The present invention relates to a field coil assembly of an electromagnetic clutch for a compressor, in which a coil wire of an electromagnetic coil body exposed to a protrusion of a bobbin is electrically connected with a compressing portion of a coil wire formed at one side end portion of terminals mounted inside a sleeve, and the terminals and the electromagnetic coil body are molded with the resin, thereby preventing permeation of foreign matters from the outside, preventing disconnection of the coil wires due to vibration, and simplifying a manufacturing process.

This application claims priority from Korean Patent Application No. 2004-80593 filed Oct. 8, 2004 incorporated herewith by reference in its entirety.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a field coil assembly of an electromagnetic clutch for a compressor, and more particularly, to a field coil assembly of an electromagnetic clutch for a compressor, in which a coil wire of an electromagnetic coil body exposed to a protrusion of a bobbin is electrically connected with a compressing portion of a coil wire formed at one side end portion of terminals mounted inside a sleeve, and the terminals and the electromagnetic coil body are molded with the resin, thereby preventing permeation of foreign matters from the outside, preventing disconnection of the coil wires due to vibration, and simplifying a manufacturing process.
2. Background Art
In general, a field coil assembly of an electromagnetic clutch for a compressor is an electric device for transferring driving force of a pulley rotated by an engine to a hub disc of a compressor driving shaft by forming a magnetic field by electromagnetic induction of a wound coil when electric power is supplied and sucking the hub disc of the compressor driving shaft toward a friction surface of the pulley by magnetic force for accomplishing a dynamic connection. In addition, the field coil assembly of an electromagnetic clutch for a compressor serves to control operation of a cooling system of an air conditioning apparatus by regulating driving force of the compressor according to whether or not electric power is supplied to the coil.
FIG. 1 is a partially sectional view showing an example of a conventional electromagnetic clutch for a compressor.
As shown in the drawing, the electromagnetic clutch includes: a pulley 1 dynamically connected to a crank shaft of an engine by a driving belt (not shown) and having a friction surface 1a on a side surface thereof; a field coil assembly 2 embedded in the pulley 1, supported by a housing 4 of the compressor, and generating a suction magnetic flux when electric power is supplied; and a disc and hub assembly 3 connected to a driving shaft 4a of the compressor by a hub 3a and sucking a disc 3b to the friction surface 1a of the pulley 1 by the suction magnetic flux generated by the field coil assembly 2 in order to transfer driving power of the engine to the driving shaft 4a of the compressor.
In the conventional electromagnetic clutch, when the electric power is supplied to the field coil assembly 2, the disc 3b is moved toward the pulley 1 rotated by the belt connected to the crank shaft by the suction magnetic flux due to magnetic induction of the electromagnetic coil and a friction surface of the disc 3b is sucked to the friction surface 1a of the pulley 1 so as to connect the pulley 1 and the disc 3b, whereby the driving force of the engine transferred to the pulley 1 through the belt is transferred to the driving shaft 4a of the compressor through the disc 3b and the hub 3a.
When the power supply to the electromagnetic coil is shut off, the disc 3b is separated from the friction surface 1a of the pulley 1 by an elastically repulsive force of an elastic member 3c, whereby it is prevented that the driving force of the engine is transferred to the driving shaft 4a of the compressor.
As described above, the electromagnetic clutch of the compressor transfers or shuts off the driving force of the engine to or from the compressor according to whether or not the electric power is supplied.
The field coil assembly for forming the magnetic field on the electromagnetic coil is classified into a hard shell type and an epoxy type.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing an example of a conventional field coil assembly of an electromagnetic clutch of a compressor. Referring to FIG. 2, the field coil assembly of the hard shell type will be described.
As shown in the drawing, the field coil assembly 2 includes: an electromagnetic coil body 2a formed by an electromagnetic coil wound in a ring type; a bobbin 2b accommodating the electromagnetic coil body 2a therein and having a protrusion 2b-1 for exposing a pair of coil wires 2a-1, which is drawn out from the electromagnetic coil body 2a, to the outside; a core ring 2c accommodating the bobbin 2b embedding the electromagnetic coil body 2a therein, inserted and mounted into the pulley 1 and fixed on the compressor; and a cover 2d for hermetically sealing an opened surface of the core ring 2c in order to prevent that the electromagnetic coil body 2a and the bobbin 2h are separated from the core ring 2c.
Furthermore, the bobbin 2b has a terminal insertion slit formed on the protrusion 2b-1, and a mag-mate terminal 5 is inserted into the terminal insertion slit, whereby the protrusion 2b-1 is electrically connected with the coil wire 2a-1.
Moreover, a sleeve 6 mounted on an end portion of a lead wire (not shown) for supplying the external electric power is connected to the protrusion 2b-1.
The sleeve 6 has a diode 7 and a resistor 8 therein, wherein the diode 7 prevents generation of surge voltage and back electromotive force which are generated when electric power applied to the electromagnetic coil body 2a is shut off, and the resistor 8 prevents generation of off noise which is generated due to a closed circuit formed by the diode 7.
However, the field coil assembly 2 of the hard shell type has a disadvantage in that the electromagnetic coil body 2 is corroded due to permeation of moisture through a fine gap formed by the cover 2d and the core ring 2c.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing another example of the conventional field coil assembly of the electromagnetic clutch of the compressor. Referring to the drawing, the field coil assembly of the epoxy type will be described. In FIG. 3, the same parts as the example of FIG. 2 have the same reference numerals as FIG. 2.
As shown in the drawing, the field coil assembly 2 includes: an electromagnetic coil body 2a formed by an electromagnetic coil wound in a ring type and having a coil wire 2a-1 drawn out from both end portions thereof; a core ring 2c of a doubly cylindrical form having a receiving hole for receiving the electromagnetic coil; and an epoxy resin 2e filling the inside of the receiving hole of the core ring 2c in which the electromagnetic coil is accommodated.
The field coil assembly 2 is filled with an epoxy resin 2e in a state where the electromagnetic coil body 2a is coupled with the receiving hole of the core ring 2c, and the epoxy resin 2e is hardened when a predetermined time period is passed.
Furthermore, the diode 7 and the resistor 8 are connected to a lead wire 2a-2 connected to an end portion of the coil wire 2a-1 drawn out from the electromagnetic coil body 2a in parallel. At this time, lead lines extended to sides of the diode 7 and the resistor 8 are welded mutually and connected in series, and lead lines extended to the other sides of the diode 7 and the resistor 8 are spliced to the lead wire 2a-2.
Moreover, first, the spliced portion is covered with a first covering material (a) for protection and insulation from the outside, and next, the diode 7 and the resistor 8 are covered with a second covering material (b), and finally, the second covering material (b) is covered with a third covering material (c).
However, the field coil assembly of the epoxy type has several disadvantages in that it takes much time to install the diode 7 and the resistor 8, in that a manufacturing process is too complicated, and in that assembly efficiency is lowered.
Meanwhile, as a prior art, Japanese Patent Publication No. 1995-127663 discloses a method for connecting a spool and terminals in a connector integrated stator of an electromagnetic clutch. In Japanese Patent Publication No. 1995-127663, the method for coupling the spool and the terminals include a method for integrally injection-molding the connector.
The method for integrally injection-molding the connector includes steps of connecting terminals to a coil wire, and molding resin to integrally mold a connector body. However, the prior art also has several disadvantages in that an error rate rises since the connector of a complex shape is integrally injection-molded, and in that the coil wire and the terminals may be transformed by a high injection pressure since even the connector body is integrally injection-molded.
Additionally, the prior art has other disadvantages in that an assembly process and an injection process of the coil wire and the terminals are very complicated, and in that productivity is lowered since it is difficult to install a surge prevention element.

Field coil assembly for an electromagnetic clutch for a compressor


A weight scale with hybrid graduation includes an elastic element, a carrier mounted to the lower end of the elastic element, an indicator block mounted between the elastic element and the carrier, and a graduated housing for receiving the elastic element and the indicator block. The indicator block includes at least one auxiliary graduation. The graduated housing includes at least one primary graduation having a unit different from that of the auxiliary graduation. A weight of an object attached to the carrier is measured through vertical relative movement between the primary graduation and the auxiliary graduation to provide more accurate measuring result.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a weight scale with hybrid graduation. More particularly, the present invention relates to a weight scale having two or more graduations.
2. Description of Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 6,246,017 discloses a portable scale comprising a housing with a slot and a graduation, a cap threadedly secured to a lower portion of the housing, a stem engaged through the cap and including a lower portion having a hook provided thereon for engaging with an object to be weighed, a head engaged on an upper portion of the stem that is slidably received in the housing, and a spring for biasing the head and the upper portion of the stem away from the cap.
An indicator is secured to the head that moves in concert with the stem for aligning with the graduation for indicating the weight of the object. A follower is slidably engaged in the slot of the housing and moved by the indicator when an object is placed on the hook for weighing purposes. The follower may stay at the position and will not be moved relative to the housing without any external force, such that the user may easily read the weight of the object even when the object has been removed from the portable scale.
When the indicator points at a position between two marks for the one unit of the portable scale, the user has to estimate the weight of the object with his or her eyes, leading to limitation in precision. Further, the portable scale has many elements and is thus too complicated, leading to an increase in the manufacturing cost and to inconvenient assembling procedures.


A system and method are disclosed for storing element information. A method incorporating teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, creating a structured text object that includes information representing a collection of metrics for a tracked network node. The network node may be, for example, a computing device, a communication link, and/or an interface mechanism. In practice, the text object may be compressed into a binary element, and the binary element may be stored in a data store.

A network may be characterized by several factors like who can use the network, the type of traffic the network carries, the medium carrying the traffic, the typical nature of the network's connections, and the transmission technology the network uses. For example, one network may be public and carry circuit switched voice traffic while another may be private and carry packet switched data traffic. Whatever the make-up, most networks facilitate the communication of information between at least two nodes, and as such act as communication networks.
At a physical level, a communication network may include a series of nodes interconnected by communication paths. These nodes and communication paths may represent elements of the network. Other elements may include applications, objects, other networks, software, firmware, and/or hardware, associated with the network. As such, a given network may include several elements, and proper management of the network may involve the daunting task of tracking and maintaining several pieces of information for each of these elements.
As the number of to-be-tracked elements and element characteristics increases and the frequency of tracking these characteristics increases, proper network management can become exceedingly difficult, overly resource intensive, and very expensive. Conventional management solutions tend to rely heavily on the availability of trained people and the scalability of deployed storage and computing resources. Unfortunately, these things may not always be available. Moreover, the cost and complexity of simply growing the network management system may become too high.

System and method for storing element information


This invention relates to shear stable multigrade oils for crankcase lubrication of gasoline and diesel engines which oils are substantially free of viscosity modifier additives and comprise a detergent inhibitor package of lubricating oil additives, which package includes an ashless dispersant comprising an oil soluble polymeric hydrocarbon backbone having functional groups in which the hydrocarbon backbone is derived from an ethylene alpha-olefin (EAO) copolymer or alpha-olefin homo- or copolymer an M.sub.n of from 500 to 7000. Such multigrade crankcase oils without viscosity modifiers are more economical and may provide better diesel performance and seal comparability. The oils are also substantially shear stable and may be used in turbocharged engines and racing engines, with reduced mechanical breakdown of the oil.

Lubricating oils used in gasoline and diesel crankcases comprise a natural and/or synthetic basestock containing one or more additives to impart desired characteristics to the lubricant. Such additives typically include ashless dispersant, metal detergent, antioxidant and antiwear components, which may be combined in a package, sometimes referred to as a detergent inhibitor (or Dl) package. The additives in such a package may include functionalised polymers but these have relatively short chains, typically having a number average molecular weight M.sub.n of not not more than 7000.
Multigrade oils usually also contain one or more viscosity modifiers (VM) which are longer chain polymers, which may be functionalised to provide other properties when they are known as multifunctional VMs (or MFVMs), but primarily act to improve the viscosity characteristics of the oil over the operating range. Thus the VM acts to increase viscosity at high temperature to provide more protection to the engine at high speeds, without unduly increasing viscosity at low temperatures which would otherwise make starting a cold engine difficult. High temperature performance is usually measured in terms of the kinematic viscosity (kV) at 100.degree. C. (ASTM D445), while low temperature performance is measured in terms of cold cranking simulator (CCS) viscosity (ASTM D5293, which is a revision of ASTM D2602).
Viscosity grades are defined by the SAE Classification system according to these two temperature measurements. SAE J300 defines the following grades:
______________________________________ Maximum CCS kV 100.degree. C. kV 100.degree. C. SAE viscosity Viscosity mm.sup.2 /s mm.sup.2 /s grade 10.sup.-3 Pa.s @ (.degree.C.) minimum maximum ______________________________________ 5 W 3500 (-25) 3.8 -- 10 W 3500 (-20) 4.1 -- 15 W 3500 (-15) 5.6 -- 20 W 4500 (-10) 5.6 -- 25 W 6000 (-5) 9.3 -- 20 -- 5.6 <9.3 30 -- 9.3 <12.5 40 -- 12.5 <16.3 50 -- 16.3 <21.9 ______________________________________
Multigrade oils meet the requirements of both low temperature and high temperature perfomance, and are thus identified by reference to both relevant grades. For example, a 5W30 multigrade oil has viscosity characteristics that satisfy both the 5W and the 30 viscosity grade requirements--i.e. a maximum CCS viscosity of 3500.10.sup.-3 Pa.s at -25.degree. C., a minimum kV100.degree. C. of 9.3 mm.sup.2 /s and a maximum kV100.degree. C. of <12.5 mm.sup.2 /s.
Viscosity modifiers comprise polymers having an M.sub.n of at least 20,000. For ease of handling viscosity modifiers are usually employed as oil solutions of such polymers. When used in engines, oils are subjected to high mechanical shear, for example in bearings, pumps and gears, or to chemical attack such as oxidation, and the longer polymer chains of viscosity modifiers are broken which reduces their contribution to viscosity performance.
Shear stability is a measure of the ability of an oil to resist permanent viscosity loss under high shear--the more shear stable an oil, the smaller the viscosity loss when subjected to shear. Polymeric viscosity modifiers which make a significant contribution to kV100.degree. C. are not completely shear stable.
Shear stability of viscosity modifiers or oils containing them may be measured by a number of methods including the Kurt-Orbahn Diesel Fuel Injector test (CEC-L-14-A-88). Oil shear stability is quoted as the % loss of kV100.degree. C. of the oil in the test. VM shear stability is quoted as the shear stability index or SSI of the VM. SSI is the loss of kV100.degree. C. in the test by a 14 mm.sup.2 /s solution of the VM in a 5 mm.sup.2 /s diluent oil, the loss being expressed as a % of the kV100.degree. C. contribution of the unsheared VM polymer. The kV100.degree. C. contribution of the unsheared VM polymer can be determined by comparing the kV100.degree. C. of diluent oil with and without the polymer present. Thus: EQU SSI=(.eta..sub.i -.eta..sub.f)/(.eta..sub.i -.eta..sub.o)100,
where .eta..sub.i is the viscosity of the solution of VM in diluent oil, .eta..sub.o is the viscosity of the diluent oil without VM, and .eta..sub.f is the viscosity of the sheared VM solution.
Specifications for lubricants may be set in terms of a maximum loss of viscosity and/or minimum limit on after shear viscosity. The most severe requirements for oil shear stability at present are for oils that meet the VW500.00 specification and proposed ACEA specification, which require the kV100.degree. C. of the oil to be in grade (according to SAE J300) at the end of the shear test and to suffer a kV100.degree. C. viscosity loss not exceeding 15% in the Kurt-Orbahn Diesel Fuel Injector test. Thus for a multigrade oil meeting the 40 grade requirement of SAE J300 (e.g. a 15W/40 or 10W/40 oil) the oil must have a minimum kV100.degree. C. of 12.5 mm.sup.2 /s at the end of the test and a maximum kV100.degree. C. viscosity loss of 15%.
Economic VMs such as olefin copolymers have poor shear stability (high SSI). VMs with low SSI tend to be expensive. Shorter chain polymers which are used in functionalised form as dispersants are much more shear stable but make only a small contribution to kV100.degree. C. Thus the contribution to kV100.degree. C. made by the polyisobutenyl succinimide dispersants described for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,234,435 is limited. In addition, attempts to increase viscosity contribution of conventional dispersants by increasing the treat rate can lead to problems with seal compatability and low temperature viscosity performance, which if combatted by lighter basestocks results in loss of diesel performance.
Thus conventional multigrade oils are not mechanically shear stable, and the presence of VMs increases cost and complexity of blending. VMs themselves also tend to have a detrimental effect on piston deposits, particularly in diesel engines, and on turbocharger intercooler deposits, particularly in the MTU test.

Multigrade lubricating compositions containing no viscosity modifier


If a terminal (MOB_T) receives an incoming call and this receiving terminal (MOB_T) is not suitable to handle this incoming call, the receiving terminal (MOB_T) detects the service type of the incoming call, and notifies this service type to a destination terminal selecting arrangement (PRES_GATH). The destination terminal selecting arrangement (PRES_GATH) registers the presence and capabilities of all terminals (FAX_T, BB_T, MOB_T) within a certain area, and upon receipt of the service type of the incoming call selects the most suitable terminal (FAX_T) within the area of the receiving terminal (MOB_T) to handle the call. The destination terminal selecting arrangement (PRES_GATH) thereupon notifies the address of this most suitable terminal (FAX_T) to the receiving terminal (MOB_T) so that the receiving terminal (MOB_T) can forward the incoming call to the most suitable terminal (FAX_T).

The present invention relates to a method to route in a telecommunication system an incoming call to a suitable destination terminal a related method to select the suitable destination terminal, a receiving terminal able to perform the method to route the call defined in, a destination terminal selecting arrangement able to perform the method to select the suitable destination terminal, and a telecommunication system including such a receiving terminal and such a destination terminal selecting arrangement.
Such a method to route an incoming call to a suitable destination terminal and related equipment are already known in the art, e.g. from the U.S. Pat. No. 5,657,382 entitled 'Telecommunication system having capability of notifying the occurrence of forwarding of an incoming call to a terminal'. Therein, FIG. 1 shows a conventional telecommunication system that has the capability of transferring or forwarding a call from a receiving terminal to a destination terminal. In the known telecommunication system, a central control unit and terminal registration memory in a switching station co-operate to forward a call. The registration memory registers a terminal together with the address or dial number whereon the terminal can be reached and information indicating whether the call transfer service is activated or not for that terminal. If a call is received by a first terminal whose call transfer service is activated, the switching station automatically transfers the call to a second terminal entitled to receive a call sent to the first mentioned terminal. Thus, in the known system, all calls sent to the first terminal are automatically transferred to the second terminal if the call transfer service is activated for these two terminals. In such a system, the destination terminal, i.e. the first terminal in case the call transfer service is not activated or the second terminal in case the call transfer service is activated, may not be the most suitable terminal to handle the call. The destination terminal even may be unable to handle the call. If for example the first terminal is a fixed telephone terminal, the second terminal is a mobile telephone set, and both terminals have their call forwarding service activated, a fax call received by the fixed terminal will be transferred automatically to the mobile terminal which is unable to handle this call so that the call will be left unanswered.

Method to route an incoming call, telecommunication terminal, and destination terminal selection arrangement


A sleeve having a wear resistant surface is fitted over and secured to the outer surface of a hub for a bladed torque converter wheel. The sleeve may be secured by mechanical interference, bonding, or welding. The sleeve is adapted for use in transmissions for front-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive vehicles and is suitably formed for engagement with various drive connections.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of torque converters for automatic transmissions. More particularly, the instant invention pertains to a sleeve placed over the hub of a bladed torque converter wheel, such as an impeller, stator or turbine wheel.
2. Description of the Related Art
Automatic transmissions of the type employed in motor vehicles, commonly employ a mechanical gear train and a hydrokinetic torque converter located on the input side of the transmission gear train. The torque converter includes several rotating wheels fitted with radially extending vanes or blades, one of which is the driving wheel or impeller, another is the driven wheel or turbine. When assembled, the impeller and turbine define a toroidal cavity or chamber wherein hydraulic oil exiting the engine-driven impeller drives the turbine and the mechanical gear train driveably connected to the turbine.
Various repair and replacement methods are known. One method currently practiced includes removing the hub that is integral with an impeller cover hub by heating a weld between the housing and hub, and welding a new hub to the housing. In another method, the welded joint between the hub and impeller cover is simply cut away and a new hub is welded to the assembly. As a practical matter, the concentricity of the outer surface of the hub must be corrected after a new hub is installed using these methods.
Another method used to recondition a worn torque converter hub is disclosed by Scholz in U.S. Pat. No. 4,212,187. Scholz teaches the use of an tool to expand diametrically a worn impeller hub. The hub is expanded to a diameter greater than its original condition, then ground and finished to the original diameter.
Unfortunately, Scholz's expansion and grinding of the original hub decreases the final material thickness and weakens the hub. Furthermore because the hub still consists of the original material, hub wear due, for example, to preloaded seal contact with the rotating hub, will continue and the problem will recur.
It is desirable to provide a torque converter wheel that can readily be reconfigured for use both for front wheel drive and rear wheel drive vehicles or for any other purpose that requires variable structural attachments or drive connections.

Torque converter hub sleeve convertible to various drive connections


This invention features an integrated single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/transmission computed tomography (TCT) system for cardiac imaging including an open arc-shaped frame. A collimator system is shaped to approximately match the thoracic contour of patients having different sizes and weights and shaped to surround and position the collimator closely proximate a heart of a patient of said patients encompassed by at least one predetermined image volume for optimizing collimation of radiation photons emitted from the heart. An arc-shaped detector system is coupled to the collimator subsystem having a shape closely matching the shape of the collimator subsystem for detecting collimated radiation photons from the collimator subsystem and generating output electrical signals. A patient positioning subsystem positions a patient to a predetermined central longitudinal axis of the three-dimensional imaging volume and for intermittently and incrementally rotating the patient about the predetermined central longitudinal axis for generating a plurality of TCT images.

SPECT systems are often used to show the distribution of a radioactive substance inside a patient's body. A source of penetrating radiation is administered to the patient, which typically consists of a pharmaceutical tagged with a radionuclide which emits radiation photons (radiopharmaceutical). The radiopharmaceutical is designed to be absorbed in a target organ, such as the heart muscle, or other organs or body part of interest. The emitted radiation photons are collimated with a collimator subsystem and detected by a detector subsystem which generates output electrical signals which are digitized and processed by a computer system to generate images of the regional distribution of the radioactive sources in and around the target organ.
TCT systems are typically used for obtaining images, or more precisely, the distribution (maps) of attenuation coefficient, in the human body. It has been generally accepted in the field of nuclear imaging that quantitative SPECT imaging requires proper attenuation correction, which in turn requires appropriate attenuation maps to facilitate its correction. The general way to derive these attenuation maps requires the use of TCT, which yields CT images that are converted to appropriate attenuation maps. As a result of this requirement, many modern SPECT systems come with a TCT system to allow TCT imaging to be performed either simultaneously with or sequential to the SPECT imaging. Such systems are referred to here as integrated SPECT/TCT systems, in contrast to recently introduced Hybrid SPECT/CT systems that combine a conventional SPECT with an independent x-ray-CT in the same granty.
One prior SPECT system of a typical SPECT/TCT system proposed by the inventor hereof utilizes a large circular shape design for the frame, or the gantry, collimator subsystem, and the detector subsystem which attempted to accommodate a large patient cross-section while placing the patient's heart at the geometric center for imaging from multiple directions simultaneously. However, because of the off-center location of heart, the circular geometry had to be fairly large to enclose a large patient's thorax. As a result, the long-distance collimation offsets the potential gain in geometric efficiency and renders the circular design less than optimum. Furthermore, the design devoted considerable collimator and detector area to the patient's right-posterior side, where the heart is too distant from the collimator for effective collimation. The typical problem of low photon sensitivity in SPECT is further compounded in cardiac imaging where the desirable radiation photons are scarce: only about 2-4% of the injected dose is in the myocardium of the heart. This previous circular design approach results in a limited return of the heavily attenuated and scattered photons and sub-optimal image quality.
The TCT system of a typical conventional SPECT/TCT system utilizes either a scanning line source of radiation, e.g., Gd155, or multiple lines sources stationary with respect to the gamma camera detector to create parallel photon-beams toward a patient to derive a transmission projection, simultaneously with a corresponding emission projection acquisition. These transmission projections, accumulated over a large number of directions, as the gamma camera rotates to meet the sampling requirements, are reconstructed to yield the attenuation maps. The drawback of this approach is that the photon statistics is quite poor because the finite flux of the relative narrow parallel-beam of radiation has to be spread over a large detector area.
Another type of TCT system of a SPECT/TCT system uses a stationary line source to provide a three-dimensional symmetrical or asymmetrical fan beam of photons, or a point source to provide a cone-beam, of radiation photons, towards a patient. A gamma camera located behind the patient includes a matched fan-beam or come-beam collimator for collimating the transmitted photons. The detector system detects the photons and outputs electrical signals and computer system generates TCT images based on the detected photons, after the camera and the source rotate around the patient in a sequential acquisition to the SPECT imaging. However, the problem with these SPECT/TCT systems is the required special collimation that either cannot be fully utilized in emission imaging of the heart, or the systems require a cumbersome and time-consuming collimator exchange procedure, which disturbs the imaging position of the patient and makes the subsequent matching of SPECT and TCT slices for attenuation correction difficult.
The collimator subsystems of typical conventional SPECT/TCT systems are designed with only one predefined set of collimation parameters for both SPECT and TCT imaging. However, such a design compromises either SPECT or TCT imaging. For different SPECT imaging requirements, or for patients having different sizes, a different set of collimation parameters is often needed. Therefore a different collimator with different collimation parameters is needed. Changing collimator, not only is awkward, cumbersome, time-consuming, and unrealistic in clinical environment, it is also difficult to reproduce patient imaging position after the collimator has been changed. The reproducibility of patient imaging position is critical when implementing attenuation correction and guiding image fusion.
The result is conventional SPECT/TCT systems are not flexible in accommodating different SPECT collimation requirements to suit various clinical situations and patients having different sizes and do not provide adequate TCT images needed for attention maps for high quality SPECT imaging. Such a limitation compromises either SPECT or TCT imaging, which in turn limits the attainable quality of attenuation-corrected SPECT imaging.
Another conventional SPECT/TCT system combines an independent x-ray CT, ranging from primitive low-end versions to expensive high-end multi-slice Spiral CTs, to the SPECT system, and are often referred to as Hybrid SPECT/CT systems. The concern of using this approach for cardiac SPECT/TCT is the cost, because an additional dedicated x-ray detector system is required, even for the primitive low-end CTs. As for the use of an expensive high-end multi-slice Spiral CT for attenuation of cardiac SPECT, it is still controversial and is not cost efficient. This latter approach is really intended for other clinical diagnostic applications, such as calcium scoring in cardiac vessels and/or detailed anatomic correlation for other imaging tasks in other regions of the body, rather than for attenuation correction of cardiac SPECT. In fact, due to the mismatch of the acquisition speeds of SPECT and high-end CT, e.g., 10 to 20 minutes for SPECT, verses about 1 to 2 seconds for TCT, the attenuation maps derived by high-end CT have to be further processed to include breathing motion before application. This processing is not trivial and is a potential source of artifacts and sub-optimal correction.
Additionally, conventional SPECT systems of prior SPECT/TCT systems typically incrementally rotate the large, heavy collimator and the detector subsystem about the patient to obtain a plurality of projection images (projections). Each time the collimator and the detector subsystem are rotated step-by-step, the collimator and detector follow the patient's body contour by successively adjusting their radial and lateral positions. Such a technique is cumbersome, not easily reproducible, prone to both mechanical and electrical errors, slow, inefficient, utilizes expensive hardware to rotate large heavy collimator and detector subsystems, and requires extensive safety measures to protect the patient. As a result, conventional SPECT images have large variations in image quality and reproducibility, which make comparison of images from different facilities or from different times at the same facility difficult.

Integrated single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/transmission computed tomography (TCT) system for cardiac imaging


The present invention provides for an apparatus and corresponding method for controlling inrush current in an AC-DC power converter by controlling the state of a plurality of silicon-controlled rectifiers (SCRs) when AC power is lost. The present invention provides full control of inrush current even during cold startup, warm startup, and power line disturbance conditions. The present invention controls inrush current without the need for an extra series dissapative device and its consequent additional losses. The preferred embodiment includes use of the present invention for AC-DC converters having active power factor correction. An alternative embodiment is for use in non-power factor corrected applications.

The present invention relates to controlling inrush current in a power supply, and more particularly, to circuitry for controlling inrush current efficiently during cold startup, warm startup and power line disturbance conditions.
The control of inrush current is especially important in N+1 redundant power systems. If excessive inrush current blows a fuse or trips the main circuit breaker on an AC distribution board, then the redundancy of the entire system is lost, even if the power supply is still functioning properly. The inrush current requirements of modem power supplies are very stringent, demanding efficient control of inrush current even during abnormal power line disturbances and for high current applications.
To control inrush current, conventional methods may employ a relay, thermistor, thyristor or similar switch, often in combination with a resistor or thermistor, in an attempt to limit inrush current in an AC-DC power supply. As is known in the art, a thermistor is a component with a resistance that decreases as its temperature increases. During power supply startup, the temperature of the thermistor is cold and its resistance high, a characteristic that can be used to limit inrush current. As the power supply continues to operate, the temperature increases and the resistance of the thermistor decreases, thereby allowing more current during normal operation.
FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art method and circuit disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,202,819 to Min that includes a thermistor for controlling inrush current. Although the disclosed method provides inrush current control, it has major drawbacks. One drawback is that a Thermistor TH1 in smoothing circuit 3 is always present as a series element, resulting in power dissipation proportional to the input current. This method is therefore inefficient especially for high current applications. In addition, if a power line disturbance (PLD) occurs during operation, the hot thermistor will be functioning at low resistance and so will not limit inrush current effectively. Thus, to prevent inrush current caused by the PLD, some delay must be built in to first allow the thermistor to cool or a circuit provided that bypasses the thermistor, in order to control inrush current.
Another drawback of the prior art circuit shown in FIG. 1 is that it uses a xe2x80x9cNear Zero Crossingxe2x80x9d detection for triggering two silicon controlled rectifiers (SCRs) in the phase control rectifying circuit 5. An SCR is a device which is normally non-conducting, with conduction initiated by application of a gate current. The SCR will remain ON (i.e., conducting) until current flowing in the SCR is reduced to some minimum level. If AC power fails at a non zero phase angle, slightly higher than sensed for xe2x80x9cNear Zero Crossingxe2x80x9d, and recovers at the same angle after a period of one cycle, the control circuit 4 in FIG. 1 will wait for the next near zero crossing, after nearly another half AC cycle, before triggering the SCRs. A larger bulk capacitor C2 will be required to provide energy during such a power line disturbance, even when AC is restored. The result is a circuit that costs more and that has increased space requirements.
FIG. 1A shows a timing diagram that illustrates this drawback of the prior art circuit of FIG. 1. The SCR drive signal waveform shows the SCR gate drive pulses that occur at near zero phase angle. When AC fails at a non-zero phase angle, as shown in the Rectified Pulses waveform at point A, the SCR gate drive signal will stay ON as long as energy is available on C2. If C2 has too much energy, however, there is a possibility that, due to circuit delays, the SCRs will trigger when AC restores at point B. This would result in heavy inrush current. If the charge on C2 decays, then the SCR""s gate drive is unavailable at point B for nearly one half cycle, upon restoration of AC power, until another zero crossing occurs at point C. As mentioned above, this problem forces use of a bigger bulk capacitor to maintain charge during the hold up period.
Another prior art method of inrush current control is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,715,154 to Rault, and shown in FIG. 2. This method has a drawback of including an extra series switch, Thyristor, TH. This extra switch will dissipate additional power; the dissipation being proportional to the input current. Thus, this method has the drawback of being very inefficient, especially for higher power applications, resulting in higher cost and the need for space-consuming heat sinking due to the increased dissipation.
FIG. 3 illustrates another conventional circuit for inrush current control. The circuit of FIG. 3 provides some inrush current control but has the drawback of not providing control during power line disturbance conditions. Modem power supply applications demand controlled inrush current even during power line disturbances that result in lost AC power. At power start up, both SCR1 and SCR2 in the bridge rectifier shown in FIG. 3 are in the OFF state due to a lack of gate drive voltage. The initial inrush current flows through elements D1, D2, R1, and D5 into a bulk capacitor Co at the output of the circuit. The amount of inrush current can be kept below a desired value by choosing an appropriate value for limiting resistor R1. In operation, the Power Factor Control (PFC) boost regulator PFC1 then starts operating by drawing power through D1, D2, and R1. Bias voltage is induced in the secondary winding on the boost choke L due to the switching action of the boost switch Q1. This induced bias voltage drives the SCRs. At that point, all power is delivered through the diode-SCR bridge.
Although the circuit of FIG. 3 can control inrush current satisfactorily for hot or cold start up conditions, the circuit has the drawback of not providing the inrush current control demanded by current generation power supplies when power line disturbances occur. Assuming an operating condition when a DC-DC converter (not shown) coupled to the output is already active and drawing power from the PFC boost regulator PFC1 at a low line voltage, e.g., 90V AC. If a power line disturbance occurs causing a missing AC cycle, bulk capacitor Co at the output can continue to deliver power to the DC-DC converter during this xe2x80x9chold upxe2x80x9d period. If capacitor C1 is small and cannot hold sufficient charge for driving the SCRs during this hold up period, and if AC is restored in a time interval slightly less than the hold up time; then PFC 1 will start switching immediately through D1, D2, and RI with most of the voltage dropped in R1. This will require a longer time to generate the required gate drive for the SCRs, which results in depletion of the charge on Co. Alternatively, if C1 is made sufficiently large, the depletion problem can be solved, as the SCRs will remain ON and can then support the required power levels of the DC-DC converter. The circuit of FIG. 3 does, however, have the drawback of not controlling inrush current at high line voltage during a power line disturbance condition. If an AC cycle is missed in a high line voltage condition, Co will deliver the hold up power and the voltage across it will drop accordingly. In this case, the SCRs are kept ON due to the charge available on C1. Under this condition, restoration of AC at the 90-degree phase angle and peak of 264V AC results in an undesirably huge inrush current. Thus, under power line disturbance conditions, the conventional method and circuit in FIG. 3 does not control inrush current satisfactorily.
What is needed is a reliable and efficient circuit and corresponding method for controlling inrush current in high-power electronic power supplies during hot and cold startup conditions and during power line disturbances.
The present invention solves the problems of prior art devices by providing a circuit and corresponding method which provides control to limit inrush current during cold startup, hot startup and power line disturbance conditions in AC to DC converters. The circuit of the present invention can be used for AC to DC converters with active power factor correction circuitry. The circuit includes a logic circuit that operates such that whenever AC is lost, SCR gates are turned OFF and are allowed to turn ON only when AC is restored and the instantaneous AC voltage is less than the bulk voltage at the time, thus eliminating the possibility of undesirable heavy inrush current. The circuit can also be used for non-power factor corrected applications if an auxiliary high side drive bias is available for the SCRs used in the bridge rectifier.
Broadly stated, the present invention provides a method of controlling inrush current in a AC-DC converter when AC power is lost during power line disturbance conditions comprising the steps of maintaining a plurality of SCRs in an OFF state to limit inrush current when the AC power is lost; comparing the instantaneous AC input voltage to the DC output voltage of the converter; comparing the instantaneous AC input voltage to a predetermined voltage level; and triggering the plurality of SCRs to the ON state only when the AC power is restored to the predetermined level and the instantaneous input AC voltage is less than the DC voltage at the output of the AC-DC converter. In addition, broadly stated, the present invention provides a circuit for providing control of inrush current in an AC to DC power converter during power disturbance conditions, wherein the AC to DC converter includes two input terminals to which AC power is coupled and two output terminals where the output DC power is provided, comprising a bridge rectifying circuit including a plurality of SCRs; a circuit to provide a drive bias for the plurality of SCRs; an output capacitor connected across the output terminals of the converter; a control circuit for controlling the rectifying circuit to limit inrush current, the control circuit being operatively connected to the gate inputs of the plurality of SCRs; and means for comparing the AC input and DC output voltages of the converter for causing the plurality of SCRs to enter a conduction state when the AC input voltage exceeds a predetermined threshold and the AC input voltage is less than the DC output voltage.
Consequently, the circuit and corresponding method of the present invention have the advantage that inrush current is controlled both for hot startup and cold startup conditions.
Another advantage of the present invention is full control of inrush current even during power line disturbance conditions.
Still another advantage of the present invention is that there is no need for an extra series dissipative device, and its consequent additional losses.

Inrush current control for AC to DC converters


The present disclosure relates to the field of integrated circuits protection, and specifically discloses an electrostatic protection circuit and a semiconductor structure. The electrostatic protection circuit is disposed between a first port and a second port that require electrostatic protection, comprising at least one interdigital loop and a control circuit electrically connected to the interdigital loop. The interdigital loop comprises an electrostatic protection transistor having a drain electrically connected to the first port and a source electrically connected to the second port. The control circuit comprises a first transistor and a second transistor. The drain of the first transistor and the gate of the second transistor are electrically connected to the first port. The drain of the second transistor and the gate of the first transistor are electrically connected to the second port.

The phenomenon of electrostatic discharge (ESD) is very common in semiconductor manufacturing processes. The excess charge introduced by ESD can be transmitted to the integrated circuit via the I/O pins in a very short time, thereby damaging the internal circuit of the integrated circuit and causing huge losses.
Providing electrostatic protection for the integrated circuits is an effective means of improving the reliability of integrated circuit products. The protection circuit shown in FIG. 1 is a common embodiment of electrostatic protection design, and the embodiment is provided in an application with patent application Ser. No. 02/153,974.X. The embodiment realizes the electrostatic protection between the I/O bond pad and the ground VSS with the second transistor 140, and realizes the electrostatic protection between the I/O bond pad and the power source VDD with the first transistor 110. In the embodiment, a second parasitic diode 144 is present in the second transistor 140, and a first parasitic diode 114 is present in the first transistor 110.
In the case where the integrated circuit of above embodiment operates normally, it is assumed that the power source voltage VDD is 2.5V and the ground voltage VSS is 0V. The second parasitic diode 144 in the second transistor 140 may be forward conducted when the I/O pad voltage is negative (i.e., −2.5 V), thereby generating a large leakage current between VSS and the I/O pad. The first parasitic diode 114 in the first transistor 110 may be forward conducted when the I/O pad voltage is positive (i.e., +5 V), thereby generating a large leakage current between the I/O pad and VDD. The leakage current will seriously affect the input of the reverse voltage in the integrated circuit, and limit the applicable range of the electrostatic protection circuit.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a new technology to solve the problem of leakage current caused by the input of positive voltage or negative voltage in the prior art, and the problem of weak capability on reverse electrostatic protection in the prior art.

Electrostatic protection circuit and a semiconductor structure


A toroidal optical device can include a ring mirror defining a toroidal optical cavity symmetric about an axis and an optical coupler situated inside the toroidal optical cavity. The optical coupler can be situated to direct an input light first received from outside the toroidal optical cavity propagating inside the toroidal optical cavity, to multiply reflect from the ring mirror inside the toroidal optical cavity. A method includes producing one or more additional ring mirrors defining a toroidal optical cavity symmetric about a sagittal axis using a first ring mirror as a master form, and affixing an optical coupler inside the optical cavity to at least one of the one or more additional ring mirrors.

Multipass optical devices can be used for absorption spectroscopy of trace gases. For example, the "Herriott" cell is a multipass optical device comprising two mirrors having equal radii of curvature that direct a light beam within the optical cavity formed between the two mirrors. The propagating light beam makes multiple passes in the optical cavity. The long linear shape of the optical cavity of the Herriott cell contributes to a long path length. The Herriott cell is well-suited to laser-based systems due to its ability to re-image or refocus a light beam as the beam traverses the optical cavity, which keeps the beam restricted within the cavity boundaries and conserves the power density of the beam as it propagates within the cavity. However, the long linear cavity of a Herriott cell allows tenacious gas species to attach to sites along the cell wall, making it difficult to purge the cavity between measurements and leading to increased measurement cycle times. Accordingly, a need exists for improved multipass devices that can avoid such drawbacks.


A computer implemented method and system for detecting arrhythmias in cardiac activity are provided. The method is under control of one or more processors configured with specific executable instructions. The method obtains far field cardiac activity (CA) signals and applies a direction related responsiveness (DRR) filter to the CA signals to produce DRR filtered signals. The method compares a current sample from the CA signals to a prior sample from the DRR filtered signals to identify a direction characteristic of the CA signals and defines the DRR filter based on a timing constant that is set based on the direction characteristic identified. The method analyzes the CA signals in connection with the DRR filtered signals to identify a peak characteristic of the CA signals and determines peak to peak intervals between successive peak characteristic. The method detects at least one of noise or an arrhythmia based on the peak to peak intervals and records results of the detecting.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common and serious cardiac arrhythmia, affecting more than two million people in the United States alone. Clinically, atrial fibrillation involves an abnormality of electrical impulse formation and conduction that originates in the atria. Atrial fibrillation is characterized by multiple swirling wavelets of electrical current spreading across the atria in a disorganized manner. The irregularity of electrical conduction throughout the atria creates irregular impulse propagation through the atrioventricular (AV) node into the ventricle.
Impulse propagation through the AV node may be extremely rapid, leading to reduced diastolic filling of the heart chambers and a corresponding reduction of the cardiac pumping action. Increased heart rate and loss of AV synchrony may also exacerbate any underlying heart problems, such as heart failure, coronary blood flow, or other pulmonary disorders. Alternatively, impulse propagation through the AV node may be very limited due to AV node refractoriness so that atrial fibrillation can be sustained indefinitely, as the ventricles continue to drive circulation, albeit inefficiently.
Atrial Fibrillation (AF) monitoring systems have been developed for use in an ambulatory setting, which may be either external, such as a Holter monitor, or internal, such as implantable cardiac monitors or "loop recorders". These systems continually sense cardiac electrical signals from a patient's heart, process the signals to detect arrhythmias and upon detection, record the electrical signals for subsequent review and analysis.
More recently, interest has increased in providing improved implantable cardiac monitors. It has been proposed that implantable cardiac monitors may be used for diagnosis of re-current AF after AF ablation, cryptogenic stroke, and other arrhythmias. Further, there is an interest in improved management of arrhythmia episodes in connection with medication usage, as well as monitoring AF in connection with periodic atrial cardioversion.
Algorithms used by existing implantable cardiac monitoring devices for detecting AF are primarily based on an irregularity of R-R intervals. However, these algorithms may provide false positive AF detections when AF did not necessarily exist. As one example, certain AF detection algorithms may be confused when a patient exhibits sinus rhythm with irregular R-R intervals and/or when R-waves are under-sensed by the implantable cardiac monitoring device. R-wave under-sensing is attributable, in part, to variability of R-waves inherently associated with the subcutaneous implant of an implantable cardiac monitoring device. Changes in posture, body-motion and position tend to change the electrode location and cause sudden changes in the EGM amplitude. R-wave under-sensing results in missed R-waves that leads to a false indication of a bradycardic event.
Further, existing AF detection algorithms may experience undue false positives in connection with frequent premature ventricular contraction (PVC). Existing AF algorithms may not exhibit sufficient positive predictive value (PPV) of AF episode detection and duration (burden).
FIG. 1B illustrates a conventional sensitivity profile followed by an automatic sensing control (ASC) algorithm utilized by a conventional AF detection algorithm. FIG. 1B illustrates an example rectified cardiac activity (CA) signals 151 that is used by an implantable cardiac monitor (ICM) to manage a sensing circuit to have a sensitivity profile 153 (denoted by a dashed line) that varies over time. In a basic implementation, the sensitivity profile 153 is defined by programmed sensitivity profile parameter settings corresponding to the threshold start sensitivity 161, decay delay parameter 169, maximum sensitivity 157 and slope of the sensitivity decay 165. The start sensitivity parameter defines a start sensitivity of the sensitivity profile. The refractory period/interval duration parameter defines a blanking interval beginning at a sensed R-wave, during which the processors do not search for a T-wave. The decay delay parameter defines the interval at which the sensitivity profile maintains the sensitivity level at a constant level following expiration of the refractory period before the sensitivity profile begins decreasing. The maximum sensitivity limit defines a lowest sensitivity level (e.g., maximum resolution) that linear sensitivity decline is allowed to reach. The sensitivity parameters are preprogrammed to fixed values and, over the operation of the implantable medical device, are only modified (if at all) by a clinician.
In accordance with the sensitivity profile 153, when the CA signals 151 crosses the sensitivity profile 153 at starting point 155, the ICM treats the point 155 as a sensed R-wave and begins a refractory interval 159. No new R-wave (or T-wave) will be sensed during the refractory interval 159. At the end of the refractory interval 159, the sensitivity is adjusted to a threshold start sensitivity 161. The threshold start sensitivity 161 is defined as a percentage of the peak amplitude 163 of the QRS complex of the CA signal 151 detected during the refractory interval 159. The sensing circuit maintains the threshold start sensitivity 161 for a decay delay parameter 169, after which the ICM begins to monotonically decrease the sensitivity (increase the resolution) of the sensing circuit 144 as denoted by the sensitivity decay 165 within the sensitivity profile 153. The sensing circuit continues to decrease the sensitivity until either the sensitivity decay 165 reaches the maximum sensitivity 157 or an amplitude of the rectified cardiac activity signal 151 exceeds the sensor sensitivity profile 153, such as at a point 167 where a new sensed R wave is detected.
The parameters of the ASC algorithm are defined at the time of implant by a clinician and may be reprogrammed during a patient visit to a doctor's office. However, one difficulty with the conventional ASC algorithm is that a maximum sensitivity does not go below a programmed lowest sensitivity limit (e.g., 0.5 mV) which contributes to under-sensing of R-waves. Another difficulty is that the sensitivity level drops at the rate defined by the linear decay parameter which may cause the sensitivity level to drop below a level of a T-wave, thereby leading to T-wave over sensing (e.g., detecting T-waves as R-waves).
An opportunity remains to improve the accuracy of ICMs for sensing R-waves, discriminating noise, generating accurate diagnostics and computing short/long term trends in physiological signals leading to actionable insights and predictions. Although recent improvements have been made in implantable device hardware, filters, and sensing algorithms, false detection of bradycardia and asystole episodes remains a challenge due to small amplitude signals, premature ventricular contraction (PVC) beats, sudden drops in signal amplitude, suboptimal device programming, and loss of contact between subcutaneous tissue and electrodes. Improved sensing algorithm performance could lead to reduced unnecessary data transmission to remote clinicians, episode review burden, and potentially prolong ICM longevity.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and system to detect R-waves in cardiac activity signals


A gas turbomachine nozzle includes a base portion having a first fluid inlet and a second fluid inlet, and an outlet portion having one or more outlets. A connection section fluidically connects the base portion and the outlet portion. An orifice plug is arranged in the base portion at the second fluid inlet. The orifice plug includes one or more openings fluidically connecting the second fluid inlet and the connection section.

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to the art of turbomachines and, more particularly, to a nozzle having an orifice plug for a gas turbomachine.
Turbomachines typically include a compressor portion and a turbine portion. The compressor portion forms a compressed air stream that is introduced into the turbine portion. In a gas turbomachine, a portion of the compressed air stream mixes with products of combustion forming a hot gas stream that is introduced into the turbine portion through a transition piece. The products of combustion are developed in a combustion chamber of a combustor. In the combustor, fuel and air may be passed through a nozzle to form a combustible mixture. The combustible mixture is combusted to form the products of combustion.
The hot gas stream impacts turbomachine airfoils arranged in sequential stages along the hot gas path. The airfoils are generally connected to a wheel which, in turn, may be connected to a rotor. Typically, the rotor is operatively connected to a load. The hot gas stream imparts a force to the airfoils causing rotation. The rotation is transferred to the rotor. Thus, the turbine portion converts thermal energy from the hot gas stream into mechanical/rotational energy that is used to drive the load. The load may take on a variety of forms including a generator, a pump, an aircraft, a locomotive or the like.

Nozzle having an orifice plug for a gas turbomachine


A stackable object dispenser for selectively and sanitarily dispensing an individual object from a plurality of stacked objects. The stackable object dispenser generally includes a base and a plate member secured to an upper end thereof. The plate member includes an opening over which is positioned a retention member for retaining a stack of objects. Portions of dispensing retainers abut into the opening to prevent any of the objects from prematurely being dispensed. Upon activation of an external lever or knob, a dispensing assembly acts to push a pair of dispensing members inwardly to squeeze and push down the lowest object in the stack to be dispensed into a cavity and retrieved through a frontal opening of the base.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an object dispenser and more specifically it relates to a stackable object dispenser for selectively and sanitarily dispensing an individual object from a plurality of stacked objects.
2. Description of the Related Art
Any discussion of the related art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such related art is widely known or forms part of common general knowledge in the field.
Stackable objects such as lids and cups are dispensed daily in restaurants, coffeeshops and stores throughout the world. Generally, these objects are stacked in a retainer which requires an individual to reach his/her hand into the stack to retrieve the object. Certain stacked objects are often difficult to separate from each other, which often results in an individual inadvertently grabbing two or more of the objects from the stack. Additionally, other individuals retrieving objects from the stack at a later time may be exposed to germs from previous individuals who grasped those objects when retrieving their own.
Because of the inherent problems with the related art, there is a need for a new and improved stackable object dispenser for selectively and sanitarily dispensing an individual object from a plurality of stacked objects.


A motor driving apparatus including inverter apparatuses, inverter control circuits, and a plurality of inverter control apparatuses for performing variable-speed driving of a single motor, breakers each of which being provided between each inverter apparatus and the motor, the inverter control circuits being connected in parallel to each other. Here, a motor rotation frequency/phase detection circuit of each inverter control circuit is set up on a closer side to the motor than the breakers, then frequency and phase of a terminal voltage at the motor are detected and inputted into failure-time input frequency/phase setting circuits regardless of close/open of each breaker. This feature allows computation by the failure-time input frequency/phase setting circuits to be carried out at all times, thereby making it possible to shorten a computation time needed for computing inverter-apparatus start frequency/phase.

The present invention relates to a motor driving apparatus for performing variable-speed driving of a motor by using an inverter.
An induction-motor driving apparatus for performing variable-speed driving by using an inverter control apparatus is used for energy-saving operation of appliances such as fan and pump and the variable-speed driving of machines. A method which is commonly used as the countermeasure at the time of a failure of the inverter control apparatus is a method of providing a bypass circuit to a commercial-use power-supply. During the operation of the commercial-use power-supply, however, the induction motor is cut off from the inverter, then being re-injected into the commercial-use power-supply. As a result, there has existed a drawback that it is impossible to perform the variable-speed driving of the induction motor. Also, as the countermeasure, there exists a method of providing a standby-purpose inverter control apparatus in addition to the operation-purpose inverter control apparatus. At the time of the failure of the inverter control apparatus, however, the induction motor needs to be re-operated by the standby-purpose inverter control apparatus on standby after the induction motor has halted. As a result, there has existed a drawback that the system halts at one time temporarily. On account of this, in some of large-capacity inverters, a method is employed in which the control system is duplexed, and when the control system fails, the failed control system is instantaneously switched to the sound control system. This method is employed in order to shorten the switching time at the time of the failure occurrence. Nevertheless, this method has found it impossible to address a case where a main circuit system of the inverters fails. In addition thereto, in some of systems where a plurality of inverter control apparatuses are provided, the following method is employed: With respect to the plurality of inverter control apparatuses, a single standby-oriented-system inverter control apparatus is provided in its operation state. As a result of this provision, when the inverter control apparatus in operation fails, the inverter control apparatus can be switched to the standby-oriented-system inverter control apparatus on standby without halting the system.
In this way, when a failure of the inverter or an instantaneous power-failure of the power-supply occurs during operation of the induction motor, and when re-start of the operation is to be carried out, if excitation remains in the induction motor, it is necessary to synchronize phases of voltages between the inverter and the induction motor. On account of this necessity, the following control method is carried out at the time of reactivating the inverter: The control over the induction motor is restarted after rotation speed of the induction motor and speed command value of the inverter are caused to coincide with each other.

Motor driving system and motor driving method


A surface-mounted module (1) having an optical semiconductor device (5) and an optical fiber (6) mounted on a substrate (2) and a method of producing the surface mounted-module. The substrate (2) of the surface-mounted module (1) comprises a base component (3), which has marks (3b) indicative of the mounting position for an optical semiconductor device and a positioning section (3c) for positioning an optical fiber and is formed by a precision transfer process, and a molded body (4) joined integrally to the base component.

In the field of optical fiber communication systems, a bidirectional communication system permitting the transmission of optical signals also from the subscriber (home) side is under study. In order to construct such an optical fiber communication system, a surface-mounted module connecting a light receiving/emitting device and an optical fiber is required, and conventionally a light receiving/emitting device and an optical fiber are coupled in the manner described below, for example.
In the case of coupling a laser diode (hereinafter referred to as "LD") to an optical fiber, a mark used for mounting the LD with high accuracy is formed on a silicon substrate, and a V-groove for positioning an optical fiber is also formed in the silicon substrate such that the position thereof relative to the mark is on the submicron order. The LD and the optical fiber are coupled to each other on the substrate.
In this case, a silicon substrate is used for the following reasons. First, a silicon substrate and an optical fiber have an identical coefficient of thermal expansion, and thus the two are scarcely displaced from each other due to temperature changes. Secondly, the mark used for mounting an LD and the V-groove for positioning an optical fiber can be formed on a silicon substrate with high accuracy by lithography, anisotropic etching or the like. Thirdly, a silicon substrate transmits near infrared radiation therethrough, so that the mounting positions of the LD and optical fiber can be observed from the underside of the substrate.
There is also conventionally known a method in which a lensed fiber having a convexly curved end face obtained by fusing an end portion thereof is coupled to an LD. In the case of using a lensed fiber, however, it is necessary that the space between the LD and the lensed fiber should be set to 5 to 10 .mu.m and also that the allowable positioning error of the LD in a transverse direction perpendicular to the optical axis of the lensed fiber should be 1 .mu.m or less.
Meanwhile, where a silicon substrate is treated with high precision by lithography, an expensive machine is required and also the substrate must be handled with care during the treatment. On the other hand, where anisotropic etching is used for the treatment, the orientation of the silicon substrate must be set with high accuracy relative to the positioning of an etching mask, and also the etching conditions must be controlled with precision.
Therefore, in either of the above two methods, if the treatment conditions are improperly set, then the aforementioned marks and V-grooves of treated silicon substrates are subject to positional variations, lowering the yield. As a consequence, a problem arises in that the products (surface-mounted modules) are costly.
Silicon substrates may alternatively be subjected to mechanical machining; in this case, however, the productivity is low and the machining cost is high, with the result that the produced surface-mounted modules are too expensive to be put to home use.
Meanwhile, an LD unavoidably generates heat since a high current is passed therethrough per unit area. The silicon substrate, however, is poor in heat conductivity as compared with metal and thus has low heat dissipation property. Accordingly, with a surface-mounted module using a silicon substrate, the light output of the LD becomes saturated at a low current value, giving rise to a problem that the light output cannot be increased.
Further, in a conventional surface-mounted module using a lensed fiber, if a material having a large coefficient of thermal expansion is used for the substrate, the LD and the lensed fiber can come into contact with each other due to temperature changes, possibly damaging these elements. Since the aforementioned allowable positioning error is 1 .mu.m or less, moreover, displacement in the transverse direction occurring when the LD and the lensed fiber are coupled results in variations in the coupling efficiency, causing a reduction in the yield of assembled surface-mounted modules as well as an increase of the manufacturing cost.

Surface-mounted module which permits the light output of an optical semiconductor device mounted thereon to be increased, and a method of producing the surface-mounted module


A semiconductor memory device comprises a silicon substrate having a main surface, a trench formed on the silicon substrate to open in the main surface and a memory cell formed on the trench. The memory cell includes a first storage holding part formed on a first side wall of the trench, a second storage holding part formed on a second side wall of the trench, impurity diffusion layers formed on both sides of the trench and a gate electrode formed to extend from the trench onto the impurity diffusion layers for covering the first and second storage holding parts.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory device and a method of fabricating the same, and more particularly, it relates to a semiconductor memory device storing data by injecting charges into charge holding insulator films and a method of fabricating the same.
2. Description of the Background Art
A semiconductor memory device storing data by injecting charges into charge holding insulator films is known in general. This semiconductor memory device has memory cells each including a multilayer structure of a silicon oxide film, a silicon nitride film and another silicon oxide film formed on a portion of a silicon substrate located between isolation films, a gate electrode provided on the multilayer structure and a pair of impurity regions for forming source/drain regions on both sides of the multilayer structure, for example.
Each memory cell has two storage holding regions partially formed by the aforementioned multilayer structure in the vicinity of the pair of impurity regions, for writing data by injecting hot electrons into the storage holding regions. At this time, the semiconductor memory device can store data by injecting hot electrons into the two storage holding regions of each memory cell respectively, whereby data of two bits can be stored in each memory cell.
In the aforementioned memory cell, however, the two storage holding regions are connected with each other through the silicon nitride film and hence charges stored in the storage holding regions are canceled due to hole conduction through the silicon nitride film to disadvantageously reduce the data holding property.
For example, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2002-237540 describes a semiconductor device capable of solving this problem. The semiconductor device described in this literature stores information by trapping carriers in central layers of three-layer insulator films formed on the side surfaces of gate electrodes of FETs (field-effect transistors), and hence the aforementioned reduction of the data holding property resulting from hole conduction can be inhibited.
In the semiconductor device described in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2002-237540, however, the three-layer insulator films are formed from the side surfaces of the gate electrodes onto a substrate while side wall spacers are further formed thereon, and hence the transverse width of memory cells in a direction parallel to the main surface of the substrate is inevitably increased. Therefore, the memory cells are disadvantageously increased in size.


A semiconductor structure and a related method for fabrication thereof include an isolation region located within an isolation trench within a semiconductor substrate. The isolation region comprises; (1) a lower lying dielectric plug layer recessed within the isolation trench; (2) a U shaped dielectric liner layer located upon the lower lying dielectric plug layer and partially filling the recess; and (3) an upper lying dielectric plug layer located upon the U shaped dielectric liner layer and completely filling the recess. The isolation region provides for sidewall coverage of the isolation trench, thus eliminating some types of leakage paths.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to semiconductor structures. More particularly, the invention relates to isolation regions within semiconductor structures.
2. Description of the Related Art
Common in the semiconductor fabrication art is the use of isolation regions for purposes of separating active regions within semiconductor substrates. In turn, semiconductor devices are often fabricated within the active regions that are separated by the isolation regions within the semiconductor substrates.
While isolation regions are thus quite common within the semiconductor fabrication art, isolation regions are nonetheless not entirely without problems. In particular, both a dimensional integrity and an electrical integrity of an isolation region are often difficult to effectively control when fabricating a semiconductor structure, since fabrication of a semiconductor structure often exposes an isolation region to a plurality of processing chemicals and reactive environments that may etch or otherwise degrade the isolation region.
Semiconductor structure and device dimensions are certain to continue to decrease as semiconductor technology advances. As a result thereof, desirable are isolation regions that provide semiconductor structures with enhanced performance, as well as methods for fabricating such isolation regions.

Semiconductor structure including laminated isolation region

International Business Machines Corporation


A system that aggregates and submits data from a customized packet of forms. The system first creates a single data unit for storing form data which is initially empty. It then opens a main document, which has associated forms. For each associated form in the main document, the system extracts data from client-populated fields in the associated form and concatenates data from the associated form to the single data unit. In this way, data from every associated form in the customized packet of forms is aggregated into the single data unit. The system then submits the single data unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to techniques for processing data entered into forms. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for aggregating and submitting data entered into a customized packet of forms.
2. Related Art
Electronic forms have become the primary means by which organizations gather data from their clients. Whether the form is web-based or downloadable, the form enables organizations to gather information about their clients to facilitate transactions with their clients.
As Internet usage becomes increasingly more prevalent, more forms are being processed online. In many cases, organizations require a user to fill out more than one form. Furthermore, the set of forms that an organization requires a user to fill out may differ depending on requirements for a specific user. For instance, the Internal Revenue Service requires specific forms to be sent along with a taxpayer's tax return depending on the taxpayer's tax profile. Hence, if an organization wants the user to fill out more than one form, it is often the case that different sets of forms need to be sent to different users.
To deal with this problem, organizations often use a "mega-form," which contains all possible combinations of forms that different users might require depending on their circumstances. Unfortunately, the user must sift through the mega-form to find the applicable forms to complete. After completing the applicable forms, the user submits the data from the mega-form to the server for processing. The server then parses the data submitted by the mega-form to extract the relevant data.
Another option is to create a customized application. This customized application first presents the user with a series of questions. Next, the customized application asks the user to fill out the applicable forms based on the answers to the series of questions, and then sends data from the applicable forms back to the server for processing. Unfortunately, in order to use this technique, a custom application must be written for each situation. An example of this type of application is tax preparation software, wherein the application guides the user through a tax interview and then returns the completed forms to the Internal Revenue Service.
Yet another option is for the user to download and fill out individual forms, which are separately submitted to the server for processing. Unfortunately, since each form is submitted separately, the server must somehow associate the data from each submitted form with the correct user.
Yet another option is for the user to fill out a series of web-based forms. In this case, the website presents a form to the user and after the user completes the form, the website returns the form to the server for processing. In this type of system, each form must be submitted to the server prior to starting the next form. Unfortunately, if the user wants to edit a submitted form, the submitted form must be retrieved from the server, corrected, and then resubmitted to the server.
As can be seen from the discussion above, existing techniques for submitting multiple related forms suffer from a number of drawbacks.
Hence, what is needed is a method and an apparatus which supports aggregating and submitting data from a customized packet of forms without the problems described above.

Method and apparatus for aggregating and submitting form data


Disclosed are novel 1-thiogalactose derivatives which inhibit binding of toxins, such as heat-labile enterotoxin or cholera toxin, to their receptors either in vitro or in vivo. Additionally, disclosed are compounds which inhibit binding of organisms (e.g., bacteria, virus, fungi, and the like), such as Vibrio cholerae and enterotoxigenic strains of Escherichia coli, to their cell surface receptors.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to novel 1-thiogalactose derivatives which inhibit binding of toxins, such as heat-labile enterotoxin (LT) or cholera toxin (CT), to their receptors either in vitro or in vivo. Additionally, the compounds of this invention inhibit binding of organisms (e.g., bacteria, virus, fungi, and the like), such as Vibrio cholerae and enterotoxigenic strains of Escherichia coli, to their cell surface receptors.


The invention relates to a rotor for an electric motor, comprising a rotor shaft, a rotor core stack that is attached to the rotor shaft, a ring member which surrounds the rotor core stack, and a gap located between the rotor core stack and the ring member. Adhesive is introduced into the gap for fastening the ring member to the rotor core stack. Molded articles that are used as spacers are admixed to the adhesive.

Brushless DC motors in which permanent magnets are located on the rotor surface are already known. These permanent magnets are usually produced as ring magnets. When such permanent magnets are arranged on the rotor surface, a return path body which is firmly connected to the rotor shaft is provided between the rotor shaft and the permanent magnets. The annular permanent magnets are adhesively bonded to this return path body so that a torque can be transmitted to the rotor shaft via the return path body. The width of the adhesive gap between the ring magnet and the return path body has to comply with an upper and lower limit in order to provide optimum adhesive bonding. This adhesive bonding should be performed in such a way that the ring magnet sits centrally, in order to prevent any imbalance. To this end, a complicated adhesive bonding apparatus is usually provided which is to be fitted with the components to be adhesively bonded.
DE 103 14 394 A1 discloses a rotor for a brushless DC motor and a method for mounting a rotor of this type. This known rotor has a shaft, a return path body which is arranged on the shaft, and a ring magnet which surrounds the return path body. A gap is formed in the axially running region between the return path body and the ring magnet. Furthermore, a retaining element is provided which, outside the gap, is connected at one end to the shaft or to the return path body and at the other end to the ring magnet. This retaining element connects the ring magnet to the shaft or to the return path body in a force-fitting manner and additionally centers said ring magnet with respect to the shaft or the return path body. Furthermore, a casing which surrounds the ring magnet is preferably provided. The retaining element and the casing are integrally formed as a sleeve, with the ring magnet being connected to the sleeve in a force-fitting manner by being pressed into said sleeve. In the case of this known rotor, the ring magnet is arranged centrally with respect to the rotor shaft or the return path body, without adhesive bonding being required.

Brose Fahrzeugteile GmbH & Co. Kommanditgesellschaft, Würzburg


Methods and apparatus for orthopedic replacement of the hip through three incisions with a modular prosthetic system assembled in vivo while substantially preserving muscles and soft tissues around the hip joint resulting in reduced healing time and decreased risk of dislocation. A prosthetic femoral stem is inserted into the femur. A prosthetic femoral neck is inserted from a point along the side of the patient's body and into the side of the femur and through a lateral bore in the prosthetic femoral stem to join the prosthetic femoral head. The methods and apparatus include structures and techniques for fixing or enhancing interconnection of implant components, such as by increasing the interconnection in an interference fit with one or more tapers, threads, and/or cooling of components prior to assembly.

1. Field
Embodiments of the present invention relate to medical methods and apparatus, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for minimally invasive total- or hemi-hip arthroplasty.
2. Description of the Related Art
Early methods and apparatus for performing total hip replacement generally involve a long incision and with open visualization of the trochanteric region of the femur, the femoral head and the acetabulum. However, such techniques result in substantial dissection and disruption of muscles and tissues around the hip joint. The substantial disruption of the tissues creates risk of dislocation and can require months for rehabilitation and healing.
Some less invasive or minimally invasive techniques for total hip replacement have also been described. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,004,972, 6,991,656 or 6,695,850, the entireties of the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. As one example, information published by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons generally describes minimally invasive techniques that use a 3-6 centimeter incision and, as compared to traditional techniques, involve less splitting or detaching of muscles and tendons and less soft tissue dissection. However, many existing minimally invasive techniques still involve substantial disruption of the soft tissue envelope around the hip joint, including the tissue disruption required to create space in which to place and fit a prosthetic femoral neck and head between the femur and the acetabulum. Moreover, many existing techniques have failed to adequately address the problem of numerous trial reductions and dislocations often required to achieve proper fit of the prosthetics which not only causes additional disruption to the tissues, but also consumes valuable time. For example, some hip arthroplasty procedures involve two relatively large incisions in tissue in order to access the anatomy for insertion of the hip replacement components. Many of these techniques involve significant rotation, dislocation and damage to the bone and surrounding tissue, including muscles, ligaments, blood vessels, and nerves. Sometimes, the leg must be bent up to 60 degrees, with twisting and pinning of the leg, which in roughly 6% of procedures, results in a new bone break during the implantation procedure. In some instances, insertion of hip implant components through two incisions involve significant contortion and damage to tissue, resulting in increased recovery and healing time, and component sizes that are limited in length or dimension for access through the one or two incisions. For example, a stem or intramedullary rod length is often limited or shortened in order to fit in a two incision technique. There is a present need for methods and apparatus that provide for efficient hip replacement while maintaining the integrity of the tissues proximate to the hip joint.

Method and apparatus for hip replacement


Systems and methods for improvements in battery state of charge accuracy, charge termination consistency, capacity estimation, and energy delivery consistency. More specifically, embodiments herein detail systems and methods using an algorithm to calculate the change in state of charge for a given voltage change (dSOC/dV) at a given temperature in a region around the present voltage measurement or estimation and to set a signal indicating when the measurement should not be used due to potential error.

Knowing the state of charge of a battery is necessary for an indication of how much longer a battery will continue to perform prior to the need for either recharging or replacement. As technologies related to vehicles continue to advance, the significance of understanding and monitoring battery life becomes increasingly significant.
Battery charge can be measured through several methods, such as chemically, through measurements and plotting of curves related to discharge, or even using electrical modeling.
One known method of providing direct measurements is a method that converts a reading of the battery voltage to state of charge (SOC), using the known discharge curve (voltage versus SOC) of the battery. Using such a method SOC is graphed in relation to an open-circuit voltage (OCV) estimation which is the voltage at equilibrium and therefore current equals zero. With this method, however, the voltage reading is significantly affected by the battery current due to the battery's electrochemical kinetics as well as temperature, especially if the battery is not truly at rest when readings are made. Therefore such methods are often made more accurate by compensating the voltage reading with a correction term proportional to the battery current, and by using a look-up/reference table of the battery's open-circuit voltage estimation versus temperature.
In lithium iron phosphate batteries (LiFeP), regions of the SOC-OCV curve have large changes in SOC for small changes of OCV estimations. In these regions, voltage sensing inaccuracies, analog-to-digital (A/D) resolution, and controller area network (CAN) database resolution are some potential causes of SOC inaccuracy. There is a need in the art for systems and methods providing users with knowledge that an estimated SOC based on voltage in these regions may contain large errors and should not be used.
Current systems are exceedingly complex, and there is a need in the art for increased simplicity, efficiency and decreased errors. Specific embodiments described herein lead to improvements in SOC accuracy, charge termination consistency, capacity estimation, and energy delivery consistency.

Methods and systems for determining whether a voltage measurement is usable for a state of charge estimation


A metallized label and a manufacturing method are disclosed in which a translucent base sheet is printed with markings on its rear surface, and a metal layer is applied over the printed markings. The printed markings form apertures or translucent areas through which the metal layer is visible from the front of the label. Adhesive and a release liner are applied to the rear of the metal layer. The metal layer may be applied only in areas in correspondence with the apertures.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to labels and, more particularly, to a metallized adhesive label and a method for manufacturing same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Labels are known in which graphical or textual indicia have a metallic appearance. As shown in FIG. 1, such a metallized label may have metallic appearing graphics 12 and text 14 on a nonmetallic or metallic background 16. Such a label may be coated on the rear surface with a pressure sensitive adhesive and backed by a release liner sheet.
The construction of a metallized label 10 according to the prior art is shown in FIG. 2. The label includes a translucent top cover sheet 18, a layer of printing 20 beneath the cover sheet, a translucent base sheet 22 beneath the cover sheet and the printing, a metallic layer 24 beneath the base sheet, a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive 26 beneath the metallic layer, and release liner 28 removably adhered to the pressure sensitive adhesive. Alternatively, a coating of varnish may be used in place of the top cover sheet 18 to protect the printing.
In the past, metallized labels according to the prior art, such as shown in FIG. 2, have been manufactured by first metallizing the rear surface of a continuous web of unprinted base sheet 22 material. Vacuum metallizing devices used for this purpose are well known in the art. The metallized rear surface of the base sheet 22 web is then coated with pressure sensitive adhesive 26, a release liner 28 web is applied over the adhesive, and the lamination is wound into a roll. The roll is then transferred to a label manufacturer where it is unwound and passed through a printing device which marks the printing 20 on the front surface of the base sheet 22. The printing 20 is applied to selected portions of the base sheet so as to leave apertures through which the metallized rear surface of the base sheet will be visible. Finally, the cover sheet 18 is adhered over the printing and the front surface of the base sheet, or a varnish coating is applied, so as to protect the printing from damage.
The metallized labels of the prior art and manufacture thereof as described above are subject to significant disadvantages insofar as both a base sheet and a cover sheet or varnish are required. The requirement for a cover sheet or varnish adds expense and complexity to the labels and manufacturing process. The label is made thicker, heavier, and less flexible by the multiple layers.