A method to increase the toughness of the aluminum-lithium alloy C458 and similar alloys at cryogenic temperatures above their room temperature toughness is provided. Increasing the cryogenic toughness of the aluminum-lithium alloy C458 allows the use of alloy C458 for cryogenic tanks, for example for launch vehicles in the aerospace industry. A two-step aging treatment for alloy C458 is provided. A specific set of times and temperatures to age the aluminum-lithium alloy C458 to T8 temper is disclosed that results in a higher toughness at cryogenic temperatures compared to room temperature. The disclosed two-step aging treatment for alloy 458 can be easily practiced in the manufacturing process, does not involve impractical heating rates or durations, and does not degrade other material properties.

The present invention generally relates to aluminum-lithium alloys and methods for thermal treatment of aluminum-lithium alloys and, more particularly, to a method to increase the toughness of the aluminum-lithium alloy C458 at cryogenic temperatures.
Structural weight is a major issue for single use and reusable launch vehicles, for spacecraft, and other space vehicle structures used in the aerospace industry since weight reduction enables increased payload capability and reduced cost. It is well recognized that aluminum-lithium alloys possess lower density, good and often higher strength than conventional aluminum alloys, and provide higher modulus, and therefore, enable weight savings in space vehicle structures.
For the aerospace industry, the toughness of aluminum alloys and aluminum-lithium alloys at cryogenic temperatures is of special interest, for example, for the use of such materials in cryogenic tanks. Cryogenic tanks are used to hold liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen, or any other liquid requiring cryogenic storage. Therefore, it is important for the alloy used in such tanks to have both a relatively high strength and high toughness at cryogenic service temperatures. Compared with conventional aluminum alloys such as 2219, which is widely used in space vehicles for cryogenic tanks as well as unpressurized structures, aluminum-lithium alloys possess an attractive combination of lower density and higher modulus along with higher mechanical properties than non-lithium containing aluminum alloys commonly used for cryogenic tanks. The toughness of conventional aluminum alloys such as 2219 and 2014 is higher at cryogenic temperatures compared to that at room temperature. The ability to achieve higher toughness and strength at cryogenic temperatures enables a structural proof test for the cryotank, for example, to be conducted more inexpensively at room temperature than at cryogenic temperatures. In this case a successful room temperature proof test ensures that neither strength-overload-induced nor toughness-limited-induced failure will occur at cryogenic service temperatures. The toughness of aluminum-lithium alloys at cryogenic temperatures often remains the same as the toughness at room temperature or is reduced when the material is processed and heat treated using conventional single-step aging. If the toughness of an aluminum-lithium alloy is lower at cryogenic temperatures, the performance of acceptance testing at the cryogenic temperature has to be considered, which is a very expensive and involved approach.
A prior art aluminum-lithium alloy 2195 (Al-1.0 Li-4.0 Cu-0.4 Mg-0.4 Ag-0.12 Zr) with a low lithium content of nominally 1.0 wt. % has already been successfully used for the Space Shuttle external tank. As is well known, alloy processing and particularly the aging treatment, has a significant influence on the strength-toughness combinations and their dependence on the service environments for all aluminum-lithium alloys. A prior art two-step aging procedure developed for the aluminum-lithium alloy 2195 showed that the cryogenic toughness was improved when a low-temperature aging step was followed by a higher-temperature aging step. The purpose of the initial low-temperature aging is to provide nucleation sites within the matrix and to minimize the volume fraction of the strengthening precipitates at the sub-grain and grain boundaries, while the second step is necessary to increase the size of the precipitates to provide reasonable strength levels. These prior art heat treatment methods to improve the cryogenic toughness of the aluminum-lithium alloys were limited to the alloy 2195 and entailed processing conditions such as controlled heating rates or durations that may not be practical in the industry.
While a higher lithium content in aluminum-lithium alloys results in more weight savings, an aluminum-lithium alloy C458 (Al-1.8 Li-2.7 Cu-0.3 Mg-0.08 Zr-0.3 Mn-0.6 Zn) with a lithium content of nominally 1.8 wt. % and similar alloys from this family of alloys, such as C460 and C47A, have been shown to provide the greatest benefit for the aerospace industry. The composition and processing of alloy C458 and similar alloys in this family has been carefully tailored to increase the toughness and reduce the mechanical property anisotropy of the earlier generation alloys such as 2090 and 8090, which have a lithium content above 2.0 wt. %. Therefore, aluminum-lithium alloy C458 is considered as a material to be used for future space vehicle structures. To achieve the T8 temper material characteristics, alloy C458 in the T3 condition (achieved by solution heat treatment at an elevated temperature, quenching to room temperature and cold working, for example by stretching) is typically aged at 300° F. for a duration of twenty-four hours using conventional single-step aging. This prior art single-step aging process applied to alloy C458 results in a reduction of the toughness at cryogenic temperatures over that at room temperature of about 10%. Consequently, if the aluminum-lithium alloy C458 were to be used to build a cryogenic tank after the single step aging was conducted, expensive structural proof testing of the tank at cryogenic temperatures would be necessary to ensure proper strength and toughness parameters.
Prior art further includes, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,861,391 issued to Rioja et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,812,178 issued to Dubost, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,648,913 issued to Hunt, Jr. et al., all disclosing aluminum based alloys containing lithium as well as heat treatment methods. U.S. Pat. No. 4,861,391 issued to Rioja et al. further discloses a two-step aging method for aluminum-based alloys; however the first aging step conducted at lower temperatures can take up to several months, which is inconvenient and expensive. Since a heat treatment process needs to be optimized for each alloy individually depending on the content of chemical elements in this alloy, none of the disclosed prior art heat treatments can be easily applied to the processing of the aluminum-lithium alloy C458. Further, none of the prior art patents recommends the disclosed aging procedures for application on alloy C458 or similar alloys.
There has, therefore, arisen a need to increase the toughness at cryogenic temperatures of the aluminum-lithium alloy C458 to enable its use for cryogenic tanks in space vehicles, and thereby, reducing the weight of the cryogenic tanks, increasing the payload capabilities, and reducing cost per launch. There has further arisen a need for the development of a heat treatment scheme for aluminum-lithium alloy C458 and similar alloys of this family that results in an increased toughness of the alloy C458 at cryogenic temperatures compared to room temperature. There has also arisen a need to develop a method for an aging treatment for alloy C458 that can be easily practiced in the manufacturing process, that does not involve impractical heating rates or durations, and that does not degrade other material properties. There has further arisen a need to provide specific sets of times and temperatures to age the aluminum-lithium alloy C458 to the T8 temper that result in higher toughness at cryogenic temperatures compared to room temperature, so that an optimized aging cycle can be selected during the manufacturing process.
As can be seen, there is a need for a method to increase the toughness of aluminum-lithium alloy C458 at cryogenic temperatures. Also, there is a need for an aging treatment for alloy C458 that increases the toughness at cryogenic temperatures and that can be easily practiced in the manufacturing process. Moreover, there is a need for specific sets of times and temperatures to age aluminum-lithium alloy C458 to the T8 temper that result in higher cryogenic toughness.

Method to increase the toughness of aluminum-lithium alloys at cryogenic temperatures


The present invention relates to an evacuation guidance notification system that can detect a fire, can provide notification, can provide guidance on an evacuation route, and can re-ensure a field of vision. The evacuation guidance notification system includes an evacuation guidance notification device installed on a banister post at an edge of a staircase, and the evacuation guidance notification device includes a device housing including a display window, a speaker, a beam output unit, an LED unit, a sensor unit, a control unit, a power unit, a communication unit, and an evacuation direction guidance unit. Furthermore, the device housing constituting part of the evacuation guidance notification device may further include a communication unit configured to communicate with the outside and a control room composed of a computer for controlling the evacuation guidance notification device, and the control room may remotely control the evacuation guidance notification device via the communication unit.

Today buildings are used for various purposes, such as an office purpose, a residence purpose, and the like. As the functionality of society becomes complicated and diversified, the sizes of buildings are increasing, and more people are spending time inside the buildings.
Meanwhile, when an emergency situation occurs in such a building, massive damage may be caused. In this case, loss of lives that cannot be recovered unlike recoverable damage of property may occur.
In order to reduce damage of property and loss of lives, it is important to extinguish a fire in its early stage.
For this purpose, apparatuses that, when an emergency situation, particularly and chiefly a fire in a building, occurs, detect the situation and automatically issue an alarm sound, thereby providing notification of an outbreak of fire, have been developed and used in most buildings.
However, conventional fire alarm apparatuses are used as a means for providing notification of a fire, and are not provided with a means for aiding in escape or evacuation.
Accordingly, people who do not know the structure of a building may be subjected to an accident while wandering around the building in confusion. Even people who know the structure of the building may be subjected to an accident among people who evacuate at the same time along an evacuation route during evacuation.
That is, most loss of lives attributable to outbreaks of fire occur due to choking incidents while wandering around a building or incidents caused by getting hit by people during evacuation.
Accordingly, apparatuses for providing guidance on an evacuation route when an emergency situation occurs have been developed. In connection with this, the present applicant filed Korean Patent Application No. 10-2012-0085515 entitled "Fire Image and Voice Detection Apparatus" on Aug. 6, 2012, and received a patent for the technology.
This technology is directed to a fire image and voice detection device which is installed on the ceiling of a building, which transmits an image signal when a fire breaks out, thereby enabling the outbreak of fire to be recognized over a remote distance, which stores the image, thereby enabling the cause of the outbreak of fire to be easily identified, and which emits LED light aiding in ensuring a field of vision in a smoky environment, thereby providing guidance on an evacuation route.
However, the area in which many accidents may occur in case of emergency, such as a fire or the like, is a staircase in a building. Secondary accidents (for example, falling on the staircase, rolling on the staircase, and injury caused by getting hit during evacuation) attributable to an emergency situation may occur due to tripping on the staircase.
Furthermore, relaying on the light of the LED and using a staircase through which a plurality of persons evacuate at the same time in a situation in which it is difficult to ensure a field of vision due to smoke or the like in an emergency situation have practical difficulty preventing secondary accidents attributable to an outbreak of fire.
Meanwhile, technology for providing guidance on evacuation in order to enable safe evacuation along a staircase, i.e., a principal evacuation route, in case of fire, has been developed. In connection with this, Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10-2002-0038983 discloses a non-slip device for a staircase. This will be described via the attached FIG. 1.
FIG. 1 is a view schematically showing the configuration of the conventional non-slip device for a staircase.
As to the above-described technology, the above-described technology is directed to a non-slip device for a staircase, which enables an ordinary person to easily identify the location at which a staircase is installed in a dark place, such as the basement of a building, even in an emergency situation, such as a power failure or a fire. The above-described technology is directed to a non-slip device for a staircase, which is installed on a staircase of a building, a lamp is included such that the location of the staircase can be easily identified in an emergency situation, such as a power failure or a fire, and light is emitted using constant power in the building in normal times and is emitted using a battery in case of power failure or fire, thereby enabling people to evacuate rapidly.
Furthermore, FIG. 1 of the attached drawings shows a non-slip body 10 that is fastened and coupled to a staircase.
The non-slip body 10 includes a fastening wall 11 formed perpendicular to a staircase, and a surface wall 12 formed to be spaced apart from the fastening wall 11.
That is, lamps 20 are inserted into a space that extends between the fastening wall 11 and the surface wall 12.
In this case, an edge of the surface wall 12 of the non-slip body 10 is configured to be inclined so that a transparent window 30 can be inserted thereinto. The light of the lamps 20 is emitted to the outside via the transparent window 30.
However, the above-described technology has problems in that the inconvenience of installing the non-slip device on each staircase occurs and accordingly installation costs and manpower increase.
Furthermore, in light of the fact that the above-described technology functions to provide notification of the location of a staircase and guidance on an evacuation route in case of emergency, a field of vision needs to be ensured by emitted light when it is difficult to ensure the field of vision due to a state of darkness attributable to a power failure or smoke in an emergency situation. However, when guidance is provided to an evacuee by passing the light of the lamps via the configuration shown in FIG. 1 of the attached drawings, there is a risk in which a secondary accident attributable to an emergency situation may be caused by the tripping of the evacuee or the like.
Therefore, there is a demand for the development of a system for providing guidance on evacuation, which can provide guidance on an accurate evacuation route via an apparatus, which can prevent secondary accidents by accurately indicating a staircase, and which is applicable regardless of the type or material of widely commercialized staircase.

Evacuation guidance notification device and system


A method of making an anode element for use in a fuel cell, comprising providing a first amount of Ni—Al alloy material having a predetermined aluminum content, providing a second amount of Ni—Cr alloy material having a predetermined chromium content, providing at least one additive component, mixing the Ni—Al alloy material, the Ni—Cr alloy material and the at least one additive component to produce a slurry and forming the slurry into the anode element.

This invention relates to fuel cells and, in particular, to an electrolyte matrix for use in molten carbonate fuel cells.
A fuel cell is a device which directly converts chemical energy stored in hydrocarbon fuel into electrical energy by means of an electrochemical reaction. Generally, a fuel cell comprises an anode and a cathode separated by an electrolyte, which serves to conduct electrically charged ions. In order to produce a useful power level, a number of individual fuel cells are stacked in series with an electrically conductive separator plate between each cell.
Molten carbonate fuel cells ("MCFCs") operate by passing a reactant fuel gas through the anode, while oxidizing gas is passed through the cathode. The anode and the cathode of MCFCs are isolated from one another by a porous electrolyte matrix which is saturated with carbonate electrolyte. Molten carbonate fuel cell performance and operating life are dependent in part on the characteristics of the anode and the cathode employed in the fuel cell. For example, fuel cell anodes must have a sufficient capacity for electrolyte retention, high mechanical strength and durability.
Most commonly used fuel cell anodes comprise a nickel (Ni) based alloy, such as Ni—Cr or Ni—Al. Aluminum and chromium are commonly used to improve the mechanical strength and durability of the anode so as to reduce creeping of the anode electrode and to improve its wettability. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,714,586 discloses preparation of Ni—Cr anodes for use in MCFCs by uniformly mixing Ni and Cr powders, sintering the Ni and Cr mixture at 1000-1100° C. to produce a porous Ni—Cr plaque and exposing the plaque to an oxidizing environment at elevated temperatures to sufficiently oxidize the chromium in the alloy. Although the resulting Ni—Cr alloy anodes exhibit high creep resistance, these anodes nevertheless exhibit reduced performance due to development of an excessive number of sub-micron pores in the anode during the first 200 hours of operation. The presence of sub-micron pores in the anode enhances electrolyte retention within the anode. However, development of an excessive number of sub-micron pores can result in electrolyte flooding due to excessive storage of electrolyte in the pores which can cause an increased gas diffusion resistance. Moreover, testing of sintered Ni—Cr anodes after about 4000 hours of operation in MCFCs showed that these electrodes can lose their strength and become soft.
In contrast, anode electrodes formed from Ni—Al alloys have been shown to exhibit improved wettability and high creep resistance. Also, anodes formed from Ni—Al alloys do not develop sub-micron pores during operation in MCFCs, and therefore have a significantly lower electrolyte storage capacity than the Ni—Cr anodes. Insufficient electrolyte retention in the anode can increase interface resistance between the anode and the electrolyte matrix and can negatively affect the performance of the fuel cell, which, in turn, can have a negative effect on the operating life of the MCFC.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,415,833 discloses a further anode formed from a Ni—AlCr alloy to realize a reduced amount of creep. In the method of this patent several heat treatments at elevated temperatures, e.g. 800° C., and special atmospheres were used to fabricate the electrode. The patent also mentions the use of about 6% combined Al and Cr in the Ni—AlCr anode, with the ratio of Al to Cr being 4 to 1.
Accordingly, an anode having an optimized pore structure to enhance electrolyte retention in the pores of the anode without affecting gas diffusion into the pores is desired. In addition, a method for manufacturing such anodes that is simple and does not require multiple steps to be performed at increased temperatures is also desired, so as to reduce manufacturing costs and to avoid brittleness of the anode resulting from the use of high temperatures.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an anode with an improved pore structure which allows for sufficient electrolyte retention without causing electrolyte flooding and reducing gas diffusion into the pores of the anode.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method of preparing an anode with improved pore structure which does not require heating or sintering of the anode at high temperatures.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a method of preparing an anode with improved pore structure which is simple to perform and is cost effective.

Anode for use in a fuel cell and method for making same


A packet radio data network and methods have been disclosed, the network comprising at least a gateway node (GGSN), at least one serving node (SGSN) connected to the gateway node, a plurality of radio access nodes (RAN) connected to the serving node (SGSN), the packet radio network transporting packet data from an external packet data network, comprising an Internet Service Provider (ISP), to mobile stations (MS) wirelessly attached to radio access nodes (RAN). The gateway node, subsequent to a PDP multipoint context activation procedure, establishes at least a first multicast tunnel (GTPT1 GTPT4, GTPT10 GTP35) between the gateway node and at least one serving node, the multicast tunnel carrying IP streams pertaining to at least two mobile stations belonging to a common multicast group.

Multicasting is a service that permits a source to send a message to a plurality of specific recipients. The notion multicasting typically involves that only one copy of the message will pass over any link in a network and copies of the message will be made only where paths diverge. From a network perspective, multicasting dramatically reduces overall bandwidth consumption, since data is replicated in the network at appropriate points.
With Internet Protocol IP multicast, receivers do not need to know who or where the senders are and senders do not need to know who the receivers are. Neither senders nor receivers need to care about the network topology as the network optimises delivery. The distribution of information via IP multicast is performed on the base of a hierarchical connection of the hosts, like for example a tree. Several algorithms have been proposed for building multicast distribution trees, like for example spanning trees, shared-trees, source-based trees, core-based trees. The descriptions of the corresponding algorithms can be found in "IP telephony: Packet-based multimedia communications systems" O. Hersent, D. Gurle, D. Petit, Addison-Wesley, Harlow, 2000. After the establishment of the distribution tree, the distribution of the information is done by the IP multicast routing protocols. The detailed description of the corresponding IP multicast routing protocols can be also found in the above-mentioned document.
An advantage of the IP multicast is the support of the heterogeneous receivers. Sending the different media to different multicast groups allows receivers to decide which media to receive. Similarly, if a sender layers its video or audio stream, different receivers can choose to receive different amounts of traffic and hence different qualities. To do this the sender must code the video as a base layer it means with the lowest quality that might be acceptable and a number of enhancement layers. Each enhancement layer adds more quality at the expense of more bandwidth. For video transmission, these additional layers might increase the frame rate or increase the spatial resolution of the images or both. Each layer is sent to a different multicast group and receivers can individually decide to how many layers they wish to subscribe.
Local area networks have supported multicasting for many years. For typical CSMA (Carrier Sense Multiplex Access) networks where nodes share a common communication medium, multicasting is easy to support. Ethernet for instance supports unicast addresses, multicasting addresses and the network broadcast address. A specially addressed packet can be read off the communication medium by multiple hosts.
Extending multicasting capabilities to inter-networks however led to the introduction of a router at the edge of a network in order to figure out dynamically how to forward the datagram, whereby a datagram denotes a data packet which is established on the IP layer. The way of forwarding is delivered from the address included in the header of the datagram and from the routing table, which is administrated in the router. There are a few possibilities of doing the multicast addressing. The normal way of doing multicast addressing is by using dedicated multicast addresses. These addresses denote groups rather than individual recipients (as is the case with normal IP addresses). The task of the router in this case is to encode the destination addresses and to route it according to the information from the routing table.
Multicast is a receiver-based concept, it means the receivers join a particular multicast session group by informing a corresponding multicast router and traffic is delivered to all members of that group by the network infrastructure. The transmission can be performed either from one user to many users, the so-called one-to-many multicast or many users send information to many receivers, the so-called many-to-many transmission. Within the IP multicast, the membership of a multicast session group is dynamic it means that the hosts may join and leave groups at any time.
The technical background for multicasting is covered in the following:
IP Telephony: Packet-based multimedia communications systems. Hersent, O., Gurle, D., Petit, D., Addison-Wesley, Harlow, 2000.
According to known GPRS and UMTS networks, the mobile terminated down-link traffic is routed using identities which are designed to only handle point to point traffic. In order to reach multiple end users, multiple unicast messages have to be sent.
The technical background about GPRS in GSM and UMTS is covered in the following:
3GPP TS 03.60 V7.5.0 (2001-01) 3rd Generation Partnership Project;
Technical Specification Group Services and System Aspects,
Digital cellular Telecommunications System (Phase 2+),
General Packet Radio Service (GPRS),
Service Description, Stage 2 (Release 1998).
3GPP TS 23.060 V3.6.0 (2001-01)
3rd Generation Partnership Project;
Technical Specification Group Services and System Aspects,
General Packet Radio Service (GPRS),
Service Description, Stage 2 (Release 1999).
There is currently no mechanism available for point to multipoint traffic for wireless terminals when IP addressing is not used, c.f. IP multicast.


A stacked photodiode structure comprises a first-conductivity-type substrate, a second-conductivity-type well region and a first-conductivity-type well region. The first-conductivity-type substrate has a first surface for light incidence and a grounding terminal. The second-conductivity-type well region is formed in the first-conductivity-type substrate and adjacent to the first surface. The first-conductivity-type well region is formed in the second-conductivity-type well region and adjacent to the first surface. A PN junction between the first-conductivity-type well region and the second-conductivity-type well region generates free electrons responsive to visible light spectrum. A PN junction between the second-conductivity-type well region and the first-conductivity-type substrate generates free holes and free electrons responsive to mainly IR light. The difference between a first photocurrent generated from an anode terminal of the first-conductivity-type well region and a second photocurrent generated from a cathode terminal of the second-conductivity-type well region represents the intensity of incident IR light.

1. Field of the Invention
The instant disclosure relates to ambient light sensing with stacked photodiode; in particular, to a stacked photodiode for ambient light sensing and a photo sensor having the same.
2. Description of Related Art
Ambient light sensor (ALS) provides outputs that approximate human eye response. It is useful in display brightness management with the purpose of extending mobile battery life and providing optimum viewing experience in diverse indoor and outdoor lighting conditions.
Existing ambient light sensor is implemented in the following ways. Firstly, a single photodiode with coating to emulate human eye response. Secondly, dual diodes with one responsive visible light and infrared (IR) light spectrum, and the other responsive to mainly IR light spectrum, and emulate human eye response based on their difference. However, the earlier has higher manufacturing cost due to additional coating process and it is quite challenging to detect sub-lux lighting condition, while the later has occupied double silicon area and part to part variation is highly depends on how well the dual diodes were matched.

Ambient light sensing with stacked photodiode structure with dual PN junction


A wireless transmitter (TX1). The transmitter comprises circuitry for providing a plurality of control bits (CONTROL) and circuitry for providing a plurality of user bits (USER). The transmitter further comprises circuitry (16) for modulating the plurality of control bits and the plurality of user bits into a stream of complex symbols and circuitry (18) for converting the stream of complex symbols into a parallel plurality of complex symbol streams. The transmitter further comprises circuitry (20) for performing an inverse fast Fourier transform on the parallel plurality of complex symbol streams to form a parallel plurality of OFDM symbols and circuitry (22) for converting the parallel plurality of OFDM symbols into a serial stream of OFDM symbols. The serial stream consists of an integer N+1 OFDM symbols. Each OFDM symbol in the serial stream of OFDM symbols comprises a plurality of data points. Finally, selected OFDM symbols (SF1.x′) in the serial stream of OFDM symbols each comprise control data points carrying a portion of a synchronization code.

The present embodiments relate to wireless communications systems and are more particularly directed to an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing ("OFDM") system.
Wireless communications are now prevalent in many applications, including both business and personal communication systems. The present embodiments have particular application in such systems and particularly those that are sometimes referred to as fixed wireless systems. Fixed wireless systems are so named because the last distance of the downlink communication, typically on the order of one or two miles, is expected to include a wireless communication to a device that is not mobile or, if mobile, has a very slow fading characteristic. For example, a fixed wireless system in contemporary applications may include wireless communications to a modem inside a home or business.
One wireless technique that has had favorable use in a fixed environment is OFDM, which also is introduced here as it has particular application to the preferred embodiments described later. By way of introduction to OFDM, the more general frequency division multiplexing ("FDM") is characterized by transmission of multiple signals simultaneously over a single transmission path, such as a wireless system. Each of the multiple signals travels at a different frequency band, sometimes referred to as a carrier or sub-carrier, and which is modulated by the data. More particularly, each sub-carrier is actually a sinc (sin(x)/x) function. In any event, the data carried by each sub-carrier may be user data of many forms, including text, voice, video, and the like. In addition, the data includes control data, a particular type of which is discussed below. In any event, OFDM was developed several years ago, and it adds an element of orthogonality to FDM. In OFDM, the center frequency of each of the sub-carriers are spaced apart at specific frequencies, where the frequency spacing is such that each sub-carrier is orthogonal to the other sub-carriers. As a result of the orthogonality, ideally each receiving element tuned to a given sub-carrier does not perceive any of the signals communicated at any other of the sub-carriers. Given this aspect, various benefits arise. For example, OFDM is able to use overlapping (while orthogonal) sub-carriers and, as a result, thorough use is made of the overall OFDM spectrum. As another example, in many wireless systems, the same transmitted signal arrives at the receiver at different times, that is, having traveled different lengths due to reflections in the channel between the transmitter and receiver; each different arrival of the same originally-transmitted signal is typically referred to as a multipath. Typically multipaths interfere with one another, which is sometimes referred to as intersymbol interference ("ISI") because each path includes transmitted data referred to as symbols. Nonetheless, the orthogonality implemented by OFDM considerably reduces ISI and, as a result, often a less complex receiver structure, such as one without an equalizer, may be implemented in an OFDM system. Lastly, note that OFDM also has been used in mobile wireless communications, and is currently being developed in various respects including in combination with other wireless communication techniques.
While OFDM communications have proven useful and indeed beneficial in various contexts, the present inventors have recognized certain drawbacks in OFDM. For example, in present OFDM applications, data are transmitted in a form that is sometimes referred to as an OFDM symbol, which is a collection of parallel data assigned to different sub-carriers and communicated as a group. Within this OFDM symbol, some of the sub-carriers carry data that is not user data but instead that is control data that describes to the receiver information about the coding and modulation scheme then being used by the transmitter. These control data are sometimes referred to as training tones or training control data and part of the information they carry is sometimes referred to as a code parameter set ("CPS") or generally as transmission parameter signaling. In present OFDM systems, however, the present inventors have observed that the CPS information provided by the training tones is relatively stagnant. Particularly, a typical OFDM system repeatedly communicates the same CPS information in every Nth successive OFDM symbols, where N equals three. For example, often a transmitter will maintain the same CPS information for all operating time between successive resets. Then, at each reset event, each receiver must be put in some neutral state while the transmitter begins to transmit a new set of CPS information with each Nth successively-transmitted OFDM symbol. Thereafter, each receiver then operates according to the new CPS information. Further, because all receivers operate according to the same CPS information, then typically the transmitter selects the CPS information so as to accommodate the weakest communication channel existing among all of the receivers. As a result, subsequent communications to all receivers are based on this worst-case-established CPS and, thus, performance with respect to the receivers that could benefit from different CPS information are instead constrained by the performance of the weakest channel. Also as a result of the above-described manner of communicating CPS information, there is limited flexibility in what may be described by the CPS information. In contrast, the preferred embodiments seek to increase the scope of flexibility provided by CPS and other control information, which brings still other benefits, all of which are discussed in greater detail below.

Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing system with superframe synchronization using correlation sequence


A tubing rotator and a drive therefor. The tubing rotator includes an input shaft to a tubing rotator gear; an electric motor including an output shaft; and a plurality of worm drives arranged in series and configured to (i) receive input from the electric motor and (ii) output torque to the input shaft of the tubing rotator. The worm drives may be identical speed reducers, such as with an input to output reduction ratio of from 25:1 to 40:1.

Tubing rotators are used in wellbore operations to reduce problematic wear on production strings. Tubing rotators are employed at the wellhead incorporated with the string hanger.
Tubing rotators are sometimes driven to rotate by electric drives. Because the tubing rotator must be rotated at a very slow rotational speed such as, for example, less than five rotations, for example 1-2 rotations per day (RPD), the motor output rpm must be significantly reduced before the torque is applied to the tubing rotator. Prior electric drives 10 for tubing rotators, such as the ones shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, employ a unique electric motor 12 with a geared output shaft, an inline splined input reducer 14 and a worm drive reducer 16. Such a drive system with a 400:1 inline splined input reducer and a 60:1 right angle worm drive reducer results in an rpm reduction ratio of about 24,000:1 from motor 12 to the input shaft 18 of a gear within the housing of the tubing rotator 20. As such, a string coupled to the tubing rotator can be rotated while it is hung at the wellhead 8 from the string hanger 21.
These prior drive systems have numerous disadvantages, for example, they require a unique electric motor and, therefore, cannot operate with a standard keyed motor. Also, they have a length/size and installation limitations that cause them to be cumbersome, such that they sometimes crowd or are incompatible with other equipment on the wellhead such as lockdowns 23 or lines or other equipment that are on the working ports of the wellhead.


A method of creating a web page from a vector graphics data file includes converting the vector graphics data file from its native file format to a bit map graphics file format, modifying the bit map graphics data file by converting color values to a format that can be displayed on a computer monitor, and inserting the modified bit map graphics data file into the web page substantially identical to the catalog printed on paper; and making the electronic catalog available for viewing using a browser.

The present invention relates to conversion of vector graphics files to files suitable for display on a computer, such as a computer running an Internet browser.
In the furniture industry, furniture manufacturers have for years generated very carefully planned and designed catalogs to aid in the promotion and sale of their products. Catalog design has become quite sophisticated, with particularized placement of text and graphics on the pages being chosen by the catalog designers to achieve specialized visual effects. Among the effects desired are the overlay of one photograph over a part of another.
With the advent of the Internet and e-commerce endeavors, it is desired to replicate such catalogs on the Internet so that viewers and potential customers on the Internet will have identically the same image available to them as would be available in the printed catalog.
Similarly, it may be desirable for many other types of print media to be transported to a browser-display with fidelity to the original.
The state-of-the-art in printing, particularly with respect to catalogs, but for other printed products also, involves the use of digital electronics. The image to be printed is stored in an electronic file in a vector graphics format. In vector graphics, mathematical equations and file pointers are used to collate the text and images to be printed on the printed page. These files can then be used to make the separations used in the printing process according to known techniques.
The size of the digital files for such printed pages, even using vector graphics, can be on the order of 25 million bytes, too large for transmission at reasonable speeds over commonly available digital networks. Also, among the 25 million bytes of information is much more detail than can typically be displayed on a monitor used in an Internet or other browser system. Typically, browsers display information in much less resolution, such as in the jpeg or gif format, having more on the order of 25,000 bytes of information, which can be reasonably quickly transmitted over digital networks.
Similarly, the browsers display images according to instructions imbedded in a markup language, typically html. In html, code is written to determine the color, size, and placement of various items on a page, and such code is typically written or edited in a manual mode, although some page editor programs are now available. Nonetheless, creation of an html page or other markup language page to replicate with high fidelity the images of a printed catalog or other printed publication is very difficult and time consuming. Essentially, the html page must be prepared from scratch, requiring trial and error to determine how well the browser-displayed page replicates the printed page. Errors must be corrected by rewriting code.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a system that will expedite the conversion of printed page digital files to those which can be displayed in html or other markup language format on browsers.
Also, there is a need in the art for an economical way to replicate printed catalog pages and other printed pages in a browser display with high fidelity.

Use of vector graphics in paper printing and website development


An injector system includes a powered injector, a pressurizing chamber in operative connection with the powered injector, a fluid path in fluid connection with the pressurizing chamber, and a manual control in fluid connection with the fluid path. The manual control includes at least one actuator for controlling the injector through application of force by an operator. The actuator provides tactile feedback of pressure in the fluid path to the operator via a fluid connection with the fluid path. An injection system for use in angiography includes a source of saline, a pump in fluid connection with the source of saline to pressurize the saline, a saline valve in fluid connection via a first port thereof with an outlet of the pump, a first connector in fluid connection with a second port of the saline valve, a source of contrast, a contrast valve in fluid connection with the source of contrast via a first port of the contrast valve, a powered injector in fluid connection with a second port of the contrast valve, a second connector in fluid connection with a third port of the contrast valve, and a pressure isolation mechanism.

The present invention relates to powered injector systems and methods for use thereof in medical injection or fluid delivery procedures and, more particularly, to control of powered injector systems and methods of controlling powered injector systems.
In many medical diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, a physician or other person injects as patient with a fluid. In recent years, a number of injector-actuated syringes and powered injectors for pressurized injection of fluids such as contrast media have been developed for use in procedures such as angiography, computed tomography, ultrasound and NMR/MRI. In general, these powered injectors are designed to deliver a preset amount of contrast media at a preset flow rate.
Angiography is used generally in the detection and treatment of abnormalities or restrictions in blood vessels. In an angiographic procedure, one obtains a radiographic image of vascular structure with the assistance of a radiographic contrast medium (sometimes referred to simply as contrast) injected through a catheter. The vascular structures in fluid connection with the vein or artery in which the contrast is injected are filled with contrast. X-rays passing through the region of interest are absorbed by the contrast, causing a radiographic outline or image of blood vessels containing the contrast. The resulting images can be displayed on, for example, a monitor and recorded.
In a typical angiographic procedure, a physician places a cardiac catheter into a vein or artery. The catheter is connected to either a manual or an automatic contrast injection mechanism. A typical manual contrast injection mechanism includes a syringe and a catheter connection. The operator of such a syringe adjusts the flow rate and volume of injection by altering the force applied to the plunger of the syringe. Manual sources of fluid pressure and flow used in medical applications such as syringes and manifolds thus typically require operator effort that provides feedback of the fluid pressure/flow generated to the operator. The feedback is desirable, but the operator effort often leads to fatigue. Thus, fluid pressure and flow may vary depending on the operator's strength and technique.
Automatic contrast injection mechanisms typically include a syringe connected to a powered injector having, for example, a powered linear actuator. Typically, an operator enters into an electronic control system of the powered injector a fixed volume of contrast material and a fixed rate of injection. In many systems, there is no interactive control between the operator and the powered injector, except to start or stop the injection. A change in flow rate in such systems occurs by stopping the machine and resetting the parameters. Automation of angiographic procedures using powered injectors is discussed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,460,609, 5,573,515 and 5,800,397.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,800,397 discloses an angiographic injector system having both high pressure and low pressure systems. The high pressure system includes a motor-driven injector pump to deliver radiographic contrast material under high pressure to a catheter. The low pressure system includes, among other things, a pressure transducer to measure blood pressure and a pump to deliver a saline solution to the patient as well as to aspirate waste fluid. A manifold is connected to the syringe pump, the low pressure system, and the patient catheter. A flow valve associated with the manifold is normally maintained in a first state connecting the low pressure system to the catheter through the manifold (and disconnecting the high pressure system from the catheter and the low pressure system). When pressure from the syringe pump reaches a predetermined and set level, the valve switches to a second state connecting the high pressure system/syringe pump to the catheter, while disconnecting the low pressure system from the catheter (and from the high pressure system). In this manner, the pressure transducer is protected from high pressures. See Col 3, lines 20–37. However, compliance in the system components (for example, expansion of the syringe, tubing and other components under pressure) using such a manifold system can lead to a less than optimal injection bolus. Moreover, the arrangement of the system components of U.S. Pat. No. 5,800,397 results in relatively large amounts of wasted contrast and/or undesirable injection of an excessive amount of contrast when the low pressure (saline) system is used.
The injector system of U.S. Pat. No. 5,800,397 also includes a handheld remote control connected to a console. The control includes saline push button switches and a flow rate control lever or trigger. By progressive squeezing of the control trigger, the user provides a command signal to the console to provide a continuously variable injection rate corresponding to the degree of depression of the control trigger.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,916,165 discloses a handheld pneumatic controller for producing a variable control signal to control a rate of fluid dispersement to the patient in an angiographic system. U.S. Pat. No. 5,515,851 discloses an angiographic system with a finger activated control pad to regulate the injection of fluids.
Unlike manual injection systems, however, there is little if any feedback to the operator of system pressure in the above systems. There are potential advantages to such feedback. In the use of a manual syringe, for example, excessive backpressure on the syringe plunger can provide evidence of occlusion of the fluid path.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,840,026 discloses, among other things, an injection system in which an electronic control system is connected to the contrast delivery system and a tactile feedback control unit. In one embodiment, the tactile feedback control unit includes a disposable syringe that is located within a durable/reusable cradle and is in fluid connection with the fluid being delivered to the patient. The cradle is electrically connected to the electronic control system and is physically connected to a sliding potentiometer that is driven by the plunger of a disposable syringe.
During use of the injection system of U.S. Pat. No. 5,840,026, the doctor holds the cradle and syringe and, as the doctor depresses the sliding potentiometer/syringe piston assembly, the plunger is moved forward, displacing fluid toward the patient and creating a pressure in the syringe. A sliding potentiometer tracks the position of the syringe plunger.
The electronic control system controls the contrast delivery system to inject an amount of fluid into the patient based on the change in position of the plunger. As the fluid is injected, the pressure the doctor feels in his hand is proportional to the actual pressure produced by the contrast delivery system. The force required to move the piston provides the operator with tactile feedback on the pressure in the system. The doctor is able to use this feedback to ensure the safety of the injection procedure.
Unlike the case of a manual injection system, the injection system of U.S. Pat. No. 5,840,026 does not require the doctor to develop the system pressure and flow rate. The doctor develops a smaller, manually applied pressure which corresponds to or is proportional to the system pressure. The required manual power output (that is, pressure×flow rate) is decreased as compared to manual systems, whereas the tactile feedback associated therewith is retained.
Although advances have been made in the area of angiographic injection systems, it remains desirable to develop injectors, injector systems and methods to facilitate such procedures.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Injection system having a pressure isolation mechanism and/or a handheld controller


The present invention is directed to new pepper varieties that bear fruit that are sweet, red, and low-seeded and resemble a Jalapexc3x1o pepper in size and shape. Methods of making the plants are also provided.

Pepper is in the genus Capsicum, which includes the species Capsicum annum and Capsicum frutescens. Peppers are cultivated and used around the world as sweet peppers such as the bell pepper; or as pungent chili peppers, jalapeno peppers, and TABASCO peppers (used to make TABASCO sauce); or as a source of dried powders of various colors such as paprika.
The types of cultivated peppers can be differentiated by pungency, fruit shape, and size. Non-pungent peppers used for the fresh market include the large, blocky, thick-fleshed Bell or Stuffing type (e.g., cv.s (cultivars) California Wonder, Yolo Wonder, Keystone Giant and Dulce Italians) and the medium-sized, heart-shaped, thick-fleshed Pimiento type (e.g., cv.s Pimiento, Pimiento Select, Pimiento Perfection, and Super Red Pimiento) peppers, and the long, blunt-ended, thin fleshed Cuban type (e.g., cv.s Cubanelle, and Aconcagua). Mildly pungent peppers used for the fresh market and for processing include the long, heart-shaped, thin-fleshed Ancho type (e.g., cv.s Mexican Chili, Ancho, and Mulato), and the long, blunt-ended, thin-fleshed Tuscan type (e.g., cv. Pepperoncini) peppers. The slightly more pungent Anaheim Chili (e.g., cv.s Anaheim Chili, Sandia, California Chili, Mild California, and New Mexican Chili) which is used mainly for processing has an elongate fruit which tapers to a point and medium flesh thickness. Pungent peppers used in both the fresh market and for processing include the long, cylindrical-thick fleshed Jalapexc3x1o (e.g., cv.s Jalapexc3x1o and Mild Jalapexc3x1o), the small, slender, tapering Serrano (e.g., cv. Serrano), and the irregularly shaped, thin-fleshed Cayenne (e.g., cv.s Cayenne Long Thick, Cayenne Long Slim, and Cayenne Long Red) peppers. In addition to the above C. annuum types, there are various C. frutescens type peppers (e.g., cv. Tabasco).
The present invention provides sweet, low-seeded hybrid peppers that resemble a Jalapexc3x1o pepper in size and shape. When fully mature, the fruit are red in color, 1xc2xcxe2x80x3-2xc2xexe2x80x3 in length and xc2xe-1xc2xdxe2x80x3 in diameter. Brixxc2x0 measurements are greater than 9.0. Usually, the plants of the invention result from crossing a first inbred pepper plant having low-seeded, Jalapexc3x1o-shaped red fruit by a second inbred pepper plant having low-seeded Jalapexc3x1o-shaped orange fruit.
In this invention, a sweet, red, low-seeded pepper hybrid is produced. An exemplary line is DNAP 98004 (Pepper seed (Capsicum annum) 98004 deposited under the terms of the Budapest Treaty on Jul. 28, 2000 as ATCC Accession No. PTA-2275 with the American Type Culture Collection in Manassas, Va.). The parental lines are DNAP 89300 (PVP 8800202, Vegi-Sweet), as the female parent and DNAP 94166 as the male parent. The invention also provides pepper fruit and seed produced by such hybrids. In addition, the invention provides pepper seed that can be grown to yield a hybrid plant of the invention.
The invention further provides methods of making a hybrid pepper that is sweet, red, and low-seeded and resembles a Jalapexc3x1o pepper in size and shape. The methods comprise crossing a first red-fruited pepper plant that is sweet, low-seeded and resembles a Jalapexc3x1o pepper in size and shape with a second orange, fruited pepper plant that is sweet, low-seeded and resembles a Jalapexc3x1o pepper in size and shape. F1 plants that are red-fruited, sweet, low-seeded and resemble a Jalapexc3x1o pepper in fruit size and shape are then selected.
Both parental lines are produced by crossing and pedigree selection to identify progeny having the desired traits. In particular, both parents should produce fruit that are sweet, low-seeded, and resemble a Jalapexc3x1o pepper in size and shape. Preferred lines for this purpose are DNAP 89300 and DNAP 94166.
Definitions
As used herein a first plant xe2x80x9cgrown fromxe2x80x9d seed of a second plant includes one that arises directly or indirectly from the seed of the second plant. Thus, the first plant may be an F1 or more removed generation produced by standard breeding techniques using the second plant as parent, so long as the first plant has all the characteristics of the second plant. A first plant has xe2x80x9call the characteristics ofxe2x80x9d a second plant if it share all the relevant morphological and physiological characteristics of the second plant. For example, in the case of the pepper plants of the invention, the main distinguishing characteristics of the plant are fruit color, sugar content, seed number, and shape, as described here.
The term xe2x80x9cBrixxc2x0xe2x80x9d is used as a measure of sugar content of the fruit of the invention. Brix xc2x0 is a standard refractometric measure of sugars. One Brixxc2x0 unit is approximately 1% sugar by weight. As used here a xe2x80x9csweetxe2x80x9d pepper fruit is one having a Brixxc2x0 reading of at least about 8.0, preferably at least about 9.0.
A pepper fruit that is xe2x80x9cJalapexc3x1o pepper in size and shapexe2x80x9d is one that has as a generally long, cylindrical shape. Typically, the fruit are between about 1 and about 3 inches in length, usually between about 1.25 inches and about 2.75 inches in length. The fruit are usually between about 0.5 inches and about 2 inches in diameter, usually between about 0.75 inches and about 1.5 inches in diameter.
A xe2x80x9clow seededxe2x80x9d fruit is one that comprises less than about 30 seed, usually less than about 25 seed.


A device for delivering an implant (e.g., an embolic micro-coil) to a vascular disorder of a patient includes a delivery pusher, a moveable element, and first and second elongate members. The delivery pusher defines a lumen between its proximal and distal ends. The moveable element (e.g., a floating tube or a floating coil) defines a passageway therethrough and is disposed within the lumen of the delivery pusher. The first and second elongate members (e.g., core wires) are also disposed within the lumen of the delivery pusher. A portion of each elongate member passes through the passageway of the moveable element. Movement of the first elongate member in a first direction (e.g., retraction of the first elongate member from a locked to an unlocked configuration) causes a time-delayed or lost motion movement of the second elongate member in the same (i.e., first) direction, which releases the implant from the delivery pusher.

A cerebral aneurysm (i.e., an acute subarachnoid hemorrhage) is a cerebrovascular swelling on the wall of an artery that develops because of a congenitally weak cerebral artery or due to arteriosclerosis, a bacterial infection, a head wound, brain syphilis, etc. The cerebral aneurysm may develop suddenly without initial symptoms and can cause extreme pain. In general, in 15% of cerebral aneurysm cases, the patient dies suddenly upon development of the cerebral aneurysm. In another 15% of cerebral aneurysm cases, the patient dies under medical treatment and, in 30% of cerebral aneurysm cases, the patient survives after treatment but feels an acute aftereffect. As such, a cerebral aneurysm is a very concerning development.
A cerebral aneurysm may be treated through either an invasive therapy or a non-invasive therapy. Of these, the non-invasive therapy typically fills the cerebral aneurysm with a micro-coil. Generally, filling the cerebral aneurysm with the micro-coil causes blood to clot, prevents an additional inflow of blood, and decreases the risk of a ruptured aneurysm (i.e., an embolization). Advantageously, the non-invasive therapy can ease the aftereffects of brain surgery and can shorten hospitalization time.
The system used in non-invasive therapy typically includes a micro-coil and a delivery pusher for carrying the micro-coil to the patient's cerebral aneurysm. When the micro-coil is properly placed in or near the cerebral aneurysm, an operator (e.g., a physician) separates the micro-coil from the delivery pusher. To initiate detachment of the coil, current micro-coil systems generally require a power supply (for thermal or electrolytic detachment) or a mechanical detachment handle that is attached to the proximal end of the delivery pusher after the coil is positioned in the aneurysm.
Certain mechanical detachment systems employ the use of a wire to retract an element that holds some component of the coil. Certain other mechanical detachment systems use interlocking arms that disengage when advanced beyond a micro-catheter tip, or a ball-screw mechanism that unscrews the coil from a tip of the delivery pusher when the pusher is rotated, or a hydraulic system that ejects the coil from the delivery pusher tip when pressurized with saline.
However, existing schemes for detaching a micro-coil from a delivery pusher often present an unnecessary risk that the micro-coil will be inadvertently released at an incorrect time (e.g., prior to delivery of the micro-coil to the vascular disorder). This can negatively impact the treatment of the patient.
Accordingly, a need exists for improved devices and methods for delivering an implant, such as an embolic micro-coil, to a vascular disorder of a patient, such as a cerebral aneurysm.

Devices and methods for delivering an implant to a vascular disorder


Methods, kits and compositions are described that include a non-naturally occurring kallikrein inhibitor and an anti-thrombolytic agent, e.g., an anti-fibrinolytic agent, for preventing or reducing blood loss and/or ischemia, e.g., ischemia associated with perioperative blood loss and cerebral ischemia, the onset of systemic inflammatory response, and/or reperfusion injury, e.g., reperfusion injury associated with cerebral ischemia or a focal brain ischemia, e.g., in patients subjected to invasive surgical procedures, especially procedures requiring cardiopulmonary bypass.

Owing to the many advances in medicine a number of highly invasive surgical procedures are carried out each day that result in blood loss, or place patients at a high risk for blood loss. Such patients must be carefully monitored to restore and maintain normal blood supply and hemostasis, and they may need blood transfusions. Surgical procedures that involve blood loss include those involving extra-corporeal circulation methods such as cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). In such methods, a patient's heart is stopped and the circulation, oxygenation, and maintenance of blood volume are carried out artificially using an extra-corporeal circuit and a synthetic membrane oxygenator. These techniques are commonly used during cardiac surgery. Additionally, it is apparent that surgery involving extensive trauma to bone, such as the sternal split necessary in coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) or hip replacement procedures, is also associated with activation of the contact activation system (CAS), which can result in a variety of disruptions in the blood and vasculature.
Atherosclerotic coronary artery disease (CAD) causes a narrowing of the lumen of one or several of the coronary arteries; this limits the flow of blood to the myocardium (i.e., the heart muscle) and can cause angina, heart failure, and myocardial infarcts. In the end stage of coronary artery atherosclerosis, the coronary circulation can be almost completely occluded, causing life threatening angina or heart failure, with a very high mortality. CABG procedures may be required to bridge the occluded blood vessel and restore blood to the heart; these are potentially life saving. CABG procedures are among the most invasive of surgeries in which one or more healthy veins or arteries are implanted to provide a "bypass" around the occluded area of the diseased vessel.
The number of CABG procedures performed in the United States in 1998 was approximately 500,000. CABG procedures carry with them a small but important perioperative risk, but they are very successful in providing patients with immediate relief from the mortality and morbidity of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Despite these very encouraging results, repeat CABG procedures are not uncommon, as indicated by a clear increase in the number of patients who eventually undergo second and even third procedures; the perioperative mortality and morbidity seen in primary CABG procedures is increased in these re-do procedures.
There have been improvements in minimally invasive surgical techniques for uncomplicated CAD. However, nearly all CABG procedures performed for valvular and/or congenital heart disease, heart transplantation, and major aortic procedures, are still carried out on patients supported by CPB. In CPB, large cannulae are inserted into the great vessels of a patient to permit mechanical pumping and oxygenation of the blood using a membrane oxygenator. The blood is returned to the patient without flowing through the lungs, which are hypoperfused during this procedure. The heart is stopped using a cardioplegic solution, the patient cooled to help prevent brain damage, and the peripheral circulating volume increased by an extracorporeal circuit, i.e., the CPB circuit, which requires "priming" with donor blood and saline mixtures are used to fill the extracorporeal circuit. CPB has been extensively used in a variety of procedures performed for nearly half a century with successful outcomes. The interaction between artificial surfaces, blood cells, blood proteins, damaged vascular endothelium, and extravascular tissues, such as bone, disturbs hemostasis and frequently activates the CAS, which, as noted above, can result in a variety of disruptions in the blood and vasculature. Such disruption leads to excess perioperative bleeding, which then requires immediate blood transfusion. A consequence of circulating whole blood through an extracorporeal circuit in CPB may also include the systemic inflammatory response (SIR), which is initiated by contact activation of the coagulation and complement systems. Indeed, much of the morbidity and mortality associated with seemingly mechanically successful CPB surgical procedures is the result of the effects of activating coagulation, fibrinolysis, or complement systems. Such activation may damage the pulmonary system, leading to adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), impairment of kidney and splanchnic circulation, and induction of a general coagulopathy leading to blood loss and the need for transfusions. In addition to the dangers of perioperative blood loss, additional pathologies associated with SIR include neurocognitive deficits, stroke, renal failure, acute myocardial infarct, and cardiac tissue damage.
Blood transfusions also present a significant risk of infection and elevate the cost of CABG or other similar procedures that require CPB. In the absence of any pharmacological intervention, three to seven units of blood must typically be expended on a patient, even with excellent surgical techniques. Accordingly, there is considerable incentive for the development of new and improved treatments to reduce or prevent perioperative bleeding and SIR in patients subjected to CPB and CABG procedures.

Kallikrein inhibitors and anti-thrombolytic agents and uses thereof


A method of preparing a cured thermoplastic material includes curing a thermoplastic polymer having a thermal decomposition temperature greater than or equal to about 200° C., at a temperature of about 200° C. to about 400° C., for a total time of less than or equal to 200 hours. A method of making a shape memory material also includes curing a thermoplastic polymer to prepare a cured thermoplastic material.

Shape memory polymers (SMPs) are polymers which regain their original shape when heated above their glass transition temperature (Tg). Articles are formed from shape memory polymer by first heating above the glass transition temperature and then shaping the polymer, then subsequently fixing the shape by cooling to below the glass transition temperature. During deployment, the shaped article is heated above the glass transition temperature to allow recovery of the first molded shape.
Shape memory polymers are useful as materials of construction of elements for variety of downhole applications, particularly those which require the sealing off of a portion of a borehole, or constricting the spacing around an element, whether coaxial with the borehole or otherwise. While a number of different shape memory polymers are commercially available, SMPs having still greater thermal and chemical stability, as well as low cost, are desirable.

Method of curing thermoplastic polymer for shape memory material


A switchboard apparatus and method for a telecommunications system, for switching incoming calls through to subscribers, with an input device for entering connection data of a required subscriber, a condition device for determining the telephone condition of the required subscriber, and a switching device, which automatically forwards the incoming call to the required subscriber.

The present invention relates to a switchboard apparatus for a telecommunications system, for switching incoming calls through to subscribers of a telecommunications network, and a method for switching incoming calls through to subscribers of a telecommunications network.
An external caller has the facility to be switched through to his/her required call party, referred to below as the required subscriber, via a switchboard apparatus of a telecommunications system, such as in a private telecommunications network of a company, via a switchboard operator.
In state-of-the-art systems, the switchboard operator has, on the one hand, the facility to place the caller in a queue loop. The switchboard operator then calls the required subscriber in order to establish whether, for example, the required subscriber's line is free or busy, or whether the required subscriber has diverted his/her line to an answering machine. Only when this inquiry has been made is the caller switched through to the required subscriber, if the required subscriber's line is free.
The disadvantage of this method, however, is that the caller loses valuable time, since the caller, for example, must bear the cost of the time spent in the queue loop. Furthermore, the switchboard operator on the switchboard apparatus also loses time, since he/she is unable to switch further calls during this time. Furthermore, substantial input is required from the switchboard operator to ensure that the call is switched correctly in the event of "Busy" or "Call diversion" call conditions.
On the other hand, the switchboard operator on the switchboard apparatus has the facility to perform "Instant switching". In this case, the incoming call is forwarded without an inquiry to the required subscriber's line. This type of switching is faster than switching with an inquiry, but has the disadvantage that the caller, following what may be costly waiting time, is reconnected to the switchboard apparatus because the required subscriber's line is busy, or the caller does not wish to leave a message on an answering machine of the required subscriber.
An object of the present invention is, therefore, to provide a switchboard apparatus for a telecommunications system and a method applied in this switchboard apparatus, via which more effective switching of an incoming call through to a required subscriber is achieved, so that the incoming call is switched through to the required subscriber in the shortest possible time.

Apparatus and method for switching incoming calls through to subscribers of a telecommunications network


A sensor system for a reinforced elastomer panel (100) has an optical source (104) emitting an optical signal. An optical strain sensor (102) is embedded in an elastomer sheet (40) of the reinforced elastomer panel (100) and receives the optical signal. A strain processing system (108) is optical coupled to the optically strain sensor (102).

Elastomeric surfaces have the potential to significantly reduce the aerodynamic drag due to gaps in control surfaces. In addition, elastomeric surfaces allow new control surfaces to be formed on modern aircraft. Unfortunately, present day sensing systems, such as pitot tubes, require gaps in the aircraft's surface and create drag. Present sen systems are not adapted to determine the position of these advanced control surfaces and do not take advantage of the opportunities for new aircraft sensing systems afforded by elastomeric surfaces.
Thus there exists a need for a sensing system that is designed for these new elastomeric control surfaces and does not create additional aerodyamic drag.

Reinforced elastomer panel with embedded strain and pressure sensors


A brushless motor to be used for driving a vane pump, which is employed in a module for inspecting vapor leakage of fuel, is disclosed. The brushless motor includes a mounting plate having a through hole, and an annular space is formed between an inner wall of the through hole and an outer wall of a projection of a motor housing. This annular space allows preventing a welding current from flowing into the projection.

FIG. 6 shows a sectional view of a conventional vane pump, which is used in an inspection module for inspecting vapor leakage of fuel from a fuel tank. The vane pump thus employs a brushless motor having no commutating brush.
In FIG. 6, brushless motor 631 includes mounting plate 637 made of metal. Casing 622 of the vane pump is rigidly mounted to plate 637 with bolt 651. Motor housing 632 made of metal plate accommodates rotor 634 and stator 635 of brushless motor 631. Motor shaft 634a is connected to rotor shaft 623a of the vane pump. Motor housing 632 includes cylindrical projection 632a at the center of its top face. Bearing 633 is fixed to an inner wall of projection 632a.
Mounting plate 637 includes through hole 637a extending along an outer wall of projection 632a, and is fixed to the top face of motor housing 632 by fitting the outer wall of projection 632a into through hole 637a. A structure of the foregoing brushless motor is preferably referred to, e.g. patent document 1.
The conventional brushless motor discussed above; however, has a following problem: When mounting plate 637 is fixed to motor housing 632 at the center of the top face of housing 632 by electrical spot welding, the welding current flows into projection 632a through the contact between projection 632a and the inner wall of through hole 637a, so that bearing 633 can be damaged.
Patent Document 1: Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 2005-98285 (page 5-6, and FIG. 1)

Brushless motor having improved mounting plate


A needle shield arrangement for a syringe (10), having a generally cylindrical body with a needle (16) at its forward end, includes a shield portion (20) adapted for shielding the needle (16); a syringe engaging portion (22) for engagement with the syringe body, and a frangible connecting portion (24) connecting the shield portion and the syringe engagement portion.

Field of the Invention
This invention relates to needle shield arrangements and to injection apparatus incorporating such arrangements. It is known to provide a syringe shield to cover the needle of a syringe prior to injection to maintain sterility of the needle, to avoid evaporation of a medicament contained within the syringe, to prevent needle stick injuries and also to protect the needle during manufacture and assembly of injection devices. In a known form of rigid needle shield arrangement, a soft rubber inner boot fits over a ribbed spigot at the forward end of the syringe body and the boot is contained by an outer rigid cylindrical portion. In such arrangements, the needle shield is a slip fit over the spigot and there is no connection between the shield and the syringe body.
Description of the Related Art
In addition, in autoinjector devices where a syringe or cartridge is initially driven forwardly in a penetration phase to insert the needle into the flesh, there is usually some arresting action on the syringe when it is in its forwardmost position. Often, that arresting force is passed to the syringe flanges either directly or via a cylindrical syringe carrier or the like. Because the flanges extend at right angles to the barrel of the syringe, the angle acts as a stress magnifier and there is a risk that the flange breaks off so that the syringe shoots forwardly beyond its required position. Also, we have found that, because of an accumulation of tolerances the tolerance of the distance between the needle tip and the flange surface is relatively large. Since the movement of the syringe, the penetration depth of the needle and other injection characteristics are affected by the accumulated tolerance between the reference surface on the syringe and the needle front tip, it is important to reduce this. The accumulated tolerance would be reduced if the forwarding facing load-bearing surface on the syringe were forwardly of the flange. It is also preferred to pass the restraint load into the cylindrical wall of the syringe in axial alignment with the wall, not only to reduce offset loads but also to allow the diameter of any arresting surface or spring to be relatively high so as not to obstruct the area in front of the syringe which may house an arresting spring, a needle shield remover and so on.
GB2424836 discloses an injection device in which a tamper-evident needle shield is connected to a needle hub by a frangible connection. The needle hub is a separate item fitted onto the tip of the syringe rather than the body thereof. There is no suggestion of reacting any restraint load via the portion of the needle hub that remains after removal of the needle shield.
GB2425062 discloses in FIGS. 6 and 7 an injection device in which a needle cap connected to a needle sub-assembly by a frangible connection. The needle sub-assembly is fitted onto the tip of the syringe. There is no disclosure of any needle shield arrangement in which a shield portion is frangibly connected to a portion that engages the main body of the syringe, nor of an arrangement in which the syringe engaging portion receives all or part of the arresting load as the syringe is arrested at the end of its extension movement.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,053,892, WO03/095002 and GB927626 each disclose a hypodermic syringe head with a tamper-evident seal. Again, this has a hub that fits onto the tip of the syringe.


SF.sub.6 gas is collected from the inside of a gas insulated machine during maintenance and inspection and is refined. Compositions of the refined SF.sub.6 gas are analyzed and confirmed to be reusable at the site. In the process of SF.sub.6 gas collecting and refining, acidic gases are neutralized and removed by a dry method using filters and the refined SF.sub.6 gas is collected in a collecting tank. In particular, after the refining, the composition of the collected SF.sub.6 gas is measured and confirmed by analysis equipment to quantitatively confirm whether or not the refined SF.sub.6 gas is reusable.

The present invention relates to a system for collecting and refining SF.sub.6 gas at maintenance and inspection of an insulated machine using SF.sub.6 gas as an insulating gas and a method therefor and, more particularly, to a system for collecting and refining SF.sub.6 gas and a method therefor suitable for recovering a deteriorated SF.sub.6 gas by collecting and refining.
Gas insulated machines commonly use SF.sub.6 gas which is an inflammable insulating gas. For example, in the past transformers have employed an insulating oil as the insulating material, but an inflammable insulating gas is used instead of the insulating oil because the insulating oil has a probability of occurrence of fire or explosion in a case of trouble. SF.sub.6 gas is widely used as the insulating gas. SF.sub.6 gas has a global warming property (hereinafter referred to as GWP) coefficient as large as approximately 25000 and accordingly has a large effect on global warming. Therefore, from the viewpoint of global warming prevention, it is preferable to prevent SF.sub.6 gas, even a small quantity, from discharging to atmosphere. Further, the density of SF.sub.6 gas is approximately five times as large as that of air, so there is a possibility that an accident can be caused resulting in injury or death by oxygen shortage when SF.sub.6 gas is discharged inside a room because it stagnates in the bottom portion of the room or the lowermost portion of the building.
Furthermore, it is known that SF.sub.6 gas is partly decomposed during use by arc discharge or the like, and part of the decomposed compositions react with moisture to produce acidic gases. Therefore, by-product refining gases are produced. That is, as shown in Table 1, SF.sub.6 gas is partly decomposed by discharges or arcing to produce acidic gases and metal fluorides such as HF, SOF.sub.2, SO.sub.2, H.sub.2 SO.sub.3, SF.sub.4, SF.sub.2, S.sub.2 F.sub.2 and so on.
TABLE 1 ______________________________________ SF.sub.6 .fwdarw. SF.sub.4, SF.sub.2, S.sub.2 F.sub.2, F.sub.2, Metal fluorides. When moisture exists, the following reactions occur. ______________________________________ SF.sub.4 + H.sub.2 O .fwdarw. SOF.sub.2 + 2HF SOF.sub.2 + H.sub.2 O .fwdarw. SO.sub.2 + 2HF SO.sub.0 + H.sub.2 O .fwdarw. H.sub.2 SO.sub.3 SO.sub.2 + F.sub.2 .fwdarw. SO.sub.2 F.sub.2 ______________________________________
In addition to these, there are some reports that CO.sub.2 and so on are produced from an organic component such as a winding portion, and that CF.sub.4 is partially produced. As described above, although SF.sub.6 gas is a useful gas as an insulating gas, SF.sub.6 gas has a large global warming property coefficient and accordingly release of SF.sub.6 gas to atmosphere is harmful to global warming, and SF.sub.6 gas may cause an accident such as oxygen shortage when SF.sub.6 gas is discharged inside a room because the density of SF.sub.6 gas is large, and in addition to these SF.sub.6 gas is harmful because it contains the acidic gases. Therefore, a method of collecting or recovering the deteriorated SF.sub.6 gas is also required in view of societal needs.
For the above reasons, at maintenance and inspection of an insulated machine using SF.sub.6 gas, a method of collecting and bringing back SF.sub.6 gas and refining the SF.sub.6 gas to be reused is proposed. For example, a decomposed gas treating system for a SF.sub.6 gas insulated electric machine that is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.9-856 proposes a method in which acidic gases among by-product gases contained in a deteriorated (used) SF.sub.6 gas is removed by bubbling in an alkaline solution and then the SF.sub.6 gas is filled in a compressed-gas cylinder to be brought back for refining the SF.sub.6 gas.
Further, an article entitled "1512 An SF.sub.6 Gas Collecting Apparatus in a Large Electric Power Test Site" presented at the National Meeting of the Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan (1996) proposes a method in which SF.sub.6 gas is refined to a reusable purity by (1) removing metal fluorides, (2) removing decomposed gases, (3) removing moisture and (4) removing impurities using an air removing block. This method removes acidic gases using an alkaline solution, and proposes a system which has a dew-point meter and an oxygen concentration meter so that quantities of moisture and air content can be monitored. This process can satisfy the SF.sub.6 gas standard of "IEC-376 New Gas Standard" shown in Table 2.
TABLE 2 ______________________________________ Moisture lower than 15 wt ppm Air lower than 500 wt ppm Hydrolytic fluoride (HF) lower than 1.0 wt ppm ______________________________________
Although the need for methods in which deteriorated SF.sub.6 gas is collected at inspection and maintenance and refined to be reused is increasing as described above, the technologies disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.9-856 and described in the article entitled "1512 An SF.sub.6 Gas Collecting Apparatus in a Large Electric Power Test Site" presented at the National Meeting of the Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan (1996) are still technically insufficient to cope with the need. This is because the purity of the refined SF.sub.6 gas is still not sufficiently confirmed and guaranteed, and the system for collecting and refining SF.sub.6 gas is very large in size.
Initially, the confirmation and guarantee of gas purity will be described. SF.sub.6 gas is an important factor to in ensuring the insulation performance of a gas insulated transformer or a gas insulated switch-gear. Therefore, in order to refine and reuse the SF.sub.6 gas, it is required to confirm that the performance of the recovered SF.sub.6 gas is equivalent to that of new SF.sub.6 gas. If the recovered SF.sub.6 gas contains impurities and the insulating performance is degraded, the apparatus will be broken and damaged by occurrence of a short circuit inside the apparatus. Therefore, the collection and refinement requires confirmation by measuring the property of the recovered SF.sub.6 gas. Table 3 shows an analysis result of an SF.sub.6 gas used in a gas insulated switch-gear after repeating open and close switching. In order to confirm that the performance of the recovered SF.sub.6 gas is equivalent to that of new SF.sub.6 gas, it is necessary to measure the items and to confirm the concentrations. In order to do so, it is necessary to measure the items using measurement apparatuses matching the respective gases.
TABLE 3 ______________________________________ Example of a result of analyzing components of a deteriorated SF.sub.6 gas Concentration No. Item Contents (ppm) ______________________________________ 1 Solids Fluorides, Sulfides and others 2 Acidic gases SF.sub.4, SF.sub.2, S.sub.2 F.sub.2, SOF.sub.2, 5000 SO.sub.2 F.sub.2, HF and the like 3 Carbon dioxide CO.sub.2 1500 4 PFC CF.sub.4, C.sub.2 F.sub.6, C.sub.2 F.sub.4 and 1000 like 5 Air O.sub.2, N.sub.2 600 6 Moisture H.sub.2 O 20 ______________________________________
Further, since the gas insulated machine can be made small in size compared to that of the conventional method, the gas insulated machine in a substation in a town is usually installed in a basement from the viewpoint of effective use of the site area. In this case, since the gas insulating method has less fire potential compared to the conventional oil insulating method in addition to the advantage of small size, gas insulated machines are widely employed.
On the other hand, there are many substations of the ground installed type in the suburbs. In such cases, when the gas insulated machine capable of having a reduced installation area, it is advantageous.
Since the gas insulated machines are distributedly installed in many sites as described above, it is required that the system for collecting and refining the SF.sub.6 gas to reuse it is small and portable. If the system for collecting and refining is not small and portable, it is required to fill the collected gas into a compressed gas-cylinder and to transfer it to a place where a refining apparatus is installed and then after refining to transfer it to the site again. Therefore, the time period of the inspection process is lengthened and substantial work is required for carrying in and out the compressed-gas cylinder. In a case where new SF.sub.6 gas is filled after a deteriorated SF.sub.6 gas is collected, the delay in time period of the inspection process can be avoided, but the work for carrying in and out of the compressed-gas cylinder of the collected gas and the compressed-gas cylinder of new SF.sub.6 gas is still required. In addition to this, the treatment of the collected deteriorated SF.sub.6 gas is required. In the case of a basement substation, the amount of work required for the carrying in and out of the collecting and refining system and of the compressed-gas cylinders becomes large and the size of the transportation port also becomes a limitation. Therefore, a small sized collecting and refining system is required.
Both of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.9-856 and the article entitled "1512 An SF.sub.6 Gas Collecting Apparatus in a Large Electric Power Test Site" presented at the National Meeting of the Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan (1996) propose a wet method of refining deteriorated SF.sub.6 gas where acidic gases are removed by passing the deteriorated SF.sub.6 gas through lime-water solving calcium hydroxide in saturation. However, since the solubility of calcium hydroxide is small (0.16 g/100 g water at 20.degree. C.) and accordingly the amount of the solution becomes large when it is used in an aqueous solution, there are problems in that the size of the apparatus becomes large and that a large amount of waste water is produced and a lot of time and effort are required in the transportation and treatment of the waste water. Particularly, since the waste water has a potential of leakage, the waste water needs to be carefully handled and managed, and there are various kinds of problems in handling the waste water in a limited place such as a basement.
Since the conventional SF.sub.6 gas collecting system has only a gas collecting function but not a gas refining function, the conventional SF.sub.6 gas collecting system is designed based on the viewpoint of how fast SF.sub.6 gas is collected from a gas insulated machine in order to improve work efficiency. When SF.sub.6 gas is filled in a gas insulated machine, for example, at a pressure of 5 kg/cm.sup.2, the SF.sub.6 gas is firstly collected into a collecting tank until the pressure of the collecting tank and the pressure of the gas insulated machine reaches equilibrium by opening a communicating pipe line, and then the remaining SF.sub.6 gas is collected into the collecting tank using a compressor or a vacuum pump.
In a case of employing this method, the pressure at the machine side is decreased from 5 kg/cm.sup.2 to approximately 3 kg/cm.sup.2 within 1 to 2 minutes after opening the communicating pipe line. Then, the remaining SF.sub.6 gas is collected using the compressor. However, approximately 1/3 of the gas has been collected by the opening of the communicating pipe line. Since the efficiency of the compressor decreases as the pressure in the machine side is decreased, the amount of collected gas per unit time is decreased as the compressor is operated and the amount of collected gas per unit time reaches the minimum at the end of the collecting work.
In a case where the processing rate of gas per unit time in the refining process is varied regardless of whether the process is of a wet method or a dry method, the refining process system needs to be designed so as to meet the maximum processing gas flow rate. In a case where the concentration of acidic gases in the SF.sub.6 gas is reduced down to a predetermined value, design of the system of the wet method is performed by determining a used amount of alkaline solution to a unit volume of the treated gas (ratio of solution to gas) to a predetermined value. On the other hand, in a case of the dry method, the design is also performed by determining a ratio of the treated gas volume treated in unit time to a volume of an adsorption removing agent (SV value). Therefore, the system needs to be designed so as to meet the maximum gas flow rate when the processed gas rate varies, which leads to problems in that the system becomes large in size and consequently optimization and small-sizing of the system cannot be attained. Further, when the gas flow rate exceeds the value of design condition, a large amount of the alkaline solution is carried over by the gas in a case of the wet method to cause a trouble in the following process. Furthermore, regardless of the dry method or the wet method, there occurs a problem in that the initial removing performance cannot be attained.

System for collecting and refining SF.sub.6 gas and method therefor

Hitachi Engineering & Services Co., Ltd.


An image rotating adapter includes: a first prism forming a subject image transmitted through an imaging lens on a position; and a second prism further reversing the subject image reversed by the first prism. The adapter also includes: a rotation drive unit rotating the second prism; a control unit controlling the rotation drive unit; a rotation instruction unit instructing the control unit to start or stop rotation; a target position setting unit previously setting one or more target positions to stop the second prism; a preset instruction unit instructing the control unit to perform a preset function for moving the second prism to the target position; a speed control unit adjusting rotation speed of the second prism; and a detection unit detecting a rotation position and a rotation direction of the second prism.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an image rotating adapter, particularly, to an image rotating adapter that is mounted between an imaging lens and a camera to apply a special effect to an image taken by the camera, and to the camera having the image rotating adapter.
2. Related Art
Generally, a method of using a special filter has been known as a technique for applying a special effect to an image taken by a camera. In this method, striation of light is generated in a bright portion of a subject by inserting a special filter such as a cross, a snow cross, or a mirage in an optical path (for example, see Patent Documents 1 (JP-B-2-44185), Patent Document 2 (JP-A-64-35534), Patent Document 3 (JP-A-59-101632) and Patent Document 4 (JP-UM-B-55-1087)). In this case, the filters inserted in the optical path are exchanged by a turret mechanism.
Furthermore, as a technique for applying a special effect by rotating an image taken by a television camera, a technique for rotating an image pickup device provided in a television camera for every color separation prisms has been known (for example, see Patent Document 5 (JP-A-7-203466)).
However, in the method that applies a special effect to an image by using a special filter as disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 4, filters are exchanged by using the turret mechanism, and thus a problem arises that the size of the whole system increases.
Furthermore, in the method that applies a special effect to rotate an image by rotating the image pickup device, a mechanism for rotating the image pickup device should be provided to the camera side, and thus a problem arises that the method can not be applied to a normal camera. In addition, the mechanism for rotating the image pickup device can be provided to the lens side, but in this case, a problem arises that the method can not be applied to a normal camera. When the mechanism for rotating the image pickup device is provided to the camera side, a problem arises that the camera increases in size or becomes complicated in structure. When the image pickup device is rotated, a problem also arises that noise occurs in a signal output from the image pickup device. In addition, even when the image pickup device is rotated, a problem also arises that an operation for setting the device at a target angle is complex.
Furthermore, in the known method that applies a special effect to rotate an image by rotating the image pickup device as described above, when an erecting position is stored by a compulsory erecting function or a preset function, in the past, a photographer sets the erecting position by himself while observing an image. However, in this case, when a camera is tilted by any reason that a tripod stand tilts, a steady cam is used, or the like, a problem arises that the position of the camera is deviated from the erecting position.
In addition, when a position other than the erecting position is stored by the preset function, the position is set by reference to an erected image. Thus, when the camera tilts, the problem arises that the preset position is also deviated depending on the tilt.
Furthermore, in the method that applies a special effect to rotate an image by rotating the image pickup device, sometimes a subject may be observed by operating a camera in a state where the image is not erected or during rotation. For example, a subject image rotated by 180 degrees may be displayed on a viewfinder of a camera. In this case, although the situation as shown in FIG. 17A is photographed in practice, the image shown in FIG. 17B is actually displayed on the viewfinder. At this time, when an operator wants to operate the camera while observing an image of the viewfinder, practically the operator photographs the situation as shown in FIG. 17A. Thus, when the operator wants to move the subject to the center of a screen or to zoom the subject, the camera should be moved in a right direction but, the image as shown in FIG. 17B is displayed on the viewfinder. Thus, there is a possibility that the operator may erroneously move the camera in a left direction.
As described above, when the image rotated differently from the real situation of the photographed subject is being displayed on the viewfinder of the camera, a problem arises that the operator may erroneously operate the camera.
The present invention has been made in consideration of these situations, and its object is to provide an image rotating adapter capable of applying a special effect to a photographed image by using a normal camera and a normal imaging lens.
Furthermore, in a camera having an effect that rotates an image by rotating a prism, even when the camera tilts, its object is to provide an image rotating adapter capable of stopping a subject image at a precise position.
In addition, its object is to provide a camera having an image rotating adapter capable of preventing an erroneous operation by an operator when the operator operates the camera while observing a viewfinder.

Image rotating adapter and camera having the same