A PM catalyst regeneration control for the purpose of “soot removal” is performed prior to a sulfur poisoning recovery control. In the PM catalyst regeneration control, PM deposits in a catalyst are burned. A target throttle opening degree for the sulfur poisoning recovery control is preset smaller than a target throttle opening for the PM catalyst regeneration control in order to reduce the intake air volume during deceleration. A catalyst bed temperature is thus prevented from dropping, and therefore maintained at a level appropriate to sulfur poisoning recovery. Controlling the intake air volume during deceleration in such a manner results in more efficient catalyst recovery from sulfur poisoning, so that the fuel economy is maintained during the sulfur poisoning recovery control.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and a method for purifying exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine using a catalyst. More particularly, the invention relates to an exhaust gas purification system for an internal combustion engine that includes a supplemental fuel valve for supplying supplemental fuel to an exhaust passage, as well as relates to an exhaust gas purification method.
2. Description of the Related Art
The exhaust gas purification system for purifying exhaust gas from the internal combustion engine, such as a diesel engine, (hereinafter sometimes called engine) has, as one example, an NOx storage reduction catalyst and a particulate filter for trapping particulate matter (hereinafter referred to as PM) contained in exhaust gas.
The NOx storage reduction catalyst is designed to purify exhaust gas by means of storing NOx in the presence of when the oxygen concentration in the exhaust gas is high and reducing NOx to N2 when the concentration of oxygen of the exhaust gas is low and a large amount of reductants (e.g., unburned component of fuel, such as HC) are available in the exhaust gas. For example, a diesel particulate filter (DPF) or a diesel particulate-NOx reduction system (DPNR) catalyst is used as the particulate filter (hereinafter referred to as filter) for trapping PM.
The aforementioned exhaust gas purification system, which has an NOx storage reduction catalyst and a filter in the exhaust passage, performs a PM catalyst regeneration control, a sulfur poisoning recovery control and an NOx reduction control (hereinafter collectively referred to as catalyst control). The PM catalyst regeneration control regenerates the filter by oxidizing and removing PM deposits in the filter. The sulfur poisoning recovery control recovers the NOx storage reduction catalyst from sulfur poisoning by eliminating SOx stored in the NOx storage reduction catalyst. The NOx reduction control chemically reduces NOx stored in the NOx storage reduction catalyst.
One of these catalyst controls, the PM catalyst regeneration control, involves estimating the amount of PM deposits in the filter based on the operating conditions of the engine. The PM catalyst regeneration control further involves supplying supplemental fuel from a supplemental fuel valve to the exhaust passage (upstream of the filter) when the estimated amount of PM deposits is equal to or greater than a specified value (maximum allowable deposit amount). The supply of supplemental fuel increases bed temperature, thereby promoting oxidization (combustion) of the PM deposits in the filter.
The sulfur poisoning recovery control recovers the NOx storage reduction catalyst from sulfur poisoning. The sulfur poisoning recovery control involves supplying supplemental fuel from the supplemental fuel valve to the exhaust passage. This increases the catalyst bed temperature and simultaneously adjusts the air-fuel ratio of exhaust gas to a stoichiometric or richer ratio. The sulfur poisoning recovery control further involves eliminating SOx stored in the NOx storage reduction catalyst. In turn, the NOx reduction control chemically reduces NOx. In the NOx reduction control, supplemental fuel is supplied from the supplemental fuel valve to the exhaust passage and fed to the NOx storage reduction catalyst where the NOx stored in the catalyst reacts with a fuel component (HC).
The exhaust gas purification system also has a disadvantage. When the amount of PM deposits is greater than a specified value (e.g. immediately before or in the course of the PM catalyst regeneration control), and the volume of intake air decreases due to deceleration of the engine, the reduced volume of intake air may prevent the quantity of heat generated by burning the PM deposits from being transferred. This may cause an excessive increase in catalyst bed temperature. To overcome this problem, a related art is proposed in JP-A-2005-155500, paragraph [0003] as follows. During the PM catalyst regeneration control, if the engine is decelerating, the throttle valve in the intake passage is opened to increase the amount of air in exhaust gas, thereby increasing the amount of heat that is transferred by air passing through the catalyst. This prevents an excessive increase in catalyst bed temperature.
In addition, JP-A-2005-155500 further describes the situation where the volume of intake air is increased during the PM catalyst regeneration control when the engine is decelerating, the catalyst bed temperature is high, and the amount of PM deposits is large. Under these conditions, the quantity of heat generated by burning the PM deposits is greater than the quantity of heat that can be transferred by the air contained in exhaust gas. This can cause an abrupt increase in the catalyst bed temperature. Under such circumstances, it is necessary to inhibit the increase in volume of intake air.
Before the sulfur poisoning recovery control, the engine exhaust gas purification system performs the PM catalyst regeneration control to burn the PM deposits in the filter. This is called a "soot removal" process. Thereby, the amount of PM deposits is already reduced when the sulfur poisoning recovery control performed after the PM catalyst regeneration control. There is thus no excessive increase in catalyst bed temperature that occurs as a result of burning the PM deposits. In such situation, however, if the volume of intake air increases during deceleration in the same manner as under the PM catalyst regeneration control, an excess of air would pass through the filter. This prevents the catalyst bed temperature from being kept high, so that the temperature decreases. As a result of such reduced catalyst bed temperatures, the recovery of the catalyst from sulfur poisoning is more difficult. Accordingly, it takes longer for the NOx storage reduction catalyst to recover from sulfur poisoning, which increases the supplemental fuel supply quantity. Because additional supplemental fuel is required for raising the catalyst bed temperature, fuel economy is reduced.

Exhaust gas purification system for internal combustion engine and method for exhaust gas purification


Substituted pyrrolecarboxamide compounds are disclosed. These compounds are highly selective agonists, antagonists or inverse agonists for GABAA brain receptors or prodrugs of agonists, antagonists or inverse agonists for GABAA brain receptors and are therefore useful in the diagnosis and treatment of anxiety, depression, Alzheimer's dementia, sleep and seizure disorders, overdose with benzodiazepine drugs and for enhancement of memory. Pharmaceutical compositions, including packaged pharmaceutical compositions, are further provided. Compounds of the invention are also useful as probes for the localization of GABAA receptors in tissue samples.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to fused pyrrolecarboxamides. This invention also relates to pharmaceutical compositions comprising such compounds and to the use of such compounds in treatment of certain central nervous system (CNS) diseases. This invention also relates to the use of these fused pyrrolecarboxamide compounds in combination with one or more other CNS agents to potentiate the effects of the other CNS agents. Additionally this invention relates to the use such compounds as probes for the localization of GABAA receptors in tissue sections.
2. Description of the Related Art
The GABAA receptor superfamily represents one of the classes of receptors through which the major inhibitory neurotransmitter, γ-aminobutyric acid, or GABA, acts. Widely, although unequally, distributed through the mammalian brain, GABA mediates many of its actions through a complex of proteins called the GABAA receptor, which causes alteration in chloride conductance and membrane polarization.
A number of cDNAs for GABAA receptor subunits have been characterized. To date at least 6α, 3β, 3γ, 1ε, 1δ and 2ρ subunits have been identified. It is generally accepted that native GABAA receptors are typically composed of 2α, 2β, and 1γ subunits (Pritchett & Seeburg Science 1989; 245:1389-1392 and Knight et. al., Recept. Channels 1998; 6:1-18). Evidence such as message distribution, genome localization and biochemical study results suggest that the major naturally occurring receptor combinations are α1β2γ2, α2β3γ2, α3β3γ2, and α5β3γ2 (Mohler et. al. Neuroch. Res. 1995; 20(5): 631-636).
Benzodiazepines exert their pharmacological actions by interacting with the benzodiazepine binding sites associated with the GABAA receptor. In addition to the benzodiazepine site, the GABAA receptor contains sites of interaction for several other classes of drugs. These include a steroid binding site, a picrotoxin site, and the barbiturate site. The benzodiazepine site of the GABAA receptor is a distinct site on the receptor complex that does not overlap with the site of interaction for GABA or for other classes of drugs that bind to the receptor (see, e.g., Cooper, et al., The Biochemical Basis of Neuropharmacology, 6th ed., 1991, pp. 145-148, Oxford University Press, New York). Early electrophysiological studies indicated that a major action of the benzodiazepines was enhancement of GABAergic inhibition. Compounds that selectively bind to the benzodiazepine site and enhance the ability of GABA to open GABAA receptor channels are agonists of GABA receptors. Other compounds that interact with the same site but negatively modulate the action of GABA are called inverse agonists. Compounds belonging to a third class bind selectively to the benzodiazepine site and yet have little or no effect on GABA activity, but can block the action of GABAA receptor agonists or inverse agonists that act at this site. These compounds are referred to as antagonists.
The important allosteric modulatory effects of drugs acting at the benzodiazepine site were recognized early and the distribution of activities at different receptor subtypes has been an area of intense pharmacological discovery. Agonists that act at the benzodiazepine site are known to exhibit anxiolytic, sedative, and hypnotic effects, while compounds that act as inverse agonists at this site elicit anxiogenic, cognition enhancing, and proconvulsant effects. While benzodiazepines have a long history of pharmaceutical use as anxiolytics, these compounds often exhibit a number of unwanted side effects. These may include cognitive impairment, sedation, ataxia, potentiation of ethanol effects, and a tendency for tolerance and drug dependence.
GABAA selective ligands may also act to potentiate the effects of certain other CNS active compounds. For example, there is evidence that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) may show greater antidepressant activity when used in combination with GABAA selective ligands than when used alone.
Various compounds have been prepared as benzodiazepine agonists and antagonists. For Example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,455,943, 4,435,403, 4,596,808, 4,623,649, and 4,719,210, German Patent No. DE 3,246,932, and Liebigs Ann. Chem. 1986, 1749 teach assorted benzodiazepine agonists and antagonists and related anti-depressant and central nervous system active compounds.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,455,943 disclosed indole derivatives.
Other references, such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,435,403 and German patent DE 3,246,932 disclose pyrimidino[5,4-b]indoles and beta-carboline derivatives.
A variety of indole-3-carboxamides is described in the literature. See, for example, J. Org. Chem., 42: 1883-1885 (1977); J. Heterocylic Chem., 14: 519-520 (1977). Also, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,804,686 and 6,080,873 and PCT International Publication WO 97/26243, all of which are assigned to Neurogen Corporation, disclose fused pyrrolecarboxamides.

Fused pyrrolecarboxamides; GABA brain receptor ligands


An image forming apparatus comprising a plurality of image forming units, an intermediate transfer member, and an intermediate transfer member cleaning device to remove toner remaining the intermediate transfer member with plural cleaning blades,                wherein each color toner used in the developing device of the plurality of image forming units contains 10 number % or less of toner particles whose diameter is (0.7×50% number particles diameter (Dp50)) or less and contains 300 ppm or less of a remaining monomers is disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging forming apparatus used as an electrophotographic color copier and a color printer and an image forming method using the image forming apparatus.
2. Related Art
Even in a color copier and a color printer, a strong tendency to color images is seen lately. The color image forming methods, which are valuable for practical use, are broadly classified by generally used popular names into the intermediate transfer method, the KNC method (a method for forming a multi-color superimposed image on an electrophotographic photoconductor and transferring it in a batch), and the tandem method.
Although these are of course popular names given from different viewpoints, for example, there is naturally a method which is the intermediate transfer method and also the tandem method. A color image forming apparatus of the intermediate transfer method and the tandem method (hereinafter, the tandem method is referred to as the method which is the intermediate transfer method and also the tandem method) is known as a one for producing full color images of high quality. This method forms toner images on the respective electrophotographic photoconductors (hereinafter, referred to as just photoconductors) corresponding to the colors of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black, forms a color superimposed image on an intermediate transfer medium, and transfers it onto a transfer material in a batch.
In the color image forming by the tandem method, there are transfer steps of two stages of primary transfer of transferring toner images from each photoconductor to the intermediate transfer medium and secondary transfer of transferring the toner images from the intermediate transfer medium to a recording paper, and there are two stages of cleaning such as cleaning of the photoconductors after the primary transfer and cleaning of the intermediate transfer medium after the secondary transfer, so that defective images due to defective transfer of toner images or defective images due to cleaning are often apt to be formed.
In the image forming apparatus using the intermediate transfer medium, to avoid enlargement of the apparatus, a method adopting a belt-shaped intermediate transfer medium capable of realizing miniaturization of the apparatus is often used. However, in cleaning of the belt-shaped intermediate transfer medium, the contact status of a cleaning member with the intermediate transfer medium is apt to be changed and defective cleaning is easily caused. To solve the defective cleaning of the intermediate transfer medium, several proposals have been made. For example, a method which uses a cleaning device (Japanese Patent Application 2002-162839) with a cleaning blade adhered to a thin metallic plate member or a cleaning device (Japanese Patent Application 2002-278319) using a cleaning blade and a metallic scraper and removes residual toner on the intermediate transfer medium has been proposed.
However, when in the particle size distribution of toner of a developer, a large amount of toner component of fine particles with a diameter of 1 μm or so is contained, the fine particle toner component is easily adhered to the surfaces of the photoconductor and intermediate transfer medium and defective transfer and cleaning are easily generated from the photoconductor or intermediate transfer medium. Particularly, when fine particle toner is adhered to an intermediate transfer medium having small surface wear, partial toner filming occurs on the intermediate transfer medium, and the toner filming part becomes unstable in the contact wear with the cleaning member, and even if the aforementioned cleaning device using a cleaning blade and a metallic scraper is used, the intermediate transfer medium cannot be cleaned sufficiently, and toner easily passes through the cleaning blade, and as a result, image defects such as uneven images are easily caused.
Further, in defective transfer of toner from the photoconductor to the intermediate transfer medium, image defects such as reduction in the image density and missed transfer are easily caused. On the other hand, in defective transfer of toner from the intermediate transfer medium to a recording paper, scattered letters due to flicked transfer and reduction in sharpness are reported.
To improve the transferability causing "missed transfer" and "scattered letters", the arts of making the surface layer of an electrophotographic photoconductor contain fine particles, making the surface uneven, reducing the adhesive force of toner on the surface of the photoconductor, improving the transferability, and reducing the frictional force with the blade have been examined. For example, it is reported that a photosensitive layer contains fine particles of alkylsilsesquioxane resin (Japanese Patent Application 5-181291). However, fine particles of alkylsilsesquioxane resin is hygroscopic, and the wettability of the surface of the photoconductor, that is, the surface energy is increased in a high humidity environment, so that a problem arises that the transferability is apt to reduce. On the other hand, to reduce the surface energy of the photoconductor, an electrophotographic conductor containing fluorine plastic powder is reported. However, sufficient surface strength cannot be obtained by fluorine plastic powder, and a streak fault caused by a scratch of the photoconductor surface is easily generated, so that a problem arises that image diffusion is easily caused (Japanese Patent Application 63-56658).
On the other hand, to improve the transferability of the intermediate transfer medium and the cleaning performance, an art of supplying a solid lubricant to the intermediate transfer medium and reducing the surface energy of the intermediate transfer medium is published (Japanese Patent Application 6-337598, Japanese Patent Application 6-332324, Japanese Patent Application 7-271142). However, only such control for the surface of the intermediate transfer medium is not sufficient for improvement of the total transferability of the image forming method using the intermediate transfer medium having the two transfer steps and particularly for copy image forming at high temperature and high humidity or over a long period of time, it is found that further improvement is necessary.
On the other hand, taking notice of the electrophotographic process, the latent image forming method is broadly classified into analog image forming using a halogen lamp as a light source and image forming of a digital method using an LED or a laser as a light source. In recent years, as a printer of a personal computer or even in an ordinary copier, from easy image processing and easy development to a copier, the latent image forming method of the digital method is suddenly used predominantly.
In image forming of the digital method, the use method for not only copying an image but also forming an original image is increased and in electrophotographic image forming of the digital method, a tendency to high image quality is seen.
For the aforementioned request for realization of high image quality, a study of faithfully developing a latent image on an electrophotographic conductor has been made using polymerized toner controlling the shape factor and particle size distribution. However, when the polymerized toner is used for a color image forming apparatus of the tandem method, improvement of the toner transferability and improvement of the cleaning performance are not realized so much as expected at first and image defects due to defective transfer and passing of toner due to defective cleaning are easily caused.
Particularly, in the color image forming apparatus of the tandem method using the intermediate transfer medium, it is found that improvement of the total toner transferability of the aforementioned primary transfer and secondary transfer and improvement of the cleaning performance of the intermediate transfer medium are important.
A main object of the present invention, with the foregoing problems in view, is to provide an image forming apparatus and an image forming method using a useful intermediate transfer medium. Further, another object of the present invention viewed from one aspect is to provide good electrophotographic color images using an image forming apparatus using an intermediate transfer medium and to provide an image forming apparatus of an electrophotographic method and an image forming method, particularly in forming a large number of color images, capable of improving the transferability from a photoconductor to an intermediate transfer medium, the transferability from the intermediate transfer medium to a recording material, and the removability of the residual toner component on the intermediate transfer medium, thereby preventing missed transfer and scattered letters due to defective transfer or uneven images due to defective cleaning, and reproducing color images of good sharpness and a clear hue. Still another object is to provide an image forming apparatus of an electrophotographic method and an image forming method, particularly using a belt-shaped intermediate transfer medium, capable of preventing uneven images due to defective cleaning easily caused by the intermediate transfer medium and missed transfer and scattered letters due to defective transfer and reproducing color images of good sharpness and a clear hue.

Image forming apparatus and image forming method

Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.


The present subject matter discloses a system and a method for processing of channel coefficients of networks. In one embodiment, the method includes ascertaining at least one probable synchronization position of a received sequence and projecting, by oblique projection, at least one given noise basis vector spanning a given noise space onto the null space, so as to determine a channel impulse response at the at least one probable synchronization position. Based on a criterion related to the channel impulse response, a synchronization point for the received sequence is identified from the at least one probable synchronization position. The method also includes determining the noise contribution at the synchronization point and determining the noise coefficient of the at least one given noise basis vector based on the noise contribution so as to recover a signal substantially similar to the originally transmitted signal.

Signals transmitted over a network traverse a medium, which is usually referred to as a channel, and are received by a receiver unit of a communication device, such as cellular phones, personal digital assistants, and portable computers. The transmitted signal and the received signal are usually not identical as the channel adds noise in the form of stray signals. Noise in the channel is generally due to distortions and interferences caused by operation of communication devices, environmental factors, etc. Further, the operations of various components, such as filters, clock circuits, oscillators and amplifiers, in the transmitting and receiving devices can add stray signals or noise to the transmitted signal.
The conventional method of recovering, from the received signal, an original signal that is substantially similar to the originally transmitted signal involves configuring the communication device to compute the various channel coefficients, also referred to as channel impulse response (CIR). The computation of CIR is a resource intensive process and consumes a high amount of processing power and electric power, thus reducing the battery life of the communication devices and adversely impacting the portability of the communication devices. Further, consumption of high processing power for the computation of CIR reduces the available processing power for running other applications on the communication device.

Processing of channel coefficients of a network


Provided are a lens driving unit that generates a precise linear motion in a spatially limited structure by using a bending vibration piezoelectric motor having a new structure, and a camera module comprising the lens driving unit. The lens driving unit includes: a lens carrier supporting a lens and comprising a guide axis exposed at least partially to the outside and extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the lens; and a piezoelectric driving unit having a center portion contacting the guide axis according to a bending motion of a piezoelectric element and moving the lens carrier in a direction in which the guide axis extends.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lens driving unit and a camera module comprising the same, and more particularly, to a lens driving unit that generates a precise linear motion in a spatially limited structure by using a bending vibration piezoelectric motor so as to perform an auto-focusing (AF) function or a zooming function, and a camera module comprising the lens driving unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently portable electronic devices have increasingly employed a camera module having an auto-focusing (AF) function or a zooming function. Cellular phones employ small and thin camera modules since the thicker the camera modules are, the thicker the cellular phones are.
A lens barrel supporting a lens is moved along a guide unit in order to perform the AF function or the zooming function. A stepping motor or a piezoelectric motor may be used as a driving unit for moving the lens barrel along the guide unit. The stepping motor is driven by a step waveform changed from an input pulse, is controlled and operated by an electronic circuit by using direct current power, and shows a fast response to a location control in a short distance.
However, the stepping motor needs a lot of components due to the sizes of a reduction gear, a connecting area, and itself, which may result in increasing the size of an operation module. Also, the increase in the number of components may increase manufacturing cost.

Lens driving unit and camera module comprising the same


An apparatus for handling electronic components on a lead frame. The apparatus including a singulation device configured to singulate the lead frame to thereby separate the electronic components and to position the separated electronic components alternately into at least two layers along different levels; and a guide having a plurality of lanes running along a surface of the guide, the lanes being configured to transport the separated electronic components from a first end of the guide arranged adjacent to the singulation device to a second end of the guide arranged adjacent to an output area. The lanes at the first end of the guide are alternately arranged into at least two layers having respective levels to receive the electronic components from the singulation device, whereas the lanes at the second end of the guide are arranged into a single layer along a common level for transferring the electronic components to the output area.

In back-end semiconductor processing, a plurality of integrated circuit (IC) units, generally arranged in an array on a lead frame (for example, an interdigitated lead frame or IDF), is processed by separating (or singulating) the units from the lead frame and transporting the singulated units to an output means, such as a metal output tray or series of plastic tubes, for downstream operations such as testing and sorting. Typically the singulated units are handled by a pickup process involving a pitch adjusting mechanism. The pitch adjusting mechanism (which may employ a motor cam or pneumatic device, for example) is used to increase the distance between the leads of respective components so as to match the pitch of the output means.
The pitch-adjusted array of components is placed on a guide, typically a series of parallel rails, which provides a continuous guide towards the output means along a longitudinal direction. In order to move the components towards the output means it is typical to use a mover, in the form of a kicker or a pusher, to transport the components along the guide.
Known processing methods have a number of disadvantages. Transporting the singulated units to the pitch adjustment means by a pick and place process can be time-consuming. Placement of components on the rail of a guide, if not done correctly, carries a risk that components can be damaged during transport. Use of a kicker or pusher to move the components can also cause damage and therefore defects in the transported components. Further, in situations where the components are close together following singulation, such as in singulation of IDF frames, transport of the singulated components side-by-side along a guide may lead to collisions between leads of adjacent pairs of components, thereby possibly causing damage to one or both components, or resulting in leads being locked together such that the components are derailed.
The present invention seeks to at least partly overcome one or more of the above problems.

Apparatus for handling electronic components


A climate control system of a motor vehicle having a refrigeration circuit and a coolant circuit. The refrigeration circuit includes a compressor, a refrigerant-coolant heat exchanger operable as a condenser/gas cooler for heat exchange between the refrigerant and the coolant of the coolant circuit, and at least one first refrigerant-air heat exchanger for conditioning intake air for the passenger compartment having a first expansion element upstream in a flow direction of the refrigerant. The coolant circuit includes a conveyor device, a first coolant-air heat exchanger heating the intake air for the passenger compartment, and the refrigerant-coolant heat exchanger. A refrigerant-air heat exchanger for exchanging heat between the refrigerant and ambient air is provided. The refrigerant-air heat exchanger is arranged downstream of the first refrigerant-coolant heat exchanger in the flow direction of the refrigerant. An expansion element is upstream of the refrigerant-air heat exchanger in the flow direction of the refrigerant.

In motor vehicles known from the prior art, the waste heat of the engine is used for heating the intake air for the passenger compartment. The waste heat is transported to the climate control system by means of the coolant circulated in the engine coolant circuit and transferred there via the heating heat exchanger to the air flowing into the passenger compartment. Known systems having coolant-air heat exchangers, which acquire the heating power from the coolant circuit of a high-efficiency internal combustion engine of the vehicle drive, at low ambient temperatures, no longer reach the level required for comfortable heating of the passenger compartment in order to cover the total heating requirement of the passenger compartment. The drives do not generate enough waste heat to heat the passenger compartment, in particular in winter, in accordance with the requirements of thermal comfort. This applies similarly to systems in motor vehicles having hybrid drive, i.e., motor vehicles driven both by electric motors and also internal combustion engines.
If the total heating requirement of the passenger compartment cannot be covered by means of the heat from the engine coolant circuit, auxiliary heating measures are required, such as electrical resistor heaters, abbreviated as PTC resistor for "positive temperature coefficient—thermistor", or fuel heaters. This also applies to systems in motor vehicles driven solely by electric motors and/or fuel cell vehicles.
A climate control system 1′ having a refrigeration circuit 2′ and a coolant circuit 30′ from the prior art is shown in FIG. 1. The refrigeration circuit 2′ comprises, in the flow direction of the refrigerant, a compressor 3, a refrigerant-coolant heat exchanger 4 operated as a condenser/gas cooler, an expansion element 5, and a refrigerant-air heat exchanger 6 operated as an evaporator. The compressor 3 suctions the refrigerant out of the evaporator 6. The refrigeration circuit 2′ is closed.
If the refrigerant is liquefied in subcritical operation of the refrigeration circuit, for example, using the refrigerant R134a or in specific environmental conditions using carbon dioxide, the heat exchanger is referred to as a condenser. A part of the heat exchange takes place at constant temperature. In supercritical operation and/or with supercritical heat emission into the heat exchanger, the temperature of the refrigerant decreases continuously. In this case, the heat exchanger is also referred to as a gas cooler. Supercritical operation can occur under certain ambient conditions or operating modes of the refrigeration circuit, for example, using the refrigerant carbon dioxide.
The refrigeration circuit 2′ can also be formed having an internal heat exchanger 7. The internal heat exchanger 7 is to be understood as a circuit-internal heat exchanger, which is used for the heat exchange between the refrigerant at high pressure and the refrigerant at low pressure. In this case, for example, on the one hand, the liquid refrigerant is cooled down further after the condensation and/or liquefaction and, on the other hand, the suction gas is superheated before the compressor 3.
The coolant circuit 30′ comprises, in the flow direction of the coolant, a conveyor device 31 for circulating the coolant, in particular a pump, an auxiliary heating heat exchanger 32 for heating the coolant, especially an electrical resistance heater (PTC), and a heating heat exchanger 33 as a coolant-air heat exchanger for heating the intake air for the passenger compartment. The heating heat exchanger 33 is connected to the refrigerant-coolant heat exchanger 4. The coolant circuit 30′ is closed. The refrigerant-coolant heat exchanger 4 operated on the refrigerant side as a condenser/gas cooler is therefore coolant cooled.
The refrigerant-air heat exchanger 6, which is operated as an evaporator, of the refrigeration circuit 2′ and the heating heat exchanger 33 of the coolant circuit 30′ are arranged inside a component 60 of a climate control system so that the intake air of the passenger compartment can be applied to them in succession and in the flow direction 61 of air. The intake air which is cooled and/or dehumidified upon flowing over the evaporator 6 can thus be heated as needed as it flows over the heating heat exchanger 33.
Heat transferable in the heating heat exchanger 33 to the intake air of the passenger compartment can be composed of the energies transferred to the refrigerant in the evaporator 6 and in the compressor 3, which are transferred as a total in the refrigerant-coolant heat exchanger 4 to the coolant, and also the heat transferred to the coolant in the auxiliary heating heat exchanger 32, in order to reach a satisfactory temperature of the intake air.
In conventional climate control systems (not shown) having a refrigeration circuit having a condenser/gas cooler designed as a refrigerant-air heat exchanger, the heat absorbed by the refrigerant in the evaporator during the operation in the refrigeration mode during the cooling and dehumidifying of the intake air for the passenger compartment is transferred jointly with the heat supplied in the compressor via the refrigerant-air heat exchanger arranged in the front region of the vehicle from the refrigerant to the ambient air.
The climate control system 1′ can exclusively be operated at temperatures of the intake air flowing into the evaporator 6 having values above 0° C. At values of the temperature of the air below 0° C., the heating power is determined by the auxiliary heating heat exchanger 32, in particular the electrical resistance heater, and is thus provided inefficiently.
At temperatures of the air in the range of 0° C. and below 0° C., the heat exchange surface of the evaporator 6 can ice over. As a result of the absorption of the heat from the air, the relative ambient humidity of the cooled air rises. Upon falling below the dew point temperature, the water vapor present in the air is condensed out and deposited as water on the heat exchange surface. The water condensed out of the air on the heat exchange surface will solidify to form ice at surface temperatures in the range of 0° C. and below 0° C. The increasing ice layer reduces the air-side heat exchange surface and the air-side heat transfer and thus the heat exchange between the air and the evaporating refrigerant.
A heat absorption from the surroundings, for example, during operation in the heat pump mode, is not possible. The heat from the air flowing out of the passenger compartment also cannot be used.
For motor vehicles having autonomous vehicle control, also referred to as autonomous vehicles, the comfort demand is moreover displaced from the front seats toward seats in further possible seating rows, which significantly increases the need for comfort of the passenger seats. A further heat exchanger operated as an evaporator, which is integrated into the air conditioner for elevated comfort in the passenger compartment, and is also referred to as a tail evaporator, is conventionally operated because of the system at the same pressure level and thus at the same temperature level as the front evaporator or main evaporator and can easily ice over at lower fan power and simultaneously high power of the front evaporator.
Moreover, the tail evaporator, in particular during operation at high external temperatures, usually suctions air out of the passenger compartment, so that a significant power difference can result between the front evaporator, which suctions fresh air out of the surroundings, and the tail evaporator, which suctions recirculated air from the passenger compartment, which in turn significantly increases the risk of icing over. To avoid the icing over of the heat exchange surfaces, the power of the compressor is typically reduced, which decreases the overall cooling power of the system.
A more efficient option for heating the air for the passenger compartment is a heat pump using air as a heat source, in which the refrigeration circuit is used both as the only heater and also as an auxiliary measure.
A climate control system having electrical resistance heater connected downstream is, on the one hand, cost-effective to produce and is to be used in arbitrary motor vehicles, but has a very high demand for electrical energy, since the intake air for the passenger compartment firstly has to be cooled and/or dehumidified as it flows over an evaporator of a refrigeration circuit and also subsequently heated by means of the electrical resistance heater, which transfers the heat directly to the intake air or a coolant circuit.
The operation of a conventional climate control system to be operated as a heat pump is efficient, but requires a very large amount of installation space, also at positions inside the motor vehicle which do not have installation space reserved for the climate control. The elevated cost expenditure, in particular for the production and maintenance, and the large installation space requirement are detrimental.
The prior art includes air-air heat pumps, which are designed for the combined refrigeration mode and heat pump mode, i.e., for a heating mode and for a reheating mode, also referred to as "reheat" operation, and absorb the heat from the ambient air. The ambient air is thus used as a heat source for the evaporation of the refrigerant. The conventional air-air heat pumps comprise a heat exchanger for the heat exchange between the refrigerant and the surroundings, a heat exchanger for the heat supply from the air of the passenger compartment to be conditioned to the refrigerant, and a heat exchanger for the heat exchange from the refrigerant to the air to be conditioned for the passenger compartment. The powers are transferred in each case between the refrigerant and air.
In the so-called "reheat" or reheating mode, the air to be supplied to the passenger compartment is cooled, dehumidified at the same time, and subsequently slightly heated again. In this operating mode, the required reheating power is less than the required refrigeration power for cooling and dehumidifying the air.
A refrigeration circuit of a climate control system for conditioning the air of a passenger compartment of a motor vehicle is disclosed in DE 10 2012 111 672 A1. The refrigeration circuit is designed for a combined operation in the refrigeration mode and heat pump mode and for a reheating mode and comprises a compressor, a heat exchanger for the heat exchange between the refrigerant and the surroundings, a first expansion element, and a heat exchanger for the heat supply from the air of the passenger compartment to be conditioned to the refrigerant, a heat exchanger for the heat exchange from the refrigerant to the air for the passenger compartment to be conditioned, and a second expansion element adjoining thereon in the flow direction of the refrigerant.
The refrigeration circuit comprises a branched system of connecting lines, which can only be integrated with difficulty into the existing installation space. Furthermore, the additional valves and the refrigerant accumulator, which is voluminously designed and arranged at a low pressure level, each require a large amount of installation space. The valves moreover have to have a very high level of internal leak-tightness, which also results in elevated system costs.
The utilization of the waste heat from the passenger compartment is very limited. Moreover, refrigerant flows through heat exchangers bidirectionally, the compressor has to be switched off to switch over between the different operating modes and the valves have to be switched. The climate control system cannot use waste heat of the passenger compartment for heating the passenger compartment. The warm air of the passenger compartment is discharged into the surroundings.
A climate control system for conditioning the air of a passenger compartment, comprising a housing having two flow channels for conducting air and a refrigeration circuit having an evaporator and a condenser, is described in DE 10 2012 108 891 A1. In this case, the evaporator is arranged in the first flow channel and the condenser is arranged in the second flow channel. The climate control system is designed for cooling and heating the passenger compartment and for a reheating mode. The setting of the operating mode is performed solely via the control of air guiding units, so that refrigerant switching valves for switching over between different operating modes can be omitted.
Independently of the respective operating mode, a fan is to be provided in each case for the evaporator side and the condenser side of the climate control system and thus two separately operable fans. In this case, for example, during the operation in the refrigeration mode, the energy of the travel wind on the condenser side cannot be used for the heat emission. The associated fan is always in the operating state, which can result in vibrations and noises. Moreover, it is necessary to reserve installation space at positions inside the motor vehicle which do not have installation space reserved for the climate control.
The climate control system can use waste heat of the passenger compartment for heating the passenger compartment, however, a reconfiguration of the flow paths for the intake air and the exhaust air of the passenger compartment is very complex in existing motor vehicles.
If waste heat, for example, from a coolant circuit, is also to be usable simultaneously for the climate control systems known from DE 10 2012 111 672 A1 or DE 10 2012 108 891 A1, a further heat exchanger operable as an evaporator for the refrigerant, especially a plate evaporator, having an additional expansion element, in particular an expansion valve, is thus additionally to be provided in each case. In this case, during operation in the refrigeration mode, however, refrigerant at the same pressure level is applied to both the refrigerant-air heat exchanger operated as an evaporator and also the additional plate evaporator of the coolant circuit. The two different energy flows of the air and the coolant have to have the same temperature level to be able to operate the refrigeration circuit efficiently. However, since the temperature of the air in the passenger compartment is only slowly heated, the operation of the evaporator at the same pressure level is only conceivable in rare cases and solely inside a short duration. The different refrigerant-air heat exchangers and plate heat exchangers operated as evaporators could only be operated at the same pressure level during the operation of the refrigeration circuit in the heat pump mode.

Air conditioning system of a motor vehicle and method for operating the air conditioning system


A surgical hand piece comprises a shell, a channel having an irrigation conduit, and a sensor housing. The channel is coupled to the shell such that the proximal end of the channel is located at the proximal end of the shell and the distal end of the channel is located near the distal end of the shell. The sensor housing has an irrigation path extending through it. The sensor housing has a seal interface on one end. The seal interface end of the sensor housing is coupled to the proximal end of the channel such that the irrigation conduit of the channel is fluidly coupled to the irrigation path of the sensor housing.

This invention relates generally to the field of ophthalmic surgery and more particularly to ultrasonic hand pieces for phacoemulsification.
The human eye in its simplest terms functions to provide vision by transmitting light through a clear outer portion called the cornea, and focusing the image by way of the lens onto the retina. The quality of the focused image depends on many factors including the size and shape of the eye, and the transparency of the cornea and lens.
When age or disease causes the lens to become less transparent, vision deteriorates because of the diminished light which can be transmitted to the retina. This deficiency in the lens of the eye is medically known as a cataract. An accepted treatment for this condition is surgical removal of the lens and replacement of the lens function by an artificial lens (IOL).
In the United States, the majority of cataractous lenses are removed by a surgical technique called phacoemulsification. During this procedure, a thin phacoemulsification cutting needle is inserted into the diseased lens and vibrated ultrasonically. The vibrating cutting needle liquefies or emulsifies the lens so that the lens may be aspirated out of the eye. The diseased lens, once removed, is replaced by an artificial lens.
A typical ultrasonic surgical device suitable for ophthalmic procedures consists of an ultrasonically driven hand piece, an attached cutting needle, an irrigating sleeve, and an electronic control console. The hand piece assembly is attached to the control console by an electric cable and flexible tubing. Through the electric cable, the console varies the power level transmitted by the hand piece to the attached cutting needle and the flexible tubing supply irrigation fluid to and draw aspiration fluid from the eye through the hand piece assembly.
The operative part of the hand piece is a centrally located, hollow resonating bar or horn directly attached to a set of piezoelectric crystals. The crystals supply the required ultrasonic vibration needed to drive both the horn and the attached cutting needle during phacoemulsification and are controlled by the console. The crystal/horn assembly is suspended within the hollow body or shell of the hand piece by flexible mountings. The hand piece body terminates in a reduced diameter portion or nosecone at the body's distal end. The nosecone is externally threaded to accept the irrigation sleeve. Likewise, the horn bore is internally threaded at its distal end to receive the external threads of the cutting needle. The irrigation sleeve also has an internally threaded bore that is screwed onto the external threads of the nosecone. The cutting needle is adjusted so that the needle projects only a predetermined amount past the open end of the irrigating sleeve.
In use, the ends of the cutting needle and irrigating sleeve are inserted into a small incision of predetermined width in the cornea or sclera. The cutting needle is ultrasonically vibrated along its longitudinal axis within the irrigating sleeve by the crystal-driven ultrasonic horn, thereby emulsifying the selected tissue in situ. The hollow bore of the cutting needle communicates with the bore in the horn that in turn communicates with the aspiration line from the hand piece to the console. A reduced pressure or vacuum source in the console draws or aspirates the emulsified tissue from the eye through the open end of the cutting needle, the cutting needle and horn bores and the aspiration line and into a collection device. The aspiration of emulsified tissue is aided by a saline solution or irrigating solution that is injected into the surgical site through the small annular gap between the inside surface of the irrigating sleeve and the cutting needle.
During surgery, the console controls irrigation and/or aspiration which in turn determines the pressure in the eye. Aspirating too much fluid from the eye can result in low pressure and a shallowing or collapse of the anterior chamber. Typically, the pressure in the eye is monitored by measuring the pressure in the irrigation and/or aspiration lines. One or more noninvasive pressure sensors are located in a fluidics cassette to which the irrigation and/or aspiration lines are connected. The location of these pressure sensors, in a cassette that is remotely located from the eye, leads to some delay in monitoring pressure in the eye. It would be desirable to locate a pressure sensor close to the eye to minimize the delay in monitoring eye pressure.

Surgical hand piece with integrated pressure sensor


A system and method for distributed computing including a compute node having a graphics processing unit (GPU) to execute tasks of a distributed computing job. A distributed-computing programming framework executes the tasks on the compute node. A GPU-daemon process shares GPU resources between the tasks executing on the GPU of the compute node.

Distributed computing systems, high performance computing (HPC) systems, and other similar systems may facilitate scientists and engineers to solve complex science, engineering, and business problems using applications that benefit from high bandwidth, low latency networking, and very high compute capabilities. These systems may also execute data storage and retrieval, perform more straightforward tasks, and so on. Such systems may include those for cloud computing, Big Data analytics, web services, enterprise services, distributed computing and HPC generally, and so on. The competitive business of data and computing services drives manufacturers in the continuous improvement of their processes and products in order to lower costs, deliver reliable service, increase speed, and so on. Indeed, in data handling and processing, there is generally an ever-increasing demand to utilize processing resources more efficiently, including in the "Big Data" era.
Big Data is a term used to describe the exponential growth and availability of data, both structured and unstructured. Big Data may be a term for collection of data sets so large and complex that processing is difficult using traditional data processing applications. Big Data may also mean that the amount or size of data is larger than the memory capacity or storage capacity of a single machine and, hence, multiple machines/servers/computers are employed to process the data or solve the problem. With the advent of Big Data, challenges include analysis, capture, curation, search, sharing, storage, transfer, visualization, and so on. Again, there exists a need for continuous improvement in efficiency of data storage and processing, including with regard to large amounts of data such as Big Data and data system configurations generally.
The same numbers are used throughout the disclosure and the figures to reference like components and features. Numbers in the 100 series refer to features originally found in FIG. 1; numbers in the 200 series refer to features originally found in FIG. 2; and so on.


Examples described herein relate to efficient memory access. An example is a system includes a programmable device, and a memory. The programmable device is coupled to the host and receives the read/write requests and the addresses associated therewith. The programmable device interleaves the read/write requests across multiple communication channels based on a subset of bits within each address. The memory receives the read/write requests from the programmable device. The memory stores contents associated with the addresses for write requests and returns contents associated with the addresses for a read request to the programmable device. The programmable device returns the received contents to the host for processing.

Increase in real time data analytics has led to an increase in computationally intensive data systems. In general, data is first stored in memory and later accessed for analysis and processing. Generally, memory access for big data applications, e.g., random lookup in interlink tables or relational database, may cause bottleneck, which may lead to performance degradation. For a nonlimiting example, a processing unit, e.g., a CPU, may perform operations such as gather, join, etc., wherein gather operation is a type of memory addressing arising in addressing vectors in sparse linear algebra operations from Double Data Rate (DDR) channels and join operation is an SQL instruction that joins data or rows from two or more tables based on common fields between them. Unfortunately, many of these operations that the processing unit is tasked with involves inefficient memory access because of limited number of DDR channels, e.g., 4 channels. Inefficiency may further be exacerbated because the minimum number of read size is generally much larger, e.g., 64 Bytes, than the needed data size, e.g., 4 Bytes, etc., for processing.

Configurable overlay on wide memory channels for efficient memory access


A tablet unit 10 for a vehicle includes a dashboarded-shaped body 36, a handle 42, and a touch pen hold unit 50. The dashboard-shaped body 36 includes a receiving antenna 138 which is interlocked with an operation of the handle and is moved on a tablet opposed surface 52. The receiving antenna 138 inputs electromagnetic waves from a tablet 28 and transmits positional information corresponding to the electromagnetic waves to an antenna on the touch pen 32 holding the touch pen 32 through cables 160a, 160b. A drive game is played by operating the handle, which makes the drive game realistic in comparison with that played by operating the touch pen 32. Tablet units 10 for game devices using a keyboard musical instrument, clock, athletic museum, gun and a register are also provided for malting these games realistic in comparison with that played by operating the touch pen 32.

The present invention relates to a tablet unit which is mountable on a game device in which command information is inputted by contacting a touch pen to a tablet.
As an image device typically exemplified by a video game device for children is known an image device for playing a game by loading software in the form of a picture book in a game device and watching both the picture book and a TV monitor screen.
An example of such game device is shown in FIG. 18. A video game device 12 includes a foldable game device body 14. An upper lid 18 of the game device body 14 is taken off a bottom lid 15 thereof, and a picture book-type game cartridge 22 is inserted into a cartridge slot 20 provided in the inside of the upper lid 18. Four direction buttons 24 and an execution button 26 are provided on the left side of the inside of the bottom lid 16 of the game device body 14. Four direction buttons 24 and one execution button 26 are disposed on the left side of the inside of the bottom lid 16, a tablet 28 is disposed on the center thereof, and a touch pen holder 30 is disposed on the right side of the inside thereof. The four direction buttons 24 are an upward direction button 24a, a downward button 24b, a right button 24c and a left direction button 24d, which are arranged in a cross-shape.
The direction button 24 and the execution button 26 are operated by an operator, and the operator commands four upward, downward, left and right directions by the direction button 24 and gives an execution command by the execution button 26. The touch pen holder 30 holds a touch pen 32. The touch pen 32 is contacted to a picture book of a game cartridge 22 and the tablet 28 to operate the picture book software. The tablet 28 detects by the electromagnetic induction method a position where the touch pen 32 is near the tablet. As described in Japanese Patent-Laid Open Publication No. Tokkai Hei 05-137846/1993, the electromagnetic induction method detects a position by detecting an electromagnetic signal supplied by the tablet 28 by the touch pen 32.
On the center of the inside of the upper lid 18 of the game device body 14 there is provided a picture book mount unit 34 where a picture book-type game cartridge 22 is mounted at the center thereof. The picture book mount unit 34 detects by the electromagnetic induction method, as does the tablet 28, a position where the touch pen 32 is near the picture book.
As described above, in the video game device 12 using picture book software, a required part of the picture is touched by the touch pen 32 to replace a game display on the monitor screen, or a required part of a game display is touched by the touch pen to play various games. By tracing the tablet 28 by the touch pen 32 as in drawing a picture with a paintbrush, pictures can be drawn freely on the monitor screen.
However, in the above-described video game device 12, when a car driving game is displayed on a game display, the touch pen 32 must be operated to, e.g., command a driving direction of the car. This gives no feeling of driving a car and makes the simulated operation unrealistic, and the game is unsatisfactory as a simulated experience play for children.


An apparatus for providing error concealment, error resilience, and/or error resilience modification. The apparatus includes a first block to process a P-type frame in a video bitstream using a first error resilience technique. The apparatus further includes a second block to process a B-type frame in the video bitstream using a second error resilience technique that is different from the first error resilience technique.

This invention relates generally to providing error resilience and concealment for video data.
Video communication is becoming a popular form of communication over the Internet, wireless telephones, and other video telephones. The primary challenge for video communications is the enormous bandwidth required for transmitting video signals. As such, developers have turned to video compression and have proposed a variety of standards for compressing video signals before transmission. One such standard is the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG-2) standard, which is described in ISO/IEC 13818-1 (MPEG-2 Systems), ISO/IEC 13818-2 (MPEG-2 Video), dated in 1994 and provided by the International Organization For Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).
One inherent problem with video communications systems is that information may be altered or lost during transmission due to channel noise, for example. As such, error recovery methods are becoming increasingly popular because of the growing interest of transmitting video over unreliable channels, such as wireless networks and the Internet.
Currently, MPEG standards define three types of frames, namely intraframe (I-type) frames, which use no temporal prediction, interframe (P-type) frames, which are predictively encoded based on past I- or P-type frames, and bi-directionally predicted (B-type) frames, which are predictively encoded based on past or future I- or P-type frames. The error resilience and concealment techniques so far have focused primarily on P-type frames, because B-type frames are generally not used for low bitrate MPEG-4 and H.263 compression. Error resilience and concealment techniques, however, may sometimes be complex and computationally taxing. Complex error resilience techniques, for example, may require more bandwidth allocation for error resilience. Additionally, complex error resilience or concealment techniques may require high-speed, and oft expensive, hardware resources. As such, efficient methods of providing error resilience and error concealment that take advantage of cases where B-type frames are used in addition to P-type frames may be desirable.
Efficient techniques may also be desirable in modifying the error resilience of an encoded video bitstream. For example, a device receiving an encoded video bitstream may need to retransmit, or, alternatively, store the encoded video bitstream. In the process of storing or re-transmitting the encoded video bitstream, the device, such as a cell phone or a personal digital assistance (PDA), may perform undesirable complex computations, which may not only consume additional energy but may also be operationally inefficient.
Thus, there is a need to provide an efficient method of error resilience before transmission, retransmission, or storage, and an efficient method of error concealment while receiving an encoded video bitstream.

Providing error resilience and concealment for video data


A method is provided for purifying nucleic acid from a sample in a microfluidic device. The method can be used to purify nucleic acids from any source known in the art that comprises nucleic acids, such as prokaryotic or eukaryotic organisms, viruses, cell, tissues, organs, etc. In a specific example, the tissue is whole blood. The method for purifying nucleic acid may run fully automated in the microfluidic device.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention are directed generally to methods for preparing, purifying, amplifying, and detecting biological molecules of interest such as nucleic acids and, more particularly, to such methods performed using microfluidic devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
The use of molecular diagnostics has expanded greatly since its inception in the early 1980s, particularly as a means to permit the detection of slow growing or fastidious bacteria responsible for infectious diseases. The detection of viral pathogens, including viral load testing has also been significantly improved by molecular diagnostics. As more data have become available regarding the human genome, the use of molecular diagnostics in pharmacogenomics, companion diagnostics, and other personalized medicine applications continues to gain momentum.
Nucleic acid amplification is a standard technique known in the art by which nucleic acids may be isolated and more accurately and efficiently manipulated for use in molecular diagnostics and other nucleic acid screening purposes. Various methods have been described in the literature for amplifying nucleic acids, such as deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA), present in a sample. Among these, the most widely practiced is the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,683,195 (Mullis et al., entitled "Process for amplifying, detecting, and/or -cloning nucleic acid sequences," issued Jul. 28, 1987) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,683,202 (Mullis, entitled "Process for amplifying nucleic acid sequences," issued Jul. 28, 1987). Briefly, PCR consists of amplifying denatured, complementary strands of target nucleic acid by annealing each strand to a short oligonucleotide primer, wherein the primers are chosen so as to flank the sequence of interest. The primers are then mediated by a polymerase enzyme to yield extension products that are themselves complementary to the primers and hence serve as templates for synthesis of additional copies of the target sequence. Each successive cycle of denaturation, primer annealing, and primer extension essentially doubles the amount of target synthesized in the previous cycle, resulting in exponential accumulation of the target.
PCR methodologies in general suffer from several limitations that are well-known in the art. One such limitation is owing to the poor fidelity of commonly used, thermostable polymerase enzymes, such as Taq. This results in nucleotide base misincorporations that are propagated from one cycle to the next. It is estimated that such misincorporations may occur as often as once per one thousand bases of incorporation. A second limitation is that different cDNAs are amplified with different efficiencies, resulting in underrepresentation of some cDNA sequences and overrepresentation of others in the amplified product. Even a small difference in efficiency may result in a several-thousand fold differential in the representation of these cDNAs in the product after only as few as 30 cycles of amplification.
Another limitation is the presence of inhibitors of PCR in the starting material (e.g., hemoglobin in blood). These inhibitors are often carried through purification and either limit or completely impede amplification reactions performed with the nucleic acids derived from the purification. Therefore this provides another rationale for needing better upstream purification strategies (see e.g., J. Bessetti, Profiles in DNA, PCR Inhibition, An Introduction to PCR Inhibitors, Promega Corporation, March 2007).
Also significant is that nucleic acid amplification is only as accurate as the starting sample of nucleic acid to be amplified. Nucleic acid (e.g., DNA or RNA) of low purity will yield amplification products that may not reflect the composition of the starting sample, and therefore, cannot be used (or relied on) for diagnostic purposes.
It is also recognized that the conventional practice of biochemistry and molecular biology can require physical process resources on a scale that are frequently inversely proportional to the size of the subject being studied. For example, the apparatus and process chemistry associated with the preparation and purification of a biological sample such as a nucleic acid fragment for prospective analysis may easily require a full scale bio-laboratory with sterile facilities. Furthermore, an environmentally isolated facility of similar scale may typically be required to carry out the known nucleic acid amplification procedures such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for amplifying the nucleic acid fragment.
There is therefore a need in the art for improved methods of nucleic acid purification for use in nucleic acid amplification techniques, so that nucleic acids may be more accurately and efficiently purified, identified and manipulated for use in molecular diagnostics and other nucleic acid screening purposes. There also exists a need for improved microfluidic systems for processing fluids for analysis of biological or chemical samples, and in particular, in the detection and analysis of biologically active macromolecules derived from such samples such as DNA, RNA, amino acids and proteins. It is beneficial and advantageous that the systems are mass producible, inexpensive, and preferably disposable; that the systems be simple to operate and that many or substantially all of the fluid processing steps be automated; that the systems be customizable, and be modular such that the system can be easily and rapidly reconfigured to suit various applications in which the detection of macromolecules is desired; and, that the systems be able to provide straightforward and meaningful assay results. A more thorough discussion of the challenges and shortcomings in the art, as well as exemplary solutions that may be utilized in conjunction with the teachings of the instant invention, are disclosed in applicant's copending U.S. application Ser. No. 13/033,165 (Pub. No. US2011/0275058) entitled "Self-contained Biological Assay Apparatus, Methods, and Applications," the subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Microfluidic device-based nucleic acid purification method


A saw (100) includes a sawdust collection assembly (2) having a chute (10) made of a material having a stretchability to be shaped responsive to movement of a blade housing (102) into a moveable sawdust path. An upper end (40) of a top portion (6) of the chute (10) is removably and reattachably engaged with a top attachment member (36) mounted to the blade housing (102). A bottom portion (8) of the chute (10) is removably and reattachably engaged with a bottom attachment member (26) mounted to a rear side (106C) of a fence (106) of the saw (100). Two side edges (44, 46) of the top portion (6) are respectively attached by two side tension cords (18) to left and right sides (106B, 106A) of the fence (106). One of the side tension cords (18) can be used with a tension block (20, 28) to form a tensioning system.

A sawdust collection assembly for a saw is shown for collecting sawdust and, more particularly, for saws of various types in collecting sawdust. A tensioning system used in attaching the sawdust collection assembly is also shown.
Users have typically had to cope with the very high volume of flying sawdust particles and wood chips generated by miter saws and other saws. According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), wood dust particles are known to cause health problems including eye and skin irritation, allergy, reduced lung function, asthma, and nasal cancer. Further, wood dust is known to be a human carcinogen. As a result, in order to protect themselves, workers have undertaken the cutting of wood outdoors, wearing masks, building makeshift containers, enclosing the rear portion of the saw or building plastic enclosures around their work area. One difficulty that arises is that cutting wood outdoors is often limited by poor weather conditions. As a result, work schedules are often disrupted when conditions do not permit cutting outdoors. Additionally, dust particles and wood chips that drop to the ground are frequently tracked into living areas of the home and get lodged in carpets and in furnishings where they can create an unhealthy environment.
A wide variety of sawdust collection assemblies has been designed to collect sawdust generated by saws. However, these sawdust collection assemblies are expensive and can only be used with saws of specific types. Namely, none of them are a universal fit. Furthermore, many of the sawdust collection assemblies can cover just a small portion of the dust path area or result in a significant gap in the coverage of the dust path, causing the escape of substantial amounts of sawdust. Further, installation of the sawdust collection assemblies are troublesome and difficult to adjust according to the positions of the components of the saws associated with the saw dust collection assemblies. Further, the sawdust collection effect is not always satisfactory in various wood cutting conditions including the depth of cut, the size of the work piece, the angle of the cut, the bevel angle, the size and speed of the saw blade, how quickly the saw blade is pushed into the work piece by the saw operator and especially when a singular cutting operation involves a combination of any and all of these cutting variables.
Accordingly, there is a need to provide a dust collection assembly that is easily adaptable to any make, model or type of miter saw that will capture sawdust that travels across a dust path that is higher and wider than the evacuation paths of virtually all dust chutes, exhausts and funnels that have been designed for saws to date. In addition, there is a need for a sawdust collecting assembly that will be proximate to the actual cutting action of the saw blade regardless of the cutting conditions. Further, there is a need for a sawdust collection assembly that will collect virtually all of the sawdust, does not require the removal of existing structures, will work in combination with a variety of vacuum sources, is easy to install, is easy to adjust and is inexpensive to manufacture.

Dust collection assembly and a tensioning system for a saw


The invention relates to an electrical energy storage module, comprising at least one storage cell stack (7) that has a plurality of groups of first planar parallel energy storage cells (1), each having first electrode elements (1a), and a plurality of groups of second planar parallel energy storage cells (2) arranged planar parallel to the group of first energy storage cells (1), said second groups each having second electrode elements (2a). The groups of first and second energy storage cells (1; 2) are arranged alternately along a first direction of extension of the storage cell stack (7) and the first electrode elements (1a) have a polarity on a side face of the storage cell stack (7) that is different from the second electrode elements (2a) on the side face of the storage cell stack (7). The energy storage module further comprises a plurality of flat contact elements (5) that are arranged on the side faces of the storage cell stack (7), galvanically connect adjacent groups of first and second energy storage cells (1; 2), and contact substantially all first or second electrode elements (1a; 2a) of the adjacent groups of first and second energy storage cells (1; 2) across the width of the storage cell stack (7) in each case.

The invention relates to an electrical energy storage module and to a method for producing an electrical energy storage module.
Direct current is usually extracted from electrical energy storage cells or direct current is fed into said cells. For this reason, the previously known design of energy storage cells is configured to optimize the ohmic internal resistances and the specific energy density or power density of the energy storage cells.
In many applications of electrical energy storage cells, storage cells are connected to one another in a serial or parallel arrangement to form battery modules in order to set desired output parameters such as total voltage, voltage range, energy content or power density. If currents with a rising alternating component are extracted from such energy storage cells, the influence of the distributed inductance of the energy storage cells rises as a function of the frequency. The inductive losses of an energy storage cell are composed of the individual components of the loss contributions of the electrodes, the pole connection and the arrangement of the electrodes in the housing. Furthermore, at operational frequencies in the kHz range, the skin effect can result in losses in regions which conduct the current and in eddy currents in electrically conductive faces, for example in the housing.
Document DE 10 2010 035 114 A1 discloses, for example, a battery unit having a plurality of cell units which each have accumulator cells which are electrically coupled via bus rails.
There is a need for energy storage modules composed of one or more energy storage cells which have relatively low losses in terms of the extraction of high-frequency alternating currents and therefore improve the efficiency of the system using the energy storage cells.

Electrical energy storage module and method for producing an electrical energy storage module


The invention is of various portable, handheld, electronic skincare devices with exterior regions that are configured to engage human skin in a manner that provides a benefit to the skin and/or to tissue proximate to the skin. The exterior regions are configured to vibrate, heat, cool, sense, and/or stimulate the skin. The generated and applied vibrations may be of predetermined and different waveforms configured to achieve a particular result, such as, applying a skincare product to the skin or loosening an element from the skin. The exterior regions may be: a plurality of touch-points, a smooth-plate, and/or a rounded and smooth base. The benefit may be of: cleansing, massaging, soothing, relaxing, loosening of sinus pressure, application of skincare product to skin, removal of skincare product from the skin, opening of skin pores, closing of skin pores, heating, cooling, wrinkle reduction, massaged lymphatic tissue, and/or drained lymphatic tissue.

Human skin, a tissue, is the outer covering of the human body which guards the underlying tissues, such as, but not limited to, muscles, lymphatic tissue, sinus tissue, blood, bones, ligaments, internal organs, and the like. Typically, the human skin has up to seven layers, out of which, the outer layer, is known as the "epidermis", which provides the first and often primary protection from the outer environment to the given human. The middle skin layer, also known as "dermis", provides structure and support, and a third layer known as the "subcutaneous fat Layer" provides insulation and acts as a shock absorber.
Further, the epidermis may be subdivided into three sub-layers, the outermost being the "stratum cornium." The outermost layer, this stratum cornium or the outer layer of the epidermis may be prone to hyperpigmentation and/or exhibit hyperpigmentation, such as, but not limited to, freckles, blotches, spots, sun spots, darkening, wrinkling, and/or other chronic changes, typically associated with skin aging and/or environmental exposure (e.g., repeated exposure to sunlight, dry air, high altitude air, excessively damp/wet air, etc.). Depending upon the given individual, some hyperpigmentation and/or skin conditions may be undesired, such as skin wrinkles.
A number of techniques exist for conditioning of skin, particularly, for facial skin, to minimize or eliminate hyperpigmentation and/or other undesired skin conditions, such as, but not limited to, wrinkling and/or other chronic skin changes. Some of these techniques involve application of one or more skincare products to the skin, such as, but not limited to, cosmetics/makeup, packs/masks, vitamins/minerals/supplements, lotions, ointments, gels, chemical peeling, medicines, pharmaceuticals, and laser treatments. Other techniques utilize diet and/or massage. Many such techniques require an expert/specialist for execution, such as, but not limited to, a prescription from a licensed physician for a particular treatment. Further, many of these techniques are time-intensive and/or expensive as well.
Accordingly, many people rely on manual cleaning and massaging of the facial skin, for example, by using, hands, a brush, face wash liquids, foams, and/or lotions. However, such measures often help in removing dust/dirt particles only, and are not effective in cleaning impurities/contaminants (e.g., undesired bacteria), for example, present inside pores of the skin. Therefore, these skin washing/massaging techniques using hands/brushes and typical skin cleaners are fragmented in their approach and often largely ineffective as well. Moreover, manually performing these operations is a cumbersome task and demands significant efforts from a given person. Accordingly, such manual cleaning of the skin on a daily basis may not achieve desired or needed results.
There is a need in the art for various portable, handheld, electronic skincare devices with one or more exterior regions that are configured to engage a region of human skin in a manner that may provide a benefit to that region of human skin and/or to tissue proximate to that region of human skin.
There is a need in the art for such skincare devices that may provide at least one benefit to a region of skin and/or to tissue proximate to that region of skin, wherein that benefit to the region of human (and/or to the tissue proximate to that region of human skin) may be one or more of: cleansing, massaging, soothing, relaxing, loosening of sinus pressure, application of skincare product to skin, removal of skincare product from the skin, opening of skin pores, closing of skin pores, heating, cooling, wrinkle reduction, massaged lymphatic tissue, drained lymphatic tissue, combinations thereof, and/or the like.
It is to these ends that the present invention has been developed.


A twin wing sailing yacht having a pair of wing appendages depending from a canoe or hull, the wing appendages including structures which support at their lower ends a fore and aft extending ballast tandemly suspended between them. The wings are rotatable about generally vertical axes under the control of collective and cyclic steering mechanisms.

Keels of early sailing ships were strong structural beams, usually made of wood, which extended in a straight line along at the bottom of their hulls. An example of this type of keel is the long keel incorporated in the yacht, Cygnet, shown in FIG. 1. Ballast, often rocks, was located inside the bottom of the hull, distributing its load along the keel's length. A rudder was mounted near the vertical rear end of the hull. Upwind performance was poor, reaching performance was useful. Structures were simple, loads were low.
Higher performance sailing yachts were developed in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries capable of improved upwind performance. This was possible with long keels of more advanced shapes capable of providing efficient hydrodynamic side loads and more effective righting moments. These new features were needed to oppose the large aerodynamic side force and heeling moments developed by the sails when sailing upwind. Some examples of the designs developed by naval designers over the years will be reviewed.
Long keels of curved planform and increased depth were used by Herreshoff's Gloriana in 1891, FIG. 2, and in the more recent 12-meter Columbia in 1958, FIG. 3. These boats retained a keel structurally integral with the hull, but placed the ballast concentrated near the bottom of the deeper keel, increasing its righting moments. The structural simplicity to support ballast is evident from FIG. 2. Control was achieved with an inclined rudder attached at the rear end of the keel. The rudder, having to support only its own loads on a long hinge, was a simple mechanism. Mast and sail position was not too sensitive, because of the long keel and large lateral area. Nevertheless, a reduction of wetted area was achieved with the curved planform, relative to Cygnet of FIG. 1.
Yachts with a shallower displacement hull, shaped independently of the keel, more recently called canoe, use fin keels. Examples are Herreshoff's Wenonah of 1892, FIG. 4, and the more recent Olympic class Soling, FIG. 5. The fin keels are usually made of lead, located near the center of the boat to provide two basic functions: hydrodynamic side force below the sail, and ballast to prevent excessive heel when sailing upwind. This type of yacht uses a separate conventional rear rudder located at the rear of the canoe for steering. These rudders turn on a cantilevered post. Mast and sail position are more critical than in boats with long keels. The fin keel and rudder are also called appendages to the canoe.
A modified approach of fin keel design has been tried in recent decades with large ballast concentration in torpedo-like bulbs or bullets located at the bottom of, and external to, the fin keel which can be made of cast iron. These ballast bodies are longer than the width of the fin keel itself, as, for example, in the Tempest shown in FIG. 6. This boat also uses a separate rear rudder. One disadvantage shown in FIG. 6 is that for a given overall draft 1, the span or vertical dimension 2 of the fin keel is obviously reduced by distance 3 due to the presence of the large bulb 4. Also, the structural thickness and shape of the fin keel has to be large enough to support the side loads due to the weight of the bulb when the yacht heels.
The development of aeronautical technology has made available new design approaches for improving fin keels, improving the two basic functions of the fin keel, which are retained. Some examples are listed below.
A trailing edge flap, first developed for aircraft wings by de Havilland in the 1920's, was added to the trailing edge of the fin keel of the 12-meter boats, for example, Intrepid and Australia II. For example, flap 5 in FIG. 7 enhances side force. Steering of these boats was attained with a separate rudder 6 also shown in FIG. 7. When sailing upwind, the pressure differences between the leeward side and the windward side of the fin keel also causes a hydrodynamic side force which also helps to oppose the sail's side force. These boats won the America's Cup in 1972 and 1983, respectively. All subsequent successful 12-meter boats have used fin keels with flaps.
More recently, winglets, first developed by NASA's Dr. Whitcomb as a device conceptually different from endplates, was successfully incorporated by Sloof and others at the bottom of a fin keel of a 12-meter yacht Australia II, shown as device 7 in FIG. 7. A lead winglet is especially effective, since it obviously lowers the center of mass of the fin keel, but unlike the bulb of the Tempest, it increases the effective span of the fin keel when sailing heeled upwind. This type of keel, which was used by the winning boats of the 1983 and 1987 America's Cup, permits effective maneuvers with a conventional rear rudder.
Another interesting example of aeronautical influence on keels is the Collins' fin keel, conceptually related, according to Collins, to the aeronautical "joined wing." The Collins' keel is sketched in FIG. 8 from data described in the October 1986 SEA HORSE magazine. A lead bulb is attached at the bottom of the fin keel to increase ballast's righting moments, decreasing, for a given draft, the span of the fin keel, as was the case for the Tempest. Collins' fin keel itself, however, is slotted at the middle. The slot induces, according to Collins, a re-distribution of vortex flow which is beneficial for the hydrodynamics side force of the device. Yaw is obtained with a rear rudder 9.
Additional information on the Collins keel is available in U.S. Pat. No. 4,920,906, in which Collins teaches and claims a close coupling between the front and rear members of his keel, between which the slot is formed. Collins teaches that there should be a crossflow from the high pressure side of the forward member across the slot and the low pressure side of the rear member, that the front member should be smaller than the fixed portions of the rear member, and that the distance between his forward and rearward keel members is less than the chord of the rear member.
Other interesting examples of different designs related to keels and rudders are now reviewed.
FIG. 9 shows the 1974 12-meter Mariner using a fin keel for ballast and side force, and a deep bustle for expected hydrodynamic benefits using a blunt end not unlike those used in the aerodynamics of bullets and cars. Control for the Mariner was provided by a narrow rear rudder of small area and very high aspect ratio which protrudes below, instead of to the rear of the bustle. It therefore differs from Australia II's rudder, shown in FIG. 7. Mariner was reported to be difficult to maneuver.
FIG. 10 shows a 12-meter designed by I. Howlett, sketched from a 1977 issue of SEA HORSE magazine. It uses a fin keel to provide side force and ballast. Steering is obtained with an under-slung rear rudder of high aspect ratio very similar to the Mariner. The design also shows a front foil of high aspect ratio and considerable depth. While Howlett's fin keel design of FIG. 12 apparently has been tank tested, it was not used in his 12-meter designs which have been challengers to the America's Cup before or after the publication of that article.
The above designs appear to cover extreme breadth of configuration, but upon analysis, respond to and share fundamental design features which may be summarized as follows:
(a) Keels provide hydrodynamic side force to oppose the sail's aerodynamic side force, and righting moments through ballast to oppose, when heeled, the sail's heeling moments, to permit upwind sailing; and,
(b) Steering is provided by a separate rudder.
In consequence:
(c) The fin keel is of relatively large dimensions and is an important structural component, usually made of lead or cast iron, which supports large hydrodynamic and gravitational loads when heeled.
(d) The rudder is of relatively small dimensions and supports only its own loads.
(e) Mast and sail positions have been evolved over 100 years to define a well-proven criteria in which there is close proximity between fin keel's forward edge and the mast, and a large distance between the fin keel, mast, and rudder. The latter usually at the extreme rear end of the hull.
A completely different kind of yacht has been considered in the past, reproduced in FIG. 11 from a 1903 publication on a model yacht Gossoon. The hull of FIG. 11 comprises a canoe 10 with front foil 11 and rear foil 12 supporting a ballast body 13. According to the original Gossoon drawings, the vertical distance between the belly of the Gossoon's canoe and the top of the ballast is approximately the same as the average horizontal chord distance between the leading and trailing edges of either the front or rear foil of Gossoon and the vertical depth of his ballast body is almost the same as the draft of his canoe. In the horizontal direction, the spacing between the front and rear foils is about 4 times the horizontal chord of the foils. According to Marchaj's "Aerohydrodynamics of Sailing", Appendix 2, this type of design has been tried in an experimental yacht in 1968 and in models without noticeable success. Marchaj's picture of a wood model shows a vertical distance between belly of the canoe and top of hull approximately equal to twice the horizontal chord of either of his foils, and a horizontal distance between the foils of approximately three times the chord of the rear foil, which is the larger one. Marchaj's picture of a quarter-ton experimental yacht, apparently unsuccessful, shows that the vertical distance between the ballast body and the canoe body is also approximately twice the horizontal chord of the rear foil, and the horizontal space between the foils is also approximately three times, or three and one half times, the chord of the rear foil. This lack of success can be understood upon examination of FIG. 11, inasmuch as the previously reviewed design criteria for conventional yachts (paragraphs (a) through (e) above) do not apply to FIG. 11. Indeed, the word keel, denoting a single appendage that provides two functions (hydrodynamic side force and ballast) is not properly applicable to FIG. 11, because the foils of FIG. 11 are not ballast, since body 13 is the ballast. Also, if foil 11 were a "rudder", it would exhibit structural problems never experienced by earlier rudders, namely, the need to support about half of the weight of ballast 13. And, if it is a rudder, it is not seen how the small front foil can provide adequate forces against the sail's side force.
It is then clear that new design problems appear for FIG. 11, which conventional design criteria does not address: How can the configuration of FIG. 11 sail upwind? Where should its mast be positioned? How can a hydrodynamic side force on rudder-like foils oppose sail's side force and provide simultaneous steering? How should the structure be constructed if large ballast weights are to be supported by rudder-like foils? The absence of these type of boats in general use indicates they appear to have no purpose, or no solution has been found to these problems.


A knife sharpener is provided which is capable of precision sharpening of hunting and similar knives that have a first and second blade face, each of which terminates at a facet that meets the corresponding facet to create the knife edge. At least the first of the blade faces has a lower distinct planar or concave section adjacent the edge facet with the lower planar or concave section of the face being set at an angle to the center line of the blade thickness that is different from the angle of the adjoining upper section of the same blade face located adjacent to the back of the blade. The sharpener includes a sharpening member such as one having an abrasive coated surface. The sharpener also includes a planar angle knife guide surface of a knife guide which is designed for intimate sliding and sustaining contact with the second face of the blade in order to position an edge facet on the first of the faces into precise angular relation with the sharpening surface. The sharpener also includes a knife holding spring that applies force against the first face of the blade predominantly at one or more locations on the lower planar or concave section of the first face that is adjacent to the edge facet being sharpened in order that the lower section adjacent the edge on the second face of the blade is pressured to align with and remain in intimate sliding alignment with the guide surface as the blade edge facet on the first face is being sharpened.

Precision sharpening of hunting style knives and certain Asian knives in knife sharpeners has historically been limited because of imprecise control of the angle of the blade's cutting edge facet as presented to the moving abrasive.
Commonly in sharpeners to control the sharpening angle, the face of the hunting knife is laid on a planar angle guide surface and held there by hand, by a magnet or a spring. Because of the complex geometric design of the face of hunting and certain Asian knife blades the positioning of these style blades on such angle guides is unstable and ambiguous, consequently precise angular control of the facets being ground at the knife edge is seriously compromised.

Precision sharpener for hunting and Asian knives