A technology for supplying a power supply voltage to a microprocessor. Before normal arithmetic processing of the microprocessor, duty cycle correction process for adjusting the duty cycle of a clock signal inside the microprocessor is performed. In the duty cycle correction process for adjusting the duty cycle, the duty cycle of the clock signal is adjusted so as to minimize the power voltage at which the microprocessor is still operable.

The invention relates to a technology for supplying a power supply voltage to a microprocessor such as a CPU.
Microprocessors include various devices such as CPUs installed in personal computers, workstations, game consoles, and the like. These microprocessors are provided with predetermined power voltages that are stabilized by voltage regulator circuits (hereinafter, referred to as voltage regulator circuits or regulator circuits). The power voltage supplied to a microprocessor is dependent on factors such as the microprocessor semiconductor manufacturing process. Microprocessors made with recently developed low-voltage processes require power voltages of approximately 1.2 only.
A number of vendors are currently offering a variety of such microprocessors. The microprocessors offered by these vendors instruct regulator circuits as to the level of power voltage required, by use of respective proprietary systems. Accordingly, regulator circuits are designed to accept instructions on power voltages from microprocessors. FIG. 7 shows a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a conventional microprocessor and regulator circuit.
As shown in FIG. 7, a microprocessor 60 and a regulator circuit 62 are connected to each other, for example, by five bits of signal lines 64 in parallel. The microprocessor 60 transmits a VID (Voltage ID) signal through the signal lines 64, which indicates to the regulator circuit 62 the level of power voltage Vdd required. The regulator circuit 62 generates the power voltage Vdd indicated by the microprocessor 60, and supplies this voltage to the microprocessor 60 through a power supply line 66. If, for example, the microprocessor 60 is replaced by a user in the apparatus incorporating the microprocessor 60 and the regulator circuit 62 (hereinafter, also referred to simply as a set), given that the new microprocessor 60 indicates the level of power required, it should still be possible to supply the optimum power voltage Vdd to the new microprocessor 60.
However, using conventional techniques, the VIDs of microprocessors 60 cannot be changed once they are fixed at the time when the microprocessor is manufactured as a set. Consequently, the power voltage supplied to a certain microprocessor will remain unchanged regardless of factors after shipment such as the amount of time that the apparatus is used.
In consideration of such post-shipment variations, microprocessor manufacturing vendors allow for possible worst case situations when they determine the power voltages or VIDs. Variations considered include long term changes in the microprocessor function, operating frequency, voltage drop occurring in the incorporated sets, and temperatures during use. This results in the microprocessors being provided with power supply voltages higher than that required to operate the microprocessors. Therefore, to reduce the power consumption of the microprocessors, it is desirable to set optimum power voltages according to the conditions of use of the microprocessor(s).

Method for controlling operation of microprocessor which performs duty cycle correction process

Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc.


Embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methods for image capture with infrared emitters, with associated computer control and processing for providing consistent and high quality image data. Image data of consecutive frames from a camera is obtained, with a first frame being taken during an emission of infrared light directed at a scene to be captured by the camera and a second frame being taken without an emission of infrared light. The consecutive frames provide a dynamic control image of the captured scene. The image data may be used to support photometric sampling techniques used in building geometric models for subject recognition in camera imagery in variable lighting environments.

The present invention relates generally to the field of image capture, and more particularly to an image capture enhancement system using a dynamic control image.
Closed-circuit television (CCTV) is the use of one or multiple video cameras to provide surveillance or monitoring of an area within the view of the one or more video cameras. The CCTV cameras may be static, in a fixed position, or they may be dynamic with movement to pan, tilt, or zoom to provide more information on an area. The images received from CCTV cameras may be analyzed to detect and identify or recognize objects, including people. Photometric sampling techniques are known to be used in building geometric models for subject recognition in CCTV imagery.
Performing subject, and in particular facial, recognition on CCTV sources of images can be greatly enhanced by taking into account the physical geometry of the subject being identified. This information is, however, not usually directly available unless using highly specialized and expensive 3D scanning devices. Typically, in the field of facial recognition, subject geometry is estimated in software using lighting compensation models and shadow detection to estimate the orientation or pose of the subject. These techniques may suffer proportionally with variation in lighting conditions and in lower light environments such as underground stations.
The significance of lighting conditions for facial recognition is important. To perform high quality facial recognition a number of fiducial markers must be determined in order to encode the face for searching; markers such as the corners of the eyes, pupils, lips, nose, and many other more subtle points. In a controlled environment, such as an airport border control desk, the lighting is consistent, the light and subject face each other directly, removing shadows. In this situation, although 3D surface models are generated to account for subtle tilt and rotation, the surface detail is more important and accurate for determining the fiducial markers.

Image capture enhancement using dynamic control image

International Business Machines Corporation


A regulator circuit includes an output circuit outputting an output voltage based on a control voltage, a reference voltage generating circuit generating a reference voltage, an output voltage control circuit comparing the reference voltage with a voltage depending on the output voltage and producing the control voltage based on a comparison result, and a power supply circuit which supplies the reference voltage generating circuit and the output voltage control circuit with a first power supply voltage which is different from a second power supply voltage supplied to the output circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a regulator circuit which steps down a given power supply voltage and supplies a resultant decreased voltage to a circuit. More particularly, the present invention is concerned with a regulator circuit which is integrated, on a chip, with a circuit to be supplied with the voltage output by the regulator circuit.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 is a diagram of a conventional semiconductor integrated circuit in which a regulator circuit 2 and internal circuits 3 are integrally formed on a chip 1. An external power supply voltage Vcc1 is supplied to the regulator circuit 2 formed on the chip 1. The regulator circuit 2 steps down the external power supply voltage and produces a given internal power supply voltage Vcc2, which is supplied to the internal circuits 3.
The regulator circuit 2 is required in a situation in which the internal circuits 3 are formed of fine elements such as MOS transistors while a system to which the chip 1 is connected employs the power supply voltage Vcc1 higher than the Vcc2. For example, the external power supply voltage Vcc1 is equal to 5 V, and the internal power supply voltage Vcc2 is equal to 3.3 V.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the regulator circuit 2, which is made up of a reference voltage generating circuit 4, an output voltage control circuit 5 and an output circuit 6. The output voltage control circuit 5 compares a reference voltage Vref generated by the reference voltage generating circuit 4 with a fed-back voltage Vf from the output circuit 6, and outputs a resultant control signal Vc to the output circuit 6. Hence, the output circuit 6 is caused to maintain the internal power supply voltage Vcc2 at a constant level. It should be noted that all of the circuits 4, 5 and 6 are driven by the external power supply voltage Vcc1.
The regulator circuit 2 has the following disadvantages. As described above, the external power supply voltage Vcc1 is higher than the internal power supply voltage Vcc2 applied to the internal circuits 3. Hence, it is required that the elements forming the circuits 4 through 6, such as MOS transistors, have a size greater than that of the elements forming the internal circuits 3. More particularly, it is required that the MOS transistors used for the circuits 4 through 6 have an increased breakdown voltage. For this requirement, the MOS transistors are designed to have an increased gate length and increased source/drain regions. Thus, the regulator circuit made up of the circuits 4 through 6 occupies a large area on the chip 1, and the integration density of the chip 1 is reduced. If an available area on the chip 1 is not sufficiently obtained, it will be necessary to increase the size of the chip 1.
There is a case where the internal circuits 3 have a function which requires a certain reference voltage. In such a case, the reference voltage Vref generated by the reference voltage generating circuit 4 of the regular circuit 2 can be used as the reference voltage of the internal circuits 3. Hence, the reference voltage generating circuit 4 can be commonly owned by the regulator circuit 2 and the internal circuits 3.
However, the reference voltage Vref generated by the reference voltage generating circuit 4 may transiently reach the external power supply voltage Vcc1 because the reference voltage generating circuit 4 is driven by the external power supply voltage Vcc1. In this case, if the external power supply voltage Vcc1 is applied to the internal circuits 3 as the reference voltage Vref, the internal circuits 3 may be destroyed. Hence, in practice, it is necessary to provide, separately from the reference voltage generating circuit 4, another reference voltage generating circuit specifically applied to the internal circuits 3. However, the additional reference voltage generating circuit reduces the available area on the chip 1.

Regulator circuit and semiconductor integrated circuit device having the same


An article includes a seal ring for an energy storage device. The seal ring has a weldable first portion and a weldable second portion. The first and second portions are electrically isolatable from each other by an electrically insulating third portion.

1. Technical Field
The invention includes embodiments that relate to a sealing material and seal ring for an energy storage device. The invention includes embodiments that relate to a method of sealing an electrochemical cell.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Development work has been undertaken on high temperature rechargeable batteries using sodium for the negative electrodes. The liquid sodium negative electrode is separated from a positive electrode by a sodium-ion conducting solid electrolyte. Suitable material includes beta alumina and beta" alumina, known as beta alumina separator electrolyte (BASE). Some electrochemical cells have a metallic casing. Interior parts of the battery and the metallic casing may seal to interior parts of the battery. The ceramic parts of the cell can be joined via a seal glass. The seal glass may have undesirable characteristics associated with its use. Metallic parts can be joined by welding or thermal compression bonding. Bonded parts formed from dissimilar materials in a high temperature cell may crack resulting due to thermal stress caused by mismatch in the coefficient of thermal expansion. The coefficient of thermal expansion for a ceramic part and a metal part can be very dissimilar. The bond may have a limited life, and bond failure may cause cell failure.
It may be desirable to have a sealing material for an energy storage device that differs from those sealing materials that are currently available. It may be desirable to have a seal structure that differs from those seal structures that are currently available. It may be desirable to have a method of sealing an energy storage device that differs from those methods that are currently available.


A storage device including: a body having a storage compartment with an opening; and a door assembly accommodated in the storage compartment to slidably open/close the opening; and a door holding device. The door holding device includes a hooking part on one of the door assembly and the body to prevent a sliding of the door assembly when the door assembly opens/closes the opening, and a hook on the other one of the door assembly and the main body and which rotates between a first position at which the hook is hooked with the hooking part when the door assembly closes the opening and a second position at which the hook is released from the hooking part when the door assembly opens the opening.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a storage, and more particularly, to a storage device having an improved door holding device to prevent a sliding of a door assembly when a door assembly slidably opens/closes an opening.
2. Description of the Related Art
Throughout the disclosure that follows, a Kimchi refrigerator is used as an example of a storage device to which the present invention is applicable. However, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to use with such devices. Instead, it is contemplated that the present invention may be used in myriad devices having a drawer, such as, by way of a non-limiting example, furniture.
The Kimchi refrigerator is used to ferment and mature Kimchi for a specified period of time or to store Kimchi for a long time at a constant temperature.
The Kimchi refrigerator is divided into a top opening type and a drawn type according to a method of opening. The top opening type comprises an opening formed on a top of a main body and a door to open/close the opening, which has an advantage to store Kimchi but a disadvantage to draw out containers that are layered one on one. The drawn type comprises a drawer type door to open/close a front opening and the drawer type doors slide containers for food, which has an advantage with draw out containers but a disadvantage in that much refrigerating air flows out.
To decrease outflow of refrigerating air and prevent an inflow of unrefrigerated air, a conventional Kimchi refrigerator provides a device to open/close the door using an electromagnet as disclosed in Korean patent first publication No. 2003-32340.
The device to open/close the door disclosed in Korean patent first publication No. 2003-32340 comprises a sealing member provided at a part of the door to seal the door to the main body when the door contacts to the main body, an electromagnet provided inside of the sealing member, a power supply to supply electric power to the electromagnet and an operating switch to control electric power from the power supply to the electromagnet according to whether the door is opened or closed. Here, the operating switch is provided on a handle.
However, the conventional device to open/close the door has a complicated system, because electric power is supplied from the power supply to the electromagnet to control intensity of magnetic force of the electromagnet according to whether the door is opened or closed.


The present invention provides to an in-plane-switching (IPS) mode liquid crystal panel, which comprises: a first substrate, a second substrate, a coplanar transparent electrode layer and a liquid crystal layer. The first and second substrates have a first alignment film and a second alignment film, respectively. The coplanar transparent electrode layer is disposed onto the second alignment film. The liquid crystal layer is disposed in a space between the first alignment film of the first substrate and the coplanar transparent electrode layer of the second substrate. The liquid crystal layer comprises dual-frequency liquid crystal molecules and dual-frequency reactive mesogens/monomers. The liquid crystal panel of the present invention can overcome the problems of pollution and static electricity generated from the rubbing alignment in the in-plane-switching (IPS) mode, so as to simplify the manufacturing process and provide the advantages of high contrast, high response speed and wide viewing angle.

A liquid crystal display (LCD) comprises a liquid crystal panel and a backlight module, wherein the liquid crystal panel has a top substrate and a bottom substrate, and inner surfaces of the top and the bottom substrates opposed to each other are disposed with transparent electrodes, and a layer of liquid crystal molecules is disposed between the substrates. The transparent electrodes of the LCD generate an electric field to control a direction of liquid crystal molecules, so as to change a polarization status of light and carry out transmission and blocking of a light pathway by a polarizer, so as to achieve an object of displaying.
The major technical parameters of evaluating the LCD includes: (1) contrast; (2) brightness; (3) signal response time; and (4) viewing angle, wherein the parameters of contrast, brightness and viewing angle are depended on a liquid crystal panel. The viewing angle is always an important and difficult key in the research of the liquid crystal panel, because a backlight source passes through a polarizer, a liquid crystal layer and an alignment film to output light with a direction. That is to say, most of light is emitted vertically from a screen. Thus, if viewing the liquid crystal panel with one of tilted angle, it is unable to see original colors, and even only totally white or totally black. To solve the problem, therefore, the researchers develop a wide-angle skill, so as to research and develop an in-plane-switching (IPS) mode liquid crystal panel.
The liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer are positive liquid crystals, and transparent electrodes are disposed on the bottom substrate. Before being charged, the liquid crystal molecules are arranged parallel to the substrate with no optical latency, so that it can acquire a darker state. After being charged, the liquid crystal molecules are parallel rotated to cause emitting polarized light to transmit, so that it is normally black. An in-plane-switching (IPS) mode has the advantages of high contrast and high response speed, so as to be applied to television field. However, in the preparation process of the IPS mode liquid crystal panel, it is necessary to apply rubbing to the substrate, so as to apply initial alignment to the liquid crystal molecules. As a result, the rubbing alignment brings the issue of pollution, causes the decrease of the yield, and generates the problem of static electricity thereto, so as to cause damage to transistors.
As a result, the present invention provides a new manufacturing method of an IPS mode liquid crystal panel, which can overcome the problems of pollution and static electricity by the IPS mode rubbing alignment and simplify the manufacturing procedure, so that the liquid crystal panel and the liquid crystal displayer have the advantages of high contrast, high response speed and wide viewing angle.

In-plane-switching mode liquid crystal panel, manufacturing process and display device thereof

SHENZHEN CHINA STAR OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


The present disclosure relates to the field of display technologies, and provides a touch substrate and a display panel. Specifically, the touch substrate comprises: a pixel array and a light sensing device array arranged oppositely; a light shielding layer between the pixel array and the light sensing device array; and a lens array on a side of the light shielding layer remote from the light sensing device array. The pixel array comprises a plurality of pixel units, each pixel unit comprising a plurality of sub-pixels. The lens array comprises a plurality of lens units. The light sensing device array comprises a plurality of light sensing devices. The light shielding layer is provided with a plurality of via holes.

Fingerprints are inherent and invariant features of a human body that are unique to a person and thus capable of distinguishing the person from others. They are composed of a series of ridges and valleys on a surface of skin at a fingertip. Details of the composition of ridges and valleys usually comprise branches of ridges, ends of ridges, arcs, tent-shaped arcs, levorotations, dextrorotations, spirals or double spirals. These details determine the uniqueness of patterns of the fingerprints. Fingerprint identification techniques developed therefrom have been used for personal identity authentication for a long time. Specifically, depending on differences in fingerprint acquisition and input manner, current sensors widely applied and well known include optical imaging sensors, heat sensitive sensors, human infrared sensors or the like.


A gas turbine system comprises a compressor for compressing air, a combustor for burning the air compressed by the compressor and fuel, a turbine driven by combustion gases produced from the combustor, and a spraying apparatus for adding water to working air at least upstream or in an intermediate stage of the compressor. A rotationally symmetric groove or projection is formed in an inner wall surface defining a channel through which the working air added with the water flows, or in a channel-defining surface of a rotor or a casing of the gas turbine. A larger amount of water can be supplied to the compressor while improving the reliability of the gas turbine.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gas turbine system, and more particularly to a gas turbine system suitable for use with water atomization cooling performed by adding atomized water to working air.
2. Description of the Related Art
As one of methods for avoiding a reduction of the gas turbine output attributable to a rise of the atmospheric temperature in the summer season, etc., water atomization cooling performed by adding atomized water upstream of a compressor or in its intermediate stage has hitherto been proposed as described in, e.g., Patent Reference 1 (Japanese Patent No. 2877098), Non-Patent Reference 1 (ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineer), GT2003-38237), and Non-Patent Reference 2 (ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineer), GT2002-30562). In such water atomization cooling, it is generally known that an effect of increasing the gas turbine output is enhanced as the amount of water evaporated until leaving the compressor increases.


A method is disclosed for controlling foam in a fermentation broth by adding to the fermentation broth an effective amount of a composition comprising a compound corresponding to the formula: ##STR1## wherein AO is an oxyalkylene copolymer moiety of oxypropylene and oxyethylene units, each oxyalkylene copolymer moiety having a molecular weight of at least about 300 and an oxypropylene to oxyethylene molar ratio of from about 2:1 to about 10:1, n is an integer from about 1 to about 20, R is an alkyl group of from about three to about twelve carbon atoms, and R' is methylene or substituted methylene. The composition can be added to fermentation broths to prevent the formation of foam or to reduce foam which has already formed. The above defined composition is also disclosed in a form free of solvent, such as xylene.

This invention relates to a method for the prevention and reduction of foam in fermentation broths. More particularly, it relates to such a method wherein the foam is controlled by the addition of chemical agents. Foams occur as an undesirable incidental feature in many systems. Although some theories of foam formation have been proposed, little is known about why some compounds are antagonistic to foams while others are not. Of considerable frustration to those in the art of foam control is the fact that each foam control problem is unique, calling for a different compound for effective foam control. Some materials are useful only to prevent foam formation ("antifoams") while some are useful only to reduce foam which has already formed ("defoamers"). Efforts to predict which compound will work in a given system have not proven successful. As a result, foam control is basically an empirical art.
The following quotations summarize the views of experts in the field of foam control:
"More than 300,000 chemicals are now available, thousands of which work as defoamer ingredients in particular systems. It is difficult then to pinpoint exactly which defoamer will work where, and why, so it is best to leave the problem to specialists. Another reason is that all variables must be considered when formulating defoamers compatible with production systems." PA0 Foam Control, A Misunderstood Concept, by Marshall Ott, Household & Personal Products Industry, February 1978. PA0 "Because of the variety of materials to be defoamed and the extreme conditions of operation, no single material has universal application as a chemical antifoam. Some systems are predominantly aqueous, whereas others are organic mixtures with only a trace of moisture; in others the presence or absence of solids may be a factor. Operational conditions vary from high pressure steam generation to vacuum distillation; jet fuels may foam on the plane's ascent, and low-boiling substances may cause foaming in the oil-well pumping of certain gaseous petroleum crudes. To add to the difficulties, the antifoam for one system may be a foamer in another." (Emphasis added). PA0 Encyclopedia of Polymer Science and Technology, Vol. 2, 1964, pg. 164 (Antifoaming Agents). PA0 "Thus a paper mill may easily use six or more defoamers for routine coated paper manufacture. The same holds true for other defoamer applications. For example, a paint manufacturer may need different defoamers for the various phases of paint production such as in the pigment grind, letdown, can filling, and mill effluent. Manufacturers of textiles, sugar from sugar beets, and fertilizers require different defoamers for the various phases of production." PA0 Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, Vol. 7, 1979, pg. 433 (Defoamers). PA0 "One of the fruits of success in this endeavor would be to diminish the empiricism that at present characterizes the search for an optimum foam inhibitor." PA0 Mechanisms of Foam Stabilization and Antifoaming Action, by S. Ross, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Chemical Engineering Progress. Vol. 63, #9, pg. 46. PA0 "It is well known that the performance of an antifoam or foam preventer is strongly dependent on the type of foaming system involved. However, little is known about the specific parameters which influence antifoaming activity." PA0 Mechanism of Antifoaming Action, by R. D. Kulkarni et al, J. of Colloid and Interface Science, Vol. 59, #3, May 1977. PA0 "An important problem of commercial aerobic fermentation processes consists of the foaming of media, and the suppression of this tendency. In the fermentation of antibiotics it is particularly important to choose the correct method for the suppression of foaming, and to choose a suitable anti-foam agent." PA0 The Foams of Fermentation Broths, by Laszlo Szarka, Biotechnology & Bioengineering, Vol. XI, pg. 701, 1969. PA0 "are useful in controlling foams in many different types of systems. They control foam encountered in gas-treating systems in which a mixture of glycols and alkanolamines is used to dehydrate and purify natural gas; in activated-sludge-process sewerage plants, particularly in aeration basins and elsewhere; in protein adhesives solutions, such as casein and soybean adhesives as used in the plywood industry; in latex adhesives, printing inks; aqueous emulsions paints; etc."
Foaming in fermentation broths is particularly problematic in that the material chosen must be compatible with sterilization procedures, non-toxic to the fermentation organism, non-interfering with extract of the desired fermentation product, as well as be an effective foam control agent. In particular, the pharmaceutical industry has a long-felt need for more effective foam control agents.
From a technical standpoint there are a large number of instances where silicone foam control agents are preferred because of their superior performance. However, since silicones are often 3 to 10 times more expensive than other foam control compounds, the non-silicones are economically preferred, even if their performance is inferior. Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a highly effective and economical foam control agent suitable for use in fermentation broths.
Suppression of foams in fermentation broths is known. Examples of typically used compounds include silicone emulsions, silica dispersions, pure silicone fluids, polypropylene glycol, and various block copolymers of propylene oxide and ethylene oxide.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,862,243 (Bellos - Petrolite) discloses compounds of the general formula EQU ZO(EtO).sub.e (BuO).sub.m H
where Z is a hydrocarbon group, EtO is an ethoxy moiety, BuO is a butoxy moiety, e is from 3 to 30 and m is from 2 to 20. This patent teaches that these compounds
Similar to the teachings of the above patent, commercial products are available which have the general formula EQU ZO(EtO).sub.e (PrO).sub.p H
wherein PrO is a propoxy moiety, p is from 5 to 50, and the other symbols are as defined above. These compounds are sold as antifoams for detergent systems such as dishwashing detergents, rinse aids, and metal spray cleaning detergent compounds; caustic scrubbers; fermentation broths and rolling oil formulations.
Numerous other polyalkoxylated compounds are also known and many of these compounds are known to be useful as foam control agents, albeit in systems far removed from fermentation broths. For example, a form of the composition found to be useful in the present invention for control of foam in fermentation broth has seen limited use as a defoamer in the adhesives industry. However, there has been no teaching or suggestion of its applicability to the radically different field of fermentation processes, especially with respect to the distinctive fermentation broths. Thousands of foam control agents exist, each of which is effective with respect to certain systems, and even those found to be effective in a particular system often are effective only as to certain conditions for that system. Thus, there has been no indication that such compositions, out of thousands of possibilities, would be satisfactory defoamers for fermentation broths.

Foam control in fermentation broths with a condensate of alkylphenol and aldehyde that has been polyoxyalkylated


An external surface of a catheter body includes a pressure responsive slit formed in an indentation wherein a wall thickness of the catheter body within the indentation is less than a wall thickness of a major portion of the catheter body. Material exits a lumen of the catheter body, via the pressure responsive slit, when a pressure inside the lumen exceeds an external pressure.

Medical catheters are used for the administration of therapeutic agents or nutrients into a body of a patient. A medical catheter is inserted into the body and, more particularly, either into a moderate to large vessel within the body or a body cavity or space. The catheter includes an exit port to deliver a solution, which may include nutrients, therapeutic agents, or a combination thereof from a lumen of the catheter to the body.
Conventional catheters include at least one pressure responsive valve, such as a slit valve. A slit valve may, for example, be formed by cutting one or more slits in a wall of a catheter. The pressure responsive valve opens in response to pressure gradients to permit fluid flow through the catheter. More specifically, when the pressure differential exceeds a threshold of the slit valve, the catheter walls defining the slit protrude and allow fluid to flow through the catheter.
Depending on whether the pressure differential is negative or positive, fluid may travel from the patient to the catheter or from the catheter to the patient. A negative pressure differential occurs when the pressure level inside the catheter decreases below the pressure level outside of the catheter. A slight negative pressure differential tends to close the slit, however a larger differential causes the slit to open inward. A positive pressure differential occurs when the pressure level inside the catheter increases above the pressure differential outside of the catheter. A positive pressure differential opens the slit outward.
At neutral pressures, i.e., the pressure level inside and outside of the catheter are substantially the same, the catheter walls defining the slit form a seal to prevent fluid flow into or out of the catheter. In other words, the catheter closes at neutral pressures. The pressure differential needed to open the slit valve may vary depending on the number of slits in the catheter, the length of the slits, the thickness of the catheter wall or the elasticity of the catheter wall.
Some patients may require an implanted catheter for an extended period of time. However, catheters that remain implanted in a body of a patient may become occluded over time due to blood ingression, thrombus formation or fibrous tissue encapsulation. When a catheter does become occluded, the patient will not receive the necessary therapeutic agents or nutrients. In this case, the catheter must be removed and either cleaned or replaced with a new catheter.


A method of Common Rate Control (CRC) command generation considers status bits returned by mobile stations subject to CRC. The status bits from each mobile station, e.g., the Mobile station Status Indication Bits (MSIBs) defined by Release D of the IS-2000 standards, indicate whether the mobile station is capable of increasing its reverse link data rate, and may additionally indicate whether the mobile station has enough data for transmission to warrant a higher rate. Regardless, the status bits indicate how many in a group of mobile stations are capable of increasing their reverse link rates. Thus, a base station's command generation logic can take advantage of the additional knowledge gained from the status bits when generating CRC commands.

The present invention generally relates to wireless communication networks, and particularly relates to generating common rate control commands at wireless base stations in such networks.
Developing standards define relatively sophisticated mechanisms for increasing the utilization efficiencies of wireless communication networks. For example, Release D of the IS-2000 standards include several Medium Access Control (MAC) layer rate control mechanisms that enable Radio Base Stations (RBS) to influence the reverse link packet data rates of mobile stations responsive to estimated reverse link loading at the RBSs. This ability allows an RBS to increase or decrease its reverse link load by driving mobile station reverse link data rates up or down as needed.
Indeed, the standards define a number of rate control mechanisms that may be used for different mobile stations, or groups of mobile stations. With such controls, the rates of some mobile stations may be driven upward, while the rates of others are driven downward. For example, Release D of the IS-2000 standards provides both Common Rate Control (CRC) and Dedicated Rate Control (DRC). DRC algorithms generate individualized rate control commands for targeted to individual mobile stations, while CRC algorithms generate group-specific rate control commands targeted to selected groups of mobile stations.
The group of mobile stations, for example, may be all mobile stations operating within a radio sector. However, CRC commands may be generated for each of potentially many different groups of mobile stations within the sector. That is, all of the mobile stations in a given group would receive the same CRC commands, but the CRC commands for each group would be generated separately. Such processing allows relatively convenient differentiation of user classes, for example.
However, even though different CRC commands can be generated for different groups of mobile stations, all CRC command generation typically is based on sector loading. As the reverse link loading increases, CRC command generation can be used to drive the reverse link data rates of one or more mobile station groups downward. Conversely, as the sector's reverse link becomes more lightly loaded, CRC command generation can be used to drive the reverse link rates of one or more mobile station groups upward.
In contrast to CRC commands, DRC commands are mobile-specific. That is, DRC commands are individually generated for specific mobile stations, thereby allowing more direct and individualized rate control for particular ones of the mobile stations operating within the radio sector. DRC commands thus might be generated for a select number of mobile stations whose Quality-of-Service (QoS) requirements might not be met using CRC, and the reverse link rate of a mobile station operating under DRC might be driven upward at the same time CRC commands are being used to drive the reverse link rates of a given mobile station group downward.
DRC command generation for a given mobile station generally relies on some form of status feedback from the mobile station. For example, Release D of the IS-2000 standard defines a reverse link rate control feedback mechanism based on a Mobile station Status Indicator Bit (MSIB). For purposes of DRC, mobile stations may return these status bits at a defined rate on the Reverse Packet Data Control Channel (R-PDCCH). Each MSIB from a given mobile station indicates whether that mobile station has enough transmit power headroom to increase its reverse link data rate, and whether it has enough pending data to go to a higher reverse link data rate—e.g., a "1" indicates that the mobile station's reverse link rate should be increased and a "0" indicates that the mobile station's reverse link rate should not be increased.


A method for balancing power distribution in a direct current to direct current (DC to DC) power-conversion system is provided. The power-conversion system includes a plurality of channels that are connected to a load. The channels are also connected to corresponding power sources. The method, at a first channel, includes obtaining a first power, which is the maximum power of the power source connected to the first channel. Further, the method includes computing a reference power based on the power output of the channels. Furthermore, the method includes outputting the reference power when the first power is greater than or equal to the reference power, and outputting the first power when the first power is less than the reference power.

A DC to DC converter converts a direct current (DC) input voltage from a DC power source into a DC output voltage. Examples of DC power sources include, but are not limited to, a battery, a DC generator, a rectifier, and the like. The DC to DC converter can be used to feed a DC load, provide noise isolation, and regulate a power bus. Examples of the DC load include, but are not limited to, DC motors, battery charging circuits, integrated circuits, and the like. The DC to DC converter and the DC power source are often included in a channel that is capable of feeding a DC load.
A single DC to DC converter often faces a problem related to failure of power sources in power-conversion systems. Further, a required load may not always correspond to the wattage of a single commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) DC to DC converter. In the presently known art, the problems above are solved through the use of DC to DC converters connected in parallel. The DC to DC converters, which are connected in parallel, are included in a channel to feed a DC load.
It is also known in the art that for better reliability, more than one channel can be used by connecting them in a parallel configuration.
Channels connected in a parallel configuration to supply an output power to a DC load often encounter the problem of uneven distribution of the output power among the channels. Uneven distribution of the output power may result in low life expectancies or less reliability of components included in the channels, among other problems. Therefore, there is a need for a method and a system for balancing the distribution of the output power in power-conversion systems that include channels connected in parallel.
The existing methods for balancing the distribution of the output power have one or more of the following disadvantages. These methods are based on the assumptions that the channels are supplied by a single power source. Further, most of these methods require a master channel to control operation of the channels.
In light of foregoing, there is a need for a method and a system for balancing the distribution of output power in DC to DC power-conversion systems in which all the channels are not supplied by a single power source. Further, there is a need for a method and a system for master-less control of the distribution of output power in DC to DC power-conversion systems.

Method and system for balancing power distribution in DC to DC power conversion


Automatically determining the conformance of database server schema. Maintaining conformance of database schema helps manage and sustain database driven services and applications. Schema for a pair of randomly selected databases are generated and compared. A diffgram is generated from the difference of the database schema. An alarm message can then be sent to an alarm server with the differences of the comparable databases. A master schema dump can be compared to selected database servers within the database system concurrently with the comparable database pair schema processing. A diffgram is generated in response to the comparison between the selected database schema and the master schema.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to managing operation of database servers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Most current enterprise and world wide web applications are data driven. These applications depend on data such as user data, electronic mail system data and other data to provide services and respond to client requests. Many enterprise database solutions incorporating one or more databases exist to support such applications. The reliability and performance of the enterprise and web applications depends on the performance of the driving database.
When a malfunction occurs in a database, the malfunction is usually detected in a peripheral application before it is detected in the database itself. For example, if a database does not respond to a particular client request, a database driven web page may not operate properly. A user or other some monitoring service will typically detect the degraded web page performance. After initial deployment, databases can experience degradation in performance or not respond to any requests at all. These problems are generally detectable, but the sheer numbers of database servers in a database system make their performance difficult to monitor. Additionally, it is difficult to determine the cause of the performance degradation. Upon being diagnosed, database problems are usually due to incorrectly configured or mismatched databases across the farm of servers.
When a database does not operate properly, it requires time to repair the database. During this time, a system of databases is put under more strain to compensate for the lost database. The applications driven by the database system may suffer from poor performance before the database malfunction is detected and compete for a smaller pool of resources while the database is being repaired. It is important to maintain database system health and detect a down or degraded database server as soon as possible.


A method includes removing a dummy gate stack to form an opening between gate spacers, selectively forming an inhibitor film on sidewalls of the gate spacers, with the sidewalls of the gate spacers facing the opening, and selectively forming a dielectric layer over a surface of a semiconductor region. The inhibitor film inhibits growth of the dielectric layer on the inhibitor film. The method further includes removing the inhibitor film, and forming a replacement gate electrode in a remaining portion of the opening.

Transistors are basic building elements in integrated circuits. In recent development of the integrated circuits, transistors adopt metal gates, which are typically formed in the form of replacement gates. The formation of the replacement gates typically involves forming dummy gate stacks, forming gate spacers on sidewalls of the dummy gate stacks, removing the dummy gate stacks to form openings between the gate spacers, depositing gate dielectric layers and metal layers into the openings, and then performing Chemical Mechanical Polish (CMP) to remove excess portions of the gate dielectric layers and the metal layers. The remaining portions of the gate dielectric layers and the metal layers are replacement gates. There are typically multiple sub-layers in the replacement gates. With the increasing down-scaling of integrated circuits, the widths of the replacement gates become increasingly smaller, making it more difficult to accommodate the multiple sub-layers.

Selective high-K formation in gate-last process

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


Embodiments of a coding system and method are disclosed. One method embodiment includes determining a Cauchy-based probability density function fit to a statistical distribution of coefficients generated from a transformed image frame block that are to be quantized, and estimating rate and distortion of quantized coefficients based on the Cauchy-based probability density function.

Over the past few decades, transform-based compression technology for image and video sources has gained widespread popularity for visual information management, processing, and communications. As a result, several industry standards have been developed, such as JPEG for still image coding, and MPEG and H.26× for video coding. In general, image and video processing methods compliant with these standards are implemented by dividing an image frame(s) into nonoverlapping blocks, and applying a transformation to each block before applying both quantization and entropy coding. A two-dimensional discrete cosine transform (DCT) is the most common transform used in these methods.
The probability distribution of DCT coefficients is often used in the design and optimization of a quantizer, entropy coder, and related video processing algorithms for use in various signal/image processing equipment (e.g., encoders, decoders, etc.). Determining the probability distribution of DCT coefficients is particularly helpful in rate control for video coding, since the design of a rate control algorithm, and in particular, optimal bit allocation and quantization scale selection, can require knowledge of a rate-distortion relation as a function of the encoder parameters and the video source statistics. The rate-distortion relation can be derived mathematically using the probability distribution of the DCT coefficients. Various distribution models for the AC coefficients have been proposed, including Gaussian distributions and Laplacian distributions.
FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a typical plot of a histogram of discrete cosine transform (DCT) coefficients for an 8×8 block-based DCT of an image, for which the DC coefficients are excluded. The image used here is from a frame of a commonly used anchor video sequence, the AKIYO sequence in QCIF format. The DCT coefficient distribution is most commonly approximated by a Laplacian probability density function (pdf) with parameter λ:
                                          p                                      (              x              )                                =                                    λ              2                                    exp                                      {                                                -                  λ                                                                                    x                                                              }                                      ,                  x          ∈          R                                    Eq        .                                          1            The Laplacian density has an exponential form, leading to the property that the tails of the density decay very quickly.
One problem often encountered in coder design using conventional probability density functions is that the actual distributions of the DCT coefficients in image and video applications can differ significantly from the Gaussian distributions and Laplacian distributions commonly assumed. As a result, rate and distortion models based on either of these distributions may fail to estimate the actual rate-distortion-coding parameter relations accurately and reduce the effectiveness of the coder.

Cauchy-distribution based coding system and method


Methods and compositions for detecting cross-contamination between samples contacted with different arrays of a multi-array substrate are provided. The methods involve contacting sample to arrays of a multi-array substrate that contains cross-contamination probes in each of its arrays, and evaluating the resultant sample contacted arrays for cross-contamination between the samples. In many embodiments, the arrays of the multi-array substrate contain a set of cross-contamination probes for a corresponding set of cross-contamination targets in the sample(s). Kits and systems are provided for performing the invention. The subject methods may be used in a variety of different applications, such as gene expression analysis, DNA sequencing, mutation detection, as well as other genomics and proteomics applications.

In nucleic acid sequencing, mutation detection, proteomics, and gene expression analysis, there is a growing emphasis on the use of high density arrays of immobilized nucleic acid or polypeptide probes. Such arrays can be prepared by a variety of approaches, e.g., by depositing biopolymers, for example, cDNAs, oligonucleotides or polypeptides on a suitable surface, or by using photolithographic techniques to synthesize biopolymers directly on a suitable surface. Arrays constructed in this manner are typically formed in a planar area of between about 4–100 mm2, and can have densities of up to several thousand or more distinct array members per cm2.
In use, an array surface is contacted with a labeled sample containing target analytes (usually nucleic acids or proteins) under conditions that promote specific, high-affinity binding of the analytes in the sample to one or more of the probes present on the array. The goal of this procedure is to quantify the level of binding of one or more probes of the array to labeled analytes in the sample. Typically, the analytes in the sample are labeled with a detectable label such as a fluorescent tag, and quantification of the level of fluorescence associated with a bound probe represents a direct measurement of the level of binding. In turn, this measurement of binding represents an estimate of the abundance of a particular analyte in the sample. A variety of biological and/or chemical compounds may be used as detectable labels in the above-described arrays (See, e.g., Wetmur, J. Crit Rev Biochem and Mol Bio 26:227, 1991; Mansfield et al., Mol Cell Probes. 9:145–56, 1995; Kricka, Ann Clin Biochem. 39:114–29, 2002).
Such arrays are commonly used to perform nucleic acid hybridization assays. Generally, in such a hybridization assay, labeled single-stranded analyte nucleic acid (e.g. polynucleotide target) is hybridized to an immobilized complementary single-stranded nucleic acid probe. Complementary nucleic acid probe binds the labeled target polynucleotide, and the presence of the labeled target polynucleotide of interest is detected and quantified.
Such arrays often contain sectors that may be independently contacted with a sample. These sectors, by virtue of design or by as a consequence of the method by which an array is made, are usually spatially separated from each other, and may be each separately contacted with a different sample in a single hybridization experiment. Such multi-sector arrays are of great use in diagnostic and drug screening applications where one or more samples are incubated with multiple sets of probes, where each set of probes is contained in isolated sectors on the same substrate.
A drawback of strategies that involve contacting more than one sample with a multi-sector array is that cross-contamination may occur between the samples during the time that they are in contact with the array. Sample cross-contamination causes probes contained in one sector of an array to bind targets in the cross-contaminated sample. As a consequence, the data obtained from that sector may be of inferior quality and may not be reliable.
As such, methods of detecting cross-contamination between samples contacted with different sectors of a multi-sector array are needed.
Conventional methods for detecting cross-contamination involve testing of results by binary swapping (i.e., two-way testing) the targets, probes and dye labeling. Such methods, although they are quite effective, are tedious and costly in terms of the number of microarrays used to perform the methods, and the time spent performing the methods and analyzing the results.
As such, there is a need for inexpensive methods of detecting cross-contamination between samples contacted with different sectors of a multi-sector array. This invention meets this, and other, needs.

Methods to detect cross-contamination between samples contacted with a multi-array substrate


Intelligent systems are disclosed that respond to user intent and desires based upon activity that may or may not be expressly directed at the intelligent system. In some embodiments, the intelligent system acquires a depth image of a scene surrounding the system. A scene geometry may be extracted from the depth image and elements of the scene may be monitored. In certain embodiments, user activity in the scene is monitored and analyzed to infer user desires or intent with respect to the system. The interpretation of the user's intent as well as the system's response may be affected by the scene geometry surrounding the user and/or the system. In some embodiments, techniques and systems are disclosed for interpreting express user communication, e.g., expressed through hand gesture movements. In some embodiments, such gesture movements may be interpreted based on real-time depth information obtained from, e.g., optical or non-optical type depth sensors.

Traditional user interfaces for computers and multi-media systems are not ideal for a number of applications and are not sufficiently intuitive for many other applications. In a professional context, providing stand-up presentations or other types of visual presentations to large audiences is one example where controls are less than ideal and, in the opinion of many users, insufficiently intuitive. In a personal context, gaming control and content viewing/listening are but two of many examples. In the context of an audio/visual presentation, the manipulation of the presentation is generally upon the direction of a presenter that controls an intelligent device (e.g. a computer) through use of remote control devices. Similarly, gaming and content viewing/listening also generally rely upon remote control devices. These devices often suffer from inconsistent and imprecise operation or require the cooperation of another individual, as in the case of a common presentation. Some devices, for example in gaming control, use a fixed location tracking device (e.g., a trackball or joy-stick), a hand cover (aka, glove), or body-worn/held devices having incorporated motion sensors such as accelerometers. Traditional user interfaces including multiple devices such as keyboards, touch/pads/screens, pointing devices (e.g. mice, joysticks, and rollers), require both logistical allocation and a degree of skill and precision, but can often more accurately reflect a user's expressed or implied desires. The equivalent ability to reflect user desires is more difficult to implement with a remote control system.
When a system has an understanding of its users and the physical environment surrounding the user, the system can better approximate and fulfill user desires, whether expressed literally or impliedly. For example, a system that approximates the scene of the user and monitors the user activity can better infer the user's desires for particular system activities. In addition, a system that understands context can better interpret express communication from the user such as communication conveyed through gestures. As an example, gestures have the potential to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks regarding user interface through conventional remote controls. Gestures have been studied as a promising technology for man-machine communication. Various methods have been proposed to locate and track body parts (e.g., hands and arms) including markers, colors, and gloves. Current gesture recognition systems often fail to distinguish between various portions of the human hand and its fingers. Many easy-to-learn gestures for controlling various systems can be distinguished and utilized based on specific arrangements of fingers. However, current techniques fail to consistently detect the portions of fingers that can be used to differentiate gestures, such as their presence, location and/or orientation by digit.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Multi media computing or entertainment system for responding to user presence and activity


In an electrosurgical power supply apparatus combined with an electronic endoscope system, there is provided an electrosurgical signal generator. The electrosurgical signal generator includes PROM for previously storing data representative of electrosurgical high-frequency currents. In response to a selection signal of an electrosurgical operation mode, the data is read out from PROM to produce the electrosurgical high-frequency current corresponding to the selected electrosurgical operation mode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a power supply apparatus for an electrosurgical unit, or high frequency surgical equipment.
More specifically, the present invention is directed to an electrosurgical power supply apparatus capable of previously storing electrosurgical-current waveform data and also capable of distinguishably displaying operation modes.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, an electrosurgical unit has a major function to achieve surgical invasion. There are typical three electrosurgical operation modes: A) COAGULATION B) CUTTING, and C) BLEND (CUTTING and COAGULATION). When a biological body such as a patient is subject to the three operation modes, both variations in a tissue of the biological body and curing histories thereof are identical to each other. There is another merit of such an electrosurgical operation (electrosurgery) that an amount of hemostasis is rather small and blood absorption from wounded portions of a biological body is also low.
Therefore, very recently, electrosurgical units with the above-described merits have been widely utilized in conjunction with electronic endoscope apparatuses so as to perform polypectomy and hemostasis, while observing a body cavity of a biological body by the electronic endoscope apparatus. Accordingly, an electronic endoscope apparatus was aimed to perform diagnosis to a biological body in the initial developing stage of the endoscope apparatus. However, the major purposes of the recently developed endoscope apparatus are to not only diagnose the biological body, but also to cure a lesion within the biological body which has been discovered during the endoscopic examination. In particular, there is an absolute need for executing polypectomy and judging whether this cut polyp is subject to a cancer or not during the recent endoscopic examination. Under such circumstances, an electrosurgical operation has an extreme merit for performing the polypectomy. To cure a lesion of a biological body by way of an electronic endoscope apparatus in conjunction with an electrosurgical unit, a high-frequency electrosurgical current produced from an electrosurgical power supply apparatus is supplied through a forceps channel of an endoscopic scope thereof to a snare of the electrosurgical unit, thereby electrosurgically cutting the lesion between the snare and return electrode.
In accordance with one conventional electrosurgical power supply apparatus, a plurality of monostable multivibrators have been employed in an electrosurgical signal generating unit so as to produce desired high-frequency current waveforms. However, this conventional electrosurgical power supply apparatus has the following drawbacks.
That is, since the monostable multivibrator is generally constructed of a circuit combination between a resistor and a capacitor, and an active element so as to form a high-frequency signal current, desirable signal waveforms are not always produced. In other words, shapes of the output signals from the monostable multivibrator are not always constant even if the values (i.e. time constant) of these resistor and capacitor are preset. Moreover, since plural monomultivibrators are employed to selectively set the sorts of the electrosurgical operations such as cutting and coagulation modes, a lengthy time required for adjusting the time constant setting elements is needed. In addition, a resultant size of an electrosurgical power supply apparatus becomes large if a signal generating unit employs a plurality of monostable multivibrators. Accordingly, there is a problem not to satisfy a need for integrally assembling both the endoscopic apparatus and electrosurgical power supply apparatus within a single unit. Furthermore, as previously described, since the waveforms of the signals produced from the monostable multivibrator signal generators are not always constant in a preselected electrosurgical operation mode, reliabilities of this electrosurgical power supply apparatus become low.
As previously stated, since many proposals have been made to incorporate an electrosurgical power supply apparatus into an electronic endoscope apparatus as a single unit, there are many possibilities to install such a combination unit within narrower medical examination rooms or spaces.
On the other hand, in general, a large quantity of switches, dials, push buttons and the likes are provided on display panels of the conventional electronic endoscope apparatuses. If other switches and dials of the electrosurgical unit are additionally employed on the display panel of the electronic endoscope apparatus, the entire display panel having such switches and dials becomes complex. Furthermore, there is another difficulty, namely there are regulations such as JIS (Japanese Industrial Safety) and IEC to indicate these components based upon the electrosurgical modes in different colors. For instance, the push buttons used for both the cutting and coagulation modes must be colored in yellow and blue, respectively, based on the IEC regulation. As previously described, since the push buttons and switches are provided under complex conditions, it is rather difficult to distinguish these members by colors for any operators of electronic endoscope apparatus equipped with electrosurgical units. More specifically, since these components gradually become dirty after the lapse of time, such color distinguishabilities are considerably deteriorated.
On the other hand, while observing the television monitor of the conventional electronic endoscope apparatus, an operator proceeds with the endoscopic examination. Under such a circumstance, he can hardly check whether or not the correct push buttons are manipulated by him.
The present invention has been made in an attempt to solve the above-described problems belonging to the conventional electrosurgical power supply apparatuses, and therefore has a primary object to provide an electrosurgical power supply apparatus capable of correctly producing desirable high-frequency electrosurgical current waveforms, and also of generating such preferable waveforms under simple operation.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an electrosurgical power supply apparatus capable of preventing erroneous operations of these switch/dial members even in a combination between an electronic endoscope apparatus and this electrosurgical power supply apparatus.

Power supply apparatus for electrosurgical unit including electrosurgical-current waveform data storage


A turbine vane for a turbine engine having a cooling system in inner aspects of the turbine vane. The cooling system includes one or more vortex forming chambers proximate to the intersection of an airfoil forming a portion of the turbine vane and an endwall to which the airfoil is attached. The intersection of the airfoil and the endwall may include a fillet for additional strength at the connection. The vortex forming chambers receive cooling fluids from cooling injection holes that provide a cooling fluid supply pathway between the cooling air supply cavity and the vortex forming chambers. The cooling fluids may be exhausted through one or more film cooling holes. The film cooling holes may exhaust cooling fluids proximate to the fillet to reduce the temperature of the external surface of the fillet and surrounding region.

Typically, gas turbine engines include a compressor for compressing air, a combustor for mixing the compressed air with fuel and igniting the mixture, and a turbine vane assembly for producing power. Combustors often operate at high temperatures that may exceed 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit. Typical turbine combustor configurations expose turbine vane assemblies to these high temperatures. As a result, turbine vanes must be made of materials capable of withstanding such high temperatures. In addition, turbine vanes often contain cooling systems for prolonging the life of the vanes and reducing the likelihood of failure as a result of excessive temperatures.
Typically, turbine vanes are formed from an elongated portion forming a vane having one end configured to be coupled to a vane carrier at an endwall and an opposite end coupled to another endwall. The vane is ordinarily composed of a leading edge, a trailing edge, a suction side, and a pressure side. The inner aspects of most turbine vanes typically contain an intricate maze of cooling circuits forming a cooling system. The cooling circuits in the vanes receive air from the compressor of the turbine engine and pass the air through multiple flow paths designed to maintain all aspects of the turbine vane at a relatively uniform temperature. The air passing through these cooling circuits in the first stage of a turbine assembly is exhausted through orifices in the leading edge, trialing edge, suction side, and pressure side of the vane. While advances have been made in the cooling systems in turbine vanes, a need still exists for a turbine vane having increased cooling efficiency for dissipating heat.
Often times, a fillet is formed at the intersection of a turbine vane and an endwall to increase strength of the connection and to prevent premature failure of the vane at this locale. While the fillet provides additional strength to the connection, the fillet also adds material, which causes an increase in temperature of the material forming the fillet region relative to other areas forming the outer wall of the airfoil during use of the turbine vane in a turbine engine. Thus, an cooling system is needed that accounts for the difference in material thickness at the fillet region by removing the excess heat to prevent premature failure of the airfoil at the intersection of the airfoil and an endwall.


A head and neck restraint device, worn by a driver when operating a high performance vehicle, which controls the driver""s head from snapping forward and maintains the driver""s head, neck and spine in general alignment in the event of a frontal crash. The device includes a pair of anchor straps that are worn along the back of the driver and have first end which connects to the driver""s helmet by use of hooks and tethers, and second ends which extends between the driver""s legs for connection to a seat belt assembly. A chest strap and a waist strap are attached to the anchor straps for keeping the anchor straps separated at a predetermined distance. When exiting the vehicle, the driver unlatches a standard vehicle seat belt assembly and the restraint device is simultaneously released from the vehicle. Since the restraint is neither rigid nor bulky, the driver can quickly exit the vehicle unrestricted by the device.

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for controlling a driver""s head and neck when subject to deceleration forces, and more particularly, to a device for controlling the forward and downward movement of the head and neck of a driver during a frontal crash of a high performance vehicle.
1. Field of the Invention
Currently, drivers of high performance vehicles use a standard five or six point seat belt assembly in which all the straps tie into a common buckle to restrain the driver during a crash. However, these seat belts do not restrain the driver""s head or neck, allowing the head to uncontrollably snap forward when the vehicle is subject to a frontal impact. This uncontrolled movement of the head has resulted in serious injury and death.
Recent efforts to improve safety for high performance vehicle drivers include devices designed to restrain the head and neck of the driver during a frontal crash. One such device is the xe2x80x9cHanns Devicexe2x80x9d, described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,009,566 to Hubbard, which includes a rigid yoke worn by the driver to which a safety helmet is tethered.
Unfortunately, because of the rigid bulky yoke, the Hanns Device itself may be a safety hazard by impeding the driver from exiting the vehicle during an emergency situation. With high performance vehicles, egress into and out of the vehicle is through the driver-side window frame. When a vehicle crash occurs it is important that the driver quickly escape from the vehicle. This need to quickly exit the vehicle is particularly critical when the driver and/or vehicle is on fire or the driver is seriously injured. However, since the yoke is stiff and bulky, the Hanns Device can impede the driver from exiting the vehicle by making it more difficult to fit through the driver-side window frame. Consequently, valuable time in removing the driver from a dangerous crash site and to treat the driver may be lost.
Another disadvantage of the Hanns Device is that the driver""s seat must be modified to accommodate the bulky yoke. Accordingly, additional expense is incurred and the device cannot be used in vehicles which have not been modified.
A further disadvantage of the Hanns Device is that the rigid bulky yoke is uncomfortable to some drivers and unnecessarily restricts their mobility when operating the vehicle.
Other head and neck restraints do not have a positive anchor into which forces from the head and neck can be transferred. Instead, they are mounted to a transient object, such as the driver""s clothing or to a chest or waist strap. Accordingly, these types of devices do not provide the needed restraint during impact.
What is needed is a device which restrains a driver""s head and neck during a frontal crash with a vehicle. Additionally, needed is for the device to be comfortable and to not impede the driver""s egress into and out of the vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The applicant is aware of the following U.S. Patents concerning a race car helmet restraint:
Patterson describes a head restraint device which connects the helmet of an occupant to a vehicle seat. The head restraint has a restraining strap which applies a single force to the head to restrain the head from horizontal forward motion and a strap assembly on the helmet to hold the head upright. The restraining strap pulls the head directly back near the middle of the head and helmet. The restraining strap only applies the force when the deceleration forces are above a predetermined level. The attachment of the strap to the helmet allows the helmet to rotate about a vertical axis approximately 180 degree. The restraint can also be connected to the torso of the occupant to simultaneously retract the head and the torso. The restraint must be detached for the occupant to exit the vehicle.
Adams et al. describes a seat insert for a vehicle which maintains an occupant of the vehicle in a forward position during high G acceleration. The seat insert has a head support member for supporting the occupant""s head during a forward, leaning posture. A head support member restraint cord is provided to restrain the movement of the head support member during the occupant""s forward lean. The top and bottom of the helmet are restrained to the head support member which is behind and above the top of the helmet. The head support member tends to resist motions of the occupant""s head which are downward due to accelerations. The seat insert also includes a back plate assembly connected to the head support member for supporting the spine in its natural curvature. The back plate assembly is able to pivot forward relative to the seat of the vehicle. The seat insert is able to transfer G-induced weight from the spine to the back plate assembly and ultimately to the existing seat of the vehicle. The seat insert restrains the driver relative to the seat and must rely on restraint of the torso to be compatible with the head restraint for restraining the head relative to the torso.
Monson et al. describes a head support apparatus which can be attached to a body support device. The apparatus includes a beam housing attachable to the body support device such as to be rigid in the y-z plane but to be rotatable about a x-axis. The x-axis is defined as extending through the subject""s face to the back of the head. The y-axis is defined as extending laterally from ear to ear and the z-axis is defined as extending vertically from the top of the head through the subject""s chin. A U-shaped rigid beam is mountable in a channel of the beam housing such that the beam is rigidly supported within the x-y plane but is able to be rotated about the x-axis. Helmet attachments are provided for supporting the helmet relative to the rigid beam within the x-z plane but allowing rotation of the helmet about the y-axis.
Allan describes a head restraining system including a helmet having a chin protector formed thereon, a keeper plate overlying the shoulders, upper chest, including the sternum area, and upper back of the driver, a plurality of straps connecting the shoulder, chest and back portion of the keeper plate to aligned portions of the helmet and a pair of shoulder straps securing the keeper plate to the driver.
Landau describes a brain and spinal cord protector which is provided to protect the brain and spinal cord of a user against a fall. The protector comprises a jacket which is worn about the user""s torso, a head shield shaped to cover the user""s head, a support extending from the jacket to the head shield to position the head shield above the jacket so that the inner surface of the head shield is spaced from the user""s head.
Hubbard describes the head and neck restraint device for occupants of high performance vehicles. The support device includes a restraining yoke and a collar. The restraining yoke has two front portions which extend out from the shoulders of the driver along the torso of the occupant, and also include a rear portion which extends behind the neck and shoulders of the occupant. The collar of the device extends upwards from the rear portion of the restraining yoke behind the head of the occupant. The collar of the device is connected by tethers to the helmet worn by the occupant. Shoulder belts of the shoulder harness provided in the vehicle extend over the front portion and rear portion of the restraining yoke when the device is mounted on the occupant such that the device is between shoulder belt and the occupant. The collar acts to transfer forces from the helmet through the tethers to the collar of the restraining yoke which transfers the forces to the shoulder harness thereby reducing the forces being transmitted to the neck of the occupant.
The invention provides a method and apparatus for controlling a driver""s head and neck during a frontal crash of a high performance vehicle. The device connects the driver""s helmet to the vehicle seat belt assembly to transfer forces from the helmet, through the device, to the seat belt assembly. During normal operation, the device is worn on the driver and does not impede the driver""s mobility while operating the vehicle or while entering or exiting the vehicle. During an impact, the harness device keeps the driver""s head and neck in alignment with the driver""s spine to keep the head from snapping forward.
In the broadest sense, the present invention relates to a restraint device controlling the head and neck of the driver during a frontal crash of a vehicle. The restraint device includes at least one anchor strap having a first end positionable along the back of the driver and a second end positionable between the legs of the driver. A first attachment means is attached to the first end of the anchor straps for releasably attaching to a helmet. A second attachment means is attach to the second end of the anchor strap for releasably attaching to a seat belt assembly. When the vehicle is subjected to a frontal impact, the anchor strap is placed in tension and restrains the head and neck of the wearer for snapping forward. Optionally, the anchor straps can be adjustable to accommodate different wearers. Additionally, the anchor strap can be generally Y-shaped such that it has two first ends and one second end. A chest strap can be also attached to the first end of anchor strap, and have adjustment means attach to the chest strap for adjusting the effective length of the chest strap to accommodate different drivers. In a further option, the anchor strap can be fixed to a racing suit.
Also in the broadest sense, the present invention relates to a restraint device for controlling the head and neck of a driver during a frontal crash of the vehicle. The restraint device includes a first anchor strap having a first end positionable along the back of the driver and having a second end. A second anchor strap is laterally disposed from the front anchor strap and has a first end positionable along the back of the driver and a second end. A first attachment means is attach to the first end of the first anchor strap for releasably attaching to a helmet. A second attachment means is attach to the first end of the second anchor strap for releasably attaching to the helmet. A first leg strap extends from the second end of the first anchor strap and is configured to encircle a portion of the driver""s leg when the device is worn by the driver. A second leg strap extends from the second end of the second anchor strap and is configured to encircled a portion of the driver""s other leg. The head and neck of the driver is restrained from snapping forward when the vehicle is subjected to a frontal impact by the first and second anchor straps going into tension. Optionally, the restraint device can also include a chest strap attached to the first ends of the first and second anchor straps and have means attached to the chest strap for adjusting the length of the chest strap to accommodate different drivers. As a further option, the first and second anchor straps can be incorporated into, and fixed to, a racing suit.
The principal object of the present invention is to provide a device for controlling a driver""s head and neck during a frontal crash of a high performance vehicle.
Another object of the invention is to provide a device which is carried on the driver.
A further object of the invention is to provide a device which is not bulky.
Another object of the invention is to provide a device which is not rigid.
A further object of the invention is to provide device which is comfortable to wear.
Another object of the invention is to provide a device which does not impede egress into or out of a vehicle.
Another object of the invention is to provide a device which releasable attaches to a high performance vehicle seat belt assembly and to a safety helmet.
A further object of the invention is to provide a device which maintains the head and neck of the driver in alignment with the driver""s spine during a frontal impact of a high performance vehicle.
Another object of the invention is to provide a device which transfers forces from a driver""s helmet to a vehicle""s seat belt assembly during a frontal impact of the vehicle.


The claimed embodiments provide methods, apparatuses and systems directed to run-length limited (RLL) coding of data. In one implementation, concatenatable RLL codes with run lengths of zeroes not exceeding k are constructed for any rate N/(N+1) where N≦2k−2+k−1. As code rates increase, the value of k departs from the minimum possible value more slowly than that of many other codes. Further, occurrences of k-bit run lengths occur only at the juncture of two codewords. Due to this, the codes are mostly k−1. This quality makes the codes ideal for parity bit insertion applications such as LDPC channels. The method, in one implementation, places the bit addresses of violating sequences in a table at the beginning of the codeword, and the user data, occupying the locations where the table entries are placed, are moved into the locations of the violating sequences. This is done iteratively and in a way which provides for cases in which the violating sequence is inside the address table itself.

In a magnetic storage channel it is desirable to limit the number of consecutive zeroes in a data stream in order to ensure frequent updates to the timing recovery system. This is called run length limitation and may be accomplished, for example, by dividing the data into "N" bit blocks, then mapping each block onto N+1 bit blocks chosen such that no N+1 bit blocks, nor pair of concatenated blocks, has more than a desired number "k" of consecutive zeroes. Typical codes include those replacing each block of eight bits with a run-length-limited ("RLL") block of nine bits ("8/9 code"), as well as "16/17", "24/25", "32/33", and others. The ratio N/(N+1) is called the "rate" of the code. Of course, RLL schemes with different coding rates also exist.
A disadvantage of many prior art methods is that they are defined by look-up tables, so that encoding and decoding complexity, together with cost and power consumption, increase exponentially with code length. Another disadvantage is that most prior art methods are ad hoc, requiring a different approach to develop a code for each rate. Some prior art methods can be efficiently encoded and decoded using sequential logic thus partially addressing the complexity problem. However, these prior art methods often require considerable ingenuity to adapt them to a given rate and rates exist for which no code can be constructed using them. This is a concern because as recording technology moves away from byte-oriented error correction (such as Reed-Solomon codes) to soft-decoding methods (such as Turbo and low density parity check ("LDPC") codes), RLL codes with a variety of rates will be required. Additionally, some prior art methods for constructing long codes have been devised which involve interleaving un-encoded blocks with blocks from a shorter, RLL-encoded word. While general in some sense, these techniques often give rise to severely sub-optimal values of k.
In view of the foregoing, a need exists in the art for a general method for the construction of RLL codes which employs efficient encoders and decoders; produces codes with near-optimal values of k; and easily adapts to any desired code rate.

Method for constructing RLL codes of arbitrary rate


A device for the regeneration of a biosensor having an immobilized and biologically active material applied to the surface of a carrier that is suitable for interacting with a substance to be analyzed. The device comprises at least one injector through which, by means of a pump, at least one solution can be applied to the surface of the carrier for the purposes of rinsing the biologically active material.

This application is a national stage of PCT International Application No. PCT/EP2008/007572, filed Sep. 12, 2008, and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to German Patent Application No. 10 2007 044 708.8, filed Sep. 18, 2007, the entire disclosures of which are herein expressly incorporated by reference.
The invention relates to a device for the regeneration of a biosensor that includes, on the surface of a carrier, an immobilized and biologically active material designed to interact with a substance to be analyzed.
Biosensors relevant in the context of the present invention are equipped with biological components. The operating principle of a biosensor is based on direct spatial coupling of an immobilized biologically active material located on the surface of a sensor element with an electronic, optical or other transducer, and an electronic amplifier. Such biological materials can be, for example, antibodies, enzymes, organelles, microorganisms or nucleic acids.
The immobilized biological material located on the surface of the sensor interacts with the substance to be analyzed. The interaction may consist of, for example, an interaction between enzyme and substrate, or between an antibody and an antigen, which results in physical alterations, for example of the coating thickness, the refractivity, the absorption of light, the electrical charge or the ion concentration (e.g. change of pH-value) of specific ions in the area of the respective surface. These changes can be measured by measuring devices like optical sensors, amperometric electrodes or field-effect transistors operating based on potentiometric methods.
However, after the measuring procedure, the initial state of the system must be restored. Accordingly, the measurement of the substance to be analyzed with the biosensor is performed in three steps: First, there is the biochemical reaction of the substance to be analyzed by the biological system of the biosensor, after which the reaction is converted into an electric or optical signal, and the signal is then processed and amplified. Consequently, the selectivity and sensitivity of a biosensor is derived from the biological system that is used.
The biological material is arranged on the biosensor by means of a carrier, onto which the material is applied, or on which the material is embedded between two membranes. The biological material can also be immobilized directly on the carrier after the chemical functionalization of the carrier. Furthermore, the biological system can be applied onto a membrane that afterwards is connected with the surface of the transducer. Applications suitable for biosensors in the analysis of water and sewage can be divided into biosensors for the analysis of single components, for the analysis of toxicity and mutagenicity, and for the analysis of the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). Examples include the measurement of a glucose concentration in the blood of a human being (for example, following an operation). The glucose concentration could be analyzed as the change of the pH-value or as a change of the oxygen concentration as the consequence of glucose-oxidase catalyzed glucose oxidation.
A further biosensor is known for the measurement of the penicillin concentration in a bioreactor (fermenter), in which bacteria strains are cultured that express and secrete penicillin into the culture medium. When the concentration is sufficiently high, the substance can be extracted from the culture medium by organic solvents and after several precipitation reactions. The biological component of the sensor used in this context is the enzyme acylase. The penicillin-cleaving enzyme is embedded in a membrane on which a pH-electrode is located. Once the penicillin concentration in the medium increases, the enzyme catalyzes the formation of increasing amounts of phenyl-acetic acid, and thereby changes the pH-value in the vicinity of the electrode. Hence, it is possible to determine the penicillin concentration based on the pH-value.
Further applications of biosensors concern the analysis of bacteria content in bathwater or sewage. It is possible to apply antibodies directed against certain kinds of bacteria on an oscillating membrane. When the respective bacteria float by the sensor, they attach to the antibodies, thereby diminishing the oscillation of the membrane. A corresponding signal is provided once the oscillation of the membrane falls below a certain value.

Device and method for the regeneration of biosensors


An x-ray tube has a cathode and an anode produced from a first material, the anode having a heat conductor element on the first side thereof facing away from the cathode. To improve the performance of the x-ray tube, the heat conductor element is composed of graphite doped with titanium having a heat conductivity of at least 500 W/mK.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns an x-ray tube of the type having a cathode and an anode produced from a first material, wherein the anode, at a first side thereof facing away from the cathode, has at least sections containing a heat conductor element produced from a second material exhibiting a higher heat conductivity than said first material, for dissipating heat.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An x-ray tube of the above general type is known. An anode made of a first material is produced, the material typically being formed from a metal exhibiting a high melting point. On a side facing away from the cathode, the anode is provided at least in sections with a layer for dissipation of heat. The layer is produced from a second material which exhibits a higher heat conductivity than the first material. Such anodes are used in conventional designs of x-ray tubes, for example in x-ray tubes with fixed anodes, rotary anodes or in rotary piston tubes.
The performance of x-ray tubes is in particular limited by the thermal capacity of the anode. To increase the thermal capacity of the anode, according to the prior art various designs are known in which it is sought to distribute the heat introduced by the decelerated electron beam over an optimally large area. X-ray tubes with rotary anodes and rotary piston tubes are examples of such designs. It has also been attempted with a number of different designs to cool the anode as efficiently as possible. An increase in the performance of x-ray tubes can thereby be achieved.


A yarn supply system having a plurality of feeders associated with a textile machine. Each feeder having its own speed control system including a variable speed drive motor and a variable speed controller which includes a programmable control unit which is capable of responding to the actual yarn consumption requirements and responding to a main control apparatus message. The main control apparatus including a yarn feed rate anticipating unit that represents additional intelligence to the feeders. The yarn feed rate anticipating unit becomes informed about a weaving pattern stored in the main control apparatus memory and transfers a message via a message transfer network to individual feeder programmable control units to accelerate or decelerate in advance of an actual winding-on requirement.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an arrangement for controlling and/or supervising, with the aid of a computerized system, a number of elements/functions forming part of a textile machine, feed elements/feed functions being intended here in the first instance. For each element/function the system has one or more units, which serve the element/the function and which together with other units form a network in the system. One or more units in the system can moreover, if necessary, serve more than one element/one function.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An example of functions which have to be controlled and supervised in a weaving machine is e.g. checking whether the yarn is properly fed so yarn break is prevented, the weaving result is of high quality, etc. In a weaving loom it is today typically necessary to be able to initiate 1200 picks/minute.
It is previously known to provide elements in a textile machine with a computer for control of functions of the elements and of the machine, and it is likewise previously known to electronically control and supervise a function/functions of the yarn feed elements of a weaving machine.
The feeders exist in different types and variants and have to be capable of being applied to different types and variants of weaving machines. The electrical connection of the feeders to one another and to the controlling or supervising system of the weaving machine has hitherto been brought about in a different manner for each connection case. In a system having units in nets and located at the yarn feed elements it is a wish to integrate the functions of the feed elements and the machine. The integration then is to allow development of the one function independent of the other.
The weaving machine and feed elements represent a large number of functions which on the one hand have to be capable of being individually controlled and supervised and on the other hand have to be mutually interrelated to achieve an optimum functioning of the weaving machine. This means that the supervising and/or controlling system must be able to work rapidly and functionally reliably with e.g. short reaction times for yarn breaks, faults in the weaving pattern etc.
The use of a computerized system opens up the possibility of storing a large amount of information which can be used for the control and the supervision of elements/the machine. Signal-processing units, transmitters and drive units can be used in large numbers. A large range of different variants and solutions is offered to clients who wish to adapt their machinery according to the case selected for the occasion, which means that solutions which permit simple modifications of existing equipment are attractive.
Considering the large amount of information and the requirement for accuracy of the information, the transmission in the computerized system must take place accurately and with such speed that events which have occurred in the system are detected sufficiently rapidly in the places where the events which have occurred are to be acted upon in some respect. For each transmission case, the principle which applies is that a sequence of events is to be carried out. This sequence must in general be synchronized in some way, which can be achieved with the aid of, on the one hand, a run initiation signal (trigger signal) which gives rise to a certain sequence being carried out in the system, and, on the other, an acknowledgement signal which issues acknowledgement that an effected sequence is performed. In certain cases, an acknowledgement signal can be such that it directly initiates a new run. Alternatively, acknowledgements can be collected at a suitable place in the system in order to initiate a new run, taking as a starting point these together with some other criterion.
There is also a requirement to optimize the weaving function in the weaving machine so that even rapid weaving runs have gentle effects or stress on different parts in the weaving machine and/or feed elements. This means, inter alia, that actions, e.g. activations and stops, of certain parts and elements are to be capable of being prepared in advance so that sudden accelerations and decelerations are avoided or high speeds can be avoided.
It is also of great interest to anticipate and measure, in a rapid, effective and supervisory manner, the yarn consumption, which in individual cases is desired to be optimum with the least possible waste.

Arrangement for controlling feed elements on a textile machine