In the borders of a computer-aided presentation method for a 3D subject, a 2D basic image of a subject and a 2D basic presentation of a 3D volume data set of the subject are determined by a computer and momentarily output as images via an output system. The basic image and the basic presentation are thereby simultaneously output by the computer, but spatially separate from one another.

The present invention concerns a computer-aided presentation method for a 3D subject. Such methods are, among other things, employed in image-aided medical procedures.
In these types of methods, a 2D basic image of the subject is continually determined by the computer and momentarily output as an image via an output system. The use of such presentation methods particularly lend themselves to this approach because the equipment required for doing this is often present in the operating room. Moreover, this equipment can be more simply operated and is more cost-effective in the acquisition than equipment for a 3D imaging such as a magnetic resonance tomograph, a computer tomograph, 3D angiography device, and the like. Moreover, the determination of a volume data set that specifies a subject is not possible in real time with the current state of the art. However, the real-time capability of the imaging is an indispensable property in connection with procedures in the body.
2D images of the subject exhibit a number of disadvantages. Using 2D images of the subject, an operator (the surgeon) always has the difficult task of mentally translating the presented 2D image contents into the real three-dimensional anatomical relationships. The situation is also often posed to the operator that a preoperative procedure planning ensues using a volume data set and 2D presentations determined from the volume data set, but these planning results can not be directly mapped to 2D images available in real time during the operation.
In navigation procedures, for the most part surgical instruments equipped with position sensors are used in clinical surroundings. The current position of these instruments can thereby be shown during the procedure in image data generated prior to the operation, as the case may be after one or more of what are called registration procedures effected during the procedure. In this procedure, the not-simple operation of the position sensors is problematic. The registration procedure is also, for the most part, very complex. A further disadvantage is that the preoperative image data determined from the volume data set of the subject does not exhibit the current actuality.
In orthopedic procedures, it is further known to present a plurality of 2D images of the subject (most in the form of projections), and thus to operate a navigation. This approach remedies the disadvantage of the lacking timeliness of the preoperative 3D volume data set, since these data are replaced by x-ray images. Admittedly, no real 3D information is available with this approach, but rather only a quasi-3D information, from which the surgeon must mentally generate a 3D scenario. Moreover, in this procedure, results of an advance procedure planning that would have been implemented previously using preoperative (real) 3D image data can not be transferred so easily to the intraoperative 2D projections.
Finally, it is even known to acquire two projections of the operation field and display them as images via the output system. These projections are acquired at different angles in order to acquire quasi-spatial information about the operation field. No real 3D image information is also generated in this approach, such that again the 3D context must be mentally created by the surgeon.
In the prior, previously undisclosed German patent application 102 10 646.0 submitted on 11 Mar. 2002 with the title "Method for image presentation of a medical instrument introduced into an examination region of a patient", (herein incorporated by reference) a computer-aided presentation method for a 3D subject is specified in which a 2D basic presentation of a 3D volume data set of the subject is determined by a computer and momentarily output as an image via an output system. Furthermore, a 2D basic image of the subject is determined by the computer, and (at least partially) superimposed on the basic presentation or, respectively, mixed with it. This procedure presents a great advance, however it is not always completely satisfactory in all aspects.

Computer-aided presentation method for a 3D subject


A water dispensing device comprises water dispensing means for dispensing water into a serving container. The device furthermore comprises a control unit which is connected with the water dispensing means to control a water dispensing cycle in which a predetermined amount of water is dispensed in the serving container. The control unit is programmed such that the water dispensing cycle includes at least two stages which are separated by an intermediate time period in which no water is dispensed in the serving container.

The present invention relates to beverage dispensing. In particular it relates to a method and system wherein a beverage preparation substance is mixed with water to prepare a beverage. An example is where a syrup is post mixed with carbonated water to prepare a soft drink. Another example is where a coffee concentrate is mixed with hot water to prepare a cup of coffee.
In preparation of post-mix beverages a concentrate is dispensed into a serving container and water is jetted into the serving container. The substance and the water can be dispensed consecutively, but may also be dispensed, at least partly, simultaneously to obtain a good mixing of the water and the substance. When mixing the water with the substance, a certain amount of foaming takes place, depending on the substance used, the flow speed of the water, carbonation level and temperature of the water. This foaming may be undesirable as is the case with soft drinks. In other cases the foaming may be desirable and used to create a froth layer on top of the drink.
The present invention has for an object to provide a device and a method with which different beverages can be prepared.

Mixed beverage preparation and dispensing


The invention is aimed at a substrate, in particular window pane, with an electrically conducting and heatable coating, at least one communication window made in the latter in the form of an interruption of said coating, the window being able to allow communication radiation used as signal carrying information to be transmitted therethrough and whose wavelength lies in a span of wavelengths that can be reflected or absorbed by the coating, and another electrically conducting element in contact with at least one part of edges of the window and in contact with the coating, characterized in that the communication window is provided with an electrically conducting covering and linked electrically to the other electrically conducting element.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to a coated substrate, preferably transparent, with a communication window allowing information to be transmitted therethrough.
2. Description of the Related Art
Patent DE 195 03 892 C1 discloses measures for reducing the shielding of coated panes in regard to microwave rays transmitting information. Such panes with electrically conducting and optically transparent coatings find their application as thermal insulation panes reflecting infrared rays (IR) and/or as electrical heating panes both for the glazing of buildings and for the glazing of vehicles.
In vehicles, they form together with a metal bodywork a Faraday cage, which protects the interior space of the vehicle against electromagnetic fields. In construction aloft also, premises can be protected electrically through the use of panes with an electrically conducting coating and a corresponding electrically conducting structure of the other walls. With shieldings of this nature, sensitive apparatus such as control computers can be protected, in the region of construction, against the disturbing influences due to radiophonic emitters or to radar installations of large power.
Moreover, neither does the shielding allow through electromagnetic radiation in the microwave region, which is used as carrier wave for information. If an emitter and/or a receiver is situated alongside the antenna in a protected (vehicle) space, transmission problems occur. For example, systems for determining the position of the vehicles, for remote control, for identification, for fixing tolls, or the like are disturbed.
It is known for systems of layers to be structured a posteriori, mechanically or thermally, by removing lines of the layer deposited initially in a continuous manner. In particular, extraordinarily narrow slots can be produced in the layer with laser rays. In the aforesaid state of the art, there is devised as remedy in the electrically conducting layer at least one slot forming a radiating slot, with a length tuned to the wavelength of the microwave radiation and a very small free surface area, through which the energy radiating in the microwave range picked up by the conducting layer can again be decoupled. A so called communication window is thus formed.
If the working frequency for the transmission of information equals for example 5.8 GHz, as is envisaged for the automatic fixing of tolls on motorways ("remote payment") (DSRC standard with a mean frequency of 5.8 GHz with circular polarization) and if the slots are provided mainly for the transmission of the microwaves of this frequency, they will be appropriately designed for the resonant length of λ/2, taking account of the dielectric constants of the glass.
Should the information be transmitted with circularly polarized microwaves (that is to say the instantaneous plane of oscillation of the waves rotates about its axis of propagation, so that the waves oscillate inside a circular envelope curve), appropriate provision is made for gaps in the form of cruciform slots in the layer. The length of the two slots is again tuned in an appropriate manner to the wavelength of the microwaves used and corresponds to the value μ/2 of the microwaves used, taking account in a corresponding manner of the dielectric constants of the glass.
Comparative measurements of the damping of a microwave radiation of frequency 5.8 GHz indicate, in this state of the art, that with a laminated pane exhibiting radiating slots in the coating, appreciably weaker damping of transmission, for high frequency radiation, is obtained than with a fully coated laminated pane, and that it is possible to approach the damping of an uncoated laminated pane.
Document DE 198 17 712 C1 describes a similar substrate with a communication window in a coating, which is produced by the creation of a structure in the form of fine lines or fine patterns in a limited part of the surface of the coating and which is visually very discreet.
The formation of resonating structures in the conducting coating poses problems however. Results of trials have shown that the high frequency currents necessary for compensation, in the overall system formed by the dielectric substrate and the conducting coating, were not able to flow on account of the high surface resistance or of loss of the usual conducting coatings.
Document WO 00/72635 A1 describes a transparent substrate with a coating that reflects IR and a communication window made by the surface removal or the omission of the coating. In contradistinction to communication windows made solely in the form of fine lines, discussed in the introduction, this variant forms a disturbance of the coating which is markedly perceptible to the eye through a difference in color at the boundary of the coating.
This disturbance poses a problem in particular, when the coating is used at the same time for the electrical heating of the substrate. For this purpose, a voltage is applied to the coating with the aid of at least one pair of electrodes (in the form of bands), the currents having to be introduced and distributed as uniformly as possible in the surface of the layer. For vehicle panes, which are appreciably wider than high, most of the time the band shaped electrodes are situated along the longer sides of the pane, so that the heating current can flow over the shortest path over the height of the pane. At the same time, the communication windows are situated on the upper rim of the pane and here extend over a width of several centimeters.
Manifestly, each communication window affecting the homogeneity of the coating forms a disturbance of the current flow. Local temperature spikes ("hot spots") appear which may lead to damage to the substrate (thermal stresses) and to the coating itself. This is not only the case when the coating is of large extent, but also when the communication window is formed by a larger or smaller number of discontinuous individual slots. The latter also form in the zone of the surface considered an appreciable increase in the resistance of the layer and also in addition cause the appearance of the hot spots mentioned above.
The document cited last proposes, as a measure aimed at reducing the disturbing effect of the large communication window, that provision be made on the edge of the latter for an electrically conducting band, which exhibits a much smaller ohmic resistance per unit area than the heating layer. This ought to cause the currents to bypass the cut-out. Preferably, a communication window is entirely flanked by such a band. The band may be fabricated by printing and baking a conducting silk screen printing paste, containing silver. It may, however, also be applied by depositing an electrically conducting lacquer or by laying a metallic band. In all cases, an electrically conducting functional bond is naturally necessary between the band and the coating.
The band may be masked from view by the superposition of an electrically nonconducting, opaque masking band, made for example of black enamel. Such masking bands are as a general rule composed of a nonconducting substance, black in color, which may be baked (silk screen printing paste). An infrared radiation is not reflected, but absorbed, by this substance.

Substrate with electroconductive coating and a communication window


An information recommendation method is provided for a terminal. The method includes obtaining at least one keyword, obtaining geographical location information corresponding to the keyword, and searching, within a range of a map interface display area, recommendation information relevant to geographical locations adjacent to the geographical location corresponding to the geographical location information. The method also includes displaying, according to the range of the map interface display area, geographical location information corresponding to the keyword, as well as the map interface having the recommendation information.

Today, the Internet technology is widely used and, based on certain strategies and using specific computer programs, search services can be provided to collect information from the Internet to meet the query needs of a user. With the popularity of search services, the number of users also increases, and the search service providers provide recommended information within the search services as a new marketing tool. Therefore, it is critical for the search service providers to understand how to recommend information in the search services such that the information recommendation does not affect or almost does not affect the user experience, in which way the search service providers can maximize the visiting flow into business profits without losing users.
Most of the existing information recommendation is used in webpage search services. After obtaining the keyword inputted by the user, the keyword is analyzed to match the keyword inputted by the user with the keywords in the webpage information database, in order to find relevant webpage information that meets the user's search intent. The relevant webpage information is displayed as recommendation information in the webpage.
However, because the current ways to recommend information are mostly used in webpage search services, the information recommendation application scenarios are limited, reducing the range of the recommended information.
The disclosed method and system are directed to solve one or more problems set forth above and other problems.

Information recommendation method and apparatus

TENCENT TECHNOLOGY (SHENZHEN) COMPANY LIMITED


Oxytitanium phthalocyanine hydrate crystal and an electrophotographic photoreceptor using said crystal are disclosed. The structural formula of the crystal is TiOPc(H.sub.2 O).sub.n wherein Pc represents a phthalocyanine residual group, and n represents from 0.15 to 1; and the elemental analysis values of C, H and N are as follows: C: 65.0 to 66.3%; H: 2.5 to 3.1%; and N: 18.5 to 19.3%.

Phthalocyanines are useful for preparation of paints, printing inks, catalysts, or electronic materials. In recent years, they have been extensively investigated for use in materials for electrophotographic photoreceptor, optical recording materials, and photoelectric conversion materials.
In connection with electrophotographic photoreceptor, a laser printer utilizing semiconductor laser has been increasingly demanded, and various photoconductive materials for the semiconductor laser have been proposed. In particular, a large number of phthalocyanine compounds as photoconductive materials have been reported.
It is known that a phthalocyanine compound generally exhibits varied crystal forms depending on a method of preparation and a method of processing thereof, and that this difference in crystal form exerts great influences on photoelectric conversion characteristics of the phthalocyanine compound.
In connection with the crystal form of the phthalocyanine compound, in the case of copper phthalocyanine, for example, as well as a .beta.-type crystal form which is of the stabilized system, .alpha.-, .pi.-, .chi.-, .rho.-, .gamma.-, .delta.-, and like crystal forms are known. It is also known that the above crystal forms can transfer from one another upon application of mechanical stress, sulfuric acid treatment, organic solvent treatment, or heat treatment (see, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,770,629, 3,160,635, 3,708,292, and 3,357,989). In addition, JP-A-50-38543 (the term "JP-A" as used herein means an "unexamined Japanese patent application") describes a relation between the crystal form of copper phthalocyanine and electrophotographic characteristics.
In connection with the crystal form of oxytitanium phthalocyanine, and electrophotographic characteristics, JP-A-62-67094 describes the .beta.-type crystal form which is of the stabilized system, and JP-A-61-2170506 describes the .alpha.-type crystal form obtained by the acid pesting method or the solvent treatment. In addition, JP-A-63-366, 64-17066, 1-153757, and for example, describe crystal forms other than the .alpha.- and .beta.-crystal forms.
It is generally well known that doping of impurities in organic or inorganic semiconductors results in great changes of electric characteristics thereof.
N.R. Armstrong et al report doping of I.sub.2, and changes of photoconductive characteristics due to adsorption of O.sub.2, H.sub.2 O, etc., in an oxytitaniumphthalocyanine vacuum deposited film (AIP Conf. Proc., 167 (1988), Proc. Electrochem. Soc., 88-14, 67 (1987}, and J. Phys. Chem., Vol. 91, 5646 (1987)).
The aforementioned conventional oxytitanium phthalocyanine compounds, however, have poor crystallinity in solvents and thus cannot hold their crystal forms for a long time in the state after being dispersed and coated. Moreover, when used as photosensitive materials, they are not yet satisfactory in light sensitivity and durability.

Oxytitaniumphthalocyanine hydrate crystal and electrophotographic photoreceptor using said crystal


A substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate while transferring the substrate among a plurality of units with which the substrate is to be processed or on which the substrate is to be placed. This apparatus is provided with: a first unit group disposed along a linear first line; a second unit group disposed along a linear second line crossing the first line at a predetermined angle; and a transfer robot capable of transferring and receiving a substrate to and from the first unit group and the second unit group.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for and a substrate processing method of executing processings on any of a variety of substrates such as a semiconductor wafer, a liquid-crystal-display-device glass substrate, a plasma-display glass substrate, an optical-disk substrate, a magnetic-disk substrate, a photomagnetic-disk substrate, a photomask substrate and the like.
2. Description of Related Art
In production of a semiconductor device or a liquid crystal display device, there is used a substrate processing apparatus for executing, on a substrate (semiconductor wafer or glass substrate), a variety of processings such as a plating processing, a resist coating processing, a cleaning processing and the like.
Such a substrate processing apparatus is formed for example by an indexer section in which a substrate is carried in/out from a cassette capable of housing a plurality of substrates, and a substrate processing section having a plurality of processing units, both sections being connected to each other.
The indexer section comprises (i) a cassette placing portion in which a plurality of cassettes can be placed as arranged in a predetermined cassette aligning direction, and (ii) an indexer robot linearly movable back and forth in the cassette aligning direction for carrying a substrate in/out from a cassette.
The substrate processing section comprises (i) a main transfer robot arranged to travel, for example, in a horizontal direction at a right angle to the cassette aligning direction, and (ii) a plurality of processing units disposed along the transfer passage of the main transfer robot. The main transfer robot has access to any of the processing units for carrying an unprocessed/processed substrate in/out from the processing unit.
An unprocessed substrate is taken out from a cassette placed in the cassette placing portion and transferred to the main transfer robot by the indexer robot. The main transfer robot is moved to a processing unit. First, the main transfer robot carries out a processed substrate from the processing unit and then carries the unprocessed substrate therein. While holding the substrate to which a series of processings have been completed, the main transfer robot is moved in the vicinity of the indexer section and transfers this processed substrate to the indexer robot. The indexer robot houses this processed substrate in a cassette.
The conventional substrate processing apparatus having the arrangement above-mentioned, is provided with two transfer robots, i.e., the indexer robot and the main transfer robot. This makes the apparatus complicated in arrangement, thus accordingly increasing the production cost thereof. Further if one of the two transfer robots gets out of order, any substrate cannot be processed. This is disadvantageous also in reliability.
Further, it is required to transfer a substrate between the indexer robot and the main transfer robot. This results in a variety of problems as follows.
For example, the main transfer robot and the indexer robot must be matched in operational timing. It becomes however complicated to program such that the two robots are operated in good timing.
Further, a substrate comes in contact with the respective substrate holding hands of the indexer robot and the main transfer robot, and there is an instance where a substrate is temporarily placed on a placing stand when transferring/receiving the substrate between the robots. This causes the substrate to repeatedly come in contact with a number of members. This accordingly increases the chances of particles occurring and attaching to the substrate. Thus, the substrate is disadvantageously easily contaminated.
Further, after a substrate has been transferred/received, the substrate is required to be positioned in the transfer robot which has received the substrate. At this time, the guide member on the holding hand and the substrate end face inevitably rub together, and the substrate holding hand and the substrate back face inevitably rub together. This disadvantageously generates particles to contaminate the substrate.

Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method


A computer system and method for analyzing effectiveness of applied treatments or characterizing landing zones. The method includes, for respective one or more wells, receive production data, determining oil, gas, and/or water production data from the production data, determining an effective fluid production time for production of the oil and/or gas, combining the oil, gas, and/or water production data per to obtain a fluid production per time interval, calculate a fluid production rate per time interval as a function of the effective fluid production time and the fluid production of the time interval, and normalize the fluid production rate per time interval using a normalization factor that is available in the production data received. The method further includes analyzing effectiveness of treatments applied to one of the wells using the well's normalized fluid production rate associated with the plurality of time intervals.

Operations, such as geophysical surveying, drilling, logging, well completion and production, are typically performed to locate and gather valuable downhole fluids. Surveys are often performed using acquisition methodologies, such as seismic mapping, resistivity mapping, etc. to generate images of underground formations. These formations are often analyzed to determine the presence of subterranean assets, such as valuable fluids or minerals, or to determine if the formations have characteristics suitable for storing fluids. The production of hydrocarbon and the stimulation design is historically based upon intrinsic properties of the rock such as petrophysical properties, lithology and age.
The productivity of a horizontal well can further be affected by treatments applied to the well using technological interventions during drilling, completion and stimulation, such as fluid injection, chemical treatments, choke management, and/or artificial lift, refracturing. The effectiveness of different treatments can be analyzed by comparing the production success at wells having similar properties to which the treatments were applied, respectively. This knowledge is important for selecting and/or controlling treatments for optimizing production. However, productivity of a well and effectiveness of treatments to the well can only be studied when meaningful information about the well's productivity is available.
For proprietary or governmental regulation reasons, information about the productivity of many horizontal wells is not available. While production data for various wells may be available from public domain sources, the information is unstandardized, and therefore has limited meaningful value. While it may be desirable to normalize such production information by factors, such as stimulated lateral length (i.e., longitude of a low angle section of the well placed within a reservoir), number of stages (i.e., respective steps in which a hydraulic fracture operation is organized, by stimulating a section of the lateral length placed between two successive well plugs), volume of proppant, etc., however, such factors are typically not available, such as due to proprietary or government regulation reasons, thwarting the ability to normalize using such factors.
Also of interest is the ability to correlate production information to identified landing zones for the purpose of analyzing the effectiveness of treatments to different landing zones. However, systematic reporting of landing zones can be lacking. Landing zones are organic enriched zones that can develop in single or stacked multilayer pads in shale reservoirs. Detailed characterization parameters of landing zones can be closely related to identification of small order stratigraphic sequences and classic sets of reservoir characterization features. However, unless disclosed with production data, or inferred by well geometry and structural framework, identification landing zone may not be readily available. This disclosure proposes a ratio between fluid production rates which may characterize parameters of landing zones.

Processing hydrocarbon production data to characterize treatment effectiveness and landing zones


A camera according to the present invention includes a picture-taking lens unit including a picture-taking optical system having a bending optical system which optically bends incident light and an optical finder unit including a finder optical system having a bending optical system which optically bends incident light. A pre-bending optical system and a post-bending optical system in the bending optical system of the optical finder unit are arranged adjacent to a pre-bending optical system and a post-bending optical system in the bending optical system of the picture-taking lens unit, respectively. The body of the camera is therefore decreased in size.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a camera having a picture-taking optical system and an optical finder including a finder optical system favorable for the camera.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is generally desired that cameras, especially electronic cameras be thinned. To achieve a thin electronic camera, it has recently been proposed that the camera be equipped with a so-called optical-axis bending type picture-taking optical system. This type of picture-taking optical system is disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 11-196303. As is described in this publication, the picture-taking optical system includes a reflection plane, on which a picture-taking optical axis is bent and its direction made coincident with the width direction of the camera, thereby reducing thickness of the camera.
Cameras require a finder. The finder aims at observing an image of an object to be photographed and generally an optical finder is used as such a finder. Electronic cameras usually include an LCD (liquid crystal display) to allow the image of an object to be observed. In view of power savings, however, most electronic cameras are so configured that an optical finder is used for taking a picture of an object and an LCD is used only for reproducing the picture for observation.
Cameras also require a zoom mechanism. The zoom mechanism is designed to continuously vary focal length, usually by moving a zoom lens in the direction of an optical axis. If a picture-taking optical system is to include a zoom mechanism, its corresponding optical finder also needs a zoom mechanism. These zoom mechanisms have to be interlocked with each other. Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publications Nos. 2000-147606 and 2001-133850 disclose a camera that is so configured that the zoom ratio of a finder optical system varies with that of a picture taking optical system.
To incorporate an optical-axis bending type picture-taking optical system allows a picture-taking lens unit to be thinned. However, such an optical-axis bending type picture-taking optical system is not housed in a camera body appropriately depending upon a combination with an optical finder. It is thus likely that the camera body will be difficult to thin and downsize.
In cameras with a zoom mechanism, the picture-taking lens unit having a picture-taking optical system and the optical finder unit having a finder optical system both increase in size. Furthermore, an interlocking mechanism for interlocking the zoom operations of both the units with high precision has to be provided in order to avoid a difference in zoom ratio between the image pickup optical system and the finder optical system.
As is evident from the above, there is fear that a camera including both a picture-taking lens unit having an optical-axis bending type optical system and a zoom lens and an optical finder unit having an optical axis bending type optical system and a zoom lens can be neither compacted nor thinned.

Arrangement of bending optical systems in a picture taking lens unit and an optical finder unit of a camera


A sensor signal conditioning circuit and sensor system incorporating the same. In one embodiment, the signal conditioning circuit includes a DC-coupled detector that converts a sensor signal into a discrete level signal. An AC-coupled detector having a dynamic DC threshold input also converts the sensor signal into a discrete level signal and has a startup delay associated with the dynamic DC threshold input. The signal conditioning circuit further includes a device that inhibits the DC-coupled detector responsive to the dynamic DC threshold input reaching a specified threshold voltage level such that the AC-coupled detector provides the detected output during steady-state sensor operation.

Voltage comparison circuits are used in many different applications that are well known to those skilled in the art. One application for voltage comparison circuits is to detect the sensed output voltage from a geartooth magnetic sensor that utilizes a plurality of magnetoresistors connected in a Wheatstone bridge arrangement. Typical MR bridge sensors employ four magnetoresistors arranged in a bridge configuration so that the voltage differential across the bridge is indicative of the presence or absence of a magnetic component, such as a geartooth, in a predefined detection zone proximate the geartooth sensor.
FIG. 1 is a high-level block diagram illustrating a conventional sensor system 10 such as may be utilized for geartooth or other magnetic sensing applications. Sensor system 10 generally comprises a magnetic signal sensor 2 having an output coupled to a signal conditioning module 4. Magnetic signal sensor 2, which may be a magnetoresistive (MR) bridge, a Hall effect device, or other non-contacting magnetic sensor, includes magnetically sensitive elements for detecting a varying magnetic field proximate to the sensor and translating the detected field into a real time differential voltage output representative of the relative position of the specified target. Signal conditioning module 4 receives the differential output from sensor 2 and includes circuit components and devices for translating the sensor signal into a suitable digital format that may be processed by a sensor microcontroller 12 to determine and provide control function signals related to the angular or linear motion of the specified target.
Signal conditioning module 4 includes a differential amplifier 6 that pre-amplifies the analog sensor signal, and a sensor output detector module 8, which digitizes the amplified signal. Detector module 8 typically includes comparator functionality for comparing the incoming amplified analog signal with one or more specified threshold levels to determine the digital switching points. Referring to FIG. 2A in conjunction with FIG. 1, a waveform representation of the amplifier output signal, Vs, is depicted in relation to the switching point thresholds employed by detector module 8. Ideally, and as illustrated in FIG. 2A, Vs is centered at the 0 volts reference level to enable accurate signal detection.
The zero offset of the two different amplitude sine waves Vs1 and Vs2 cross at the same 0v reference points. Setting the switch points +SP and −SP closer to the 0v point, would minimize the switch point timing error resulting from the amplitude difference between Vs1 and Vs2. Even with switch points that are a substantial fraction of the signal amplitude as shown in FIG. 2A, the output signals from the detector Vout1 and Vout2 both have a 50% duty cycle and exhibit some phase shift. However, as shown in FIG. 2B, a DC offset is often imparted as on the depicted sensor signals Vs1 and Vs2 from a variety of sources including temperature and component calibration and tolerances of sensor 2 and amplifier 6.
In order to maintain the amplified signal in a detectable range to ensure reliable detector switching, the detector switch points +SP and −SP must have a sufficient range from the zero reference level to account for the DC offset. The DC offset may be of either polarity and often results from small mismatches in components which are designed to be as similar as possible such as the sensor bridge and input differential amplifier.
A problem relating to reliable switch point detection arises, however, when a DC offset is introduced in a reduced amplitude sensor signal. Namely, FIG. 2B illustrates a first signal, Vs1, representative of an expected amplitude signal, and a second signal, Vs2, representing a sensor signal that has been attenuated such as by an environment factor such as an increased air gap between the sensing element and target object. As seen in the depicted waveform comparison, a DC offset has been introduced that is large enough so that as Vs2 goes negative, the detector doesn't switch since the downward amplitude peak of Vs2 remains less than the offset added to the predetermined switch point. For smaller values of offset, switching will occur but the switching will move away from a 50% duty cycle as shown in FIG. 2B for Vout1.
By eliminating the DC offset, AC coupling of the sensor signal improves switch point detection reliability and reduces the need for a wider switch point span, thus enabling the switch points for detector module 8 to be set substantially near the ideal reference level. A variety of AC coupling techniques are known and are utilized in signal measuring and detection applications for enabling measurement of AC signals riding DC offset levels. The most common technique involves the use of a series coupled capacitor located between a signal input and the first amplification stage. The pre-amplification coupling can be necessitated in practice, in order to prevent the amplifier gain from disturbing the quiescent state of the AC coupling capacitor.
If signal gain was switched ahead of the coupling capacitor, the DC value applied to the capacitor would also change and the circuit would require a relatively long time to settle. Furthermore, a series AC coupling capacitor design is susceptible to stray electromagnetic interference (EMI) and non-linearities caused, for example, by the additional lead contacts required for the series coupled capacitor. These stray effects can degrade system performance by introducing RC time constants that limit the circuit's bandwidth or by introducing distortion components.
Given that a significant DC offset component may be imparted by the differential amplifier 6 as well as sensor 2, the pre-amplifier stage coupling requirement of an inline AC coupling capacitor renders this approach unsuitable for addressing the DC offset problems encountered by a conventional sensor system such as magnetic sensor system 10.
An alternative AC coupling technique employs a so-called DC buckout circuit. In a DC buckout circuit, a specified DC voltage is subtracted from the input signal, leaving a non-offset AC component. However, buckouts circuit performance is degraded by temperature drift of the subtraction voltage with temperature and other operating environment conditions, and drift of the DC component sought to be removed, both of which result in a remaining DC component.
An AC coupling technique well-suited to application within a magnetic sensor system such as magnetic sensor system 10 is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,657,476, the content of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. The AC coupled sensor signal conditioning device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,657,476 utilizes a low-pass filter comprising a holding capacitor at the threshold input of a comparator device. While effective for eliminating the DC offset contributed by the sensor and the preamplifier, the AC-coupled conditioning circuit disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 6,657,476 requires a significant startup time delay during which the holding capacitor initially charges. When implemented in a geartooth sensor, for example, such a startup delay may result in the sensor failing to track geartooth targets during system startup.
It would therefore be useful to address problems relating to DC offset in sensor signal conditioning circuits without compromising reliable sensor output during system startup. In view of the foregoing, a need remains for a sensor signal conditioning circuit that eliminates DC offset in the post amplification stage while maintaining an accurate and reliable sensor output tracking during system startup. The present invention addresses such a need.


A briefcase adapter for carrying a portable computer in a briefcase comprising a panel for partitioning the briefcase into an upper and a lower compartment and an adjustable frame including a front frame member and a rear frame member held in substantially parallel spaced relationship relative to each other by a pair of side frame members disposed in substantially parallel spaced relationship to each other and disposed in substantially perpendicular relationship to the front frame member and the rear frame member, front and rear frame member adjustment assemblies to selectively and lockably adjust the length of the front and rear frame members for frictionally holding the adjustable frame in place within the briefcase, side frame member adjustment assemblies to selectively and lockably adjust the spacing between the front and rear frame members, and a frame adjustment assembly to selectively and lockably adjust the spacing between the side frame members to selectively adjust the substantially rectangular compartment or area cooperatively formed between the front and rear frame members and the side frame members to accommodate the portable computer.

1. Field of the Invention
A briefcase adapter to store and carry a portable computer in a briefcase.
2. Description of The Prior Art
Travellers often carry computers within "soft" or "hard" carry cases specifically designed for holding the computer, but generally find the use of a separate and dedicated piece of luggage inconvenient. Due to the familiar shape and texture of cases specially designed for portable computer such as laptops and notebook computers, and due to the popularity and high commercial value of their contents, such cases are ideal targets for thieves in airports and similar public places. Luggage specifically designed to carry electronic equipment is well-known in the art.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,602,715 discloses a shipping container for electronic components including built-in nested container portions using layers of resilient foam material which form fit to surface features of the component being shipped and partitions fitting within grooves on the wall of the interior portion.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,837,590 describes a mobile office comprising a carrying case having a hollow rectangular base and a cover hingedly connected thereto with a lap-top computer mounted upon and anchored to one built-in platform contained therein and an electronic printer is mounted upon and anchored to another built-in platform. The cover includes a storage chamber for a multiple chamber collapsible manifold and a second chamber with a cover to mount and close a cellular telephone and modem.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,010,988 shows a carrying case specifically adapted for use in carrying lap top computers, printers, fax machines and the like comprising a case having an outer shell formed of a durable waterproofed material and a case interior including a main storage compartment and a secondary storage compartment. The carrying case may further include a shock barrier comprising a layer of shock absorbent material fitted between the exterior shell and an inner lining.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,115,893 teaches a carrying case and portable writing desk including an exposed exterior broad surface structured as a working surface having various writing materials affixed thereon.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,178,246 discloses a component carrying case with a plurality of individual storage compartments covered by sliding transparent sheets.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,217,119 relates to a rectangular carrying case for a laptop computer or other delicate electronic instrument comprising a suspension system including a cradle suspended from the front and rear walls thereof for receiving a laptop computer and elastic panel members to support the cradle for absorbing shocks and impacts.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,226,540 teaches an air and water tight carrying case for transporting a portable work station having a personal computer, printer and other peripherals with external controls built into the outside of the case to permit operation of the work station when the carrying case is closed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,242,056 discloses a portable office carrying case having a built-in base fabricated of ridged material and at least the front and back sides fabricated of ridged material to protect electronic equipment such as a portable computer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,379,893 describes an attache case with a partition built into the case whose upper surface supports a laptop or notebook computer. The computer is removably affixed to the partition by hook and loop fasteners or the like that can be repositioned to accommodate different computers.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,437,367 teaches a carrying case for electronic components such as a lap top computer, printer, CD-ROM, and the like, the case with built-in shelves foldable from a stowed position to a lockable use position.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,485,922 discloses a portable computer carry case assembly to transport a portable computer, computer printer and other accessories with various built-in support members to receive the portable computer suspended such that the keyboard portion of the portable computer will be co-planar with a top edge of the main housing and straddle the portable computer to prevent sliding within the top compartment.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,494,157 describes a computer case with a built-in "C" shaped rigid frame and corresponding shock absorbing pad for a computer.
Despite these numerous efforts, however, the prior art continues to exhibit various deficiencies in that it does not provide an inexpensive means for carrying and concealing a portable computer in a more traditional rigid briefcase without specially modifying the briefcase with built-in compartments and features. The present invention improves upon the prior art while providing an effective and safe means for carrying portable computers.

Briefcase adapter for a portable computer


An interconnection pattern design, which has an improved reliability under mechanical shock and thermal cycling loads. A semiconductor component comprises a plurality of interconnections aligned into rows and columns to form an interconnection pattern, wherein the interconnections are aligned such that the pattern has substantially rounded or chamfered corners. The present invention provides an improved interconnection life and reliability of ball grid array packages and it is easily implemented.

Semiconductor components, such as ball grid array (BGA) and chip scale packaging (CSP) components, are one significant source of field failures in semiconductor devices, especially in portable and hand held devices such as cell phones. CSPs and BGAs will fail as a consequence of shock impact from mechanical shock and fatigue from thermal and bending cycling. CSPs and BGAs fail mainly due to failure in interconnection between a component and a printed wiring board (PWB) i.e. in an interconnection or PWB built up failure. Furthermore, high loading of interconnections may cause component internal failures, e.g. substrate or die cracking.
General examples of a prior art semiconductor components are illustrated in FIGS. 1a–1e. Specifically, FIGS. 1a–1e illustrate an integrated circuit component 20 that has interconnections 10 arranged in some two-dimensional layout in order to form an interconnection pattern. The interconnections 10 allow the component 20 to be electrically connected to other external devices, other peripherals, or other integrated circuits over conductive traces of a printed wiring board (PWB) or other substrate whereby larger electrical systems may be created (e.g. a computer, cell phone, television, etc.). In the prior art FIGS. 1a–1e, the interconnections 10 are aligned into rows and columns to form an interconnection pattern which has a rectangular shape with sharp corners. All interconnections 10 are of the same size but it is possible that some of the interconnections could have smaller or larger diameter.
One significant cause for failures is that loading is not distributed evenly between interconnections of the component. Typically corner interconnections meet the highest load and fail first.
Coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) mismatch and temperature differences or fluctuations cause a component and a printed wiring board (PWB) to expand at different rate and magnitude. FIG. 2 illustrates in a simplified manner a cross sectional view of the ball grid array package 30 mounted on a printed wiring board 31 before deformation and FIG. 3 illustrates the same after deformation. It can be seen that the longer the distance from the component 32 center point is the higher deformation and stress an interconnection 33 have to undergo. Therefore, the corner solder joints 33′ have to deform the most and are thus typically the most critical ones.
As a consequence of shock impact from mechanical shock, a printed wiring board (PWB) is deformed. Deformation is dependent on supporting structures and loading. Due to an acceleration, PWB is bent up- or downward in the area between screws. A component mounted on the PWB tends to follow said deformation. This leads to uneven loading of the interconnections and the corner solder joints of the component are loaded the most. FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate a simplified example of the PWB 40 during a shock impact. During the shock impact the PWB 40 is bent downwards forming kind of a flat bowl. A component 41 attached to the PWB 40 can be imagined as a piece of glass, which is put into the bowl as in FIG. 4. A weight 42 is put on the glass, which represents the phenomena that glass (component) should be able to follow the deformation of bowl (PWB). A first place of breakage is dependent on the bottom area of the weight while in a component it is dependent on die size (rigid area). In any case, the most likely locations for failure are the corners of the glass. Another potential failure locations would be the corners of the weight.
When the glass is round as illustrated in FIG. 5, the glass is supported from the whole edge area. There, stress is even, and the most critical locations would probably be the corners of the weight i.e. the solder joints close to the die edge. Thus, rounded ballout would distribute loading more evenly between the interconnections and thus reduce stresses in critical solder joints, and, furthermore, improve reliability.
Therefore, a need exists in the industry for a method of designing an interconnection pattern whereby overall product reliability is greatly improved while the compactness of CSP and BGA devices is not substantially and adversely affected.


A method is provided for controlling a legacy application. The method includes visually capturing a series of movements. The method also includes recording the series of movements at a first time as a recorded series of movements. Moreover, the recorded series of movements includes at least a command that is configured to control a legacy application. Furthermore, the method includes invoking the recorded series of movements at a second time.

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to integrating visual controls with legacy applications.
Computer control applications may be used to control industrial systems. These computer control systems may be also be used to control various computer applications (e.g., power network management applications). However, often these computer control applications (e.g., legacy applications) may not suitably interface with newer computer control applications (e.g., applications using visual controls). Thus, to use such legacy computer applications with a visual computer control application, the legacy computer applications and/or the visual computer control applications often must be modified to create an interface (e.g., application programming interface [API]) suitable for communicating between the two applications. However, creating the API and/or modifying the legacy computer application and/or the visual control application to interface between the applications can be costly and time intensive.

Method and system for integrating visual controls with legacy applications


Systems, apparatuses, and methods to identify an electronic control unit transmitting a message on a communication bus, such as an in-vehicle network bus, are provided. ECUs transmit messages by manipulating voltage on conductive lines of the bus. Observation circuitry can observe voltage transitions associated with the transmission at multiple points on the in-vehicle network bus. A voltage waveform can be generated from the observed voltage transitions. ECUs can be identified and/or fingerprinted based on the generated waveforms.

Modern automobiles include a number of sensors, controllers, and processors. These devices often communicate signals and/or messages via a common bus. For example, an in-vehicle network (IVN) can be used to send messages between devices in a vehicle. Identification of the device transmitting a message is important for an overall intrusion detection system (IDS). An IDS may be used to reduce risk of attacks aimed to disable, overtake, reprogram, or otherwise inhibit the safe operation of the system in which the network is deployed, such as, an automobile.

Relative voltage pattern for electronic control unit identification


In an object carrier for supporting apparatus such as a minicomputer, a navigation apparatus or cell phones, which carrier comprises a foot adapted to be attached to a support surface, a top part for supporting an apparatus holder or directly an apparatus, and a flexible arm extending between the foot and the top part, the flexible arm is releasably connectable at least to the foot by a plug-in connection consisting of a receptacle part formed at least in the foot for receiving an end of the flexible arm in a rotationally fixed relationship and the plug-in connection further includes locking structure for firmly retaining, and releasably locking, the end of the flexible arm in the foot and respectively, top part.

The invention concerns an object carrier with a flexible exchangeable support arm for use for example in motor vehicles for the permanent or temporary support of an apparatus such as a cell phone. A minicomputer or a navigation apparatus etc. The object carrier comprises a mounting part, for example, a suction mechanism for attachment to a smooth surface such as a windshield or a console mountable to a support surface by means of screws, an apparatus or object holder for receiving and fixing a particular apparatus or object and a flexible support arm extending between the mounting part and the apparatus or object holder so that the apparatus or object can be arranged oriented in an operating position convenient for a user by appropriate bending of the support arm.
Such object carriers are known, for example, from German Utility Model 295 13 581, or from German Utility Model 20 2004 010 768. In such object carriers, particular attention has to be given to a secure, reliable connection between the flexible support arm, which is generally called gooseneck, and the foot and also between the support arm and the object holder since substantial forces are effective at those connections during an adjustment of the object carrier. Although the support arm is flexible, it is adjustable only by application of a substantial force since, under normal operation, the support arms needs to be relatively rigid, and should not change its position during operation when subjected to vibrations.
In known object carriers of this type, the connections between the flexible support arm and the foot, or respectively, object holder are established by cementing and other security measures.
It is the object of the present invention to provide an object carrier which is improved with respect to utility and operability.

Object carrier with flexible exchangeable support arm


Methods and compositions are provided for covalently linking a chemical species to a recombinant or synthetic polypeptide. The methods involve the reaction of a thioester-comprising polypeptide with a reagent comprising a reactive amino-thiol group connected to the chemical species which is to be covalently linked to the polypeptide, via a linker. Such chemical species can be a functional group, a label or tag molecule, a biological molecule, a ligand, or a solid support. Efficient and catalyst-free methods for C-terminal protein labeling are also provided. The methods expand current capabilities in the area of protein functionalization, providing useful and complementary tools for the isolation, detection, characterization, and analysis of proteins in a variety of in vitro and in vivo applications.

Chemical methods for site-specific functionalization of proteins and peptides are useful in a variety of research and biomedical applications. For example, the site-specific attachment of a chromophore such as a fluorescent dye to a target protein can be useful to enable detection of such protein in a complex mixture or to track expression and localization of the target protein within a cell or living organism. On the other hand, site-specific functionalization of a protein with an affinity tag can be used to facilitate protein isolation, purification, and characterization. Site-specific functionalization can also be useful in the preparation of protein microarrays, which in turn can be useful for screening protein-ligand, protein-protein, antigen-antibody interactions. As another example, methods to chemically link a protein such as a therapeutic protein to a polymer (e.g., polyethylene glycol), a small-molecule drug, a cell receptor ligand, or another protein or peptide can be valuable to enhance and modulate the pharmacological, pharmacokinetic, or tissue-targeting properties of the therapeutic protein.
Several methods for the functionalization of peptides and proteins are known in the art (see, e.g., Hermanson 1996; Jing and Cornish 2011; Crivat and Taraska 2012). Conventional strategies have taken advantage of nucleophilic side-chain functionalities in certain amino acids (e.g., thiol group in cysteine, amino group in lysine) to couple a chemical species to the polypeptide via an electrophilic reagent (Hermanson 1996). An inherent limitation of these approaches is than more than one such amino acid can be present in the target polypeptide, preventing accurate control on the site-selectivity of the reaction. Furthermore, using these strategies, selective labeling of an individual protein in complex biological mixtures (e.g., cell lysate or within a cell) is not possible owing to the occurrence of numerous other proteins having similar reactive functionalities.
More recent approaches for protein labeling have involved the genetic fusion of a protein to a protein tag such as a fluorescent protein (e.g., green fluorescent protein and variants thereof) or an enzyme, which can be covalently modified via an irreversible inhibitor to indirectly link a certain chemical species (e.g., fluorophore or affinity label) to the protein of interest (Jing and Cornish 2011; Crivat and Taraska 2012). Examples of the latter include the so-called SNAP tag (Keppler, Gendreizig et al. 2003), HaloTag (Los, Encell et al. 2008), and the TMP-tag (Calloway, Choob et al. 2007). A common drawback of these approaches is however that permanent fusion of the target protein to a non-native protein tag may affect the biological function, dynamics, conformational properties, and/or cellular localization of the protein of interest.
Other approaches in the area of protein labeling have involved the use of short (e.g., 6-20 amino acid-long) peptide sequences which are genetically fused to the protein of interest and serve as recognition sites for enzyme-catalyzed posttranslational modifications. By action of these enzymes or engineered variants thereof and utilizing modified co-substrates, fluorophores or other small molecule labels have been attached to these peptide sequences, and thus, to the target protein. Examples of these strategies include the use of biotin ligase BirA (Chen, Howarth et al. 2005), sortase (Popp, Antos et al. 2007), lipoic acid ligase (Cohen, Zou et al. 2012), and phosphopantetheine transferase (PPTase) (Yin, Liu et al. 2004). Also in this case, however, the target protein must be permanently fused to a non-native peptide sequence, which can alter the properties of the former. In addition, the addition (or co-expression) of an auxiliary processing enzyme is required for both in vitro and in vivo applications.
In general, 'traceless' methods for protein labeling that involve no modifications or extensions of the primary sequence of the target protein are highly desirable in order to minimize the risks of altering its structure/function/cellular localization. In particular, the ability to site-specifically attach new chemical entities to the carboxy-terminus of a protein or enzyme is most valuable as the C-terminus is often solvent-exposed and typically not directly involved in binding or catalysis. Thus, efficient methods for C-terminal functionalization of a protein can be of great value toward protein labeling or immobilization under non-disruptive conditions.
Recently developed technologies have made possible the generation of recombinant proteins comprising a thioester group at their C-terminal end. The C-terminal thioester group provides a unique reactive chemical functionality within the protein which can be exploited for site-specific labeling of a target protein. Recombinant C-terminal thioester proteins can be generated by exploiting the mechanism of inteins, which are naturally occurring proteins capable of excising themselves from the internal region of a precursor polypeptide via a posttranslational process known as protein splicing (Paulus 2000). The first step in protein splicing involves an intein-catalyzed N→S (or N→O) acyl transfer in which the polypeptide chain flanking the intein N-terminus (N-extein) is transferred to the side-chain thiol or hydroxy group of a conserved cysteine, serine, or threonine residue at the N-terminus of the intein. Further intramolecular rearrangements follow that ultimately lead to the excision of the intein from the precursor polypeptide and the ligation of N-extein unit to the C-extein unit (=polypeptide chain flanking the intein C-terminus) via a peptide bond. By genetically fusing a protein of interest to the N-terminus of engineered intein variants which are unable to undergo C-terminal splicing (e.g., via mutation of the conserved asparagine residue at the intein C-terminus or removal of the C-extein unit), it is possible to promote only the first step of protein splicing, thereby producing a recombinant protein with a reactive C-terminal thioester linkage. The sequencing and characterization of several naturally occurring intein-comprising proteins show that inteins share a similar mechanism as well as a number of conserved primary sequence regions called 'intein motifs', whereas generally there are no specific sequence requirements for the N- and C-extein units. To date, more than 500 experimentally validated and putative intein sequences have been identified.
The ability to generate recombinant C-terminal thioester proteins via the genetic fusion of a protein to the N-terminus of a natural intein, or engineered (or synthetic or artificial) variant thereof, provides the opportunity to link a chemical entity to the protein C-terminus via nucleophilic substitution at the thioester group. A known methodology in this area involves the reaction between a recombinant C-terminal thioester protein with another polypeptide (i.e., a recombinant or synthetic peptideprotein) comprising an N-terminal cysteine. This procedure, also known as Expressed Protein Ligation (Muir, Sondhi et al. 1998), involves an intermolecular transthioesterification reaction followed by an intramolecular S→N acyl shift to give a native peptide bond between the two polypeptide chains. Similarly, cysteine-comprising reagents have been used for labeling/immobilization of recombinant C-terminal thioester proteins (Chattopadhaya, Abu Bakar et al. 2009). Alternatively, and also in the context of protein labeling/immobilization applications, recombinant C-terminal thioester proteins have been functionalized at the C-terminus via the use of hydrazine-, hydrazide-, or oxyamine-comprising chemical reagents, in which the hydrazine, hydrazide, or oxyamine group acts as the nucleophile to promote the C-terminal ligation of the protein of interest to a given chemical species (e.g., a fluorescent dye) (Cotton, U.S. Pat. No. 7,622,552; Raines et al. U.S. Pat. Appl. 20080020942).
Unfortunately, all the aforementioned methods for protein C-terminal labeling are characterized by slow reaction kinetics resulting in low labeling efficiencies, in particular at short reaction times. In addition, high concentrations of reagents (either the target C-terminal thioester protein, or the labeling reagent, or both) are typically required to achieve satisfactory yields of the desired protein functionalized product. Furthermore, thiol catalysts such as, for example, thiophenol, mercaptoethanol, or MESNA, are typically necessary to expedite and/or increase the yields of these protein functionalization procedures. As a result of these drawbacks, the utility of these methods for protein C-terminal labeling/immobilization remains limited. For example, these reactions conditions can be hardly attained at the intracellular level, severely limiting the scope of these methods in the context of in vivo protein labeling applications. Furthermore, fast protein labeling procedures are required to enable the detection and isolation of transient or short-lived protein species in the context of proteomic or cell biology studies. Finally, the limited stability of certain proteins may not be compatible with the need for high reagent or catalyst concentrations associated to these methods.
Citation or identification of any reference in Section 2, or in any other section of this application, shall not be considered an admission that such reference is available as prior art to the present invention.

Methods and compositions for site-specific labeling of peptides and proteins


A method of distributing digital images includes uploading one or more digital image files corresponding to one or more digital images to an interactive kiosk; receiving user input of contact information for one or more third party recipients; and sending notice to the one or more third party recipients that the one or more digital images are available. A photo printing and networking system includes a kiosk for uploading one or more digital image files corresponding to one or more digital images; a kiosk network in electronic communication with the kiosk; and data transfer means for transferring the one or more digital image files from the kiosk to a third party recipient via the kiosk network.

Many retail stores and other public locations have installed interactive kiosks that allow patrons easier access to quality photograph printing. A user may operate a digital camera to take digital photographs that are then stored electronically as digital image files on the camera or some other data storage device. The user may then transfer the digital image files to the interactive kiosk. Once the data is transferred to the kiosk, the user may edit and print the photographic images. Typically, such kiosks print pictures on photographic print media with a high image quality.
The entire process starting with the uploading of the digital images and ending with the printed photographs may take only minutes to complete. Therefore, one advantage to using an interactive photo kiosk is that the user can acquire digital photograph prints almost instantaneously and in a retail location that the user would tend to frequent.
Online photo printing is another method by which a user may obtain prints of digital images. The user may upload digital images to a website, optionally edit the digital images, and have the online photo printing service print and deliver the images to the user.
Such online services are convenient for a user because the user does not have to go to another location to print photos, but may, instead, do so from home by simply uploading the digital images to the online service. The online service then prints the digital images and sends or delivers the photographs to the user. Another advantage to online photo printing is that the cost for each individual print is typically less than other conventional photo printing options.
Throughout the drawings, identical reference numbers designate similar, but not necessarily identical, elements.

System and method for disseminating digital images

HEWLETT-PACKARD DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, L.P.


A urine sample collection device having a collection vessel for capturing urine from a patient, and an associated sample collection container portion for gathering the urine sample in an assured manner without the need for manual transfer. The urine sample collection device can be easily mounted inside a toilet bowl, so that the patient can deliver the urine stream to the toilet in the normal manner to produce the urine sample. The device avoids splashes of residual urine after the sample container is remove from the collection vessel, and a urine flow barrier shield for automatically accommodating the clean-catch method for delivering a urine sample.

Urination is a process by which a human naturally expels urine from the body that contains byproduct of cellular metabolism rich in nitrogen that require elimination from the bloodstream. Urine principally contains water, but also includes an assortment of inorganic salts and organic compounds, including proteins, hormones, and a wide range of metabolites that vary by what was put into the body. Urination represents the primary method for excreting these water-soluble chemicals from the body.
These chemicals, along with the presence of unwanted bacteria, can be detected and analyzed by urinalysis. Doctors order urine tests for patients to make sure that the kidneys and certain other organs are functioning properly, or when they suspect that the patient might have an infection in the kidneys, bladder, or other parts of the urinary tract. The kidneys make urine as they filter wastes from the bloodstream, while leaving substances in the blood needed by the body like proteins and glucose. But if the urine contains glucose, too much protein, or has other irregularities, it may constitute a sign of a health problem or disease.
A urinalysis test can measure the number and variety of red and white blood cells, the presence of bacteria and other organisms, the presence of substances like glucose that should not be found in urine, the pH which shows how acidic or basic the urine is, and the concentration of the urine. The doctor or a laboratory will typically place a dipstick in the urine whose patches change color to indicate things like the presence of white or red blood cells or glucose. The doctor or laboratory will also usually examine the urine under a microscope to check for other substances like bacteria that indicate different health conditions.
But, it can be difficult to collect a urine sample from a child or the elderly or disabled patient to analyze. Acute urinary tract infections ("UTI") are relatively common in children. Children younger than three years of age are not usually toilet trained yet, so a urine sample will typically be collected from their soiled diaper. Children of ages 3-10 years will usually be toilet trained, but they can be embarrassed by or fearful of the process in the doctor's office, and experience difficulty in urinating upon demand. Moreover, children of ages 3-5 years, older children with severe disabilities, and adults who have difficulty seeing, difficulty with dexterity (implied by having issues with walking and grasping), or a mental disability that may preclude full understanding and execution of a task can also have trouble with the mechanics required for urinating a sample directly into a collection container. It is estimated that 44.8 million children, disabled, and elderly persons in the United States may face these challenges in providing urine samples.
Furthermore, the skin surrounding the urinary opening of the male penis and female vagina is normally home to some of the same bacteria that causes infections in the urinary tract. If these bacteria contaminate the urine sample during the collection process, the doctor may be unable to process the sample to determine whether or not there is a true infection in the patient. Thus, the patient will be required in a "clean catch" process to clean and rinse the skin surrounding the urinary opening in the body, then urinate to expel any bacteria-laden urine, then stop momentarily, and finally urinate again the 1-2 ounce sample into the collection container. Catching this urine sample in "mid-stream" can require unusual coordination and manual dexterity for a child, or disabled or elderly patient.
Various devices have been developed and used over time to assist a patient with providing a urine sample. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,811,136 issued to Whitney et al. provides a hand-held urine specimen collection container consisting of a funnel screwed into a collection bottle. The urine is collected by the funnel portion and delivered by gravity into the bottle. U.S. Published Application 2004/0003457 filed by Renda constitutes a portable urinal having a funnel positioned on top of a hand-held base container. But both of these devices must be held and manipulated by the patient with the risk of spillage or contamination of the collected urine sample.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,920,916 issued to Norton discloses a rigid, saddle-shaped funnel that can be manually fitted against the female pelvis. Like a bed pan, it collects urine for delivery to a screwed-on collection vessel. But, the urine collected in this vessel must then be transferred to a collection container by the patient or assistant.
Another common type of urine collection device is mounted inside a toilet bowl. A patient can simply urinate into the toilet in a normal fashion, and the urine sample will fall into some type of container. This type of toilet-mounted urine collection container comes in various designs. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,571,817 issued to Gosnell discloses a urine collection bag mounted to the rim of the toilet bowl with the bag suspended into the bowl. The urine must be manually transferred from the bag to another container. U.S. Pat. No. 8,079,562 issued to Denmar discloses a stand-alone urine collection container set onto a bracket mounted onto the toilet bowl. However, the patient must be able to direct the urine flow directly into the container, which can be difficult for female and child patients. U.S. Pat. No. 6,811,754 issued to House, and U.S. Published Application 2004/0241052 filed by House show urine collection cups mounted into the bottom of a rigid collection vessel. U.S. Pat. No. 6,775,852 issued to Alvarez et al. illustrates a urine collection cup held by a flexible bag that is set into the toilet bowl with an elastomeric band at its top secured around the toilet bowl. In all of these cases, the cup will be splashed with urine, and therefore unpleasant for the doctor's assistant to handle.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,358,477 issued to Webb et al. illustrates another design for a "funnel" made from a flexible sheet that is attached to the toilet seat with a collection cup secured to the sheeting by adhesive. U.S. Pat. No. 6,212,698 issued to Stingley et al. discloses a flexible mounting strip positioned on top of the toilet bowl rim. A collection cup is suspended from the bottom of the bag. Once again, the collection cup will be splashed with urine.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,151,972 issued to Venter et al. teaches a rigid molded plastic trough that is clipped to the toilet bowl rim, and suspends a collection cup from its bottom. U.S. Pat. No. 5,146,637 issued to Bressler et al. discloses a rigid plastic funnel that specifically fits into the opening of the toilet bowl with a collection cup suspended from an opening in its bottom.
But, all of these funnel-like devices mounted to toilet bowls suffer from a number of disadvantages. They require complicated mounting rods or brackets that must be manipulated to secure the device to and remove it from the toilet. A flexible sheeting may tear, thereby losing the urine sample into the toilet bowl. A simple cup set onto a mounting bracket may fail to catch the urine sample. The collection cup may be splattered by urine and therefore messy to handle. The urine collected in the cup can become contaminated by bacteria, thereby interfering with the validity of the urinalysis results.
Moreover, none of these urine collection devices used in the medical industry allow for the patient to practice the accepted "clean catch" mid-stream collection process for providing a urine sample free of bacteria contamination. The patient must pass the initial short burst of urine into the toilet, get off the toilet while the urine collection contraption is mounted to the toilet bowl, and then get back onto the toilet to provide the urine specimen. The physical coordination and lack of privacy required by such a process will interfere with the collection of urine samples from patients in many cases.
There are some prior art urine collection devices that purport to accommodate the clean-catch mid-stream urine sample collection process. For example, a "Peezy" collection device is disclosed in S. Collier, F. Matjiu, G. Jones, M. Harbor & S. Hopkins, "A Prospective Study Comparing Contamination Rates Between a Novel Mid-Stream Urine Collection Device (Peezy) and a Standard Method in Renal Patients," J. Clinical Pathology, vol. 0, pp. 1-4 (2013). The Peezy device incorporates a sponge inserted into a funnel mounted to the top of the collection container. The device is placed in a toilet bowl under the perineum of the patient who allows the urine to flow into the funnel. The urine passes through the device, and the cellulose sponge expands as the first 10-15 ml of urine is passed by the patient. The urine is then forced into the sample container. Any overflow from this funnel and container passes into the toilet. But, the bacteria-laden initial urine flow captured by the sponge can contaminate the subsequent mid-stream urine flow that passes through the same sponge. This defeats the purpose of the clean-catch mid-stream urine collection method. Not surprisingly, the researchers discovered that the Peezy device actually increased the rate of the epithelial cells and mixed growths found in the urine samples when compared against the counts found in the samples collected directly by the conventional clean-catch mid-stream collection process.
A Mittstrom mid-stream urine collection device designed by Charlwood entails a corn starch membrane that covers the sample container held suspended in a toilet bowl by a corn starch saddle. When a patient passes urine, the first three seconds of flow is absorbed by the corn starch membrane and dissolves it, thereby allowing the subsequent urine flow to pass directly into the sample container. But, the dissolved, bacteria-laden membrane can contaminate the mid-stream flow to render the urine sample unreliable for diagnostic testing.
The clean-catch midstream device manufactured and sold by JBOL Ltd. of Oxford, England in the United Kingdom employs a mechanical approach in which air released from the sample container mounted to the device forces the initial urine stream to flow up and out of the container, while the subsequent mid-stream urine flows into the container. But, this "channeling feature" still appears to allow the contaminated initial urine flow to contact the mid-stream urine flow or the sample container. Thus, while the process employed by this particular device may be relatively automatic, it can result in a bacterially contaminated urine sample.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,798,907 issued to Piccionelli et al., Renda, and U.S. Published Application 2005/0177937 filed by Kneese et al. disclose various floating targets and heat or moisture-activated materials useful for encouraging young children to learn to use the toilet. But none of the devices provide any kind of functionality for collecting urine samples, especially via the clean catch process.
A urine sample collection device that can be easily mounted to a toilet bowl having a collection vessel for capturing urine from a patient, and an associated sample collection container portion for gathering the urine sample in an assured manner without the need for manual transfer, while maintaining the integrity and purity of the sample would be beneficial. Moreover, the ability to remove the sample collection container with the urine sample inside from the collection vessel without splashed urine deposits or other mess on the container would also be helpful. Furthermore, the urine sample collection device should collect the mid-stream urine sample after automatically diverting the initial bacteria-laden urine to enable the patient to employ the clean-catch method during delivery of urine to avoid introduction of bacteria from around the urinary opening of the patient's body into the sample. Such a device would greatly facilitate the process for obtaining urine samples from children and elderly or physically infirm patients, while enhancing their sense of independence, privacy, and human dignity in not having a medical assistant intrusively present to assist them with the urine sample collection process.


Lever assemblies are provided that can include: an enclosure; a lever pivotably coupled to the enclosure; one member extending from one end to another end, the one end of the one member floating within the enclosure and the other end of the one member pivotably coupled to the lever; and another member extending from one end to another end, the one end of the other member pivotably coupled to the lever and the other end of the other member pivotably fixed to the enclosure. Methods for providing force from a lever associated with an enclosure are provided with the methods including: providing a lever pivotably coupled to an enclosure and extending along a length of the enclosure in one cross section; compressing the lever toward the enclosure to extend a member within the enclosure and provide force along the length of the enclosure with the member.

Many designs are available for dictating the control of mechanical devices between one location and another location. These systems can include cabling systems and/or hydraulic systems, but typically, the systems have cables and or hydraulics that exist outside and act as an encumbrance when utilizing the device associated with the systems. For example, bicycle braking systems typically have a lever associated with the handlebar of the bicycle and a cable that extends from the lever outside the handlebar and down to the braking assembly that is associated with one or more of the wheels of the bicycle. These cables can cause problems for the rider during use and/or storage of the bicycle. The present disclosure provides internal lever assemblies and methods.


Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method and controller for damping multimode electromagnetic oscillations in electric power systems which interconnect a plurality of generators and consumers. The controller for damping such oscillations includes a phasor measurement unit (PMU) and a power oscillation damper (POD) controller. Each oscillating mode signal is damped and then superposed to derive a control signal. A feedback controller is used to feedback the control signal to a power flow control device in the power system.

In the wake of the ongoing deregulations of the electric power markets, load transmission and wheeling of power from distant generators to local consumers has become common practice. As a consequence of the competition between utilities and the emerging need to optimize assets, increased amounts of electric power are transmitted through the existing networks, invariably causing congestion, transmission bottlenecks and/or oscillations of parts of the power transmission systems. In this regard, electrical transmission networks are highly dynamic. In general, electromagnetic oscillations in electric power systems comprising several alternating current generators have a frequency of less than a few Hz and are considered to be acceptable as long as they decay. They are initiated by the normal small changes in the system load, and they are a characteristic of any power system.
However, insufficiently damped oscillations may occur when the operating point of the power system is changed, for example, due to a new distribution of power flows following a connection or disconnection of generators, loads and/or transmission lines. Likewise, the interconnection of several existing power grids, even if one or more of the existing grids do not individually present any poorly damped oscillations prior to their interconnection, may give rise to insufficiently damped oscillations. In these cases, an increase in the transmitted power of a few MW may make the difference between stable oscillations and unstable oscillations which have the potential to cause a system collapse or result in lost of synchronism, lost of interconnections and ultimately the inability to supply electric power to the customer. Appropriate monitoring of the power system can help a network operator to accurately assess power system states and avoid a total blackout by taking appropriate actions such as the connection of specially designed oscillation damping equipment.
Electric power transmission and distribution systems or networks comprise high-voltage tie lines for connecting geographically separated regions, medium-voltage lines, and substations for transforming voltages and for switching connections between lines. For managing the network, it is known to utilize Phasor Measurement Units (PMU). PMUs provide time-stamped local information about the network, such as currents, voltages and load flows. A plurality of phasor measurements collected throughout the network by PMUs and processed at a central data processor can provide a snapshot of the overall electrical state of the power system.
Patent Application EP-A 1 737 098 describes the combined voltage or power flow control and damping of single mode electromagnetic oscillations in an electric power system by Flexible AC Transmission System (FACTS) devices. To this end, information about a state or operating point of the power system is generated from suitable second system signals, and a control parameter of a FACTS controller is derived therefrom. The control parameter and first system signals are used in the calculation of a control command defining the settings of the FACTS device. Following a change in the state of the power system, such as a change in the topology of a transmission network, poorly damped or even unstable oscillations are avoided by appropriate re-tuning of the control parameter of the damping or stabilizing equipment.
Exemplary FACTS devices comprise power semiconductor components and include, by way of example, Static-Var Compensators (SVCs), Unified Power Flow Controller (UPFC), Thyristor-Controlled Series Capacitors (TSCSs), thyristor controlled phase-shifting transformers (TCPST), impedance modulators, and series compensation capacitors.
Such known technologies enable damping control of a selected single mode oscillation based on a single feedback signal. This is known as a single-input single-output solution (SISO). It has been found that electromechanical oscillations in electric power networks also take the form of a superposition of multiple oscillatory modes. These multiple oscillatory modes create similar problems to the single mode oscillations and thus have the potential to cause a collapse of the electric power network. Furthermore, in situations where a Power Oscillation Damping (POD) controller is used to stabilize a single selected oscillatory mode, this may often have the effect of destabilizing the other oscillatory modes present, for example, a second dominant mode, which is subsequently damped less than the first dominant mode. Thus, it can be seen that the second dominant mode (and any other mode) is negatively impacted by the performance of the SISO POD controller which is tuned to improve the damping of the first dominant oscillatory mode.
With reference to the known technologies which enable damping control of single mode oscillations, FIG. 1 shows a complex frequency domain graph of the effect of a known SISO POD controller utilizing local feedbacks. In such a complex frequency domain graph (in the s-plane), the x-axis represents the real part of s (which is absolute modal damping) and the y-axis represents the imaginary part of s (which is modal frequency in radians per second) where the s-plane transforms are commonly known as Laplace transforms; hence in the s-plane, multiplying by s has the effect of differentiating in the corresponding real time domain and dividing by s has the effect of integrating. Each point on the s-plane represents an eigenvalue or a transfer function pole. The arrow 10 closest to the x-axis represents the improvement of damping of the first dominant oscillatory mode, because the change of the eigenvalue is directed towards the left half of the complex plane. The parallel arrow 12 further from the x-axis represents the deterioration in damping of the second dominant oscillatory mode (increasing oscillations in the time domain) which is indicated by the change of the eigenvalue towards the right half of the complex plane.
The article "Application of FACTS Devices for Damping of Power System Oscillations", by R. Sadikovic et al., proceedings of the Power Tech conference 2005, Jun. 27-30, St. Petersburg RU, is incorporated herein by reference. This article addresses the selection of the proper feedback signals and the subsequent adaptive tuning of the parameters of a power oscillation damping (POD) controller in case of changing operating conditions. The selection is based on a linearized system model, the transfer function G(s) of which is being expanded into a sum of N residues:
      G              (      s      )        =            ∑              i        =        1            N                          R        i                    (                  s          -                      λ            i                          )
The N eigenvalues λi correspond to the N oscillation modes of the system, whereas the residue Ri for a particular mode gives the sensitivity of that mode's eigenvalue to feedback between the output and the input of the system.

Damping electromagnetic oscillations in power systems


Described herein is a nanoparticle system including a multivalent nanoparticle core having a plurality of β-hairpin peptides conjugated thereto. Also included are pharmaceutical compositions and methods of making the nanoparticle system. Further included are immunotherapy methods including administering the nanoparticle system to a subject in need thereof, such as a human cancer patient.

Because of their high affinity and selectivity for target materials, antibodies have been successfully employed as binding ligands for many applications including immunotherapy. However, the low thermodynamic stability and high cost of manufacturing, which are intrinsic drawbacks of proteins, have been obstacles to their routine application. Furthermore, proteins containing many surface functional groups (e.g., amine, carboxyl, hydroxyl, and sulfhydryl groups) are often not compatible with site-specific chemical reactions, which limits their use in advanced nanobiotechnological applications. One potential approach to address these problems is to implement peptides having the useful properties of small molecules and proteins. Advances in peptide design strategies, such as library screening and structure-based molecular design, has facilitated the development of artificial peptides that can outperform proteins in target binding. In addition, peptides can be synthesized through a cost-effective chemical approach, solid-phase peptide synthesis (conjugating amino acids one at a time), enabling facile and precise tuning of amino acid compositions and macromolecular topologies.
While peptides are a promising alternative to proteins, the target binding affinity of short peptides is generally lower than that of proteins. In addition, peptides often do not maintain innate folding structures when separated from their protein contexts, which significantly affects their physicochemical properties.
What is needed are new compositions and methods for the delivery of β-hairpin peptides.