties of the above two functional groups, the compound of the present invention can be used for preparation of radiopharmaceuticals such as radiotracter for disease diagnosis or radioactive therapeutic agent for disease treatment.

Receptors are found inside or on surface of human cells. Specific substances including alcohols, carbohydrates, amines, amino acids, peptides or proteins can bind to the receptors for communication between the cell and the outside world. Based on such property, the specific substances are connected to radioactive elements first. Then the radio-labeled compounds enter human bodies through the receptors and retain at specific organs or tissues. Thus the purposes of diagnostic imaging or disease treatment in the radiopharmaceutical field can be achieved.
The structural formula of the compound includes two different types of functional groups. One end of the compound is a functional group that forms a covalent bonding such as amide, thiourea, ester, alkylated amine, etc. The other end of the compound includes an electron provider such as nitrogen, oxygen, or sulfur able to transfer electrons to metals so as to form stable metal complexes. The bifunctional compound means the compound able to bind to specific substances and radioisotopes at the same time.
99mTc is present in more than 85% of currently available radiopharmaceuticals for diagnostic imaging. The design of Tc-99m radiopharmaceuticals is based on coordination chemistry of Technetium (Tc). Technetium forms various types of oxides with oxygen and technetium (V) oxide is the most stable. Technetium can easily form chemical bonds with atoms having lone pair of electrons such as nitrogen, sulfur, oxygen, etc in a ligand to form stable complexes with pyramidal geometry.
As to bonding of biochemical substances, the compound containing polybasic carboxylic acids is used for bonding to at least two substances. The bonding force between polybasic substances and the receptor is far more larger than the bonding force between a single substance and the receptor. For example, the affinity of a substance with three N-acetylgalactosamine (GaINAc) to asialo-glycoprotein receptor (ASGPR) on surface of liver cells is 106 times of the affinity of a substance with a single GaINAc. In order to increase the affinity between the substance and the receptor, the compound able to bind to polybasic substances can be used.

Bifunctional compound and method for manufacturing the same

Atomic Energy Council—Institute of Nuclear Energy Research


In vitro methods for qualitative screening and/or quantitative determination of the functional activity of components of the Protein C anticoagulant pathway of blood coagulation are described. The methods entail measuring the conversion rate of a substrate by an enzyme, the activity of which is related to the Protein C anticoagulant activity, in a blood sample of a human comprising coagulation factors and said substrate, after at least partial activation of coagulation through the intrinsic, extrinsic or common pathway and triggering coagulation by adding calcium ions; and comparing said conversion rate with the conversion rate of a normal human blood sample determined in the same way. The methods include the addition of additional metal ions to the sample to enhance activity, sensitivity and resolution. Kits and reagents for use in the methods are also provided.

Maintenance of proper hemostasis is the result of a careful balance between procoagulant and anticoagulant activities. After a trauma, coagulation is triggered primarily through activation of coagulation Factors IX and X (FIX, FX) by tissue factor (also denoted tissue thromboplastin) and Factor VII (FVII) followed by generation of thrombin, which in turn cleaves fibrinogen to form soluble fibrin. After crosslinking by Factor XIII, a three-dimensional insoluble gel clot is obtained which prevents further blood losses.
Regulation of this highly potent system, shown schematically in FIG. 1, is accomplished by a balanced relation between procoagulant activities (shown with solid line arrows) and anticoagulant activities (shown with dashed line arrows). The anticoagulant activities include (1) inhibition of thrombin by antithrombin (AT) and α2-macroglobulin, and (2) prevention of further thrombin formation by the Protein C anticoagulant pathway. In that pathway, activated Protein C (APC) inactivates the coagulation proteins Factor VIII and Factor V in their activated forms (FVIIIa, FVa) through proteolytic cleavage. In addition, Factor Xa is inhibited by antithrombin and tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI), the latter also inhibiting the tissue factor/Factor VIIa complex. Factor VIIIa and Factor Va have potent procoagulant activities as cofactors in the activation of Factor X and prothrombin, respectively, and increase the reaction rates of these processes about 1000-fold each. Therefore, the inactivation of Factors Va and VIIIa by APC essentially stops further thrombin generation, thus providing a strong anticoagulant effect. Protein S and Factor V act as cofactors to activated Protein C (APC).
As shown in FIG. 1, the activation of coagulation through the intrinsic or extrinsic systems results in the activation of Factor X, a key component in the final common pathway. In the intrinsic system, the initial event is the activation of contact factors (Factor XII, prekallikrein) followed by the activation of Factor XI, which in turn activates Factor IX. In the extrinsic system, Factor IX and Factor X are activated by the tissue factor/Factor VIIa complex.
As FIG. 1 shows, calcium ions have to be present in several of these reactions. The activation of Factor X by Factor IXa, and of prothrombin by Factor Xa, also requires procoagulant phospholipids. In vivo, this is provided by the membrane surface of activated platelets; in vitro by platelet extracts, purified phospholipids, synthetic phospholipids and/or crude phospholipid extracts from suitable sources. The total and free calcium ion concentrations in native plasma are about 2.4 and 1.2 mmol/L, respectively. Typically, calcium ion concentrations used in analytical methods for the determination of coagulation or anticoagulation factors are in the range 1.5–10 mmol/L. The concentrations of other metal ions in plasma are lower, with typical values for the total concentration being 1 mmol/L for Mg2+ and 5–40 μmol/L for Zn2+, Cu2+ and Mn2+.
Defects in the Protein C anticoagulant pathway may increase the risk of thrombosis due to a decreased capacity to prevent thrombin formation. Such defects may be due to deficiencies in the activity of Protein C and/or its cofactor Protein S. Another recently detected defect is a point mutation in the Factor V gene (G→A) at nucleotide 1691, resulting in the amino acid substitution Arg (R)→Gln (Q) at position 506 in Factor V/Factor Va, denoted FV:Q506 or Factor V Leiden. Heterozygosity and homozygosity for this mutation are often denoted FV:R506Q and FV:Q506Q, respectively. This mutation is at one of the three APC cleavage sites (amino acids 306, 506, 679) in Factor Va, impairs its degradation by activated Protein C (APC), and confers a condition denoted as APC resistance.
APC resistance is to be considered a blood coagulation disorder recognized by an abnormally low anticoagulant response to activated Protein C (APC), and the determination of APC resistance may be used to screen for and diagnose thromboembolic diseases, such as hereditary thrombophilia, or for determining the risk for a human to acquire a manifestation of this blood coagulation disorder (e.g., European Pat. No. 608235).
Hence, there is a need to investigate these components of the Protein C anticoagulant pathway in the evaluation of thrombotic patients, and potentially also to screen for abnormalities of Protein C, Protein S and Factor V anticoagulant activity in situations connected with an increased risk of thrombosis, such as before surgery, during and after trauma, during pregnancy, or in connection with the use of oral contraceptive pills or hormone replacement therapy. Currently, clotting and/or chromogenic assays are available for analysis of Protein C and Protein S activity as well as for the detection of APC resistance (at least 90% of which is due to the FV:Q506 mutation).
Protein C activity is typically measured after activation of endogenous Protein C, contained in a plasma sample, by thrombin or by a snake venom enzyme from Agkistrodon contortrix contortrix (e.g., European Patent 203509 to Stocker), commercially available as the reagent Protac® C (Pentapharm AG, Basel, Switzerland). The concentration of Protac® C in the activation mixture is typically about 0.1 U/mL or higher since otherwise an insufficient activation of Protein C may be obtained (Martinoli et al. (1986), Thromb. Res. 43:253–264; McCall et al. (1987), Thromb. Res. 45:681–685).
After activation by Protac® C, the protein C activity is determined with a clotting or chromogenic assay (Bertina (1990), Res. Clin. Lab. 20:127–138; Marlar et al. (1989), Hum. Pathol. 20:1040–1047; European Pat. No. 486515). In clotting methods, coagulation is triggered through the intrinsic pathway by using APTT reagents or through the extrinsic pathway with the use of tissue factor. In both cases calcium ions are added to a final concentration of usually 5–10 mmol/L. Commercial kits and reagents are available for the determination of Protein C activity, such as Acticlot™ C (American Diagnostica GmbH, Pfungstadt, Germany), Stachrom Protein C (Diagnostica Stago, Asnières, France), Staclot Protein C (Diagnostica Stago, Asnières, France), Coamatic® Protein C (Chromogenix AB, Mölndal, Sweden) and Protein C Activator (Dade Behring, Deerfield, Ill.).
The activation of Protein C by thrombin is stimulated about 1000-fold by thrombomodulin, an endothelial cell membrane protein (Esmon et al. (1981), Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (USA) 78:2249–2252). The use of thrombin/thrombomodulin as activator of Protein C for analysis of Protein C and/or Protein S activity in plasma samples, utilizing a photometric method, is also known (French Pat. Appln. No. 2689 640-A1).
Protein S activity is determined from its stimulation of the activity of APC in its degradation of Factor Va and/or Factor VIIIa. Typically, in such assays a standardized amount of APC is added to a plasma sample or activation of endogenous protein C is performed whereafter the clotting time is determined after a simultaneous or separate coagulation activation via the intrinsic system using an APTT reagent, via the extrinsic system using tissue factor or Factor Xa (Bertina (1990), supra; Preda et al. (1990), Thromb. Res. 60:19–32; D'Angelo et al. (1995), Thromb. Res. 77:375–378). Chromogenic activity assays for protein S have also been published, utilizing Factor IXa as an activator and monitoring Factor Xa generation (European Pat. No. 567 636) or thrombin generation (European Pat. No. 486 515). In all these methods, calcium ions are added as mentioned above.
The FV:Q506 mutation in the Factor V molecule may be detected with molecular biology methods based upon the use of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique (Bertina et al. (1994), Nature 369:64–67), or by methods in which the functional activity of APC is determined. Such functional activity methods may be coagulation-based (e.g., European Pat. No. 608235; Rosen et al. (1994), Thromb. Haemost. 72:255–260), and may include the use of predilution of sample plasma with a plasma with little or no Factor V activity (European Pat. Appln. No. EP-A-94 905 908.3; Jorquera et al. (1994), Lancet 344:1162–1163; Svensson et al. (1997), Thromb. Haemost. 77:332–335). The latter assay principle, a coagulation-based assay using predilution of sample plasma, is also utilized in a commercial product, Coatest® APC Resistance V (Chromogenix AB). Alternatively, chromogenic methods may be used (European Pat. No. 608 235; Rosén et al. (1995), Thromb. Haemost. 73:1364, Abstract 1778; Nicolaes et al. (1996), Thromb. Haemost. 76:404–410).
Since genetic defects in the Protein C anticoagulant pathway are found in about 25% of unselected patients with venous thromboembolism (VTE) and in about 50% of patients with thrombophilia (i.e., patients from families with an increased tendency to VTE), there is a need for a single test which detects all such abnormalities with a high sensitivity and specificity, i.e., a global (overall) test. One concept for a global test is based upon the activation of Protein C in plasma with Protac® C and activation of coagulation via the intrinsic or extrinsic pathway (U.S. Pat. No. 5,001,069; European Pat. Appln. No. 696 642). Results obtained with a commercial kit application of this test, ProC Global (Behring Diagnostica, Marburg, Germany), in which intrinsic activation of coagulation is accomplished through addition of an APTT reagent, show a sensitivity for Protein C deficiency, Protein S deficiency, and the FV:Q506 mutation of, respectively, about 90%, 50–80% and more than 90% on analysis of healthy individuals and thrombotic patients (Dati et al. (1997), Clin. Chem. 43:1719–1723; Ruzicka et al. (1997), Thromb. Res. 87:501–510). The specificity, however, is about 50% in thrombotic cohorts and, therefore, a substantial proportion of positive results are obtained which can not be linked to known defects in components of the Protein C anticoagulant pathway, such as in protein C, protein S and Factor V. Thus, this test lacks sufficient specificity.
Furthermore, results from analysis of pregnant women lacking any of the known defects in the Protein C anticoagulant pathway are clearly different from analysis of normal healthy individuals (Rang{dot over (a)}rd et al. (1997), Annals Hematol. 74, Supplement II, Abstract 74, A77; Siegemund et al. (1997), Annals Hematol. 74, Supplement II, Abstract 188, A105), which necessitates separate ranges for these cohorts. This as yet uncharacterized interference limits the general applicability of the test. An alternative global method for the detection of defects in the protein C anticoagulant pathway, based upon activation of endogenous plasma Protein C by Protac® C utilizes tissue factor as the trigger of the coagulation (Preda et al. (1996), Blood Coag. Fibrinol. 7:465–469). The sensitivity of this method also is limited, especially for Protein S. Furthermore, different sample categories, e.g., pregnant and non-pregnant women, may require different approaches for evaluation of the results due to interference from factors not related to known defects of the Protein C anticoagulant pathway.
For a global test to be useful as a screening test for known inherited defects in the Protein C anticoagulant pathway (e.g., Protein C deficiency, protein S deficiency or the FV:Q506 mutation), the sensitivity should be high, at least 90%; for all these defects. Furthermore the specificity should be high, above 60%, preferably above 70%, and more preferably above 80%, in order to considerably reduce the number of false positive results. The state-of-the-art methods do not provide a satisfactory solution to these requirements. For the development of improved methods for the specific determination of Protein C and Protein S activity, and for determination of mutations in Factor V which affect its anticoagulant activity, it is also desirable to improve the resolution and specificity of these methods. There is also a need to improve the stability of different reagents used in such methods
Thus, the technical problem underlying the present invention is the provision of in vitro methods with improved sensitivity and specificity for diagnostic screening and for the specific detection of defects in the Protein C anticoagulant pathway in humans. A further recognized problem is to improve the stability of reagents used in such methods.

Kits for screening for blood coagulation disorders


A media separator plate is provided having a plate main body and a shroud. The plate main body has a continuous, non-interrupted inner circumference and a continuous, non-interrupted outer circumference. The plate main body extends from the inner circumference to the outer circumference and includes a top surface and a bottom surface. The shroud is integrally formed with at least a portion of the outer circumference of the plate main body. The shroud is configured to at least partially surround the plate main body. The shroud extends above the top surface of the plate main body, below the bottom surface of the plate main body and outwardly from the outer circumference of the plate main body.

A typical data storage system or disc drive includes a rigid housing that encloses a variety of components. The components can include a storage medium, usually in the form of one or more discs, having data surfaces for storage of digital information. In general, multiple discs mounted on a spindle motor are called a disc stack. The spindle motor causes the disc(s) to spin and the data surfaces of the disc(s) to pass under aerodynamic bearing disc head sliders. The sliders carry transducers, which write information to and read information from the data surfaces of the disc(s). The sliders are supported by suspension assemblies, which in turn are supported by track accessing arms of an actuator mechanism. A voice coil motor rotates the actuator mechanism to position sliders relative to desired data tracks on the disc(s).
Airflow caused by the rotation of the discs causes airflow-induced vibrations of the disc(s), suspensions and track accessing arms. Airflow-induced vibration is a major obstacle in achieving higher track densities for the disc(s). Currently, track densities have reached a point where the combined effects of several airflow control devices are necessary to achieve desirable performance. Various airflow control devices, including air dams, flow diverters and disc separator plates have been used in disc drives to mitigate aerodynamic excitation. In most cases, however, these airflow control devices can affect performance criteria, such as power, reliability and shock performance.
Non-repeatable run-out (NRRO) measurements have shown that vibration levels observed on outer sliders (i.e. sliders positioned below or above a disc stack) in a disc drive are generally lower than those observed on inner sliders (i.e. sliders positioned between discs in a disc stack). The airflow around an outer slider is driven by the shearing action of a single disc surface, and is bounded by a zero-velocity non-slip boundary condition at the surface of the drive enclosure (top cover or base) opposite an outer disc surface. The flow around an inner slider, on the other hand, is driven by the shearing action of two disc surfaces and generally develops higher velocities, which leads to higher levels of aerodynamic excitation than those experienced by the outer sliders. In addition, a typical outer track accessing arm on an actuator mechanism supports a single suspension, whereas an inner track accessing arm on the actuator mechanism supports two suspensions. The structural dynamic coupling between the inner arm and two suspensions and the aerodynamic coupling between the inner suspensions results in higher response levels to aerodynamic excitation than the structural dynamic coupling between the outer arm and single suspension. Since lower levels of aerodynamic excitation are desirable to achieve high track densities, it is desirable to design a disc stack where all sliders experience the structural and aerodynamic conditions of outer sliders.
Embodiments of the present invention provide solutions to these and other problems, and offer other advantages over the prior art.

Disc medium separator plate including multiple airflow directing features


A tunable optical filter is formed by the longitudinal alignment of two opposing end sections of single-mode optical fibers. On at least one of the end sections is a collimator fiber section which is formed from a section of a graded-index, multimode optical fiber which is an odd number of quarter pitches long. The collimator fiber section has an angled end surface which joined to the reciprocally angled end surface of the at least one single-mode optical fiber end section. Piezoelectric material controls the separation between the first and second single-mode optical fiber end sections and sets the wavelengths of optical signals carried through the first and second single-mode optical fiber end sections.

This invention is related to etalon-type optical filters and, in particular, to tunable optical filters in which optical fiber ends are used to define the etalon cavity.
Optical filters which are tunable are highly desirable components for optical networks and for some optical systems, such as spectrometers, for example. Optical filters typically transmit light at particular wavelengths and block light at other wavelengths. An optical filter which is tunable allows the wavelengths to be selected.
Tunable optical filters can be quite varied in construction. For example, liquid crystal cells, thin film filters, ruled gratings, distributed Bragg reflectors (gratings), and fiber Bragg gratings, a type of distributed Bragg reflector, have been used as the tuning constituents in tunable optical filters. Of course, other parts are required to operate the tuning constituent in a tunable optical filter. The resulting optical performance, reliability, speed of operation, cost and size, among many parameters, of such tunable optical filters vary widely.
One conventional (and simple) structure for an optical filter is the etalon, also called a Fabry-Perot interferometer, in which two highly reflective, parallel surfaces form a resonating cavity for wavelength selection. To make the etalon tunable, the optical distance between the two reflecting mirrors is changed. One type of etalon, or Fabry-Perot interferometer, tunable optical filter uses the end surfaces of optical fibers as the reflecting surfaces of the etalon. However, the large numerical aperture (NA) of the optical fibers and resulting beam divergence cause a large insertion loss to the detriment of optical performance. One way of minimizing such losses is to use a concave surface at the end surface of the one of the optical fibers. Nonetheless, the insertion loss can still be lowered. These fiber-ended tunable optical filters also have significant sideband or side mode peaks in the transmission spectra which adversely affect the performance of the filters. Furthermore, current fiber etalon-type tunable optical filters remain expensive and their applications to real world problems are accordingly reduced.
The present invention is directed toward avoiding these problems, improving the optical performance of fiber etalon-type, tunable optical filters, and lowering their costs to expand their applications.

Multi-fiber section tunable optical filter