A container closure delivery system that is suitable for lyophilized pharmaceutical injectable powder products is disclosed. The system comprises storage stable powder formulations and a container closure assembly design wherein the formulation can be filled and lyophilized with a standard fill finish equipment, and the formulations and lyophilization processes are optimized to produce a powder that readily dissolves upon contact with a diluent, thereby facilitating the direct injection of the lyophilized product without the need for a separate reconstitution/mixing/priming step.

Due to continued advances in genetic and cell engineering technologies, proteins known to exhibit various pharmacological actions in vivo are capable of production in large amounts for pharmaceutical applications. However, one of the most challenging tasks in the development of protein pharmaceuticals is to deal with the inherent physical and chemical instabilities of such proteins, especially in aqueous dosage forms. To try to understand and maximize the stability of protein pharmaceuticals and any other usable proteins, many studies have been conducted, especially in the past two decades. These studies have covered many areas, including protein folding and unfolding/denaturation, mechanisms of chemical and physical instabilities of proteins, as well as various means of stabilizing proteins in aqueous form; see, e.g., Manning et al., Pharm Res., 1989; 6:903-918; Arakawa et al., Adv Drug Deliv Rev., 2001; 46:307-326; Wang W., Int J. Pharm., 1999; 185:129-188; Chen T., Drug Dev Ind Pharm., 1992; 18:1311-1354, and references cited therein.
Because of the instability issues associated with the aqueous dosage forms, powder formulations are generally preferred to achieve sufficient stability for the desired shelf life of the product. Various techniques to prepare dry powders have been known, substantiated and practiced in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry. Such techniques include lyophilization, spray-drying, spray-freeze drying, bulk crystallization, vacuum drying, and foam drying. Lyophilization (freeze-drying) is often a preferred method used to prepare dry powders (lyophilizates) containing proteins. Various methods of lyophilization are well known to those skilled in the art; see, e.g., Pikal M J., In: Cleland J L, Langer R. eds. Formulation and Delivery of Proteins and Peptides. Washington, D.C.: American Chemical Society; 1994:120-133; Wang W., Int J. Pharm. 2000; 203:1-60, and references cited therein.
The lyophilization process consists if three stages: freezing, primary drying, and secondary drying. Because the protein product is maintained frozen throughout drying process, lyophilization provides the following advantages over alternative techniques: minimum damage and loss of activity in delicate, heat-liable materials; speed and completeness of rehydration; the possibility of accurate, clean dosing into final product containers so that particulate and bacterial contamination is reduced; permits product reconstitution at a higher concentration than it was at the time of freezing; and permits storage of the product at ambient temperatures. The latter can be particularly useful for hospital products in areas that do not have ready access to freezers, especially ultra-cold freezers.
Unfortunately, even in solid dosage forms, some proteins can be relatively unstable and this instability may be a product of the lyophilization method used for preparing the solid dosage forms and/or the inherent instability of the actual solid dosage formulations themselves. For example, in certain instances, lyophilization processing events can force a protein to undergo significant chemical and physical changes. Such processing events include concentration of salts, precipitation, crystallization, chemical reactions, shear, pH, amount of residual moisture remaining after freeze-drying, and the like. Such chemical and physical changes include, e.g., formation of dimer or other higher order aggregates, and unfolding of tertiary structure. Unfortunately, these changes may result in loss of activity of the protein, or may result in significant portions of the active materials in the drug having been chemically transformed into a degradation product or products which may actually comprise an antagonist for the drug or which may give rise to adverse side effects. In addition to the instabilities incurred upon proteins because of the inherent steps of the lyophilization process, other disadvantages of lyophilization include: long and complex processing times; high energy costs; and expensive set up and maintenance of the lyophilization facilities. As such, use of lyophilization is usually restricted to delicate, heat-sensitive materials of high value. Additionally, lyophilized powders are typically formed as cakes, which require additional grinding and milling and optionally sieving processing steps to provide flowing powders. To try to understand and to optimize protein stability during lyophilization and after lyophilization, many studies have been conducted; see, e.g., Gomez G. et al., Pharm Res. 2001; 18:90-97; Strambini G B., Gabellieri E., Biophys J., 1996; 70:971-976; Chang B S. et al., J Pharm Sci., 1996; 85:1325-1330, Pikal M J., Biopharm, 1990; 3:9, Izutsu K. et al., Pharm. Res., 1994; 11-995, Overcashier D E., J Pharm Sci., 1999; 88:688, Schmidt EA. et al., J Pharm Sci., 1999; 88:291, and references cited therein.
In order to allow for parenteral administration of these powdered drugs, the drugs must first be placed in liquid form. To this end, the drugs are mixed or reconstituted with a diluent before being delivered parenterally to a patient. The reconstitution procedure must be performed under sterile conditions, and in some procedures for reconstituting, maintaining sterile conditions is difficult. One way of reconstituting a powdered drug is to inject a liquid diluent directly into a drug vial containing the powdered drug. This can be performed by use of a combination-syringe and syringe needle having diluent contained therein and drug vials which include a pierceable rubber stopper. The method of administration goes as follows: 1) the rubber stopper of the drug vial is pierced by the needle and the liquid in the syringe injected into the vial; 2) the vial is shaken to mix the powdered drug with the liquid; 3) after the liquid and drug are thoroughly mixed, a measured amount of the reconstituted drug is then drawn into the syringe; 4) the syringe is then withdrawn from the vial and the drug then be injected into the patient.
For people requiring frequent parenteral administration of drugs, it is common practice for those people to be provided with home-use kits which may include injection cartridges, pre-filled syringes, pen injectors and/or autoinjectors to be used for the purpose of self-administration. Autoinjectors incorporating needled injection mechanisms are well known and thought to exhibit several advantages relative to simple hypodermic syringes. Such needled autoinjectors generally include a body or housing, a needled syringe or similar device, and one or more drive mechanisms for inserting a needle into the tissue of the subject and delivering a desired dose of liquid medicament through the inserted needle. To date, all known autoinjector devices have been used with liquid formulations. There still exists a need for an autoinjector that can used to deliver powdered formulations.
Other methods of administration of powdered drugs include the use of dual-chambered injection cartridges and/or pre-filled syringe systems. Injection cartridges of the dual-chamber type are well-known and have found a wide use. They are used together with various types of injection apparatuses which serve to hold the cartridge as it is readied for injection and as injections are subsequently administered. Injection cartridges of the dual-chamber type generally comprise a cylindrical barrel, which is shaped like a bottleneck at its front end and has an open rear end. The front end is closed by a septum of rubber or other suitable material, which is secured in place by means of a capsule. This capsule has a central opening where the septum is exposed and may be pierced by a hollow needle to establish a connection with the interior of the cartridge; see e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,435,076 and references cited therein.
Dual-chambered pre-filled syringe systems are well known and have found wide commercial use; see e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,080,649; 5,833,653; 6,419,656; 5,817,056; 5,489,266, and references cited therein. Pre-filled syringes of the dual-chambered type generally comprise an active ingredient which is lyophilized in one chamber, while a second chamber of the syringe contains a solvent that is mixed with the active substance immediately before application. In such devices, in order to facilitate the movement of the syringe plunger against compression of air, the chamber containing the lyophilized product typically has large head space and some additional mechanism, e.g., rotation of the plunger, screwing in the plunger, is necessary. As a result, the reconstituted drug needs to primed to remove large volumes of air prior to injection; see e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,817,987 which describes a hypodermic syringe which holds a solvent and a soluble component (medicament) and wherein the solvent and medicament are mixed as the user presses and then releases the plunger of the syringe. Upon complete mixing, the user attaches a needle and then rotates the plunger of the syringe to allow for the injection.
Several syringe devices of various configurations and various processes of lyophilization have been described in, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,752,940; 5,876,372; 6,149,628; 6,440,101, and references cited therein. Importantly, in each instance, the devices comprise multiple parts and require at least a two step, two directional reconstitution process for the delivery of the lyophilized powdered drug. Other devices used for reconstitution and delivery of powdered drugs are described in, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,328,802; 4,410,321; 4,411,662; 4,432,755; 4,458,733; 4,898,209; 4,872,867; 3,826,260, and references cited therein.
Unfortunately, because all of these known methods require thorough reconstitution/mixing of the lyophilized product into the diluent prior to injection, they can typically involve lengthy procedures (in excess of 10 steps) in order to reconstitute the solid drug into a liquid formulation prior to administration. Such lengthy reconstitution steps can be complex, arduous and tedious for the patient and may render injection of the lyophilized product unfeasible. Moreover, these complicated procedures present risks of foaming, risk of contamination, and risk of accidental needle pricks. There clearly still exists a need for improved delivery devices and methods.
Co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/172,064 ('064) provides an advancement in the technology and relates to a container closure assembly suitable for lyophilized pharmaceutical injectable products and designed to provide for direct injection of a lyophilized product without the need for a reconstitution/mixing/priming step of the powder and diluent prior to injection. The components of the disclosed container closure assembly were designed to function in a manufacturing function and an end user function and, upon completion of the lyophilization process, the assembly has minimal head space to avoid the need for priming. The disclosed container closure assembly is designed to utilize or be easily adaptable to industry standard or existing filling systems, thus providing a more economical alternative to prior art devices.
The present invention provides an improved alternative container closure design which facilitates the easy, direct injection of the lyophilized product without the need for a reconstitution/mixing/priming step of the powder and a liquid diluent by the end user. As with the assemblies described in the '064 application, the disclosed container closure assembly is designed to utilize or be easily adaptable to industry standard or existing filling systems, thus providing a more economical alternative to prior art devices.

Method for storing and delivering a drug


A connection of two components is disclosed that abut on the faces thereof. With this connection, it is possible to create a stable connection, particularly of flat components, with a high level of precision of the position with regard to one another and with a preferred accessibility in the space around the plane extending from the adjacent adjoining faces of the components. Both components each have a half borehole with encircling collars; a fastening device that extends through the complete borehole and a nut having a conical recess which rests tightly against the collars so that the first component is fastened to the second component in a positive manner. It is further possible to provide a fastening of guiding elements to a middle base support that, in essence, overlaps the support at least occasionally and is effected by the connection.

The invention relates to a housing for a printer of a motor vehicle tachograph, having a basic housing body and a support which is designed as an insert, can be moved at least partly out of the housing and has at least one guide which comprises at least two first guide elements which are arranged on and fastened to the support on two opposite sides, and two second guide elements which correspond to the first guide elements on the support are arranged on both sides of the support, with the result that the support is guided by means of the guide during a movement in or against an insertion direction.
New fastening techniques have been continually developed from time immemorial given the correspondingly wide range of possibilities of connecting two adjoining components to one another. In spite of the widely advanced development of the prior art, the known solutions have until now proved inadequate for specific fastening tasks. Reasons for this include the increasing requirements for compactness, automatability of the assembly and precision in the connection technique. Thus difficulties often arise during fully automated assembly sequences in interconnecting two adjoining components where there is poor accessibility with low positional tolerance. This is particularly the case when the accessibility of the connection is substantially only possible in the plane defined by the two boundary surfaces to be joined together. Recourse is frequently had in such a case to a flange connection. However, this has the disadvantage that bulky flanges have to be integrally formed on the components to be connected and corresponding arrangements enabling fastening elements to be applied have to be provided on these flanges. Moreover, such connections are also not suitable for fully automated assembly. This problem always arises when flat abutting components have to be firmly connected.
European patent application EP 1 052 514 Al has already disclosed a housing of the initially mentioned type, although this housing unfavorably transfers inaccuracies to the support guide, which leads to the print quality of the printing device described being impaired. A similar arrangement can also be taken from laid-open specification DE 198 07 332 A1, in which lateral guide rails form a constituent part of a U-shaped guide component which has to be designed to be deformable for assembly purposes, impairing the precision.


A method is provided for calibrating sensors used to analyze characteristics of physiologic fluids such as blood. The method involves the use of a sensor assembly having an analyte-responsive sensor in communication with a passageway which is in divertable fluid communication with a physiologic line and a conduit by which a reference sample may be introduced into the passageway. The method involves exposing the sensor to the reference sample, thereby producing a sensor response. The method also allows performing quality control on the sensors. Also provided is an apparatus with which the claimed method may be practiced.

Clinical decisions regarding patient management are often made on the basis of blood chemistry analysis. A variety of procedures have been used to perform such analyses, all of which have their deficiencies.
Blood chemistry is often determined on a drawn sample of blood which is subsequently transported to an on-site facility where the analysis is performed. Blood chemistry analysis performed by such a process engenders a risk of contact with the blood sample, an increased risk to the patient of nosocomial infections and the possibility that air emboli may be introduced into the bloodstream, a potential for contamination of the sample, and, perhaps most significantly from the diagnostician's point of view, a lengthy delay between a decision that blood chemistry is necessary and delivery of therapy based on the results of the analysis.
The need for a bedside system to analyze critical blood variables (e.g., O.sub.2, CO.sub.2 and pH) has been addressed by placing environment-sensitive, calibrated optical or electrochemical sensors directly into a patient's artery or vein. Intraarterial or intravenous sensors are typically calibrated by immersion in a solution which has been equilibrated by bubbling with known concentrations of, for example, O.sub.2 and CO.sub.2, to provide a liquid with known partial pressures of O.sub.2 and CO.sub.2 (i.e., pO.sub.2 and pCO.sub.2). The ability of the sensors to detect pO.sub.2 and pCO.sub.2 is then compared with the known pO.sub.2 and pCO.sub.2 ; this process is referred to as calibration by tonometry.
A major disadvantage of this system is that once a calibrated sensor is inserted into a patient's blood vessel, it must be removed from the vessel for re-calibration and sterilized again before it can be re-inserted. Furthermore, it is equally difficult to perform quality control measurements to determine whether the sensors are functioning properly. Absent the ability to re-calibrate, it is extremely difficult to determine whether the system is performing properly after the sensors have been inserted. In fact, poor performance is frequently seen since (1) intraarterial or intravenous sensors are prone to thrombogenic formations which can cause serious measurement errors and (2) patient movement can result in sensor contact with the vessel wall which can also cause temporary or permanent measurement errors.
An alternative approach is a paracorporeal or extracorporeal system for bedside blood chemistry analysis. The paracorporeal system places the sensors in a physiologic line very near to a patient's arterial catheter. This approach has the primary advantages of eliminating the problems associated with thrombosis and patient movement and, in addition, provides the capability to conduct in situ calibration and quality control checks without compromising sterility.
A paracorporeal design allows for a calibration to be made while the sensors are either in the physiologic line (e.g., arterial or venous line) or removed from the physiologic line (i.e., ex vivo). Moreover, quality control checks may be made at any time throughout the life of the sensors.
Accordingly, novel methods of conducting in situ or ex vivo calibration and quality control testing are provided for use with sensors positioned either in a physiologic line or separate from a physiologic line.

In situ calibration system for sensors located in a physiologic line


A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device includes patterning a plurality of semiconductor fins on a semiconductor substrate, and replacing at least two of the plurality of semiconductor fins with a plurality of dummy fins including a dielectric material. A gate structure is formed on and around the plurality of semiconductor fins and the plurality of dummy fins, and a source/drain contact is formed adjacent the gate structure.

Given increased density and large-scale integration requiring more efficient use of area on a chip, device sizes are continuing to decrease. For example, devices are progressing toward the 5 nm node and beyond. Shrinking transistor sizes have led to aggressive scaling of pitches, such that device characteristics and performance are influenced by physical layout. For example, as transistor gate pitch decreases, performance issues caused by parasitic capacitance have developed. In order to improve performance, a number of techniques have been employed to reduce capacitance, such as, the use of airgap spacers, low-k dielectrics, and low-k diffusion breaks.
Additional issues with performance are caused by transistor variability due to, for example, low fin cut lithography margins, fin etching loading issues, and gate planarization problems with tall fins.
There is a need, therefore, for improved transistor layout in an integration scheme which enables chip area scaling while maintaining functionality.

Fin field-effect transistor with reduced parasitic capacitance and reduced variability

International Business Machines Corporation


A ceramic scintillator comprises a sintered body of a lutetium oxysulfide phosphor containing at least one element selected from Pr, Tb and Eu as an activator. The sintered body of a lutetium oxysulfide phosphor contains 5 to 15 ppm of an alkali metal element and 5 to 40 ppm of phosphorus. Such a ceramic scintillator can sufficiently make use of the intrinsic characteristics of the lutetium oxysulfide phosphor and has good sensitivity in X-ray detection even when it is downsized.

In the fields of medical diagnosis, industrial non-destructive inspection and the like, inspections using a radiographic examination apparatus such as an X-ray computed tomography apparatus (hereinafter referred to as the X-ray CT apparatus) or the like are in practice. The X-ray CT apparatus emits a fan-shaped X-ray beam from an X-ray tube to an object, collects X-ray absorption data transmitted through the object by an X-ray detector, analyzes the X-ray absorption data by a computer and reconstructs a tomogram of the object.
For the X-ray detector of the X-ray CT apparatus, there is used a solid state scintillator which, when excited by X-rays, emits visible light or the like. For such a solid state scintillator, it is considered to apply a ceramic scintillator which consists of a sintered body of a rare earth oxysulfide phosphor such as gadolinium oxysulfide, lanthanum oxysulfide, lutetium oxysulfide or the like activated by praseodymium (Pr), terbium (Tb), europium (Eu) or the like (see Patent Documents 1 to 3). Especially, gadolinium oxysulfide phosphor (Gd2O2S:Pr or the like), which is excellent in luminous efficiency and has characteristics such as a short afterglow and the like, is in practice as a scintillator material for the X-ray detector.
The X-ray CT apparatus is desired to have a higher resolution. For example, a conventional X-ray CT apparatus is impossible to realize it, and it is demanded to provide an image of alveoli. To provide the X-ray CT apparatus with a higher resolution, there is a tendency to make the X-ray detecting element more compact, and it is necessary to fabricate a ceramic scintillator in smaller size. Therefore, there is a situation that the gadolinium oxysulfide phosphor does not always have sufficient X-ray absorption. When the X-ray absorption by the scintillator is insufficient, X-ray photon noises are produced, and the quality of the X-ray CT image is deteriorated considerably.
Accordingly, a lutetium oxysulfide phosphor (Lu2O2S: Pr, Lu2O2S: Tb, Lu2O2S: Eu or the like), which has a large X-ray absorption coefficient and provides a sufficient luminous efficiency even when the ceramic scintillator is fabricated in smaller size, is being watched with interest as a ceramic scintillator material for a next-generation X-ray CT apparatus. The lutetium oxysulfide phosphor is now attempted to be produced by a flux method in the same manner as the gadolinium oxysulfide phosphor or the like. But, the lutetium oxysulfide phosphor is poor in crystal growth ability, and it is therefore necessary to add a large amount of flux (a crystal growth agent such as A3PO4 or A2CO3 (A: an alkali metal element)) in comparison with the gadolinium oxysulfide phosphor or the like.
The lutetium oxysulfide phosphor produced by using a relatively large amount of flux, which is excellent in crystalline property and has a relatively uniform grain diameter, is considered to be suitable as a ceramic scintillator forming material. But, the lutetium oxysulfide phosphor powder applying a large amount of flux has a drawback that translucency is easily impaired because coloring occurs when the ceramic scintillator (a sintered body of a lutetium oxysulfide phosphor) is produced by applying, for example, a hot pressing method, a HIP (hot isostatic pressing) process or the like.
The coloring of the ceramic scintillator and a degradation in translucency due to the coloring cause a decrease of light emission output, resulting in impairing a characteristic such as a high light emission rate which is based on a large X-ray absorption coefficient inherent in the lutetium oxysulfide phosphor. Thus, the conventional ceramic scintillator does not utilize sufficiently characteristics such as high luminous efficiency and the like on the basis of the large X-ray absorption coefficient inherent in the lutetium oxysulfide phosphor.
It is described in Patent Literature 2 that the provision of a sintered body of the rare earth oxysulfide phosphor with a high density is promoted by adjusting the amount of PO4 residue of a ceramic scintillator formed of the rare earth oxysulfide phosphor to 50 ppm or less. But, simple reduction of the amount of phosphoric acid in the sintered body (a sintered body (R: Y, Gd, La, Lu) of (R1-x-yPrxCey)2O2S phosphor) of the rare earth oxysulfide phosphor cannot enhance with good reproducibility the luminous efficiency of the ceramic scintillator applying the lutetium oxysulfide phosphor.
Meanwhile, Patent Literature 3 describes a rare earth oxysulfide phosphor ((R1-xREx)2O2S phosphor (R: Y, Gd, La, Lu, RE: Tb, Eu, Tm, Pr)) containing at least one element selected from Cs and Rb in a range of 0.2 to 50 ppm. It enhances a filling density of phosphor particles at the time of producing a radiological image conversion sheet by improving the grain shape of rare earth oxysulfide phosphor powder by Cs or Rb, and does not intend to improve the translucency of the ceramic scintillator (a sintered body of the rare earth oxysulfide phosphor).
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application No. HEI 7-238281
Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application No. HEI 9-202880
Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application No. 2001-131546

Ceramic scintillator, and radiation detector and radiographic examination apparatus using same


Systems, methods, software and apparatus enable end-to-end encryption of group communications by implementing a pairwise encryption process between a pair of end user devices that are members of a communication group. One end user device in the pairwise encryption process shares a group key with the paired end user device by encrypting the group key using a message key established using the pairwise encryption process. The group key is shared among group members using the pairwise process. When a transmitting member of the group communicates with members, the transmitting member generates a stream key, encrypts stream data using the stream key, encrypts the stream key with the group key, then transmits the encrypted stream key and encrypted stream data to group members. The group key can be updated through the pairwise encryption process. A new stream key can be generated for each transmission of streaming data such as voice communications.

Telephones, computers, and tablets provide an efficient way for users to communicate without being in the same physical location. In many situations the end users of a group communication system wish to maintain their communications in secret, including preventing a network operator or other administrator or the like from having access to the members' communications. Some wearable end user devices (i.e., communication devices) allow individual users to form and communicate with groups of any size using a companion intermediate communication device (e.g., a smartphone application), where group and user administrative tasks, as well as signaling and media transport can be provided by a group communication server or the like. Some encryption protocols prevent third parties from having plaintext access to users' communications and, further, prevent use of compromised encryption keys to go back in time to decrypt previously-transmitted communications. However, these strong encryption protocols require updating message keys with each message transmitted and are unsuitable for streaming communications. As a result, it would be advantageous to facilitate well-protected streaming communications in a group communication setting.
Overview
Implementations of end-to-end encryption of streaming group communications include lightweight encryption of communications where a multiple-party session is established using a pairwise public key encryption process established and executed between pairs of end user devices, followed by generation, encryption and distribution of a symmetric group key used to encrypt communications distributed to communication group members using server-side fan-out for group messages or the like to distribute encrypted streaming communications such as voice communications.
Systems, methods, software and apparatus enable end-to-end encryption of group communications by establishing strong message encryption keys using a pairwise encryption process (e.g., establishing a root key, one or more chain keys based on the root key, and at least one message key based on one of the chain keys) performed by a pair of end user devices that are part of a communication group that can include a number of end user devices (i.e., endpoints). One of the pair of end user devices in the pairwise encryption process shares a group key with the other end user device in the pair by encrypting the group key using a message key. The group key is thus shared among all members of the communication group using the pairwise process. When a transmitting member of the communication group wants to communicate with other members, the transmitting member generates a stream key, encrypts stream data using the stream key, encrypts the stream key with the distributed group key, and then transmits the encrypted stream key and encrypted stream data to the other group members (e.g., using a server-side fan-out distribution process). The group key can be updated as desired by updating the pairwise encryption process to generate new message keys that encrypt new group keys for distribution to the group members. Moreover, a new stream key can be generated by each group member when transmitting streaming data (e.g., voice communications) to other group members.
This Overview is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Technical Disclosure. It may be understood that this Overview is not intended to identify or emphasize key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

End-to-end encryption for personal communication nodes


A film scanning system and method for generating a digital signal representing digitized film images, and having a first (less than real-time) film frame rate, and performing digital correction (such as flare correction, color correction, or both) on the digital signal at a higher (but still less than real-time) frame rate. In a preferred embodiment, conventional video signals (having NTSC or PAL format, or SMPTE-240M or another high definition video format) are then generated from the corrected digital signal. In one embodiment, the system of the invention includes circuitry for scanning color film frames to generate and store a digital signal (representing digitized color film images) at a rate of 1.875 film frames per second, circuitry for color correcting the stored digital signal at an internal processing rate of 7.5 frames per second, and means for generating SMPTE-240M high definition video signals (having a frame rate of 30 frames per second) from the color corrected digital signal.

Conventional motion picture film comprises frames that are commonly displayed sequentially at a frame rate of 24 frames per second (24 fps), or 30 fps, or some other rate. Required special effects may embodied in the displayed film.
Systems (including "telecine" systems) have been developed for converting motion picture film into video signals. These systems generate a video signal from motion picture film images by scanning the film frames sequentially to generate digitized film images. They then convert the digitized images into a video signal having a standard video frame rate (25 video frames per second for PAL video, 29.97 video frames per second for NTSC video, or 30 video frames per second for SMPTE-240M high definition video). Each video frame consists of two fields.
Conventional telecine systems are "real time" system in the sense that they generate a video signal from motion picture film images at a desired video frame rate (such as the standard PAL or NTSC video frame rate).
Due to the mismatch between the film frame rate (24 fps) and the PAL video frame rate (25 fps), motion picture film is often fed through a conventional PAL telecine system at the slightly elevated rate of 25 film frames per second, for the sake of processing convenience.
Due to the mismatch between the conventional film frame rate (24 fps) and the NTSC video frame rate (approximately 30 fps), a so-called "3-2 pulldown" (or "3-2-3-2 pulldown") technique is commonly employed to generate NTSC video using a telecine system. A version of such 3-2 pulldown technique will be described with reference to FIG. 7. Because the proposed SMPTE-240M standard for high definition digital video specifies a video frame rate of 30 frames per second, a 3-2 pulldown operation or its equivalent may also be useful to generate SMPTE-240M video using a telecine system.
The "real time" nature of conventional telecine systems gives rise to a number of disadvantages. Such systems can have a tendency to damage or break the film being processed due to the high speed at which the film is translated through the scanner and the way the film is handled. Also, the high processing rate of conventional telecine systems could require expensive and complicated circuitry for digitizing the scanned data with more than eight-bit quantization.
Until the present invention, no system has been developed for generating digitized color film images from motion picture film at a slow (less than real-time) rate, digitally correcting the digitized images at the same slow rate (or at a different slow rate), and digitally generating a video signal (having a standard frame rate) from the digitized images.
Throughout the specification, including in the claims, the phrase "slow rate" will be used to denote a less than real-time frame rate. For example, the invention may scan motion picture film (of the type that is normally displayed at a real-time rate of 24 fps) at a "slow rate" of 1.5 fps or 1.875 fps, and digitally perform color correction on the scanned data at another "slow rate" of 6.0 fps or 7.5 fps.
Also throughout the specification, including in the claims, the phrase "standard frame rate" will be used to denote a real-time frame rate. For example, the proposed standard frame rate of an SMPTE-240M digital video signal is 30 frames per second, and the standard frame rate of conventional motion picture film is 24 frames per second


A method and apparatus for inducing heat within a workpiece. A flexible fluid-cooled induction heating cable is used to produce a magnetic field to induce electric current in a workpiece. The induction heating cable has separate fluid and electrical connectors to separately couple cooling fluid and electric current to and from the induction heating cable. An induction heating system having a fluid cooling unit, a power source, and a flexible fluid-cooled induction heating cable having separate fluid and electrical connectors. An extension cable may be used to enable the flexible fluid-cooled induction heating cable to be used at a greater distance from the power source and the fluid cooling unit. An insulation blanket adapted for use with a specific size workpiece may be used with the flexible fluid-cooled induction heating cable.

Resistive heating is a method of heating a workpiece by flowing electrical current through a resistive heating element. The temperature of the resistive heating element rises due to the flow of electric current through the resistive heating element. Heat is transferred from the resistive heating element to the workpiece by a method of heat transfer, such as thermal conduction. By contrast, induction heating is a method of heating a workpiece by using a magnetic field to induce electric currents in the workpiece. The electric currents in the workpiece cause the temperature of the workpiece to rise.
Induction heating involves applying an AC electric signal to a heating loop or coil placed near a specific location on or around an object, such as a metal, to be heated. The varying or alternating current in the loop creates a varying magnetic flux. Electrical currents are induced in the object by the magnetic flux. The object is heated by the flow of electricity induced in the object by the alternating magnetic field. Induction heating may be used for many different purposes, such as pre-heating a metal before welding, post-heating a weld joint, stress relieving a weld joint, annealing, surface hardening, etc.
Electrical conductors within an induction heating cable may serve as the loop or coil to produce the magnetic field. A source of electrical power is coupled to the induction heating cable to produce the magnetic field. However, in contrast to a resistive heating element, it is not desirable to heat the induction heating cable with the flow of electricity through the induction heating cable. Additionally, the high temperatures that a workpiece may experience during induction heating could damage or destroy an induction heating cable. Consequently, fluid-cooled induction heating cables have been developed to remove heat from the induction heating cable. Cooling units are used to pump cooling fluid through the induction heating cable to remove heat.
Current induction heating cables utilize a single integral connector located at each end of the induction heating cable to both fluidicly and electrically couple the induction heating cable to a coolant source and a current source. Additionally, the single connector is threaded to a corresponding connector to complete the electrical and fluidic coupling. However, the single integral connector design is complicated and difficult to manufacture. Additionally, securing each connector to an opposing connector is time consuming and requires tools to complete.
There is a need therefore for a fluid-cooled induction heating cable that avoids the problems associated with an integral electric and fluidic connector. Specifically, there is a need for a fluid-cooled induction heating cable that physically separates the portions of the induction heating cable that are used to electrically couple the induction heating cable to a source of electrical current from those portions of the induction heating cable that are used to fluidicly couple the induction heating cable to a source of cooling fluid. Additionally, there is a need for a connector assembly for a fluid-cooled induction heating cable that is easy to assemble and which can be quickly connected and disconnected without the use of tools.

Apparatus for delivery of induction heating to a workpiece


The present invention provides a casing having a plurality of sources of pressurized liquid. The sources of pressurized liquid are preferably contained in at least one elastomeric bladder. Housing is provided to establish fluid communication between the sources of pressurized liquid. Additionally, at least one flow restrictor is provided to regulate the flow of pressurized liquid. A single or a plurality of flow restrictors can be used to regulate the flow of liquid between the sources of pressurized liquid. The plurality of sources of pressurized liquid can be contained under different pressures which can be provided by varying the size of the elastomeric storage area. The casing further contains an inlet port and an exit port in fluid communication with the sources of pressurized liquid to provide for filling and dispensing of the fluid.

Devices for infusing to a patient a beneficial agent such as a drug diffused in a medical liquid are known in the art. The most common device utilizes an elevated glass or flexible container having the beneficial agent diffused in a medical liquid which is fed by gravity to a patient's venous system via a length of flexible plastic tubing and a catheter. The rate of flow in this setup is commonly regulated by an adjustable clamp on the tubing. This setup suffers from the drawback of requiring a relatively stationary patient and is dependent on the height differential between this source of liquid and the patient for accurate delivery rates.
An additional type of infusion device utilizes electro-mechanical components in a pump to provide fluid propulsion of the liquid for infusion into the patient. Such electronically controlled infusion devices, however, suffer from several drawbacks including the cost of such electrical components as well as the limit such electrical components and the necessary power source place on the size and thus portability of the device.
Devices in the art are also utilized which employ an elastomeric bladder which contains the liquid to be infused under pressure for infusion. Such elastomeric bladder infusion devices are seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,733 to Winchell et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,769,008 to Hessel, both of which are assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
While such elastomeric bladder infusion devices such as seen in the Hessel and Winchell et al. patents provide an accurate flow of the liquid being infused over an extended period of time, the rate of flow of the liquid being infused is limited to a single flow rate. While electro-mechanical pumping devices can include circuitry to allow programming of a variety of sequential flow rates, such additional electrical components further add to the size and cost of such devices. In the gravity fed type of infusion device, sequential infusion rates are achieved by manually adjusting the adjustable flow clamp.
What would thus be desirable would be an infusion device capable of providing sequential flow rates of the infused liquid which would be portable to allow the patient free movement while providing for sequential flow rates. Additionally, such device should not be cost prohibitive. The present invention meets these requirements.


An electricity supply vehicle is provided with an electricity storage device charged with generated energy of an electric generator driven by an internal combustion engine mounted on the electricity supply vehicle or with regenerated energy of the electricity supply vehicle and is operable to supply electricity to an external equipment located outside of the electricity supply vehicle during stop of the electricity supply vehicle. The electricity supply vehicle includes: a setting unit configured to set expected supply electric energy to be supplied to the external equipment; and a determining unit configured to determine, based on the expected supply electric energy, a target charging amount of the electricity storage device to be charged during running of the electricity supply vehicle.

The presently disclosed subject matter relates to an electricity supply vehicle that is provided with an electricity storage device charged with generated energy of an electric generator driven by an internal combustion engine or with regenerated energy of the vehicle and that supplies electricity to an external equipment located outside of the vehicle during stop of the vehicle.
There is an electric motor vehicle in which an internal combustion engine and an electric motor are mounted and then wheels are driven by one or both of these. In the electric motor vehicle, control is performed such that when the remaining charging rate (the remaining charging amount) of the electricity storage device goes lower during the running, electricity is generated by the electric generator mounted on the vehicle so that the remaining charging rate of the electricity storage device is maintained. For example, JP-A-2002-354612 discloses a technique that altitude information of the route along which the vehicle runs is acquired and then, when the route has an upslope interval, running is performed in such a manner that electricity required for ascending the interval completely is maintained (with generating electricity, when necessary) (for example, see JP-A-2002-354612).
Further, in recent years, techniques have been developed that electricity is taken in from a commercial electricity source having a satisfactory generation efficiency and then charging the electricity storage device of an electric motor vehicle so that the running range of the electric motor is extended and that the occasion of operation of the internal combustion engine is thereby reduced further so that carbon dioxide emission is reduced. Such an electric motor vehicle utilizing also a commercial electricity source is provided with an electricity storage device of larger size than that of an ordinary electric motor vehicle.
Further, in recent years, techniques have been developed that electricity stored in a large-size electricity storage device mounted on an electric motor vehicle is utilized for realizing the use of electric appliances even at places where commercial electricity supply is unavailable. Such a technique permits, for example, the use of electric appliances at a place visited in a trip on the vehicle or at the time of power failure.
On the other hand, even in such vehicles provided with a large-size electricity storage device, when the remaining charging rate (the remaining charging amount) of the electricity storage device goes lower, operation of the internal combustion engine is started so that electricity is generated by the electric generator mounted on the vehicle so as to maintain the remaining charging rate of the electricity storage device. In a case that an external equipment is used at a place visited in a trip on the vehicle, a problem arises that since the usage time of the external equipment is after the running of the vehicle, a sufficient remaining charging rate is not ensured in the battery. When the external equipment is used in a state that the remaining charging rate of the battery is insufficient, electric power generation by the electric generator is started. Nevertheless, this electric generator is driven by a combustion engine, and hence noise, vibration, exhaust gas, and the like are generated. This situation could be unacceptable in the environment where the external equipment is used.
The technique disclosed in JP-A-2002-354612 is for ensuring electricity for running. Thus, the use of an external equipment after running is not taken into consideration. Further, also in common hybrid cars, although a fixed charging rate is always ensured, the ensured charging rate (the target charging rate) is of a fixed value and hence electricity to be used for an external equipment is not ensured. Thus, when an external equipment such as a microwave oven causing large power usage is used, the frequency of the occasion increases that the internal combustion engine is operated so that charging is performed.

MITSUBISHI JIDOSHA KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA


A laser irradiation apparatus for bonding a first substrate to a second substrate using bonding members and a method of manufacturing a display device using the same, the laser irradiation apparatus including a stage on which the first substrate is mounted, bonding members disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate, a laser oscillating member configured to irradiate a laser beam onto the bonding members, and a temperature maintaining member co-operating with the first substrate to maintain a temperature of the first substrate at a predetermined temperature.

1. Field
Embodiments relate to a laser irradiation apparatus and a method of manufacturing a display device using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, display devices have expanded to include portable thin flat panel display devices. Among flat panel display devices, electroluminescent display devices, which are self-emitting display devices, may have advantages, e.g., a wide viewing angle, a good contrast, and a rapid response speed. Thus, such display devices have been spotlighted as next generation display devices. In particular, organic light-emitting display devices including a light-emitting layer formed of an organic material may exhibit better, e.g., brightness, driving voltage, and response speed characteristics than inorganic light-emitting display apparatuses and may provide multicolored images.
In general, an organic light emitting display device may include a first electrode, a second electrode, and one or more organic layers that include a light emitting layer. Such organic layers may be interposed between the first electrode and the second electrode. The first electrode may be disposed on a substrate and may act as an anode. The one or more organic layers may be disposed on the first electrode. The second electrode facing the first electrode may act as a cathode emitting electrons and may be disposed on the one or more organic layers.
Because the first electrode and the second electrode may be susceptible to oxidation and exfoliation if ambient moisture or oxygen is introduced into the organic light emitting display apparatus, life span of the organic light emitting display apparatus may be shortened, luminous efficiency may be reduced, and quality of color reproduction may deteriorate. Accordingly, when an organic light emitting display apparatus is manufactured, a sealing process for preventing external moisture from penetrating into the organic light emitting display apparatus may typically be performed. The sealing process may involve laminating a film formed of an organic polymer, e.g., polyethylene terephthalate (PET), onto the second electrode. Alternatively, the sealing process may involve forming a cover or a cap formed of a metal or glass including a humectant, filling nitrogen into an inner space formed by the cover or the cap, and encapsulating the cover or the cap with a sealant, e.g., epoxy.

Laser irradiation apparatus for bonding and method of manufacturing display device using the same


A pump draws fluid from a reservoir and drives the fluid downstream to a spray tip where the fluid is applied to a surface. The pump includes a polymer pump body and a metallic piston configured to reciprocate relative to and within the polymer pump body. The metallic piston interfaces with an inner cylinder formed within the polymer pump body and pumps fluid through the polymer pump body to a spray nozzle downstream of the inner cylinder.

This disclosure generally relates to fluid sprayers. More particularly, this disclosure relates to handheld sanitary fluid sprayers.
Sprayers apply the fluid to a surface through a nozzle. Sanitary fluid is used for disinfection, decontaminating, sanitizing, deodorizing, and other cleaning purposes. Sanitary fluid solutions are typically of low viscosity and contain over 95% water. Sanitary fluid solutions can be corrosive and cause degradation of various metals, such as aluminums and carbon steels, among others. Sanitary fluid sprayers can include a tank that is pneumatically pressurized to drive the air through a nozzle by way of the air pressure.

Handheld sanitary fluid sprayer having resilient polymer pump cylinder


A system and method for steering a relief well to intersect a previously drilled wellbore. In one embodiment, a system includes a drill string disposed in the relief well and a surface processing system. The drill string includes a plurality of sections of wired drill pipe connected end-to-end, and a bottom hole assembly disposed at a downhole end of the drill string. The bottom hole assembly includes a drill bit, a steering tool configured to direct the drill bit towards a target, and an acoustic sensing tool. The acoustic sensing tool includes a plurality of acoustic sensors configured to detect acoustic signals emanating from fluid flow in a target wellbore. The surface processing system is coupled to the uphole end of the drill string, and is configured to determine a direction to the target wellbore based on the acoustic signals detected by the acoustic sensors.

In hydrocarbon exploration and/or production, control of a well may be accidentally lost resulting in a blowout. During the blowout, well fluids flowing to the surface may cause environmental damage and often catch fire. Because economic and environmental loss occur at an increasing rate during the duration of a blowout, great effort is expended in trying to control the well. This usually involves drilling one or more relief wells. A relief well is a well that is drilled at a distance away from the target well (e.g., the blowout well), and is intended to intersect or come within an effective distance of the target well so that mud can be pumped into the target well to prevent formation fluid from reaching the surface.
A relief well must be drilled with great directional accuracy in order for the relief well to intersect the target well. For example, drilling of the relief may begin at location distant (e.g., 1000 feet or more) from the surface location of the target well, and the bore diameter of the target well may be relatively small (e.g., one foot). Consequently, improved techniques for steering a relief well to intersect a target well are desirable.

System and method for steering a relief well


A chloride selective electrode membrane comprises a polymeric matrix wherein the matrix comprises an epoxy resin, and an amine agent selected from the group consisting of polyamides, amidoamines and mixtures thereof. The amine agent is present in stoichiometric excess and functions as both curing agent and chloride selective agent.

Ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) are widely used to measure the concentration of ions in fluids. Such electrodes have been employed in a wide variety of potentiometric determinations including, for example, determination of the fluoride ion in drinking water and determination of various electrolytes in biological fluids. For example, ISEs are routinely used to determine sodium, calcium, magnesium, potassium, lithium and chloride ions in serum.
Generally, ion selective electrodes are composed of an ion selective membrane, an internal electrolyte solution and an internal reference electrode. An external reference electrode used in conjunction with the ion selective electrode is typically a metal/metal halide electrode such as Ag/AgCl. An ion selective electrode and an external reference electrode comprise a potentiometric cell assembly. Selective transfer of the ion of interest from the sample solution to the ion selective electrode membrane produces an electrical response. The mathematical expression which relates the potential difference across the membrane to the difference in activity is defined by the Nernst Equation, whereas the magnitude of the response is defined as sensitivity. The measured potential difference (ISE versus outer reference electrode potentials) is linearly dependent on the logarithm of the activity of a given ion in solution, and can be used to quantify the ion under investigation. If the membrane's sensitivity does not remain constant during repeated exposure to sample fluids, inaccurate or spurious measurements will be produced and the membrane electrode will have limited use life.
Ion selective electrode membranes are typically formed from a plasticized polymer matrix which contains an ionophore selective for the ion of interest. Many attempts have been made to determine chloride ion in fluid samples using chloride selective electrode membranes. A specific example of such a membrane consists of a polymer, such as polyvinylchloride, an ionophore or ion selective component such as a quaternary ammonium compound and a plasticizing agent for imparting ion motility to the membrane. Quaternary ammonium and phosphonium compounds are frequently employed as ionophores for chloride selective membrane electrodes. Examples of such compounds include tridodecylmethylammonium chloride and tetradodecylammonium chloride. Generally, such chloride selective components are chosen for their lipophilic properties which contribute to enhanced membrane life. Unfortunately, fluids in contact with the membrane can extract plasticizers and ionophores out of the membrane causing the sensitivity of the membrane to be compromised. This is particularly problematic when heparinized plasma samples are analyzed because heparin has been found to adversely affect the membrane. This adverse effect may be due to extraction of ionophore or contamination of the membrane surface with protein which severely limits the use life of the electrode. Use life of an electrode is generally defined as the amount of exposure required to cause the sensitivity to fall below 60% Nernstian.
Another requirement of a chloride selective electrode is that it has a minimal response to substances other than the analyte of interest. This characteristic is known as selectivity. Sample fluids often contain substances which interfere with the electrode membrane thereby producing a spurious electrical response. With respect to chloride selective membrane electrodes, a particularly difficult challenge is achieving high selectivity over ions like salicylates (in blood and urine) and/or other similar ions and maintaining this selectivity during repeated exposure of the electrode to interfering substances.
As is evident from the foregoing, degradation in the sensitivity and selectivity of a chloride selective membrane electrode as a result of repeated exposure to samples containing interfering substances, as well as the analyte of interest, remains a significant problem. In addition, extending the use life of chloride sensitive membrane electrodes by increasing the stability of membrane selectivity without adversely affecting the sensitivity presents significant challenges.

Chloride ion selective membrane and sensor


Methods for creating concentrated plant material solution are disclosed. Some examples include combining at least a concentrated plant material, at least one terpenoid compound, and a solvent to define a mixture; heating the mixture, wherein a temperature of the mixture is heated above a boiling point of the solvent and wherein the temperature of the heated mixture does not exceed a lower one of a boiling point of the concentrated plant material and a boiling point of the at least one terpenoid compound; and maintaining the temperature of the mixture above the boiling point of the solvent and below the lower one of the boiling point of the concentrated plant material and the boiling point of the at least one terpenoid compound until the amount of solvent remaining in the mixture reaches a predetermined concentration level.

The present disclosure relates generally to methods for creating a concentrated plant material solution. In particular, methods for creating water-based, ethanol-soluble, water-insoluble concentrated plant material solutions designed for use with electronic cigarettes are described.
Known methods for creating concentrated ethanol-soluble, water-insoluble plant material solutions are not entirely satisfactory for the range of applications in which they are employed. For example, some methods for creating concentrated plant material solutions do not produce an end-product that is compatible with electronic cigarettes. First, many plant material solution end-products include substances that are unhealthy to inhale. For example, ethanol-soluble, water-insoluble plant concentrates that are in a base with a high concentration of ethanol may unintentionally inebriate a user. Some example plant material solutions may additionally or alternatively include non-food grade hydrocarbons or other chemicals that are not suitable for human ingestion.
Second, the presence of a lot of non-water substances in a plant material solution end-product may cause the end-product to work improperly with electronic cigarettes. Such non-water substances in end-products may adversely affect the vaporization rate, producing an improper amount of vapor per inhalation. Accordingly, users may not get the end-product at the desired dosage unless a substantially water-based end-product is used. Further, non-water bases may damage electronic cigarettes when used.
Thus, methods for creating water-based ethanol-soluble, water-insoluble concentrated plant material solutions to use with electronic cigarettes are needed. Examples of new and useful methods relevant to the needs existing in the field are discussed below.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Methods for creating concentrated plant material solutions


OMePUPA-V, (R)-N-[[4-[[(2-methylphenylamino)carbonyl]amino]phenyl]acetyl]-L-prolyl-3-methyl)-xcex2-Alanine, a cell adhesion inhibitor, pharmaceutical compositions, and methods of treatment of cell-adhesion mediated pathologies.

The present invention relates to novel compounds that are useful for inhibition, alteration, or prevention of cell adhesion and cell adhesion-mediated pathologies. This invention also relates to pharmaceutical formulations comprising these compounds, and methods of using them for inhibition and prevention of cell adhesion and cell adhesion-mediated pathologies. The compounds and pharmaceutical compositions of this invention can be used as therapeutic or prophylactic agents. They are particularly well suited for the treatment of many inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.
Cell adhesion is a process by which cells associate with each other, migrate towards a specific target or localize within the extra-cellular matrix. As such, cell adhesion constitutes one of the fundamental mechanisms underlying numerous biological phenomena. For example, cell adhesion is responsible for the adhesion of hematopoietic cells to endothelial cells and the subsequent migration of those hematopoietic cells out of blood vessels and to the site of injury. As such, cell adhesion plays a role in numerous pathologies such as, for example, inflammation and immune reactions in mammals.
Investigations into the molecular basis for cell adhesion have revealed that various cell-surface macromoleculesxe2x80x94collectively known as cell adhesion molecules or receptorsxe2x80x94mediate cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions. For example, proteins of the superfamily called xe2x80x9cintegrinsxe2x80x9d are key mediators in adhesive interactions between hematopoietic cells and their microenvironment (M. E. Hemler, xe2x80x9cVLA Proteins in the Integrin Family: Structures, Functions, and Their Role on Leukocytes.xe2x80x9d Ann. Rev. Immunol., 8, p. 365 (1990)). Integrins are non-covalent heterodimeric complexes consisting of two subunits called xcex1 and xcex2. There are at least 17 different xcex1 subunits (xcex11-xcex110, xcex1-L, xcex1-M, xcex1-D, xcex1-X, xcex1-IIB, xcex1-V and xcex1-E) and at least 9 different xcex2(xcex21-xcex29) subunits which have been identified to date. Based on the type of its xcex1 and xcex2 subunit components, each integrin molecule can be categorized into a subfamily.
Integrin xcex14xcex21, also known as very late antigen-4 (xe2x80x9cVLA-4xe2x80x9d) or CD49d/CD29, is a leukocyte cell surface receptor that participates in a wide variety of both cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesive interactions (M. E. Hemler, Ann. Rev. Immunol., 8, p. 365 (1990)). It serves as a receptor for the cytokine-inducible endothelial cell surface protein, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (xe2x80x9cVCAM-1xe2x80x9d), as well as for the extracellular matrix protein fibronectin (xe2x80x9cFNxe2x80x9d) (Ruegg et al., J. Cell Biol., 177, p. 179 (1991); Wayner et al., J. Cell Biol., 105, p. 1873 (1987); Kramer et al., J. Biol. Chem., 264, p. 4684 (1989); Gehlsen et al. Science, 24, p. 1228 (1988)). Anti-VLA-4 monoclonal antibodies (xe2x80x9cmAb""sxe2x80x9d) have been shown to inhibit VLA-4-dependent adhesive interactions both in vitro and in vivo (Ferguson et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 88, p. 8072 (1991); Ferguson et al., J. Immunol., 150, p. 1172 (1993)). Results of in vivo experiments suggest that the inhibition of VLA-4-dependent cell adhesion may prevent, inhibit or alter several inflammatory and autoimmune pathologies. (R. L. Lobb et al., xe2x80x9cThe Pathophysiologic Role of xcex14 Integrins In Vivoxe2x80x9d, J. Clin. Invest., 94, pp. 1722-28 (1994)).
In order to identify the minimum active amino acid sequence necessary to bind VLA-4, Komoriya et al. synthesized a variety of overlapping peptides based on the amino acid sequence of the CS-1 region (the VLA-4 binding domain) of a particular species of fibronectin. (xe2x80x9cThe Minimal Essential Sequence for a Major Cell Type-Specific Adhesion Site (CS1) Within the Alternatively Spliced Type III Connecting Segment Domain of Fibronectin Is Leucine-Aspartic Acid-Valinexe2x80x9d, J. Biol. Chem., 266 (23), pp. 15075-79 (1991)). They identified an 8-amino acid peptide, Glu-Ile-Leu-Asp-Val-Pro-Ser-Thr, as well as two smaller overlapping pentapeptides, Glu-Ile-Leu-Asp-Val and Leu-Asp-Val-Pro-Ser, that possessed inhibitory activity against FN-dependent cell adhesion. These results suggested that the tripeptide Leu-Asp-Val was the minimum sequence for cell-adhesion activity. It was later shown that Leu-Asp-Val binds only to lymphocytes that express an activated form of VLA-4, thus casting doubt on the utility of such a peptide in vivo (E. A. Wayner et al., xe2x80x9cActivation-Dependent Recognition by Hematopoietic Cells of the LDV Sequence in the V Region of Fibronectinxe2x80x9d, J. Cell. Biol., 116(2), pp. 489-497 (1992)). However, certain larger peptides containing the LDV sequence were subsequently shown to be active in vivo (T. A. Ferguson et al., xe2x80x9cTwo Integrin Binding Peptides Abrogate T-cell-Mediated Immune Responses In Vivoxe2x80x9d, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 88, pp. 8072-76 (1991); and S. M. Wahl et al., xe2x80x9cSynthetic Fibronectin Peptides Suppress Arthritis in Rats by Interrupting Leukocyte Adhesion and Recruitmentxe2x80x9d, J. Clin. Invest., 94, pp. 655-62 (1994)). A cyclic pentapeptide which can inhibit both VLA-4 and VLA-5 adhesion to FN has also been described. (See, e.g., D. M. Nowlin et al. xe2x80x9cA Novel Cyclic Pentapeptide Inhibits xcex14xcex21 and xcex15xcex21 Integrin-mediated Cell Adhesionxe2x80x9d, J. Biol. Chem., 268(27), pp. 20352-59 (1993); and PCT publication PCT/US91/04862). This pentapeptide was based on the tripeptide sequence Arg-Gly-Asp from FN which had been known as a common motif in the recognition site for several extracellular-matrix proteins.
Examples of other VLA-4 inhibitors have been reported, for example, in copending United States patent application 08/376,372, specifically incorporated by reference herein. U.S. Ser. No. 376,372 describes linear peptidyl compounds containing xcex2-amino acids which have cell adhesion inhibitory activity. International patent applications WO 94/15958 and WO 92/00995, specifically incorporated by reference, describe cyclic peptide and peptidomimetic compounds with cell adhesion modulating activity. International patent applications WO 93/08823 and WO 92/08464 (specifically incorporated by reference herein) describe guanidinyl-, urea- and thiourea-containing cell adhesion modulating compounds. U.S. Pat. No. 5,260,277 describes guanidinyl cell adhesion modulation compounds, and is also specifically incorporated herein.
Despite these advances, there remains a need for low molecular weight, specific inhibitors of VLA-4 dependent cell adhesion that have improved pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties such as oral bioavailability and significant duration of action. Such compounds would provide useful agents for treatment, alteration, prevention or suppression of various pathologies mediated by cell adhesion and VLA-4 binding.
The compounds of the present invention are inhibitors of the VLA-4 integrin, thereby blocking the binding of VLA-4 to its various ligands, such as VCAM-1 and regions of fibronectin. Thus these compounds are useful in inhibiting cell adhesion processes including cell activation, migration, proliferation and differentiation. These compounds are useful for inhibition, prevention and suppression of VLA-4-mediated cell adhesion and pathologies associated with that adhesion, such as inflammation and immune reactions, including for example, multiple sclerosis, asthma, allergic rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis, inflammatory lung diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, septic arthritis, type 1 diabetes, organ transplantation, restenosis, autologous bone marrow transplantation, inflammatory sequelae of viral infections, myocarditis, inflammatory bowel disease including ulcerative colitis and Crohn""s disease, certain types of toxic and immune-based nephritis, contact dermal hypersensitivity, psoriasis, tumor metastasis, multiple myeloma, and atherosclerosis. The compounds of this invention may be used alone or in combination with other therapeutic or prophylactic agents to inhibit, alter, prevent or suppress cell adhesion. This invention also provides pharmaceutical formulations containing these VLA-4-mediated cell adhesion inhibitors and methods of using the compounds and compositions of the invention for inhibition of cell adhesion.


A package-on-package system includes: providing a base substrate; mounting an integrated circuit on the base substrate; positioning a stacking interposer over the integrated circuit; and forming a heat spreader base around the integrated circuit by coupling the base substrate and the stacking interposer to the heat spreader base.

Portable electronic products such as mobile phones, mobile computing, and various consumer products require higher semiconductor functionality and performance in a limited footprint and minimal thickness and weight at the lowest cost. This has driven the industry to increase integration on the individual semiconductor chips.
In order to increase the functional density in integrated circuit devices, companies have begun implementing integration on the "z-axis," that is, by stacking chips, and stacks of up to five chips in one package have been used. This provides a dense chip structure having the footprint of a one-chip package, in the range of 25 square mm to 1600 square mm, and obtaining thicknesses that have been continuously decreasing from 2.3 mm to 0.5 mm. The cost of a stacked die package is only incrementally higher than the cost of a single die package and the assembly yields are high enough to assure a competitive final cost as compared to packaging the die in individual packages.
The primary practical limitation to the number of chips that can be stacked in a stacked die package is the low final test yield of the stacked-die package. It is inevitable that some of the die in the package will be defective to some extent, and therefore the final package test yield will be the product of the individual die test yields, each of which is always less than 100%. This can be particularly a problem even if only two die are stacked in a package but one of them has low yield because of design complexity or technology.
Another limitation is the power dissipation of the package. The heat is transmitted from one die to the other and there is no significant dissipation path other than through the solder ball to the motherboard. The increased heat in the package can significantly reduce the life of the chips in the package. This is a significant problem whether several die are stacked in a single package or several packages are stacked in a single structure. Stacked packages can provide numerous advantages as compared to stacked-die packages. For instance, each package with its die can be electrically tested, and rejected unless it shows satisfactory performance, before the packages are stacked. As a result the final stacked multi-package module yields can be maximized.
A further limitation is electromagnetic interference between the stacked die, particularly between RF and digital die, because there is no electrical shielding of either die. This issue becomes significant in small consumer electronic devices, such as cell phones or global positioning systems.
More efficient cooling can be provided in stacked packages, by inserting a heat spreader between the packages in the stack as well as at the top of the module. These additional components in the manufacturing stack add another level of complexity to the package assembly process and may reduce the manufacturing yield somewhat.
Thus, a need still remains for a package-on-package system with heat spreader that can increase the package reliability by removing excess heat without adding burdensome manufacturing processes. In view of the increasing demand for Internet connected devices and cell phones, it is increasingly critical that answers be found to these problems. In view of the ever-increasing commercial competitive pressures, along with growing consumer expectations and the diminishing opportunities for meaningful product differentiation in the marketplace, it is critical that answers be found for these problems. Additionally, the need to save costs, improve efficiencies and performance, and meet competitive pressures, adds an even greater urgency to the critical necessity for finding answers to these problems.
Solutions to these problems have been long sought but prior developments have not taught or suggested any solutions and, thus, solutions to these problems have long eluded those skilled in the art.

Package-on-package system with heat spreader


A retaining clip which maintains the bellows on a vapor recovery liquid dispensing system in a retracted position while fuel is pumped from the fueling tube of the vapor recovery liquid dispensing nozzle.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to liquid dispensing nozzle assemblies which incorporate a vapor recovery collecting means. More particularly, it relates to a means for retaining the spring biased vapor recovery bellows incorporated on a liquid dispensing nozzle in a collapsed position to allow the use of the liquid dispensing nozzle assembly to fill containers not designed to accommodate and seal the distal end of a vapor recovery bellows.
2. Prior Art
In their efforts to meet the air quality standards set by the United States Government and various State agencies, many urban areas of the United States and more specifically the entire state of California, now require retailers of gasoline and some other hydrocarbon liquids to fit the liquid dispensing nozzle with a vapor recovery system. To that end, retailers of gasoline and other easily evaporated hydrocarbon based liquids, in areas of the United States with government mandated vapor recovery requirements, have fitted their liquid dispensing pumps with nozzles incorporating a means to seal and provide a recovery passage around the liquid or fuel dispensing nozzle and the mouth of a fuel tank to be filled by the liquid dispensing nozzle.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,866,636 (Lasater), U.S. Pat. No. 3,840,055 (Worst) are common examples of the numerous vapor collection fuel nozzles currently in use which operate in similar manners through the use of a vapor collection means consisting of a flexible bellows sleeve which surrounds the spout or liquid outlet means of the dispensing nozzle and is spring biased to extend near the fuel outlet means. During the fueling operation the flexible bellows sleeve is sealed to the opening or fillpipe of the fuel tank. The result being that as the tank is filled with fuel by the dispensing nozzle, the vapors which normally would escape into the earth's atmosphere using a non vapor recovery system, are trapped in the vapor collection means and returned to the reservoir tank from which the liquid was pumped. As taught in U.S. Pat. No. 3,840,055 (Wostl), when not in use, the vapor recovery system of the nozzle is commonly sealed off from the outside atmosphere through the use of an annular sealing ring mounted on the filling tube portion of the nozzle which provides an shoulder upon which the flexible bellows seals internally trapping vapors inside the recovery system. The annular ring doubles as a retaining device which clips under the lip of the fueling pipe when inserted into the fueling pipe during fueling of the tank. There are similar such rings, knobs, and clips on the majority of fuel dispensing nozzles in use in the United States whether used for retaining of the nozzle in the fill pipe of the fuel tank or for sealing the vapor recovery system when the nozzle is not in use.
One problem which has occurred in attempting to minimize vapor loss during the dispensing of liquid by the dispensing nozzle involves the fact that a constant pressure to sufficiently compress the bellows portion against the spring bias must be maintained between the front lip of the vapor recovery bellows and the top of the fillpipe of the fuel tank. If the user fails to maintain pressure to adequately compress the vapor recovery bellows to maintain a seal with the top of the fuel tank fillpipe the fuel pumping device which feeds the fueling nozzle on many such vapor recovery nozzles, will sense the loss of compression through a sensing means and will cause the pumping device for the liquid to cease to operate. Many users of such vapor recovery nozzles, especially in the modern era of self service fueling stations, lack the physical strength to maintain the pressure required for continued retraction of the spring loaded bellows vapor recovery device for a sufficient time to fill their fuel tanks.
Another problem encountered by users of vapor recovery fueling systems involves the location of fillpipe. Automotive fuel tank fillpipes are situated in a great many locations on the hundreds of different vehicle models available in the United States. Some locations are well designed to use the bellows style vapor recovery nozzles while others make it almost impossible for the user to insert the fueling nozzle into the fuel tank fillpipe and maintain the required pressure to retract the bellows and maintain a seal between the fillpipe and the vapor recovery bellows sufficient to allow the pump to operate properly.
A still further problem involves the use of a vapor recovery fuel dispensing nozzle on a fuel tank or container not designed for such a fuel dispensing system. Many older vehicles in the Untied States were built prior the more modern stringent vapor recovery standards now in place. Consequently the fuel tanks on such vehicles were not designed by their manufacturers for a vapor recovery means which seals over the fillpipe. The result of the use of a vapor recovery fuel dispensing nozzle on such fillpipes can be the formation of a vacuum in the fuel tank from the vapor recovery bellows wish attaches to the fillpipe of the fuel tank and removes atmospheric pressure from the tank, or, more seriously, the formation of high pressure in the fuel tank as a result of the pumping of liquid into the closed fuel tank and the improper seal of the vapor recovery bellows over the fill pipe which can cause a blockage for escaping gasses. This can result in a backwash of fuel on the user and the vehicle upon the removal of the nozzle, or, more seriously the complete rupture of the fuel tank and the contents of highly flammable liquids being spewed from the tank.
A further and most vexing problem encountered with the use of vapor recovery type fuel nozzles occurs when the user attempts to fill common portable gasoline container or a portable spring loaded safety fuel container. The most common of such containers have thin walls, and a one to five gallon capacity. Such portable containers are used to transport fuel to small gasoline engine or diesel engine powered devices such as lawn mowers and generators. Such portable containers are capped by a simple screw on type cap or in the case of safety spring loaded containers, a spring loaded cap must be removed by gripping a trigger mechanism by hand on the can which raises the cap off the fillpipe of the fuel container.
Vapor recovery nozzles, when used with portable fuel tanks and other fuel containers not designed for use with a vapor recovery nozzle, pose the user with a dilemma. Most modern fueling nozzles have a sensor located at their tip which shuts off the fuel pump when that senor senses liquid touching the tip of the nozzle. This is a safety device to insure the tank does not overflow during fueling. To maintain the bellows in the collapsed position required by bellows senors in the nozzle requires the user to insert the tip of the nozzle into the small portable fuel container to a point where the nozzle tip is so far inside the container that the nozzle tip liquid senor shuts the nozzle off when the fuel rises in the container and touches the nozzle tip. Unfortunately, on small one and two gallon containers, the container is only partially full when the liquid rises to the point the nozzle tip sensor erroneously signals the container is full and shuts off the pump. The user at this point, if he has sufficient body strength, can collapse the bellows by hand pressure and try to hold the nozzle tip above the container in a steady state for a sufficient time to fill the container. However, most gas station patrons lack sufficient body strength to accomplish this strenuous task for sufficient time to fuel the container especially in the awkward or contorted body position it requires.
On the aforementioned spring loaded safety containers, the user is especially challenged as he must grip the trigger mechanism on the can with one hand to open the container fillpipe while at the same time he must push the bellows against the fillpipe of the safety can with the other hand with sufficient pressure for the bellows senor to allow fueling. Safety cans too suffer inadequate filling when the fuel rises inside the container to a point that the nozzle tip liquid sensor erroneously shuts off the pump.
A further problem can develop on such portable fuel containers if no venting system is designed into such a container to allow for the vapor recovery system on the fueling nozzle to extract vapors from the atmosphere contained in the container. The result again is frustration of the user with the resulting cease of operations by the pump, or the collapse of the walls of the small container from the negative atmosphere which can develop.
A more serious problem which occurs using portable fuel containers with vapor recovery nozzles is the possible rupture of the container wall should high pressure develop as a result of the fuel being pumped into the container and the bellows improperly sealing around an ill designed fillpipe and blocking escaping gases. The resulting failure to allow the escape of any vapors or air from the container can cause the build up of internal atmospheric pressure in the container resulting in the rupture of its walls or the spewing of a geyser of fuel on the user when the fueling nozzle is removed.
Another problem which develops in the fueling of motorized vehicles using a vapor recovery fuel nozzles occurs in the fueling of boats and other motor powered vehicles with a fuel tank fillpipe not designed to accommodate the bellows style vapor recovery means surrounding the fuel nozzle tip of such fuel dispensing devices. As an example, pleasure boats normally have a very small diameter fillpipe aperture which does not accommodate the vapor recovery bellows in an adequate fashion to allow proper ventilation of the fuel tank during the fueling operation. Depending on how the fueling nozzle tip is inserted and how the bellows comes to rest on the hull, the result can be a ruptured fillpipe from internal tank pressure which can develop or backwash of gasoline upon the user and the boat upon the removal of the fuel nozzle, or, the collapse of the tank if a vacuum develops from the bellows extraction of tank atmosphere.


A single signal processor performs a pitch process which produces musical sound waveform data having a frequency corresponding to received pitch data, a filtering process for filtering the generated musical sound waveform data, and an amplitude process which controls the amplitude of a musical sound generated on the basis of the filtered musical sound waveform data in order to produce a musical sound. It simultaneously performs outputting the produced musical sound waveform data to a plurality of output terminals and an effect process which imparts an effect to the musical sound data. The signal processor outputs at least one of musical sound waveform data to which the effect is imparted and musical sound waveform data to which no effects are imparted, using at least one of an external and an internal effect circuit to thereby impart a variety of effects to the resulting musical sound.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to musical sound generators used in electronic musical instruments, and more particularly to a musical sound generator which realizes a plurality of musical sound processing operations for the generation of a musical sound, using a single IC.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, generation of a musical sound which requires processing a large amount of data at high speed is performed by dedicated hardware called a sound source device. In the hard ware, a microcomputer processes control inputs (inputs from a keyboard and/or a console panel external control inputs such as MIDI, inputs from internal or external play memories, etc.,) to the musical instrument and transfers commands suitable for the sound source device to same.
As the number of required functions increases in the conventional musical sound generator, the number of operations and/or calculations also increases. As a result, a generalized method is to cause a plurality of LSIs to serve the corresponding functions to thereby achieve a desired synthetic function.
Recently, a sound source device itself is required to have various functions such as filtering musical sound waveform data (DCF) to change the tone of the musical sound, amplitude limitation (DCA), or even effect addition. As those functions are added, the number of operations/calculations increases, so that a plurality of LSIs are required to share the synthetic function, as mentioned above. Therefore, the use of a plurality of LSIs increases cost, complicates the design of delivery/reception of data between LSIs is complicated and invites limitations on the processing speed, disadvantageously.
Construction of a sound source device so as to produce musical effects only includes only addition of musical effects to a generated musical sound and outputting the result and cannot perform operations such as outputting only a musical sound to which no effects are added, the use of a separate external effect circuit provided without using the internal effect producing circuit, or mixing the internal effect output and the external effect circuit output and outputting the resulting effect.
That is, the conventional generator only performs operations for imparting internal effects to a musical sound and cannot obtain a wide variety of aspects of effect addition, disadvantageously.

Musical sound generator with single signal processing means


A system and method for providing a user-selectable status indication to incoming callers is provided, the system including a cellular communications device having a user-selectable status, and a server in signal communication with the cellular communications device for receiving the user-selectable status from the cellular communications device and for updating its logical database; and the corresponding method including the steps of providing a plurality of user-selectable statuses on a cellular communications device, receiving a status selection from a user of the cellular communications device, transmitting the user's status selection to a server, directing an incoming call for the user to the server if the user-selected status is not the Available status, and providing an indication to the incoming caller in accordance with the user's status selection.

The present disclosure relates to cellular communications and, in particular, to a system and method for providing a user-selectable status indication to incoming callers.
It is typical for a cellular telephone user to occasionally be unavailable to answer incoming calls. In cases of unavailability, such as, for example, when the user is in a meeting or a class, the user may turn off the telephone and/or the ringer. Thus, incoming callers generally have no idea whether the user is merely temporarily unavailable, or what the user's status might be. Although the user can typically leave a new voicemail when his/her status changes, that process is cumbersome and still requires the user to turn off the telephone and/or ringer when in a meeting or in a class.

User-selectable status indication for cellular communications devices


A hearing aid fitting management system comprises a fitting device, a server, and a client device that are connectable to each other in a network. The server stores hearing ability data received from the client device as a hearing ability certificate, produces a prescription number corresponding to the hearing ability certificate, and sends the prescription number to the client device. The fitting device sends the server the prescription number that has been inputted. The server sends the fitting device the hearing ability certificate corresponding to the prescription number received from the fitting device. The fitting device sends the hearing ability certificate to a hearing aid, and limits the settings in the fitting of the hearing aid to within the range of the hearing ability data.

1. Technical Field
The technology disclosed herein relates to prevention of the improper fitting of a hearing aid.
2. Description of the Related Art
When a hearing aid is fitted, first the hearing ability of the patient is measured, and then fitting data calculated on the basis of this hearing ability is inputted to the hearing aid. After this, the hearing aid is put on by the patient, and fine tuned. This fine tuning involves having the patient wearing the hearing aid listen to test sounds or voices, and fine tuning the fitting data so as to eliminate any hearing problems the patient may have. This fine tuning work requires experience and knowledge about fitting, and can be very difficult for an adjuster with little experience in fitting work.
In view of this, a remote fitting system has been known in which fitting is performed by an otorhinolaryngology specialist, and the results thereof are consolidated and managed at a fitting center, which improves after-care (see, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 2000-125396).
With the above-mentioned remote fitting system, proper adjustment is performed by having the otorhinolaryngology specialist perform the fitting and any subsequent fine tuning.
However, in actual practice, it is extremely difficult for an otorhinolaryngology specialist to perform fitting and subsequent fine tuning for all patients. This is because the number of hearing aid patients far outstrips the number of otorhinolaryngology specialists. Also, when fitting and subsequent fine tuning are performed by an otorhinolaryngology specialist, he must understand the functions of all the new hearing aids that are constantly being developed.
Therefore, this fitting and subsequent fine tuning are actually most often carried out at the place where the hearing aid is sold. In this case, fitting and subsequent fine tuning are sometimes performed by salespeople who are far from having the required knowledge and experience in fitting. Consequently, even though an otorhinolaryngology specialist may have gone to the trouble of setting the fitting data, discomfort level, and so forth, a salesperson or other such person who does not fully comprehend the significance of these will sometimes end up making settings that exceed the discomfort level, for example, so that the hearing aid cannot be adjusted to within the proper range.
Also, a hearing aid cannot be used until it has been fitted by an otorhinolaryngology specialist.

Hearing aid, hearing aid fitting management system, server device, and computer device

Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.


In a method for manufacturing a gradient coil system for a magnetic resonance apparatus, the conductor arrangement of the gradient coil system is produced by successively applying respective layers of metal powder sinter material on a workpiece platform, and successively sintering the respective layers by the application of radiation, such as laser radiation, to the individual layers, and the conductor arrangement is assembled with other components to produce the gradient coil system. A gradient coil system manufactured in accordance with this method includes a number of assembled components, including an electrical conductor arrangement, with the electrical conductor arrangement having conductors formed by radiation-sintered metal powder material.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a gradient coil system and a method for the production of the gradient coil system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Magnetic resonance technology is a known modality to, among other things, acquire images of the inside of a body of an examination subject. Rapidly-switched gradient fields that are generated by a gradient coil system are superimposed on a static basic magnetic field that is generated by a basic field magnet. The magnetic resonance apparatus also has a radio-frequency system that radiates radio-frequency signals into the examination subject to excite magnetic resonance signals and that acquires the excited magnetic resonance signals, on the basis of which magnetic resonance images are generated.
The gradient coil system is normally formed by multiple coil layers situated one atop the other. The individual coil layers exhibit a complex geometry, are wound in one plane, are mounted atop one another together with insulation layers and are subsequently cast with the gradient coil system under vacuum with a thermosetting casting resin based on epoxy resin. For dissipation of heat, additional layers of coolant tubes or coolant pipes are inserted through which a coolant medium (for example, coolant water) flows in operation. It is also known to introduce additional layers for shim coils into the gradient coil system. In the case of an essentially hollow-cylindrical gradient coil system, the planar finished coil segments are curved into the shape of a cylinder segment and introduced into the gradient coil system. Given the production method described in the preceding, it is particularly disadvantageous (with regard to the later assembly capability) that the individual coil layers are limited in terms of design to an essentially two-dimensional design. A higher production cost also arises for the assembly of approximately nine coil layers with insulation and reinforcement layers belonging thereto. Furthermore, the contacting between the individual coil layers with up to approximately 500 solder points per gradient coil system is very complicated.
An object of the invention is to provide a gradient coil system in which the aforementioned disadvantages are avoided.
The above object is achieved in accordance with the invention by a gradient coil system for a magnetic resonance apparatus at least one part of an electrical conductor arrangement of the gradient coil system is produced by the action of radiation (in particular laser radiation) on a metal powder sinter material.
Compared to the known methods, the following advantages are achieved. In a structural volume available for the gradient coil system, an arbitrary course of the electrical conductors can be selected without consideration of the technical production requirements, thereby allowing previous designs that were considered as unrealizable in terms of production technology to be realized simply. A three-dimensional design plan of the electrical conductor paths of the gradient coil system can be directly adopted for the production method. Each change of the path of the electrical conductors can be done without adaptation of the production means, so that (among other things) a time savings is achieved in the development phase. Contactings of individual conductors among one another are no longer necessary at all given the finished sintered conductor arrangement. The manual assembly effort is drastically reduced. Since no residual stresses arise (for example due to a curvature or coiling) that can cause deformations in the sealing process, a higher precision is achieved.

Gradient coil system and method for the production thereof