A method for welding baling straps and the like includes receiving two strap portions intermediate to weld plates such that the two strap portions overlap at least partially, moving the weld plates back and forth with respect to one another so as to move the two strap portions back and forth with respect to one another, and locking the weld plates while the weld plates are moved back and forth. Locking the weld plates while moving the weld plates back and forth effects the formation of a weld which attaches the two strap portions together. An improved weld plate configuration is also provided. The improved weld plate has an alternating pattern of teeth formed thereon such that portions of the weld plate vary in the ability thereof to grip a strap.

This invention relates generally to an apparatus for automatically strapping bales of cotton or other fibers or stacks of lumber or bricks or other items that are suitable for strapping. This invention relates more particularly to a system and method for welding the ends of thermoplastic straps together so as to form bales of cotton or so as to bind together any other desired material or items.
In the cotton or fiber industry, the normal method of banding or tying cotton bales has been to have workmen direct a tie, such as a band or wire, around a pressed cotton bale and then secure the ends of the ties appropriately, depending on the design of the tie. In the cotton or fiber industry, there are generally three ways to secure a bale after the bale has been pressed. Pertinent securing means include pre-formed steel wires that have interlocking ends pre-formed to define loops which engage one another during a tying operation, flat ribbon-steel bands which have their ends inserted into a crimp by which they are secured, and flat thermoplastic strapping material, typically formed of polypropylene or polyester, which has its ends welded together.
The steel pre-formed wires have a loop manufactured into each end thereof. The ends are interlocked around to form a square knot. When the pressure is released from the bale, the knot formed by the interlocking loops pulls tight and retains the bale against further expansion. In a conventional bale-tying operation, two workmen (one on each side of the baling press) manually bend the wires around the bale and secure the ends of the wires together in a wire tie guide assembly. The wires are normally tied together sequentially, one at a time.
Alternatively, the wires might be tied in a hydraulically operated wire tying device mounted on a baling press. The hydraulically operated wire tying device ties a plurality of wires having pre-formed interlocking ends around a bale formed in the press. Pivotally mounted wire bending assemblies take the place of workmen on each side of the baling press. The pivotally mounted wire bending assemblies bend the tie wires around the bale by inserting the ends of the tie wires into a wire tie guide assembly. However, workmen are still required to individually load each of a plurality of tie wires into the wire bend assemblies.
Although an improvement over the manual bale tying operation, the hydraulically operated wire tying device still exhibits certain problems which slow the baling process. Exact timing is required for the sequence of events which make up the wire tying operation. If a wire does not follow the correct path at the correct time, several factors can combine to prevent the interlocking ends of the wire from engaging to form a knot.
In particular, the interlocking ends of the wires are conventionally oriented such that the loops are disposed in a generally horizontal plane. This geometric orientation forces the wire closers to be constructed with relatively wide cavities, in order to accommodate the wide aspect ratios of the loops. This, in turn, allows the wires a greater degree of freedom of movement within the cavities. Consequently, there is a greater probability of one wire merely sliding past another, without their loops engaging in a knot.
In addition, press wear, both alone or in combination with component manufacturing tolerances, can cause a follow block to vary its position or orientation both vertically or from side to side. Consequently, the wire bend assemblies may not be in alignment with the wire tie guide assemblies. All of the above-described cases result in mis-ties, with a consequent undesirable loss of time and possible damage to the press.
Bale tying using flat steel straps is hindered primarily by. the cost of the strapping material, the complexity of the machinery used, and the speed at which the machinery is able to operate. In addition, both the weight of steel strap tie material and its substantially sharp edges make it cumbersome and particularly dangerous to handle.
Further, once it is removed from a bale, steel strapping material is not easily recycled by an end user. Removal is difficult, and once removed, a large volume of sharp material must be colleted and crushed together to form the material into a package that can be more easily handled.
Additionally, steel strap tie material is further disadvantageous in that its weakest point (the joint) is located in the highest stress position on the bale. This is true because the forming machinery is only able to apply a joint, i.e., a crimp, on the side of the bale (the position of the bale with the highest degree of lateral pressure or stress). This non-optional position of the crimp results in significant tie breakage with a consequent loss of bale integrity.
Conversely, plastic or non-ferrous strapping is an ideal material for strapping bales of cotton or other fibers. Indeed, such plastic strapping may be used to strap a wide variety of different items, such as lumber or bricks, as well as many other materials which are suitable for such strapping. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, plastic is relatively light in weight and can be formed into a variety of widths and thicknesses. Plastic also has comparatively soft or non-sharp edges which allows for easy handling. Its reduced weight lowers shipping costs. This plastic or non-ferrous strapping material is very competitive with both wire ties and metal strapping, on a cost per bale basis. Further, plastic strapping is easily adaptable to fully automatic welding machinery. Plastic strapping material is readily recyclable by the end user and is considered substantially safer than steel strapping material, particularly in instances of strap breakage wherein the sharp edges of the steel strapping frequently move violently and dangerously in response to breakage.
Because of the particular orientation of conventional plastic strap automatic tying machinery, certain disadvantages arise when one adapts strapping and joint forming apparatus to the structure of a baling press. Typically, automated thermoplastic strapping machinery, including a material feeder, tensioner, cutting shear and joint former, are so large that they are precluded from being able to be placed anywhere except on the side of the bale. As was the case with steel strapping material discussed above, thermoplastic strapping joint formation therefore takes place in the region of the bale that exhibits the highest degree of tensile stress.
In this regard, conventional thermoplastic strapping machinery must typically wait until a baling press has completed operation and has reached xe2x80x9cshut heightxe2x80x9d before it begins the strapping operation. The strapping head pulls strapping material off of a spool and directs it around the bale through a series of shoots, until the front edge of the strapping material has completed its circuit of the bale and is directed back to the region of the strapping head. The strap is then pulled tight around the bale to a pre-determined tension and the strap is then cut with a shear. The two ends are then joined by a friction weld, hot knife weld, or other similar joint forming operation, and maintained together until the joint is cool, in which time the strap is released and allowed to carry the tensile load of the bale.
Referring now to FIGS. 1a, 1b and 1c, there is shown a semi-schematic view of cotton, or other fibers, being pressed into a bale 14 between the platens 24 and 25 of a hydraulic press 16, 23 in accord with the prior art. Typically, fiber is pressed by a large hydraulic cylinder out of a box that measures approximately 30 inches wide by 54 inches long and 144 inches deep. Such a box is typically filled with approximately 500 pounds of cotton lint which is subsequently pressed into a 20 inch by 54 inch bale 14 measuring approximately 20 to 22 inches tall (in accordance with the illustration of FIG. 1a). The box from which the bale 14 is pressed has been omitted for the sake of illustrational clarity.
Strapping material, in the form of thermoplastic straps 26, is inserted through guide slots in the upper 24 and lower 25 platens, and are secured on the sides of the bale 14 (as shown in the illustration of FIG. 1b ). Once the bale 14 is tied, the press 16, 23 is released and the bale 14 is free to expand to the constraints of the straps 26. As shown in the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 1c, the bale 14 is then dumped out of the press 16, 23, making way for a subsequent box loaded with an additional 500 pounds of cotton lint for pressing into the next bale.
It should be noted that conventional thermoplastic strapping systems typically consist of three laterally spaced-apart strapping heads, such that the unit must be indexed in order to tie the requisite number of straps (typically 6) about a bale 14. Should the baling press leak down slightly (a typical artifact of cotton presses) the compressed bale would tend to grow as the press platens separated. When an indexing strapper is used, typically the #1, #3 and #5 straps are tied first. Five to ten seconds later, the strapping head is indexed and the #2, #4 and #6 straps are tied. In the event of press leakage, the first three straps are pulled tight around a smaller diameter bale. The second three straps are subsequently pulled tight around a bale that has expanded and are therefore not as tight. This causes the first three straps to be subject to substantially greater pressure than the second set. These ties are more prone to exceed yield strength and fail which typically causes total strap failure as pressure promptly increases for the ties of the second set.
Accordingly, an apparatus (and process) for tying bales with a flexible thermoplastic strapping material, that is designed for efficient, repeatable operation with low joint stress is needed. Such an apparatus should be designed for easy operation by a single workman to reduce labor costs, while at the same time being easy to install or retrofit to existing presses. Such an apparatus should further be mountable to operate in conjunction with a press such that ginning speed is increased by incorporating the tying process into the last few seconds of the bale pressing operation, thus eliminating the separate indexing and tying steps conventionally undertaken at the end of the process.
The present invention specifically addresses and alleviates the above-mentioned deficiencies associated with the prior art. More particularly, the present invention comprises a method and apparatus for welding baling straps and the like. Two strap portions are received intermediate two weld plates such that the two strap portions overlap one another at least partially. The weld plates are moved back and forth with respect to one another, so as to similarly move the strap portions back and forth with respect to one another. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, such movement of the strap portions back and forth with respect to one another generates a substantial amount of heat. The resulting friction softens the interfacing region of the two strap portions so as to facilitate welding thereof.
According to one aspect of the present invention, the weld plates are rocked while the weld plates are moved back and forth. Rocking the weld plates while moving the weld plates back and forth effects the formation of a weld which attaches the two strap portions together in a manner having enhanced tensile strength.
According to another aspect of the present invention at least one, preferably both, of the weld plates comprises a base having a plurality of teeth formed thereon. At least a portion of the teeth formed upon the base are configured so as to grip a strap. The teeth are formed so as to define a longitudinally alternating pattern according to which portions of the weld plate vary in the ability thereof to grip the strap. Thus, some portions along the length of a weld plate grip the strap securely, while other portions along the length of the weld plate facilitate at least some longitudinal movement of the strap with respect to the weld plate. By providing alternating portions of the weld plate which alternately grip and allow movement of the strap, additional movement of the strap is facilitated which results in enhanced tensile strength of the weld.


A medical, neurological lead includes structure preferably integral to the lead. A helical anchor is raised or channeled into the exterior of the lead. A companion helical valley extends alongside a helical protuberance. Both are created in the lead during the process of its formation, by suitable casting or extrusion or other techniques. Soft tissue and a fibrotic sheath form about the valley and protuberance of the lead such that the lead is fixed longitudinally and laterally, acutely and chronically, by the anchor. The pitch of the valley and protuberance relative to the longitudinal axis of the lead, and the smoothness of the exterior of the lead, are chosen such that the lead may, if and when necessary, be literally screwed from the body, by turn of the lead.

This invention relates to medical, neurological leads of the type used for insertion into the human body, for transmission of therapeutic drugs and/or electrical signals to body organs such as the spinal cord or brain, for acute and chronic pain relief, acute and chronic treatment of disease, and the like. More specifically, this invention relates to the mechanisms and methods by which such leads are secured to the human body.
The field of the application of therapeutic drugs and electrical signals to bodily organs such as the spinal cord and brain is rapidly advancing. The assignee of the present invention, Medtronic, Inc. is a leader in the field. Scientists and engineers at Medtronic have created programmable, electronic, implantable devices which deliver drugs and/or electrical stimulation in programs of therapy for the benefit of mankind. Implantable electrical devices are now capable of relieving chronic, inoperable pain by interfering with the transmission of pain signals in the spinal cord and brain. Implantable drug delivery devices are capable of delivering pain relieving drugs to the same dramatic effect. Both types of devices are also capable of new therapies for treatment of a variety of diseases. An advantage of the electrical devices is that typically no drugs are necessary. With the drug delivery devices, an advantage is that drug dosages are reduced relative to other therapies because the drugs are delivered directly to desired locations of therapy, rather than in remote locations such as the blood vessels of the extremities, and without concern for bodily elimination or chemical interaction. New applications of electrical and drug delivery therapies to diseases and acute and chronic conditions are being discovered rapidly.
With the electrical devices, electrical stimulation is typically delivered from the devices to the body through wired leads, to electrodes. The electrodes are located on and exposed to the body on the distal extremity of the leads, and the leads typically extend into and along the epidural space of the spinal cord, or into the brain at surgically drilled boreholes. The leads may also be subcutaneous where necessary. As an example, leads may extend from devices implanted above the clavicles, under the skin, to a bore hole atop the skull, and thence deep into brain tissue. With the drug delivery devices, catheters, which for purposes of this description are also considered "leads," extend in similar ways. To date, as known to the inventor, leads in the described applications are typically smooth walled, plastic, tubular members, although variation is possible.
When surgery for implantation of neurological leads occurs and is completed, the human body reacts acutely in that soft tissues adjacent surgical openings close about the leads. Chronically, a fibrotic sheath develops. With smooth walled leads, neither the closed soft tissues nor the fibrotic sheaths are adherent to leads. As a consequence, neurological leads must generally be fixed to the body by sutures, or alternative anchors fastened to the leads and the human body.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,058,584, which illustrates an implantable electrical pulse or signal generator delivering bursts of high frequency stimulation to the epidural space of the spinal cord, is incorporated by reference.

Medical neurological lead with integral fixation mechanism


A composite nuclear fuel container for service in water cooled nuclear fission reactor plants having improved resistance to corrosion, and a method of producing same. The invention comprises each component of the fuel container being of specific compositions which have been heat treated to transform their microcrystalline structure in such a manner to optimize the corrosion resistance of each component of the fuel container.

Nuclear fuel containers under certain conditions are subject to leakage failures attributable to corrosion. For example, a destructive type of fuel container corrosion has been identified as fuel pellet-container or cladding interaction stress corrosion cracking, a phenomenon which is primarily induced or accelerated by abrupt or rapid reactor power increases.
Composite nuclear fuel containers or elements have been introduced in the art and used in commercial power generating, water cooled nuclear fission reactors to cope with the problem of stress corrosion cracking. Composite nuclear fuel containers comprise a generally conventional tubular container, constructed of a zirconium alloy, stainless steel, aluminum, or other suitable alloys of the art, provided with an internal lining which functions as a protective barrier. Such linings are composed of a metal having increased resistance to stress corrosion cracking, or other forms of destructive attack. The barrier linings of the art include a variety of metals and alloys, including zirconium metal of substantial purity, for example less than about 5000 parts per million impurities, copper, molybdenum, tungsten, rhenium, niobium and alloys thereof. Examples of such protective metal barrier linings for nuclear fuel tubular containers comprise U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,200,492, issued Apr. 29, 1980; No. 4,372,817, issued Feb. 8, 1983; No. 4,445,942, issued May 1, 1984; No. 4,679,540; issued Apr. 21, 1987; No. 4,942,016, issued Jul. 17, 1990; and No. 4,986,957, issued Jan. 22, 1991.
Typical composite fuel containers for water cooled nuclear reactors comprising a tubular container provided with a metal liner internal barrier metallurgically bonded on to its inner surface, are generally produced by inserting a section of hollow liner stock in close fitting intersurface contact within and throughout the length of a section of tube stock, then forming the metallurgical bond by conventional means. Several methods can be used for metallurgically bonding the tube section to the liner component, including explosive bonding, heating under compression loading to cause diffusion bonding and extrusion of the assembly. Examples of such methods for producing composite constructed nuclear fuel containers are given in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,200,492, issued Apr. 29, 1980; No. 4,372,817, issued Feb. 8, 1983; and No. 4,390,497, issued Jun. 28, 1983.
This composite assembly of a section of tube stock with the liner stock inserted within the length thereof, is then subjected to a series of circumference reductions with each reduction accompanied by a following heat annealing to reduce any stresses introduced by the compression distortions of the diameter reduction.
In addition to the conventional annealing heat treatments for the purpose of relieving reduction compression induced stresses in the metal crystalline structure of the reduced composite tube and liner unit, it is a common practice to subject nuclear fuel containers to specific heat modifying treatments to enhance or optimize a critical property of the metal such as corrosion resistance or ductility for improving the durability of the container. For example, it is an established practice to heat treat zirconium metal and its alloys, or fuel containers containing same, up to a temperature above the alpha microcrystalline phase of the particular metal composition, or into the beta microcrystalline phase, followed by rapid cooling to impart corrosion resistance. Such recrystallization heat treatments are disclosed in detail in the art, note for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,894,866, issued Jul. 14, 1959; No. 4,238,251, issued Dec. 9, 1980; No. 4,390,497, issued Jun. 28, 1983; and No. 4,576,654, issued Mar. 18, 1986.
Heat treatment temperatures for producing the microcrystalline structure changes and accompanying property modifications disclosed in the literature typically depend upon the exact composition of the metal or alloy, and are essentially a unique condition for each different metal or combination of alloying ingredients. Accordingly if the temperature levels to achieve or optimize a particular characteristic in a specific metal composition is not provided in the literature, it can be determined empirically, note for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,894,866, issued Jul. 14, 1959; and No. 4,238,251, issued Dec. 9, 1980.
The disclosure and contents of all the aforesaid U.S. patents, and the references cited therein, are incorporated herein by reference.

Composite nuclear fuel container and method for producing same


A method for call establishment in a cellular radio system including a mobile services switching center and a private branch exchange connected thereto, and a visitor location register for storing subscriber data on subscribers located within the service area of the mobile services switching center. To optimize call establishment, when the private branch exchange receives a connection establishment request from a subscriber located within its service area, the private branch exchange checks whether the private branch exchange is the home private branch exchange of the subscriber that sent the connection establishment request. If the private branch exchange is the home private branch exchange of the subscriber, the private branch exchange performs independently authentication, activation of ciphering procedures and assignment of a temporary subscriber identity and only thereafter sends a connection establishment request to the mobile services switching center. If the first call-related message sent by the private branch exchange to the mobile services switching center is a connection establishment request instead of a service request, the mobile services switching center initiates connection establishment without an interrogation to the visitor location register.

Various cellular radio systems or mobile telephone systems are in use and presently being designed in which the geographical coverage area of the system is divided into smaller separate radio areas, i.e. cells, in such a way that when the radiotelephone or mobile telephone is located in a cell, it communicates with the fixed network through a fixed radio station incorporated in the cell. The mobile telephones belonging to the system can roam freely within the system area from one cell to another. One such system is the digital mobile telephone system GSM (Global System for Mobiles).
Cordless telephone (CT) systems, such as the DECT system, have recently come out on the market. The DECT system comprises a base station, which is normally based on access to an existing fixed telephone network. There are three main types of base stations: a residential base station, a base station connected to a private branch exchange in an office, and a telepoint base station.
Cordless telephone systems can also be connected to mobile telephone networks, for instance to the GSM system. The private branch exchange (PBX) of a cordless telephone system can be connected to the GSM system for example by employing DSS 1, Q.930-Q.940, 1989, Digital Subscriber Signalling System No. 1, Network Layer, User-Network Management, CCITT signalling supplemented with mobility management messages. The PBX of a cordless telephone system is connected to the switching centre of the GSM system so that the subscribers in the PBX can roam within the service area of the GSM system, and the subscribers in the PBX can make use of the mobility management procedures of the GSM system and roam within the service area of DECT systems associated with the GSM system. In such a case, mobile subscribers are attached to the PBX in accordance with the DECT radio path protocol ETS 300175, Radio Equipment and Systems (RES), Digital European Cordless Telecommunications (DECT), Common Interface, for instance. It has also been possible to connect fixed subscribers to the PBX, for example in accordance with the ISDN signalling protocol. In that event, calls originating from the GSM system or from a GSM-connected telephone network can also be routed to cordless, for instance DECT, subscribers located within the service area of the PBX.
In the prior art solution, wherein a subscriber located within the service area of a private branch exchange wishes to establish a connection, for example make a call or set up a telecommunications connection to another subscriber, register interrogation procedures in accordance with the GSM recommendations are performed, irrespective of the location of the called subscriber. FIG. 1 shows call establishment procedures in accordance with the prior art. In the figure, a subscriber CPP (Cordless Portable Part) in a private branch exchange PBX sends 101 a connection establishment request CC.sub.-- SETUP, by way of which the subscriber requests the PBX to establish a connection, to another subscriber. Upon receipt of the connection establishment request CC.sub.-- SETUP, the PBX sends 102 a service request DM.sub.-- SERVICE.sub.-- REQ to the mobile services switching centre MSC. Having received the service request, the MSC sends 103 an access request pertaining to mobility management, PROCESS.sub.-- ACC.sub.-- REQ, to the visitor location register VLR. The next step is the assignment of a temporary mobile subscriber identity TMSI.sub.-- ASSIGNMENT 104. This is followed by authentication 105 of the subscriber. Authentication is a process wherewith the subscriber is identified as a legal user of the system. Subsequent to the authentication, ciphering 106 of the messages employed is activated. Further, the visitor location register VLR responds to the access request PROCESS.sub.-- ACC.sub.-- REQ by sending 107 an acknowledgement ACCESS.sub.-- REQ.sub.-- ACC. The PBX subsequently or simultaneously acknowledges the received CC.sub.-- SETUP message by sending 108 an acknowledgement message CC.sub.-- SETUP.sub.-- ACK to the subscriber CPP. Having received an indication of a successful connection establishment request, the subscriber sends 109 the information needed for completing the connection, for example the subscriber number of the B-subscriber, to the private branch exchange PBX in a CC.sub.-- INFO message. The PBX further transmits 110 this information and the connection establishment request as a SETUP message to the mobile services switching centre of the subscriber. The mobile services switching centre sends 112 a subscriber data check interrogation S.sub.-- INFO.sub.-- F.sub.-- O/G.sub.-- CALL to the visitor location register VLR, which checks the subscriber data in its subscriber database. When the visitor location register has checked the subscriber data, it sends 113 a COMPLETE.sub.-- CALL message as an indication of a successful call to the mobile services switching centre MSC, which transmits 114 a CALL.sub.-- PROC message to the private branch exchange PBX of the subscriber. The PBX transmits an indication of a successful call to the subscriber CPP by sending 115 a CC.sub.-- CALL.sub.-- PROC message. As a next step, the MSC sends 116 an indication of the receiving subscriber, the inbound call and the roaming number in an initial address message IAM (specified in the common channel signalling standard Q.721-Q.766, 1989, Specifications of Signalling System No. 7, CCITT, Vol. VI--Fascicle VI.8, p. 251) to the mobile services switching centre MSC of the location area of the receiving subscriber, which may also be a gateway mobile services switching centre GMSC. It is also to be noted that the receiving subscriber may be located within the service area of the mobile services switching centre MSC of the location area of the subscriber CPP requesting the connection, in which case the IAM message is sent as an internal routine of the mobile services switching centre. If the IAM message has been sent to a gateway mobile services switching centre GMSC, the GMSC sends 117 an ACM message (Address Complete Message) in response to the IAM message, thus indicating that all digits required for routing the call have been received. The mobile services switching centre MSC then sends 118 an ALERTING message to the private branch exchange PBX, which responds to the CC.sub.-- SETUP message by sending 119 a CC.sub.-- ALERTING message to the private branch exchange PBX. When the receiving subscriber, i.e. B-subscriber, answers the call, the gateway mobile services switching centre GMSC sends 120 an ANM message (Answer Message). Thereafter the mobile services switching centre sends 121 a CONNECT message to the private branch exchange PBX, which transmits 122 said message to the subscriber CPP as a CC.sub.-- CONNECT message. The PBX acknowledges successful sending of the CONNECT message by sending 123 an acknowledgement message, CONNECT.sub.-- ACK, to the mobile services switching centre.
It is apparent from the foregoing that establishment of a connection to a subscriber located within the service area of a private branch exchange connected to a cellular radio network is a complicated and cumbersome process. It should be noted that the prior art call establishment procedure as set forth above is to be performed every time a subscriber located within the service area of the private branch exchange wishes to establish a call or another telecommunications connection. The mobility management functions to be performed in the GSM system which form part of the operations for connection establishment, i.e. the subscriber authentication 105, ciphering 106 and TMSI assignment 104 and the PROC.sub.-- ACCESS.sub.-- REQ 103 and COMPLETE.sub.-- CALL 113 messages to be sent, as described in the GSM 09.02 recommendation, considerably load the signalling capacity of the mobile telephone network. Heavy loading of the signalling capacity may lead to an overload and system failure, and naturally gives rise to unnecessary traffic in the network. It is further to be noted that the above connection establishment procedures and sending of the messages mentioned above load the network elements that transmit such messages. The processor capacity of the network elements is unnecessarily occupied and may be overloaded. Furthermore, the network elements receiving the messages must process them and perform the desired functions which again load further network elements that receive messages.

Method for establishing a call in a cellular radio system depending on whether the a PBX is the home PBX of the requesting mobile subscriber


Apparatus for timing and initiating a multi-shot blast is disclosed and claimed. The apparatus comprises a programming tool 16 for individually programming a plurality of electronic detonator arrangements 18.1 to 18.5 with delay time data relative to a common initiate command signal. The programmed electronic detonator arrangements 18.1 to 18.5 are all connected to a data communication cable 28 connected to a control unit 20. The control unit transmits the initiate command signal to all the detonator arrangements on the cable 28. Upon reception of the initiate command signal, the detonator arrangements start timing out their respective programmed delay times to cause their associated charges 12.1 to 12.5 to explode at the end of the delay times. The blast may be aborted by a disarm command on the cable 28 at any time before the initiate command signal is transmitted on the cable.

This invention relates to multiple shot blasting systems.
In the specification of the Applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 5,214,236 entitled: "Timing of a multi-shot blast", there is disclosed novel apparatus and a method of timing a multi-shot blast.
According to the method disclosed in the above specification, each charge is fired or initiated individually by loading, via a dedicated path established between a transportable firing or programming tool and each detonator arrangement individually, one after the other, data regarding the time on which the charge associated with that detonator arrangement must explode. Upon reception of the time data, each detonator arrangement starts separately and independently to process the time data, thereby to cause its associated charge to explode when, according to a clock in the detonator arrangement, that charge must explode.
Thus, after the charges have been so initiated, the only way in which the blast can be aborted, is to physically re-establish the path between the firing tool and each detonator arrangement individually, one after the other, and to communicate an "abort"-command to the detonator arrangements. This method and apparatus may not be suitable for some applications.

Single initiate command system and method for a multi-shot blast


The golf ball of the present invention has a white core which has a bright, white outer surface and a relatively thin, translucent cover composed of SURLYN.RTM. having a thickness of about 0.06 inches or less. The translucent SURLYN.RTM. cover contains between 6% and 12% by weight photostorage material, of the type having components such as aluminum oxide, strontium oxide, calcium oxide, europium oxide and boron oxide. A brightly colored fluorescent dye at a concentration between 0.01% and 0.04% by weight can also be added to a SURLYN.RTM. cover material to produce a golf ball of the present invention that is brightly colored. When the golf ball of the present invention has no fluorescent dye in its cover, it is substantially white in appearance, is visible in daylight and after being charged by exposure to light, emits a long lasting bright glow of light for high visibility in the dark. When the golf ball of the present invention has an added preferred bright yellow fluorescent dye, it can be seen in daylight and twilight conditions as easily as a standard yellow ball and after being charged by exposure to light also emits a long lasting bright glow of light for high visibility in the dark.

A conventional golf ball will generally include a flexible solid or wound rubber core enclosed by a relatively hard external cover. The external cover is usually fashioned from Balata or a hard plastic such as SURLYN.TM. and is white or brightly colored to enhance visibility. The outer surface of the external cover has hundreds of dimples that allow the ball to generate lift as it spins and flies through the air, thereby permitting the well struck golf ball to fly great distances.
A typical golf ball has a diameter near or slightly above 1.68 inches. When well struck by a driver or three wood, a typical golf ball can fly a great distance of over 250 yards. Consequently, it can be difficult to find a golf ball that has been struck a great distance when it does not land in the short turf of the fairway. Many golfers, particularly those drawn from the vast multitude of less skilled golfers, would agree that finding a struck golf ball is an important aspect of the game. The difficulty of finding a struck ball increases very rapidly in the fading light of dusk. Obviously, an ordinary golf ball played at dark would be nearly impossible to find even if it does land in the fairway.
Night golf has become more popular in regions of the United States that have intense heat during the summer. Golf course owners and managers have added lighting to their golf courses to extend play into the evening and allow night play. However, it is expensive and difficult to add extensive lighting to a typical golf course that can stretch for over six thousand yards. A ball that performs well and that emits a bright glow of light could benefit golf course owners and managers who wish to offer night golf by allowing them to do so with much less extensive lighting. Aside from increasing the availability of night golf, golfers could also benefit from a light emitting golf ball in fading light conditions such as at dusk. The golfer who wishes to continue play in the fading light of dusk would prefer a golf ball that emits a bright glow of light for high visibility in low light or dark conditions and that is also highly visible during daylight conditions.
Prior art attempts at a golf ball that emits light include a ball covered by U.S. Pat. No. 4,695,055 by Newcomb. U.S. Pat. No. 4,695,055 by Newcomb discloses a translucent plastic ball having a diametrical bore for receiving a corresponding chemi-luminescent light stick. Newcomb's ball has been relatively successful in the market. Although the Newcomb ball glows very brightly, it has a diametric bore and thus is spherically asymmetrical and therefore does not conform to United States Golf Association (U.S.G.A.) rules. The U.S.G.A. Rules of Golf, Appendix III, requires that a golf ball "must not be designed, manufactured or intentionally modified to have properties which differ from those of a spherically symmetrical ball". Newcomb's ball, aside from the inserted light stick, is essentially one piece, solid polymer ball that suffers from significant performance disadvantages of a one piece, solid ball. Further, because the Newcomb ball is translucent, it takes on the color of its surroundings in daylight or twilight conditions. Accordingly, Newcomb's ball, although a useful night ball, is very difficult to find during the daylight or twilight conditions.
Other earlier attempts to introduce phosphorescent materials or layers of phosphorescent materials into a golf ball have met with little success. The phosphorescent materials employed in these previous attempts have typically been zinc sulfide formulations that have been too weak to emit a sufficiently bright and sustained glow of light to make the ball useful at night. The addition of radioactive promethium to such phosphorescent materials can increase brightness but is accompanied by unacceptable health and environmental hazards. Further, earlier glow-in-the-dark golf balls have had translucent, yellowish green covers which make them very difficult to find during the daytime.
What is needed is a golf ball that performs like a ball which conforms to U.S.G.A. rules, that has an outer appearance that is substantially white or brightly colored so that it is easy to see and find during the day, and which has a cover containing a long lasting high luminescence photostorage material so that it can be easily seen at night. Such a ball would be as easy to see and find as a conventional ball in the day or under artificial night lighting and would also be easy to see and find at dusk or at dark.


A connector for connecting electrical conductor areas of flexible circuits with associated conductor pads of an edge connector portion of a circuit board, comprising a connector housing having a circuit board opening sized to at least partially accommodate the edge connector portion, and a further opening allowing passage of the flexible circuits into an interior cavity of the connector housing. A first spring and second spring each have a resilient arched feature for supporting one of the flexible circuits to resiliently bias an electrical conductor area of the associated flexible circuit into electrical contact with associated conductor pads when the connector engages the edge connector portion. The electrical conductor areas of the flexible circuits face each other. At least one of the springs is bent so as to have a first L shaped portion and a second L shaped portion at an end thereof, with the second L shaped portion being oriented approximately 90 degrees offset to the first L shaped portion, and one end of the first L shaped portion contacting one end of the second L shaped portion. The springs resiliently urge the flexible circuits to provide electrical contact with the conductor pads of the edge connector portion when the connector is attached at a desired location to the circuit board.

In electrical arts, it is a common practice to use a connector to mechanically and electrically couple one printed circuit board (PCB) to another PCB. In such a practice, there has been an evolution towards placing electrical contacts closer and closer together while maintaining a high, constant stress between the electrical contact and the areas to be contacted. In electrical systems, flexible printed circuits are employed as electrical jumpers or cables for interconnecting rows of terminal pins or pads of printed circuit boards (PCBs). A connector, mounted to one or both ends of the jumper, is formed with a set of electrical receptacles or sockets which is designed to receive the terminal posts or contact the pads on the PCB.
A primary focus of manufacturers is to increase the circuit density associated with interconnecting the sub-assemblies and components found within their products. This leads to higher density modules, each requiring multiple interconnections to other modules. However, major problems with connectors having closely spaced contacts include the problems of cross-talk, lack of controlled impedance, and increased inductance.
Although the art of connectors is well developed, there remain some problems inherent in this technology. Therefore, a need exists for a connector structure and assembly that reduces cross-talk, controls impedance, and reduces inductance as connector density increases.

Electrical connector for connecting conductor areas of a flexible circuit with associated conductor pads of a circuit board


In an inkjet printing apparatus, as positions where preliminary discharge is performed to cause a printhead to discharge ink irrespective of printing, first and second preliminary discharge performing positions are provided within the moving area of a carriage, and a position or a combination of positions where preliminary discharge is performed is set from the first and second preliminary discharge performing positions on the basis of the information of the size and position of a printing medium. This makes it possible to simplify control concerning the setting of preliminary discharge performing positions and reduce the load on the printing apparatus.

As a data output apparatus of word processors, personal computers, facsimiles and so forth, printers capable of printing desired information such as texts and images on a sheet-type printing medium, e.g., paper, film and the like, are widely utilized.
Although various printing methods are available for such printers, recently an inkjet printing method has particularly attracted attention because of its capability to perform non-contact printing on a printing medium such as paper, ease of color printing, and low noise. Moreover, for a configuration of such a printer, in general a serial printing method is widely adopted because of its low cost and ease of downsizing. According to the serial printing method, a printhead discharging ink in accordance with desired printing data is attached to a carriage and printing is performed by reciprocally scanning the carriage in a direction crossing to the conveyance direction of the printing medium (e.g., paper).
The inkjet printing scheme is designed to print on a printing medium by discharging small ink droplets using various kinds of ink discharge methods such as an electrostatic suction scheme implemented by the application of high voltages, a piezoelectric scheme of mechanically vibrating or displacing ink (colored ink) by using piezoelectric elements, and a thermal scheme using the pressure generated when ink forms bubbles as it is heated. This scheme produces little noise during printing, and allows high resolution, high speed printing by using a printhead having ink orifices formed at a high density. Printing apparatuses using such an inkjet printing scheme are in widespread use even in homes. It has therefore become popular that photos taken by digital cameras are printed by inkjet printing apparatuses. Further, in recent years, an inkjet printing apparatus, which can print photographs by directly connecting with a digital camera, so as not to use PCs when printing photographs taken by the digital camera has been proposed.
As digital cameras have been in widespread use, strong demands have arisen for more inexpensive, higher performance inkjet printing apparatuses.
An inkjet printing apparatus is designed to print by discharging liquid ink toward a printing medium through small holes (nozzles) formed in the printhead. It is, however, known that since ink is a liquid, when the nozzles are exposed to the atmosphere, the ink in the nozzles increases in viscosity and solidifies.
As ink increases in viscosity and solidifies, a discharge failure, e.g., the occurrence of the landing position offset of an ink droplet or a non-discharge state in which no ink droplet is discharged, occurs, resulting in a deterioration in the quality of a printed image. In order to prevent this, the inkjet printing apparatus has a recovery mechanism for setting the apparatus in a good discharge state. This mechanism performs suction recovery operation of producing negative pressure in the printhead by suction or pressurization, thereby discharging ink in the printhead, or preliminary discharge operation of discharging ink irrespective of printing. Such recovery operation is performed when a predetermined period of time has elapsed while the nozzles are exposed to the atmosphere. In this operation, ink which has increased in viscosity and solidified is discharged outside the nozzles.
In general, preliminary discharge is performed at a predetermined position, e.g., a cap which is provided near the home position and also used for suction recovery or a preliminary discharge port provided on the opposite side of the printing area to the home position.
Caps for suction recovery are indispensable for inkjet printing apparatuses, and hence printing apparatuses have them. In contrast, a preliminary discharge port is preferably provided with a member which absorbs ink, and is not used for anything other than preliminary discharge, and hence some printing apparatuses are designed without a preliminary discharge port in consideration of the cost and space required for the printing apparatus. With this arrangement, preliminary discharge is performed only at the preliminary discharge port.
In addition, since a cap has a mechanism for suction recovery, ink (including pigment ink) discharged by preliminary discharge can be discharged outside the cap. In contrast, a preliminary discharge port often has no suction mechanism. If, therefore, pigment ink is preliminarily discharged through the preliminary discharge port, the pigment ink solidifies into stalactite-like clusters and is deposited. As the degree of deposition increases, the deposit comes into contact with the discharge surface of the printhead or the like. This damages the discharge surface or the like.
For the above reason, a printing apparatus which discharges pigment ink is designed to mainly perform preliminary discharge only at the cap.
Since preliminary discharge is performed independently of normal printing operation, it takes time in addition to the time for printing. For this reason, as the number of times of preliminary discharge increases, the throughput decreases. As described above, preliminary discharge has great influence on the throughput.
In general, however, preliminary discharge intervals are determined by the ink and printhead to be used for printhead. If, therefore, the preliminary discharge intervals are simply prolonged, a discharge failure tends to occur due to an increase in viscosity of ink and its solidification.
Under the circumstances, there have been proposed preliminary discharge control methods which improve throughput by optimizing control and eliminating wasteful operation.
For example, in a printing apparatus having, as positions where preliminary discharge is to be performed, two positions, i.e., the position of a cap provided near the home position and a preliminary discharge port provided on the opposite side to the cap within the moving area of a carriage, when a signal for designating preliminary discharge operation is received, the time required to transfer print data to be printed by the next scanning operation is compared with the time required for movement to a position where preliminary discharge can be done next, and control is performed to select one of the preliminary discharge positions which corresponds to a shorter time (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-136755).
In that control method, however, since two times like those described above are calculated, compared, and selected for each scanning operation, the load on a controller (a control unit including a CPU) which performs processing increases.
It is therefore necessary to use high-performance, expensive components with high throughput for the controller, resulting in an increase in the cost of the apparatus. In addition, if the above control is applied to an inkjet printing apparatus having a control with low processing throughput, a desired throughput cannot be obtained because of a decrease in processing speed.

Inkjet printing apparatus and inkjet printing method


A novel polypeptide, a polynucleotide encoding this polypeptide, an expression vector comprising this polynucleotide, a cell transfected with the expression vector, an antibody binding to the above polypeptide, a convenient screening method for obtaining an agent for treating joint diseases, and a process for manufacturing a pharmaceutical composition for treating joint diseases are disclosed.

Joint diseases are diseases which show damage and degeneration of joint cartilage as the main morbid states. Though a disease having the most frequent number of patients among joint diseases is osteoarthritis (OA) (Elders M. J., J. Rheumatol., 27, Suppl., 60, 6-8, 2000), analgesic anti-inflammatory drugs and hyaluronic acid preparations are used in the current therapeutic method merely as a symptomatic therapy for the purpose of alleviating pains accompanied by the degeneration of cartilage and the destruction of subchondral cartilage, so that it cannot be said that they are exerting sufficient therapeutic effects (Dieppe P., Scand. J. Rheumatol., 29, 279-281, 2000).
Joint cartilage is a tissue mainly composed of type II collagen and aggrecan which is a cartilage-specific proteoglycan, and degradation and degeneration of both of them are observed in the joint diseases. Because of this, it has been considered for a long time that control of the degradation and degeneration of these extracellular matrix components would lead to the treatment of joint diseases, so that attempts have been positively made to identify degradation-concerned proteases (collagenase and aggrecanase) and to screen their inhibitors and develop them as medicaments.
As proteases having collagenase activities, matrix metalloproteases (MMP1, MMP8, MMP13, MMP14 and the like) have been identified, and their selective inhibitors have been discovered. However, in spite of the attempts to develop a large number of MMP inhibitors having collagenase inhibition activities as therapeutic drugs for joint diseases including OA and rheumatic arthritis (RA), MMP inhibitors to be used in these diseases as the indication have not been put on the market (Greenwald R. A., Ann. New York Acad. Sci., 878, 413-419, 1999). Under such circumstances, attention has been directed toward aggrecanase which selectively degrades aggrecan which is another main constituting component of joint cartilage.
A joint disease-related role of an enzyme aggrecanase which cleaves aggrecan at the site between Glu373-Ala374 has been revealed by the reports of Sandy et al. and Lohmander et al. stating that all of the main digested aggrecan fragments found in the synovial fluid of human arthritis patients were generated by cleaving at the aggrecanase digestion site (Sandy J. D. et al., J. Clin. Invest., 89, 1512-1516, 1992; Lohmander L. S. et al., Arthritis Rheum., 36, 1214-1222, 1993). On the other hand, it has been known that, in an in vitro explant culture system of joint cartilage, degradation of aggrecan firstly occurs by IL-1 induction and then degradation of type II collagen is accelerated (Dingle L. T. et al., Ann. Rheum. Dis., 34, 303-311, 1975; Cawston T. E. et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm., 215, 377-385, 1995; Kozaci L. D. et al., Arthritis Rheum., 40, 164-174, 1997). It has been reported that the aggrecan degradation takes the precedence of the type II collagen degradation in a mouse arthritis model too (van Meurs J. B. et al., Arthritis Rheum., 42, 1128-1139, 1999). These reports suggest a possibility that the type II collagen degradation can be controlled by inhibiting the preceding aggrecan degradation.
However, although biochemical features show that it is a metalloprotease, that it is located on the outside of cells, that sugar chains contribute to a substrate recognition, and that an activity is induced by IL-1, TNF, or retinoic acid, aggrecanase as a cause of joint diseases has been unidentified for a long time. Recently, ADAMTS4 (aggrecanase-11; Tortorella M. D. et al., Science, 284, 1664-1666, 1999) and ADAMTS11 (aggrecanase-2; Abbaszade I. et al., J. Biol. Chem., 274, 23443-23450, 1999) were reported as the protease having the aggrecanase activity. However, the gene expressions of these proteases are not increased in human OA cartilage and not induced by IL-1, TNF, or retinoic acid (it is known that these compounds induce the aggrecanase activity in an explant culture system of human knee articular cartilage), and thus the presence of another protease relating to joint diseases was suggested (Flannery C. R. et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., 260, 318-322, 1999).
In addition, recently, chromosomal loci in which genetic factors relating to OA are located (an OA-susceptibility locus) in accordance with a genetic research for patients suffering from OA or families having a strong family history of OA have been identified. For example, 11q (Chapman K. et, al., Am. J. Hum. Genet., 65, 167-174, 1999), 4q12-4q21.2, 6q21.1-6q22.1, 16pl3.1-16ql2.1, and 16q21-16q23 (Loughlin J. et al., Am. J. Hum. Genet., 65, 1795-1798, 1999) are reported as the OA-susceptibility loci.

Abstract: The polypeptide is a novel aggrecanase causative of joint diseases (particularly an OA disease).


The present invention provides a receiver frontend that eliminates static and dynamic DC errors and has improved second order intermodulation distortion (IMD2) performance. The receiver frontend includes a first mixer that multiplies a received signal and a first local oscillator (LO) signal to produce an intermediate frequency (IF) signal. A second mixer multiplies the IF signal and a second LO signal to produce an output signal. A first divider circuit divides a reference signal from a reference oscillator by a first divisor N to produce the first LO signal, and a second divider circuit divides the reference signal by a second divisor M to produce the second LO signal. Preferably, the first and second divisors N and M are each integers greater than one (1), and the second divisor M is not an integer multiple of the first divisor N.

In order to reduce the number of components and increase the battery life of portable communications devices, many receiver architectures perform direct conversion, which converts a received signal from a radio frequency directly to baseband. Although direct conversion receiver architectures benefit the communication device by decreasing device size and increasing battery life, the performance of the receiver is diminished due to decreased second order intermodulation distortion (IMD2) performance and static and dynamic DC errors.
IMD2 performance of a direct conversion receiver is degraded because the desired output signal of the direct conversion receiver is near DC. IMD2 components are also near DC and are not filtered. Thus, the desired output signal and the IMD2 components are both co-located in frequency and become inseparable.
Direct conversion receivers include local oscillators that generate a frequency equal to or harmonically related to the frequency of the received signal. Because the frequency of the local oscillator is equal to or harmonically related to the frequency of the received signal, there is coupling between the blocker signals and the output of the local oscillator. Thus, during downconversion, the blocker signals are mixed with themselves, thereby producing the square of the blocker signals at DC.
In addition to intermodulation distortion, static and dynamic DC errors degrade the performance of direct conversion receivers. One static DC error is a residual DC offset term due to leakage of the local oscillator into the received signal. Thus, the output of the local oscillator is mixed with itself during downconversion, thereby producing the DC offset term. To correct this static DC error, direct conversion receivers may perform DC correction during baseband processing. However, the DC correction does not correct dynamic DC errors occurring due to thermal drift of the receiver or due to interferers that appear after an initial DC correction time associated with DC correction.
Therefore, there remains a need for a receiver architecture that essentially eliminates all static and dynamic DC errors and improves IMD2 performance.

Receiver architecture eliminating static and dynamic DC offset errors


Technologies are generally described for discerning patterns in the “goodness” or “badness” of time-frequency slots to allow predictive allocation of spectral resources that may be appropriate for a wireless user. According to some examples, information on device location, time slots, sub-carrier(s) allotted for each time slot, and quality indicators may be received from mobile devices. The time slots may be grouped by location to form analysis intervals. A time-frequency vector may then be identified for each analysis interval and a unit of geographic grid. A “goodness” indicator may be computed for each time-frequency vector. Clusters of time-frequency vectors may be categorized for each analysis interval and associated unit of geographic grid such that mobile devices can be assigned “good” clusters through sub-carrier allocation.

Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Transmission from a base-station to a mobile device may be spread across in time and frequency using a spreading technique, such as orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA). A spreading technique may be used in many modern mobile standards, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), assigning time and frequency slots to individual user devices.
A "good" time-frequency region for one wireless user may be unsuitable for another. For example, a user may experience high interference in certain frequency slots at a certain time of day, or perhaps the user's multi-path profile may be such that at the user's current location, some frequency slots may provide better signal-to-noise performance. In this case, communication between the base-station and the wireless user may not use the former frequency slots and may utilize the latter frequency slots.
Optimal regions of time-frequency space for a given user may be able to be determined ahead of time. After all, similar patterns in everyday life may be detected for users. For example, many drivers may know the vehicular traffic pattern in their localities and may know which freeways and/or back-routes to use at which times. Further they may also recognize patterns of when traffic may be slower and at those times avoid certain routes, such as the route passing a stadium during an annual football match.

Predictive spectral allocation in mobile networks


The invention is directed to a helicopter health and usage monitoring system utilizing a neural network for estimating gross weight and center of gravity location from measured flight condition parameter inputs; and includes means for measuring a plurality of variable flight condition parameters during flight of the helicopter; memory means for successively receiving and storing parameter input signals as well as estimates of gross weight and center of gravity location; and processing means responsive to the signals received from the measurement means for generating the gross weight and center of gravity location estimates.

Current health and usage monitoring systems for helicopters require aircraft gross weight and center of gravity location data to accurately calculate estimates on fatigue damage accumulation. Such data is initially entered manually into the monitoring system by the helicopter pilot and/or maintainer. It is therefore an important object of the present invention to eliminate the need for such manual entry of gross weight and center of gravity location data in helicopter health and usage monitoring systems to improve its efficiency as well as to reduce human error.
The gross weight and center of gravity location may also form some of the parameter input data associated with the neural network systems disclosed in the aforementioned related copending applications, so as to streamline the low airspeed prediction process associated therewith as an additional object of the present invention.

Neural network system for estimation of helicopter gross weight and center of gravity location

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


The present invention provides magenta dyestuff represented by the formula (1):

Diverse ink jetting processes have been developed for the recording method by means of an ink-jet printer, and any process comprises generating ink droplets to deposit onto various recording materials (such as paper, film, cloth) for recording. The recording method by means of ink-jet printer has rapidly been spread in recent years and will be propagated in future because the method brings about no mechanical noise due to the system in which a recording head does not contact with the recording material and because the method advantageously allows the printer to become downsized, to work in a high-speed and to give color printing, easily. For recording an image information or a character information pictured on a computer color display in color by means of an ink-jet printer, the information is generally printed according to subtractive color mixing of inks of four colors, namely yellow(Y), magenta(M), cyan(C) and black(K). In order to print reproducibly an image pictured by additive color mixing of red (R), green (G) and blue (B) on a CRT display as faithfully as possible according to subtractive color mixing, the dyestuffs to use, especially ones for a Y, M or C ink, are desired to have color hues close to the respective standards of Y, M and C and vividness. Additionally, it is required that the resulting ink composition is stable for long-term storage and that the resulting printed image is of a high optical density and has excellent fastness including water fastness, light fastness, gas fastness and so on.
Ink-jet printers are increasingly used in a wide range from a small one for OA use to a big one for industrial use. So, excellence in fastness such as water fastness and light fastness of the printed image is more strictly demanded. The water fastness is substantially improved by coating inorganic micro particles such as porous silica, a cationic polymer, alumina sol or special ceramics which can absorb dyestuff from ink, on a paper sheet together with PVA resin. Further improvement in quality such as moisture fastness is desired in order to store the printed matter such as photos in good condition. However, light fastness is not yet improved by any established technique. Among tetrachromatic colors of Y, M, C and K, magenta especially has many dyestuffs which are naturally weak in light fastness, and the improvement is an important problem to be solved.
The typical types in chemical structure of magenta dyestuffs used in a water-soluble ink for ink-jet recording are a xanthene type and an azo type using the H acid. The xanthene type is indeed excellent in hue and vividness, but is very inferior in light fastness. The azo type using the H acid is good in hue and water fastness, but is inferior in light fastness and vividness. Some magenta dyestuffs in this type being excellent in vividness and light fastness have been developed, but are still inferior in light fastness to dyestuffs of the other hue such as yellow dyestuffs and cyan dyestuffs represented by copper phthalocyanine type.
Recently, the digital camera having been in widespread use, the chance to print out photos at home is increasing. However, there is a problem of color change in photos during storage by the oxidizing gas in the air.
Alternatively, for a chemical structure of magenta dyes being excellent in vividness and light fastness, an anthrapyridone type is known (for example, refer to patent literatures 1 to 8), but can not yet show any satisfactory properties in hue, vividness, light fastness, water fastness, gas fastness and dissolving stability.    Patent literature 1: JP Laid-Open No. 74173/1984 (1 to 3 pages),    Patent literature 2: JP Laid-Open No. 16171/1990 (1 and 5 to 7 pages),    Patent literature 3: JP Laid-Open No. 109464/2000 (1 to 2 and 8 to 12 pages),    Patent literature 4: JP Laid-Open No. 169776/2000 (1 to 2 and 6 to 9 pages),    Patent literature 5: JP Laid-Open No. 191660/2000 (1 to 3 and 11 to 14 pages),    Patent literature 6: JP Laid-Open No. 72884/2001 (1 to 2 and 8 to 11 pages),    Patent literature 7: JP Laid-Open No. 139836/2001 (1 to 2 and 7 to 12 pages)    Patent literature 8: JP Laid-Open No. 192930/2003 (1 to 4 and 11 pages)

Anthrapyridone compound, water-based magenta ink composition and inkjet recording method

Abstract: (symbols are as defined in the present description), with hue and vividness suitable to ink-jet recording, excellent fastness to light, gas, water and so on in records and an ink composition using said dyestuff.


An apparatus and method are provided for removing redundant logic in a logic design of an integrated circuit (IC) design. The apparatus and method optimizes the integrated circuit by selecting stuck-at constant registers in the logic design, propagating a constant output value of the stuck-at constant registers across output nets of the stuck-at constant registers, identifying redundant logic in the logic design based on the propagation of the constant input value across the output net of the stuck-at constant register, and removing the redundant logic in the logic design.

Present digital integrated circuits (ICs) contain millions and even billions of combinational and sequential logic gates, along with the necessary connections there between to operate in a desired manner. As a result, integrated circuit (IC) design has become a significantly laborious and complex process that involves several different steps.
Because of the large number of combinational and sequential logic gates, designers use a hardware description language (HDL) to specify the structure, design and operation of the circuit. HDLs are specialized computer languages that enable a precise, formal description of an electronic circuit that allows for the automated analysis, simulation, and simulated testing of the IC.
Once the HDL design is complete, a step called logic synthesis is performed by which an abstract form of desired circuit created by the HDL is turned into a design implementation in terms of logic gates, typically by a computer program called a synthesis tool. The output of a synthesis tool is called a netlist, which is a list of the combinational and sequential logic gates, and their connections, and is, in effect, the IC logic design that can be fabricated into an IC. Following logic synthesis, additional logic is inserted into the netlist to enable scan tests, which enable testing of manufactured ICs to determine IC detects. The basic concept of a scan test is to connect memory elements of the designed integrated circuit (e.g., flip flops or latches) forming chains, so that shifting test data through the scan chains enables the tester to observe the state of the manufactured IC.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional scan cell 100 that can be inserted into the netlist after synthesis. Scan cell 100 includes a multiplexer 110 with two inputs 112a, 112b, a selector input 114 to receive a "scan_enable" signal EN and an output 116 that is coupled to an input of flip flop 120. The multiplexer 110 is coupled to a flip flop 120 (i.e., a register or storage element of the IC). The flip flop 120 includes an input 122 and clock input 124 and an output 126. In this design, the first input 112a of the multiplexer 110 receives the functional data (often referred to as functional data signal (D)), the second input 112b receives scan-in data (often referred to as scan-in data signal (SI)), and the selector input 114 receives the selector input signal (often referred to as the scan_enable signal (SE)). If the selector signal is disabled or a low signal (i.e., a "0" digital signal input), the multiplexer 110 will pass the functional data signal (D) to the input 122 of the flip flop 120. In other words, during normal operation of the integrated circuit, the selector signal will be low, such that the flip flop is receiving the functional data. In contrast, if the scan_enable signal SE is enabled during a scan test, the scan-In data signal SI will be passed to the input 122 of the flip flop 120. Once these scan cells are created, the scan cells are connected into "scan chains," which are usually accessed through test pins. FIG. 2 illustrates an example of shifting scan data through a conventional scan chain.
Even when a logically perfect IC design results from synthesis, the netlist corresponding to the HDL program may be less than optimal. One significant issue that can result from synthesis and scan chain insertion is the existence of unnecessary or redundant logic in the netlist. Redundant logic can be combinational or sequential logic gates in the IC's netlist that are unnecessary or irrelevant to the functionality of the IC. While a single redundant logic gate will have no bearing on the operation or size of the IC, a netlist for an IC containing millions or billions of logic gates might have a significant number of redundant logic gates, the removal of which would such would significantly decrease overall chip area once the IC is fabricated and provide significant flexibility to timing optimization of the IC.

Method and system for reducing redundant logic in an integrated circuit


A wallet having hardened reinforcing plates, as well as a dust-tight and water impervious cover. The wallet also has two Styrofoam layers.

This invention relates to wallets, and in particular, to a wallet reinforced to protect the contents from external forces such as crushing, dust, dirt, water and the like.
Nearly all men carry some type of wallet on their person. Such wallets are used to carry money, identification papers, credit cards, bank cards and the like. Although prior art wallets are adequate for this purpose in most instances, they are not adequate for people in certain fields or endeavors, such as the construction trades, firemen, camping, hunting, etc. In these fields and endeavors, people carrying the wallets are subject to often hostile environments containing, dirt, water, dust, and physical bumps and other external forces. The result of these hostile environments on prior art wallets are damaged and often ruined wallet contents, especially to credit and bank cards.


A tracking system and method for tracking a medical attachment device relative to a subject including at least a first reflector defining a first tracking region. The tracking system includes a medical attachment device having at least one reflector sensor operable to integrate the first reflector. A processor is communicatively coupled to the medical attachment device. The processor is operable to determine a distance between the medical attachment device and the first tracking region to determine a location of the medical attachment device relative to a subject.

It is well known that auscultation training is important to medical education. Auscultation is the act of listening to sounds from the heart, lungs, or other body parts typically with a stethoscope, as a part of medical diagnosis. During auscultation training, standardized patients are often used as they provide unsurpassed realism when training for real patient encounters. Generally speaking, standardized patients are actors trained to mimic a variety of symptoms, signs, psychiatric conditions, and the like. Unfortunately, there is a limited scope on what standardized patients can provide on physical examination, as most standardized patients do not have abnormal physical findings. This problem is especially evident when the standardized patient is attempting to simulate pathologies involving distinct findings, such as heart murmurs, abnormal lung, or abnormal abdominal sounds.
Systems that improve upon auscultation training are well known. For example, stethoscope-shaped devices exist having an embedded speaker which plays pre-recorded digital audio files at the command of an instructor observing the location of the stethoscope-shaped device with respect to a simulated patient. In some instances, the speaker may emit sound using a remote control. This does not allow a trainee, e.g., a medical student, to utilize his or her own personal stethoscope. Moreover, the instructor must monitor the location of the stethoscope and control the sound at the appropriate time, as there is no tracking system provided to perform such monitoring.
In another example, the simulated stethoscope plays pre-recorded digital sounds and the stethoscope head includes an embedded Radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag reader. The simulated patient has RFID tags placed in the physical location in which the trainee is intended to auscultate. Unfortunately, the RFID tags placed upon the simulated patient take away from the realism of the training. In addition, the RFID tags inform the trainee exactly where to place the stethoscope's head, which defeats a major part of the evaluation and teaching objectives of providing a real life scenario.
Another known auscultation training system requires the simulation patient to wear a garment having one or more markings, e.g., RFID tags. When performing auscultation training, a sound-generating device is attached to the stethoscope diaphragm. As the sound-generating device hovers over a sensor embedded in the garment at the location of the marking, the sound-generating device plays an appropriate physiological sound. Obviously, the realism of the scenario is reduced because the markings show the trainee exactly where to place the stethoscope diaphragm and sound-generating device. Moreover, the simulated patient is forced to wear a garment that may be uncomfortable and which must be tailored to fit the simulated patient.
Other known auscultation training systems include a specialized stethoscope, an infrared camera for stethoscope location tracking, and a prompt screen for generating breathing synchronization. In use, a single infrared light-emitting diode located on top of the stethoscope head is tracked by a static infrared camera, which is connected to a main computer system. Unfortunately, stethoscope location tracking will not work if the trainee steps into the camera's line-of-sight or if the stethoscope is not facing the infrared camera. In order to generate breathing synchronization, the standardized patient paces his or her breathing cycle to mirror the signal shown on a prompt screen connected to a main computer system. For proper performance of breathing synchronization, the simulated patient must be able to view the prompt screen and therefore must remain facing the screen during examination. Obviously, such restrictions would greatly interfere with common physical examination practices taught to medical professionals. In addition, these systems may be expensive to implement and maintain.
Therefore, a need exists to overcome the problems with the prior art as discussed above.

Medical attachment device tracking system and method of use thereof


The present invention is drawn to a non-contact thermometer that is operable to emit a first light having a first color to create a spot of a first color at a reference target and to detect the temperature of the reference target. The non-contact thermometer is additionally operable to establish a temperature difference threshold. In use, once a temperature difference threshold is selected and once the temperature of the reference target is detected, the non-contact thermometer may detect a temperature of another target. Further, if the detected temperature of the other target is outside of the temperature difference threshold as compared to the temperature of the reference target, the non-contact thermometer is operable to emit a second light having a second color to create a spot of a second color at the other target.

Non-contact thermometers are commonly used for remote temperature detection. Some conventional non-contact thermometers make use of an infrared heat detector known in the art as a thermopile, wherein when the non-contact thermometer device is pointed at a first target and the thermopile detects the temperature at the first target, it displays the temperature on the device. The user must then look at the device to read the measured temperature. Unfortunately, with these conventional non-contact thermometers, a user may unintentionally move the device when reading the temperature. As such, the temperature actually being measured may not correspond to the first target.
Further, some conventional non-contact thermometers allow the user to set a temperature gradient threshold. With these conventional non-contact thermometers, if a temperature is detected that surpasses the temperature gradient threshold, the user is alerted with a sound. However, these conventional non-contact thermometers may be limited in that they can only detect positive temperature changes.
What is needed is a non-contact thermometer that enables the user to visualize a temperature gradient in both the positive and negative direction, without requiring the user to look at the device.


A method for providing an interface to a Bluetooth compliant device can emulate a modem such that computer software programs can communicate through the Bluetooth compliant device in the same manner in which they would communicate through a standard modem to access a dial-up, wide area network. The method also supports an interface to a Bluetooth compliant device which can emulate a network socket such that computer software programs can communicate through the Bluetooth compliant device seemingly in the same manner in which they would communicate through a standard network interface card to access a local area network. The method also allows for the interface to a Bluetooth compliant device to be dependent on the nature of the Bluetooth compliant device.

To provide the greatest compatibility between software and hardware components on a computer system, the operating system of the computer defines certain interfaces which can be accessed and used by the programmers of the software components and which are to be provided and supported by the designers of hardware components. Thus, by using the defined interface, the software component can be assured of compatibility with all of the hardware components which support the interface. Similarly, a hardware component providing a specific interface can be assured that software components will be able to locate and access the functionality provided by the hardware component through the interface.
Generally, computers and other electronic devices are interconnected via physical cables or wires. These communication paths allow for the exchange of data or control information between such devices. However, it is increasingly recognized that certain advantages arise from the elimination of cables and wires to interconnect devices. Such advantages include ease of configuration and reconfiguration, due to the elimination of the need to physically add, remove, or displace a physical medium. Furthermore, space which would traditionally be used for device interconnection media may be given to other uses. Furthermore, device mobility is increased through the use of wireless connections.
One method for providing wireless connections between devices employs a light wave in the Infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum to link devices. The IrDA (Infrared Data Association) protocol defines one such connection mechanism. Unfortunately, such a mechanism must usually operate in a line of sight manner. That is to say that any opaque obstruction between transmitter and receiver will prevent proper operation. Additionally, IR transmitters are typically not omnidirectional when incorporated into a communicating device, so that for proper operation, the transmitter must be pointed generally in the direction of the receiver, within some nominal deviation such as 30 degrees. Finally, IR transmitters are typically fairly low power devices, and accordingly the range of IR links is usually limited to approximately one meter.
Radio frequency links solve many of the problems inherent in Infrared links, however, a radio frequency connection scheme is needed whereby a variety of applications can easily access the radio link through a connection mechanism that provides an appropriate interface. One protocol which defines communication between wireless devices through radio frequency links is the Bluetooth specification. Bluetooth devices do not require a line of sight with one another to operate, and their range can be significantly greater than that of IR links. However, one difficulty with the Bluetooth specification is that very few computer software programs are written to communicate with Bluetooth compliant devices. Another difficulty with the Bluetooth specification is that Bluetooth compliant devices are presented to computer software programs as serial interfaces. There are be numerous situations it which such a serial presentation can be inefficient or even confusing for certain types of computer software applications, such as simple networking applications. Yet another difficulty with the Bluetooth specification is that, while it supports up to 30 emulated RS-232 ports, computer software programs are generally required to know how to communicate through such an emulated port in a device-specific manner.

Exposing bluetooth compliant wireless device connection as modems or sockets


A solar generator can include a photon-enhanced thermionic emission generator with a cathode to receive solar radiation. The photon-enhanced thermionic emission generator can include an anode that in conjunction with the cathode generates a first current and waste heat from the solar radiation. A thermoelectric generator can be thermally coupled to the anode and can convert the waste heat from the anode into a second current. A circuit can connect to the photon-enhanced thermionic emission generator and to the thermoelectric generator and can combine the first and the second currents into an output current.

The photon-enhanced thermionic emission (PETE) generator is a semiconductor-based device converting both the photonic and thermal energies of solar radiation to electricity at a higher conversion efficiency than conventional photovoltaic cells. Typically a vacuum gap is required between the cathode and the anode, and the PETE device operates most efficiently at temperatures in excess of 200 degrees Celsius, the reference temperature for aircraft engine bleed air. Unfortunately, the electrical conversion process produces waste heat which is often not utilized in certain applications, such as in an aircraft that depends on solar energy for its operation or propulsion. For example, there may be a lack of synergy between the PETE generator and other systems consuming or generating energy on an aircraft. Also, the operating temperature may be unregulated which can reduce the conversion efficiency of the PETE, depending on an amount of incident solar radiation and the ambient temperature. Additionally, the vacuum gap can be expensive to include in the fabrication process.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


An apparatus for packaging electronic components, particularly integrated circuits, which includes a carrier tape into or on which the integrated circuits can be secured, a packing reel, to which is secured the carrier tape, wherein one or more components of the packing reel is composed of a plastic material and a desiccating material, and preferably a copolymer, and optionally an electrostatic dissipating product. The packing reel may further include a humidity indicating system. The apparatus may also be placed within a water and moisture-proof barrier bag for shipment purposes.

This invention relates to an apparatus for packaging electronic components. In particular, this invention relates to an apparatus for packaging integrated circuits contained in or on a carrier tape, wherein the apparatus includes a carrier tape secured to a packing reel containing a central hub and parallel flanges, wherein the composition of one or more of the components of that packing reel includes a plastic material and a desiccating material and, in addition, preferably includes a copolymer and an electrostatic charge dissipating and/or anti-static material. A humidity indicating system is also preferably secured to the packing reel.
Electronic components, such as integrated circuits ("IC"), are conventionally shipped from a factory to the user in large quantities. To protect these ICs during transportation, they are generally secured in special tubes, trays or to a carrier tape secured to a specialized packing reel. Plastic ICs are susceptible to moisture due to the permeable nature of their plastic composition. It is well known that ICs, which have been contaminated by high levels of moisture, may not be useful. Mechanical failure of such moisture contaminated ICs often leads to the subsequent failure of the device which contains the ICs due to thermal and mechanical stress. Accordingly, exposure of ICs to moisture should be limited.
One specialized type of packaging for ICs, is discussed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,971,196, 5,095,626, 5,293,996 and 5,295,297. Each of the packaging containers incorporates a moisture indicator device secured to the inside surface of the packaging container. Specifically, U.S. Pat. No. 5,293,996 discloses a packaging container for integrated circuits containing an observation window. The container is divided into three sections, wherein one of those sections contains a compartment (11) housing a humidity indicator device (16). The humidity indicator device (16) is preferably a humidity indicator card. As best understood the card is merely placed within the compartment for viewing. The composition of the packaging material of the compartment containing the humidity indicator card is a transparent plastic which permits the moisture indicator card to be viewed from outside of the packaging container.
Another form of apparatus for packaging integrated circuits is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,318,181, which discloses compartmentalized humidity sensing indicators. These humidity sensing indicators are placed on a tape reel and are secured to its inside surface. Other packing or tape reel systems for ICs are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,875,897, 6,206,198 and 6,469,372.
In addition to their susceptibility to moisture, ICs can also be damaged by static electricity. Therefore, it is important that the packaging for such electronic components also be resistant to electrostatic charge. This resistance should be present in the tray or reel on which the ICs are stored as well as in any moisture-proof bag in which the tray or reel is shipped. Packaging systems for ICs, which are resistant to electrostatic charge are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,875,897, 5,136,827 and 4,568,416.
It is well known that electronic components are also sensitive to particles and dust. Therefore, manufacturing and assembly of electronic devices is performed in clean rooms of class 100-10.
Apparatus for packaging and shipping integrated circuits often must include desiccant products because of the sensitivity of the integrated circuits to moisture.
It is also well accepted in industry that integrated circuits can suffer from contamination with volatile organic compounds (VOC) being emitted from some packaging material. To be useful in the industry these materials must show an extremely low concentration of VOC being emitted during the shelf life of the packaged integrated circuits.
As referenced above, integrated circuits are particularly susceptible to moisture and can also be damaged by static electricity. Further, these components are particularly sensitive to dust.
Accordingly, in one process of the prior art, integrated circuits have been packaged for shipping in a carrier tape and packing reel system using a complicated and expensive process which includes at least the following process steps:                a) inserting the integrated circuits into a carrier tape;        a) securing the carrier tape to the packing reel;        c) baking the integrated circuits dry;        d) inserting the packing reel and tape in a moisture and water-proof bag;        e) inserting desiccant bags into the moisture-proof bag;        f) placing a humidity indicator card into the bag; and        g) sealing the bag; and        h) placing the sealed bag into a transport box.An alternative procedure includes at least the following steps:        a) baking the integrated circuits dry separately from the carrier tape and packing reel;        b) inserting the dried integrated circuits into cavities or slots in carrier tape;        c) securing the carrier tape to a packing reel;        d) inserting the carrier tape on the packing reel in a moisture and water-proof bag;        e) inserting desiccant bags into the moisture-proof bag;        f) placing a humidity indicator card into the bag;        g) sealing the bag; and        h) placing the sealed bag in a transport box.
Yet another alternative procedure includes at least the following steps:                a) inserting the integrated circuits into a carrier tape;        b) baking the integrated circuits dry on the carrier tape;        c) securing the carrier tape to a packing reel;        d) inserting the packing reel and tape in a moisture and water-proof bag;        e) inserting desiccant bags into the moisture-proof bag;        f) placing a humidity indicator card into the bag;        g) sealing the bag; and        h) placing the sealed bag in a transport box.
In addition to the fact that these processes are complicated, labor-intensive and time-intensive, the integrated circuits are protected from moisture only after the moisture-proof bag is sealed. Thus, the integrated circuits can still absorb moisture at any time from their original baking until the sealing of the bag.
Another disadvantage of the prior art processes is that the integrated circuits are exposed to dust generated from the desiccant bags themselves or the out gassing of VOC.
Yet another disadvantage of prior art process is that the desiccant bags packaged together with the packaging reel in the bag are rather bulky and lead to "humps" on the surface of the bags. These bags can thus not be packaged by being stacked on each other but require an additional packaging component for mechanical stability. This requirement leads to additional packaging material and labor cost.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to prepare a carrier tape and packing reel apparatus for packaging electronic components which reduces the level of moisture within the container holding that packing reel during shipment.
These and other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in art from a consideration of the following detailed description, drawings and claims. The description along with the accompanying drawings provides a selected example of the construction of the device and its process of manufacturing to illustrate the invention.

Apparatus for packaging electronic components including a reel entrained with desiccating material


Search results can include, not only responsive content, typically in the form of documents, but can also include information regarding responsive entities, including tasks relevant to those entities, and can include identifications of individuals from whom additional information can be obtained, or who are otherwise relevant to the search. An association between entities and documents referencing those entities is identified and maintained. Documents responsive to a user's search query are identified utilizing existing algorithmic mechanisms and such identified responsive documents are referenced to determine whether they are associated with one or more entities. Additionally, a people/query mapping is maintained associating individual people with specific queries. User actions directed to one or more people in response to a query are utilized as a feedback loop. User actions directed to one dimension of search results can be utilized to generate updated search queries providing updated search results in other dimensions.

As network communications among multiple computing devices have become ubiquitous, the quantity of information available via such network communications has increased exponentially. For example, the ubiquitous Internet and World Wide Web comprise information sourced by a vast array of entities throughout the world, including corporations, universities, individuals and the like. Such information is often marked, or "tagged", in such a manner that it can be found, identified and indexed by services known as "search engines". Even information that is not optimized for search engine indexing can still be located by services, associated with search engines, which seek out information available through network communications with other computing devices and enable a search engine to index such information for subsequent retrieval.
Due to the sheer volume of information available to computing devices through network communications with other computing devices, users increasingly turn to search engines to find the information they seek. Search engines typically enable users to search for any topic and receive, from this vast volume of information, identifications of specific content that is deemed to be responsive to, or associated with, the users' queries. To sort through the vast amounts of information that is available, and timely provide useful responses to users' queries, search engines employ a myriad of mechanisms to optimize the identification and retrieval of responsive and associated information.
Unfortunately, even with the aid of search engines, users are often overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information available. For example, typical topics searched for by users often result in millions of results that are identified by search engines. To cope with such information overload, empirical data suggests that users typically select one of the first ten results, as ordered by a search engine. If what the user is searching for is not among those first ten results, the user can become quickly frustrated with the search engine and can seek to utilize a different search engine. Consequently, the utility of a search engine to users can be in such a search engine's ability to guide the user to the content for which the user was searching as efficiently as possible.